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+Project Gutenberg's Selections From The Kur-an, by Edward William Lane
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Selections From The Kur-an
+
+Author: Edward William Lane
+
+Contributor: Stanley Lane Poole
+
+Release Date: December 26, 2013 [EBook #44515]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SELECTIONS FROM THE KUR-AN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Fritz Ohrenschall, Turgut Dincer and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+TRÜBNER’S
+
+ORIENTAL SERIES.
+
+VII.
+
+
+   Ballantyne Press
+   BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.
+   EDINBURGH AND LONDON
+
+[Illustration: MECCA.]
+
+
+   SELECTIONS FROM THE ḲUR-ÁN
+
+   BY
+
+   EDWARD WILLIAM LANE,
+
+   HON. DOCTOR OF LITERATURE, LEYDEN;
+   CORRESPONDENT OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE;
+   HON. MEMBER OF THE GERMAN ORIENTAL SOCIETY, THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY,
+   THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE, ETC.;
+   AUTHOR OF “THE MODERN EGYPTIANS,” AND “AN ARABIC-ENGLISH LEXICON;”
+   TRANSLATOR OF “THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS.”
+
+   A New Edition, Revised and Enlarged,
+
+   _WITH AN INTRODUCTION_,
+
+   BY
+
+   STANLEY LANE POOLE.
+
+   LONDON:
+   TRÜBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL.
+
+   1879.
+
+   [_All rights reserved._]
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+There are several translations of the Ḳur-án in several languages; but
+there are very few people who have the strength of mind to read any of
+them through. The chaotic arrangement and frequent repetitions, and
+the obscurity of the language, are sufficient to deter the most
+persistent reader, whilst the nature of a part of its contents renders
+the Ḳur-án unfit for a woman’s eye.
+
+Yet there always has been a wish to know something about the sacred
+book of the Mohammadans, and it was with the design of satisfying this
+wish, whilst avoiding the weariness and the disgust which a complete
+perusal of the Ḳur-án must produce, that Mr. Lane arranged the
+‘Selections’ which were published in 1843. In spite of many printer’s
+errors, due to the author’s absence from England, the book was so far
+successful that the edition was exhausted, and it is now very
+difficult to obtain a copy. But partly owing to the obstructions to
+the reading offered by an interwoven native commentary, and partly by
+reason of the preference shown for the doctrinal over the poetical
+passages, the book went into scholars’ hands rather than into the
+libraries of the general reading public. It has proved of
+considerable service to students of Arabic, who have found it the most
+accurate rendering in existence of a large part of the Ḳur-án; and
+even native Muslims of India, ignorant of Arabic, have used Lane’s
+‘Selections’ as their Bible.
+
+In this edition I have endeavoured rather to carry out the original
+intention of the translator. Experience has shown that the first plan
+was over-learned to commend itself to the average reader, for whom Mr.
+Lane had destined the book; in this edition I have therefore omitted
+many of the notes, which will not be missed by the reader for whom the
+book is intended, and for which the Arabic scholar has only to refer
+to the first edition, or to Sale’s _Koran_, whence most of them were
+derived. Again, the text of the first edition was obscured and
+interrupted by an interwoven commentary, which destroyed the pleasure
+of the language and often made the meaning less intelligible than
+before. This commentary has been thinned. Where it added nothing to
+the text, it has been erased; where it gave a curious or valuable
+explanation, it has been thrown into a footnote; where it merely
+supplied a necessary word to complete the sense, that word has been
+left in the text distinguished by a different type[1]. Once more, the
+early and wilder _soorahs_ were almost wholly omitted in the first
+edition, whilst the later more dogmatic and less poetical _soorahs_
+were perhaps too fully represented. I have endeavoured to establish
+the balance between the two.
+
+In this edition the Selections are divided into two parts. The first
+is Islám; the second, other religions as regarded in Islám. In the
+first are grouped, under distinctive headings, the more important
+utterances of Moḥammad on what his followers must believe and do; in
+the second are his versions of the history of the patriarchs and other
+personages of the Jewish and Christian writings.
+
+It is only in the First Part that I have made much alteration, either
+by adding fresh extracts (distinguished by a sign), or by making a few
+merely verbal alterations in the original extracts, or by the
+suppression or transposition of the commentary. Any alterations that
+go beyond this—new renderings, for instance—are duly recorded in the
+footnotes.
+
+The Second Part is almost unchanged from the first edition. In this
+part the interwoven commentary is left entire, for the traditions of
+the commentators about Abraham and Moses and Christ are as curious as
+the traditions of Moḥammad, and about as credible; and the narrative
+style of the Second Part allows the introduction of parentheses more
+easily than the rhetorical form which many of the extracts in the
+First Part present.
+
+Mr. Lane’s Introduction was abridged from Sale’s Preliminary
+Discourse, with but little addition from his own knowledge. Sale’s
+Discourse abounds in information, but it is too detailed and lengthy
+for the purpose of this volume. I have, then, substituted a short
+sketch of the beginnings of Islám. I have tried to bring home to the
+reader the little we know of the early Arabs; then to draw the picture
+of the great Arab prophet and his work; to show what are the salient
+points of Islám; and finally to explain something of the history of
+the Ḳur-án and its contents. I am conscious of having drawn the
+picture with a weak hand, but I hope the sketch may serve as a not
+quite useless introduction to a volume of typical selections from a
+book which, in the peculiar character of its contents and the
+extraordinary power of its influence, has not its parallel in the
+world.
+
+   S. L. P.
+
+   _June 1878._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+        _INTRODUCTION._
+
+                                                 PAGE
+      I. THE ARABS BEFORE MOḤAMMAD                 xi
+     II. MOḤAMMAD                              xxxvii
+    III. ISLÁM                                 lxxvii
+     IV. THE ḲUR-ÁN                                 c
+
+
+        _PART THE FIRST._
+
+      I. THE OPENING PRAYER                         3
+     II. PREMONITION                                4
+    III. GOD                                        5
+     IV. MOḤAMMAD AND THE ḲUR-ÁN                   13
+      V. THE RESURRECTION, PARADISE, AND HELL      21
+     VI. PREDESTINATION                            32
+    VII. ANGELS AND JINN                           33
+   VIII. TRUE RELIGION AND FALSE                   34
+     IX. BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS                 38
+
+
+        _PART THE SECOND._
+
+      I. PROPHETS, APOSTLES, AND DIVINE BOOKS      47
+     II. ADAM AND EVE                              49
+    III. ABEL AND CAIN                             53
+     IV. NOAH AND THE FLOOD                        55
+      V. ´ÁD AND THAMOOD                           60
+     VI. DHU-L-ḲARNEYN                             63
+    VII. ABRAHAM, ISHMAEL, ISAAC                   66
+   VIII. JACOB, JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN            77
+     IX. JOB                                       93
+      X. SHO´EYB                                   95
+     XI. MOSES AND HIS PEOPLE                      97
+    XII. SAUL, DAVID, SOLOMON                     132
+   XIII. JONAH                                    146
+    XIV. EZRA                                     148
+     XV. THE MESSIAH                              149
+
+         INDEXES                                  167
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+I.—_THE ARABS BEFORE MOḤAMMAD._
+
+
+     ‘Oh, our manhood’s prime vigour! No spirit feels waste,
+   Not a muscle is stopped in its playing nor sinew unbraced.
+   Oh, the wild joys of living! the leaping from rock up to rock,
+   The strong rending of boughs from the fir-tree, the cool silver shock
+   Of the plunge in the pool’s living water, the hunt of the bear,
+   And the sultriness showing the lion is couched in his lair.
+   And the meal, the rich dates yellowed over with gold-dust divine,
+   And the locust flesh steeped in the pitcher, the full draught of wine,
+   And the sleep in the dried river-channel where bulrushes tell
+   That the water was wont to go warbling so softly and well.
+   How good is man’s life, the mere living! how fit to employ
+   All the heart and the soul and the senses for ever in joy!’
+
+   —BROWNING, _Saul_.
+
+
+Between Egypt and Assyria, jostled by both, yielding to neither, lay a
+strange country, unknown save at its marches even to its neighbours,
+dwelt-in by a people that held itself aloof from all the earth—a
+people whom the great empires of the ancient world in vain essayed to
+conquer, against whom the power of Persia, Egypt, Rome, Byzantium was
+proven impotence, and at whose hands even the superb Alexander, had he
+lived to test his dream, might for once have learnt the lesson of
+defeat. Witnessing the struggle and fall of one and another of the
+great tyrannies of antiquity, yet never entering the arena of the
+fight;—swept on its northern frontier by the conflicting armies of
+Khusru and Cæsar, but lifting never a hand in either cause;—Arabia was
+at length to issue forth from its silent mystery, and after baffling
+for a thousand years the curious gaze of strangers, was at last to
+draw to itself the fearful eyes of all men. The people of whom almost
+nothing before could certainly be asserted but its existence was
+finally of its own free will to throw aside the veil, to come forth
+from its fastnesses, and imperiously to bring to its feet the kingdoms
+of the world.
+
+It is not all Arabia of which I speak. The story to tell has nothing
+as yet to say to the ‘happy’ tilled lands of the south, nor to the
+outlying princedoms of El-Ḥeereh and Ghassán bordering the territories
+and admitting the suzerainty of Persia and Rome. These lands were not
+wrapped in mystery: the Himyerite’s kingdom in the Yemen, the rule of
+Zenobia at Palmyra, were familiar to the nations around. But the
+cradle of Islám was not here.
+
+Along the eastern coast of the Red Sea, sometimes thrusting its spurs
+of red sandstone and porphyry into the waves, sometimes drawing away
+and leaving a wide stretch of lowland, runs a rugged range of
+mountain. One above another, the hills rise from the coast, leaving
+here and there between them a green valley, where you may see an Arab
+settlement or a group of Bedawees watering their flocks. Rivers there
+are none; and the streams that gather from the rainfall are scarcely
+formed but they sink into the parched earth. Yet beneath the dried-up
+torrent-beds a rivulet trickles at times, and straightway there
+spreads a rich oasis dearly prized by the wanderers of the desert. All
+else is bare and desolate. Climb hill after hill, and the same sight
+meets the eye—barren mountain-side, dry gravelly plain, and the rare
+green valleys. At length you have reached the topmost ridge; and you
+see, not a steep descent, no expected return to the plain, but a vast
+desert plateau, blank, inhospitable, to all but Arabs unindwellable.
+You have climbed the Ḥijáz—the ‘barrier’—and are come to the steppes
+of the Nejd—the ‘highland.’ In the valleys of this barrier-land are
+the Holy Cities, Mekka and Medina. Here is the birthplace of Islám:
+the Arab tribes of the Ḥijáz and the Nejd were the first disciples of
+Moḥammad.
+
+One may tell much of a people’s character from its home. Truism as it
+seems, there is yet a meaning in the saying that the Arabs are
+peculiarly the people of Arabia. Those who have travelled in this
+wonderful land tell us of the quickening influence of the air and
+scene of the desert. The fresh breath of the plain, the glorious sky,
+the still of the wide expanse, trod by no step but your own, looked
+upon only by yourself and perhaps yonder solitary eagle or the wild
+goat leaping the cliffs you have left behind, the absolute stillness
+and aloneness, bring about a strange sense of delight and exultation,
+a bounding-up of spirits held in long restraint, an unknown nimbleness
+of wit and limb. The Arabs felt all this and more in their bright
+imaginative souls. A few would settle in villages, and engage in the
+trade which came through from India to the West; but such were held in
+poor repute by the true Bedawees, who preferred above all things else
+the free life of the desert. It is a relief to turn from the hurry and
+unrest of modern civilisation, from the never-ending strife for
+wealth, for ‘position,’ for pleasure, even for knowledge, and look for
+a moment on the careless life of the Bedawee. He lived the aimless,
+satisfied life of some child; he sought no change; he was supremely
+content with the exquisite sense of simple existence; he was happy
+because he lived. He wished no more. He dreaded the dark After-death;
+he thrust it from his thoughts as often as it would force itself
+unwelcome upon him. Utterly fearless of man and fortune, he took no
+thought for the morrow: whatever it brought forth, he felt confidently
+his strength to enjoy or endure; only let him seize the happiness of
+to-day while it shall last, and drain to the dregs the overbrimming
+cup of his life. He was ambitious of glory and victory, but it was not
+an ambition that clouded his joy. Throughout a life that was full of
+energy, of passion, of strong endeavour after his ideal of desert
+perfectness, there was yet a restful sense of satisfied enjoyment, a
+feeling that life was of a surety well worth living.
+
+For the Arab had his ideal of life. The true son of the desert must in
+the old times do more than stretch his limbs contentedly under the
+shade of the overhanging rock. He must be brave and chivalrous,
+generous, hospitable; ready to sacrifice himself and his substance for
+his clan; prompt to help the needy and the traveller; true to his
+word, and, not least, eloquent in his speech.
+
+Devotion to the clan was the strongest tie the Arab possessed. Though
+tracing their descent from a common traditional ancestor, the great
+northern family of Bedawees was split up into numerous clans, owning
+no central authority, but led, scarcely governed, each by its own
+chief, who was the most valiant and best-born man in it. The whole
+clan acted as one being; an injury done to one member was revenged by
+all, and even a crime committed by a clansman was upheld by the whole
+brotherhood. Though a small spark would easily light-up war between
+even friendly clans, it was rarely that those of kin met as enemies.
+It is told how a clan suffered long and oft-repeated injuries from a
+kindred clan without one deed of revenge. ‘They are our brothers,’
+they said; ‘perhaps they will return to better feelings; perhaps we
+shall see them again as they once were.’ To be brought to poverty or
+even to die for the clan, the Arab deemed his duty—his privilege. To
+add by his prowess or his hospitality or his eloquence to the glory of
+the clan was his ambition.
+
+   A mountain[2] we have where dwells he whom we shelter there,
+     lofty, before whose height the eye falls back blunted:
+   Deep-based is its root below ground, and overhead there soars
+     its peak to the stars of heaven whereto no man reaches.
+   A folk are we who deem it no shame to be slain in fight,
+     though that be the deeming thereof of Salool and ´Ámir;
+   Our love of death brings near to us our days of doom,
+     but their dooms shrink from death and stand far distant.
+   There dies among us no lord a quiet death in his bed,
+     and never is blood of us poured forth without vengeance.
+   Our souls stream forth in a flood from the edge of the whetted swords:
+     no otherwise than so does our spirit leave its mansion.
+   Pure is our stock, unsullied: fair is it kept and bright
+     by mothers whose bed bears well, and fathers mighty.
+   To the best of the uplands we wend, and when the season comes
+     we travel adown to the best of fruitful valleys.
+   Like rain of the heaven are we: there is not in all our line
+     one blunt of heart, nor among us is counted a niggard.
+   We say nay when so we will to the words of other men,
+     but no man to us says nay when we give sentence.
+   When passes a lord of our line, in his stead there rises straight
+     a lord to say the say and do the deeds of the noble.
+   Our beacon is never quenched to the wanderer of the night,
+     nor has ever a guest blamed us where men meet together.
+   Our Days[3] are famous among our foemen, of fair report,
+     branded and blazed with glory like noble horses.
+   Our swords have swept throughout all lands both west and east,
+     and gathered many a notch from the steel of hauberk-wearers;
+   Not used are they when drawn to be laid back in the sheaths
+     before that the folk they meet are spoiled and scattered.
+   If thou knowest not, ask men what they think of us and them
+     —not alike are he that knows and he that knows not.
+   The children of Ed-Dayyán are the shaft of their people’s mill,
+     —around them it turns and whirls, while they stand midmost.[4]
+
+The renown of the clan was closely wrapped up with the Arab
+chieftain’s personal renown. He was keenly sensitive on the point of
+honour, and to that notion he attached a breadth of meaning which can
+scarcely be understood in these days. Honour included all the
+different virtues that went to make up the ideal Bedawee. To be proved
+wanting in any of these was to be dishonoured. Above all things, the
+man who would ‘keep his honour and defile it not’ must be brave and
+hospitable—
+
+   A rushing rain-flood when he gave guerdons:
+     when he sprang to the onset, a mighty lion.
+
+The Arab warrior was a mighty man of valour. He would spend whole days
+in the saddle, burdened with heavy armour, in the pursuit of a foe,
+seeking the life of the slayer of his kin, or sweeping down upon the
+caravan of rich merchandise which his more peaceful countrymen of the
+towns were carrying through the deserts. The Arab lived mainly by
+plunder. His land did not yield him food—unless it were dates, the
+Bedawee’s bread—and he relied on the success of his foraging
+expeditions for his support. These he conducted with perfect
+good-breeding; he used no violence when it could be avoided; he merely
+relieved the caravan from the trouble of carrying any further the
+goods that he was himself willing to take charge of, urging, if
+necessary, the unfair treatment of his forefather Ishmael as an
+excellent reason for pillaging the sons of Isaac. ‘When a woman is the
+victim, no Bedouin brigand, however rude, will be ill-mannered enough
+to lay hands upon her. He begs her to take off the garment on which he
+has set his heart, and he then retires to a distance and stands with
+eyes averted, lest he should do violence to her modesty.’
+
+The poems of the early Arabs are full of the deeds of their warriors,
+the excitement of the pitched battle, the delight of the pursuit, the
+nightly raid on the camp, the trial of skill between rival chiefs, and
+the other pictures of a warrior’s triumph. Here we find little of the
+generosity of war: mercy was rarely exercised and hatred was carried
+to its extremest limits; quarter was neither asked nor given; to
+despatch a wounded man was no disgrace; the families of the vanquished
+were enslaved. Notwithstanding his frank genial nature, the Arab was
+of a dangerously quick temper, derived, he boasted, from the flesh he
+lived on of the camel, the surliest and most ill-conditioned of
+beasts. If he conceived himself insulted, he was bound to revenge
+himself to the full, or he would have been deemed dishonoured for
+ever. And since his fiery temper easily took offence, the history of
+the early Arabs is full of the traditions of slight quarrels and their
+horrible results—secret assassination and the long-lasting blood-feud.
+
+   Many the warriors, noon-journeying, who, when
+     night fell, journeyed on and halted at dawning—
+   Keen each one of them, girt with a keen blade
+     that when one drew it flashed forth like the lightning—
+   They were tasting of sleep by sips, when, as
+     they nodded, thou didst fright them, and they were scattered.
+   Vengeance we did on them: there escaped us
+     of the two houses none but the fewest.
+   And if Hudheyl[5] broke the edge of his[6] sword-blade—
+     many the notch that Hudheyl gained from him!
+   Many the time that he made them kneel down on
+     jagged rocks where the hoof is worn with running!
+   Many the morning he fell on their shelter,
+     and after slaughter came plunder and spoiling!
+   Hudheyl has been burned by me, one valiant
+     whom Evil tires not though they be wearied—
+   Whose spear drinks deep the first draught, and thereon
+     drinks deep again of the blood of foemen.
+   Forbidden was wine, but now it is lawful:
+     hard was the toil that made it lawful!
+   Reach me the cup, O Sawád son of ´Amr!
+     my body is spent with gaining my vengeance.
+   To Hudheyl we gave to drink Death’s goblet,
+     whose dregs are disgrace and shame and dishonour.
+   The hyena laughs over the slain of Hudheyl, and
+     the wolf—see thou—grins by their corpses,
+   And the vultures flap their wings, full-bellied
+     treading their dead, too gorged to leave them.
+
+The contempt which the Arab, with a few noble exceptions, felt for the
+gentler virtues is seen in these lines:—
+
+   Had I been a son of Mázin, there had not plundered my herds
+     the sons of the Child of the Dust, Dhuhl son of Sheybán!
+   There had straightway arisen to help me a heavy-handed kin,
+     good smiters when help is needed, though the feeble bend to the blow:
+   Men who, when Evil bares before them his hindmost teeth,
+     fly gaily to meet him, in companies or alone.
+   They ask not their brother, when he lays before them his wrong
+     in his trouble, to give them proof of the truth of what he says.
+   But as for my people, though their number be not small,
+     they are good for nought against evil, however light it be;
+   They requite with forgiveness the wrong of those that do them wrong,
+     and the evil deeds of the evil they meet with kindness and love;
+   As though thy Lord had created among the tribes of men
+     themselves alone to fear Him, and never one man more.
+   Would that I had in their stead a folk who, when they ride forth,
+     strike swiftly and hard, on horse or on camel borne!
+
+A point on which the temper of the Bedawee was easily touched was his
+family pride. The Arab prized good blood as much in men as in his
+horses and camels. In these he saw the importance of breed, and in men
+he firmly believed the same principle held good. With the tenacious
+memory of his race, he had no difficulty in remembering the whole of a
+complicated pedigree, and he would often proudly dwell on the purity
+of his blood and the gallant deeds of his forefathers. He would
+challenge another chief to prove a more noble descent, and hot
+disputes and bitter rivalries often came of these comparisons.
+
+But if noble birth brought rivalry and hatred, it brought withal
+excellent virtues. The Arab nobleman was not a man who was richer and
+more idle and luxurious than his inferiors: his position, founded upon
+descent, depended for its maintenance on personal qualities. Rank
+brought with it onerous obligations. The chief, if he would retain and
+carry on the repute of his line, must not only be fearless and ready
+to fight all the world; he must be given to hospitality, generous to
+kith and kin, and to all who cry unto him. His tent must be so pitched
+in the camp that it shall not only be the first that the enemy
+attacks, but also the first the wayworn stranger approaches; and at
+night fires must be kindled hard by to guide wanderers in the desert
+to his hospitable entertainment. If a man came to an Arab noble’s
+tent and said, ‘I throw myself on your honour,’ he was safe from his
+enemies until they had trampled on the dead body of his host. Nothing
+was baser than to give up a guest; the treachery was rare, and brought
+endless dishonour upon the clan in which the shame had taken place.
+The poet extols the tents—
+
+   Where dwells a kin great of heart, whose word is enough to shield
+     whom they shelter when peril comes in a night of fierce strife
+     and storm;
+   Yea, noble are they: the seeker of vengeance gains not from them
+     the blood of his foe, nor is he that wrongs them left without
+     help.
+
+The feeling lasted even under the debased rule of Muslim despots; for
+it is related that a governor was once ordering-out some prisoners to
+execution, when one of them asked for a drink of water, which was
+immediately given him. He then turned to the governor and said, ‘Wilt
+thou slay thy guest?’ and was forthwith set free. A pledge of
+protection was inferred in the giving of hospitality, and to break his
+word was a thing not to be thought upon by an Arab. He did not care to
+give an oath; his simple word was enough, for it was known to be
+inviolable. Hence the priceless worth of the Arab chief’s word of
+welcome: it meant protection, unswerving fidelity, help, and succour.
+
+There was no bound to this hospitality. It was the pride of the Arab
+to place everything he possessed at the service of the guest. The last
+milch-camel must be killed sooner than the duties of hospitality be
+neglected. The story is told of Ḥátim, a gallant poet-warrior of the
+tribe of Ṭayyi, which well illustrates the Arab ideal of hostship.
+Ḥátim was at one time brought to the brink of starvation by the dearth
+of a rainless season. For a whole day he and his family had eaten
+nothing, and at night, after soothing the children to sleep by telling
+them some of those stories in which the Arabs have few rivals, he was
+trying by his cheerful conversation to make his wife forget her
+hunger. Just then they heard steps without, and a corner of the tent
+was raised. ‘Who is there?’ said Ḥátim. A woman’s voice replied, ‘I am
+such a one, thy neighbour. My children have nothing to eat, and are
+howling like young wolves, and I have come to beg help of thee.’
+‘Bring them here,’ said Ḥátim. His wife asked him what he would do,
+for if he could not feed his own children, how should he find food for
+this woman’s? ‘Do not disturb thyself,’ he answered. Now Ḥátim had a
+horse renowned far and wide for the purity of his stock and the
+fleetness and beauty of his paces. He would not kill his favourite for
+himself nor even for his own children; but now he went out and slew
+him, and prepared him with fire for the strangers’ need. And when he
+saw them eating with his wife and children, he exclaimed, ‘It were a
+shame that you alone should eat whilst all the camp is perishing of
+hunger;’ and he went and called the neighbours to the meal, and in the
+morning there remained of the horse nothing but his bones. But as for
+himself, wrapped in his mantle, he sat apart in a corner of the tent.
+
+This Ḥátim is a type of the Arab nature at its noblest. Though
+renowned for his courage and skill in war, he never suffered his
+enmity to overcome his generosity. He had sworn an oath never to take
+a man’s life, and he strictly observed it, and always withheld the
+fatal last blow. In spite of his clemency, he was ever successful in
+the wars of his clan, and brought back from his raids many a rich
+spoil, only to spend it at once in his princely fashion. His
+generosity and faithful observance of his word at times placed him in
+positions of great danger; but the alternative of denying his
+principles seems never to have occurred to his mind. For instance, he
+had imposed upon himself as a law never to refuse a gift to him that
+asked it of him. Once, engaged in single combat, he had disarmed and
+routed his opponent, who then turned and said, ‘Ḥátim, give me thy
+spear.’ At once he threw it to him, leaving himself defenceless; and
+had he not met an adversary worthy of himself, this had been the last
+of his deeds. Happily Ḥátim was not the only generous warrior of the
+Arabs, and his foe did not avail himself of his advantage. When
+Ḥátim’s friends remonstrated with him on the rashness of an act which,
+in the spirit of shopkeepers, they regarded as quixotic, Ḥátim said,
+‘What would you have me to do? He asked of me a gift!’
+
+It was Ḥátim’s practice to buy the liberty of all captives who sought
+his aid: it was but another application of the Arab virtue of
+hospitality. Once a captive called to him when he was on a journey and
+had not with him the means of paying the ransom. But he was not wont
+to allow any difficulties to baulk him of the exercise of his duty,
+and he had the prisoner released, stepping meanwhile into his chains
+until his own clan should send the ransom.
+
+Brave, chivalrous, faithful, and generous beyond the needful of Arab
+ideal—so that his niggard wife, using the privilege of high dames,
+repudiated him because he was ever ruining himself and her by his open
+hand—Ḥátim filled up the measure of Arab virtue by his eloquence, and
+such of his poems as have come down to us reflect the nobility of his
+life. As a youth he had shown a strong passion for poetry, and would
+spare no means of doing honour to poets. His grandfather, in despair
+at the boy’s extravagance, sent him away from the camp to guard the
+camels, which were pastured at a distance. Sitting there in a state of
+solitude little congenial to his nature, Ḥátim lifted his eyes and saw
+a caravan approaching. It was the caravan of three great poets who
+were travelling to the court of the King of El-Ḥeereh. Ḥátim begged
+them to alight and to accept of refreshment after the hot and dreary
+journey. He killed them a camel each, though one would have more than
+sufficed for the three; and in return they wrote him verses in praise
+of himself and his kindred. Overjoyed at the honour, Ḥátim insisted on
+the poets each accepting a hundred camels; and they departed with
+their gifts. When the grandfather came to the pasturing and asked
+where the camels were gone, Ḥátim answered, ‘I have exchanged them for
+a crown of honour, which will shine for all time on the brow of thy
+race. The lines in which great poets have celebrated our house will
+pass from mouth to mouth, and will carry our glory over all Arabia.’
+[7]
+
+This story well illustrates the Arab’s passionate love of poetry. He
+conceived his language to be the finest in the world, and he prized
+eloquence and poetry as the goodliest gifts of the gods. There were
+three great events in Arab life, when the clan was called together and
+great feastings and rejoicings ensued. One was the birth of a son to a
+chief; another the foaling of a generous mare; the third was the
+discovery that a great poet had risen up among them. The advent of the
+poet meant the immortality of the deeds of the clansmen and the
+everlasting contumely of their foes; it meant the raising up of the
+glory of the tribe over all the clans of Arabia, and the winning of
+triumphs by bitterer weapons than sword and spear—the weapons of
+stinging satire and scurrilous squib. No man might dare withstand the
+power of the poets among a people who were keenly alive to the point
+of an epigram, and who never forgot an ill-natured jibe if it were
+borne upon musical verse. Most of the great heroes of the desert were
+poets as well as warriors, and their poesy was deemed the chiefest gem
+in their crown, and, like their courage, was counted a proof of
+generous birth. The Khalif ´Omar said well, ‘The kings of the Arabs
+are their orators and poets, those who practise and who celebrate all
+the virtues of the Bedawee.’
+
+This ancient poetry of the Arabs is the reflection of the people’s
+life. Far away from the trouble of the world, barred by wild wastes
+from the stranger, the Bedawee lived his happy child’s life, enjoying
+to the uttermost the good the gods had sent him, delighting in the
+face that Nature showed him, inspired by the glorious breath of the
+deserts that were his home. His poetry rings of that desert life. It
+is emotional, passionate, seldom reflective. Not the end of life, the
+whence and the whither, but the actual present joy of existence, was
+the subject of his song. Vivid painting of nature is the
+characteristic of this poetry: it is natural, unpolished, unlaboured.
+The scenes of the desert—the terrors of the nightly ride through the
+hill-girdled valley where the Ghools and the Jinn have their haunts;
+the gloom of the barren plain, where the wolf, ‘like a ruined
+gamester,’ roams ululating; the weariness of the journey under the
+noonday sun; the stifling of the sand-storm, the delusions of the
+mirage; or again, the solace of the palm-tree’s shade, and the
+delights of the cool well;—such are the pictures of the Arab poet. The
+people’s life is another frequent theme: the daily doings of the
+herdsman, the quiet pastoral life, on the one hand; on the other, the
+deeds of the chiefs—war, plunder, the chase, wassail, revenge,
+friendship, love. There were satires on rival tribes, panegyrics on
+chiefs, laments for the dead. This poetry is wholly objective,
+artless, childlike; it is the outcome of a people still in the
+freshness of youth, whom the mysteries and complications of life have
+not yet set a-thinking. ‘Just as his language knows but the present
+and the past, so the ancient Arab lived but in to-day and yesterday.
+The future is nought to him; he seizes the present with too thorough
+abandonment to have an emotion left for anything beyond. He troubles
+himself not with what fate the morrow may bring forth, he dreams not
+of a beautiful future,—only he revels in the present, and his glance
+looks backward alone. Rich in ideas and impressions, he is poor in
+thought. He drains hastily the foaming cup of life; he feels deeply
+and passionately; but it is as if he were never conscious of the
+coming of the thoughtful age which, while it surveys the past, as
+often turns an anxious look to the unknown future.’
+
+It is very difficult for a Western mind to enter into the real beauty
+of the old Arab poetry. The life it depicts is so unlike any we can
+now witness, that it is almost removed beyond the pale of our
+sympathies. The poetry is loaded with metaphors and similes, which to
+us seem far-fetched, though they are drawn from the simplest daily
+sights of the Bedawee. Moreover, it is only in fragments that we can
+read it; for the change in the whole character of Arab life and in the
+current of Arab ideas which followed the conquests of Islám
+extinguished the old songs, which were no longer suitable to the new
+conditions of things; and as they were seldom recorded in writing, we
+possess but a little remnant of them.[8] Yet ‘these fragments may be
+broken, defaced, dimmed, and obscured by fanaticism, ignorance, and
+neglect; but out of them there arises anew all the freshness, bloom,
+and glory of desert-song, as out of Homer’s epics rise the glowing
+spring-time of humanity and the deep blue heavens of Hellas. It is not
+a transcendental poetry, rich in deep and thoughtful legend and lore,
+or glittering in the many-coloured prisms of fancy, but a poetry the
+chief task of which is to paint life and nature as they really are;
+and within its narrow bounds it is magnificent. It is chiefly and
+characteristically full of manliness, of vigour, and of a chivalrous
+spirit, doubly striking when compared with the spirit of abjectness
+and slavery found in some other Asiatic nations. It is wild and vast
+and monotonous as the yellow seas of its desert solitudes; it is
+daring and noble, tender and true.’ [9]
+
+There was one place where, above all others, the Ḳaṣeedehs of the
+ancient Arabs were recited: this was ´Okáḍh, the Olympia of Arabia,
+where there was held a great annual Fair, to which not merely the
+merchants of Mekka and the south, but the poet-heroes of all the land
+resorted. The Fair of ´Okáḍh was held during the sacred months,—a sort
+of ‘God’s Truce,’ when blood could not be shed without a violation of
+the ancient customs and faiths of the Bedawees. Thither went the poets
+of rival clans, who had as often locked spears as hurled rhythmical
+curses. There was little fear of a bloody ending to the poetic
+contest, for those heroes who might meet there with enemies or
+blood-avengers are said to have worn masks or veils, and their poems
+were recited by a public orator at their dictation. That these
+precautions and the sacredness of the time could not always prevent
+the ill-feeling evoked by the pointed personalities of rival singers
+leading to a fray and bloodshed is proved by recorded instances; but
+such results were uncommon, and as a rule the customs of the time and
+place were respected. In spite of occasional broils on the spot, and
+the lasting feuds which these poetic contests must have excited, the
+Fair of ´Okáḍh was a grand institution. It served as a focus for the
+literature of all Arabia: every one with any pretensions to poetic
+power came, and if he could not himself gain the applause of the
+assembled people, at least he could form one of the critical audience
+on whose verdict rested the fame or the shame of every poet. The Fair
+of ´Okáḍh was a literary congress, without formal judges, but with
+unbounded influence. It was here that the polished heroes of the
+desert determined points of grammar and prosody; here the seven Golden
+Songs were recited, although (alas for the charming legend!) they were
+_not_ afterwards ‘suspended’ on the Kaạbeh; and here ‘a magical
+language, the language of the Ḥijáz,’ was built out of the dialects of
+Arabia, and was made ready to the skilful hand of Moḥammad, that he
+might conquer the world with his Ḳur-án.
+
+The Fair of ´Okáḍh was not merely a centre of emulation for Arab
+poets: it was also an annual review of Bedawee virtues. It was there
+that the Arab nation once-a-year inspected itself, so to say, and
+brought forth and criticised its ideals of the noble and the beautiful
+in life and in poetry. For it was in poetry that the Arab—and for that
+matter each man all the world over—expressed his highest thoughts, and
+it was at ´Okáḍh that these thoughts were measured by the standard of
+the Bedawee ideal. The Fair not only maintained the highest standard
+of poetry that the Arabic language has ever reached: it also upheld
+the noblest idea of life and duty that the Arab nation has yet set
+forth and obeyed. ´Okáḍh was the press, the stage, the pulpit, the
+Parliament, and the Académie Française of the Arab people; and when,
+in his fear of the infidel poets (whom Imra-el-Ḳeys was to usher to
+hell), Moḥammad abolished the Fair, he destroyed the Arab nation even
+whilst he created his own new nation of Muslims;—and the Muslims
+cannot sit in the places of the old pagan Arabs.
+
+It is very difficult for the Western mind to dissociate the idea of
+Oriental poetry from the notion of amatory odes, and sonnets to the
+lady’s eyebrow: but even the few extracts that have been given in this
+chapter show that the Arab had many other subjects besides love to
+sing about, and though the divine theme has its place in almost every
+poem, it seldom rivals the prominence of war and nature-painting, and
+it is treated from a much less sensual point of view than that of
+later Arab poets. Many writers have drawn a gloomy picture of the
+condition of women in Arabia before the coming of Moḥammad, and there
+is no doubt that in many cases their lot was a miserable one. There
+are ancient Arabic proverbs that point to the contempt in which
+woman’s judgment and character were held by the Arabs of ‘the Time of
+Ignorance,’ and Moḥammad must have derived his mean opinion of women
+from a too general impression among his countrymen. The marriage tie
+was certainly very loose among the ancient Arabs. The ceremony itself
+was of the briefest. The man said _khiṭb_ (_i.e._ I am an
+asker-in-marriage), and the giver-away answered _nikḥ_ (_i.e._, I am a
+giver-in-marriage), and the knot was thus tied, only to be undone with
+equal facility and brevity. The frequency of divorce among the Arabs
+does not speak well for their constancy, and must have had a degrading
+effect upon the women. Hence it is argued that women were the objects
+of contempt rather than of respect among the ancient Arabs.
+
+Yet there is reason to believe that the evidence upon which this
+conclusion is founded is partial and one-sided. There was a wide gulf
+between the Bedawee and the town Arab. It is not impossible that the
+view commonly entertained as to the state of women in preïslamic times
+is based mainly on what Moḥammad saw around him in Mekka, and not on
+the ordinary life of the desert. To such a conjecture a curiously
+uniform support is lent by the ancient poetry of the desert; and
+though the poets were then—as they always are—men of finer mould than
+the rest, yet their example, and still more their poems passing from
+mouth to mouth, must have created a widespread belief in their
+principles. It is certain that the roaming Bedawee, like the mediæval
+knight, entertained a chivalrous reverence for women, although he,
+too, like the knight, was not always above a career of promiscuous
+gallantry; but there was always a certain glamour of romance about the
+intrigues of the Bedawee. He did not regard the object of his love as
+a chattel to be possessed, but as a divinity to be assiduously
+worshipped. The poems are full of instances of the courtly respect
+displayed by the heroes of the desert toward defenceless maidens, and
+the mere existence of so general an ideal of conduct in the poems is a
+strong argument for Arab chivalry: for with the Arabs the abyss
+between the ideal accepted of the mind and the attaining thereof in
+action was narrower than it is among ‘more advanced’ nations.
+
+Whatever was the condition of women in the trading cities and
+villages, it is certain that in the desert woman was regarded as she
+has never since been among Muslims. The modern ḥareem system was there
+as yet undreamt of; the maid of the desert was unfettered by the
+ruinous restrictions of modern life in the East. She was free to
+choose her own husband, and to bind him to have no other wife than
+herself. She might receive male visitors, even strangers, without
+suspicion: for her virtue was too dear to her and too well assured to
+need the keeper. It was the bitterest taunt of all to say to a hostile
+clan that their men had not the heart to give nor their women to deny;
+for the chastity of the women of the clan was reckoned only next to
+the valour and generosity of the men. In those days bastardy was an
+indelible stain. It was the wife who inspired the hero to deeds of
+glory, and it was her praise that he most valued when he returned
+triumphant. The hero of desert song thought himself happy to die in
+guarding some women from their pursuers. Wounded to the death,
+´Antarah halted alone in a narrow pass, and bade the women press on to
+a place of safety. Planting his spear in the ground, he supported
+himself on his horse, so that when the pursuers came up they knew not
+he was dead, and dared not approach within reach of his dreaded arm.
+At length the horse moved, and the body fell to the ground, and the
+enemies saw that it was but the corpse of the hero that had held the
+pass. In death, as in a life _sans peur et sans reproche_, ´Antarah
+was true to the chivalry of his race.
+
+There are many instances like this of the knightly courtesy of the
+Arab chief in ‘the Time of Ignorance.’ In the old days, as an ancient
+writer says, the true Arab had but one love, and her he loved till
+death, and she him. Even when polygamy became commoner, especially in
+the towns, it was not what is meant by polygamy in a modern Muslim
+state: it was rather the patriarchal system of Abram and Sarai.
+
+There is much in the fragments of the ancient poetry which reflects
+this fine spirit. It is ofttimes ‘tender and true,’ and even Islám
+could not wholly root out the real Arab sentiment, which reappears in
+Muslim times in the poems of Aboo-Firás. Especially valuable is the
+evidence of the old poetry with regard to the love of a father for his
+daughters. Infanticide, which is commonly attributed to the whole Arab
+nation of every age before Islám, was in reality exceedingly rare in
+the desert, and after almost dying out only revived about the time of
+Moḥammad. It was probably adopted by poor and weak clans, either from
+inability to support their children, or in order to protect themselves
+from the stain of having their children dishonoured by stronger
+tribes, and the occasional practice of this barbarous and suicidal
+custom affords no ground for assuming an unnatural hatred and contempt
+for girls among the ancient Arabs. These verses of a father to his
+daughter tell a different story:—
+
+   If no Umeymeh were there, no want would trouble my soul,
+     no labour call me to toil for bread through pitchiest night;
+   What moves my longing to live is but that well do I know
+     how low the fatherless lies, how hard the kindness of kin.
+   I quake before loss of wealth lest lacking fall upon her,
+     and leave her shieldless and bare as flesh set forth on a board.
+   My life she prays for, and I from mere love pray for her death—
+     yea death, the gentlest and kindest guest to visit a maid.
+   I fear an uncle’s rebuke, a brother’s harshness for her;
+     my chiefest end was to spare her heart the grief of a word.
+
+Once more, the following lines do not breathe the spirit of
+infanticide:—
+
+   Fortune has brought me down (her wonted way)
+     from station great and high to low estate;
+   Fortune has rent away my plenteous store:
+     of all my wealth, honour alone is left.
+   Fortune has turned my joy to tears: how oft
+     did Fortune make me laugh with what she gave!
+   But for these girls, the Ḳaṭa’s downy brood,
+     unkindly thrust from door to door as hard,
+   Far would I roam and wide to seek my bread
+     in earth that has no lack of breadth and length;
+   Nay, but our children in our midst, what else
+     but our hearts are they walking on the ground?
+   If but the wind blow harsh on one of them,
+     mine eye says no to slumber all night long.
+
+Hitherto we have been looking at but one side of Arab life. The
+Bedawees were indeed the bulk of the race, and furnished the swords of
+the Muslim conquests; but there was also a vigorous town-life in
+Arabia, and the citizens waxed rich with the gains of their
+trafficking. For through Arabia ran the trade-route between East and
+West: it was the Arab traders who carried the produce of the Yemen to
+the markets of Syria; and how ancient was their commerce one may
+divine from the words of a poet of Judæa spoken more than a thousand
+years before the coming of Moḥammad.
+
+   Wedan and Javan from San´a paid for thy produce:
+     sword-blades, cassia, and calamus were in thy trafficking.
+   Dedan was thy merchant in saddle-cloths for riding;
+   Arabia and all the merchants of Kedar, they were the merchants
+     of thy hand:
+     in lambs and rams and goats, in these were they thy merchants.
+   The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants,
+     with the chief of all spices, and with every precious stone,
+       and gold,
+          they paid for thy produce.
+   Haran, Aden, and Canneh, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur and
+     Chilmad were thy merchants;
+   They were thy merchants in excellent wares,
+     in cloth of blue and broidered work,
+     in chests of cloth of divers colours, bound with cords
+        and made fast among thy merchandize.[10]
+
+Mekka was the centre of this trading life, the typical Arab city of
+old times—a stirring little town, with its caravans bringing the silks
+and woven stuffs of Syria and the far-famed damask, and carrying away
+the sweet-smelling produce of Arabia, frankincense, cinnamon,
+sandal-wood, aloe, and myrrh, and the dates and leather and metals of
+the south, and the goods that come to the Yemen from Africa and even
+India; its assemblies of merchant-princes in the Council Hall near the
+Kaạbeh; and again its young poets running over with love and
+gallantry; its Greek and Persian slave-girls brightening the luxurious
+banquet with their native songs, when as yet there was no Arab school
+of music, and the monotonous but not unmelodious chant of the
+camel-driver was the national song of Arabia; and its club, where busy
+men spent their idle hours in playing chess and draughts, or in
+gossiping with their acquaintance. It was a little republic of
+commerce, too much infected with the luxuries and refinements of the
+states it traded with, yet retaining enough of the free Arab nature to
+redeem it from the charge of effeminacy.
+
+Mekka was a great home of music and poetry, and this characteristic
+lasted into Muslim times. There is a story of a certain stonemason who
+had a wonderful gift of singing. When he was at work the young men
+used to come and importune him, and bring him gifts of money and food
+to induce him to sing. He would then make a stipulation that they
+should first help him in his work; and forthwith they would strip off
+their cloaks, and the stones would gather round him rapidly. Then he
+would mount a rock and begin to sing, whilst the whole hill was
+coloured red and yellow with the variegated garments of his audience.
+Singers were then held in the highest admiration, and the greatest
+chiefs used to pay their court to ladies of the musical profession.
+One of them used to give receptions, open to the whole city, in which
+she would appear in great state, surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting,
+each dressed magnificently, and wearing ‘an elegant artificial
+chignon.’ It was in this town-life that the worse qualities of the
+Arab came out; it was here that his raging passion for dicing and his
+thirst for wine were most prominent. In the desert there was little
+opportunity for indulging in either luxury; but in a town which often
+welcomed a caravan bringing goods to the value of twenty thousand
+pound, such excesses were to be looked for. Excited by the song of the
+Greek slave-girl and the fumes of mellow wine, the Mekkan would throw
+the dice till, like the Germans of Tacitus, he had staked and lost his
+own liberty.
+
+But Mekka was more than a centre of trade and of song. It was the
+focus of the religion of the Arabs. Thither the tribes went up every
+year to kiss the black stone which had fallen from heaven in the
+primeval days of Adam, and to make the seven circuits of the Kaạbeh
+naked,—for they would not approach God in the garments in which they
+had done their sins,—and to perform the other ceremonies of the
+pilgrimage. The Kaạbeh, a cubical building in the centre of Mekka, was
+the most sacred temple in all Arabia, and it gave its sanctity to all
+the district around. It had been, saith tradition, first built by Adam
+from a heavenly model, and then rebuilt from time to time by Seth and
+Abraham and Ishmael, and less reverend persons, and it contained the
+sacred things of the land. Here was the black stone, here the great
+god of red agate, Hubal, and the three hundred and sixty idols, one
+for each day of the year, which Moḥammad afterwards destroyed in one
+day. Here was Abraham’s stone and that other which marked the tomb of
+Ishmael, and hard by Zemzem, the god-sent spring which gushed from the
+sand when the forefather of the Arabs was perishing of thirst.
+
+The religion of the ancient Arabs, little as we know of it, is
+especially interesting, inasmuch as the Arabs longest retained the
+original Semitic character, and hence probably the original Semitic
+religion: and so in the ancient religion of Arabia we see the religion
+once professed by Chaldeans, Canaanites, Phœnicians. This ancient
+religion ‘rises little higher than animistic polydaemonism. It is a
+collection of tribal religions standing side by side, only loosely
+united, though there are traces of a once closer connection.’ [11]
+The great objects of worship were the sun and the stars and the three
+moon-goddesses—El-Lát the bright moon, Menáh the dark, and El-´Uzzà
+the union of the two; whilst a lower cultus of trees, stones, and
+mountains, supposed to be dwelt-in by souls, shows that the religion
+had not yet quite risen above simple fetishism. At the time of
+Moḥammad the Arabs worshipped numerous images, which may have been
+merely a development from the previous stone-worship, or may have been
+introduced from intercourse with Christians. There are traces of a
+belief in a supreme God behind this pantheon, and the moon-goddesses
+and other divinities were regarded as daughters of _the most high God_
+(Alláh ta´ála)—a conception also possibly derived from Christianity.
+The various deities (but not the Supreme Allah) had their fanes, where
+human sacrifices, though rare, were not unknown; and their cultus was
+superintended by a hereditary line of seers, who were held in great
+reverence, but never developed into a priestly caste.
+
+Besides the tribal gods, individual households had their special
+Penates, to whom was due the first and the last salám of the returning
+or outgoing host. But in spite of all this superstitious apparatus the
+Arabs were never a religious people. In the old days, as now, they
+were reckless, skeptical, materialistic. They had their gods and their
+divining-arrows, but they were ready to demolish both if the responses
+proved contrary to their wishes. A great majority believed in no
+future life nor in a reckoning-day of good and evil. If a few tied
+camels to the graves of the dead that the corpse might ride mounted to
+the judgment-seat, it must have been the exception; and if there are
+some doubtful traces of the doctrine of metempsychosis, this again
+must have been the creed of the very few.
+
+Christianity and Judaism had made but small impress upon the Arabs.
+There were Jewish tribes in the north, and there is evidence in the
+Ḳur-án and elsewhere that the traditions and rites of Judaism were
+widely known in Arabia. But the creed was too narrow and too
+exclusively national to commend itself to the majority of the people.
+Christianity fared even worse. Whether or not St. Paul went there, it
+is at least certain that very little effect was produced by the
+preaching of Christianity in Arabia. We hear of Christians on the
+borders, and even two or three among the Mekkans, and bishops and
+churches are spoken of at Dhafár and Nejrán. But the Christianity that
+the Arabs knew was, like the Judaism of the northern tribes, a very
+imperfect reflection of the faith it professed to set forth. It had
+become a thing of the head instead of the heart, and the refinements
+of monophysite and monothelite doctrines gained no hold upon the Arab
+mind.
+
+Thus Judaism and Christianity, though they were well known, and
+furnished many ideas and ceremonies to Islám, were never able to
+effect any general settlement in Arabia. The common Arabs did not care
+much about any religion, and the finer spirits found the wrangling
+dogmatism of the Christian and the narrow isolation of the Jew little
+to their mind. For there were before the time of Moḥammad men who were
+dissatisfied with the low fetishism in which their countrymen were
+plunged, and who protested emphatically against the idle and often
+cruel superstitions of the Arabs. Not to refer to the prophets, who,
+as the Ḳur-án relates, were sent in old time to the tribes of ´Ád and
+Thamood to convert them, there was, immediately before the preaching
+of Moḥammad, a general feeling that a change was at hand; a prophet
+was expected, and women were anxiously hoping for male children if so
+be they might mother the Apostle of God; and the more thoughtful
+minds, tinged with traditions of Judaism, were seeking for what they
+called ‘the religion of Abraham.’ These men were called _‘Ḥaneefs,’_
+or skeptics, and their religion seems to have consisted chiefly in a
+negative position, in denying the superstition of the Arabs, and in
+only asserting the existence of one sole-ruling God whose absolute
+slaves are all mankind, without being able to decide on any minor
+doctrines, or to determine in what manner this one God was to be
+worshipped. So long as the Ḥaneefs could give their countrymen no more
+definite creed than this, their influence was limited to a few
+inquiring and doubting minds. It was reserved for Moḥammad to
+formulate the faith of the Ḥaneefs in the dogmas of Islám. For the
+leader of these few ‘skeptics’ was Zeyd ibn ´Amr, to whom Moḥammad
+often resorted, and another, Waraḳah, was the cousin of the Prophet
+and his near neighbour: and thus the Ḥaneefs were the forerunners of
+the man who was to change the destinies of the Arabs.
+
+We can no longer see the true Arab as he was in ‘the Time of
+Ignorance,’ and we cannot but regret our loss; for the Pagan Arab is a
+noble type of man, though there be nobler. There is much that is
+admirable in his high mettle, his fine sense of honour, his
+knightliness, his ‘open-handed, both-handed,’ generosity, his frank
+friendship, and his manly independent spirit; and the faults of this
+wild reckless nature are not to be weighed against its many
+excellencies. When Moḥammad turned abroad the current of Arab life, he
+changed the character of the people. The mixture with foreign nations,
+and the quiet town-life that succeeded to the tumult of conquest,
+gradually effaced many of the leading ideas of the old Arab nature,
+and the remnant that still dwell in the land of their fathers have
+lost much of that nobleness of character which in their ancestors
+covered a multitude of sins. Moḥammad in part destroyed the Arab and
+created the Muslim. The last is no amends for the first. The modern
+Bedawee is neither the one nor the other; he has lost the greatness
+of the old type without gaining that of the new. As far as the Arabs
+alone are concerned, Moḥammad effected a temporary good and a lasting
+harm. As to the world at large, that is matter for another chapter.
+
+
+
+
+II.—_MOḤAMMAD._
+
+   For every fiery prophet in old times,
+   And all the sacred madness of the bard,
+   When God made music through them, could but speak
+   His music by the framework and the chord;
+   And as _he_ saw it _he hath_ spoken truth.
+
+   —THE HOLY GRAIL.
+
+
+A prophet for the Arabs must fulfil two conditions if he will bring
+with his good tidings the power of making them accepted: he must
+spring from the traditional centre of Arabian religion, and he must
+come of a noble family of pure Arab blood. Moḥammad fulfilled both.
+His family was that branch of the Ḳureysh which had raised Mekka to
+the dignity of the undisputed metropolis of Arabia, and which, though
+impoverished, still held the chief offices of the sacred territory.
+Moḥammad’s grandfather was the virtual chief of Mekka; for to him
+belonged the guardianship of the Kaạbeh, and he it was who used the
+generous privilege of giving food and water to the pilgrims who
+resorted to the ‘House of God.’ His youngest son, after marrying a
+kinswoman belonging to a branch of the Ḳureysh, settled at Yethrib
+(Medina), died before the birth of his son (571), and this son,
+Moḥammad, lost his mother when he was only six years old. The orphan
+was adopted by his grandfather, ´Abd-el-Muṭṭalib; and a tender
+affection sprang up between the chief of eighty years and his little
+grandson. Many a day the old man might be seen sitting at his wonted
+place near the Kaạbeh, and sharing his mat with his favourite. He
+lived but two years more; and at his dying request, his son Aboo-Ṭálib
+took charge of Moḥammad, for whom he too ever showed a love as of
+father and mother.
+
+Such is the bare outline of Moḥammad’s childhood; and of his youth we
+know about as little, though the Arabian biographies abound in
+legends, of which some may be true and most are certainly false. There
+are stories of his journeyings to Syria with his uncle, and his
+encounter with a mysterious monk of obscure faith; but there is
+nothing to show for this tale, and much to be brought against it. All
+we can say is, that Moḥammad probably assisted his family in the war
+of the Fijár, and that he must many a time have frequented the annual
+Fair of ´Oḳádh, hearing the songs of the desert chiefs and the praise
+of Arab life, and listening to the earnest words of the Jews and
+Christians and others who came to the Fair. He was obliged at an early
+age to earn his own living; for the noble family of the Háshimees, to
+which he belonged, was fast losing its commanding position, whilst
+another branch of the Ḳureysh was succeeding to its dignities. The
+princely munificence of Háshim and ´Abd-el-Muṭṭalib was followed by
+the poverty and decline of their heirs. The duty of providing the
+pilgrims with food was given up by the Háshimees to the rival branch
+of Umeyyeh, whilst they retained only the lighter office of serving
+water to the worshippers. Moḥammad must take his share in the labour
+of the family, and he was sent to pasture the sheep of the Ḳureysh on
+the hills and valleys round Mekka; and though the people despised the
+shepherd’s calling, he himself was wont to look back with pleasure to
+these early days, saying that God called never a prophet save from
+among the sheep-folds. And doubtless it was then that he developed
+that reflective disposition of mind which at length led him to seek
+the reform of his people, whilst in his solitary wanderings with the
+sheep he gained that marvellous eye for the beauty and wonder of the
+earth and sky which resulted in the gorgeous nature-painting of the
+Ḳur-án. Yet he was glad to change this menial work for the more
+lucrative and adventurous post of camel-driver to the caravans of his
+wealthy kinswoman Khadeejeh; and he seems to have taken so kindly to
+the duty, which involved responsibilities, and to have acquitted
+himself so worthily, that he attracted the notice of his employer, who
+straightway fell in love with him, and presented him with her hand.
+The marriage was a singularly happy one, though Moḥammad was scarcely
+twenty-five and his wife nearly forty, and it brought him that repose
+and exemption from daily toil which he needed in order to prepare his
+mind for his great work. But beyond that, it gave him a loving woman’s
+heart, that was the first to believe in his mission, that was ever
+ready to console him in his despair and to keep alive within him the
+thin flickering flame of hope when no man believed in him—not even
+himself—and the world was black before his eyes.
+
+We know very little of the next fifteen years. Khadeejeh bore him sons
+and daughters, but only the daughters lived. We hear of his joining a
+league for the protection of the weak and oppressed, and there is a
+legend of his having acted with wise tact and judgment as arbitrator
+in a dispute among the great families of Mekka on the occasion of the
+rebuilding of the Kaạbeh. During this time, moreover, he relieved his
+still impoverished uncle of the charge of his son ´Alee—afterwards the
+Bayard of Islám,—and he freed and adopted a certain captive, Zeyd; and
+these two became his most devoted friends and disciples. Such is the
+short but characteristic record of these fifteen years of manhood. We
+know very little about what Moḥammad did, but we hear only one voice
+as to what he was. Up to the age of forty his unpretending modest way
+of life had attracted but little notice from his townspeople. He was
+only known as a simple upright man, whose life was severely pure and
+refined, and whose true desert sense of honour and faith-keeping had
+won him the high title of El-Emeen, ‘the Trusty.’
+
+Let us see what fashion of man this was, who was about to work a
+revolution among his countrymen, and change the conditions of social
+life in a vast part of the world. The picture[12] is drawn from an
+older man than we have yet seen; but Moḥammad at forty and Moḥammad at
+fifty or more were probably very little different. ‘He was of the
+middle height, rather thin, but broad of shoulders, wide of chest,
+strong of bone and muscle. His head was massive, strongly developed.
+Dark hair, slightly curled, flowed in a dense mass down almost to his
+shoulders. Even in advanced age it was sprinkled by only about twenty
+grey hairs—produced by the agonies of his “Revelations.” His face was
+oval-shaped, slightly tawny of colour. Fine, long, arched eyebrows
+were divided by a vein which throbbed visibly in moments of passion.
+Great black restless eyes shone out from under long, heavy eyelashes.
+His nose was large, slightly aquiline. His teeth, upon which he
+bestowed great care, were well set, dazzling white. A full beard
+framed his manly face. His skin was clear and soft, his complexion
+“red and white,” his hands were as “silk and satin,” even as those of
+a woman. His step was quick and elastic, yet firm, and as that of one
+“who steps from a high to a low place,” In turning his face he would
+also turn his full body. His whole gait and presence were dignified
+and imposing. His countenance was mild and pensive. His laugh was
+rarely more than a smile....
+
+‘In his habits he was extremely simple, though he bestowed great care
+on his person. His eating and drinking, his dress and his furniture,
+retained, even when he had reached the fulness of power, their almost
+primitive nature. The only luxuries he indulged in were, besides arms,
+which he highly prized, a pair of yellow boots, a present from the
+Negus of Abyssinia. Perfumes, however, he loved passionately, being
+most sensitive of smell. Strong drinks he abhorred.
+
+‘His constitution was extremely delicate. He was nervously afraid of
+bodily pain; he would sob and roar under it. Eminently unpractical in
+all common things of life, he was gifted with mighty powers of
+imagination, elevation of mind, delicacy and refinement of feeling.
+“He is more modest than a virgin behind her curtain,” it was said of
+him. He was most indulgent to his inferiors, and would never allow his
+awkward little page to be scolded, whatever he did. “Ten years,” said
+Anas, his servant, “was I about the Prophet, and he never said as much
+as ‘uff’ to me.” He was very affectionate towards his family. One of
+his boys died on his breast in the smoky house of the nurse, a
+blacksmith’s wife. He was very fond of children. He would stop them in
+the streets and pat their little cheeks. He never struck any one in
+his life. The worst expression he ever made use of in conversation
+was, “What has come to him?—may his forehead be darkened with mud!”
+When asked to curse some one he replied, “I have not been sent to
+curse, but to be a mercy to mankind.” “He visited the sick, followed
+any bier he met, accepted the invitation of a slave to dinner, mended
+his own clothes, milked his goats, and waited upon himself,” relates
+summarily another tradition. He never first withdrew his hand out of
+another man’s palm, and turned not before the other had turned.... He
+was the most faithful protector of those he protected, the sweetest
+and most agreeable in conversation; those who saw him were suddenly
+filled with reverence; those who came near him loved him; they who
+described him would say, “I have never seen his like either before or
+after.” He was of great taciturnity; but when he spoke it was with
+emphasis and deliberation, and no one could ever forget what he said.
+He was, however, very nervous and restless withal, often low-spirited,
+downcast as to heart and eyes. Yet he would at times suddenly break
+through these broodings, become gay, talkative, jocular, chiefly among
+his own. He would then delight in telling little stories, fairy tales,
+and the like. He would romp with the children and play with their
+toys.’
+
+‘He lived with his wives in a row of humble cottages, separated from
+one another by palm-branches, cemented together with mud. He would
+kindle the fire, sweep the floor, and milk the goats himself. ´Áïsheh
+tells us that he slept upon a leathern mat, and that he mended his
+clothes, and even clouted his shoes, with his own hand. For months
+together ... he did not get a sufficient meal. The little food that he
+had was always shared with those who dropped in to partake of it.
+Indeed, outside the Prophet’s house was a bench or gallery, on which
+were always to be found a number of the poor, who lived entirely on
+his generosity, and were hence called the “people of the bench.” His
+ordinary food was dates and water or barley-bread; milk and honey were
+luxuries of which he was fond, but which he rarely allowed himself.
+The fare of the desert seemed most congenial to him, even when he was
+sovereign of Arabia.’ [13]
+
+Moḥammad was full forty before he felt himself called to be an apostle
+to his people. If he did not actually worship the local deities of the
+place, at least he made no public protest against the fetish worship
+of the Ḳureysh. Yet in the several phases of his life, in his contact
+with traders, in his association with Zeyd and other men, he had
+gained an insight into better things than idols and human sacrifices,
+divining-arrows and mountains and stars. He had heard a dim echo of
+some ‘religion of Abraham;’ he had listened to the stories of the
+Haggadah: he knew a very little about Jesus of Nazareth. He seems to
+have suffered long under the burden of doubt and self-distrust. He
+used to wander about the hills alone, brooding over these things; he
+shunned the society of men, and ‘solitude became a passion to him.’
+
+At length came the crisis. He was spending the sacred months on Mount
+Ḥirá, ‘a huge barren rock, torn by cleft and hollow ravine, standing
+out solitary in the full white glare of the desert sun, shadowless,
+flowerless, without well or rill.’ Here in a cave Moḥammad gave
+himself up to prayer and fasting. Long months or even years of doubt
+had increased his nervous excitable disposition. He had had, they say,
+cataleptic fits during his childhood, and was evidently more
+delicately and finely constituted than those around him. Given this
+nervous nature, and the grim solitude of the hill where he had almost
+lived for long weary months, blindly feeling after some truth upon
+which to rest his soul, it is not difficult to believe the tradition
+of the cave, that Moḥammad heard a voice say, ‘Cry!’ ‘What shall I
+cry?’ he answers—the question that has been burning his heart during
+all his mental struggles—
+
+   Cry[14]! in the name of thy Lord, who hath created;
+   He hath created man from a clot of blood.
+   Cry! and thy Lord is the Most Bountiful,
+   Who hath taught [writing] by the pen:
+   He hath taught man that which he knew not.
+
+Moḥammad arose trembling, and went to Khadeejeh, and told her what he
+had seen; and she did her woman’s part, and believed in him and
+soothed his terror, and bade him hope for the future. Yet he could not
+believe in himself. Was he not perhaps mad, possessed by a devil? Were
+these voices of a truth from God? And so he went again on his solitary
+wanderings, hearing strange sounds, and thinking them at one time the
+testimony of Heaven, at another the temptings of Satan or the ravings
+of madness. Doubting, wondering, hoping, he had fain put an end to a
+life which had become intolerable in its changings from the heaven of
+hope to the hell of despair, when again he heard the voice, ‘Thou art
+the messenger of God, and I am Gabriel.’ Conviction at length seized
+hold upon him; he was indeed to bring a message of good tidings to
+the Arabs, the message of God through His angel Gabriel. He went back
+to Khadeejeh exhausted in mind and body. ‘Wrap me, wrap me,’ he said;
+and the word came unto him—
+
+   O thou enwrapped in thy mantle
+   Arise and warn!
+   And thy Lord,—magnify Him!
+   And thy raiment,—purify it!
+   And the abomination,—flee it!
+   And bestow not favours that thou mayest receive again with increase,
+   And for thy Lord wait thou patiently.
+
+There are those who see imposture in all this; for such I have no
+answer. Nor does it matter whether in a hysterical fit or under any
+physical disease soever Moḥammad saw these visions and heard these
+voices. We are not concerned to draw the lines of demarcation between
+enthusiasm and ecstasy and inspiration. It is sufficient that Moḥammad
+_did_ see these things—the subjective creations of a tormented mind.
+It is sufficient that he believed them to be a message from on high,
+and that for years of neglect and persecution and for years of triumph
+and conquest he acted upon his belief.
+
+Moḥammad now (612) came forward as the Apostle of the One God to the
+people of Arabia: he was at last well assured that his God was of a
+truth _the_ God, and that He had indeed sent him with a message to his
+people, that they too might turn from their idols and serve the living
+God. He was in the minority of one, but he was no longer afraid; he
+had learnt that self-trust which is the condition of all true work. At
+first he spoke to his near kinsmen and friends; and it is impossible
+to overrate the importance of the fact that his closest relations and
+those who lived under his roof were the first to believe and the
+staunchest of faith. The prophet who is _with_ honour in his own home
+need appeal to no stronger proof of his sincerity, and that Moḥammad
+_was_ ‘a hero to his own valet’ is an invincible argument for his
+earnestness. The motherly Khadeejeh had at once, with a woman’s
+instinct, divined her husband’s heart and confirmed his fainting hope
+by her firm faith in him. His dearest friends, Zeyd and ´Alee, were
+the next converts; and though, to his grief, he could never induce his
+lifelong protector, Aboo-Ṭálib, to abandon the gods of his fathers,
+yet the old man loved him none the less, and said, when he heard of
+´Alee’s conversion, ‘Well, my son, he will not call thee to aught save
+what is good; wherefore thou art free to cleave unto him.’ A priceless
+aid was gained in the accession of Aboo-Bekr, who succeeded Moḥammad
+as the first Khalif of Islám, and whose calm judgment and quick
+sagacity, joined to a gentle and compassionate heart, were of
+incalculable service to the faith. Aboo-Bekr was one of the wealthiest
+merchants of Mekka, and exercised no small influence among his
+fellow-citizens, no less by his character than his position. Like
+Moḥammad, he had a nickname, Eṣ-Ṣiddeeḳ, ‘The True:’ _The True_ and
+_The Trusty_,—no mean augury for the future of the religion!
+
+Five converts followed in Aboo-Bekr’s steps; among them ´Othmán, the
+third Khalif, and Ṭalḥah, the man of war. The ranks of the faithful
+were swelled from humbler sources. There were many negro slaves in
+Mekka, and of them not a few had been predisposed by earlier teaching
+to join in the worship of the One God; and of those who were first
+converted was the Abyssinian Bilál, the original Muëddin of Islám, and
+ever a devoted disciple of the Prophet. These and others from the
+Ḳureysh raised the number of Muslims to more than thirty souls by the
+fourth year of Moḥammad’s mission—thirty in three long years, and few
+of them men of influence!
+
+This small success had been achieved with very little opposition from
+the idolaters. Moḥammad had not spoken much in public; and when he did
+speak to strangers, he restrained himself from attacking their
+worship, and only enjoined them to worship the One God who had
+created all things. The people were rather interested, and wondered
+whether he were a soothsayer or madman, or if indeed there were truth
+in his words. But now (A.D. 615) Moḥammad entered upon a more public
+career. He summoned the Ḳureysh to a conference at the hill of
+Eṣ-Ṣafá, and said, ‘I am come to you as a warner, and as the
+forerunner of a fearful punishment.... I cannot protect you in this
+world, nor can I promise you aught in the next life, unless ye say,
+There is no God but Alláh.’ He was laughed to scorn, and the assembly
+broke up; but from this time he ceased not to preach to the people of
+a punishment that would come upon the unbelieving city. He told them,
+in the fiery language of the early soorahs, how God had punished the
+old tribes of the Arabs who would not believe in His messengers, how
+the Flood had swallowed up the people who would not hearken to Noah.
+He swore unto them, by the wonderful sights of nature, by the noonday
+brightness, by the night when she spreadeth her veil, by the day when
+it appeareth in glory, that a like destruction would assuredly come
+upon them if they did not turn away from their idols and serve God
+alone. He enforced his message with every resource of language and
+metaphor, till he made it burn in the ears of the people. And then he
+told them of the Last Day, when a just reckoning should be taken of
+the deeds they had done; and he spoke of Paradise and Hell with all
+the glow of Eastern imagery. The people were moved, terrified;
+conversions increased. It was time the Ḳureysh should take some step.
+If the idols were destroyed, what would come to them, the keepers of
+the idols, and their renown throughout the land? How should they
+retain the allegiance of the neighbouring tribes who came to worship
+their several divinities at the Kaạbeh? That a few should follow the
+ravings of a madman or magician who preferred one god above the
+beautiful deities of Mekka was little matter; but that some leading
+men of the city should join the sect, and that the magician should
+terrify the people in open day with his denunciations of the worship
+which _they_ superintended, was intolerable. The chiefs were seriously
+alarmed, and resolved on a more active policy. Hitherto they had
+merely ridiculed the professors of this new faith; they would now take
+stronger measures. Moḥammad himself they dared not touch; for he
+belonged to a noble family, which, though it was reduced and
+impoverished, had deserved well of the city, and which, moreover, was
+now headed by a man who was reverenced throughout Mekka, and was none
+other than the adoptive father and protector of Moḥammad himself. Nor
+was it safe to attack the other chief men among the Muslims, for the
+blood-revenge was no light risk. They were thus compelled to content
+themselves with the mean satisfaction of torturing the black slaves
+who had joined the obnoxious faction. They exposed them on the
+scorching sand, and withheld water till they recanted—which they did,
+only to profess the faith once more when they were let go. The first
+Muëddin alone remained steadfast: as he lay half stifled he would only
+answer, ‘Aḥad! Aḥad!’—‘One [God]! One!’—till Aboo-Bekr came and bought
+his freedom, as he was wont to do for many of the miserable victims.
+Moḥammad was very gentle with these forced renegades: he knew what
+stuff men are made of, and he bade them be of good cheer for their
+lips, so that their hearts were sound.
+
+At last, moved by the sufferings of his lowly followers, he advised
+them to seek a refuge in Abyssinia—‘a land of righteousness, wherein
+no man is wronged;’ and in the fifth year of his mission (616) eleven
+men and four women left Mekka secretly, and were received in Abyssinia
+with welcome and peace. These first emigrants were followed by more
+the next year, till the number reached one hundred. The Ḳureysh were
+very wroth at the escape of their victims, and sent ambassadors to the
+Nejáshee, the Christian king of Abyssinia, to demand that the refugees
+should be given up to them. But the Nejáshee assembled his bishops
+and sent for the Muslims and asked them why they had fled; and one of
+them answered and said—
+
+‘O king! we lived in ignorance, idolatry, and unchastity; the strong
+oppressed the weak; we spoke untruth; we violated the duties of
+hospitality. Then a prophet arose, one whom we knew from our youth,
+with whose descent and conduct and good faith and morality we are all
+well acquainted. He told us to worship one God, to speak truth, to
+keep good faith, to assist our relations, to fulfil the rights of
+hospitality, and to abstain from all things impure, ungodly,
+unrighteous. And he ordered us to say prayers, give alms, and to fast.
+We believed in him; we followed him. But our countrymen persecuted us,
+tortured us, and tried to cause us to forsake our religion; and now we
+throw ourselves upon thy protection. Wilt thou not protect us?’ And he
+recited a chapter of the Ḳur-án, which spoke of Christ; and the king
+and the bishops wept upon their beards. And the king dismissed the
+messengers and would not give up the men.
+
+The Ḳureysh, foiled in their attempt to recapture the slaves, vented
+their malice on those believers who remained. Insults were heaped upon
+the Muslims, and persecution grew hotter each day. For a moment
+Moḥammad faltered in his work. Could he not spare his people these
+sufferings? Was it impossible to reconcile the religion of the city
+with the belief in one supreme God? After all, was the worship of
+those idols so false a thing? did it not hold the germ of a great
+truth? And so Moḥammad made his first and last concession. He recited
+a revelation to the Ḳureysh, in which he spoke respectfully of the
+three moon-goddesses, and asserted that their intercession with God
+might be hoped for: ‘Wherefore bow down before God and serve Him;’ and
+the whole audience, overjoyed at the compromise, bowed down and
+worshipped at the name of the God of Moḥammad—the whole city was
+reconciled to the double religion. But this Dreamer of the Desert was
+not the man to rest upon a lie. At the price of the whole city of
+Mekka he would not remain untrue to himself. He came forward and said
+he had done wrong—the devil had tempted him. He openly and frankly
+retracted what he had said: and ‘As for their idols, they were but
+empty names which they and their fathers had invented.’
+
+Western biographers have rejoiced greatly over ‘Moḥammad’s fall.’ Yet
+it was a tempting compromise, and few would have withstood it. And the
+life of Moḥammad is not the life of a god, but of a man: from first to
+last it is intensely human. But if for once he was not superior to the
+temptation of gaining over the whole city and obtaining peace where
+before there was only bitter persecution, what can we say of his
+manfully thrusting back the rich prize he had gained, freely
+confessing his fault, and resolutely giving himself over again to the
+old indignities and insults? If he was once insincere—and who is
+not?—how intrepid was his after-sincerity! He was untrue to himself
+for a while, and he is ever referring to it in his public preaching
+with shame and remorse; but the false step was more than atoned for by
+his magnificent recantation.
+
+Moḥammad’s influence with the people at large was certainly weakened
+by this temporary change of front, and the opposition of the leaders
+of the Ḳureysh, checked for the moment by the Prophet’s concession,
+now that he had repudiated it, broke forth into fiercer flame. They
+heaped insults upon him, and he could not traverse the city without
+the encounter of a curse. They threw unclean things at him, and vexed
+him in his every doing. The protection of Aboo-Ṭálib alone saved him
+from personal danger. This refuge the Ḳureysh determined to remove.
+They had attempted before, but had been turned back with a soft
+answer. They now went to the chief, of fourscore years, and demanded
+that he should either compel his nephew to hold his peace, or else
+that he should withdraw his protection. Having thus spoken they
+departed. The old man sent for Moḥammad, and told him what they had
+said. ‘Now therefore save thyself and me also, and cast not upon me a
+burden heavier than I can bear;’ for he was grieved at the strife
+between his family and his wider kindred, and would fain have seen
+Moḥammad temporize with the Ḳureysh. But though the Prophet believed
+that at length his uncle was indeed about to abandon him, his courage
+and high resolve never faltered. ‘Though they should set the sun on my
+right hand and the moon on my left to persuade me, yet while God
+commands me I will not renounce my purpose.’ But to lose his uncle’s
+love!—he burst into tears, and turned to go. But Aboo-Ṭálib called
+aloud, ‘Son of my brother, come back.’ So he came. And he said,
+‘Depart in peace, my nephew, and say whatsoever thou desirest; for, by
+the Lord, I will never deliver thee up.’
+
+The faithfulness of Aboo-Ṭálib was soon to be tried. At first, indeed,
+things looked brighter. The old chief’s firm bearing overawed the
+Ḳureysh, and they were still more cowed by two great additions that
+were now joined to the Muslim ranks. One was Moḥammad’s uncle, Ḥamzeh,
+‘the Lion of God,’ a mighty hunter and warrior of the true Arab
+mettle, whose sword was worth twenty of weaker men to the cause of
+Islám. The other was ´Omar, afterwards Khalif, whose fierce impulsive
+nature had hitherto marked him as a violent opponent of the new faith,
+but who afterwards proved himself one of the mainstays of Islám. The
+gain of two such men first frightened then maddened the Ḳureysh. The
+leaders met together and consulted what they should do. It was no
+longer a case of an enthusiast followed by a crowd of slaves and a few
+worthy merchants; it was a faction led by stout warriors, such as
+Ḥamzeh, Ṭalḥah, ´Omar,—half-a-dozen picked swordsmen; and the Muslims,
+emboldened by their new allies, were boldly surrounding the Kaạbeh,
+and performing the rites of their religion in the face of all the
+people. The Ḳureysh resolved on extreme measures. They determined to
+shut off the obnoxious family of the Háshimees from the rest of their
+kindred. The chiefs drew up a document, in which they vowed that they
+would not marry with the Háshimees, nor buy and sell with them, nor
+hold with them any communication soever; and this they hung up in the
+Kaạbeh.
+
+The Háshimees were not many enough to fight the whole city, so they
+went every man of them, save one, to the shi-b (or quarter) of
+Aboo-Ṭálib,—a long, narrow mountain defile on the eastern skirts of
+Mekka, cut off by rocks or walls from the city, except for one narrow
+gateway,—and there shut themselves up. For though the ban did not
+forbid them to go about as heretofore, they knew that no soul would
+speak with them, and that they would be subject to the maltreatment of
+any vagabond they met. So they collected their stores and waited.
+Every man of the family, Muslim or Pagan, cast in his lot with their
+common kinsman, Moḥammad, saving only his own uncle, Aboo-Lahab, a
+determined enemy to Islám, to whom a special denunciation is justly
+consecrated in the Ḳur-án.
+
+For two long years the Háshimees remained shut up in their quarter.
+Only at the pilgrimage-time—when the blessed institution of the sacred
+months made violence sacrilege—could Moḥammad come forth and speak
+unto the people of the things that were in his heart to say. Scarcely
+any converts were made during this weary time; and most of those who
+had previously been converted, and did not belong to the doomed clan,
+took refuge in Abyssinia; so that in the seventh year of Moḥammad’s
+mission there were probably not more than twelve Muslims of any weight
+who remained by him. Still the Háshimees remained in their quarter. It
+seemed as if they must all perish: their stores were almost gone, and
+the cries of starving children could be heard outside. Kind-hearted
+neighbours would sometimes smuggle-in a camel’s load of food, but it
+availed little. The Ḳureysh themselves were getting ashamed of their
+work, and were wishing for an excuse for releasing their kinsmen. The
+excuse came in time. It was discovered that the deed of ban was eaten
+up by worms, and Aboo-Ṭálib turned the discovery to his advantage. The
+venerable old chief went out and met the Ḳureysh at the Kaạbeh, and
+pointing to the crumbling leaf he bitterly reproached them with their
+hardness of heart towards their brethren: then he departed. And
+straightway there rose up five chiefs, heads of great families, and,
+amid the murmurs of the fiercer spirits who were still for no quarter,
+they put on their armour, and going to the shi-b of Aboo-Ṭálib, bade
+the Háshimees come forth in peace. And they came forth.
+
+It was now the eighth year of Moḥammad’s mission; and for the last two
+years, wasted in excommunication, Islám had almost stood still, at
+least externally. For though Moḥammad’s patient bearing under the ban
+had gained over a few of his imprisoned clan to his side, he had made
+no converts beyond the walls of his quarter. During the sacred months
+he had gone forth to speak to the people,—to the caravans of strangers
+and the folk at the fairs,—but he had no success; for hard behind him
+followed Aboo-Lahab, the squinter, who mocked at him, and told the
+people he was only ‘a liar and a sabian.’ And the people answered that
+his own kindred must best know what he was, and they would hear
+nothing from him. The bold conduct of the five chiefs had indeed
+secured for Moḥammad a temporary respite from persecution; but this
+relief was utterly outweighed by the troubles that now fell upon him
+and fitly gave that year the name of ‘The Year of Mourning.’ For soon
+after the revoking of the ban Aboo-Ṭálib died, and five weeks later
+Khadeejeh. In the first Moḥammad lost his ancient protector, who,
+though he would never give up his old belief, had yet faithfully
+guarded the Prophet from his childhood upwards, and, with the true
+Arab sentiment of kinship, had subjected himself and his clan to years
+of persecution and poverty in order to defend his brother’s son from
+his enemies. The death of Khadeejeh was even a heavier calamity to
+Moḥammad. She first had believed in him, and she had ever been his
+angel of hope and consolation. To his death he cherished a tender
+regret for her; and when his young bride ´Áïsheh, the favourite of his
+declining years, jealously abused ‘that toothless old woman,’ he
+answered with indignation, ‘When I was poor, she enriched me; when
+they called me a liar, she alone believed in me; when all the world
+was against me, she alone remained true.’
+
+Moḥammad might well feel himself alone in the world. Most of his
+followers were in Abyssinia; only a few tried friends remained at
+Mekka. All the city was against him; his protector was dead, and his
+faithful wife. Dejected, almost hopeless, he would try a new field. If
+Mekka rejected him, might not Et-Ṭáïf give him welcome? He set out on
+foot on his journey of seventy miles, taking only Zeyd with him; and
+he told the people of Et-Ṭáïf his simple message. They stoned him out
+of the city for three miles. Bleeding and fainting, he paused to rest
+in an orchard, to recover strength before he went back to the insults
+of his own people. The owners of the place sent him some grapes; and
+he gathered up his strength once more, and bent his weary feet towards
+Mekka. On the way, as he slept, his fancy called up a strange dream:
+men had rejected him, and now he thought he saw the Jinn, the spirits
+of the air, falling down and worshipping the One God, and bearing
+witness to the truth of Islám. Heartened by the vision, he pushed on;
+and when Zeyd asked him if he did not fear to throw himself again into
+the hands of the Ḳureysh, he answered, ‘God will protect His religion
+and help His prophet.’
+
+So this lonely man came back to dwell among his enemies. Though a
+brave Arab gentleman, compassionating his aloneness, gave him the
+Bedawee pledge of protection, yet he well knew that the power of his
+foes made such protection almost useless, and at any time he might be
+assassinated. But the Ḳureysh had not yet come to think of the last
+resource, and meanwhile a new prospect was opening out for Moḥammad.
+That same year, as he was visiting the caravans of the pilgrims who
+had come from all parts of Arabia to worship at the Kaạbeh, he found a
+group of men of Yethrib who were willing to listen to his words. He
+expounded to them the faith he was sent to preach, and he told them
+how his people had rejected him, and asked them whether Yethrib would
+receive him. The men were impressed with his words and professed
+Islám, and promised to bring news the next year; then they returned
+home and talked of this matter to their brethren. Now at Yethrib,
+besides two pagan tribes that had migrated upwards from the south,
+there were three clans of Jewish Arabs. Between the pagans and Jews,
+and then between the two pagan clans, there had been deadly wars; and
+now there were many parties in the city, and no one was master. The
+Jews, on the one hand, were expecting their Messiah; the pagans looked
+for a prophet. If Moḥammad were not the Messiah, the Jews thought that
+he might at least be their tool to subdue their pagan rivals. ‘Whether
+he is a prophet or not,’ said the pagans, ‘he is our kinsman by his
+mother, and will help us to overawe the Jews; and if he is the coming
+prophet, it is our policy to recognise him before those Jews who are
+always threatening us with their Messiah.’ The teaching of Moḥammad
+was so nearly Jewish, that a union of the two creeds might be hoped
+for; whilst to the pagan Arabs of Yethrib monotheism was no strange
+doctrine. All parties were therefore willing to receive Moḥammad and
+at least try the experiment of his influence. As a peace-maker,
+prophet, or messiah, he would be equally welcome in a city torn
+asunder by party jealousies.
+
+When the time of pilgrimage again came round, Moḥammad waited at the
+appointed place in a secluded glen, and there met him men from the two
+pagan tribes of Yethrib—the clans of Khazraj and Aws—ten from one and
+two from the other. They told him of the willingness of their people
+to embrace Islám, and their hope to make ready the city for his
+welcome. They plighted their faith with him in these words: ‘We will
+not worship save one God; we will not steal, nor commit adultery, nor
+kill our children; we will in nowise slander, nor will we disobey the
+prophet in anything that is right.’ This is the first pledge of the
+´Aḳabeh.
+
+The twelve men of Yethrib went back and preached Islám to their
+people. ‘So prepared was the ground, so zealous the propagation, and
+so apt the method, that the new faith spread rapidly from house to
+house and from tribe to tribe. The Jews looked on in amazement at the
+people, whom they had in vain endeavoured for generations to convince
+of the errors of Polytheism and dissuade from the abominations of
+idolatry, suddenly and of their own accord casting away their idols
+and professing belief in God alone.’ They asked Moḥammad to send them
+a teacher versed in the Ḳur-án, so anxious were they to know Islám
+truly; and Muṣ´ab was sent, and taught them and conducted their
+worship; so that Islám took deep root at Yethrib.
+
+Meanwhile Moḥammad was still among the Ḳureysh at Mekka. His is now an
+attitude of waiting; he is listening for news from his distant
+converts. Resting his hopes upon them, and despairing of influencing
+the Mekkans, he does not preach so much as heretofore. He holds his
+peace mainly, and bides his time. One hears little of this interval of
+quietude. Islám seems stationary at Mekka, and its followers are
+silent and reserved. The Ḳureysh are joyful at the ceasing of those
+denunciations which terrified whilst they angered them, yet they are
+not quite satisfied. The Muslims have a waiting look, as though there
+were something at hand.
+
+It was during this year of expectation that the Prophet’s celebrated
+‘Night Journey’ took place. This Mi´ráj has been the subject of
+extravagant embellishments on the part of the traditionists and
+commentators, and the cause of much obloquy to the Prophet from his
+religious opponents. Moḥammad dreamed a dream, and referred to it
+briefly and obscurely in the Ḳur-án. His followers persisted in
+believing it to have been a reality—an ascent to heaven in the
+body—till Moḥammad was sick of repeating his simple assertion that it
+was a dream. The traditional form of this wonderful vision may be read
+in any life of Moḥammad, and though it is doubtless very different
+from the story the Prophet himself gave, it is still a grand vision,
+full of glorious imagery, fraught with deep meaning.
+
+Again the time of pilgrimage came round, and again Moḥammad repaired
+to the glen of the Mountain-road. Muṣ´ab had told him the good tidings
+of the spread of the faith at Yethrib, and he was met at the
+rendezvous by more than seventy men. They came by twos and threes
+secretly for fear of the Ḳureysh, ‘waking not the sleeper, nor
+tarrying for the absent.’ Then Moḥammad recited to them verses from
+the Ḳur-án, and in answer to their invitation that he should come to
+them, and their profession that their lives were at his service, he
+asked them to pledge themselves to defend him as they would their own
+wives and children. And a murmur of eager assent rolled round about
+from the seventy, and an old man, one of their chiefs, stood forth and
+said, ‘Stretch out thy hand, O Moḥammad.’ And the chief struck his own
+hand into Moḥammad’s palm in the frank Bedawee fashion, and thus
+pledged his fealty. Man after man the others followed, and struck
+their hands upon Moḥammad’s. Then he chose twelve of them as leaders
+over the rest, saying, ‘Moses chose from among his people twelve
+leaders. Ye shall be the sureties for the rest, even as the apostles
+of Jesus were; and I am the surety for my people.’ A voice of some
+stranger was heard near by, and the assembly hastily dispersed and
+stole back to their camp. This is the second pledge of the ´Aḳabeh.
+
+The Ḳureysh knew that some meeting had taken place, and though they
+could not bring home the offence to any of the Yethrib pilgrims, they
+kept a stricter watch on the movements of Moḥammad and his friends
+after the pilgrims had returned homeward. It was clear that Mekka was
+no longer a safe place for the Muslims, and a few days after the
+second pledge Moḥammad told his followers to betake themselves
+secretly to Yethrib. For two months at the beginning of the eleventh
+year of the mission (622) the Muslims were leaving Mekka in small
+companies to make the journey of 250 miles to Yethrib. One hundred
+families had gone, and whole quarters of the city were deserted, left
+with empty houses and locked doors, ‘a prey to woe and wind.’ There
+were but three believers now remaining in Mekka—these were Moḥammad,
+Aboo-Bekr, and ´Alee. Like the captain of a sinking ship, the Prophet
+would not leave till all the crew were safe. But now they were all
+gone save his two early friends, and everything was ready for the
+journey; still the Prophet did not go. But the Ḳureysh, who had been
+too much taken by surprise to prevent the emigration, now prepared
+measures for a summary vengeance on the disturber of their peace and
+the emptier of their city. They set a watch on his house, and, it is
+said, commissioned a band of armed youths of different families to
+assassinate him together, that the blood recompense might not fall on
+one household alone. But Moḥammad had warning of his danger, and
+leaving ´Alee to deceive the enemy, he was concealed with Aboo-Bekr in
+a narrow-mouthed cave on Mount Thór, an hour-and-a-half’s journey from
+Mekka, before the Ḳureysh knew of his escape. For three days they
+remained hidden there, while their enemies were searching the country
+for them. Once they were very near, and Aboo-Bekr trembled:—‘We are
+but two.’ ‘Nay,’ answered Moḥammad, ‘we are three, for God is with
+us.’ And a spider, they say, wove its web over the entrance of the
+cave, so that the Ḳureysh passed on, thinking that no man had entered
+there.
+
+On the third night the pursuit had been almost given over, and the two
+fugitives took up their journey again. Mounted on camels they
+journeyed to Yethrib. In eight days they reached the outskirts of the
+city (September 622). Moḥammad was received with acclamation, and took
+up his residence among his kindred. The seat of Islám was transferred
+from Mekka to Yethrib, henceforward to be known as
+Medina,—_Medeenet-en-Nebee_, ‘the City of the Prophet.’
+
+This is the _Hijreh_, or Flight of the Prophet, from which the Muslims
+date their history. Their first year began on the 16th day of June of
+the Year of Grace 622.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A great change now comes over the Prophet’s life. It is still the same
+man, but the surroundings are totally different; the work to be done
+is on a wider, rougher stage. Thus far we have seen a gentle,
+thoughtful boy tending the sheep round Mekka;—a young man of little
+note, of whom the people only knew that he was pure and upright and
+true;—then a man of forty whose solitary communion with his soul has
+pressed him to the last terrible questions that each man, if he will
+think at all, must some time ask himself—What is life? What does this
+world mean? What is reality, what is truth? Long months, years
+perhaps, we know not how long and weary, filled with the tortures of
+doubt and the despair of ever attaining to the truth, filled with the
+dreary thought of his aloneness in the relentless universe, and the
+longing to end it all, brought at last their fruits—sure conviction of
+the great secret of life, a firm belief in the Creator in whom all
+things live and move and have their being, whom to serve is man’s
+highest duty and privilege, the one thing to be done. And then ten
+years of struggling with careless, unthinking idolators; ten years of
+slow results, the gaining over of a few close friends, the devoted
+attachment of some slaves and men of the meaner rank; finally, the
+conversion of half-a-dozen great citizen chiefs, ending in the flight
+of the whole brotherhood of believers from their native city and their
+welcome to a town of strangers, where the faith had forced itself home
+to the hearts of perhaps two hundred citizens. It was but little that
+was done; so many years of toil, of indomitable courage and
+perseverance and long-suffering, and only about three hundred converts
+at the end! But it was the seed of a great harvest. Moḥammad had shown
+men what he was; the nobility of his character, his strong friendship,
+his endurance and courage, above all, his earnestness and fiery
+enthusiasm for the truth he came to preach,—these things had revealed
+the hero, the master whom it was alike impossible to disobey and
+impossible not to love. Henceforward it is only a question of time. As
+the men of Medina come to know Moḥammad, they too will devote
+themselves to him body and soul; and the enthusiasm will catch fire
+and spread among the tribes till all Arabia is at the feet of the
+Prophet of the One God. ‘No emperor with his tiaras was obeyed as this
+man in a cloak of His own clouting.’ He had the gift of influencing
+men, and he had the nobility only to influence them for good.
+
+We have now to see Moḥammad as king. Though he came as a fugitive,
+rejected as an impostor by his own citizens, yet it was not long
+before his word was supreme in his adopted city. He had to rule over a
+mixed and divided people, and this must have helped him to the supreme
+voice. There were four distinct parties at Medina. First, the
+‘Refugees’ (Muḥájiroon), who had fled from Mekka; on these Moḥammad
+could always rely with implicit faith. But he attached equal
+importance to the early converts of Medina, who had invited him among
+them and given him a home when the future seemed very hopeless before
+him, and who were thenceforward known by the honourable title of the
+‘Helpers’ (Anṣár). How devoted was the affection of these men is
+shown by the well-known scene at El-Ji´ráneh, when the Helpers were
+discontented with their share of the spoils, and Moḥammad answered,
+‘Why are ye disturbed in mind because of the things of this life
+wherewith I have sought to incline the hearts of these men of Mekka
+into Islám, whereas ye are already steadfast in the faith? Are ye not
+satisfied that others should obtain the flocks and the camels, while
+ye carry back the Prophet of the Lord unto your homes? Nay, I will not
+leave you for ever. If all mankind went one way, and the men of Medina
+went another way, verily I would go the way of the men of Medina. The
+Lord be favourable unto them, and bless them, and their sons, and
+their sons’ sons, for ever!’ And the ‘Helpers’ wept upon their beards,
+and cried with one voice, ‘Yea, we are well satisfied, O Prophet, with
+our lot.’ To retain the allegiance of the Refugees and the Helpers was
+never a trouble to Moḥammad; the only difficulty was to rein in their
+zeal and hold them back from doing things of blood and vengeance on
+the enemies of Islám. To prevent the danger of jealousy between the
+Refugees and the Helpers, Moḥammad assigned each Refugee to one of the
+Anṣár to be his brother; and this tie of gossipry superseded all
+nearer ties, till Moḥammad saw the time was over when it was needed.
+The third party in Medina was that of the ‘Disaffected,’ or in the
+language of Islám the ‘Hypocrites’ (Munáfiḳoon). This was composed of
+the large body of men who gave in their nominal allegiance to Moḥammad
+and his religion when they saw they could not safely withstand his
+power, but who were always ready to turn about if they thought there
+was a chance of his overthrow. Moḥammad treated these men and their
+leader ´Abdallah ibn Ubayy (who himself aspired to the sovranty of
+Medina) with patient courtesy and friendliness, and, though they
+actually deserted him more than once at vitally critical moments, he
+never retaliated, even when he was strong enough to crush them, but
+rather sought to win them over heartily to his cause by treating them
+as though they were what he would have them be. The result was that
+this party gradually diminished and became absorbed in the general
+mass of earnest Muslims, and though up to its leader’s death it
+constantly called forth Moḥammad’s powers of conciliation, after that
+it vanished from the history of parties.
+
+The fourth party was the real thorn in the Prophet’s side. It
+consisted of the Jews, of whom three tribes were settled in the
+suburbs of Medina. They had at first been well disposed to Moḥammad’s
+coming. He could not indeed be the Messiah, because he was not of the
+lineage of David; but he would do very well to pass off upon their
+neighbours, the pagan Arabs, as, if not the Messiah, at least a great
+prophet; and by his influence the Jews might regain their old
+supremacy in Medina. Moḥammad’s teaching was very nearly Jewish—they
+had taught him the fables of their Haggadah, and he believed in their
+prophets—why should he not be one of them and help them to the
+dominion? When Moḥammad came, they found out their mistake; instead of
+a tool they had a master. He told the people, indeed, the stories of
+the Midrash, and he professed to revive the religion of Abraham: but
+he added to this several damning articles; he taught that Jesus _was_
+the Messiah, and that no other Messiah was to be looked for; and,
+moreover, whilst reverencing and inculcating the doctrine of the
+Hebrew prophets and of Christ, as he knew it, he yet insisted on his
+own mission as in nowise inferior to theirs—as, in fact, the seal of
+prophecy by which all that went before was confirmed or abrogated. The
+illusion was over; the Jews would have nothing to say to Islám: they
+set themselves instead to oppose it, ridicule it, and vex its Preacher
+in every way that their notorious ingenuity could devise.
+
+The step was false: the Jews missed their game, and they had to pay
+for it. Whether it was possible to form a coalition,—whether the Jews
+might have induced Moḥammad to waive certain minor points if they
+recognised his prophetic mission,—it is difficult to say. It seems
+most probable that Moḥammad would not have yielded a jot to their
+demands, and would have accepted nothing short of unconditional
+surrender to his religion. And it is at least doubtful whether Islám
+would have gained anything by a further infusion of Judaism. It
+already contained all that it could assimilate of the Hebrew faith;
+the rest was too narrow for the universal scope of Islám. The religion
+of Moḥammad lost little, we may be sure, by the standing aloof of the
+Arabian Jews; but the Jews themselves lost much. Moḥammad, indeed,
+treated them kindly so long as kindness was possible. He made a treaty
+with them, whereby the rights of the Muslims and the Jews were
+defined. They were to practise their several religions unmolested;
+protection and security were promised to all the parties to the
+treaty, irrespective of creed; each was to help the other if attacked;
+no alliance was to be made with the Ḳureysh; war was to be made in
+common, and no war could be made without the consent of Moḥammad:
+crime alone could do away with the protection of this treaty.
+
+But the Jews would not content themselves with standing aloof; they
+must needs act on the offensive. They began by asking Moḥammad hard
+questions out of their law, and his answers they easily refuted from
+their books. They denied all knowledge of the Jewish stories in the
+Ḳur-án—though they knew that they came from their own Haggadah, which
+was ever in their mouths in their own quarter,—and they showed him
+their Bible, where, of course, the Haggadistic legends were not to be
+found. Moḥammad had but one course open to him—to say they had
+suppressed or changed their books; and he denounced them accordingly,
+and said that his was the true account of the patriarchs and prophets,
+revealed from heaven. Not satisfied with tormenting Moḥammad with
+questions on that Tórah which they were always wrangling about
+themselves, they took hold of the every day formulas of Islám, the
+daily prayers and ejaculations, and, ‘twisting their tongues,’
+mispronounced them so that they meant something absurd or blasphemous.
+When asked which they preferred, Islám or idolatry, they frankly
+avowed that they preferred idolatry. To lie about their own religion
+and to ridicule another religion that was doing a great and good work
+around them was not enough for these Jews; they must set their poets
+to work to lampoon the women of the believers in obscene verse, and
+such outrages upon common decency, not to say upon the code of Arab
+honour and chivalry, became a favourite occupation among the poets of
+the Jewish clans.
+
+These were offences against the religion and the persons of the
+Muslims. They also conspired against the state. Moḥammad was not only
+the preacher of Islám, he was also the king of Medina, and was
+responsible for the safety and peace of the city. As a prophet, he
+could afford to ignore the jibes of the Jews, though they maddened him
+to fury; but as the chief of the city, the general in a time of almost
+continual warfare, when Medina was kept in a state of military defence
+and under a sort of military discipline, he could not overlook
+treachery. He was bound by his duty to his subjects to suppress a
+party that might (and nearly did) lead to the sack of the city by
+investing armies. The measures he took for this object have furnished
+his European biographers with a handle for attack. It is, I believe,
+solely on the ground of his treatment of the Jews that Moḥammad has
+been called ‘a bloodthirsty tyrant:’ it would certainly be difficult
+to support the epithet on other grounds.
+
+The bloodthirstiness consists in this: some half-dozen Jews, who had
+distinguished themselves by their virulence against the Muslims, or by
+their custom of carrying information to the common enemy of Medina,
+were executed; two of the three Jewish clans were sent into exile,
+just as they had previously come into exile, and the third was
+exterminated—the men killed, and the women and children made slaves.
+The execution of the half-dozen marked Jews is generally called
+assassination, because a Muslim was sent secretly to kill each of the
+criminals. The reason is almost too obvious to need explanation. There
+were no police or law-courts or even courts-martial at Medina; some
+one of the followers of Moḥammad must therefore be the executor of the
+sentence of death, and it was better it should be done quietly, as the
+executing of a man openly before his clan would have caused a brawl
+and more bloodshed and retaliation, till the whole city had become
+mixed up in the quarrel. If secret assassination is the word for such
+deeds, secret assassination was a necessary part of the internal
+government of Medina. The men must be killed, and best in that way. In
+saying this I assume that Moḥammad was cognisant of the deed, and that
+it was not merely a case of private vengeance; but in several
+instances the evidence that traces these executions to Moḥammad’s
+order is either entirely wanting or is too doubtful to claim our
+credence.
+
+Of the sentences upon the three whole clans, that of exile, passed
+upon two of them, was clement enough. They were a turbulent set,
+always setting the people of Medina by the ears; and finally a brawl
+followed by an insurrection resulted in the expulsion of one tribe;
+and insubordination, alliance with enemies, and a suspicion of
+conspiracy against the Prophet’s life, ended similarly for the second.
+Both tribes had violated the original treaty, and had endeavoured in
+every way to bring Moḥammad and his religion to ridicule and
+destruction. The only question is whether their punishment was not too
+light. Of the third clan a fearful example was made, not by Moḥammad,
+but by an arbiter appointed by themselves. When the Ḳureysh and their
+allies were besieging Medina, and had well-nigh stormed the defences,
+this Jewish tribe entered into negotiations with the enemy, which were
+only circumvented by the diplomacy of the Prophet. When the besiegers
+had retired, Moḥammad naturally demanded an explanation of the Jews.
+They resisted in their dogged way, and were themselves besieged and
+compelled to surrender at discretion. Moḥammad, however, consented to
+the appointing of a chief of a tribe allied to the Jews as the judge
+who should pronounce sentence upon them. The man in question was a
+fierce soldier, who had been wounded in the attack on the Jews, and
+indeed died from his wound the same day. This chief gave sentence that
+the men, in number some six hundred, should be killed, and the women
+and children enslaved; and the sentence was carried out. It was a
+harsh, bloody sentence, worthy of the episcopal generals of the army
+against the Albigenses, or of the deeds of the Augustan age of
+Puritanism; but it must be remembered that the crime of these men was
+high treason against the State, during time of siege; and those who
+have read how Wellington’s march could be traced by the bodies of
+deserters and pillagers hanging from the trees, need not be surprized
+at the summary execution of a traitorous clan.
+
+Whilst Moḥammad’s supremacy was being established and maintained among
+the mixed population of Mekka, a vigorous warfare was being carried on
+outside with his old persecutors, the Ḳureysh. On the history of this
+war, consisting as it did mainly of small raids and attacks upon
+caravans, I need not dwell; its leading features were the two battles
+of Bedr and Oḥud, in the first of which three hundred Muslims, though
+outnumbered at the odds of three to one, were completely victorious
+(A.D. 624, A.H. 2); whilst at Oḥud, being outnumbered in the like
+proportion and deserted by the ‘Disaffected’ party, they were almost
+as decisively defeated (A.H. 3). Two years later the Ḳureysh,
+gathering together their allies, advanced upon Medina and besieged it
+for fifteen days; but the foresight of Moḥammad in digging a trench,
+and the enthusiasm of the Muslims in defending it, resisted all
+assaults, and the coming of the heavy storms for which the climate of
+Medina is noted drove the enemy back to Mekka. The next year (A.H. 6)
+a ten years’ truce was concluded with the Ḳureysh, in pursuance of
+which a strange scene took place in the following spring. It was
+agreed that Moḥammad and his people should perform the Lesser
+Pilgrimage, and that the Ḳureysh should for that purpose vacate Mekka
+for three days. Accordingly, in March 629, about two thousand Muslims,
+with Moḥammad at their head on his famous camel El-Ḳaṣwá—the same on
+which he had fled from Mekka—trooped down the valley and performed the
+rites which every Muslim to this day observes.
+
+‘It was surely a strange sight which at this time presented itself in
+the vale of Mekka,—a sight unique in the history of the world. The
+ancient city is for three days evacuated by all its inhabitants, high
+and low, every house deserted; and, as they retire, the exiled
+converts, many years banished from their birthplace, approach in a
+great body, accompanied by their allies, revisit the empty homes of
+their childhood, and within the short allotted space fulfil the rites
+of pilgrimage. The ousted inhabitants, climbing the heights around,
+take refuge under tents or other shelter among the hills and glens;
+and, clustering on the overhanging peak of Aboo-Ḳubeys, thence watch
+the movements of the visitors beneath, as with the Prophet at their
+head they make the circuit of the Kaạbeh and the rapid procession
+between Eṣ-Ṣafá and Marwah; and anxiously scan every figure if
+perchance they may recognise among the worshippers some long-lost
+friend or relative. It was a scene rendered possible only by the
+throes which gave birth to Islám.’[15]
+
+When the three days were over, Moḥammad and his party peaceably
+returned to Medina; and the Mekkans re-entered their homes. But this
+pilgrimage, and the self-restraint of the Muslims therein, advanced
+the cause of Islám among its enemies. Converts increased daily, and
+some leading men of the Ḳureysh now went over to Moḥammad. The clans
+around were sending in their deputations of homage. But the final
+keystone was set in the eighth year of the flight (A.D. 630), when a
+body of Ḳureysh broke the truce by attacking an ally of the Muslims;
+and Moḥammad forthwith marched upon Mekka with ten thousand men, and
+the city, defence being hopeless, surrendered. Now was the time for
+the Prophet to show his bloodthirsty nature. His old persecutors are
+at his feet. Will he not trample on them, torture them, revenge
+himself after his own cruel manner? Now the man will come forward in
+his true colours: we may prepare our horror, and cry shame beforehand.
+
+But what is this? Is there no blood in the streets? Where are the
+bodies of the thousands that have been butchered? Facts are hard
+things; and it is a fact that the day of Moḥammad’s greatest triumph
+over his enemies was also the day of his grandest victory over
+himself. He freely forgave the Ḳureysh all the years of sorrow and
+cruel scorn they had inflicted on him: he gave an amnesty to the whole
+population of Mekka. Four criminals, whom justice condemned, made up
+Moḥammad’s proscription list when he entered as a conqueror the city
+of his bitterest enemies. The army followed his example, and entered
+quietly and peaceably; no house was robbed, no woman insulted. One
+thing alone suffered destruction. Going to the Kaạbeh, Moḥammad stood
+before each of the three hundred and sixty idols and pointed to it
+with his staff, saying, ‘Truth is come and lying is undone,’ and at
+these words his attendants hewed it down; and all the idols and
+household gods of Mekka and round about were destroyed.
+
+It was thus that Moḥammad entered again his native city. Through all
+the annals of conquest, there is no triumphant entry like unto this
+one.
+
+The taking of Mekka was soon followed by the adhesion of all Arabia.
+Every reader knows the story of the spread of Islám. The tribes of
+every part of the peninsula sent embassies to do homage to the
+Prophet. Arabia was not enough: the Prophet had written in his bold
+uncompromising way to the great kings of the East, to the Persian
+Khusru, and the Greek Emperor; and these little knew how soon his
+invitation to the faith would be repeated, and how quickly Islám would
+be knocking at their doors with no faltering hand.
+
+The Prophet’s career was near its end. In the tenth year of the
+Flight, twenty years after he had first felt the Spirit move him to
+preach to his people, he resolved once more to leave his adopted city
+and go to Mekka to perform a farewell pilgrimage. And when the rites
+were done in the valley of Miná, the Prophet spoke unto the
+multitude—the forty thousand pilgrims—with solemn last words.[16]
+
+‘YE PEOPLE! Hearken to my words; for I know not whether after this
+year I shall ever be amongst you here again.
+
+‘Your Lives and your Property are sacred and inviolable amongst one
+another until the end of time.
+
+‘The Lord hath ordained to every man the share of his inheritance: a
+Testament is not lawful to the prejudice of heirs.
+
+‘The child belongeth to the Parent; and the violator of Wedlock shall
+be stoned.
+
+‘Ye people! Ye have rights demandable of your Wives, and they have
+rights demandable of you. Treat your women well.
+
+‘And your Slaves, see that you feed them with such food as ye eat
+yourselves, and clothe them with the stuff ye wear. And if they commit
+a fault which ye are not willing to forgive, then sell them, for they
+are the servants of the Lord, and are not to be tormented.
+
+‘Ye people! Hearken unto my speech and comprehend it. Know that every
+Muslim is the brother of every other Muslim. All of you are on the
+same equality: ye are one Brotherhood.’
+
+Then, looking up to heaven, he cried, ‘O Lord! I have delivered my
+message and fulfilled my mission.’ And all the multitude answered,
+‘Yea, verily hast thou’!—‘O Lord! I beseech Thee, bear Thou witness to
+it’! and, like Moses, he lifted up his hands and blessed the people.
+
+
+Three months more and Moḥammad was dead.
+
+   A.H. 11. June, 632.
+
+
+It is a hard thing to form a calm estimate of the Dreamer of the
+Desert. There is something so tender and womanly, and withal so
+heroic, about the man, that one is in peril of finding the judgment
+unconsciously blinded by the feeling of reverence and well-nigh love
+that such a nature inspires. He who, standing alone, braved for years
+the hatred of his people, is the same who was never the first to
+withdraw his hand from another’s clasp, the beloved of children, who
+never passed a group of little ones without a smile from his wonderful
+eyes and a kind word for them, sounding all the kinder in that
+sweet-toned voice. The frank friendship, the noble generosity, the
+dauntless courage and hope of the man, all tend to melt criticism in
+admiration.
+
+In telling in brief outline the story of Moḥammad’s life I have
+endeavoured to avoid controversial points. I have tried to convey in
+the simplest manner the view of that life which a study of the
+authorities must force upon every unbiassed mind. Many of the events
+of Moḥammad’s life have been distorted and credited with ignoble
+motives by European biographers; but on the facts they mainly agree,
+and these I have narrated, without encumbering them with the
+ingenious adumbrations of their learned recorders. But there are some
+things in the Prophet’s life which have given rise to charges too
+weighty to be dismissed without discussion. He has been accused of
+cruelty, sensuality, and insincerity; he has been called a
+‘bloodthirsty tyrant,’ a voluptuary, and an impostor.
+
+The charge of cruelty scarcely deserves consideration. I have already
+spoken of the punishment of the Jews, which forms the ground of the
+accusation. One has but to refer to Moḥammad’s conduct to the
+prisoners after the battle of Bedr, to his patient tolerance towards
+his enemies at Medina, his gentleness to his people, his love of
+children and the dumb creatures, and above all, his bloodless entry
+into Mekka, and the complete amnesty he gave to those who had been his
+bitter enemies during eighteen years of insult and persecution and
+finally open war, to show that cruelty was no part of Moḥammad’s
+nature.
+
+To say that Moḥammad, or any other Arab, was sensual in a higher
+degree than an ordinary European is simply to enounce a well-worn
+axiom: the passions of the men of the sunland are not as those of the
+chill north. But to say that Moḥammad was a voluptuary is false. The
+simple austerity of his daily life, to the very last, his hard mat for
+sleeping on, his plain food, his self-imposed menial work, point him
+out as an ascetic rather than a voluptuary in most senses of the word.
+Two things he loved, perfumes and women; the first was harmless
+enough, and the special case of his wives has its special answer. A
+great deal too much has been said about these wives. It is a
+melancholy spectacle to see professedly Christian biographers gloating
+over the stories and fables of Moḥammad’s domestic relations like the
+writers and readers of ‘society’ journals. It is, of course, a fact
+that whilst the Prophet allowed his followers only four wives he took
+more than a dozen himself; but be it remembered that, with his
+unlimited power, he need not have restricted himself to a number
+insignificant compared with the ḥareems of some of his successors,
+that he never divorced one of his wives, that all of them save one
+were widows, and that one of these widows was endowed with so terrific
+a temper that Aboo-Bekr and ´Othmán had already politely declined the
+honour of her alliance before the Prophet married her: the
+gratification of living with a vixen cannot surely be excessive.
+Several of these marriages must have been entered into from the
+feeling that those women whose husbands had fallen in battle for the
+faith, and who had thus been left unprotected, had a claim upon the
+generosity of him who prompted the fight. Other marriages were
+contracted from motives of policy, in order to conciliate the heads of
+rival factions. It was not a high motive, but one does not look for
+very romantic ideas about love-matches from a man who regarded women
+as ‘crooked ribs,’ and whose system certainly does its best to make
+marriage from love impossible; yet, on the other hand, it was not a
+sensual motive. Perhaps the strongest reason—one of which it is
+impossible to over-estimate the force—that impelled Moḥammad to take
+wife after wife was his desire for male offspring. It was a natural
+wish that he should have a son who should follow in his steps and
+carry on his work; but the wish was never gratified, Moḥammad’s sons
+died young. After all, the overwhelming argument is his fidelity to
+his first wife. When he was little more than a boy he married
+Khadeejeh, who was fifteen years older than himself, with all the
+added age that women gain so quickly in the East. For five-and-twenty
+years Moḥammad remained faithful to his elderly wife, and when she was
+sixty-five, and they might have celebrated their ‘silver wedding,’ he
+was as devoted to her as when first he married her. During all those
+years there was never a breath of scandal. Thus far Moḥammad’s life
+will bear microscopic scrutiny. Then Khadeejeh died; and though he
+married many women afterwards, some of them rich in youth and beauty,
+he never forgot his old wife, and loved her best to the end: ‘when I
+was poor she enriched me, when they called me a liar she alone
+believed in me, when all the world was against me she alone remained
+true.’ This loving, tender memory of an old wife laid in the grave
+belongs only to a noble nature; it is not to be looked for in a
+voluptuary.[17]
+
+When, however, all has been said, when it has been shown that Moḥammad
+was not the rapacious voluptuary some have taken him for, and that his
+violation of his own marriage-law may be due to motives reasonable and
+just from his point of view rather than to common sensuality, there
+remains the fact that some of the soorahs of the Ḳur-án bear
+unmistakable marks of self-accommodation and personal convenience;
+that Moḥammad justified his domestic excesses by words which he gave
+as from God. And hence the third and gravest charge, the charge of
+imposture. We must clearly understand what is meant by this
+accusation. It is meant that the Prophet _consciously_ fabricated
+speeches, and palmed them off upon the people as the very word of God.
+The question, it will at once be perceived, has nothing whatever to
+do with the truth or untruth of the revelations. Many an earnest
+enthusiast has uttered prophecies and exhortations which he firmly
+believed to be the promptings of the Spirit, and no man can charge
+such an one with imposture. He thoroughly believes what he says, and
+the fault is in the judgment, not the conscience. The question is
+clearly narrowed to this: Did Moḥammad believe he was speaking the
+words of God equally when he declared that permission was given him to
+take unto him more wives, as when he proclaimed ‘There is no god but
+God’? It is a question that concerns the conscience of man; and each
+must answer it for himself. How far a man may be deluded into
+believing everything he says is inspired it is impossible to define.
+There are men to-day who would seem to claim infallibility; and in
+Moḥammad’s time it was so much easier to believe in one’s self. Now,
+one never wants a friend to remind him of his weakness; then, there
+were hundreds who would fain have made the man think himself God. It
+is wonderful, with his temptations, how great a humility was ever his,
+how little he assumed of all the god-like attributes men forced upon
+him. His whole life is one long argument for his loyalty to truth. He
+had but one answer for his worshippers, ‘I am no more than a man, I am
+only human.’ ‘Do none enter Paradise save by the mercy of God?’ asked
+´Áïsheh. ‘None, none, none,’ he answered. ‘Not even thou by thy own
+merits?’ ‘Neither shall I enter Paradise unless God cover me with His
+mercy.’ He was a man like unto his brethren in all things save one,
+and that one difference served only to increase his humbleness, and
+render him the more sensitive to his shortcomings. He was sublimely
+confident of this single attribute, that he was the messenger of the
+Lord of the Daybreak, and that the words he spake came verily from
+Him. He was fully persuaded—and no man dare dispute his right to the
+belief—that God had sent him to do a great work among his people in
+Arabia. Nervous to the verge of madness, subject to hysteria, given to
+wild dreamings in solitary places, his was a temperament that easily
+leads itself to religious enthusiasm. He felt a subtle influence
+within him which he believed to be the movings of the Spirit: he
+thought he heard a voice; it became real and audible to him, awed and
+terrified him, so that he fell into frantic fits. Then he would arise
+and utter some noble saying; and what wonder if he thought it came
+straight from highest heaven? It was not without a sore struggle that
+he convinced himself of his own inspiration; but once admitted, the
+conviction grew with his years and his widening influence for good,
+and nothing then could shake his belief that he was the literal
+mouthpiece of the All-Merciful. When a man has come to this point, he
+cannot be expected to discriminate between this saying and that. As
+the instrument of God he has lost his individuality; he believes God
+is ever speaking through his lips; he dare not question the
+inspiration of the speech lest he should seem to doubt the Giver.
+
+Yet there must surely be a limit to this delusion. There are some
+passages in the Ḳur-án which it is difficult to think Moḥammad truly
+believed to be the voice of the Lord of the Worlds. Moḥammad’s was a
+sensitive conscience in the early years of his teaching, and it is
+hard to think that it could have been so obscured in later times that
+he could really believe in the inspired source of some of his
+revelations. He may have thought the commands they conveyed necessary,
+but he could hardly have deemed them divine. In some cases he could
+scarcely fail to be aware that the object of the ‘revelation’ was his
+own comfort or pleasure or reputation, and not the _major Dei gloria_,
+nor the good of the people.
+
+The truth would seem to be that in the latter part of his life
+Moḥammad was forced to enlarge the limits of his revelations as the
+sphere of his influence increased. From a private citizen of Mekka he
+had become the Emeer, the chief of the Arabs, the ruler of a
+factious, jealous, turbulent people; and the change must have had its
+effect upon his character. The man who from addressing a few devout
+followers in a tent in the desert finds himself the head of a nation
+of many tribes, king of a country twice the size of France, will find
+many things difficult that before seemed easy. As a statesman Moḥammad
+was as great as he was as a preacher of righteousness; but as his
+field of work enlarged, his mind had to accommodate itself to the
+needs of commoner minds. He learnt to see the expedient where before
+he knew only the right. His revelations now deal with the things of
+earth, when before they looked only towards the things of heaven; and
+petty social rules, ‘general orders,’ selfish permissions, are
+promulgated with the same authority and as from the same divine source
+as the command to worship one God alone. He governed the nation as a
+prophet and not as a king, and as a prophet his ordinances must be
+endorsed with the divine afflatus. He found he must regulate the
+meanest details of the people’s life, and he believed he could only do
+this by using God’s name for his decrees. He doubtless argued himself
+into the belief that even these petty, and to us sometimes immoral,
+regulations, being for the good of the people, as he conceived the
+good, were really God’s ordinances; but even thus he had lowered the
+standard of his teaching, and alloyed with base metal the pure gold of
+his early ideal. It was a temptation that few men have withstood, but
+it was, nevertheless, a falling-off from the Moḥammad we loved at
+Mekka, the simple truth-loving bearer of good tidings to the Arabs.
+
+Yet behind this engrafted character, formed by the difficulties of his
+position, by the invincible jealousy and treachery of the tribes he
+governed, the old nature still lived, and ever and anon broke forth in
+fervid words of faith and hope in the cause and the promises that had
+been the light and support of his early years of trial. In the late
+chapters of the Ḳur-án, among complicated directions for the Muslim’s
+guidance in all the circumstances of life, we suddenly hear an echo of
+the old fiery eloquence and the expression of the strong faith which
+never deserted him.
+
+Surely the character of Moḥammad has been misjudged. He was not the
+ambitious schemer some would have him, still less the hypocrite and
+sham prophet others have imagined. He was an enthusiast in that
+noblest sense when enthusiasm becomes the salt of the earth, the one
+thing that keeps men from rotting whilst they live. Enthusiasm is
+often used despitefully, because it is joined to an unworthy cause, or
+falls upon barren ground and bears no fruit. So was it not with
+Moḥammad. He was an enthusiast when enthusiasm was the one thing
+needed to set the world aflame, and his enthusiasm was noble for a
+noble cause. He was one of those happy few who have attained the
+supreme joy of making one great truth their very life-spring. He was
+the messenger of the One God, and never to his life’s end did he
+forget who he was, or the message which was the marrow of his being.
+He brought his tidings to his people with a grand dignity, sprung from
+the consciousness of his high office, together with a most sweet
+humility, whose roots lay in the knowledge of his own weakness. Well
+did Carlyle choose him for his prophet-hero! There have been purer
+lives and higher aspirations than Moḥammad’s; but no man was ever more
+thoroughly filled with the sense of his mission or carried out that
+mission more heroically.
+
+
+
+
+III.—ISLAM.
+
+   ‘Your turning your faces in prayer towards the east and the
+   west is not piety; but the pious is he who believeth in God
+   and the Last Day, and in the Angels, and the Scripture, and
+   who giveth money, notwithstanding his love thereof, to
+   relations and orphans, and to the needy and the son of the
+   road, and to the askers, and for the freeing of slaves, and
+   who performeth prayer and giveth the appointed alms; and those
+   who perform their covenant when they covenant, and the patient
+   in adversity and affliction and in the time of violence. These
+   are they who have been true: and these are they who fear
+   God.’—_Ḳur-án_, ii. 172.
+
+When it was noised abroad that the Prophet was dead, ´Omar, the
+fiery-hearted, the Simon Peter of Islám, rushed among the people, and
+fiercely told them they lied, it could not be true, Moḥammad was not
+dead. And Aboo-Bekr came and said, ‘Ye people! he that hath worshipped
+Moḥammad, let him know that Moḥammad is dead; but he that hath
+worshipped God,—that the Lord liveth, and doth not die.’
+
+Many have sought to answer the questions—Why was the triumph of Islám
+so speedy and so complete? Why have so many millions embraced the
+religion of Moḥammad, and scarcely a hundred ever recanted? Why do a
+thousand Christians become Muslims to one Muslim who adopts
+Christianity? Why do a hundred and fifty millions of human beings
+still cling to the faith of Islám? Some have attempted to explain the
+first overwhelming success of the Moḥammadan religion by the argument
+of the sword. They forget Carlyle’s laconic reply, ‘First get your
+sword.’ You must win men’s hearts before you can induce them to peril
+their lives for you, and the first conquerors of Islám must have been
+made Muslims before they were made ‘fighters on the path of God.’
+Others allege the low morality of the religion and the sensual
+paradise it promises as a sufficient cause for the zeal of its
+followers; but even were these admitted to the full, to say that such
+reasons could win the hearts of millions of men who have the same
+hopes and longings after the right and the noble as we, is to libel
+mankind. No religion has ever gained a lasting hold upon the souls of
+men by the force of its sensual permissions and fleshly promises. It
+is urged, again, that Islám met no fair foe, that the worn-out forms
+of Christianity and Judaism it encountered were no test of its power
+as a quickening faith, and that it prevailed simply because there was
+nothing to prevent it; and this was undoubtedly a help to the progress
+of the new creed, but it could not have been the cause of its victory.
+
+In all these reasons the religion itself is left out of the question.
+Decidedly Islám itself was the main cause of its triumph. By some
+strange intuition Moḥammad succeeded in finding the one form of
+Monotheism that has ever commended itself to any wide section of the
+Eastern world. It was only a remnant of the Jews that learned to
+worship the one God of the prophets after the hard lessons of the
+Captivity. Christianity has never gained a hold upon the East. Islám
+not only was at once accepted (partly in earnest, partly in name, but
+accepted) by Arabia, Syria, Persia, Egypt, Northern Africa, and
+Southern Spain at its first outburst, but, with the exception of
+Spain, it has never lost its vantage-ground; it has seen no country
+that has once embraced its doctrine turn to another faith; it has
+added great multitudes in India and China and Turkestan to its
+subjects; and in quite recent times it has been spreading in wide and
+swiftly—following waves over Africa, and has left but a small part of
+that vast continent unconverted to its creed. Admitting the mixed
+causes that contributed to the rapidity of the first torrent of
+Moḥammadan conquest, they do not account for the duration of Islám.
+There must be something in the religion itself to explain its
+persistence and increase, and to account for its present hold over so
+large a proportion of the dwellers on the earth.
+
+Men trained in European ideas of religion have always found a
+difficulty in understanding the fascination which the Muslim faith has
+for so many minds in the East. ‘There is no god but God, and Moḥammad
+is His Prophet.’ There is nothing in this, they say, to move the
+heart. Yet this creed has stirred an enthusiasm that has never been
+surpassed. Islám has had its martyrs, its self-tormentors, its
+recluses, who have renounced all that life offered and have accepted
+death with a smile for the sake of the faith that was in them. It is
+idle to say the eternity of happiness will explain this. The truest
+martyrs of Islám, as well as of Christianity, did not die to gain
+paradise. And if they did, the belief in the promises of the creed
+must follow the hearty belief in the creed. Islám must have possessed
+a power of seizing men’s belief before it could have inspired them
+with such a love of its paradise.
+
+Moḥammad’s conception of God has, I think, been misunderstood, and its
+effect upon the people consequently under-estimated. The God of Islám
+is commonly represented as a pitiless tyrant, who plays with humanity
+as on a chessboard, and works out his game without regard to the
+sacrifice of the pieces; and there is a certain truth in the figure.
+There is more in Islám of the potter who shapes the clay than of the
+father pitying his children. Moḥammad conceived of God as the Semitic
+mind has always preferred to think of Him: his God is the All-Mighty,
+the All-Knowing, the All-Just. Irresistible Power is the first
+attribute he thinks of: the Lord of the Worlds, the Author of the
+Heavens and the Earth, who hath created Life and Death, in whose hand
+is Dominion, who maketh the Dawn to appear and causeth the Night to
+cover the Day, the Great, All-Powerful Lord of the glorious Throne;
+the Thunder proclaimeth His perfection, the whole earth is His
+handful, and the Heavens shall be folded together in His right hand.
+And with the Power He conceives the Knowledge that directs it to
+right ends. God is the Wise, the Just, the True, the Swift in
+reckoning, who knoweth every ant’s weight of good and of ill that each
+man hath done, and who suffereth not the reward of the faithful to
+perish.
+
+   ‘God! There is no God but He, the Ever-Living, the
+   Ever-Subsisting. Slumber seizeth Him not nor sleep. To Him
+   belongeth whatsoever is in the Heavens and whatsoever is in
+   the Earth. Who is he that shall intercede with Him, save by
+   His permission? He knoweth the things that have gone before
+   and the things that follow after, and men shall not compass
+   aught of His knowledge, save what He willeth. His Throne
+   comprehendeth the Heavens and the Earth, and the care of them
+   burdeneth Him not. And He is the High, the Great.’—_Ḳur-án_,
+   ii. 256.
+
+But with this Power there is also the gentleness that belongs only to
+great strength. God is the Guardian over His servants, the Shelterer
+of the orphan, the Guider of the erring, the Deliverer from every
+affliction; in His hand is Good, and He is the Generous Lord, the
+Gracious, the Hearer, the Near-at-Hand. Every soorah of the Ḳur-án
+begins with the words, ‘In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
+Merciful,’ and Moḥammad was never tired of telling the people how God
+was Very-Forgiving, that His love for man was more tender than the
+mother-bird for her young.
+
+It is too often forgotten how much there is in the Ḳur-án of the
+loving-kindness of God, but it must be allowed that these are not the
+main thoughts in Moḥammad’s teaching. It is the doctrine of the Might
+of God that most held his imagination, and that has impressed itself
+most strongly upon Muslims of all ages. The fear rather than the love
+of God is the spur of Islám. There can be no question which is the
+higher incentive to good; but it is nearly certain that the love of
+God is an idea absolutely foreign to most of the races that have
+accepted Islám, and to preach such a doctrine would have been to
+mistake the leaning of the Semitic mind.
+
+The leading doctrine of Moḥammad, then, is the belief in One
+All-Powerful God. Islám is the self-surrender of every man to the will
+of God. Its danger lies in the stress laid on the power of God, which
+has brought about the stifling effects of fatalism. Moḥammad taught
+the foreknowledge of God, but he did not lay down precisely the
+doctrine of Predestination. He found it, as all have found it, a
+stumbling-block in the way of man’s progress. It perplexed him, and he
+spoke of it, but often contradicted himself; and he would become angry
+if the subject were mooted in his presence: ‘Sit not with a disputer
+about fate,’ he said, ‘nor begin a conversation with him.’ Moḥammad
+vaguely recognised that little margin of Free Will which makes life
+not wholly mechanical.
+
+This doctrine of one Supreme God, to whose will it is the duty of
+every man to surrender himself, is the kernel of Islám, the truth for
+which Moḥammad lived and suffered and triumphed. But it was no new
+teaching, as he himself was constantly saying. His was only the last
+of revelations. Many prophets—Abraham, Moses, and Christ—had taught
+the same faith before; but people had hearkened little to their words.
+So Moḥammad was sent, not different from them, only a messenger, yet
+the last and greatest of them, the ‘seal of prophecy,’ the ‘most
+excellent of the creation of God.’ This is the second dogma of Islám:
+Moḥammad is the apostle of God. It is well worthy of notice that it is
+not said, ‘Moḥammad is the only apostle of God.’ Islám is more
+tolerant in this matter than other religions. Its prophet is not the
+sole commissioner of the Most High, nor is his teaching the only true
+teaching the world has ever received. Many other messengers had been
+sent by God to guide men to the right, and these taught the same
+religion that was in the mouth of the preacher of Islám. Hence Muslims
+reverence Moses and Christ only next to Moḥammad. All they claim for
+their founder is that he was the last and best of the messengers of
+the one God.[18]
+
+After the belief in God and his prophets and scriptures, the Muslim
+must believe in angels, good and evil genii, in the resurrection and
+the judgment, and in future rewards and punishments. What the teaching
+of the Ḳur-án is upon these points may be seen in the First Part of
+the ‘Selections.’ They form a very common weapon of attack on the
+ground of their superstition, their anthropomorphism, and their
+sensuality. Yet these minor beliefs have their place in all religions,
+and they are conceived in scarcely more absurdly realistic a manner in
+Islám than in any other creed. Every religion seems to need an
+improbable, almost a ludicrous, side, in order to provide material for
+the faith of the masses. Moḥammad himself was what is called a
+superstitious man, and the improbable side thus found its way easily
+into his creed. With all the fancies floating in Arabia in his time,
+it would have been strange if he had introduced nothing of the
+superstitious into Islám. The Jinn, the Afreets, and the other beings
+of the air and water, have not done much harm to the Mohammadan mind;
+and they have given so many a delightful fable to the West, that we
+must feel a certain grateful respect for them. The realistic pictures
+of paradise and hell have exercised a more serious influence. The
+minute details of these infernal and celestial pictures must move
+alternately the disgust and the contemptuous amusement of a Western
+reader; yet these same things were very real facts to Moḥammad, and
+have been of the utmost importance to generation after generation of
+Muslims. In the present day there are cultured men who receive these
+descriptions in the same allegorical sense as some Christians accept
+the Revelation of S. John—which, indeed, in some respects offers a
+close parallel to the pictorial parts of the Ḳur-án; but the vast
+majority of believers (like many Christians in the parallel case) take
+the descriptions literally, and there can be no doubt that the belief
+founded on such pictures, accepted literally, must work an ill effect
+on the professors of the faith of which these doctrines form a minor,
+but a too prominent, part; and it is the aim of rational Muslims to
+sweep away such cobwebs from their sky.
+
+Islám lies more in doing than in believing. That ‘faith without works
+is dead’ is a doctrine which every day’s routine must bring home to
+the mind of the devout Muslim. The practical duties of the Mohammadan
+religion, beyond the actual profession of faith, are the performance
+of prayer, the giving of alms, the keeping of the fasts, and the
+accomplishing the pilgrimage. Mr. Lane has so minutely described the
+regular prayers used over all the Mohammadan East, that it is only
+necessary here to refer to his account of them in the ‘Modern
+Egyptians.’ There it will be seen that they form no light part of the
+religious duties of the Muslim, especially since they involve careful
+preparatory ablutions; for Moḥammad impressed upon his followers the
+salutary doctrine that cleanliness is an essential part of godliness,
+and the scrupulous cleanliness of the Mohammadan, which contrasts so
+favourably with the unsavoury state of Easterns of other creeds, is an
+excellent feature in the practical influence of Islám. The charge
+which missionaries and the like are fond of bringing against the
+Muslim prayers, that they are merely lifeless forms and vain
+repetitions, is an exaggeration. There is a vast deal of repetition in
+the Mohammadan ritual, just as the paternoster is repeated again and
+again in the principal Christian liturgies; but iteration does not
+necessarily kill devotion. There is plenty of real fervour in the
+prayers of the Mosque, and they are joined-in by the worshippers with
+an earnest attention which shames the listless sleepy bearing of most
+congregations in England. It is true the greater part of the prayers
+are laid down in prescribed forms; but there is an interval set apart
+for private supplication, and the original congregations in the
+mosques availed themselves of this permission more generally than is
+now the case, when the old fervour has become comparatively cool; and
+Moḥammad frequently enjoins private prayer at home, and specially
+praises him who ‘passeth his night worshipping God.’
+
+Almsgiving was originally compulsory, and the tax was collected by the
+officers of the Khalif; but now the Muslim is merely expected to give
+voluntarily about a fortieth part of his income in charity each year.
+The great fast of Ramaḍán is too well known to need more than a
+passing mention here; but it is not so well known that Moḥammad,
+ascetic as he was himself in this as in many other matters, whilst he
+ordained the month of fasting for the chastening of his able-bodied
+followers, was a determined enemy to useless mortification of the
+flesh, and boldly affirmed that God took no pleasure in a man’s
+wantonly injuring himself; and so if one that was weakly and sick
+could not keep the fast without bodily detriment he was to omit it.
+And the same wise leniency was shown by the Arab prophet in respect of
+prayer,—which may be curtailed or omitted in certain cases,—and with
+regard to the pilgrimage, which no one was to perform to his hurt.
+This same pilgrimage is often urged as a sign of Moḥammad’s tendency
+to superstition and even idolatry. It is asked how the destroyer of
+idols could have reconciled his conscience to the circuits of the
+Kaạbeh and the veneration of the black stone covered with adoring
+kisses. The rites of the pilgrimage cannot certainly be defended
+against the charge of superstition; but it is easy to see why Moḥammad
+enjoined them. They were hallowed to him by the memories of his
+ancestors, who had been the guardians of the sacred temple, and by the
+traditional reverence of all his people; and besides this tie of
+association, which in itself was enough to make it impossible for him
+to do away with the rites, Moḥammad perceived that the worship in the
+Kaạbeh would prove of real value to his religion. He swept away the
+more idolatrous and immoral part of the ceremonies, but he retained
+the pilgrimage to Mekka and the old veneration of the temple for
+reasons of which it is impossible to dispute the wisdom. He well knew
+the consolidating effect of forming a centre to which his followers
+should gather; and hence he reasserted the sanctity of the black stone
+that ‘came down from Heaven;’ he ordained that everywhere throughout
+the world the Muslim should pray looking towards the Kaạbeh, and he
+enjoined him to make the pilgrimage thither. Mekka is to the Muslim
+what Jerusalem is to the Jew. It bears with it all the influence of
+centuries of associations. It carries the Muslim back to the cradle of
+his faith, the childhood of his prophet; it reminds him of the
+struggle between the old faith and the new, of the overthrow of the
+idols, and the establishment of the worship of the One God. And, most
+of all, it bids him remember that all his brother Muslims are
+worshipping towards the same sacred spot; that he is one of a great
+company of believers, united by one faith, filled with the same hopes,
+reverencing the same things, worshipping the same God. Moḥammad showed
+his knowledge of the religious emotions in man when he preserved the
+sanctity of the temple of Islám.
+
+It would take too much space to look closely into the lesser duties of
+Islám, many of which suggest exceedingly wholesome lessons to Western
+civilisation. But we must not pass over one of these minor duties, for
+it reflects the highest credit upon the founder and the professors of
+Mohammadanism—I mean the humane treatment of animals.
+
+‘There is no religion which has taken a higher view in its
+authoritative documents of animal life, and none wherein the precept
+has been so much honoured by its practical observance. ‘There is no
+beast on earth,’ says the Ḳur-án, ‘nor bird which flieth with its
+wings, but the same is a people like unto you—unto the Lord shall they
+return;’ and it is the current belief that animals will share with men
+the general resurrection, and be judged according to their works. At
+the slaughter of an animal, the Prophet ordered that the name of God
+should always be named; but the words, ‘the Compassionate, the
+Merciful,’ were to be omitted; for, on the one hand, such an
+expression seemed a mockery to the sufferer, and, on the other, he
+could not bring himself to believe that the destruction of any life,
+however necessary, could be altogether pleasing to the All-Merciful.
+‘In the name of God,’ says a pious Musalman before he strikes the
+fatal blow; ‘God is most great; God give thee patience to endure the
+affliction which He hath allotted thee!’ In the East there has been no
+moralist like Bentham to insist in noble words on the extension of the
+sphere of morality to all sentient beings, and to be ridiculed for it
+by people who call themselves religious; there has been no naturalist
+like Darwin, to demonstrate by his marvellous powers of observation
+how large a part of the mental and moral faculties which we usually
+claim for ourselves alone we share with other beings; there has been
+no Oriental ‘Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.’ But
+one reason of this is not far to seek. What the legislation of the
+last few years has at length attempted to do, and, from the mere fact
+that it is legislation, must do ineffectually, has been long effected
+in the East by the moral and religious sentiment which, like almost
+everything that is good in that part of the world, can be traced back,
+in part at least, to the great Prophet of Arabia. In the East, so far
+as it has not been hardened by the West, there is a real sympathy
+between man and the domestic animals; they understand one another; and
+the cruelties which the most humane of our countrymen unconsciously
+effect in the habitual use, for instance, of the muzzle or the
+bearing-rein on the most docile, the most patient, the most faithful,
+and the most intelligent of their companions, are impossible in the
+East. An Arab _cannot_ ill-treat his horse; and Mr. Lane bears
+emphatic testimony to the fact that in his long residence in Egypt he
+never saw an ass or a dog (though the latter is there looked upon as
+an unclean animal) treated with cruelty, except in those cities which
+were overrun by Europeans.’[19]
+
+There are some very beautiful traditions of the Prophet, showing the
+tenderness with which he always treated animals and which he ever
+enjoined on his people. A man once came to him with a carpet and said,
+‘O Prophet, I passed through a wood and heard the voices of the young
+of birds, and I took and put them into my carpet, and their mother
+came fluttering round my head.’ And the Prophet said, ‘Put them down;’
+and when he had put them down the mother joined the young. And the
+Prophet said, ‘Do you wonder at the affection of the mother towards
+her young? I swear by Him who has sent me, Verily God is more loving
+to his servants than the mother to these young birds. Return them to
+the place from which ye took them, and let their mother be with them.’
+‘Fear God with regard to animals,’ said Moḥammad; ‘ride them when they
+are fit to be ridden, and get off when they are tired. Verily there
+are rewards for our doing good to dumb animals, and giving them water
+to drink.’
+
+
+Such, in brief outline, is the religion of Moḥammad. It is a form of
+pure theism, simpler and more austere than the theism of most forms of
+modern Christianity, lofty in its conception of the relation of man to
+God, and noble in its doctrine of the duty of man to man, and of man
+to the lower creation. There is little in it of superstition, less of
+complexity of dogmas; it is an exacting religion, without the
+repulsiveness of asceticism; severe, but not merciless. On the other
+hand, it is over-rigid and formal; it leaves too little to the
+believer and too much to his ritual; it places a prophet and a book
+between man and God, and practically discourages the desire for a
+direct relation between the Deity and his servant; it draws the
+picture of that God in too harsh outlines, and leaves out too much of
+the tenderness and loving-kindness of the God of Christ’s teaching,
+and hence it has been the source of more intolerance and fanatical
+hatred than most creeds.
+
+This religion is Islám as understood and taught by its Prophet, so far
+as we can gather it from the Ḳur-án, aided by those traditions which
+seem to have the stamp of authenticity. It need hardly be said that it
+is not identical with the Islám with which the philosophers of Baghdád
+amused themselves, nor with the fantastic creed which the Fáṭimee
+Khalifs of Egypt represented, and brought in the person of El-Ḥákim to
+its limit of extravagance; nor is it the Islám with which as much as
+with their ferocity the Karmaṭees aroused the fear and abhorrence of
+all good Muslims. Neither the Soofism of Persia nor the dervish
+sensation-religion of Turkey conform to this ancient Islám, to which
+perhaps a modification of the Waḥḥábee puritanism would be the
+nearest approach. The original faith of Moḥammad has not gained by its
+development in foreign lands and alien minds, and perhaps the best we
+can hope for modern Islám is that it may try the experiment of
+retrogression, or rather seek to regain the simplicity of the old form
+without losing the advantages (if there be any) which it has acquired
+from contact with Western civilisation.
+
+
+Islám is unfortunately a social system as well as a religion; and
+herein lies the great difficulty of fairly estimating its good and its
+bad influence on the world. It is but in the nature of things that the
+teacher who lays down the law of the relation of man to God should
+also endeavour to appoint the proper relation between man and his
+neighbour. Christianity was undoubtedly a social even more than a
+religious reform, but the social regulations were too indefinite, or
+at all events too impracticable, for any wide acceptance among the
+professors of the religion. Islám was less fortunate. Moḥammad not
+only promulgated a religion; he laid down a complete social system,
+containing minute regulations for a man’s conduct in all circumstances
+of life, with due rewards or penalties according to his fulfilment of
+these rules. As a religion Islám is great: it has taught men to
+worship one God with a pure worship who formerly worshipped many gods
+impurely. As a social system Islám is a complete failure: it has
+misunderstood the relations of the sexes, upon which the whole
+character of a nation’s life hangs, and, by degrading women, has
+degraded each successive generation of their children down an
+increasing scale of infamy and corruption, until it seems almost
+impossible to reach a lower level of vice.
+
+The fatal spot in Islám is the degradation of women. The true test of
+a nation’s place in the ranks of civilisation is the position of its
+women. When they are held in reverence, when it is considered the most
+infamous of crimes to subject a woman to dishonour, and the highest
+distinction to protect her from wrong; when the family life is real
+and strong, of which the mother-wife is the heart; when each man’s
+pulse beats loyal to womanhood, then is a nation great. When women are
+treated as playthings, toys, drudges, worth anything only if they have
+beauty to be enjoyed or strength to labour; when sex is considered the
+chief thing in a woman, and heart and mind are forgotten; when a man
+buys women for his pleasure and dismisses them when his appetite is
+glutted, then is a nation despicable.
+
+And so is it in the East. Yet it would be hard to lay the blame
+altogether on Moḥammad. The real roots of the degradation of women lie
+much deeper. When Islám was instituted, polygamy was almost
+necessitated by the number of women and their need of support; and the
+facility of divorce was quite necessitated by the separation of the
+sexes, and the consequence that a man could not know or even see the
+woman he was about to marry before the marriage ceremony was
+accomplished. It is not Moḥammad whom we must blame for these great
+evils, polygamy and divorce; it is the state of society which demanded
+the separation of the sexes, and in which it was not safe to allow men
+and women freely to associate; in other words, it was the sensual
+constitution of the Arab that lay at the root of the matter. Moḥammad
+might have done better. He might boldly have swept away the traditions
+of Arab society, unveiled the women, intermingled the sexes, and
+punished by the most severe measures any license which such
+association might at first encourage. With his boundless influence, it
+is possible that he might have done this, and, the new system once
+fairly settled, and the people accustomed to it, the good effects of
+the change would have begun to show themselves. But such an idea could
+never have occurred to him. We must always remember that we are
+dealing with a social system of the seventh century, not of the
+nineteenth. Moḥammad’s ideas about women were like those of the rest
+of his contemporaries. He looked upon them as charming snares to the
+believer, ornamental articles of furniture difficult to keep in order,
+pretty playthings; but that a woman should be the counsellor and
+companion of a man does not seem to have occurred to him. It is to be
+wondered that the feeling of respect he always entertained for his
+first wife, Khadeejeh, (which, however, is partly accounted for by the
+fact that she was old enough to have been his mother,) found no
+counterpart in his general opinion of womankind: ‘Woman was made from
+a crooked rib, and if you try to bend it straight, it will break;
+therefore treat your wives kindly.’ Moḥammad was not the man to make a
+social reform affecting women, nor was Arabia the country in which
+such a change should be made, nor Arab ladies perhaps the best
+subjects for the experiment. Still he did something towards bettering
+the condition of women: he limited the number of wives to four; laid
+his hand with the utmost severity on the incestuous marriages that
+were then rife in Arabia; compelled husbands to support their divorced
+wives during their four months of probation; made irrevocable divorce
+less common by adding the rough, but deterring, condition that a woman
+triply divorced could not return to her husband without first being
+married to some one else—a condition exceedingly disagreeable to the
+first husband; and required four witnesses to prove a charge of
+adultery against a wife—a merciful provision, difficult to be
+fulfilled. The evil permitted by Moḥammad in leaving the number of
+wives four instead of insisting on monogamy was not great. Without
+considering the sacrifice of family peace which the possession of a
+large harem entails, the expense of keeping several wives, each of
+whom must have a separate suite of apartments or a separate house, is
+so great that not more than one in twenty can afford it. It is not so
+much in the matter of wives as in that of concubines that Moḥammad
+made an irretrievable mistake. The condition of the female slave in
+the East is indeed deplorable. She is at the entire mercy of her
+master, who can do what he pleases with her and her companions; for
+the Muslim is not restricted in the number of his concubines, as he is
+in that of his wives. The female white slave is kept solely for the
+master’s sensual gratification, and is sold when he is tired of her,
+and so she passes from master to master, a very wreck of womanhood.
+Her condition is a little improved if she bear a son to her tyrant;
+but even then he is at liberty to refuse to acknowledge the child as
+his own, though it must be owned he seldom does this. Kind as the
+Prophet was himself towards bondswomen, one cannot forget the
+unutterable brutalities which he suffered his followers to inflict
+upon conquered nations in the taking of slaves. The Muslim soldier was
+allowed to do as he pleased with any ‘infidel’ woman he might meet
+with on his victorious march. When one thinks of the thousands of
+women, mothers and daughters, who must have suffered untold shame and
+dishonour by this license, he cannot find words to express his horror.
+And this cruel indulgence has left its mark on the Muslim character,
+nay, on the whole character of Eastern life. Now, as at the first,
+young Christian girls are dragged away from their homes and given over
+to the unhallowed lusts of a Turkish voluptuary; and not only to
+Turks, but to Englishmen; for the contagion has spread, and
+Englishmen, even those who by their sacred order should know better,
+instead of uttering their protest, as men of honour and Christians,
+against the degradation, have followed the example of the Turk, and
+helped in the ruin of women. Concubinage is the black stain in Islám.
+With Moḥammad’s views of women, we could hardly expect him to do
+better; but, on the other hand, he could scarcely have done worse.
+There are, however, one or two alleviating circumstances. One is the
+fact that the canker has not eaten into the whole of Eastern society;
+it is chiefly among the rich that the evil effects of the system are
+felt. And another fact which shows that the Mohammadan system, bad as
+it is, is free from a defect which social systems better in other
+respects than Moḥammad’s are subject to is the extreme rarity of
+prostitution in Muslim towns. The courtesan forms a very small item in
+the census of a Mohammadan city, and is retained more for strangers
+from Europe than for the Muslim inhabitants. Instances are frequently
+occurring in the Indian law courts which show the strong feeling that
+exists on the subject among the Mohammadans of India. They consider it
+quite inconceivable that a Muslim should have illicit intercourse with
+a free Muslimeh woman, and this inconceivableness of the action is
+urged as evidence in trials of the legitimacy of children. But whilst
+admitting the importance of this remarkable feature in Islám, it must
+not be forgotten that the liberty allowed by their law to Muslims in
+the matter of concubines does not very materially differ from
+prostitution, and whilst the latter is directly forbidden by the
+dominant religion of Europe, concubinage is as directly permitted by
+Islám.
+
+One would think that long intercourse with Europeans might have
+somewhat raised the estimation of women in the East; but either
+because travellers in the East are not always the best specimens of
+Western morality, or because the Eastern mind has an unequalled
+aptitude for assimilating the bad and rejecting the good in any system
+it meets, it is certain that women are no better off now than they
+were in the East. A well-known correspondent of a leading daily print
+writes thus of Turkish home life:—
+
+   ‘It is obvious that the home life of any people will depend
+   almost entirely on the position which is assigned to women. It
+   is not necessary to inquire what this position is according to
+   the teaching of the sacred books of a race. Between
+   Christianity and Islám it is enough to notice that there is
+   apparently no country where the first is the prevailing
+   religion in which woman is hindered by religion from obtaining
+   a position almost, if not quite, on an equality with man, and
+   similarly, no country where the second prevails where woman is
+   not in a degraded position.... Under Christianity she is
+   everywhere free. Under Islám she is everywhere a slave. The
+   pious Mohammadan, like the pious Jew, thanks God that he has
+   not been made a woman. The pious Mohammadan woman, like the
+   pious Jewess, thanks God that she has been made according to
+   the Creator’s will. Man and woman alike recognise that to be a
+   woman is to be in an inferior condition. This feeling of the
+   degradation of woman so pervades Turkey that the poorer
+   classes of Christians have even become infected by it. When a
+   son is born there is nothing but congratulations. When a
+   daughter, nothing but condolences. A polite Turk, if he has
+   occasion to mention his wife, will do so with an apology....
+   He regards it as a piece of rudeness to mention the fact to
+   you, and it would be equally rude for him to inquire after
+   your wife, or to hint that he knew you were guilty of anything
+   so unmentionable as to have one. Charles the Twelfth told his
+   queen that she had been chosen to give children, and not
+   advice. The Turk regards woman as destined solely for the same
+   purpose and for his pleasure. Probably polygamy is of itself
+   sufficient to account for the way in which Mohammadans regard
+   woman. But whether this is so or not, there is one influence
+   which polygamy asserts which accounts for the low ideal of
+   woman prevalent in all Muslim countries. When a man has a
+   number of wives it is impossible that they can all become his
+   companions and his confidantes, or that one of them can become
+   his companion or confidante to the same extent as if the man
+   had only one wife. Hence a man who is limited to one will not
+   be contented with beauty alone. He must have a certain amount
+   of intelligence and education. The Turk, on the other hand,
+   has no reason whatever to think of anything except beauty. As
+   he never means to see much of his wife, intelligence or
+   education is a matter of small account. If he can afford it he
+   will have a Circassian wife, a woman who has been reared with
+   the intention of being sold, who has not an idea in her head,
+   who has seen nothing, and knows nothing. Such a woman would be
+   as objectionable as a wife to the great majority of Europeans
+   as a South Sea Island beauty. But she satisfies the ideal of
+   the Turk. She is beautiful, and beauty is all that he
+   requires.’
+
+It is this sensual and degraded view of woman that destroys to so
+great an extent the good influence which the better part of the
+teaching of Islám might exert in the East. So long as women are held
+in so light an esteem, they will remain ignorant, and bigoted, and
+sensual; and so long as mothers are what most Muslim mothers are now,
+their children will be ignorant and fanatical and vicious. In Turkey
+there are other influences at work besides the Mohammadan social
+system; but Turkish women may serve as an instance of the state of
+things which that system encourages. ‘In those early years spent at
+home, when the child ought to have instilled into him some germ of
+those principles of conduct by which men must walk in the world if
+they are to hold up their heads among civilised nations, the Turkish
+child is only taught the first steps towards those vicious habits of
+mind and body which have made his race what it is. The root of the
+evil is partly found in the harem system. So long as that system keeps
+Turkish women in their present depressed state, so long will Turkish
+boys and girls be vicious and ignorant.’ As I have said elsewhere,[20]
+‘It is quite certain that there is no hope for the Turks so long as
+Turkish women remain what they are, and home-training is the
+initiation of vice.’ If the mother is ignorant and vicious, the son
+cannot form a high ideal of womanhood, and thus is barred off from the
+chivalrous spirit wherewith alone a man may reach to the highest
+love:—that
+
+           ‘Subtle master under heaven,
+   Not only to keep down the base in man,
+   But teach high thought, and amiable words,
+   And courtliness, and the desire of fame,
+   And love of truth, and all that makes a man.’
+
+The Muslin has no ideal of chivalry like this to make his life pure
+and honourable: his religion encourages an opposite view, and the
+women among whom he is brought up only confirm it.
+
+If Islám is to be a power for good in the future, it is imperatively
+necessary to cut off the social system from the religion. At the
+beginning, among a people who had advanced but a little way on the
+road of civilisation, the defects of the social system were not so
+apparent; but now, when Easterns are endeavouring to mix on equal
+terms with Europeans, and are trying to adopt the manners and customs
+of the West, it is clear that the condition of their women must be
+radically changed if any good is to come of the Europeanising
+tendency. The difficulty lies in the close connection between the
+religious and social ordinances in the Ḳur-án: the two are so
+intermingled that it is hard to see how they can be disentangled
+without destroying both. The theory of revelation would have to be
+modified. Muslims would have to give up their doctrine of the syllabic
+inspiration of the Ḳur-án and exercise their moral sense in
+distinguishing between the particular and the general, the temporary
+and the permanent: they would have to recognise that there was much in
+Moḥammad’s teaching which, though useful at the time, is inapplicable
+to the present conditions of life; that his knowledge was often
+partial, and his judgment sometimes at fault; that the moral sense is
+capable of education as much as the intellect, and, therefore, that
+what was apparently moral and wise in the seventh century may quite
+possibly be immoral and suicidal in a society of the nineteenth
+century. Moḥammad himself said, according to tradition, ‘I am no more
+than a man: when I order you anything respecting religion, receive it;
+and when I order you about the affairs of the world, then I am nothing
+more than man.’ And he seemed to foresee that the time would come when
+his minor regulations would call for revision: ‘Ye are in an age,’ he
+said, ‘in which, if ye abandon one-tenth of what is ordered, ye will
+be ruined. After this, a time will come when he who shall observe
+one-tenth of what is now ordered will be redeemed.’[21]
+
+If Muslims would take these warnings of their prophet to heart, there
+would be some hope for Islám. Some few of the higher intellects among
+them have already admitted the principle of moral criticism applied to
+the Ḳur-án; but it is very doubtful whether ‘rational Islám’ will ever
+gain a wide following, any more than ‘rational Christianity.’ People
+in general do not care to think for themselves in matters religious.
+They like their creed served up to them as cooked meat, not raw flesh.
+They must have definite texts and hard-and-fast commandments to appeal
+to. They will not believe in the spirit, but prefer the letter. They
+will have nothing to say to tendencies, but must have facts. It is of
+no avail to speak to them of the spirit of a life or of a whole book;
+they must hang their doctrine on a solitary sentence. They will either
+believe every letter of their scripture, or they will believe nothing.
+
+Such people make up the majority of the professors of Islám; and with
+them no reform, within Islám, seems possible. Among the upper (I will
+not call them the higher) classes, they are either fanatics or
+concealed infidels; and their lives are a proof of the
+incompatibility of ordinary Mohammadanism, real or nominal, with a
+high social and national life. Among the poorer classes, the social
+system has a more restricted field of operation, for the poor are
+naturally less able to avail themselves of the permissions of their
+Prophet. In a poor community Islám exerts an eminently salutary
+influence, as the condition of the Mohammadan converts in Western
+Africa conclusively proves. An able observer,[22] whose African birth
+and training qualify him in a high degree for properly understanding
+the true state of his countrymen, whilst his Christian profession
+serves as a guarantee against excessive prejudice in favour of Islám,
+has recorded his experience of the work of Mohammadan missionaries in
+Liberia and the neighbouring parts of Africa. ‘All careful and candid
+observers,’ he remarks, ‘agree that the influence of Islám in Central
+and West Africa has been, upon the whole, of a most salutary
+character.... As an eliminatory and subversive agency it has displaced
+or unsettled nothing as good as itself.’ It has inculcated habits of
+moderation and soberness over the whole of the vast region covered by
+its emissaries; and so great is the influence of its teaching, that
+where there are Muslim inhabitants, even in pagan towns, it is a very
+rare thing to see a person intoxicated. The Mohammadan converts drink
+nothing but water. ‘From Senegal to Lagos, over two thousand miles,
+there is scarcely an important town on the seaboard where there is not
+at least one mosque and active representatives of Islám, side by side
+with the Christian teacher. And as soon as a pagan, however obscure or
+degraded, embraces the Muslim faith, he is at once admitted as an
+equal to the society.... The pagan village possessing a Muslim teacher
+is always found to be in advance of its neighbours in all the elements
+of civilisation.... The introduction of Islám into Central and West
+Africa has been the most important, if not the sole, preservative
+against the desolations of the slave trade. Mohammadanism furnished a
+protection to the tribes who embraced it, by effectually binding them
+together in one strong religious fraternity, and enabling them by
+their united efforts to baffle the attempts of powerful slave-hunters.
+Enjoying this comparative immunity from sudden hostile incursion,
+industry was stimulated among them; industry diminished their poverty;
+and as they increased in worldly substance, they also increased in
+desire for knowledge. Receiving a desire of letters by a study of the
+Arabic language, they acquired loftier views, wider tastes, and those
+energetic habits which so pleasingly distinguish them from their pagan
+neighbours.’ Students often travel on foot from the west coast right
+across Africa to study at the great mosque of the Azhar in Cairo. It
+must be remembered that these results were observed in the very centre
+of African Christianity, in Sierra Leone and other coast settlements.
+It is said that in Sierra Leone three-fourths of the Muslim population
+were not born Muslims, but were converted from Christianity or
+paganism; and this, although ‘all liberated Africans are always handed
+over to Christian missionaries for instruction, and their children are
+baptized and brought up at the public expense in Christian schools,
+and are thus, in a sense, ready-made Christians.’
+
+These facts show that, even in the present day, and with the
+competition of Christian missionary societies, Islám may be a power
+for good in poor communities—that it can not only give them a pure
+instead of a degraded faith, but can raise them socially and
+intellectually. The effects of a simple form of Islám on these African
+converts may give one some notion of its influence on its hearers in
+the early days, before the theologians had corrupted it.
+
+But this good influence is very partial and limited, even among the
+poorer classes. In communities where all are poor, Islám is an
+excellent agent for improvement; but in countries where there are
+many grades of wealth and rank, the poor only ape in a humble manner
+the vices of those whom they are taught to regard as their ‘betters.’
+In all civilised and wealthy countries the social system of Islám
+exerts a ruinous influence on all classes, and if there is to be any
+great future for the Mohammadan world, that system of society must be
+done away.
+
+   THE WOMAN’S CAUSE IS MAN’S; THEY RISE OR SINK
+   TOGETHER, DWARFED OR GODLIKE, BOND OR FREE.
+
+
+
+
+IV.—_THE ḲUR-ÁN._
+
+   The Muslim who reads the Ḳur-án is like the orange-fruit,
+   whose smell and taste are sweet; and the Muslim who reads not
+   the Ḳur-án is like the date, which hath no smell, but its
+   taste is sweet; and the Hypocrite who reads not the Ḳur-án is
+   like the colocynth, without a smell, and with a bitter taste;
+   and the Hypocrite who reads it is like the sweet bazil, whose
+   smell is sweet, but its taste bitter.—_Tradition._
+
+
+It is an immense merit in the Ḳur-án that there is no doubt as to its
+genuineness. The ‘Word of the Lord’ came to Moḥammad, and he uttered
+it, and the people wrote it down or committed it to memory; and that
+very word we can now read with full confidence that it has remained
+unchanged through nearly thirteen hundred years.
+
+The revelations came to Moḥammad in many ways and at all times, but
+never ‘in visions bright, transcendant, exalted. They came ghastly,
+weird, most horrible. After long solitary broodings, a something used
+to move Moḥammad, all of a sudden, with frightful vehemence. He
+“roared like a camel,” his eyes rolled and glowed like red coals, and
+on the coldest day terrible perspirations would break out all over his
+body. When the terror ceased, it seemed to him as if he had heard
+bells ringing, “the sound whereof seemed to rend him to pieces”—as if
+he had heard the voice of a man—as if he had seen Gabriel—or as if
+words _had been written in his heart_. Such was the agony he endured,
+that some of the verses revealed to him well-nigh made his hair turn
+white.’
+
+No collection of these revelations was made during Moḥammad’s
+lifetime; at his death, the Ḳur-án existed only as scattered
+chaotically among the believers. But about a year later, the death in
+battle of some of the men who had specially committed passages of the
+Ḳur-án to memory, and the dread that the whole of Moḥammad’s teaching
+might vanish at the end of a generation or two, induced Aboo-Bekr to
+make the innovation from which every one shrank, and he gave orders to
+the Prophet’s secretary, Zeyd ibn Thábit, to collect the fragments of
+the Ḳur-án in one book. So Zeyd gathered the Ḳur-án from palm-leaves,
+skins, shoulder-blades, stones, and the hearts of men, arranged the
+chapters in a certain order, and presented Aboo-Bekr with a Ḳur-án
+which probably differed in no essential particular from the book we
+have now. All scholars are agreed that Zeyd did his work faithfully,
+and neither inserted nor omitted anything from party motives. But he
+seems to have occasionally mixed up fragments of very different date
+in one chapter—Moḥammad himself countenanced this—and may possibly
+have omitted some portions that were not found till afterwards.
+
+Some twenty years later a second recension was ordered by the Khalif
+´Othmán. Slight varieties of reading, mainly dialectal, had arisen;
+swords were near being drawn over them; and it was evident that a
+serious schism would come about if a uniform authorised text of the
+Ḳur-án were not provided. These slight dialectal differences were not
+sufficiently settled, it would seem, in Aboo-Bekr’s edition, so this
+new recension was made by Zeyd and three men of the Ḳureysh, for they
+would best know the original dialect of the Ḳur-án. The new edition
+followed the first one, apparently, both in order and in matter;
+definitely fixing, however, the true text in the dialect of the
+Ḳureysh, and possibly adding any verses that might have been
+discovered since Zeyd’s first edition. This second recension was
+conducted with the same careful fidelity and scrupulous impartiality
+as the first; and it was accepted by all the different parties that
+were then disputing the supremacy. Copies of this edition were then
+distributed to the principal cities of the empire, and the old copies
+and fragments were called-in and burned.
+
+This edition of ´Othmán, made about A.D. 660, is the one that has ever
+since been the authorised and only version of the Ḳur-án throughout
+the Muslim world and in the studies of European linguists. The only
+differences that have since crept into the text are certain
+unimportant varieties in vocalisation and orthography and in the
+division of verses.
+
+It was a singular system these early revisers went upon. They seem,
+indeed, to have established the authenticity of each saying
+satisfactorily; but in the arrangement of them they showed an
+extraordinary dulness. The tradition of the year when each revelation
+was spoken appears to have been lost even in the short time that had
+elapsed since it had been spoken. People remembered the words, but
+seldom the occasion of the words. Hence the revisers had to devise an
+artificial order; not according to subject, nor after the development
+of the style, but simply in order of length! They put the longest
+chapters first and the shortest last; that is to say, they inverted,
+roughly speaking, the true order, for the early soorahs were short and
+the later ones long.
+
+Read in this order, the Ḳur-án is an unintelligible jumble. Carlyle
+may well say that ‘nothing but a sense of duty could carry any
+European through the Ḳur-án.’ You can trace no development of mind or
+doctrine in the present arrangement; it is indeed a confused mass of
+‘endless iterations, long-windedness, entanglement, most crude,
+incondite.’ But scholars have long discovered certain signs of a true
+order—several kinds of evidence by which a chronological arrangement
+of the Ḳur-án may be attempted. These are—(1.) The _references to
+historical events_ in the Ḳur-án, as identified by tradition. These,
+however, are but few, and occur chiefly in quite the latest soorahs;
+and tradition is apt to identify any reference with any event it
+chooses. A much more important test is (2.) the _style_; for a
+distinct development can be traced in the rime, in the length of
+verses, and in the words employed. And then there is (3.) the
+_matter_ test, based on what we know of Moḥammad’s life, from which we
+can argue a certain change in his preaching at Mekka, and still more
+when, from addressing idolaters in his birthplace, he came to preach
+to Jews and Christians at Medina. The danger of this last test is that
+each man forms his own theory of Moḥammad’s mental and religious
+growth, and may arrange the soorahs in accordance with that theory.
+Even with these three tests, used by the most accomplished critics, it
+is impossible to arrive at an exact order, and to determine the
+precise chronological position of each soorah. But whilst it is
+admitted that an exact chronological arrangement of each individual
+chapter of the Ḳur-án is impossible, it is yet no less certain that
+the soorahs may be roughly grouped together, and that these groups can
+be definitely assigned to certain periods of Moḥammad’s career.
+
+Professor Th. Nöldeke’s _Geschichte des Qorâns_ has established his
+right to the first place in this science of Ḳur-án arrangement, and
+his order of soorahs may fairly be accepted as authoritative. Of this
+order Mr. Rodwell’s English version of the Ḳur-án is an example,
+except that a few of the earliest soorahs are transposed. Nöldeke has
+two great divisions of the soorahs: those revealed at Mekka, and those
+revealed during the Medina period. Further, he divides the Mekkan
+division into three groups.[23]
+
+
+         {   I. A.D. 612-617 (Rodwell, pp. 1-64)—To the Abyssinian
+         {         exile (fifth year).
+         {
+         {  II. A.D. 617-619 (Rodwell, pp. 64-192)—Fifth and sixth
+   Mekka {         years of Moḥammad’s mission.
+         {
+         { III. A.D. 619-622 (Rodwell, pp. 193-366)—From the
+         {         seventh year to the Flight.
+
+   Medina       A.D. 622-633 (Rodwell, pp. 366-555)—At Medina.
+
+
+Read in this order the Ḳur-án becomes intelligible. It is still
+confused in its progression and strangely mixed in its contents; but
+the development of Moḥammad’s faith can be traced in it, and we can
+see dimly into the workings of his mind, as it struggles with the deep
+things of God, wrestles with the doubts which echoed the cavils of the
+unbelievers, soars upwards on the wings of ecstatic faith, till at
+last it gains the repose of fruition. Studied thus, the Ḳur-án is no
+longer dull reading to one who cares to look upon the working of a
+passionate troubled human soul, and who can enter into its trials and
+share in the joy of its triumphs.
+
+In the soorahs revealed at Mekka, Moḥammad has but one theme—God; and
+one object—to draw his people away from their idols and bring them to
+the feet of that God. He tells them of Him in glowing language, that
+comes from the heart’s white heat. He points to the glories of nature,
+and tells them these are God’s works. With all the brilliant imagery
+of the Arab, he tries to show them what God is, to convince them of
+His power and His wisdom and His justice. The soorahs of this period
+are short, for they are pitched in too high a key to be long
+sustained. The language has the ring of poetry, though no part of the
+Ḳur-án complies with the demands of Arab metre. The sentences are
+short and full of half-restrained energy, yet with a musical cadence.
+The thought is often only half expressed; one feels the speaker has
+essayed a thing beyond words, and has suddenly discovered the
+impotence of language, and broken off with the sentence unfinished.
+There is the fascination of true poetry about these earliest soorahs;
+as we read them we understand the enthusiasm of the Prophet’s
+followers, though we cannot fully realise the beauty and the power,
+inasmuch as we cannot hear them hurled forth with Moḥammad’s fiery
+eloquence. From first to last the Ḳur-án is essentially a book to be
+heard, not read, but this is especially the case with the earliest
+chapters.
+
+In the soorahs of the second period of Mekka we begin to trace the
+decline of the Prophet’s eloquence. There are still the same earnest
+appeals to the people, the same gorgeous pictures of the Last Day and
+the world to come; but the language begins to approach the quiet of
+prose, the sentences become longer, the same words and phrases are
+frequently repeated, and the wearisome stories of the Jewish prophets
+and patriarchs, which fill so large a place in the later portion of
+the Ḳur-án, now make their appearance. The fierce passion of the
+earliest soorahs, that could not out save in short burning verses,
+gives place to a calmer more argumentative style. Moḥammad appeals
+less to the works of God as proofs of his teaching, and more to the
+history of former teachers, and the punishments of the people who
+would not hear them. And the characteristic oaths of the first period,
+when Moḥammad swears by all the varied sights of nature as they
+mirrored themselves in his imagination, have gone, and in their place
+we find only the weaker oath ‘by the Ḳur-án.’ And this declension is
+carried still further in the last group of the soorahs revealed at
+Mekka. The style becomes more involved and the sentences longer, and
+though the old enthusiasm bursts forth ever and anon, it is rather an
+echo of former things than a new and present intoxication of faith.
+The fables and repetitions become more and more dreary, and but for
+the rich eloquence of the old Arabic tongue, which gives some charm
+even to inextricable sentences and dull stories, the Ḳur-án at this
+period would be unreadable. As it is, we feel we have fallen the whole
+depth from poetry to prose, and the matter of the prose is not so
+superlative as to give us amends for the loss of the poetic thought
+of the earlier time and the musical fall of the sentences.
+
+In the soorahs of the Medina period these faults reach their climax.
+We read a singularly varied collection of criminal laws, social
+regulations, orders for battle, harangues to the Jews, first
+conciliatory, then denunciatory, and exhortations to spread the faith,
+and such-like heterogeneous matters. Happily the Jewish stories
+disappear in the latest soorahs, but their place is filled by scarcely
+more palatable materials. The chapters of this period are interesting
+chiefly as containing the laws which have guided every Muslim state,
+regulated every Muslim society, and directed in their smallest acts
+every Mohammadan man and woman in all parts of the world from the
+Prophet’s time till now. The Medina part of the Ḳur-án is the most
+important part for Islám, considered as a scheme of ritual and a
+system of manners; the earliest Mekka revelations are those which
+contain what is highest in a great religion and what was purest in a
+great man.
+
+The word _Ḳur-án_ means the _crying_, _reciting_, _reading_, and is
+applied not only to the whole book, but to any chapter or section of
+it. The Ḳur-án is also called El-Furḳán, ‘the Distinguisher,’ and
+El-Muṣḥaf, ‘the Volume,’ and El-Kitáb, ‘the Book,’ and Edh-Dhikr, ‘the
+Admonition.’ The Ḳur-án contains, in its ordinary form, 114 chapters
+(_soorahs_), 6616 verses (_áyát_, literally ‘signs’ or ‘wonders’),
+77,934 words, and 323,671 letters, according to the estimates of
+laborious Muslim divines, which differ, however, in a slight manner in
+consequence of the various divisions of verses. After the first
+chapter, which is a short prayer (the Fátiḥah), the soorahs gradually
+decrease in length from 289 verses in the second to from three to six
+in the ten concluding chapters. Each chapter is headed by a title,
+taken from same prominent word in it (as the ‘Chapter of the
+Striking,’ ‘of the Cow,’ &c.); beneath which is noted whether it was
+promulgated (according to tradition) at Mekka or Medina, and the
+number of its verses. Then follow the words:—‘In the Name of God, the
+Compassionate, the Merciful;’ after which the chapter begins. To
+twenty-nine chapters are prefixed certain letters (_e.g._, ch. ii. on
+p. 4), or a single letter, which have never been successfully
+interpreted. The Muslims believe them to conceal profound mysteries.
+In Soorah 55 a refrain is found, and traces of a like imitation in
+Soorahs 54 and 17. It is probable that the Ḳur-án was originally
+_chanted_ in somewhat the same manner as it is in the present day.
+
+The Ḳur-án is also divided in thirty sections, and these are again
+subdivided; and from this division rather than from chapter and verse
+do the Muslims generally quote.
+
+‘The Muslims absolutely deny that the Ḳur-án was composed by their
+Prophet himself, or by 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 tablet of vast size, called the Preserved Tablet,
+in which are also recorded the divine decrees, past and future; that a
+copy from this tablet, in one volume on paper, was, by the ministry of
+the angel Gabriel, sent down to the lowest heaven, in the month of
+Ramaḍán, on the Night of Power;[24] whence Gabriel revealed it to
+Moḥammad by parcels, some at Mekka, and some at Medina, at different
+times during the space of twenty-three years, as the exigency of
+affairs required; giving him, however, the consolation to show him the
+whole (which they tell us was bound in silk, and adorned with gold and
+precious 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 directions of the angel. The first parcel that was
+revealed is generally agreed to have been the first five verses of the
+ninety-sixth chapter. After the new revealed passages had been from
+the Prophet’s mouth taken down in writing by his scribe, they were
+published to his followers, several of whom took copies for their
+private use; but the far greater number got them by heart. The
+originals, when returned, were put promiscuously into a chest, without
+regard to any order of time, for which reason it is uncertain when
+many passages were revealed.
+
+‘The Ḳur-án being the Muslims’ rule 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 Ḳur-án into allegorical and literal. The former comprehends the
+more obscure, 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
+tradition and study, to know the time when each passage was revealed,
+its circumstances, state, and history, and the reasons or particular
+emergencies for the sake of which it was revealed. Or, more
+explicitly, whether the passage was revealed at Mekka 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 depend thereon; whether it be particular
+or general; and lastly, whether it be implicit by intention, or
+explicit in words.
+
+‘By what has been said, the reader may easily believe that this book
+is held by the Muslims in the greatest reverence and esteem. The more
+strict among them dare not touch it without being first washed or
+legally purified; which lest they should do by inadvertence, they
+sometimes write these words of the book itself on the cover or label,
+“None shall touch it but they who are purified.” 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, inscribe sentences from it on their banners, sometimes adorn
+it with gold and precious stones, and knowingly suffer it not to be in
+the possession of any person of a different persuasion. It is the
+foundation of their education; and the children in the schools are
+taught to chant it, and commit the whole of it to memory.’
+
+
+
+
+BOOKS.
+
+
+In reading a large number of works bearing upon the subjects of this
+Introduction, I have remarked a curious freedom of quotation in most
+of the writers. I find the same sentence, or at least the same
+thought, repeated in several books without any reference to the author
+who first put it forth. Each writer seems to have studied his
+predecessors with such minuteness that he can quote their very words,
+but he does not appear to remember whence the words came. When a
+thought has once been perfectly expressed, it were a ridiculous vanity
+to seek to frame it in different words, and so far it is undoubtedly
+wise to make use of the best of what has preceded us; nevertheless, it
+is well to acknowledge our debt. Yet thoughts, and even phrases,
+impress themselves on the memory till one unconsciously comes to
+appropriate them as his own; and this, I doubt not, is the cause of
+much of the plagiarism I have noticed. It is extremely probable that I
+have been guilty of the same sin. I have crowded my pages with marks
+of quotation, sometimes with foot references, sometimes without (for
+the student of the subject will know where to look for them), but it
+is quite likely that I have often unconsciously used another’s phrase
+or metaphor without rendering thanks. So I now append a list of the
+principal European books I have used, and beg once and for all to
+record my indebtedness to their writers. The original Arabic
+authorities will dispense with my acknowledgments, and the catalogue
+of them would not assist the English reader who wishes to proceed
+further in the study of the subject, for whom this list may prove
+useful.
+
+   BURCKHARDT, J. L. _Notes on the Bedouins and Wahábys._ 2 vols.
+       1831.
+
+   DEUTSCH, EMANUEL. _Literary Remains._ 1874.
+
+   DOZY, R. _Essai sur l´Histoire de l´Islamisme_, trad. par V.
+       Chauvin. 1879.
+
+   FRESNEL, F. _Lettres sur l´Histoire des Arabes avant
+       l´Islamisme._ 1836-38.
+
+   HUGHES, REV. T. P. _Notes on Muhammadanism._ 2d ed. 1877.
+
+   KREMER, A. VON. _Geschichte der herrschenden Ideen des
+       Isláms._ 1868.
+
+   —— _Culturgeschichte des Orients unter den Chalifen._ 2 vols.
+   1876, 1877.
+
+   LANE, E. W. _The Modern Egyptians._ 5th ed. 1 vol. 1860.
+
+   —— _The Thousand and One Nights_ (notes). 2d ed. 3 vols.
+       1859, 1860.
+
+   —— _Selections from the Kur-án._ 1st ed. 1843.
+
+   —— _Arabic-English Lexicon_, Preface, &c. 1863.
+
+   LYALL, C. J. _Translations from the Hamâseh and the Aghânî; The
+       Mo´allaqah of Zuheyr._ (Journal As. Soc. of Bengal, 1878.)
+
+   MUIR, SIR W. _The Life of Mahomet._ 4 vols. New edition.[25]
+       1867.
+
+   NÖLDEKE, TH. _Geschichte des Qorâns._ 1860.
+
+   —— _Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Poesie der alten Araber._
+       1864.
+
+   PALGRAVE, W. GIFFORD. _Central and Eastern Arabia._ 6th ed.
+       1871.
+
+   PERCEVAL, A.-P. CAUSSIN DE. _Essai sur l´Histoire des Arabes
+       avant l´Islamisme._ 3 vols. 1847, 1848.
+
+   POOLE, R. STUART. _Pagan and Muslim Arabs._ (Fortnightly
+       Review, October 15, 1865.)
+
+   RODWELL, J. M. _El-Korân._ 2d ed. 1876.
+
+   SALE, G. _The Koran._ 1836.
+
+   SÉDILLOT, L.-A. _Histoire Générale des Arabes._ 2d ed. 2 vols.
+       1877.
+
+   SMITH, R. BOSWORTH. _Mohammed and Mohammedanism._ 2d ed. 1876.
+
+   SPRENGER, A. _Das Leben und die Lehre des Mohammad._ 2d ed. 3
+       vols. 1869.
+
+   ST. HILAIRE, T.-BARTHÉLEMY. _Mahomet et le Coran._ 2d ed.
+   1865.
+
+   TIELE, C. P. _Outlines of the History of Religion_, translated
+       by J. E. Carpenter. (Trübner’s Philosophical Library. Vol.
+       vii. 1877.)
+
+   WEIL, G. _Das Leben Mohammed’s nach Ibn Ishak_ bearbeitet von
+       Ibn Hischam. 2 vols. 1864.
+
+
+
+
+SELECTIONS FROM THE ḲUR-ÁN.
+
+_PART THE FIRST._
+
+NOTE.
+
+
+The following extracts were all translated by Mr. Lane, with the
+exception of those to which an obelus (†) is prefixed, for
+which I alone am responsible. In the text, the words in italics are
+inserted from the commentary of the Jeláleyn; words in square brackets
+[] are Mr. Lane’s additions, inserted where the difference between the
+Arabic and English idioms required them.
+
+In the foot-notes, words in italics are from the commentary of the
+Jeláleyn; notes followed by the initial S., from Sale’s _Koran_; the
+letters B., Z., and A. F., following S. in parenthesis, point to the
+authorities from which Sale’s note was derived, the great commentaries
+of El-Beydáwee and Ez-Zamakhsharee, and Abu-l-Fidá’s Life of Moḥammad,
+respectively. The other notes are Mr. Lane’s, either from the original
+edition or extracted from his _Modern Egyptians_ (5th 1 vol. ed.
+1860), or his notes to the _Thousand and One Nights_ (2d ed. 1859);
+except those enclosed in square brackets, which are due to myself.
+
+The numbers at the end of each extract refer to the chapter (soorah)
+and verse in Flügel’s text of the Ḳur-án (Lipsiæ, 1869).
+
+   S. L. P.
+
+
+
+
+_PART THE FIRST._
+
+
+_THE OPENING PRAYER._[26]
+
+_EL-FÁTIḤAH._
+
+
+I.
+
+   In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
+
+   Praise be to God, the Lord of the Worlds,[27]
+   The Compassionate, the Merciful,
+   The King of the day of judgment.
+   Thee do we worship, and of Thee seek we help.[28]
+   Guide us in the right way,
+   The way of those to whom Thou hast been gracious,
+   Not of those with whom Thou art wroth, nor of the erring.
+
+   (i.)
+
+
+
+
+_PREMONITION._
+
+
+II.
+
+A.L.M.[29] Respecting this Book there is no doubt;[30] _it is_ a
+guidance for them that fear Him,
+
+Who believe in the unseen,[31] and perform the prayer, and of what We
+have bestowed on them expend,
+
+And who believe in that which hath been sent down to thee,[32] and
+what hath been sent down before thee,[33] and have firm assurance of
+the life to come.
+
+Those follow a right direction from their Lord, and those are they who
+shall prosper.
+
+As for those who have disbelieved, it will be equal to them whether
+thou admonish them or admonish them not: they will not believe.
+
+God hath sealed their hearts and their ears, and over their eyes is a
+covering, and for them is [ordained] a great punishment.
+
+   (ii. 1-6.)
+
+
+
+
+_GOD._
+
+
+III.
+
+   SAY, He is God, One [God];
+   God, the Eternal.
+   He begetteth not nor is begotten,
+   And there is none equal unto Him.
+
+   (cxii.)[34]
+
+
+IV.
+
+_The Throne-Verse._[35]
+
+God! There is no God but He, the _Ever_-Living, the Ever-Subsisting.
+Slumber seizeth Him not, nor sleep. To Him belongeth whatsoever is in
+the Heavens and whatsoever is in the Earth. Who is he that shall
+intercede with Him, unless by His permission? He knoweth what [hath
+been] before them and what [shall be] after them, and they shall not
+compass aught of His knowledge save what He willeth. His Throne
+comprehendeth the Heavens and the Earth,[36] and the care of them
+burdeneth Him not. And He is the High, the Great.
+
+   (ii. 256.)
+
+
+V.
+
+†SAY, O God, to whom belongeth dominion, Thou givest dominion
+to whom Thou wilt, and from whom Thou wilt Thou takest it away; Thou
+exaltest whom Thou wilt, and whom Thou wilt Thou humblest. In Thy hand
+is good. Verily Thou art all-powerful.
+
+Thou causest the night to pass into the day, and Thou causest the day
+to pass into the night; and Thou bringest forth the living from the
+dead, and Thou bringest forth the dead from the living; and thou
+givest sustenance to whom Thou wilt without measure.
+
+   (iii. 25, 26.)
+
+
+VI.
+
+Blessed be He in whose hand is the dominion and who is
+all-powerful;[37]
+
+Who hath created death and life, that He may prove you, which of you
+[will be] best in works: and He is the Mighty, the Very-Forgiving:
+
+Who hath created seven heavens, one above another. Thou seest not any
+fault in the creation of the Compassionate. But lift up the eyes again
+_to heaven_. Dost thou see any fissures?
+
+Then lift up the eyes again twice; the sight shall return unto thee
+dull and dim.
+
+   (lxvii. 1-4.)
+
+
+VII.
+
+Verily your Lord is God, who created the heavens and the earth in six
+days: then He ascended the throne. He causeth the night to cover the
+day; it followeth it swiftly: and _He created_ the sun and the moon
+and the stars, made subject utterly to His command. Do not the _whole_
+creation and command belong to Him? Blessed be God, the Lord of the
+Worlds.
+
+   (vii. 52.)
+
+
+VIII.
+
+We have placed in heaven _the twelve_ signs _of the Zodiac_, and
+adorned them for the beholders _with the constellations_;
+
+And We have guarded them (_by means of shooting stars_) from every
+accursed devil,[38]
+
+Excepting him who listeneth by stealth, whom a manifest shooting star
+pursueth.
+
+We have also spread forth the earth, and thrown thereon firm
+_mountains_,[39] and We have caused to spring forth in it every kind
+[of green thing] weighed.[40]
+
+And We have provided for you therein necessaries of life, and _for_
+him whom ye do not sustain;[41]
+
+And there is not a thing but the storehouses thereof are with Us, and
+We send it not down save in determined quantities.
+
+We also send the fertilizing winds,[42] and We send down water from
+heaven, and give you to drink thereof; and ye are not the storers of
+it.
+
+And verily We give life and death, and We are the heirs _of all the
+creation_.
+
+We also know those who have gone before you, and We know those who
+follow after [you].
+
+And verily thy Lord will assemble them together: for He is Wise,
+Knowing.
+
+   (xv. 16-25.)
+
+
+IX.
+
+And your God is One God: there is no god but He, the Compassionate,
+the Merciful.
+
+Verily in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the varying
+of night and day, and the ships that course upon the sea _laden_ with
+what is profitable to mankind, and the water that God hath sent down
+from heaven, quickening the earth thereby after its death, and
+scattering about it all kinds of beasts; and in the changing of the
+winds, and the clouds that are compelled to do service between heaven
+and earth, are signs unto a people who understand.
+
+Yet among men are those who take to themselves, beside God, idols,
+which they love as _with_ the love for God: but those who have
+believed are more loving towards God _than these towards their idols_.
+
+   (ii. 158-160.)
+
+
+X.
+
+Verily God causeth the grain to come forth, and the date-stone: He
+bringeth forth the living from the dead,[43] and He bringeth forth the
+dead from the living:[44] This is God; then wherefore are ye turned
+away?
+
+He causeth the dawn to appear, and hath ordained the night for rest,
+and the sun and the moon for reckoning _time_: this is the appointment
+of the Mighty, the Wise.
+
+And it is He who hath ordained for you the stars, that ye may be
+guided by them in the darknesses of the land and of the sea: We have
+clearly shown the signs _of Our power_ unto the people who know.[45]
+
+And it is He who hath produced you from one soul, and _there is_ a
+place of rest and of storing:[46] We have clearly shown the signs to
+the people who understand.
+
+And it is He who hath sent down water from heaven, and We have
+produced thereby the germs of everything, and We have caused the
+green thing to come forth therefrom, from which We draw forth grains
+massed; and from the palm-tree, from its fruit-branch, clusters of
+dates heaped together:[47] and gardens of grapes, and the olive and
+the pomegranate, like one another[48] and not like.[49] Look ye at
+their fruits when they bear fruit, and their ripening. Verily therein
+are signs unto the people who believe.
+
+Yet they have set up the Jinn[50] as partners of God, though He hath
+created them, and without knowledge have they falsely attributed to
+Him sons and daughters. Extolled be His purity, and high be He exalted
+above that which they attribute [to Him]!
+
+_He is_ the Author of the heavens and the earth. How then should He
+have offspring, when He hath no consort, and hath created everything
+and knoweth everything?
+
+This is God your Lord. There is no God but He, the Creator of
+everything: therefore worship ye Him;[51] and He is guardian over
+everything.
+
+The eyes see Him not, but He seeth the eyes: and He is the Gracious,
+the Knowing.
+
+   (vi. 95-103.)
+
+
+XI.
+
+It is He who maketh the lightning to appear unto you, [causing] fear
+and hope _of rain_, and formeth the pregnant clouds.
+
+And the thunder proclaimeth His perfection with His praise; and
+[likewise] the angels, in fear of Him. And He sendeth the
+thunderbolts, and striketh with them whom He pleaseth, whilst they
+dispute concerning God; for He is mighty in power.[52]
+
+   (xiii. 13, 14.)
+
+
+XII.
+
+With Him are the keys of the hidden things: none knoweth them but He:
+and He knoweth whatsoever is on the land and in the sea, and there
+falleth not a leaf but He knoweth it, nor a grain in the dark parts of
+the earth, nor a moist thing nor a dry thing, but [it is noted] in a
+distinct writing.[53]
+
+And it is He who taketh your souls at night, and knoweth what ye have
+gained in the day; then He reviveth you therein,[54] that an appointed
+time[55] may be fulfilled. Then unto Him shall ye return: then will He
+declare unto you what ye have done.
+
+And He is the Supreme[56] over His servants, and He sendeth watchers
+over you,[57] until when death cometh unto any one of you, Our
+messengers take his soul, and they fail not.
+
+Then are they[58] returned unto God their Lord, the True.[59] Doth not
+judgment belong to Him? And He is the most quick of reckoners.
+
+SAY,[60] Who delivereth you from the darknesses of the land and of the
+sea, _when_ ye supplicate Him humbly and in secret, _saying_, ‘If Thou
+deliver us from these _dangers_, we will assuredly be of [the number
+of] the thankful’?
+
+SAY, God delivereth you from them and from every affliction.
+
+   (vi. 59-64.)
+
+
+XIII.
+
+Verily God will not forgive the associating with Him [any other being
+as a god], but will forgive other _sins_ unto whom He pleaseth; and
+whoso associateth [another] with God hath wrought a great wickedness.
+
+   (iv. 51.)
+
+
+XIV.
+
+They[61] say, ‘The Compassionate hath gotten offspring:’ Ye have done
+an impious thing.
+
+It wanteth little but that the heavens be rent thereat, and that the
+earth cleave asunder, and that the mountains fall down in pieces.[62]
+
+_For_ that they have attributed offspring to the Compassionate, when
+it beseemeth not the Compassionate to get offspring.
+
+There is none of all that are in the heavens and the earth but he
+shall come unto the Compassionate as a servant.[63] He hath known them
+and numbered them with an _exact_ numbering.
+
+And each of them shall come unto Him on the day of resurrection,
+alone.[64]
+
+†Verily those who have believed and have done the things that
+are right, on them the Compassionate will bestow [His] love.
+
+   (xix. 91-96.)
+
+
+XV.
+
+O men _of Mekkeh_, a parable is propounded, wherefore hearken unto it.
+Verily, those _idols_ which ye invoke beside God can never create a
+fly, although they assembled for it: and if the fly carry off from
+them aught,[65] they cannot recover the same from it. Weak are the
+seeker and the sought!
+
+   (xxii. 72.)
+
+
+XVI.
+
+The likeness of those who take to themselves Tutelars[66] instead of
+God is as the likeness of the spider, which maketh for herself a
+dwelling; and the frailest of dwellings surely is the dwelling of the
+spider! If they knew[67]——!
+
+Verily God knoweth whatever thing they invoke in His stead; and He is
+the Mighty, the Wise.
+
+And these parables[68] we propound unto men; but none understand them
+except the wise.
+
+God hath created the heavens and the earth in truth: verily therein is
+a sign unto the believers.
+
+   (xxix. 40-43.)
+
+
+
+
+_MOḤAMMAD AND THE ḲUR-ÁN._
+
+
+XVII.
+
+   †O thou enwrapped _in thy mantle_,[69]
+   Arise and warn!
+   And thy Lord—magnify Him!
+   And thy raiment—purify it!
+   And the abomination[70]—flee it!
+   And bestow not favours that thou mayest receive again with increase.
+   And for thy Lord wait thou patiently.[71]
+
+   (lxxiv. 1-7.)
+
+
+XVIII.
+
+   †By the morning-brightness,
+   And by the still of night,[72]
+   Thy Lord hath not forsaken thee, neither hath He hated thee.
+   And surely the Future will be better for thee than the Present,
+   And thy Lord will give to thee, and thou wilt be well-pleased.
+   Did He not find thee an orphan, and sheltered thee?
+   And He found thee erring, and guided thee,
+   And found thee needy, and enriched thee.
+   Then, as to the orphan, oppress him not;
+   And as to him that asketh of thee, chide him not away;
+   And as for the bounty of thy Lord, tell it then [abroad].
+
+   (xciii.)
+
+
+XIX.
+
+SAY, I do not say unto you, ‘With me[73] are the treasures of God,’
+nor, ‘I know what is unseen,’ nor do I say unto you, ‘Verily I am an
+angel.’ I follow not [aught] but what is revealed unto me.
+
+   (vi. 50.)
+
+
+XX.
+
+†SAY, I am only a man like unto you. It is only revealed unto
+me that your God is One God. He then that hopeth to meet his Lord, let
+him work a righteous work, and in the worship of his Lord let him not
+associate any [other god].
+
+   (xviii. 110.)
+
+
+XXI.
+
+†SAY, If I err, only against myself shall I err, but if I am
+rightly-guided, it [is] of what my Lord hath revealed to me. Verily,
+He is the Hearer, the Near-at-hand!
+
+   (xxxiv. 49.)
+
+
+XXII.
+
+Moḥammad is nought but a Messenger.[74] The Messengers have passed
+away before him. If then he die or be slain, will ye turn round upon
+your heels?[75] But he who turneth round upon his heels will not
+injure God a whit;[76] and God will reward the thankful.
+
+   (iii. 138.)
+
+
+XXIII.
+
+Verily We have revealed unto thee as we revealed unto Noah and the
+prophets after him, and _as_ We revealed unto Abraham, and Ishmael,
+and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and Jesus, and Job, and Jonah,
+and Aaron, and Solomon; and We gave unto David the Psalms.
+
+   (iv. 161.)
+
+
+XXIV.
+
+[77] SAY _unto them_, Do ye argue with us concerning God, when
+He is our Lord and your Lord,[78] and when we have our works and ye
+have your works, and when we are sincere towards Him?
+
+Nay, do ye say that Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the
+tribes were Jews or Christians? SAY _unto them_, Are ye the more
+knowing, or is God?[79] And who is more unrighteous than they who
+conceal a testimony that they have from God?[80] But God is not
+heedless of that which ye do.
+
+   (ii. 133, 134.)
+
+
+XXV.
+
+_Remember_, when Jesus the son of Mary said, ‘O children of Israel,
+Verily I am the Messenger of God unto you, confirming the Law which
+[was] before me, and giving good tidings of a Messenger who shall come
+after me, whose name [shall be] Aḥmad.’[81] But when he (_Aḥmad_) came
+unto them with evident proofs, they said, ‘This is manifest magic!’
+
+And who is more unrighteous than he who forgeth falsehood against God,
+when he is invited unto El-Islám? And God directeth not the
+unrighteous people.
+
+They desire to put out the light of God with their mouths: but God
+will perfect His light, though the unbelievers be loth _thereto_.
+
+It is He who hath sent His messenger with the direction and the
+religion of truth, that He may exalt above every religion, though the
+polytheists be loth _thereto_.
+
+   (lxi. 6-9.)
+
+
+XXVI.
+
+Those to whom We have given the Scripture know him (_Moḥammad_) as
+they know their children.[82] But a party of them do conceal the
+truth[83] while they know.
+
+   (ii. 141.)
+
+
+XXVII.
+
+_The Jews said unto Moḥammad_, ‘Verily God hath enjoined us[84] that
+we should not believe an apostle until he bring us a sacrifice which
+fire shall devour.’
+
+SAY, Apostles have come unto you before me with manifest proofs,[85]
+and with that ye have mentioned:[86] then wherefore did ye slay them,
+if ye be speakers of truth?
+
+   (iii. 179, 180.)
+
+
+XXVIII.
+
+_The unbelievers of Mekkeh_ have sworn by God, with the mightiest of
+their oaths, that if a sign come unto them they will assuredly believe
+therein. SAY, Signs are only with God. And what will make you to
+know?[87] Verily if they come they will not believe.
+
+And We will turn away their hearts and their eyes,[88] as they
+believed not therein the first time; and We will leave them in their
+transgression, wandering about in perplexity.
+
+And though We had sent down unto them the angels, and the dead had
+spoken unto them, and We had gathered together about them everything
+in tribes, they had not believed unless God had pleased; but the
+greater number of them know not.
+
+   (vi. 109-111.)
+
+
+XXIX.
+
+And they have said, ‘O thou unto whom the Admonition[89] hath been
+sent down, thou art certainly possessed by a Jinnee.[90]
+
+Why dost thou not come unto us with the angels, if thou be of those
+that speak truth?’
+
+We send not down the angels save with justice,[91] nor would they then
+be respited.
+
+Verily, We have sent down the Admonition, and We will surely preserve
+it.
+
+And We have sent _Messengers_ before thee among the sects of the
+former generations;
+
+And there came not unto them any Messenger but they had him in
+derision:
+
+In like manner will We put it into the hearts of the sinners _of
+Mekkeh to do so_;
+
+They shall not believe in him, and the punishment of the former
+generations hath passed.
+
+And if We should open above them a gate in heaven, and they should
+pass the day mounting up to it,
+
+They would say, ‘Our eyes are only intoxicated, or rather we are a
+people enchanted.’
+
+   (xv. 6-15.)
+
+
+XXX.
+
+   †Verily, it is the excellent Ḳur-án,
+   Written in the Preserved Book.[92]
+   None shall touch it but they who are purified.[93]
+   It is a revelation from the Lord of the Worlds.
+
+   (lvi. 76-79.)
+
+
+XXXI.
+
+SAY, Verily if mankind and the Jinn assembled together for the purpose
+of producing the like of this Ḳur-án,[94] they could not produce the
+like thereof, although they helped one another.[95]
+
+And We have explained unto men in this Ḳur-án every _kind of_
+parable,[96] but the greater number of men have refused [all else]
+save unbelief,
+
+And have said, ‘We will by no means believe in thee until thou cause a
+fountain to gush forth for us from the earth,
+
+_Or_ thou have a garden of palm-trees and grapes, and thou cause
+rivers to spring forth in the midst thereof in abundance,
+
+_Or_ thou cause heaven to fall down upon us, as thou hast pretended,
+in pieces, or thou bring God and the angels before _us_,
+
+_Or_ thou have a house of gold, or thou ascend into heaven, and we
+will not believe thy ascending until thou cause a book to descend unto
+us which we may read.’ SAY, Extolled be the perfection of my Lord! Am
+I [aught] save a man, [sent] as a Messenger?
+
+And nothing hath hindered men from believing when the direction hath
+come unto them, but their saying, ‘Hath God sent a man as a
+Messenger?’[97]
+
+SAY, If there were upon the earth angels walking at ease,[98] We had
+sent down unto them from heaven an angel as a Messenger.[99]
+
+SAY, God is a sufficient witness between me and you: for He knoweth
+and seeth His servants.
+
+   (xvii. 90-98.)
+
+
+XXXII.
+
+And this Ḳur-án is not an invention[100] of one who is not God, but
+_it hath been sent down_ as a confirmation of those _books which have
+been_ before it, and an explanation of the Scripture—there is no doubt
+thereof—from the Lord of the Worlds.
+
+Do they say, ‘He[101] hath forged it?’ SAY, Then bring ye a
+Soorah[102] like unto it and call whom ye can,[103] other than God, if
+ye speak truth.
+
+Nay they have charged with falsehood that which they comprehend not,
+and the explanation thereof[104] hath not yet come unto them. In like
+manner did those who were before them charge _their Messengers_ with
+falsehood; but see how was the end of the offenders!
+
+   (x. 38-40.)
+
+
+XXXIII.
+
+If ye be in doubt concerning that which We have sent down unto Our
+servant _Moḥammad_,[105] bring ye a Soorah like unto it,[106] and
+invoke your witnesses,[107] other than God, if ye be speakers of
+truth.
+
+But if ye do _it_ not (and do _it_ ye shall not), fear the fire whose
+fuel is men and stones: it is prepared for the unbelievers.
+
+   (ii. 21, 22.)
+
+
+XXXIV.
+
+Whatsoever[108] verse We abrogate or cause _thee_ to forget, We will
+produce one better than it or like unto it. Dost thou not know that
+God is all-powerful?
+
+Dost thou not know that to God _belongeth_ the dominion of the heavens
+and the earth, and that beside God ye have no protector or defender?
+
+   (ii. 100, 101.)
+
+
+XXXV.
+
+When We substitute a verse in the stead of a verse (and God best
+knoweth what He revealeth), they say, ‘Thou art but a forger!’—but the
+greater number of them know not!
+
+SAY, The Holy Spirit _Gabriel_ hath brought it down from thy Lord with
+truth, to stablish those who have believed, and as a direction and
+good tidings unto the Muslims.
+
+And We well know that they say, ‘Only a man[109] teacheth him.’ The
+tongue of him to whom they incline is foreign, and this _is the_
+perspicuous Arabic tongue.
+
+   (xvi. 103-105).
+
+
+XXXVI.
+
+SAY, If the sea were ink, for _writing_ the words of my Lord, the sea
+would be dried up or ever the words of my Lord were exhausted; and
+[so] if we brought its like in aid.[110]
+
+   (xviii. 109).
+
+
+
+
+_THE RESURRECTION, PARADISE, AND HELL._
+
+
+XXXVII.
+
+   †The Striking! what is the Striking?
+   And what shall teach thee what the Striking is?
+   _It is_ a day when men shall be like scattered moths,
+   And the mountains like carded wool!
+   Then as for him whose balances are heavy, his shall be a life
+     well-pleasing.
+   As for him whose balances are light, his abode shall be the Pit.
+   And what shall teach thee what that is?
+   A raging fire!
+
+   (ci.)
+
+
+XXXVIII.
+
+   †When the earth is shaken with her shaking,
+   And the earth hath cast forth her dead,[111]
+   And man shall say, ‘What aileth her?’
+   On that day shall she tell out her tidings,
+   Because thy Lord hath inspired her.
+   On that day shall men come one by one to behold their works,
+   And whosoever shall have wrought an ant’s weight of good shall
+     behold it,
+   And whosoever shall have wrought an ant’s weight of ill shall
+     behold it.
+
+   (xcix.)
+
+
+XXXIX.
+
+
+   †When the heaven shall be cloven asunder,
+   And when the stars shall be scattered,
+   And when the seas shall be let loose,
+   And when the graves shall be turned upside-down,
+   _Every_ soul shall know what it hath done and left undone.
+   O man! what hath seduced thee from thy generous Lord,
+   Who created thee and fashioned thee and disposed thee aright?
+   In the form which pleased Him hath He fashioned thee.
+   Nay, but ye treat the Judgment as a lie.
+   Verily there are watchers over you,
+   Worthy recorders,
+   Knowing what ye do.
+   Verily in delight shall the righteous dwell;
+   And verily the wicked in Hell[-Fire];
+   They shall be burnt at it on the day of doom,
+   And they shall not be hidden from it.
+   And what shall teach thee what the Day of Judgment is?
+   Again: What shall teach thee what is the Day of Judgment?
+   _It is_ a day when one soul shall be powerless for another soul;
+     and all on that day shall be in the hands of God.
+
+   (lxxxii.)
+
+
+XL.
+
+   When the sun shall be wrapped up,
+   And when the stars shall fall down,
+   And when the mountains shall be made to pass away,
+   And when the camels ten months gone with young[112] shall be neglected,
+   And when the wild beasts shall be gathered together,
+   And when the seas shall overflow,[113]
+   And when the souls shall be joined _to their bodies_,
+   And when the child[114] that hath been buried alive shall be asked
+   For what crime she was put to death,
+   And when the books[115] shall be laid open,
+   And when the heaven shall be removed,[116]
+   And when Hell shall be made to burn,
+   And when Paradise shall be brought near,—
+   _Then every_ soul shall know what it hath done.
+
+   (lxxxi. 1-14.)
+
+
+XLI.
+
+
+   Hath the news of the Overwhelming reached thee?
+   Countenances on that day [shall be] abased,
+   Labouring, toiling:
+   They shall feel the heat of scorching fire,
+   They shall be given to drink from a fountain fiercely boiling,
+   There shall be no food for them but of daree’,[117]—
+   It shall not fatten nor satisfy hunger.
+
+   (lxxxviii. 1-7.)
+
+
+XLII.
+
+   When one blast shall be blown on the trumpet,
+   And the earth shall be raised and the mountains, and be broken to
+     dust with one breaking,
+   On that day the Calamity shall come to pass:
+   And the heaven shall cleave asunder, being frail on that day,
+   And the angels on the sides thereof; and over them on that day
+     eight _of the angels_[118] shall bear the throne of thy Lord.
+   On that day ye shall be presented _for the reckoning_; none of
+     your secrets shall be hidden.
+   And as to him who shall have his book given to him in his right
+     hand, he shall say,[119] ‘Take ye, read my book;
+   Verily I was sure I should come to my reckoning.
+   And his [shall be] a pleasant life
+   In a lofty garden,
+   Whose clusters [shall be] near at hand.
+   [120]‘Eat ye and drink with benefit on account of that which ye paid
+      beforehand in the past days.’
+
+
+   But as to him who shall have his book given to him in his left
+     hand, he shall say, ‘O would that I had not had my book given
+     to me,
+   Nor known what [was] my reckoning!
+   O would that _my death_ had been the ending _of me_!
+   My wealth hath not profited me!
+   My power is passed away from me!’
+   ‘[121]Take him and chain him,
+   Then cast him into hell to be burnt,
+   Then in a chain of seventy cubits bind him:
+   For he believed not in God, the Great,
+   Nor urged to feed the poor;
+   Therefore he shall not have here this day a friend,
+   Nor any food save filth
+   Which none but the sinners shall eat.’
+
+   (lxix. 13-37.)
+
+
+XLIII.
+
+   When the Calamity shall come to pass
+   There shall not be _a soul_ that will deny its happening,[122]
+   [It will be] an abaser _of some_, an exalter _of others_;
+   When the earth shall be shaken with a _violent_ shaking,
+   And the mountains shall be crumbled with a [violent] crumbling,
+   And shall become fine dust scattered abroad;
+   And ye shall be three classes.
+   And the people of the right hand,[123] what [shall be] the people
+     of the right hand![124]
+   And the people of the left hand, what the people of the left
+     hand![125]
+   And the Preceders,[126] the Preceders!
+   These [shall be] the brought-nigh [unto God]
+   In the gardens of delight,—
+   A crowd of the former generations,
+   And a few of the latter generations,
+   Upon inwrought couches
+   Reclining thereon, face to face.
+   Youths ever-young[127] shall go unto them round about
+   With goblets and ewers and a cup of flowing wine,
+   Their [heads] shall ache not with it neither shall they be drunken;
+   And with fruits of the [sorts] which they shall choose,
+   And the flesh of birds of the [kinds] which they shall desire.
+   And damsels[128] with eyes[129] like pearls laid up
+   _We will give them_ as a reward for that which they have done.
+   Therein shall they hear no vain discourse nor accusation of sin,
+   But [only] the saying, ‘Peace! Peace!’
+
+   And the people of the right hand—what [shall be] the people of
+     the right hand!
+   [They shall dwell] among lote-trees without thorns
+   And bananas loaded with fruit,[130]
+   And a shade _ever_-spread,
+   And water _ever_-flowing,
+   And fruits abundant
+   Unstayed and unforbidden,
+   And couches raised.
+   Verily we have created them[131] by a [peculiar] creation,
+   And have made them virgins,
+   Beloved of their husbands, of equal age [with them],
+   For the people of the right hand,
+   A crowd of the former generations
+   And a crowd of the latter generations.
+
+   And the people of the left hand—what [shall be] the people of
+     the left hand!
+   [They shall dwell] amidst burning wind and scalding water,
+   And a shade of blackest smoke,
+   Not cool and not grateful.
+   For before this they were blest with worldly goods,
+   And they persisted in heinous sin,[132]
+   And said, ‘When we shall have died and become dust and bones,
+     shall we indeed be raised to life,
+   And our fathers the former generations?’
+   SAY, Verily the former and the latter generations
+   Shall be gathered together for the appointed time of a known day.
+   Then ye, O ye erring, belying [people],
+   Shall surely eat of the tree of Ez-Zaḳḳoom,
+   And fill therewith [your] bellies,
+   And drink thereon boiling water,
+   And ye shall drink as thirsty camels drink.—
+   This [shall be] their entertainment on the day of retribution.
+
+   (lvi. 1-56.)
+
+
+XLIV.
+
+Verily We have prepared for the offenders fire, the smoke of which
+shall encompass them; and if they ask relief, they shall be relieved
+with water like the dregs of oil, which shall scald _their_ faces.
+Miserable shall be the drink, and evil shall be the couch.
+
+As for those who have believed and done the things that are right,
+verily We will not suffer the reward of him that hath done well to
+perish:
+
+For these are gardens of perpetual abode, beneath them[133] shall
+rivers run; they shall be adorned therein with bracelets of gold, and
+shall wear green garments of fine brocade and of thick brocade,
+reclining therein on the thrones. Excellent shall be the reward, and
+pleasant shall be the couch.
+
+   (xviii. 28-30.)
+
+
+XLV.
+
+_Call to mind_ the day when We will cause the mountains to pass away
+and thou shalt see the earth plain; and We will assemble them[134] and
+not leave of them any one.
+
+And they shall be set before thy Lord in ranks: ‘Now are ye come unto
+Us as We created you the first time.[135] Nay, ye thought that We
+would not perform [Our] promise to you.’[136]
+
+And the book shall be put [in every man’s hand], and thou shalt see
+the sinners fearful because of that which is [written] therein, and
+they shall say, ‘O woe is us! what meaneth this book? It leaveth
+neither a small _sin_ nor a great _sin_, but it enumerateth it!’ And
+they shall find that which they shall have wrought present;[137] and
+thy Lord will not deal unjustly with any one.
+
+   (xviii. 45-47.)
+
+
+XLVI.
+
+They have not esteemed God with the estimation due unto Him, since the
+whole earth [shall be] His handful on the day of resurrection, and the
+heavens [shall be] folded together by His right hand. Extolled be His
+perfection and high be He exalted above the [things] they associate
+_with Him_!
+
+And the trumpet shall be blown, and they that are in the heavens and
+they that are in the earth shall die, except those whom God shall
+please. Then it shall be blown another time; and lo, they shall arise,
+waiting.
+
+And the earth shall shine with the light of its Lord. And the book
+shall be placed, and the prophets shall be brought and the witnesses,
+and judgment shall be given between them with truth, and they shall
+not be treated unjustly.
+
+And every soul shall be fully paid _the reward_ of what it hath done,
+and He well knoweth what they do.
+
+And those who have disbelieved shall be driven in troops unto hell,
+until when they come to it, its gates shall be opened, and its
+guardians shall say unto them, ‘Did not Messengers from among you come
+unto you rehearsing the signs of your Lord, and warning you of the
+meeting of this your day?’ They shall answer, ‘Yea:’ (But the sentence
+of punishment[138] hath been justly pronounced against the
+unbelievers:)
+
+It shall be said, ‘Enter ye the gates of hell to remain therein for
+ever:’ and evil shall be the abode of the proud.
+
+
+And those who have feared their Lord shall be urged on in troops unto
+paradise, until when they come unto it, its gates are already opened,
+and its guardians say unto them: ‘Peace be on you! Ye have been good:
+therefore enter it to abide _therein_ for ever.’
+
+And they shall say, ‘Praise be to God, who hath performed unto us His
+promise, and hath made us to inherit the land, that we may dwell in
+Paradise wheresoever we please; and how excellent is the reward of the
+workers!’[139]
+
+And thou shalt see the angels encompassing the throne, extolling the
+perfection with the praise of their Lord. And judgment shall be given
+between them[140] with truth: and it shall be said,‘Praise be to God,
+the Lord of the Worlds!’
+
+   (xxxix. 67-75.)
+
+
+XLVII.
+
+Paradise shall be brought near unto the pious, _to a place_ not
+distant _from them, so that they shall see it_.
+
+_And it shall be said unto them_, ‘This is what ye have been promised,
+unto every one who hath earnestly turned himself unto God and kept
+_His laws_,
+
+Who hath feared the Compassionate in secret, and come with a penitent
+heart:
+
+Enter it in peace: this is the Day of Eternity.’
+
+   (l. 30-33.)
+
+
+XLVIII.
+
+†Fairseeming to men is the love of pleasures from women and
+children, and hoarded riches of gold and silver, and pastured[141]
+horses, and flocks, and corn-fields. Such is the enjoyment of this
+world’s life! But God, goodly is the home with Him!
+
+SAY, Shall I tell you of better things than these prepared in the
+presence of their Lord for those that fear [God]? Theirs shall be
+gardens beneath which rivers run, and in which they shall abide for
+ever, and stainless wives, and acceptance with God: for God regardeth
+His servants,
+
+—Who say, ‘O our Lord, verily we have believed; forgive us then our
+sins, and keep us from the torment of the fire,’—
+
+The patient, and the truthful, and the lowly, and the charitable, and
+they who seek pardon at each daybreak.
+
+   (iii. 12-15.)
+
+
+XLIX.
+
+†And repute not those slain in God’s cause[142] to be dead:
+nay, alive with their Lord, they are provided for;
+
+Joyful in what God of His bounty hath vouchsafed them, and rejoicing
+for those that follow after them, but have not yet overtaken them,
+that on them no fear shall come, neither shall they grieve;
+
+Rejoicing at the favour of God and His bounty, and that God suffereth
+not the reward of the faithful to perish.
+
+   (iii. 163-165.)
+
+
+L.
+
+Whosoever doeth the things that are right, whether male or female,
+being a believer,—these shall enter paradise, and shall not be wronged
+in the least degree.
+
+   (iv. 123.)
+
+
+LI.
+
+For those who have disbelieved in their Lord [is prepared] the
+punishment of hell; and evil [shall be] the journey.[143]
+
+When they shall be cast into it they shall hear it braying,[144] while
+it boileth, well-nigh bursting with fury.
+
+   (lxvii. 6-8.)
+
+
+LII.
+
+If thou shouldst see[145] those who have offended[146] when they see
+the punishment![147]—for power belongeth altogether unto God, and God
+is severe in punishing:
+
+When those who have been followed will declare themselves clear of
+those who have followed [them],[148] when they have seen the
+punishment, and the ties [that bound them together] shall be severed
+from them:
+
+And those who have followed shall say, ‘O that there were for us a
+return _to the world_! then would we declare ourselves clear of them,
+like as they have _now_ declared themselves clear of us!’ After this
+manner will God show them their _evil_ works, for which [they shall
+pour forth] lamentations; and they shall not come forth from the fire.
+
+   (ii. 160-162.)
+
+
+LIII.
+
+And the Devil[149] shall say, when the matter shall have been
+determined,[150] ‘Verily God promised you the promise of truth;[151]
+and I promised you,[152] but I deceived you: yet had I no power over
+you;
+
+But I only called you and ye answered me. Therefore blame not me, but
+blame your own selves. I am not a helper of you, neither are ye
+helpers of me. Verily I renounce your having associated me _with God_
+heretofore.’
+
+   (xiv. 26, 27).
+
+
+LIV.
+
+Verily the hypocrites shall be in the lowest abyss of the fire, and
+thou shalt not find for them any defender.
+
+   (iv. 144.)
+
+
+LV.
+
+They[153] will ask thee respecting the Hour,[154] at what time is its
+coming fixed. SAY, The knowledge of it is only with my Lord: none
+shall manifest it in its time but He. It is grievous in the heavens
+and in the earth. It shall not come upon you otherwise than suddenly.
+
+They will ask thee as though thou wert well acquainted therewith. SAY,
+The knowledge of it is only with God: but the greater number of men
+know not!
+
+SAY, I possess not for myself _power to procure_ advantage nor _to
+avert_ mischief, save as God pleaseth: and if I knew things unseen, I
+should obtain abundance of good, and evil should not happen unto me. I
+am only a denouncer of threats _unto the unbelievers_, and an
+announcer of good tidings unto the people who believe.
+
+   (vii. 186-188.)
+
+
+
+
+_PREDESTINATION._
+
+
+LVI.
+
+A soul cannot die unless by permission of God, according to a writing
+_of God_, definite _as to time_.
+
+   (iii. 139.)
+
+
+LVII.
+
+They say [whose companions were slain at the battle of Oḥod], ‘If
+aught of the affair had been _submitted_ to us we had not been slain
+here.’[155] SAY, Had ye been in your houses, those _of you_ who were
+decreed to be slain had gone forth to the places where they lie.
+
+   (iii. 148.)
+
+
+LVIII.
+
+Wheresoever ye be, death will overtake you, although you be in lofty
+towers. If good fortune betide them,[156] they say, ‘This is from
+God!’ But if evil betide them, they say, ‘This is from thee, _O
+Moḥammad_!’ SAY, All is from God. And what aileth this people that
+they are not near to understanding what is said _unto them_?
+
+Whatsoever good betideth thee, _O man, it is_ from God; and whatsoever
+evil betideth thee, from thyself _is it_.
+
+   (iv. 80, 81.)
+
+
+LIX.
+
+†No soul can believe but by the permission of God.
+
+   (x. 100.)
+
+
+LX.
+
+†And whoso willeth taketh the way to his Lord: But ye shall
+not will it, unless God will it.
+
+   (lxxvi. 29, 30.)
+
+
+LXI.
+
+†Expend in the way of God, and throw not yourselves into
+destruction.[157]
+
+   (ii. 191.)
+
+
+_ANGELS AND JINN._[158]
+
+
+LXII.
+
+They say, ‘The Compassionate hath gotten offspring.’[159] Extolled be
+His purity! Nay, _they are_ honoured servants.
+
+They prevent Him not in speech,[160] and according to His command they
+act.
+
+He knoweth what is before them and what is behind them, and they shall
+not intercede
+
+Save for whom He shall please, and they fear in dread of Him.
+
+And him[161] among them who saith, ‘I am a god beside Him,’ that
+[angel] We will recompense with Hell.
+
+   (xxi. 26-30.)
+
+
+LXIII.
+
+†SAY, It hath been revealed to me that a company of the Jinn
+listened [to me] and said, ‘Verily we have heard a wonderful
+discourse[162]
+
+Which guideth unto right: wherefore we believed in it, and we will by
+no means associate any one with our Lord....
+
+We tried the heaven, but we found it filled with a mighty garrison and
+darting flames;
+
+We sat on some of its seats to listen, but whosoever listeneth now
+findeth a darting flame in ambush for him.
+
+We know not whether evil be meant for them that are on the earth, or
+whether their Lord intendeth for them a right guidance.
+
+There are among us the good, and among us _those who are_ not so,—we
+are of various ways.
+
+   (lxxii. 1, 2, 8-11.)
+
+
+
+
+_TRUE RELIGION AND FALSE._
+
+
+LXIV.
+
+Verily God commandeth justice and the doing of good and the giving
+unto the relation: and He forbiddeth wickedness and iniquity and
+oppression. He admonisheth you that ye may reflect.
+
+   (xvi. 92.)[163]
+
+
+LXV.
+
+
+   †By the Night when she spreadeth her veil,
+   By the Day when it appeareth in glory,
+   By Him who made male and female;
+   Verily your aims are indeed different!
+   As then for him who giveth [alms] and feareth [God],
+   And yieldeth assent to the Good,
+   To him will We therefore make easy the path to happiness.
+   But as to him who is covetous and bent on riches,
+   And calleth the Good a lie,
+   To him will We make easy the path to distress;
+   And what shall his wealth avail him when he goeth down headlong?
+   Truly man’s guidance is with Us,
+   And Ours the next Life and this life Present.
+   I warn you therefore of the flaming fire;
+   None shall be burned at it but the most wretched,—
+   Who hath called the truth a lie and turned his back.
+   But the greatly God-fearing shall escape it,—
+   Who giveth away his substance that he may become pure,
+   And who [offereth] not favours to any one for the sake
+     of recompense,
+   But only as seeking the face of his Lord the Most High.
+   And assuredly in the end he shall be well content.[1]
+
+   (xcii.)
+
+
+LXVI.
+
+   †What thinkest thou of him who treateth the day of judgment as a lie?
+   It is he who thrusteth away the orphan,
+   And stirreth not [others] up to feed the poor.
+   Woe, then, to those who pray,
+   Who in their prayer are careless,
+   Who make a show [of devotion],
+   But refuse help [to the needy].[164]
+
+   (cvii.)
+
+
+LXVII.
+
+Your turning your faces _in prayer_ towards the east and the west is
+not piety: but the pious is he who believeth in God and the Last Day,
+and in the angels, and the Scripture, and the prophets, and who giveth
+money, notwithstanding his love _of it_, to relations and orphans, and
+to the needy and the son of the road,[165] and to the askers and for
+_the freeing_ of slaves, and who performeth prayer and giveth the
+[appointed] alms, and those who perform their covenant when they
+covenant, and the patient in adversity and affliction and in the time
+of violence. These are they who have been true: and these are they who
+fear God.
+
+   (ii. 172.)
+
+
+LXVIII.
+
+†He only shall visit the temples of God who believeth in God
+and the Last Day, and observeth prayer, and payeth the [appointed]
+alms, and dreadeth none but God: for these are among the
+rightly-guided.
+
+   (ix. 18.)
+
+
+LXIX.
+
+O ye who have believed, make not your alms of no effect by reproach
+and harm, like him who expendeth his wealth to make a vain show unto
+men, and believeth not in God and the Last Day. For his likeness is as
+the likeness of a smooth stone upon which was earth, and a violent
+rain hath fallen upon it, and left it smooth and hard. [Such] cannot
+have aught that they have gained, and God directeth not the
+unbelieving people.
+
+And the likeness of those who expend their wealth from a desire of
+God’s being pleased, and from assurance on their part,[166] is as the
+likeness of a garden upon a hill, on which a violent rain hath fallen,
+and it hath produced its fruit twofold: and if a violent rain fall not
+upon it, a gentle rain _falleth_.
+
+   (ii. 266, 267.)
+
+
+LXX.
+
+If ye manifest alms, good will it be: but if ye conceal them and give
+them to the poor, it will be better for you; and it will expiate
+_some_ of your sins.
+
+   (ii. 273.)
+
+
+LXXI.
+
+A kind speech and forgiveness are better than alms which hurt[167]
+followeth.
+
+   (ii. 265.)
+
+
+LXXII.
+
+Revile not what they invoke in preference to God,[168] lest they
+revile God evilly without knowledge.
+
+   (vi. 108.)
+
+
+LXXIII.
+
+Turn away _evil_ by that which is better: and lo, he between whom and
+thyself [was] enmity [shall become] as though he were a warm friend:
+
+But none is endowed with this[169] except those who have been patient,
+and none is endowed with it except he who is greatly favoured.[170]
+
+   (xli. 34, 35.)
+
+
+LXXIV.
+
+†If ye are greeted with a greeting, then greet ye with a
+better greeting, or at least return it: verily God taketh count of all
+things.
+
+   (iv. 88.)
+
+
+LXXV.
+
+†If there be any [debtor] under a difficulty [of paying his
+debt], let [his creditor] wait until it be easy: but if ye remit it as
+alms, it will be better for you.
+
+   (ii. 280.)[171]
+
+
+
+
+_BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS._
+
+
+LXXVI.
+
+†Dispute not with the people of the Scripture[172] unless in
+the kindliest[173] manner, except against such of them as deal evilly
+[with you]; and say [unto them], We believe in that which hath been
+sent down unto us and [that which] hath been sent down unto you, and
+our God and your God is one, and to Him are we self-surrendered.[174]
+
+   (xxix. 45.)
+
+
+LXXVII.
+
+Verily those who have believed,[175] and those who have become Jews,
+and the Christians, and the Sabians, whosoever hath believed in God
+and the Last Day, and hath done that which is right,—they shall have
+their reward with their Lord, and _there shall come_ no fear upon
+them, neither shall they grieve.
+
+   (ii. 59.)[176]
+
+
+LXVIII.
+
+Whoso desireth any other religion than El-Islám, it shall not be
+accepted of him, and in the world to come he [shall be] of those that
+perish.
+
+   (iii. 79.)
+
+
+LXXIX.
+
+The likeness of those who have disbelieved[177] is as the likeness of
+him who crieth out to that which heareth not [aught] save a calling
+and a voice. _They are_ deaf, dumb, blind: therefore they do not
+understand.
+
+   (ii. 166.)
+
+
+LXXX.
+
+[As to] the unbelievers, their works are like a vapour[178] in a
+plain, which the thirsty imagineth to be water, until when he cometh
+to it he findeth it not aught:[179] (but he findeth God there, and He
+fully payeth him his account: and God is swift in reckoning:)
+
+Or, like darknesses in a deep sea, covered by waves over waves,—over
+them clouds,—darknesses one over another: when [one] putteth forth his
+hand he is not nearly able to see it. And unto whomsoever God giveth
+not light, he hath no light.
+
+   (xxiv. 39, 40.)
+
+
+LXXXI.
+
+Propound unto them as a parable two men, on one of whom[180] We
+bestowed two gardens of grape-vines, and We surrounded them with
+palm-trees, and put corn between them; each of the gardens brought
+forth its fruit, and failed not thereof at all;
+
+And We caused a river to flow between them; and he had abundance. And
+he said unto his companion, disputing with him, ‘I am greater than
+thou in wealth and more mighty in family.’
+
+And he entered his garden, being unjust to his own soul.[181] He said,
+‘I do not think that this will ever perish,
+
+And I do not think that the [Last] Hour will come; and if I should be
+taken back unto my Lord, I shall assuredly find a better [garden] than
+it in return.’
+
+His companion said unto him, disputing with him, ‘Dost thou disbelieve
+in Him who created thee of dust, then completely fashioned thee into a
+man?
+
+God is my Lord, and I will not associate any one with my Lord.
+
+And why when thou enteredst thy garden didst thou not say, ‘What God
+willeth[182] [cometh to pass]: there is no power but in God?’ If thou
+seest me to be inferior to thee in amount of wealth and in number of
+children,
+
+Perhaps my Lord may give me [what will be] better than thy garden; and
+may send upon [thine] thunderbolts from heaven, so that it shall
+become a smooth and slippery ground;
+
+Or its water may become deep-sunk [in the earth], so that thou shalt
+not be able to draw it.’—
+
+And his possessions were encompassed _with destruction_, and he began
+to turn down the palms of his hands for that which he had expended
+thereon; for it[s vines were] falling down upon its trellises; and he
+said, ‘O would that I had not associated any one with my Lord!’
+
+And there was no party for him to assist him instead of God, nor was
+he able to defend himself.
+
+In that case[183] protection [belongeth] unto God, the True; He is the
+best rewarder and the best giver of success.
+
+   (xviii. 31-42.)
+
+
+LXXXII.
+
+Thou shalt certainly find[184] the Jews and those who have attributed
+partners to God[185] the most violent of men in hatred of those who
+have believed; and thou shalt certainly find the nearest of them to
+friendship to those who have believed those who say, ‘We are
+Christians.’ This is because there are among them priests and monks,
+and because they are not proud.[186]
+
+And when they hear that which hath been sent down unto the Apostle,
+thou seest their eyes overflow with tears because of the truth that
+they know: they say, ‘O our Lord, we believe, therefore write us down
+among those who bear witness.’
+
+   (v. 85, 86.)
+
+
+LXXXIII.
+
+The likeness of those who were charged to bear in mind the Law [of
+Moses], then bore it not in mind,[187] is as the likeness of the ass
+that beareth books. Evil is the likeness of the people who have
+charged the signs of God with falsehood: and God directeth not the
+unjust people.
+
+   (lxii. 5.)
+
+
+LXXXIV.
+
+[188] Among men are those who say, We believe in God and in
+the Last Day: but they are not believers.
+
+They try to deceive God and those who have believed; but they deceive
+not any except themselves, and they know [it] not.
+
+In their hearts is a disease, and God hath increased their disease,
+and for them [is ordained] a painful punishment, because they have
+charged with falsehood _the prophet of God_.
+
+And when it is said unto them, Corrupt not in the earth, they reply,
+‘We are only rectifiers.’
+
+Assuredly they are the corrupters; but they know [it] not.
+
+And when it is said unto them, Believe ye as _other_ men have
+believed, they say, ‘Shall we believe as the fools have believed?’
+Assuredly they are the fools; but they know it not.
+
+And when they meet those who have believed, they say, ‘We believe:’
+but when they retire privately to their devils,[189] they say, ‘We
+_hold_ with you: we only mock _at them_.’
+
+God will mock at them, and keep them in their exceeding wickedness,
+wandering about in perplexity.
+
+These are they who have purchased error in exchange for right
+guidance: but their traffic hath not been profitable; and they have
+not been rightly guided.
+
+Their likeness is as the likeness of those who have kindled a fire _in
+the dark_, and when it hath enlightened what is around them, God
+taketh away their light and leaveth them in darkness, seeing not.
+
+_They are_ deaf, dumb, blind: therefore they will not turn back.
+
+Or _they are_ like _people in_ a storm of rain from heaven, wherein
+are darkness and thunder and lightning: they put their fingers in
+their ears because of the vehement sounds of the thunder, for fear of
+death. And God encompasseth the unbelievers.
+
+The lightning almost snatcheth away their eyes: whenever it shineth on
+them they walk in _the light of_ it, but when darkness cometh on them
+they stand still. And if God pleased He would certainly take away
+their ears and eyes: for God is all-powerful.
+
+   (ii. 7-19.)
+
+
+LXXXV.
+
+O ye who have believed, take not the Jews and Christians as friends.
+They are friends one to another; and whosoever of you taketh them as
+his friends, verily he is _of the number_ of them.
+
+O ye who have believed, take not as friends those who have made your
+religion a laughing-stock and a jest, of those who have received the
+Scripture before you, and the unbelievers: (But fear God if ye be
+believers:)
+
+And _those who_ when ye call to prayer make it a laughing-stock and a
+jest. This _they do_ because they are a people who do not understand.
+
+   (v. 56, 62, 63.)
+
+
+LXXXVI.
+
+†The servants of the Merciful are they that walk upon the
+earth softly; and when the ignorant speak unto them, they reply
+‘Peace!’—
+
+And they that pass the night worshipping their Lord, prostrate and
+standing;—
+
+And that say, ‘O our Lord, turn away from us the torment of Hell:
+verily its torment is endless; verily it is an ill abode and
+resting-place!’—
+
+And those who when they spend are neither lavish nor niggard, but keep
+the mean;—
+
+And those who call on no other gods with God, nor slay whom God hath
+forbidden to be slain, except for a just cause; nor are unchaste;—
+
+And they who bear not witness to a lie, and when they pass by vain
+discourse pass it by with dignity;—
+
+These shall be rewarded with the highest Heaven, for that they
+persevered, and they shall be accosted therein with ‘Welcome and
+Peace,’ to live therein for ever—a fair abode and resting-place!
+
+   (xxv. 64-75.)
+
+
+
+
+_PART THE SECOND._
+
+_PROPHETS, APOSTLES, AND DIVINE BOOKS._[190]
+
+
+SAY YE, We believe in God, and in that which hath been sent down unto
+us (_namely, the Ḳur-án_), and what hath been sent down unto Abraham
+(_the ten books_), and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes,
+_his children_, and what Moses received (_namely, the Pentateuch_),
+and Jesus (_namely, the Gospel_), and what the prophets received from
+their Lord (_namely, books and signs_): we make no separation of any
+of them, _believing in some, and disbelieving in some, like the Jews
+and the Christians_; and we resign ourselves unto Him.
+
+   (ii. 130.)
+
+
+
+
+_ADAM AND EVE._
+
+
+_Remember, O Moḥammad_, when thy Lord said unto the angels, I am about
+to place in the earth a vicegerent _to act for me in the execution of
+my ordinances therein, namely, Adam_,—they said, Wilt Thou place in it
+one who will corrupt in it _by disobediences_, and will shed blood
+(_as did the sons of El-Jánn,[191] who were in it; wherefore, when
+they acted corruptly, God sent to them the angels, who drove them away
+to the islands and the mountains_), when we [on the contrary]
+celebrate the divine perfection, _occupying ourselves_ with Thy
+praise, and extol Thy holiness? _Therefore we are more worthy of the
+vicegerency._—_God_ replied, Verily, I know that which ye know not,
+_as to the affair of appointing Adam vicegerent, and that among his
+posterity will be the obedient and the rebellious, and the just will
+be manifest among them. And He created Adam from the surface of the
+earth, taking a handful of every colour that it comprised, which was
+kneaded with various waters; and He completely formed it, and breathed
+into it the soul: so it became an animated sentient being._[192] And
+He taught Adam the names of all things, _infusing the knowledge of
+them into his heart_. Then He showed them (_namely, the things_) to
+the angels, and said, Declare unto me the names of these _things_, if
+ye say truth _in your assertion that I will not create any more
+knowing than ye, and that ye are more worthy of the vicegerency_. They
+replied, [_We extol_] Thy perfection! We have no knowledge excepting
+what Thou hast taught us; for Thou art the Knowing, the Wise.—_God_
+said, O Adam, tell them their names. And when he had told them their
+names, _God_ said, Did I not say unto you that I know the secrets of
+the heavens and the earth, and know what ye reveal _of your words,
+saying, Wilt thou place in it_, etc., and what ye did conceal _of your
+words, saying, He will not create any more generous towards Him than
+we, nor any more knowing_?
+
+   (ii. 28-31.)
+
+
+We created you; _that is, your father Adam_: then we formed you; _we
+formed him, and you in him_: then We said unto the angels, Prostrate
+yourselves unto Adam, _by way of salutation_; whereupon they
+prostrated themselves, except Iblees, _the father of the jinn, who was
+amid the angels_: he was not of those who prostrated themselves. _God_
+said, What hath hindered thee from prostrating thyself, when I
+commanded thee? He answered, I am better than he: Thou hast created me
+of fire, and Thou hast created him of earth. [God] said, Then descend
+thou from it; _that is, from Paradise; or, as some say, from the
+heavens_; for it is not fit for thee that thou behave thyself proudly
+therein: so go thou forth: verily thou [shalt be] of the contemptible.
+He replied, Grant me respite until the day when they (_that is,
+mankind_) shall be raised from the dead. He said, Thou shalt be of
+those [who are] respited: _and, in another verse_ [in xv. 38, it is
+said], _until the day of the known period; that is, until the period
+of the first blast_ [of the trumpet]. [And the devil] said, Now, as
+Thou hast led me into error, I will surely lay wait for them (_that
+is, for the sons of Adam_) in Thy right way, _the way that leadeth to
+Thee_: then I will surely come upon them, from before them, and from
+behind them, and from their right hands, and from their left, _and
+hinder them from pursuing the way_ (_but, saith Ibn-´Abbás, he cannot
+come upon them above, lest he should intervene between the servant and
+God’s mercy_), and Thou shalt not find the greater number of them
+grateful, _or believing_. [God] said, Go forth from it, despised and
+driven away _from mercy_. Whosoever of them (_that is, of mankind_)
+shall follow thee, I will surely fill hell with you all; _with thee,
+and thy offspring, and with men_.
+
+   (vii. 10-17.)
+
+
+And we said, O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife (_Howwá_ [or Eve], _whom
+God created from a rib of his left side_) in the garden, and eat ye
+therefrom plentifully, wherever ye will; but approach ye not this
+tree, _to eat thereof_; (_and it was wheat, or the grape-vine, or some
+other tree_;) for _if ye do so_, ye will be of _the number of_ the
+offenders. But the devil, _Iblees_, caused them to slip from it, _that
+is, from the garden, by his saying unto them, Shall I show you the way
+to the tree of eternity? And he swore to them by God that he was one
+of the faithful advisers to them: so they ate of it_, and He ejected
+them from that _state of delight_ in which they were. And We said,
+Descend ye[193] _to the earth, ye two with the offspring that ye
+comprise_ [yet unborn], one of you (_that is, of your offspring_) an
+enemy to another; and there shall be for you, in the earth, a place of
+abode, and a provision, _of its vegetable produce_, for a time, _until
+the period of the expiration of your terms of life_. And Adam learned,
+from his Lord, words, _which were these_:—_O Lord, we have acted
+unjustly to our own souls, and if Thou do not forgive us, and be
+merciful unto us, we shall surely be of those who suffer loss_.[194]
+_And he prayed in these words_; and He became propitious towards him,
+_accepting his repentance_; for He is the Very Propitious, the
+Merciful. We said, Descend ye from it (_from the garden_) altogether;
+and if there come unto you from Me a direction (_a book and an
+apostle_), those who follow my direction, _there shall come_ no fear
+on them, nor shall they grieve _in the world to come; for they shall
+enter paradise_: but they who disbelieve and accuse our signs[195] of
+falsehood, these shall be the companions of the fire: they shall
+remain therein for ever.
+
+   (ii. 33-37.)
+
+
+
+
+_ABEL AND CAIN._
+
+
+Recite, _O Moḥammad_, unto them (_that is, to thy people_) the history
+of the two sons of Adam, _namely, Abel and Cain_,[196] with truth.
+When they offered [their] offering _to God_[197] (_Abel’s being a ram,
+and Cain’s being produce of the earth_), and it was accepted from one
+of them (_that is, from Abel; for fire descended from heaven, and
+devoured his offering_), and it was not accepted from the other, _Cain
+was enraged; but he concealed his envy until Adam performed a
+pilgrimage, when_ he said _unto his brother_, I will assuredly slay
+thee. _Abel said, Wherefore? Cain answered, Because of the acceptance
+of thine offering to the exclusion of mine. Abel_ replied, God only
+accepteth from the pious. If thou stretch forth to me thy hand to slay
+me, I will not stretch forth to thee my hand to slay thee; for I fear
+God, the Lord of the worlds. I desire that thou shouldst bear the sin
+[which thou intendest to commit] against me, _by slaying me_, and thy
+sin _which thou hast committed before_, and thou wilt be of the
+companions of the fire.—And that is the recompense of the
+offenders.—But his soul suffered him to slay his brother: so he slew
+him; and he became of [the number of] those who suffer loss. _And he
+knew not what to do with him; for he was the first dead person upon
+the face of the earth of the sons of Adam. So he carried him upon his
+back._ And God sent a raven, which scratched up the earth _with its
+bill and its talons and raised it over a dead raven that was with it
+until it hid it_, to show him how he should hide the corpse of his
+brother. He said, O my disgrace! Am I unable to be like this raven,
+and to hide the corpse of my brother?—And he became of [the number of]
+the repentant. _And he digged_ [a grave] _for him, and hid him_.—On
+account of this _which Cain did_ We commanded the children of Israel
+that he who should slay a soul (not for _the latter’s having slain_ a
+soul or _committed_ wickedness in the earth, _such as infidelity, or
+adultery, or intercepting the way, and the like_) [should be regarded]
+as though he had slain all mankind; and he who saveth it alive, _by
+abstaining from slaying it_, as though he had saved alive all mankind.
+
+   (v. 30-35.)
+
+
+
+
+_NOAH AND THE FLOOD._
+
+
+We formerly sent Noah [Nooḥ] unto his people, _saying_, Verily I am
+unto you a plain admonisher that ye worship not [any] but God. Verily
+I fear for you, _if ye worship any other_, the punishment of an
+afflictive day _in this world and in the world to come_.—But the
+chiefs who disbelieved among his people replied, We see thee not to be
+other than a man, like unto us; and we see not any to have followed
+thee except the meanest of us, _as the weavers and the cobblers_, at
+first thought (_or rashly_), nor do we see you to have any excellence
+above us: nay, we imagine you to be liars _in your claim to the
+apostolic commission_. He said, O my people, tell me, if I have an
+evident proof from my Lord and He hath bestowed on me mercy (_the gift
+of prophecy_) from Himself which is hidden from you, shall we compel
+you to _receive_ it when ye are averse thereto? _We cannot do so._
+And, O my people, I ask not of you any riches for it; _namely, for
+delivering my message_. My reward is not due from any but God; and I
+will not drive away those who have believed _as ye have commanded me_
+[because they are poor people]. Verily they shall meet their Lord _at
+the resurrection, and He will recompense them, and will exact for
+them_ [reparation] _from those who have treated them with injustice,
+and driven them away_. But I see you [to be] a people who are ignorant
+_of the end of your case_. And, O my people, who will defend me
+against God if I drive them away? Will ye not then consider? And I do
+not say unto you, I have the treasures of God; nor [do I say], I know
+the things unseen; nor do I say, Verily I am an angel; nor do I say,
+of those whom your eyes contemn, God will by no means bestow on them
+good: (God best knoweth what is in their minds:) verily I should in
+that case be [one] of the offenders.—They replied, O Noah, thou hast
+disputed with us and multiplied disputes with us: now bring upon us
+that _punishment_ wherewith thou threatenest us, if thou be of those
+that speak truth. He said, Only God will bring it upon you, if He
+please _to hasten it unto you; for it is His affair, not mine_; and ye
+shall not escape _God_: nor will my counsel profit you, if I desire to
+counsel you, if God desire to lead you into error. He is your Lord;
+and unto Him shall ye be brought back.
+
+   (xi. 27-36.)
+
+
+And it was said by revelation unto Noah, Verily there shalt not
+believe of thy people [any] but they who have already believed;
+therefore be not grieved for that which they have done.
+
+   (xi. 38.)
+
+
+_And he uttered an imprecation upon them, saying_, O my Lord, leave
+not upon the earth any one of the unbelievers; for if Thou leave them,
+they will lead Thy servants into error, and will not beget [any] but a
+wicked, ungrateful [offspring]. O my Lord, forgive me and my parents
+(_for they were believers_), and whomsoever entereth my house (_my
+abode, or my place of worship_), being a believer, and the believing
+men, and the believing women, (_to the day of resurrection_), and add
+not to the offenders [aught] save destruction.
+
+   (lxxi. 27-29.)
+
+
+_And God answered his prayer, and said_, Construct the ark in our
+sight and according to our revelation, and speak not unto Me
+concerning those who have offended, _to beg Me not to destroy them_;
+for they [shall be] drowned. And he constructed the ark; and whenever
+a company of his people passed by him, they derided him. He said, If
+ye deride us, we will deride you, like as ye deride, _when we are
+saved and ye are drowned_, and ye shall know on whom shall come a
+punishment which shall render him vile, and whom shall befall a
+lasting punishment. [Thus he was employed] until when Our decree _for
+their destruction_ came to pass, and the _baker’s_ oven overflowed
+_with water_[198] (_for this was a signal unto Noah_), We said, Carry
+into it (_that is, into the ark_) of every pair, _male and female, of
+each of these descriptions_, two (_and it is related that God
+assembled for Noah the wild beasts and the birds and other creatures,
+and he proceeded to put his hands upon each kind, and his right hand
+fell always upon the male, and his left upon the female, and he
+carried them into the ark_), and thy family (excepting him upon whom
+the sentence _of destruction_ hath already been pronounced, _namely,
+Noah’s wife, and his son Canaan: but Shem and Ham and Japheth and
+their three wives he took_), and those who have believed; but there
+believed not with him save a few: _they were six men and their wives:
+and it is said that all who were in the ark were eighty, half of whom
+were men and half women_. And _Noah_ said, Embark ye therein. In the
+name of God [be] its course and its mooring.[199] Verily my Lord is
+very forgiving [and] merciful.—And it moved along with them amid
+waves like mountains; and Noah called unto his son, _Canaan_, who was
+apart _from the ark_, O my child, embark with us, and be not with the
+unbelievers! He replied, I will betake me to a mountain which will
+secure me from the water. [Noah] said, There is nought that will
+secure to-day from the decree of God [any] but him on whom He hath
+mercy. And the waves intervened between them; so he became [one] of
+the drowned. And it was said, O earth, swallow up thy water
+(_whereupon it drank it up, except what had descended from heaven,
+which became rivers and seas_), and, O heaven, cease _from
+raining_;—and the water abated, and the decree was fulfilled, and it
+(_namely, the ark_) rested on El-Joodee (_a mountain of El-Jezeereh,
+near El-Mósil_); and it was said, Perdition to the offending
+people![200]
+
+   (xi. 38-46.)
+
+
+And Noah called upon his Lord, and said, O my Lord, verily my son is
+of my family, _and Thou hast promised me to save them_, and verily Thy
+promise is true, and Thou art the most just of those who exercise
+judgment. _God_ replied, O Noah, verily he is not of thy family _who
+should be saved, or of the people of thy religion_. Verily it
+(_namely, thine asking me to save him_) is not a righteous act; _for
+he was an unbeliever, and there is no safety for the unbelievers_;
+therefore ask not of me that wherein thou hast no knowledge. I
+admonish thee, lest thou become [one] of the ignorant.—_Noah_ said, O
+my Lord, I beg Thee to preserve me from asking Thee that wherein I
+have no knowledge; and if Thou do not forgive me and have mercy upon
+me, I shall be of those who suffer loss.—It was said, O Noah, descend
+_from the ark_,[201] with peace from Us, and blessings, upon thee and
+upon peoples [that shall proceed] from those who are with thee _in the
+ark_ (_that is, their believing posterity_); but peoples [that shall
+proceed] _from those who are with thee_ We will permit to enjoy _the
+provisions of this world_; then a painful punishment shall befall them
+from Us, _in the world to come; they being unbelievers_.
+
+   (xi. 47-50.)
+
+
+
+
+_´AD AND THAMOOD._
+
+
+And _we sent_ unto _the former_ [tribe of] ´Ád[202] their brother
+Hood.[203] He said, O my people, worship God: _assert His unity_. Ye
+have no other deity than Him. Will ye not then fear _Him, and
+believe_?—The chiefs who disbelieved among his people answered, Verily
+we see thee to be in a foolish way, and verily we esteem thee one of
+the liars _with respect to the apostolic commission_. He replied, O my
+people, there is no folly in me; but I am an apostle from the Lord of
+the worlds. I bring unto you the messages of my Lord, and I am unto
+you a counsellor, intrusted _with the apostolic office_. Do ye wonder
+that an admonition hath come unto you from your Lord by _the tongue
+of_ a man from among you, that he may warn you? And remember how He
+hath appointed you vicegerents _in the earth_ after the people of
+Noah, and increased you in tallness of stature. (_For the tall among
+them was a hundred cubits, and the short among them sixty._) Remember,
+then, the benefits of God, that ye may prosper. They said, Art thou
+come unto us that we may worship God alone, and relinquish what our
+fathers worshipped? Then bring upon us that _punishment_ with which
+thou threatenest us, if thou be of those who speak truth.—He replied,
+Punishment and indignation from your Lord have become necessary for
+you. Do ye dispute with me concerning names which ye and your fathers
+have given _to idols which ye worship_, concerning which (_that is,
+the worship of which_) God hath not set down any convincing proof?
+Then await ye _the punishment_. I am with you, of those who await
+_that, for your accusing me of falsehood. And the unprofitable wind
+was sent upon them._ But We delivered him (_namely, Hood_) and them
+who were with him (_of the believers_) by Our mercy; and We cut off
+the uppermost part of those who charged Our signs with falsehood and
+who were not believers.
+
+   (vii. 63-70.)
+
+
+And _We sent_ unto _the tribe of_ Thamood[204] their brother Ṣáliḥ.
+He said, O my people, worship God. Ye have no other deity than Him. A
+_miraculous_ proof _of my veracity_ hath come unto you from your Lord,
+this she-camel of God being a sign unto you. [He had caused her, at
+their demand, to come forth from the heart of a rock.] Therefore let
+her feed in God’s earth, and do her no harm, lest a painful punishment
+seize you. And remember how He hath appointed you vicegerents _in the
+earth_ after [the tribe of] ´Ád, and given you a habitation in the
+earth: ye make yourselves, on its plains, pavilions _wherein ye dwell
+in summer_, and cut the mountains into houses _wherein ye dwell in
+winter_. Remember then the benefits of God, and do not evil in the
+earth, acting corruptly.—The chiefs who were elated with pride, among
+his people, said unto those who were esteemed weak, _namely_, to those
+who had believed among them, Do ye know that Ṣáliḥ hath been sent
+_unto you_ from his Lord? They answered, _Yea_: verily we believe in
+that wherewith he hath been sent. Those who were elated with pride
+replied, Verily we disbelieve in that wherein ye have believed.—_And
+the she-camel had a day to water; and they had a day; and they became
+weary of this._ And they hamstrung the she-camel (_Ḳudár_ [the son of
+Sálif] _doing so by their order and slaying her with the sword_);[205]
+and they impiously transgressed the command of their Lord,[206] and
+said, O Ṣáliḥ, bring upon us that _punishment_ with which thou
+threatenest us _for killing her_, if thou be [one] of the apostles.
+And the violent convulsion (_a great earthquake, and a cry from
+heaven_[207]) assailed them, and in the morning they were in their
+dwellings prostrate _and dead_. So he turned away from them, and said,
+O my people, I have brought unto you the message of my Lord and given
+you faithful counsel; but ye loved not faithful counsellors.
+
+   (vii. 71-77.)
+
+
+
+
+_DHU-L-ḲARNEYN._
+
+
+They (_namely, the Jews_) will ask thee concerning Dhu-l-Ḳarneyn.[208]
+(_His name was El-Iskender, and he was not a prophet._) Answer, I will
+recite unto you an account of him. We gave him ability in the earth,
+_by facilitating his journeying therein_, and gave him a way to
+_attain_ everything _that he required_. And he followed a way _towards
+a place where the sun setteth_, until, when he came to the place where
+the sun setteth, he found that it set in a spring of black mud, _as it
+appeared to the eye; but really that spring was greater than the
+world_; and he found near it a people _who were unbelievers_.[209] We
+said, _by inspiration_, O Dhu-l-Ḳarneyn, either punish _the people by
+slaughter_, or proceed against them gently, _taking them captive_. He
+said, As to him who offendeth _by polytheism_, we will punish him _by
+slaughter_: then he shall be taken back to his Lord, and He will
+punish him with a severe punishment, _in the fire of hell_. But as
+to him who believeth, and doeth that which is right, he shall have as
+a reward paradise, and We will say unto him, in Our command, _that
+which will be_ easy _unto him_.—Then he followed a way _towards the
+place where the sun riseth_, until, when he came to the place where
+the sun riseth, he found that it rose upon a people (_namely, the
+Zenj_) unto whom We had not given anything wherewith to shelter
+themselves therefrom, _neither clothing nor roof; for their land bore
+no building; but they had subterranean dwellings, into which they
+retired at sunrise, and they came forth when the sun was high_. Thus
+_was the case_; and We comprehended with Our knowledge what were with
+him (_namely, Dhu-l-Ḳarneyn_), _of weapons and forces and other
+things_.—Then he followed a way until, when he came between the two
+barriers (_or mountains, at the confines of the country of the Turks,
+between which is the barrier of El-Iskender, as will be related
+presently_), he found before them a people who could scarce understand
+speech. They said, O Dhu-l-Ḳarneyn, verily Yájooj and Májooj [Gog and
+Magog[210]] are corrupting in the earth, _by plunder and tyranny, when
+they came forth unto us_. Shall we therefore pay thee tribute, on the
+condition that thou make a barrier between us and them?—He answered,
+The ability which my Lord hath given me, _by wealth and other things_,
+is better _than your tribute, which I need not. I will make the
+barrier for you gratuitously_: but assist me strenuously _by doing
+that which I desire_: I will make between you and them a strong
+barrier. Bring me pieces of iron _of the size of the blocks of stone
+used in building.—And he built with them, and placed amid them
+firewood and charcoal_, until, when it [the mass] filled up the space
+between the upper parts of the two mountains, _and he had put the
+bellows and fire around that mass_, he said, Blow ye [with the
+bellows]. _So they blew_ until, when he had made it (_that is, the
+iron_) _like_ fire, he said, Bring me molten brass, that I may pour
+upon it. _And he poured the molten brass upon the heated iron, so that
+it entered between its pieces and the whole became one mass._ And they
+(_namely, Yájooj and Májooj_) were not able to ascend to its top _by
+reason of its height and smoothness_; nor were they able to perforate
+it _by reason of its hardness and thickness_. _Dhu-l-Ḳarneyn_ said,
+This (_namely, the barrier, or the gift of the ability to construct
+it_) is a mercy from my Lord: but when the promise of my Lord, _as to
+the eruption of Yájooj and Májooj shortly before the resurrection_,
+shall come _to be fulfilled_, He will reduce it (_namely, the
+barrier_) to dust; and the promise of my Lord concerning _their
+eruption and other events_ is true. And We will suffer some of them,
+on that day (_the day of their eruption_), to pour tumultuously among
+others: and the trumpet shall be blown _for the resurrection_, and We
+will gather them (_namely, all creatures_) together in a body, _in one
+place_. And We will set hell, on that day, _near_ before the
+unbelievers, whose eyes have been veiled from my admonition (_the
+Ḳur-án_), _and who, being blind, have not been directed by it_, and
+who could not hear _what the prophet recited unto them, by reason of
+their hatred of him; wherefore they believed not in him_.
+
+   (xviii. 82-101.)
+
+
+
+
+_ABRAHAM, ISHMAEL, ISAAC._
+
+
+_Remember_ when Abraham [Ibráheem] said to his father A´zar (_this was
+the surname of Terah_), Dost thou take images as deities?[211] Verily
+I see thee and thy people to be in a manifest error.—(And thus, _as We
+showed him the error of his father and his people_, did We show
+Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and [We did so] that
+he might be of [the number of] those who firmly believe.) And when the
+night overshadowed him, he saw a star (_it is said that it was
+Venus_), [and] he said _unto his people, who were astrologers_, This
+is my Lord, _according to your assertion_.—But when it set, he said, I
+like not those that set, _to take them as Lords, since it is not meet
+for a Lord to experience alteration and change of place, as they are
+of the nature of accidents_. _Yet this had no effect upon them._ And
+when he saw the moon rising, he said _unto them_, This is my Lord.—But
+when it set, he said, Verily if my Lord direct me not (_if He confirm
+me not in the right way_), I shall assuredly be of the erring
+people.—_This was a hint to his people that they were in error; but it
+had no effect upon them._ And when he saw the sun rising, he said,
+This is my Lord. This is greater _than the star and the moon_.—But
+when it set, _and the proof had been rendered more strong to them, yet
+they desisted not_, he said, O my people, verily I am clear of the
+[things] which ye associate _with God; namely, the images and the
+heavenly bodies_. _So they said unto him, What dost thou worship? He
+answered_, Verily I direct my face unto Him who hath created the
+heavens and the earth, following the right religion, and I am not of
+the polytheists.—And his people argued with him; [but] he said, Do ye
+argue with me respecting God, when He hath directed me, and I fear not
+what ye associate with Him, unless my Lord will _that_ aught
+_displeasing should befall me_? My Lord comprehendeth everything by
+_His_ knowledge. Will ye not therefore consider? And wherefore should
+I fear what ye have associated _with God_, when ye fear not for your
+having associated with God that of which He hath not sent down unto
+you a proof? Then which of the two parties is the more worthy of
+safety? _Are we, or you?_ If ye know _who is the more worthy of it,
+follow him_.—_God saith_, They who have believed, and not mixed their
+belief with injustice (_that is, polytheism_), for these shall be
+safety _from punishment_, and they are rightly directed.
+
+   (vi. 74-82.)
+
+
+Relate _unto them_, in the book (_that is, the Ḳur-án_), _the history
+of_ Abraham. Verily he was a person of great veracity, a prophet. When
+he said unto his father _A´zar, who worshipped idols_, O my father,
+wherefore dost thou worship that which heareth not, nor seeth, nor
+averteth from thee aught, _whether of advantage or of injury_? O my
+father, verily [a degree] of knowledge hath come unto me, that hath
+not come unto thee: therefore follow me: I will direct thee into a
+right way. O my father, serve not the devil, _by obeying him in
+serving idols_; for the devil is very rebellious unto the
+Compassionate. O my father, verily I fear that a punishment will
+betide thee from the Compassionate, _if thou repent not_, and that
+thou wilt be unto the devil an aider, _and a companion in
+hell-fire_.—He replied, Art thou a rejector of my Gods, O Abraham,
+_and dost thou revile them_? If thou abstain not, I will assuredly
+assail thee _with stones or with ill words; therefore beware of me_,
+and leave me for a long time.—_Abraham_ said, Peace _from me_ be on
+thee! I will ask pardon for thee of my Lord; for He is gracious unto
+me: and I will separate myself from you and from what ye invoke
+instead of God; and I will call upon my Lord: perhaps I shall not be
+unsuccessful in calling upon my Lord, _as ye are in calling upon
+idols_.—And when he had separated himself from them, and from what
+they worshipped instead of God, _by going to the Holy Land_, We gave
+him _two sons, that he might cheer himself thereby, namely_, Isaac and
+Jacob; and each [of them] We made a prophet; and We bestowed upon them
+(_namely, the three_), of our mercy, _wealth and children_; and We
+caused them to receive high commendation.
+
+   (xix. 42-51.)
+
+
+We gave unto Abraham his direction formerly, _before he had attained
+to manhood_; and We knew him _to be worthy of it_. When he said unto
+his father and his people, What are these images, to _the worship of_
+which ye are devoted?—they answered, We found our fathers worshipping
+them, _and we have followed their example_. He said _unto them_,
+Verily ye and your fathers have been in a manifest error. They said,
+Hast thou come unto us with truth _in saying this_, or art thou of
+those who jest? He answered, Nay, your Lord (_the being who deserveth
+to be worshipped_) is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, who
+created them, _not after the similitude of anything pre-existing_; and
+I am of those who bear witness thereof. And, by God, I will assuredly
+devise a plot against your idols after ye shall have retired, turning
+your backs.—So, _after they had gone to their place of assembly, on a
+day when they held a festival_, he brake them in pieces _with an axe_,
+except the chief of them, _upon whose neck he hung the axe_; that they
+might return unto it (_namely, the chief_) _and see what he had done
+with the others_. They said, _after they had returned and seen what he
+had done_, Who hath done this unto our gods? Verily he is of the
+unjust.—_And some of them_ said, We heard a young man mention them
+_reproachfully_: he is called Abraham. They said, Then bring him
+before the eyes of the people, that they may bear witness _against him
+of his having done it_. They said _unto him, when he had been
+brought_, Hast thou done this unto our gods, O Abraham? He answered,
+Nay, this their chief did it: and ask ye them, if they [can] speak.
+And they returned unto themselves, _upon reflection_, and said _unto
+themselves_, Verily ye are the unjust, _in worshipping that which
+speaketh not_. Then they reverted to their obstinacy, _and said_,
+Verily thou knowest that these speak not: _then wherefore dost thou
+order us to ask them?_ He said, Do ye then worship, instead of God,
+that which doth not profit you at all, nor injure you _if ye worship
+it not_? Fy on you, and on that which ye worship instead of God! Do ye
+not then understand?—They said, Burn ye him, and avenge your gods, if
+ye will do _so_. _So they collected abundance of firewood for him, and
+set fire to it; and they bound Abraham, and put him into an engine,
+and cast him into the fire. But, saith God_, We said, O fire, be
+thou cold, and a security unto Abraham! _So nought of him was burned
+save his bonds: the heat of the fire ceased, but its light remained;
+and by God’s saying, Security,—Abraham was saved from dying, by reason
+of its cold._ And they intended against him a plot; but he caused them
+to be the sufferers.[212] And We delivered him and Lot, _the son of_
+_his brother Haran, from El-´Eráḳ_, [bringing them] unto the land
+which we blessed for the peoples, _by the abundance of its rivers and
+trees, namely, Syria. Abraham took up his abode in Palestine, and Lot
+in El-Mu-tekifeh, between which is a day’s journey._ And _when Abraham
+had asked a son_, We gave unto him Isaac, and Jacob as an additional
+gift, _beyond what he had asked, being a son’s son_; and all of them
+We made righteous persons _and prophets_. And We made them models of
+religion who directed _men_ by Our command _unto Our religion_; and We
+commanded them by inspiration to do good works and to perform prayer
+and to give the appointed alms; and they served Us. And unto Lot We
+gave judgment and knowledge; and We delivered him from the city which
+committed filthy actions; for they were a people of evil, shameful
+doers; and We admitted him into our mercy; for he was [one] of the
+righteous.
+
+   (xxi. 52-75.)
+
+
+Hast thou not considered him who disputed with Abraham concerning his
+Lord, because God had given him the kingdom? _And he was Nimrod._ When
+Abraham said, (_upon his saying unto him, Who is thy Lord, unto whom
+thou invitest us?_), My Lord is He who giveth life and causeth to
+die,—he replied, I give life and cause to die.—_And he summoned two
+men, and slew one of them, and left the other. So when he saw that he
+understood not_, Abraham said, And verily God bringeth the sun from
+the east: now do thou bring it from the west.—And he who disbelieved
+was confounded; and God directeth not the offending people.
+
+   (ii. 260.)
+
+
+And Our messengers came formerly unto Abraham with good tidings _of
+Isaac and Jacob, who should be after him_. They said, Peace. He
+replied, _Peace be on you_. And he tarried not, but brought a roasted
+calf. And when he saw that their hands touched it not, he disliked
+them and conceived a fear of them. They said, Fear not: for we are
+sent unto the people of Lot, _that we may destroy them_. And his wife
+_Sarah_ was standing _serving them_, and she laughed, _rejoicing at
+the tidings of their destruction_. And we gave her good tidings of
+Isaac [Isḥáḳ]; and after Isaac, Jacob [Yaạḳoob]. She said, Alas! shall
+I bear a child when I am an old woman, _of nine and ninety years_, and
+when this my husband is an old man, _of a hundred or a hundred and
+twenty years_? Verily this [would be] a wonderful thing.—They said,
+Dost thou wonder at the command of God? The mercy of God and His
+blessings be on you, O people of the house (_of Abraham_)! for He is
+praiseworthy, glorious.—And when the terror had departed from Abraham,
+and the good tidings had come unto him, he disputed with Us (_that is,
+with Our messengers_) respecting the people of Lot; for Abraham was
+gentle, compassionate, repentant. _And he said unto them, Will ye
+destroy a city wherein are three hundred believers? They answered, No.
+He said, And will ye destroy a city wherein are two hundred believers?
+They answered, No. He said, And will ye destroy a city wherein are
+forty believers? They answered, No. He said, And will ye destroy a
+city wherein are fourteen believers? They answered, No. He said, And
+tell me, if there be in it one believer? They answered, No. He said,
+Verily in it is Lot. They replied, We know best who is in it. And when
+their dispute had become tedious, they said_, O Abraham, abstain from
+this _disputation_; for the command of thy Lord hath come _for their
+destruction_, and a punishment not [to be] averted is coming upon
+them.
+
+   (xi. 72-78.)
+
+
+And when Our decree for _the destruction of the people of Lot_ came
+[to be executed], We turned them (_that is, their cities_)
+upside-down; _for Gabriel raised them to heaven, and let them fall
+upside-down to the earth_;[213] and We rained upon them stones of
+baked clay, sent one after another, marked with thy Lord, _each with
+the name of him upon whom it should be cast_: and they [are] not far
+distant from the offenders; _that is, the stones are not, or the
+cities of the people of Lot were not, far distant from the people of
+Mekkeh_.
+
+   (xi. 84.)
+
+
+And [Abraham] said [after his escape from Nimrod], Verily I am going
+unto my Lord, who will direct me _unto the place whither He hath
+commanded me to go, namely, Syria. And when he had arrived at the Holy
+Land, he said_, O my Lord, give me _a son_ [who shall be one] of the
+righteous. Whereupon We gave him the glad tidings of a mild youth. And
+when he had attained to the age when he could work with him (_as some
+say, seven years; and some, thirteen_), he said, O my child, verily I
+have seen in a dream that I should sacrifice thee (_and the dreams of
+prophets are true; and their actions, by the command of God_);
+therefore consider what thou seest advisable _for me to do_. He
+replied, O my father, do what thou art commanded: thou shalt find me,
+if God please, [of the number] of the patient. And when they had
+resigned themselves, and he had laid him down on his temple, _in_ [the
+valley of] _Mind, and had drawn the knife across his throat_ (_but it
+produced no effect, by reason of an obstacle interposed by the divine
+power_), We called unto him, O Abraham, thou hast verified the vision.
+Verily thus do We reward the well-doers. Verily this was the manifest
+trial. And We ransomed him _whom he had been commanded to sacrifice_
+(_and he was Ishmȧel_ [Ismá´eel] _or Isaac; for there are two
+opinions_)[214] with an excellent victim, _a ram from Paradise, the
+same that Abel had offered: Gabriel_ (_on whom be peace!_) _brought
+it, and the lord Abraham sacrificed it, saying, God is most great!_
+And We left _this salutation_ [to be bestowed] on him by the latter
+generations, Peace [be] on Abraham! Thus do We reward the well-doers:
+for he was of our believing servants.
+
+   (xxxvii. 97-111.)
+
+
+_Remember_ when Abraham said, O my Lord, show me how Thou will raise
+to life the dead.[215]—He said, Hast thou not believed? He answered,
+Yea: but _I have asked Thee_ that my heart may be at ease. He replied,
+Then take four birds and draw them towards thee, _and cut them in
+pieces and mingle together their flesh and their feathers_; then place
+upon each mountain _of thy land_ a portion of them, then call them
+_unto thee_: they shall come unto thee quickly: and know thou that God
+is mighty [and] wise.—_And he took a peacock and a vulture and a raven
+and a cock, and did with them as hath been described, and kept their
+heads with him, and called them; whereupon the portions flew about,
+one to another, until they became complete: then they came to their
+heads._
+
+   (ii. 262.)
+
+
+_Remember_ when his Lord had tried Abraham by [certain] words,
+_commands and prohibitions_, and he fulfilled them, _God_ said _unto
+him_, I constitute thee a model of religion unto men.[216] He replied,
+And of my offspring _constitute models of religion_. [God] said, My
+covenant doth not apply to the offenders, _the unbelievers among
+them_.—And when We appointed the house (_that is, the Kaạbeh_) to be a
+place for the resort of men, and a place of security (_a man would
+meet the slayer of his father there and he would not provoke him_ [to
+revenge],) and [said], Take, _O men_, the station of Abraham (_the
+stone upon which he stood at the time of building the House_) as a
+place of prayer, _that ye may perform behind it the prayers of the two
+rek´ahs_[217] [which are ordained to be performed after the ceremony]
+_of the circuiting_ [of the Kaạbeh].—And We commanded Abraham and
+Ishmael, [saying], Purify my House (_rid it of the idols_) for those
+who shall compass [it], and those who shall abide _there_, and those
+who shall bow down and prostrate themselves.—And when Abraham said, O
+my Lord, make this _place_ a secure territory (_and God hath answered
+his prayer, and made it a sacred place, wherein the blood of man is
+not shed, nor is any one oppressed in it, nor is its game hunted_ [or
+shot], _nor are its plants cut or pulled up_), and supply its
+inhabitants with fruits _which hath been done by the transporting of
+Eṭ-Ṭáïf from Syria thither, when it_ [that is, the territory of
+Mekkeh] _was desert, without sown land or water_,[218] such of them as
+shall believe in God and the last day.—_He mentioned them peculiarly
+in the prayer agreeably with the saying of God, My covenant doth not
+apply to the offenders._—_God_ replied, And _I will supply_ him who
+disbelieveth: I will make him to enjoy _a supply of food in this
+world_, a little _while_: then I will force him, _in the world to
+come_, to the punishment of the fire; and evil shall be the transit.
+
+   (ii. 118-120.)
+
+
+And _remember_ when Abraham was raising the foundations of the
+House[219] (_that is, building it_), together with Ishmael, _and they
+said_, O our Lord, accept of us _our building_; for Thou art the
+Hearer _of what is said_, the Knower _of what is done_. O our Lord,
+also make us resigned[220] unto Thee, and _make_ from among our
+offspring a people resigned unto Thee, and show us our rites (_the
+ordinances of our worship, or our pilgrimage_), and be propitious
+towards us; for Thou art the Very Propitious, the Merciful. (_They
+begged Him to be propitious to them, notwithstanding their honesty,
+from a motive of humility, and by way of instruction to their
+offspring._) O our Lord, also send unto them (_that is, the people of
+the House_) an apostle from among them (_and God hath answered their
+prayer by sending Moḥammad_), who shall recite unto them Thy signs
+(the Ḳur-án), and shall teach them the book (_the Ḳur-án_), and the
+knowledge _that it containeth_, and shall purify them _from
+polytheism_; for Thou art the Mighty, the Wise.—And who will be averse
+from the religion of Abraham but he who maketh his soul foolish, _who
+is ignorant that it is God’s creation, and that the worship of Him is
+incumbent on it; or who lightly esteemeth it and applieth it to vile
+purposes_; when We have chosen him in this world _as an apostle and a
+friend_, and he shall be in the world to come one of the righteous
+_for whom are high ranks?—And remember_ when his lord said unto
+him, Resign thyself:—he replied, I resign myself unto the Lord of the
+worlds.—And Abraham commanded his children to follow it (_namely, the
+religion_); and Jacob,_ his children; saying_, O my children, verily
+God hath chosen for you the religion _of El-Islám_;[221] therefore die
+not without your being Muslims.—_It was a prohibition from abandoning
+El-Islám and a command to persevere therein unto death._
+
+   (ii. 121-126.)
+
+
+_When the Jews said, Abraham was a Jew, and we are of his
+religion,—and the Christians said the like_, [the following] _was
+revealed_:—O people of the Scripture, wherefore do ye argue respecting
+Abraham, _asserting that he was of your religion_, when the Pentateuch
+and the Gospel were not sent down but after him _a long time_? Do ye
+not then understand the _falsity of your saying_? So ye, O people,
+have argued respecting that of which ye have knowledge, _concerning
+Moses and Jesus, and have asserted that ye are of their religion_:
+then wherefore do ye argue respecting that of which ye have no
+knowledge, _concerning Abraham_? But God knoweth _his case_, and ye
+know _it_ not. Abraham was not a Jew nor a Christian: but he was
+orthodox, a Muslim [or one resigned], _a unitarian_, and he was not of
+the polytheists.
+
+   (iii. 58-60.)
+
+
+
+
+_JACOB, JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN._
+
+
+_Remember_, when Joseph [Yoosuf] said unto his father, O my father,
+verily I saw _in sleep_ eleven stars and the sun and the moon: I saw
+them making obeisance unto me. He replied, O my child, relate not thy
+vision to thy brethren, lest they contrive a plot against thee,
+_knowing its interpretation to be that they are the stars and that the
+sun is thy mother and the moon thy father_; for the devil is unto man
+a manifest enemy. And thus, _as thou sawest_, thy Lord will choose
+thee, and teach thee the interpretation of events, _or dreams_, and
+will accomplish his favour upon thee _by the gift of prophecy_, and
+upon the family of Jacob, as He accomplished it upon thy fathers
+before, Abraham and Isaac; for thy Lord is knowing [and] wise.—Verily
+in _the history of_ Joseph and his brethren are signs to the
+inquirers.—When they (_the brethren of Joseph_) said, _one to
+another_, Verily Joseph and his brother _Benjamin_ are dearer unto our
+father than we, and we are a number of men; verily our father is in a
+manifest error; slay ye Joseph, or drive him away into a _distant_
+land; so the face of your father shall be directed alone unto you,
+_regarding no other_, and ye shall be after it a just people:—a
+speaker among them, _namely, Judah_, said, Slay not Joseph, but throw
+him to the bottom of the well; then some of the travellers may light
+upon him, if ye do _this_. _And they were satisfied therewith_. They
+said, O our father, wherefore dost thou not intrust us with Joseph,
+when verily we are faithful unto him? Send him with us tomorrow _into
+the plain_, that he may divert himself and sport; and we will surely
+take care of him.—He replied, Verily your taking him away will grieve
+me, and I fear lest the wolf devour him while ye are heedless of him.
+They said, Surely if the wolf devour him, when we are a number of men,
+we shall in that case be indeed weak. _So he sent him with them._ And
+when they went away with him, and agreed to put him at the bottom of
+the well, _they did so_.[222] _They pulled off his shirt, after they
+had beaten him and had treated him with contempt and had desired to
+slay him; and they let him down; and when he had arrived half-way down
+the well they let him fall, that he might die; and he fell into the
+water. He then betook himself to a mass of rock; and they called to
+him; so he answered them, imagining that they would have mercy upon
+him. They however desired to crush him with a piece of rock; but Judah
+prevented them._ And We said unto him by revelation, _while he was in
+the well (and he was seventeen years of age, or less), to quiet his
+heart_, Thou shalt assuredly declare unto them this their action, and
+they shall not know _thee at the time_.[223] And they came to their
+father at nightfall weeping. They said, O our father, we went to run
+races,[224] and left Joseph with our clothes, and the wolf devoured
+him; and thou wilt not believe us, though we speak truth. And they
+brought false blood upon his shirt. _Jacob_ said _unto them_, Nay,
+your minds have made a thing seem pleasant unto you, _and ye have done
+it_;[225] but patience is seemly, and God’s assistance is implored
+with respect to that which ye relate.
+
+And travellers came _on their way from Midian (Medyen) to Egypt, and
+alighted near the well_;[226] and they sent their drawer of
+water,[227] and he let down his bucket _into the well: so Joseph
+caught hold upon it, and the man drew him forth; and when he saw him_,
+he said, O good news! This is a young man!—_And his brethren thereupon
+knew his case; wherefore they came unto him_, and they[228] concealed
+his case, _making him_ as a piece of merchandise; _for they said, He
+is our slave who hath absconded. And Joseph was silent, fearing lest
+they should slay him._ And God knew that which they did. And they sold
+him for a mean price, [for] some dirhems counted down, _twenty, or
+two-and-twenty_; and they were indifferent to him. _The travellers
+then brought him to Egypt, and he who had bought him sold him for
+twenty deenárs and a pair of shoes and two garments._ And the Egyptian
+who bought him, _namely, Ḳiṭfeer_,[229] said unto his wife _Zeleekha_,
+Treat him hospitably; peradventure he may be advantageous to us, or
+we may adopt him as a son. _For he was childless._ And thus We
+prepared an establishment for Joseph in the land _of Egypt_, to teach
+him the interpretation of events, _or dreams_; for God is well able to
+effect His purpose; but the greater number of men, _namely, the
+unbelievers_, know not _this_. And when he had attained his age of
+strength (_thirty years, or three-and-thirty_), We bestowed on him
+wisdom and knowledge _in matters of religion, before he was sent as a
+prophet_; for thus do We recompense the well-doers. (xii. 4-22.—_Then
+follows an account of his temptation by his mistress, Zeleekha._)
+
+Then it seemed good unto them,[230] after they had seen the signs of
+_his innocence, to imprison him_. They will assuredly imprison him for
+a time, _until the talk of the people respecting him cease_. _So they
+imprisoned him._ And there entered with him into the prison two young
+men, _servants of the king, one of whom was his cup-bearer and the
+other was his victualler_. _And they found that he interpreted dreams;
+wherefore_ one of them, _namely, the cup-bearer_, said, I dreamed that
+I was pressing grapes: and the other said, I dreamed that I was
+carrying upon my head some bread, whereof the birds did eat: acquaint
+us with the interpretation thereof; for we see thee to be [one] of the
+beneficent.—He replied, There shall not come unto you any food
+wherewith ye shall be fed _in a dream_, but I will acquaint you with
+the interpretation thereof _when ye are awake_, before _the
+interpretation of_ it come unto you. This is _a part_ of that which my
+Lord hath taught me. Verily I have abandoned the religion of a people
+who believe not in God and who disbelieve in the world to come; and I
+follow the religion of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. It is
+not _fit_ for us to associate anything with God. This _knowledge of
+the unity_ [hath been given us] of the bounty of God towards us and
+towards mankind; but the greater number of men are not thankful. O ye
+two companions (_or inmates_) of the prison, are sundry lords better,
+or is God, the One, the Almighty? Ye worship not, beside Him, [aught]
+save names which ye and your fathers have given _to idols_, concerning
+which God hath not sent down any convincing proof. Judgment belongeth
+not [unto any] save unto God _alone_. He hath commanded that ye
+worship not [any] but Him. This is the right religion; but the greater
+number of men know not. O ye two companions of the prison, as to one
+of you, _namely, the cup-bearer_, he will serve wine unto his lord _as
+formerly_; and as to the other, he will be crucified, and the birds
+will eat from off his head.—_Upon this they said, We dreamed not
+aught. He replied_, The thing is decreed concerning which ye [did]
+ask a determination, _whether ye have spoken truth or have lied_. And
+he said unto him whom he judged to be the person who should escape of
+them two, _namely the cup-bearer_, Mention me unto thy Lord, _and say
+unto him, In the prison is a young man imprisoned unjustly.—And he
+went forth._ But the devil caused him to forget to mention _Joseph_
+unto his lord:[231] so he remained in the prison some years: _it is
+said, seven; and it is said, twelve._
+
+And the king of _Egypt,[232] Er-Reiyán the son of El-Weleed_ said,
+Verily I saw [in a dream] seven fat kine which seven lean _kine_
+devoured, and seven green ears of corn and _seven_ other _ears_ dried
+up. O ye nobles, explain unto me my dream, if ye interpret a
+dream.—They replied, _These are_ confused dreams, and we know not the
+interpretation of dreams. And he who had escaped, of the two _young
+men, namely the cup-bearer_, said (for he remembered after a time _the
+condition of Joseph_), I will acquaint you with the interpretation
+thereof; wherefore send me. _So they sent him; and he came unto
+Joseph, and said_, O Joseph, O thou of great veracity, give us an
+explanation respecting seven fat kine which seven lean [kine]
+devoured, and seven green ears of corn and other [seven] dried up,
+that I may return unto the men (_the king and his companions_), that
+they may know _the interpretation thereof_. He replied, Ye shall sow
+seven years as usual: (_this is the interpretation of the seven fat
+kine_:) and what ye reap do ye leave in its ear, _lest it spoil_;
+except a little, whereof ye shall eat. Then there shall come, after
+that, seven grievous [years]: (_this is the interpretation of the
+seven lean kine_:) they shall consume what ye shall have provided for
+them, _of the grain sown in the seven years of plenty_, except a
+little which ye shall have kept. Then there shall come, after that, a
+year wherein men shall be aided _with rain_, and wherein they shall
+press _grapes and other fruits_.—And the king said, _when the
+messenger came unto him and acquainted him with the interpretation of
+the dream_, Bring unto me him _who hath interpreted it_.
+
+   (xii. 35-50.)
+
+
+And when he had spoken unto him,[233] he said _unto him_, Thou art
+this day firmly established with us, and intrusted _with our affairs_.
+_What then seest thou fit for us to do?—He answered, Collect
+provision, and sow abundant seed in these plentiful years, and
+store up the grain in its ear: then the people will come unto thee
+that they may obtain provision from thee. The king said, And who
+will act for me in this affair? Joseph_ said, Set me over the
+granaries of the land; for I am careful [and] knowing.—Thus did We
+prepare an establishment for Joseph in the land, that he might take
+for himself a dwelling therein wherever he pleased.—_And it is related
+that the king crowned him, and put a ring on his finger, and instated
+him in the place of Ḳiṭfeer, whom he dismissed from his office; after
+which, Ḳiṭfeer died, and thereupon the king married him to his wife
+Zeleekha, and she bore him two sons._[234] We bestow Our mercy on whom
+We please, and We cause not the reward of the well-doers to perish:
+and certainly the reward of the world to come is better for those who
+have believed and have feared.
+
+_And the years of scarcity began, and afflicted the land of Canaan and
+Syria_, and the brethren of Joseph came, _except Benjamin, to procure
+provision, having heard that the governor of Egypt gave food for its
+price_.[235] And they went in unto him, and he knew them; but they
+knew him not; _and they spake unto him in the Hebrew language;
+whereupon he said, as one who distrusted them, What hath brought you
+to my country? So they answered, For corn. But he said, Perhaps ye are
+spies. They replied, God preserve us_ [_from being spies_]! _He said,
+Then whence are ye? They answered, From the land of Canaan, and our
+father is Jacob, the prophet of God. He said, And hath he sons beside
+you? They answered, Yea: we were twelve; but the youngest of us went
+away, and perished in the desert, and he was the dearest of us unto
+him; and his uterine brother remained, and he retained him that he
+might console himself thereby for the loss of the other._[236] _And
+Joseph gave orders to lodge them, and to treat them generously._ And
+when he had furnished them with their provision, _and given them their
+full measure_, he said, Bring me your brother from your father,
+_namely, Benjamin, that I may know your veracity in that ye have
+said_. Do ye not see that I give full measure, and that I am the most
+hospitable of the receivers of guests? But if ye bring him not, there
+shall be no measuring _of corn_ for you from me, nor shall ye approach
+me.—They replied, We will solicit his father for him, and we will
+surely perform _that_. And he said unto his young men, Put their
+money,[237] _which they brought as the price of the corn_, in their
+sacks, that they may know it when they have returned to their family:
+peradventure they will return _to us; for they will not deem it lawful
+to keep it_.—And when they returned to their father, they said, O our
+father, the measuring [of corn] is denied us _if thou send not our
+brother unto him_; therefore send with us our brother, that we may
+obtain measure; and we will surely take care of him. He said, Shall I
+intrust you with him otherwise than as I intrusted you with his
+brother _Joseph_ before? But God is the best guardian, and He is the
+most merciful of those who show mercy.—And when they opened their
+goods, they found their money had been returned unto them. They said,
+O our father, what desire we _of the, generosity of the king greater
+than this?_ This our money hath been returned unto us; and we will
+provide corn for our family, and will take care of our brother, and
+shall receive a camel-load more, _for our brother_. This is a quantity
+easy _unto the king, by reason of his munificence_.—He said, I will by
+no means send him with you until ye give me a solemn promise by God
+that ye will assuredly bring him back unto me unless _an inevitable
+and insuperable impediment_ encompass you. _And they complied with
+this his desire._ And when they had given him their solemn promise, he
+said, God is witness of what we say. _And he sent him with them_; and
+he said, O my sons, enter not _the city of Miṣr_ by one gate; but
+enter by different gates; _lest the_ [evil] _eye fall upon you_.[238]
+But I shall not avert from you, _by my saying this_, anything _decreed
+to befall you_ from God: _I only say this from a feeling of
+compassion._ Judgment belongeth not [unto any] save unto God _alone_.
+On Him do I rely, and on Him let those rely who rely.
+
+And when they entered as their father had commanded them,
+_separately_, it did not avert from them anything _decreed to befall
+them_ from God, but [only satisfied] a desire in the soul of Jacob,
+which he accomplished; _that is, the desire of averting the_ [evil]
+_eye, arising from a feeling of compassion:_ and he was endowed with
+knowledge, because We had taught him: but the greater number of men,
+_namely the unbelievers_, know not _God’s inspiration of His saints_.
+And when they went in unto Joseph, he received unto him (_or pressed
+unto him_) his brother. He said, Verily I am thy brother;[239]
+therefore be not sorrowful for that which they did _from envy to us_.
+_And he commanded him that he should not inform them, and agree with
+him that he should employ a stratagem to retain him with him._ And
+when he had furnished them with their provision, he put the cup,
+_which was a measure made of gold set with jewels_,[240] in the sack
+of his brother _Benjamin_. Then a crier cried, _after they had gone
+forth from the chamber of Joseph_, O company of travellers, ye are
+surely thieves. They said (and turned unto them), What is it that ye
+miss? They answered, We miss the king’s measure; and to him who shall
+bring it [shall be given] a camel-load _of corn_, and I am surety for
+it, _namely the load_. They replied, By God! ye well know that we have
+not come to act corruptly in the land, and we have not been thieves.
+_The crier and his companions said_, Then what shall be the recompense
+of him _who hath stolen it_, if ye be liars _in your saying, We have
+not been thieves,—and it be found among you?_ They answered, His
+recompense [shall be that] he in whose sack it shall be found _shall
+be made a slave:_ he, _the thief_, shall be compensation for it;
+_namely, for the thing stolen. Such was the usage of the family of
+Jacob._ Thus do We recompense the offenders _who are guilty of
+theft.—So they turned towards Joseph, that he might search their
+sacks._ And he began with their sacks, _and searched them_ before the
+sack of his brother [Benjamin], _lest he should be suspected_. Then he
+took it forth (_namely, the measure_) from the sack of his brother.
+Thus, _saith God_, did We contrive a stratagem for Joseph. It was not
+[lawful] for him to take his brother _as a slave for theft_ by the law
+of the king of _Egypt_ (_for his recompense by his law was beating,
+and a fine of twice the value of the thing stolen; not the being made
+a slave_), unless God had pleased, _by inspiring him to inquire of his
+brethren and inspiring them to reply according to their usage_. We
+exalt unto degrees [of knowledge and honour] whom We please, _as
+Joseph_; and [there is who is] knowing above every one [else] endowed
+with knowledge.—They said, If he steal, a brother of his hath stolen
+before; _namely, Joseph;[241] for he stole an idol of gold belonging
+to the father of his mother, and broke it, that he might not worship
+it._ And Joseph concealed it in his mind, and did not discover it to
+them. He said _within himself_, Ye are in a worse condition _than
+Joseph and his brother, by reason of your having stolen your brother
+from your father and your having treated him unjustly_; and God well
+knoweth what ye state _concerning him_.—They said, O prince, verily he
+hath a father, a very old man, _who loveth him more than us, and
+consoleth himself by him for the loss of his son who hath perished,
+and the separation of him grieveth him_; therefore take one of us _as
+a slave_ in his stead; for we see thee [to be one] of the beneficent.
+He replied, God preserve us from taking [any] save him in whose
+possession we found our property; for then (_if we took another_), we
+[should be] unjust.
+
+And when they despaired of [obtaining] him, they retired to confer
+privately together. The chief of them _in age_ (_namely, Reuben, or in
+judgment, namely, Judah_), said, Do ye not know that your father hath
+obtained of you a solemn promise in the name of God, _with respect of
+your brother_, and how ye formerly failed of your duty with respect to
+Joseph? Therefore I will by no means depart from the land _of Egypt_
+until my father give me permission _to return to him_, or God decide
+for me _by the delivery of my brother_; and He is the best, _the most
+just_, of those who decide. Return ye to your father, and say, O our
+father, verily thy son hath committed theft, and we bore not testimony
+_against him_ save according to that which we knew _of a certainty, by
+our seeing the cup in his sack_; and we were not acquainted with what
+was unseen _by us when we gave the solemn promise: had we known that
+he would commit theft, we had not taken him. And send thou_, and ask
+_the people of_ the city in which we have been (_namely, Miṣr_)[242]
+and the company of travellers with whom we have arrived (_who were a
+people of Canaan_): and we are surely speakers of truth.—_So they
+returned to him, and said unto him those words_. He replied, Nay, your
+minds have made a thing seem pleasant unto you, _and ye have done it_
+(_he suspected them, on account of their former conduct in the case of
+Joseph_); but patience is seemly: peradventure God will bring them
+back (_namely, Joseph and his brother_) unto me, together; for He is
+the Knowing _with respect to my case_, the Wise _in His acts_. And
+he turned from them, and said, O! my sorrow for Joseph! And his eyes
+became white in consequence of mourning, and he was oppressed with
+silent grief. They said, By God, thou wilt not cease to think upon
+Joseph until thou be at the point of death, or be of [the number of]
+the dead. He replied, I only complain of my great and unconcealable
+grief and my sorrow unto God; _not unto any beside Him; for He it is
+unto whom complaint is made with advantage_; and I know [by
+revelation] from God what ye know not; _namely, that the dream of
+Joseph was true, and that he is living_. _Then he said_, O my sons, go
+and seek news of Joseph and his brother; and despair not of the mercy
+of God; for none despaireth of the mercy of God except the unbelieving
+people.
+
+_So they departed towards Egypt, unto Joseph_; and when they went in
+unto him, they said, O Prince, distress (_that is, hunger_) hath
+affected us and our family, and we have come with paltry money (_it
+was base money, or some other sort_): yet give us full measure, and be
+charitable to us, _by excusing the badness of our money_; for God
+recompenseth those who act charitably. _And he had pity upon them, and
+compassion affected him, and he lifted up the curtain that was between
+him and them: then_ he said _unto them in reproach_, Do ye know what
+ye did unto Joseph, _in beating and selling and other actions_, and
+his brother, _by your injurious conduct to him after the separation of
+his brother_, when ye were ignorant _of what would be the result of
+the case of Joseph?_[243] They replied, _after they had recognised him
+(desiring confirmation)_, Art thou indeed Joseph? He answered, I am
+Joseph, and this is my brother. God hath been gracious unto us, _by
+bringing us together_; for whosoever feareth _God_ and is patient
+[will be rewarded]: God will not suffer the reward of the well-doers
+to perish. They replied, By God, verily God hath preferred thee above
+us, and we have been indeed sinners. He said, [There shall be] no
+reproach [cast] on you this day: God forgive you; for He is the most
+merciful of those that show mercy. _And he asked them respecting his
+father: so they answered, His eyes are gone. And he said_, Go ye
+with this my shirt (_it was the shirt of Abraham, which he wore when
+he was cast into the fire: it was on his_ [that is, Joseph’s] _neck_
+[appended as an amulet] _in the well; and it was from paradise:
+Gabriel commanded him to send it, and said, In it is its odour_ [that
+is, the odour of paradise], _and it shall not be cast upon any one
+afflicted_ [with a disease] _but he shall be restored to health_), and
+cast it [said Joseph] upon the face of my father: he shall recover his
+sight; and bring unto me all your family.—And when the company of
+travellers had gone forth _from El-´Areesh[244] of Egypt_, their
+father said, _unto those who were present of his offspring_, Verily I
+perceive the smell of Joseph (_for the zephyr had conveyed it to him,
+by permission of Him whose name be exalted, from the distance of three
+days’ journey, or eight, or more_): were it not that ye think I dote,
+_ye would believe me._ They replied, By God, thou art surely in thine
+old error. And when the messenger of good tidings (_namely, Judah_)
+came _with the shirt_ (_and he had borne the bloody shirt; wherefore
+he desired to rejoice him, as he had grieved him_), he cast it upon
+his face, and he recovered his sight. [Thereupon Jacob] said, Did I
+not say unto you, I know, from God, what ye know not? They said, O our
+father, ask pardon of our crimes for us; for we have been sinners. He
+replied, I will ask pardon for you of my Lord; for He is the Very
+forgiving, the Merciful.—_He delayed doing so until the first
+appearance of the dawn_, _that the prayer might be more likely to be
+answered; or, as some say, until the night of_ [that is, preceding]
+_Friday_.
+
+_They then repaired to Egypt, and Joseph and the great men came forth
+to meet them_; and when they went in unto Joseph, _in his pavilion or
+tent_, he received unto him (_or pressed unto him_) his parents (_his
+father and his mother and his maternal aunt_), and said unto _them_,
+Enter ye Miṣr, if God please, in safety.[245] _So they entered; and
+Joseph seated himself upon his couch_, and he caused his parents to
+ascend upon the seat of state, and they (_that is, his parents and his
+brethren_) fell down, bowing themselves unto him[246] (_bending, but
+not putting the forehead_) [upon the ground]: _such being their mode
+of obeisance in that time_. And he said, O my father, this is the
+interpretation of my dream of former times: my Lord hath made it true;
+and He hath shown favour unto me, since He took me forth from the
+prison (_he said not, from the well,—from a motive of generosity, that
+his brethren might not be abashed_), and hath brought you from the
+desert, after that the devil had excited discord between me and my
+brethren; for my Lord is gracious unto whom He pleaseth; for He is the
+Knowing, the Wise.—_And his father resided with him four and twenty
+years, or seventeen; and the period of his separation was eighteen, or
+forty, or eighty years. And death came unto him; and thereupon he
+charged Joseph that he should carry him and bury him by his fathers.
+So he went himself and buried him. Then he returned to Egypt and
+remained after him three and twenty years; and when his case was
+ended, and he knew that he should not last_ [upon earth], _and his
+soul desired the lasting possession, he said_, O my Lord, Thou hast
+given me dominion, and taught me the interpretation of events (_or
+dreams_): Creator of the heavens and the earth, Thou art my guardian
+in this world and in the world to come. Make me to die a Muslim, and
+join me with the righteous _among my forefathers. And he lived after
+that a week, or more, and died a hundred and twenty years old. And the
+Egyptians disputed concerning his burial: so they put him in a chest
+of marble, and buried him in the upper part of the Nile, that the
+blessing_ [resulting from him] _might be general to the tracts on each
+side of it.[247] Extolled be the perfection of Him to whose dominion
+there is no end!_
+
+   (xii. 54-102).
+
+
+
+
+JOB.
+
+
+And remember Our servant Job [Eiyoob[248]] when he called unto his
+Lord, Verily the devil hath afflicted me with calamity and pain. (_The
+affliction is attributed to the devil, though all was from God._) _And
+it was said unto him_, Strike _the earth_ with thy foot. _And he did
+so; whereupon a fountain of water sprang forth.[249] And it was said_,
+This _is_ cool _water for thee_ to wash with, and to drink. _So he
+washed himself and drank; and every disease that he had, external and
+internal, quitted him._ And We gave unto him his family, and as many
+more with them (_that is, God raised to life for him those of his
+children who had died, and blest him with as many more_),[250] in Our
+mercy and as an admonition unto those who are endowed with faculties
+of understanding. [And We said unto him,] Take in thy hand a handful
+_of dry grass, or of twigs_,[251] and strike with it _thy wife_ (_for
+he had sworn that he would inflict upon her a hundred blows, because
+she had staid away from him too long one day_[252]) and break not
+thine oath _by abstaining from striking her._—_So he took a hundred
+stalks of schoemanthus, or some other plant, and gave her one blow
+with them._ Verily We found him a patient person. How excellent a
+servant _was he_! For he was one who earnestly turned himself unto
+God.
+
+   (xxxviii. 40-44.)
+
+
+
+
+SHO´EYB.
+
+
+And _we sent_ unto Midian [Medyen] their brother Sho´eyb.[253] He
+said, O my people, worship God; _assert His unity_. Ye have no other
+deity but Him. And give not short measure and weight. Verily I see you
+[to be] in a state of prosperity _that placeth you above the need of
+doing so_; and verily I fear for you, _if ye believe not_, the
+punishment of a day that will encompass _you with destruction_. And, O
+my people, give full measure and weight with equity; and diminish not
+unto men _aught_ of their things nor commit injustice in the earth,
+acting corruptly, _by murder or other offences_. The residue of God
+(_His supply that remaineth to you after the completion of the
+measure_) will be better for you _than diminution_, if ye be
+believers. And I am not a guardian over you, _to recompense you for
+your actions: I have only been sent as an admonisher_.—They replied,
+_in mockery_, O Sho´eyb, do thy prayers command thee that we are to
+leave what our fathers worshipped, or _cease_ to do with our riches
+what we please? Verily thou art the mild, the right director. _This
+they said in mockery._—He said, O my people, tell me, if I act
+according to an evident proof from my Lord, and He hath supplied me
+with a good _lawful_ provision, shall I mix it up with what is
+forbidden, and shall I not desire to oppose you, _and shall I betake
+myself_ to that which I forbid you? I desire not [aught] but _your_
+reformation, as far as I am able [to effect it], and my help is not
+[in any] but in God: on Him do I rely, and unto Him do I turn me. And,
+O my people, let not the opposition of me procure for you the
+befalling you of the like of that which befell the people of Noah or
+the people of Hood or the people of Ṣáliḥ. And _the abodes of the_
+people of Lot [are] not distant from you: (_or the time of their
+destruction was not long ago:_) _therefore be admonished_. And ask ye
+forgiveness of your Lord, and turn unto Him with repentance; for my
+Lord is merciful _to the believers_, loving _to them_. They replied, O
+Sho´eyb, we understand not much of what thou sayest, and verily we see
+thee to be weak[254] among us; and were it not for thy family, we had
+stoned thee; for thou art not, in our estimation, an honourable
+person: _thy family only are the honourable_. He said, O my people,
+are my family more honourable in your estimation than God, _and do ye
+abstain from slaying me for their sake, and not preserve me for God_,
+and have ye cast Him behind you as a thing neglected? Verily my Lord
+comprehendeth that which ye do, _and He will recompense you_. And, O
+my people, act ye according to your condition: verily I will act
+_according to mine_. Ye shall know on whom shall come a punishment
+that shall render him vile, and who is a liar: and await ye _the issue
+of your case_: verily I await with you.—And when Our degree _for their
+destruction_ came [to be executed], we delivered Sho´eyb and those who
+believed with him, in our mercy, and the cry _of Gabriel_ assailed
+those who had offended, so that in the morning they were in their
+abodes prostrate _and dead_, as though they had not dwelt therein. Was
+not Midian removed as Thamood had been removed?
+
+   (xi. 85-98.)
+
+
+
+
+MOSES AND HIS PEOPLE.
+
+
+We will rehearse unto thee, [O Moḥammad, somewhat] of the history of
+Moses [Moosá] and Pharaoh [Fir´own or Far´oon],[255] with truth, for
+_the sake of_ people who believe. Verily Pharaoh exalted himself in
+the land _of Egypt_, and divided its inhabitants into parties _to
+serve him_. He rendered weak one class of them, _namely the children
+of Israel_, slaughtering their male children, and preserving alive
+their females, _because one of the diviners said unto him, A child
+will be born among the children of Israel, who will be the means of
+the loss of thy kingdom;_—for he was [one] of the corrupt doers. And
+We desired to be gracious unto those who had been deemed weak in the
+land, and to make them models of religion, and to make them the heirs
+_of the possessions of Pharaoh_, and to establish them in the land _of
+Egypt, and in Syria_, and to show Pharaoh and Hámán[256] and their
+forces what they feared from them. And We said, by revelation, unto
+the mother of Moses, _the child above-mentioned, of whose birth none
+knew save his sister_, Suckle him; and when thou fearest for him cast
+him in the river _Nile_, and fear not _his being drowned_, nor mourn
+_for his separation_; for We will restore him unto thee, and will make
+him [one] of the apostles.[257] _So she suckled him three months,
+during which he wept not; and then she feared for him, wherefore she
+put him into an ark pitched within and furnished with a bed for him,
+and she closed it and cast it in the river Nile by night._ And the
+family (_or servants_) of Pharaoh lighted upon him _in the ark on the
+morrow of that night_;[258] _so they put it before him, and it was
+opened, and Moses was taken forth from it, sucking milk from his
+thumb:_ [this happened] that he might be unto them _eventually_ an
+enemy (_slaying their men_) and an affliction (_making slaves of their
+women_); for Pharaoh and Hámán (_his Wezeer_) and their forces were
+sinners; _wherefore they were punished by his hand_. And the wife of
+Pharaoh said, _when he and his servants had proposed to kill him_, He
+_is_ delight of the eye unto me and unto thee: do not ye kill him:
+peradventure he may be serviceable unto us, or we may adopt him as a
+son. _And they complied with her desire_; and they knew not _the
+consequence_.
+
+And the heart of the mother of Moses, _when she knew of his having
+been lighted upon_, became disquieted; and she had almost made him
+known _to be her son_, had We not fortified her heart with patience,
+that she might be [one] of the believers _in Our promise_. And she
+said unto his sister _Maryam_ [or Mary], Trace him, _that thou mayest
+know his case_. And she watched him from a distance, while they knew
+not _that she was his sister and that she was watching him_. And We
+forbade him the breasts, _preventing him from taking the breast of any
+nurse except his mother_, before _his restoration to her_: so _his
+sister_ said, Shall I direct you unto the people of a house who will
+nurse him for you, and who will be faithful unto him? _And her offer
+was accepted; therefore she brought his mother, and he took her
+breast: so she returned with him to her house, as God hath said_,—And
+We restored him to his mother, that her eye might be cheerful and that
+she might not grieve, and that she might know that the promise of God
+_to restore him unto her_ was true: but the greater number of them
+(_that is, of mankind_) know not _this_. _And it appeared not that
+this was his sister and this his mother; and he remained with her
+until she had weaned him; and her hire was paid her, for every day a
+deenár, which she took_ [without scruple] _because it was the wealth
+of a hostile person. She then brought him unto Pharaoh, and he was
+brought up in his abode, as God hath related of him in the Chapter of
+the Poets,_[259] [where Pharaoh said unto Moses,] _Have we not brought
+thee up among us a child, and hast thou not dwelt among us_ [thirty]
+_years of thy life?_
+
+And when he had attained his age of strength (_thirty years or thirty
+and three_), and had become of full age (_forty years_), We bestowed
+on him wisdom and knowledge _in religion, before he was sent as a
+prophet_; and thus do We reward the well-doers. And he entered the
+city _of Pharaoh, which was Munf_ [or Memphis], _after he had been
+absent from him a while_, at a time when its inhabitants were
+inadvertent, _at the hour of the noon-sleep_, and he found therein two
+men fighting; this [being] of his party (_namely an Israelite_), and
+this of his enemies (_an Egyptian_), _who was compelling the Israelite
+to carry firewood to the kitchen of Pharaoh without pay_: and he who
+was of his party begged him to aid him against him who was of his
+enemies. _So Moses said unto the latter, Let him go. And it is said
+that he replied to Moses, I have a mind to put the burden upon thee._
+And Moses struck him with his fist, and killed him. _But he intended
+not to kill him; and he buried him in the sand._ He said, This is of
+the work of the devil, _who hath excited my anger_; for he is an enemy
+_unto the son of Adam_, a manifest misleader _of him_. He said, _in
+repentance_, O my Lord, verily I have acted injuriously unto mine own
+soul, _by killing him_; therefore forgive me. So He forgave him: for
+He is the Very Forgiving, the Merciful.—He said, O my Lord, by the
+favours with which Thou hast favoured me, _defend me_, and I will by
+no means be an assistant to the sinners _after this_.—And the next
+morning he was afraid in the city, watching _for what might happen
+unto him on account of the slain man_; and lo, he who had begged his
+assistance the day before was crying out to him for aid _against
+another Egyptian_. Moses said unto him, Verily thou art a person
+manifestly in error, _because of that which thou hast done yesterday
+and to-day_. But when he was about to lay violent hands upon him who
+was an enemy unto them both, (_namely unto Moses and him who begged
+his aid_,) _the latter_ said, _imagining that he would lay violent
+hands upon him, because of that which he had said unto him_, O Moses,
+dost thou desire to kill me, as thou killedst a soul yesterday? Thou
+desirest not [aught] but to be an oppressor in the land, and thou
+desirest not to be [one] of the reconcilers.—_And the Egyptian heard
+that: so he knew that the killer was Moses; wherefore he departed
+unto Pharaoh and acquainted him therewith, and Pharaoh commanded the
+executioners to slay Moses, and they betook themselves to seek him._
+But a man _who was a believer of the family of Pharaoh_[260] came from
+the furthest part of the city, running _by a way that was nearer than
+the way by which they had come_: he said, O Moses, verily the chiefs
+_of the people of Pharaoh_ are consulting respecting thee, to slay
+thee; therefore go forth _from the city_: verily I am unto thee [one]
+of the admonishers. So he went forth from it in fear, watching _in
+fear of pursuer, or for the aid of God_. He said, O my Lord, deliver
+me from the unjust people _of Pharaoh_![261]
+
+And when he was journeying towards Medyen, _which was the city of
+Sho´eyb, eight days’ journey from Miṣr (named after Medyen the son of
+Abraham), and he knew not the way unto it_, he said, Peradventure my
+Lord will direct me unto the right way, _or the middle way. And God
+sent unto him an angel, having in his hand a short spear; and he went
+with him thither._[262] And when he came unto the water (_or well_) of
+Medyen, he found at it a company of men watering _their animals_; and
+he found besides them two women keeping away _their sheep from the
+water_. He said _unto them_ (_namely the two women_), What is the
+matter with you _that ye water not_? They answered, We shall not water
+until the pastors shall have driven away _their animals_; and our
+father is a very old man, _who cannot water the sheep_. And he watered
+for them _from another well near unto them, from which he lifted a
+stone that none could lift but ten persons._ Then he retired to the
+shade _of an Egyptian thorn-tree on account of the violence of the
+heat of the sun; and he was hungry_, and he said, O my Lord, verily I
+am in need of the good _provision_ which Thou shalt send down unto me.
+_And the two women returned unto their father in less time than they
+were accustomed to do: so he asked them the reason thereof; and they
+informed him of the person who had watered for them; whereupon he said
+unto one of them, Call him unto me._
+
+And one of them[263] came unto him, walking bashfully, _with the
+sleeve of her shift over her face, by reason of her abashment at him_:
+she said, My father calleth thee, that he may recompense thee with the
+reward of thy having watered for us. _And he assented to her call,
+disliking in his mind the receiving of the reward: but it seemeth that
+she intended the compensation if he were of such as desired it. And
+she walked before him; and the wind blew her garment, and her legs
+were discovered: so he said unto her, Walk behind me and direct me in
+the way. And she did so, until she came unto her father, who was
+Sho´eyb, on whom be peace! and with him was_ [prepared] _a supper. He
+said unto him, Sit and sup. But he replied, I fear lest it be a
+compensation for my having watered for them, and we are a family who
+seek not a compensation for doing good. He said, Nay, it is my custom
+and hath been the custom of my fathers to entertain the guest and to
+give food. So he ate; and acquainted, him with his case._ And when he
+had come unto him, and had related to him the story _of his having
+killed the Egyptian and their intention to kill him and his fear of
+Pharaoh_, he replied, Fear not: thou hast escaped from the unjust
+people. (_For Pharaoh had no dominion over Medyen._) One of them
+[namely of the women] said (_and she was the one who had been sent_),
+O my father, hire him _to tend our sheep in our stead_; for the best
+whom thou canst hire is the strong, the trustworthy. _So he asked her
+respecting him, and she acquainted him with what hath been above
+related, his lifting up the stone of the well, and his saying unto
+her, Walk behind me;—and moreover, that when she had come unto him,
+and he knew of her presence, he hung down his head and raised it not._
+He _therefore_ said, Verily I desire to marry thee unto one of these
+my two daughters, on the condition that thou shalt be a hired servant
+to me, _to tend my sheep_, eight years; and if thou fulfil ten
+_years_, it shall be of thine own will; and I desire not to lay a
+difficulty upon thee _by imposing as a condition the ten years_: thou
+shalt find me, if God please, [one] of the just, _who are faithful to
+their covenants_. He replied, This [be the covenant] between me and
+thee: whichever of the two terms I fulfil, there shall be no injustice
+against me _by demanding an addition thereto_; and God is witness of
+what we say. _And the marriage-contract was concluded according to
+this; and Sho´eyb ordered his daughter to give unto Moses a rod
+wherewith to drive away the wild beasts from his sheep: and the rods
+of the prophets were in his possession; and the rod of Adam, of the
+myrtle of paradise, fell into her hand; and Moses took it, with the
+knowledge of Sho´eyb._
+
+   (xxviii. 21-28.)
+
+
+Hath the history of Moses been related to thee? when he saw fire,[264]
+_during his journey from Medyen, on his way to Egypt_, and said unto
+his family, _or his wife_, Tarry ye _here_; for I have seen fire:
+perhaps I may bring you a brand from it, or find at the fire a guide
+_to direct me in the way. For he had missed the way in consequence of
+the darkness of the night._ And when he came unto it (_and it was a
+bramble-bush_), he was called to [by a voice saying], O Moses, verily
+I am thy Lord; therefore pull off thy shoes;[265] for thou art in the
+holy valley of Ṭuwa. And I have chosen thee _from among thy people_;
+wherefore hearken attentively unto that which is revealed _unto thee
+by Me_. Verily I am God: there is no Deity except Me; therefore
+worship Me, and perform prayer in remembrance of Me. Verily the hour
+is coming: I will manifest it _unto mankind, and its nearness shall
+appear unto them by its signs_, that every soul may be recompensed
+_therein_ for its good and evil work: therefore let not him who
+believeth not in it, and followeth his lust, hinder thee from
+_believing in_ it, lest thou perish. And what is that in thy right
+hand, O Moses?—He answered, It is my rod, whereon I lean and wherewith
+I beat down leaves for my sheep _that they may eat them_; and I have
+other uses for it, _as the carrying of provision and the water-skin,
+and the driving away of reptiles_. He said, Cast it down, O Moses. So
+he cast it down; and lo, it was a serpent,[266] running along. _God_
+said, Take it, and fear _it_ not:[267] we will restore it to its
+former state. _And he put his hand into its mouth; whereupon it became
+again a rod._ [And God said,] And put thy _right_ hand to thy _left_
+arm-pit, _and take it forth_: it shall come forth white, without evil,
+(_that is, without leprosy; shining like the rays of the sun, dazzling
+the sight,_) as another sign, that We may show thee the greatest of
+our signs _of thine apostleship_. (_And when he desired to restore his
+hand to its first state, he put it as before described, and drew it
+forth._) Go _as an apostle_ unto Pharaoh _and those who are with
+him_; for he hath acted with exceeding impiety _by arrogating to
+himself divinity_.—_Moses_ said, O my Lord, dilate my bosom, _that it
+may hear the message_, and make my affair easy unto me, and loose the
+knot of my tongue (_this had arisen from his having been burned in his
+mouth by a live coal when he was a child_),[268] that they may
+understand my speech _when I deliver the message_. And appoint unto me
+a Wezeer of my family, _namely_ Aaron [Hároon] my brother. Strengthen
+my back by him, and make him a colleague in my affair, that we may
+glorify Thee much, and remember Thee much; for Thou knowest us.
+
+God replied, Thou hast obtained thy petition, O Moses, and We have
+been gracious unto thee another time: forasmuch as We revealed unto
+thy mother what was revealed, _when she gave birth to thee and feared
+that Pharaoh would kill thee among the others that were born_,
+[saying,] Cast him into the ark, and then cast him, _in the ark_, into
+the river _Nile_, and the river shall throw him on the shore; then an
+enemy unto Me and an enemy unto him (_namely Pharaoh_) shall take him.
+And I bestowed on thee, _after he had taken thee_, love from Me, _that
+thou mightest be loved by men, so that Pharaoh and all that saw thee
+loved thee_; and that thou mightest be bred up in Mine eye. [Also]
+forasmuch as thy sister _Maryam_ went _that she might learn what
+became of thee, after they had brought nurses and thou hadst refused
+to take the breast of any one of them_, and she said, Shall I direct
+you unto one who will nurse him? (_whereupon her proposal was_
+_accepted, and she brought his mother_): so We restored thee to thy
+mother, that her eye might become cheerful and that she might not
+grieve. And thou slewest a soul, _namely the Copt in Egypt, and wast
+sorry for his slaughter, on account of Pharaoh_, and We delivered thee
+from sorrow; and We tried thee with _other_ trial, _and delivered thee
+from it_.[269] And thou stayedst _ten_ years among the people of
+Medyen, _after thou hadst come thither from Egypt, at the abode of
+Sho´eyb the prophet, and he married thee to his daughter._ Then thou
+camest according to _My_ decree, _as to the time of thy mission, when
+thou hadst attained the age of forty years_, O Moses; and I have
+chosen thee for Myself. Go thou and thy brother[270] _unto the
+people_, with My _nine_ signs, and cease ye not to remember Me. Go ye
+unto Pharaoh; for he hath acted with exceeding impiety, _by arrogating
+to himself divinity_, and speak unto him with gentle speech,
+_exhorting him to relinquish that conduct_: peradventure he will
+consider, or will fear _God, and repent_. (_The_ [mere] _hope with
+respect to the two_ [results is expressed] _because of God’s knowledge
+that he would not repent._)—They replied, O our Lord, verily we fear
+that he may be precipitately violent against us, _hastening to punish
+us_, or that he may act with exceeding injustice _towards us_. He
+said, Fear ye not; for I am with you: I will hear and will see.
+Therefore go ye unto him, and say, Verily we are the apostles of thy
+Lord: therefore send with us the children of Israel _unto Syria_, and
+do not afflict them, _but cease to employ them in thy difficult works,
+such as digging and building and carrying the heavy burden_. We have
+come unto thee with a sign from thy Lord, _attesting our veracity in
+asserting ourselves apostles_: and peace be on him who followeth the
+right direction:—_that is, he shall be secure from punishment_. Verily
+it hath been revealed unto us that punishment [shall be inflicted]
+upon him who chargeth with falsehood _that wherewith we have come_,
+and turneth away _from it_.
+
+   (xx. 8-50.)
+
+
+Then We sent after them, _namely the apostles before mentioned_ [who
+were Sho´eyb and his predecessors], Moses, with Our signs unto Pharaoh
+and his nobles, and they acted unjustly with respect to them,
+_disbelieving in the signs_: but see what was the end of the corrupt
+doers. And Moses said, O Pharaoh, verily I am an apostle from the Lord
+of the worlds _unto thee_. _But he charged him with falsehood: so he
+said, I am_ right not to say of God aught but the truth. I have come
+unto you with a proof from your Lord: therefore send with me _to
+Syria_ the children of Israel.—_Pharaoh_ said _unto him_, If thou hast
+come with a sign _confirmatory of thy pretension_, produce it, if thou
+be of those who speak truth, So he cast down his rod; and lo, it was a
+manifest serpent.[271] And he drew forth his hand _from his bosom_;
+and lo, it was white _and radiant_ unto the beholders.[272] The nobles
+of the people of Pharaoh said, Verily this is a knowing enchanter: he
+desireth to expel you from your land. What then do ye command?—They
+answered, Put off for a time him and his brother, and send unto the
+cities collectors [of the inhabitants], that they may bring unto thee
+every knowing enchanter. And the enchanters came unto Pharaoh. They
+said, Shall we surely have a reward if we be the party who overcome?
+He answered, Yea; and verily ye shall be of those who are admitted
+near [unto my person]. They said, O Moses, either do thou cast down
+_thy rod_, or we will cast down _what we have with us_. He replied,
+Cast ye. And when they cast down _their cords and their rods_, they
+enchanted the eyes of the men, _diverting them from the true
+perception of them_; and they terrified them; _for they imagined them
+to be serpents running_; and they performed a great enchantment.[273]
+And We spake by revelation unto Moses, [saying,] Cast down thy rod.
+And lo, it swallowed up what they had caused to appear changed.[274]
+So the truth was confirmed, and that which they had wrought became
+vain; and they were overcome there, and were rendered contemptible.
+And the enchanters cast themselves down prostrate:[275] they said, We
+believe in the Lord of the worlds, the Lord of Moses and Aaron.
+Pharaoh said, Have ye believed in Him before I have given you
+permission? Verily this is a plot that ye have contrived in the city,
+that ye may cause its inhabitants to go forth from it. But ye shall
+know _what shall happen unto you at my hand_. I will assuredly cut off
+your hands and your feet on the opposite sides—_the right hand of each
+and his left foot_: then I will crucify you all.—They replied. Verily
+unto our Lord shall we return, _after our death, of whatever kind it
+be_; and thou dost not take vengeance on us but because we believed in
+the signs of our Lord when they came unto us. O our Lord, pour upon us
+patience, and cause us to die Muslims![276]
+
+   (vii. 101-123.)
+
+
+And Pharaoh said, Let me alone, that I may kill Moses, (_for they had
+diverted him from killing him_,) and let him call upon his Lord _to
+defend him from me_. Verily I fear lest he change your religion, _and
+prevent your worshipping me_, or that he may cause corruption to
+appear in the earth (_that is, slaughter, and other offences_).—And
+Moses said _unto his people, having heard this_, Verily I have
+recourse for defence unto my Lord and your Lord from every proud
+person who believeth not in the day of account. And a man [who was] a
+believer, of the family of Pharaoh (_it is said that he was the son of
+his paternal uncle_,)[277] who concealed his faith, said, Will ye kill
+a man because he saith, My Lord is God,—when he hath come unto you
+with evident proofs from your Lord? And if he be a liar, on him [will
+be] _the evil consequence of_ his lie; but if he be a speaker of
+truth, somewhat of that _punishment with_ which he threateneth you
+will befall you _speedily_. Verily God directeth not him who is a
+transgressor, _or polytheist_, [and] a liar. O my people, ye have the
+dominion to-day, being overcomers in the land _of Egypt_; but who will
+defend us from the punishment of God _if ye kill his favourite
+servants_, if it come unto us?[278]—Pharaoh said, I will not advise
+you to do [aught] save what I see to be advisable, _which is, to kill
+Moses_; and I will not direct you save into the right way. And he who
+had believed said, O my people, verily I fear for you the like of the
+day of the confederates,[279] the like of the condition of the people
+of Noah and ´Ád and Thamood and those who [have lived] after them: and
+God willeth not injustice unto [His] servants. And, O my people,
+verily I fear for you the day of calling (_that is, the day of
+resurrection, when the people of Paradise and those of Hell shall
+often call one to another_). On the day when ye shall turn back _from
+the place of reckoning unto hell_, ye shall have no protector against
+God. And he whom God shall cause to err shall have no director.
+Moreover, Joseph (_who was Joseph the son of Jacob according to one
+opinion, and who lived unto the time of Moses; and Joseph the son of
+Abraham the son of Joseph the son of Jacob, according to another
+opinion_) came unto you before _Moses_, with evident _miraculous_
+proofs; but ye ceased not to be in doubt respecting that wherewith he
+came unto you, until, when he died, ye said _without proof_ God will
+by no means send an apostle after him. Thus God causeth to err him who
+is a transgressor, _or polytheist_, [and] a sceptic. They who dispute
+respecting the signs of God, without any convincing proof having come
+unto them, _their disputing_ is very hateful with God and with those
+who have believed. Thus God sealeth every heart (_or the whole heart_)
+of a proud contumacious person.
+
+And Pharaoh said, O Hámán, build for me a tower, that I may reach the
+avenues, the avenues of the heavens, and ascend unto the God of
+Moses;[280] but verily I think him, _namely Moses_, a liar _in his
+assertion that he hath any god but myself_. And thus the wickedness of
+his deed was made to seem comely unto Pharaoh, and he was turned away
+from the path _of rectitude_; and the artifice of Pharaoh [ended] not
+save in loss. And he who had believed said, O my people, follow me: I
+will direct you into the right way. O my people, this present life is
+only a temporary enjoyment; but the world to come is the mansion of
+firm continuance. Whosoever doeth evil, he shall not be recompensed
+save with the like of it; and whosoever doeth good, whether male or
+female, and is a believer, these shall enter Paradise; they shall be
+provided for therein without reckoning. And, O my people, how is it
+that I invite you unto salvation, and ye invite me unto the Fire? Ye
+invite me to deny God, and to associate with Him that of which I have
+no knowledge; but I invite you unto the Mighty, the Very Forgiving.
+[There is] no doubt but that the [false gods] _to the worship of_
+which ye invite me are not to be invoked in this world, nor in the
+world to come, and that our return [shall be] unto God, and that the
+transgressors [shall be] the companions of the Fire. And ye shall
+remember, _when ye see the punishment_, what I say unto you; and I
+commit my case unto God; for God seeth [His] servants.—_This he said
+when they threatened him for his opposing their religion._ Therefore
+God preserved him from the evils which they had artfully devised
+(_namely slaughter_), and a most evil punishment encompassed the
+people of Pharaoh,[281] _with Pharaoh himself (namely the
+drowning); then_ they shall be exposed to the Fire morning and
+evening;[282] and on the day when the hour [of judgment] shall come,
+_it shall be said unto the angels_, Introduce the people of Pharaoh
+into the most severe punishment.
+
+   (xl. 27-49.)
+
+
+And the nobles of the people of Pharaoh said _unto him_, Wilt thou let
+Moses and his people go that they may act corruptly in the earth, _by
+inviting to disobey thee_, and leave thee and thy gods? (_For he had
+made for them little idols for them to worship, and he said, I am your
+Lord and their Lord;—and therefore he said, I am your Lord the Most
+High._) He answered, We will slaughter their male children and will
+suffer their females to live: and verily we shall prevail over them.
+_And thus they did unto them; wherefore the children of Israel
+complained, and_ Moses said unto his people, Seek aid of God, and be
+patient; for the earth belongeth unto God: He causeth whomsoever He
+will of His servants to inherit it; and the _prosperous_ end is for
+those who fear _God_. They replied, We have been afflicted before thou
+camest unto us and since thou hast come unto us. He said, Perhaps your
+Lord will destroy your enemy and cause you to succeed [him] in the
+earth, and He will see how ye will act _therein_.—And We had punished
+the family of Pharaoh with dearth and with scarcity of fruits, that
+they might be admonished _and might believe_. But when good betided
+them, they said, This is ours:—_that is, we deserve it;—and they were
+not grateful for it_; and if evil befell them, they ascribed it to
+the ill luck of Moses and those _believers_ who were with him. Nay,
+their ill luck was only with God: _He brought it upon them_: but the
+greater number of them know not _this_. And they said _unto Moses_,
+Whatsoever sign thou bring unto us, to enchant us therewith, we will
+not believe in thee. _So he uttered an imprecation upon them_, and We
+sent upon them the flood, _which entered their houses and reached to
+the throats of the persons sitting, seven days_,[283] and the locusts,
+_which ate their corn and their fruits_, and the ḳummal, _or grubs, or
+a kind of tick, which sought after what the locusts had left_, and the
+frogs, _which filled their houses and their food_, and the blood _in
+their waters_; distinct signs: but they were proud, _refusing to
+believe in them_, and were a wicked people. And when the punishment
+fell upon them, they said, O Moses, supplicate for us thy Lord,
+according to that which He hath covenanted with thee, _namely that He
+will withdraw from us the punishment if we believe_: verily, if thou
+remove from us the punishment, we will assuredly believe thee, and we
+will assuredly send with thee the children of Israel. But when We
+removed from them the punishment until a period at which they should
+arrive, lo, they brake their promise. Wherefore We took vengeance on
+them, and drowned them in the sea, because they charged our signs with
+falsehood and were heedless of them. And We caused the people who had
+been rendered weak, _by being enslaved_, to inherit the eastern parts
+of the earth and its western parts,[284] which we blessed _with water
+and trees, (namely Syria)_; and the gracious word of thy Lord was
+fulfilled on the children of Israel, because they had been patient;
+and We destroyed the _structures_ which Pharaoh and his people had
+built and what they had erected.[285]
+
+   (vii. 124-133.)
+
+
+We brought the children of Israel across the sea, and Pharaoh and his
+troops pursued them with violence and hostility, until, when drowning
+overtook him, he said, I believe that there is no deity but He in whom
+the children of Israel believe, and I am [one] of the Muslims. _But
+Gabriel thrust into his mouth some of the mire of the sea, lest mercy
+should be granted him, and said_, Now _thou believest_, and thou hast
+been rebellious hitherto, and wast [one] of the corrupters. But to-day
+we will raise thee with thy lifeless body _from the sea_, that thou
+mayest be a sign unto those [who shall come] after thee. (_It is
+related, on the authority of Ibn-´Abbás, that some of the children of
+Israel doubted his death; wherefore he was brought forth to them that
+they might see him._)[286] But verily many men are heedless of Our
+signs.
+
+   (x. 90-92.)
+
+
+And We brought the children of Israel across the sea; and they came
+unto a people who gave themselves up to _the worship of_ idols
+belonging to them;[287] [whereupon] they said, O Moses, make for us a
+god (_an idol for us to worship_), like as they have gods. He replied,
+Verily ye are a people who are ignorant, _since ye have requited God’s
+favour towards you with that which ye have said_; for that [religion]
+in which these are [occupied shall be] destroyed, and vain is that
+which they do. He said, Shall I seek for you any other deity than God,
+when He hath preferred you above the peoples _of your time_?
+
+   (vii. 134-136.)
+
+
+And We caused the thin clouds to shade you _from the heat of the sun
+in the desert_, and caused the manna and the quails[288] to descend
+upon you, _and said_, Eat of the good things which We have given you
+for food, _and store not up.—But they were ungrateful for the benefit,
+and stored up; wherefore it was cut off from them_. And they injured
+not Us _thereby_; but they did injure their own souls.
+
+   (ii. 54.)
+
+
+[Remember, O children of Israel,] when ye said, O Moses, we will not
+bear patiently the having one _kind of_ food, _the manna and the
+quails_; therefore supplicate for us thy Lord, that He may produce for
+us _somewhat_ of that which the earth bringeth forth, of its herbs and
+its cucumbers and its wheat and its lentils and its onions:—he said
+_unto them_, Will ye take in exchange that which is worse for that
+which is better?—_But they refused to recede; therefore he supplicated
+God, and He said_, Get ye down into a great city;[289] for ye shall
+have _therein_ what ye have asked.—And the _marks of_ abjection and
+poverty were stamped upon them: _so these characteristics necessarily
+belong to them, even if they are rich, as necessarily as the stamped
+coin belongeth to its die_; and they returned with indignation from
+God. This was because they did disbelieve in the signs of God, and
+slay the prophets (_as Zechariah and John_) unjustly: this was because
+they rebelled and did transgress.
+
+   (ii. 58.)
+
+
+And _remember_ when Moses asked drink for his people, _who had become
+thirsty in the desert_, and We said, Strike with thy rod the stone.
+(_It was the stone that fled away with his garment:[290] it was
+light, square, like the head of a man, marble or kedhdhán._[291])
+_Accordingly he struck it_; and there gushed out from it twelve
+fountains, _according to the number of the tribes_, all men (_each
+tribe of them_) knowing their drinking-place. _And We said unto them_,
+Eat ye and drink of the supply of God, and commit not evil in the
+earth, acting corruptly.
+
+   (ii. 57.)
+
+
+_Remember_ also when We obtained your bond _that ye would do according
+to that which is contained in the Law_, and _had_ lifted up over you
+the mountain [namely Mount Sinai], _pulled it up by the roots and
+raised it over you when ye had refused to accept the Law, and We
+said_, Receive that which We have given you, with resolution, and
+remember that which is contained in it, _to do according thereto_:
+peradventure ye will fear _the Fire, or acts of disobedience_.—Then ye
+turned back after that; and had it not been for the grace of God
+towards you and His mercy, ye had certainly been of those who perish.
+And ye know those of you who transgressed on the Sabbath, _by catching
+fish, when We had forbidden them to do so_ (_and they were the people
+of Eyleh_[292],) and We said unto them, Be ye apes, driven away from
+the society of men.—_Thereupon they became such, and they perished
+after three days._—And We made it (_namely that punishment_) an
+example unto those who were contemporary with them and those who came
+after them, and a warning to the pious.
+
+   (ii. 60-62.)
+
+
+And We appointed unto Moses thirty nights, _at the expiration of which
+We would speak to him, on the condition of his fasting during them;
+and they were_ [the nights of the month of] _Dhu-l-Ḳaạdeh; and he
+fasted during them: but, when they were ended, he disliked the smell
+of his breath; so he used a tooth-stick; whereupon God commanded him
+to fast ten other nights, that He might speak to Him with the odour of
+his breath,[293] as He whose name be exalted hath said_,—and We
+completed them by [adding] ten _nights of Dhu-l-Ḥijjeh_: so the stated
+time of his Lord was completed, forty nights. And Moses said unto his
+brother Aaron, _at his departure to the mountain for the private
+collocution_, Be thou my deputy among my people, and act rightly, and
+follow not the way of the corrupt doers _by agreeing with them in acts
+of disobedience_. And when Moses came at Our appointed time, and his
+Lord spake unto him _without an intermediary_, he said, O my Lord,
+show me _Thyself_, that I may see Thee. He replied, Thou shalt not see
+Me: but look at the mountain, _which is stronger than thou_; and if it
+remain firm in its place, then shalt thou see Me. And when his Lord
+displayed Himself to the mountain (_that is, when there appeared, of
+His light, half of the tip of His little finger, as related in a
+tradition which El-Ḥákim hath verified_), He reduced it to powder,
+_levelling it even with the ground around it_; and Moses fell down in
+a swoon. And when he recovered, he said, Extolled be Thy perfection! I
+turn unto Thee repenting, and I am the first of the believers _in my
+time_.—_God_ said _unto him_, O Moses, I have chosen thee above the
+people _of thy time_ [by honouring thee] by My commissions and by My
+speaking _unto thee_: therefore receive what I have given thee, and be
+of those who are grateful. And We wrote for him upon the tables of
+_the Law_[294] (_which were of the lote-tree of Paradise, or of
+chrysolite, or of emerald; in number seven, or ten_) an admonition
+concerning every _requisite_ matter _of religion_, and a distinct
+explanation of everything; _and said_, Therefore receive it with
+resolution, and command thy people to act according to the most
+excellent [precepts] thereof.
+
+   (vii. 138-142.)
+
+
+And the people of Moses, after it (_that is, after his departure for
+the private collocution_), made, of their ornaments (_which they had
+borrowed of the people of Pharaoh_), a corporeal calf[295] _which
+Es-Sámiree cast for them,_[296] _and_ which lowed; _for he had the
+faculty of doing so in consequence of their having put into its mouth
+some dust taken from_ [beneath] _the hoof of the horse of Gabriel; and
+they took it as a god_. Did they not see that it spake not to them,
+nor directed them in the way? They took it _as a god_, and were
+offenders. But when they repented, and saw that they had erred, _which
+was after the return of Moses_, they said, Verily if our Lord do not
+have mercy upon us and forgive us, we shall assuredly be of those who
+perish.
+
+   (vii. 146-148.)
+
+
+And Moses returned unto his people[297] enraged _against them_,
+exceedingly sorrowful. He said, O my people, did not your Lord promise
+you a good _true_ promise, _that He would give you the Law?_ But did
+the time of _my absence_ seem tedious to you, or did ye desire that
+indignation from your Lord should befall you, and therefore did ye
+break your promise to me, _and abstain from coming after one?_—They
+answered, We did not break our promise to thee of our own authority;
+but we were made to carry loads of the ornaments of the people _of
+Pharaoh_ (_which the children of Israel had borrowed of them under
+pretence of_ [requiring them for] _a wedding, and which remained in
+their possession_), and we cast them _into the fire, by order of
+Es-Sámiree_. And in like manner also Es-Sámiree cast _their ornaments
+which he had, and some of the dust which he had taken from the traces
+of the hoofs of the horse of Gabriel;_ and he produced unto them a
+corporeal calf, _of flesh and blood_, which lowed, _by reason of the
+dust, the property of which is to give life to that into which it is
+put; and he had put it, after he had moulded the calf, into its
+mouth_. And they (_namely, Es-Sámiree and his followers_) said, This
+is your god, and the god of Moses; but he hath forgotten _his lord
+here, and gone to seek him. God saith_, But did they not see that it
+returned them not an answer, nor was able to cause them hurt or
+profit? And Aaron had said unto them, before _the return of Moses_, O
+my people, ye are only tried by it; and verily your Lord is the
+Compassionate; therefore follow me, _by worshipping Him_, and obey my
+command. They replied, We will by no means cease to be devoted to _the
+worship of_ it until Moses return unto us. _Moses_ said _after his
+return_, O Aaron, what hindered thee, when thou sawest that they had
+gone astray, from following me? Hast thou then been disobedient to my
+command, _by remaining among them who worshipped another than God_?
+—He answered, O son of my mother, seize me not by my beard (_for he
+had taken hold of his beard with his left hand_), nor by [the hair of]
+my head (_for he had taken hold of his hair with his right hand, in
+anger_). Verily I feared lest _if I followed thee (for a company of
+those who worshipped the calf would inevitably have followed me)_ thou
+shouldst say, Thou hast made a division among the children of Israel,
+and hast not waited for my sentence. _Moses_ said, And what was thy
+motive _for doing as thou hast_, O Sámiree? He answered, I saw that
+which they saw not;[298] therefore I took a handful _of dust_ from the
+foot-marks _of the horse_ of the apostle _Gabriel_, and cast it _into
+the molten calf_; and thus my soul allured me _to take a handful of
+the dust above-mentioned, and to cast it upon that which had no life,
+that it might have life; and I saw that thy people had demanded of
+thee that thou wouldst make them a god; so my soul suggested to me
+that this calf should be their god. Moses_ said _unto him_, Then get
+thee gone _from among us_, and [the punishment] for thee during _the
+period of thy_ life [shall be], that thou shalt say _unto whomsoever
+thou shalt see_, Touch _me_ not:—(_so he used to wander about the
+desert, and when he touched any one, or any one touched him, they both
+became affected with a burning fever:_) and verily for thee is a
+threat which thou shalt by no means find to be false. And look at thy
+god, to _the worship of_ which thou hast continued devoted. We will
+assuredly burn it: then we will assuredly reduce it to powder and
+scatter it in the sea. (_And Moses, after he had slaughtered it, did
+this._) Your deity is God only, except whom there is no deity. He
+comprehendeth all things by _His_ knowledge.—Thus, _O Moḥammad_, do We
+relate unto thee accounts of what hath happened heretofore; and We
+have given thee, from Us, an admonition; _namely the Ḳur-án_.
+
+   (xx. 88-99.)
+
+
+And they were made to drink down the calf into their hearts,[299]
+(_that is, the love of it mingled with their hearts as drink
+mingleth_,) because of their unbelief.
+
+   (ii. 87.)
+
+
+[Remember, O children of Israel,] when Moses said unto his people _who
+worshipped the calf_, O my people, verily ye have injured your own
+souls by your taking to yourselves the calf _as a god_; therefore turn
+with repentance unto your Creator _from the worship of it_, and slay
+one another: (_that is, let the innocent among you slay the
+criminal_:) this will be best for you in the estimation of your
+Creator. _And He aided you to do that, sending upon you a black cloud,
+lest one of you should see another and have compassion on him, until
+there were slain of you about seventy thousand._ And _thereupon_ He
+became propitious towards you, _accepting your repentance_; for He is
+the Very Propitious, the Merciful.
+
+   (ii. 51.)
+
+
+[Remember also, O children of Israel,] when ye said, _having gone
+forth with Moses to beg pardon of God for your worship of the calf,
+and having heard his words_, O Moses, we will not believe thee until
+we see God manifestly:—whereupon the vehement sound assailed you, _and
+ye died_, while ye beheld _what happened to you_. Then We raised you
+to life after ye had been dead, that peradventure ye might give
+thanks.[300]
+
+   (ii. 52, 53.)
+
+
+And Moses chose _from_ his people seventy men, _of those who had not
+worshipped the calf, by the command of God_, at the time appointed by
+Us _for their coming to ask pardon for their companions’ worship of
+the calf; and he went forth with them_; and when the convulsion (_the
+violent earthquake_) took them away (_because, saith Ibn-´Abbás, they
+did not separate themselves from their people when the latter
+worshipped the calf_), _Moses_ said, O my Lord, if Thou hadst pleased,
+Thou hadst destroyed them before _my going forth with them, that the
+children of Israel might have beheld it and might not suspect me_; and
+me [also]. Wilt Thou destroy us for that which the foolish among us
+have done? It is naught but Thy trial: Thou wilt cause to err thereby
+whom Thou pleasest, and Thou wilt rightly guide whom Thou pleasest.
+Thou art our guardian; and do Thou forgive us and have mercy upon us;
+for Thou art the best of those who forgive: and appoint for us in this
+world what is good, and in the world to come; for unto Thee have we
+turned with repentance.—_God_ replied, I will afflict with My
+punishment whom I please, and My mercy extendeth over everything _in
+the world_; and I will appoint it, _in the world to come_, for those
+who fear and give the legal alms, and those who believe on Our signs,
+who shall follow the apostle, the illiterate [or Gentile, _i.e._, Arab]
+prophet, _Moḥammad_, whom they shall find written down with them in the
+Pentateuch and the Gospel, _by his name and his description_. He will
+command them that which is right, and forbid them that which is evil;
+and will allow them as lawful the good things _among those forbidden in
+their law_, and prohibit them the impure, _as carrion and other things_,
+and will take off from them their burden and the yokes that were upon
+them, _as the slaying of a soul_ [for an atonement] _in repentance, and
+the cutting off of the mark left by impurity_. And those who shall
+believe in him and honour him and assist him and follow the light which
+shall be sent down with him, _namely the Ḳur-án_, these shall be the
+prosperous.
+
+   (vii. 154-156).
+
+
+And _remember_ when Moses said unto his people, O my people, remember
+the favour of God towards you, since He hath appointed prophets from
+among you, and made you princes (_masters of servants and other
+attendants_), and given you what He hath not given any [other] of the
+peoples (_as the manna and the quails and other things_). O my people,
+enter the Holy Land which God hath decreed for you (_namely Syria_),
+and turn not back, lest ye turn losers.—They replied, O Moses, verily
+there is in it a gigantic people, _of the remains of the tribe of
+´Ad_, and we will not enter it until they go forth from it; but if
+they go forth from it, then we will enter.—[Thereupon] two men, of
+those who feared _to disobey God, namely Joshua and Caleb, of the
+chiefs whom Moses sent to discover the circumstances of the giants,
+and_ upon whom God had conferred favour, _and who had concealed what
+they had seen of the state of the giants, excepting from Moses,
+wherefore the other chiefs became cowardly_, said _unto them_, Enter
+ye upon them through the gate _of the city, and fear them not; for
+they are bodies without hearts_; and when ye enter it, ye overcome;
+and upon God place your dependence, if ye be believers.—[But] they
+said, O Moses, we will never enter it while they remain therein.
+Therefore go thou and thy Lord, and fight: for we remain here.—_Then
+Moses_ said, O my Lord, verily I am not master of any but myself and
+my brother: therefore distinguish between us and the unrighteous
+people.—_God_ replied, Verily it (_namely the Holy Land_) shall be
+forbidden them forty years; they shall wander in perplexity in the
+land: and be not thou solicitous for the unrighteous people.—_The
+land_ [through which they wandered] _was_ [only] _nine leagues_ [in
+extent]. _They used to journey during the night with diligence; but in
+the morning they found themselves in the place whence they had set
+forth; and they journeyed during the day in like manner. Thus they did
+until all of them had become extinct, excepting those who had not
+attained the age of twenty years; and it is said that they were six
+hundred thousand. Aaron and Moses died in the desert; and mercy was
+their lot: but punishment was the lot of those. And Moses begged his
+Lord, when he was about to die, that He would bring him as near as a
+stone’s throw to the Holy Land: wherefore He did so. And Joshua was
+made a prophet after the forty [years], and he gave orders to fight
+against the giants. So he went with those who were with him, and
+fought against them: and it was Friday; and the sun stood still for
+him awhile, until he had made an end of fighting against them._
+
+   (v. 23-29).
+
+
+Ḳároon[301] [or Korah] was of the people of Moses (_he was the son of
+his paternal uncle, and the son of his maternal aunt, and he believed
+in him_); but he behaved insolently towards them; for We had bestowed
+upon him such treasures that their keys were heavy burdens for a
+company of men endowed with strength, _in number, as some say,
+seventy; and some, forty; and some, ten; and some, another number.
+Remember when his people (the believers among the children of Israel)_
+said unto him, Rejoice not _exultingly in the abundance of thy
+wealth_; for God loveth not those who _so_ rejoice; but seek to
+attain, by means of the _wealth_ which God hath given thee, the latter
+abode [of Paradise], _by expending thy wealth in the service of God_;
+and neglect not thy part in this world, _to work therein for the world
+to come_; but be beneficent _unto mankind, by bestowing alms_, as God
+hath been beneficent unto thee; and seek not to act corruptly in the
+earth; for God loveth not the corrupt doers. He replied, I have only
+been given it on account of the knowledge that I possess. _For he was
+the most learned of the children of Israel in the Law, after Moses and
+Aaron. God saith_, Did he not know that God had destroyed before him,
+of the generations, those that were mightier than he in strength and
+who had amassed more abundance _of wealth_? And the wicked shall not
+be asked respecting their sins, _because God knoweth them: therefore
+they shall be sent into the Fire without a reckoning_. And _Ḳároon_
+went forth unto his people in his pomp, _with his many dependants
+mounted, adorned with garments of gold and silk, upon decked horses
+and mules_. Those who desired the present life said, O would that we
+had the like of that which hath been bestowed on Ḳároon _in this
+world_! Verily he is possessed of great good fortune!—But those unto
+whom knowledge _of what God hath promised in the world to come_ had
+been given, said _unto them_, Woe to you! The reward of God _in the
+world to come_ (_which is Paradise_) is better for him who believeth
+and worketh righteousness _than that which hath been bestowed on
+Ḳároon in the present world_; and none shall receive it but the
+patient _in the service of God_. And We caused the earth to cleave
+asunder and swallow up him and his mansion,[302] and he had no forces
+to defend him, in the place of God, nor was he of the [number of the]
+saved. And the next morning, those who had wished for his place the
+day before said, Aha! God enlargeth provision unto whom He pleaseth of
+His servants, and is sparing _of it unto whom He pleaseth!_ Had not
+God been gracious unto us, He had caused [the earth] to cleave asunder
+and swallow up us! Aha! the ungrateful _for His benefits_ do not
+prosper!
+
+   (xxviii. 76-82.)
+
+
+_Remember_, [O children of Israel,] when Moses said unto his people
+(_when one of them had been slain, whose murderer was not known, and
+they asked him to beg God that He would discover him to them,
+wherefore he supplicated Him_), Verily God commandeth you to sacrifice
+a cow. They said, Dost thou make a jest of us? He said, I beg God to
+preserve me from being _one_ of the foolish. _So when they knew that
+he decidedly intended_ [what he had ordered], they said, Supplicate
+for us thy Lord, that He may manifest to us what she is; _that is,
+what is her age_. _Moses_ replied, He saith, She is a cow neither old
+nor young; _but_ of a middle age, between those _two_: therefore do as
+ye are commanded. They said, Supplicate for us thy Lord, that He may
+manifest to us what is her colour. He replied, He saith, She is a
+red[303] cow: her colour is very bright: she rejoiceth the beholders.
+They said, Supplicate for us thy Lord, that He may manifest to us what
+she is, _whether she be a pasturing or a working cow_; for cows _of
+the description mentioned_ are to us like one another; and we, if God
+please, shall indeed be rightly directed _to her_. (_In a tradition it
+is said, Had they not said, ‘If God please,’—she had not ever been
+manifested to them._) He replied, He saith, She is a cow not subdued
+_by work_ that plougheth the ground, nor doth she water the field:
+[she is] free _from defects and the marks of work_; there is no colour
+in her different from the rest of her colour. They said, Now thou hast
+brought the truth. _And they sought her, and found her in the
+possession of the young man who acted piously towards his mother, and
+they bought her for as much gold as her hide would contain._[304]
+Then they sacrificed her; but they were near to leaving it undone, on
+_account of the greatness of her price_. (_And in a tradition it is
+said, Had they sacrificed any cow whatever, He had satisfied them: but
+they acted hardly towards themselves; so God acted hardly towards
+them._) And when ye slew a soul, and contended together respecting it,
+(and God brought forth [to light] that which ye did conceal—_this is
+the beginning of the story_ [and was the occasion of the order to
+sacrifice this particular cow,]) We said, Strike him (_that is, the
+slain person_) with part of her. _So he was struck with her tongue, or
+the root of her tail, or, as some say, with her right thigh; whereupon
+he came to life, and said, Such-a-one and such-a-one slew me,—to the
+two sons of his uncle. And he died. They two_ [the murderers] _were
+therefore deprived of the inheritance, and were slain._[305] Thus God
+raiseth to life the dead, and showeth you His signs (_the proof of His
+power_), that peradventure ye may understand, _and know that He who is
+able to raise to life one soul is able to raise to life many souls._
+Then your hearts became hard, _O ye Jews, so as not to accept the
+truth_, after that, and they [were] as stones, or more hard: for of
+stones there are indeed some from which rivers gush forth; and of them
+there are indeed some that cleave asunder and water issueth from them;
+and of them there are indeed some that fall down through fear of God;
+_whereas your hearts are not impressed, nor do they grow soft, nor do
+they become humble._ But God is not heedless of that which ye do: _He
+only reserveth you unto your time._
+
+   (ii. 63-69.)
+
+
+_Remember_ when Moses said to his young man _Joshua the son of Nun,
+who served him and acquired knowledge from him_, I will not cease _to
+go forward_ until I reach the place where the two seas (_the Sea of
+Greece and the Sea of Persia_) meet, or travel for a long space of
+time. And when they reached the place where they (_the two seas_) met
+they forgot their fish: _Joshua forgot to take it up, on their
+departure; and Moses forgot to remind him_; and it made its way in the
+sea by a hollow passage, _God withholding the water from it_. And when
+they had passed beyond _that place, and proceeded until the time of
+the morning-meal on the following day_, [Moses] said unto his young
+man, Bring us our morning-meal: we have experienced fatigue from this
+our journey. He replied, What thinkest thou? When we repaired to the
+rock to rest _at that place_, I forgot the fish, and none made me
+forget to mention it but the devil; and it made its way in the sea in
+a wonderful manner.—_Moses_ said, That (_namely our loss of the fish_)
+is what we were desiring; _for it is a sign unto us of our finding him
+whom we seek_. And they returned by the way that they had come,
+following the footsteps, _and came to the rock_. And they found one of
+Our servants (_namely El-Khiḍr_[306]) unto whom We had granted mercy
+from Us (_that is the gift of prophecy in the opinion of some, and the
+rank of a saint according to another opinion which most of the learned
+hold_), and whom We had taught knowledge from Us respecting things
+unseen.—_El-Bukháree hath related a tradition stating that Moses
+performed the office of a preacher among the children of Israel, and
+was asked who was the most knowing of men; to which he answered,
+I:—whereupon God blamed him for this, because he did not refer the
+knowledge thereof to Him. And God said unto him by revelation,
+Verily I have a servant at the place where the two seas meet, and he
+is more knowing than thou. Moses said, O my Lord, and how shall I meet
+with him? He answered, Thou shalt take with thee a fish, and put it
+into a measuring-vessel, and where thou shalt lose the fish, there is
+he. So he took a fish, and put it into a vessel. Then he departed, and
+Joshua the son of Nun departed with him, until they came to the rock,
+where they laid down their heads and slept. And the fish became
+agitated in the vessel, and escaped from it, and fell into the sea,
+and it made its way in the sea by a hollow passage, God withholding
+the water from the fish so that it became like a vault over it: and
+when Moses’ companion awoke, he forgot to inform him of the fish._
+
+Moses said unto him [namely El-Khiḍr], Shall I follow thee, that thou
+mayest teach me [part] of that which thou hast been taught, for a
+direction _unto me_? He answered, Verily thou canst not have patience
+with me. For how canst thou be patient with respect to that whereof
+thou comprehendest not the knowledge?—He replied, Thou shalt find me,
+if God please, patient; and I will not disobey any command of thine.
+He said, Then if thou follow me, ask me not respecting anything: _but
+be patient_ until I give thee an account thereof. _And Moses assented
+to his condition._ And they departed, _walking along the shore of the
+sea_, until, when they embarked in the ship _that passed by them_, he
+(El-Khiḍr) made a hole in it, _by pulling out a plank or two planks
+from it on the outside by means of an axe when it reached the middle
+of the sea. Moses_ said _unto him_, Hast thou made a hole in it that
+thou mayest drown its people? Thou hast done a grievous thing.—(_But
+it is related that the water entered not the hole._) He replied, Did I
+not say that thou couldst not have patience with me? [Moses] said,
+Chastise me not for my forgetfulness, nor impose on me a difficulty in
+my case.—And they departed, _after they had gone forth from the
+vessel_, _walking on_, until, when they found a boy _who had not
+attained the age of knowing right and wrong, playing with other
+children, and he was the most beautiful of them in countenance_, and
+he (_El-Khiḍr_) slew him, _Moses_ said _unto him_, Hast thou slain an
+innocent soul, without _his having slain_ a soul? Thou hast done an
+iniquitous thing.—He replied, Did I not say that thou couldst not have
+patience with me? [Moses] said, If I ask thee concerning anything
+after this _time_, suffer me not to accompany thee. Now hast thou
+received from me an excuse _for thy separating thyself from me_.—And
+they departed [and proceeded] until, when they came to the people of a
+city (_which was Antioch[307]_), they asked food of its people; but
+they refused to entertain them: and they found therein a wall, _the
+height whereof was a hundred cubits_, which was about to fall down;
+whereupon he (_El-Khiḍr_) set it upright _with his hand_. _Moses_ said
+_unto him_, If thou wouldst, thou mightest have obtained pay for it,
+_since they did not entertain us, notwithstanding our want of food_.
+_El-Khiḍr_ said _unto him_, This shall be a separation between me and
+thee; _but before my separation from thee_, I will declare unto thee
+the interpretation of that which thou couldst not bear with patience.
+
+As to the vessel, it belonged to _ten_ poor men,[308] who pursued
+their business on the sea; and I desired to render it unsound; for
+there was behind them a king, _an unbeliever_, who took every _sound_
+vessel by force. And as to the boy, his parents were believers, and we
+feared that he would transgress against them rebelliously and
+impiously: _for, according to a tradition related by Muslim, he was
+constituted by nature an unbeliever, and had he lived he had so
+acted_; wherefore we desired that their Lord should create for them a
+better than he in virtue, and [one] more disposed than he to filial
+piety. _And God created for them a daughter, who married a prophet,
+and gave birth to a prophet, by means of whom God directed a people
+to the right way_. And as to the wall, it belonged to two orphan
+youths in the city, and beneath it was a treasure _buried_, _of gold
+and silver_, belonging to them; and their father was a righteous man;
+and thy Lord desired that they should attain their age of strength and
+take forth their treasure through the mercy of thy Lord. And I did it
+not (_namely what hath been mentioned_) of mine own will, _but by
+direction of God_. This is the interpretation of that which thou
+couldst not bear with patience.
+
+   (Chap. xviii. 59-81.)
+
+
+
+
+SAUL, DAVID, SOLOMON.
+
+
+Hast thou not considered the assembly of the children of Israel after
+_the death of_ Moses, when they said unto a prophet of theirs, _namely
+Samuel_, Set up for us a king, _under whom_ we will fight in the way
+of God? He said _unto them_, If fighting be prescribed as incumbent on
+you, will ye, peradventure, abstain from fighting? They replied, And
+wherefore should we not fight in the way of God, since we have been
+expelled from our habitations and our children _by their having been
+taken prisoners and slain?_—_The people of Goliath_ [Jáloot] _had done
+thus unto them_.—But when fighting was commanded them, they turned
+back, excepting a few of them, _who crossed the river with Saul_
+[Ṭáloot], _as will be related_. And God knoweth the offenders. _And
+the prophet begged his Lord to send a king; whereupon he consented to
+send Saul._ And their prophet said unto them, Verily God hath set up
+Saul as your king. They said, How shall he have the dominion over us,
+when we are more worthy of the dominion than he, (_for he was not of
+the royal lineage, nor of the prophetic, and he was a tanner, or a
+tender of flocks or herds,_) and he hath not been endowed with ample
+wealth? He replied, Verily God hath chosen him _as king_ over you, and
+increased him in largeness of knowledge and of body, (_for he was the
+wisest of the children of Israel at that time, and the most comely of
+them, and the most perfect of them in make,_) and God giveth his
+kingdom unto whom He pleaseth; and God is ample _in His beneficence_,
+knowing _with respect to him who is worthy of the kingdom_.—And their
+prophet said unto them, _when they demanded of him a sign in proof of
+his kingship_, Verily the sign of his kingship shall be that the ark
+shall come unto you (_in it were the images of the prophets: God sent
+it down unto Adam, and it passed into their possession; but the
+Amalekites took it from them by force: and they used to seek victory
+thereby over their enemy, and to advance it in the fight, and to trust
+in it, as He—whose name be exalted!—hath said_); therein [shall be]
+tranquillity from your Lord,[309] and relics of what the family of
+Moses and the family of Aaron have left: _namely, the two shoes (or
+sandals) of Moses, and his rod, and the turban of Aaron, and a measure
+of the manna that used to descend upon them, and the fragments of the
+tables_ [of the Law]: the angels shall bear it. Verily in this shall
+be a sign unto you _of his kingship_, if ye be believers. _Accordingly
+the angels bore it between heaven and earth, while they looked at it,
+until they placed it by Saul; whereupon they acknowledged his
+kingship, and hastened to the holy war; and he chose of their young
+men seventy thousand._
+
+And when Saul went forth with the troops _from Jerusalem, and it was
+violently hot weather, and they demanded of him water_, he said,
+Verily God will try you by a river, _that the obedient among you, and
+the disobedient, may appear_, (_and it was between the Jordan and
+Palestine_,) and whoso drinketh thereof, he is not of my party (but he
+who tasteth not thereof, he is of my party), excepting him who taketh
+forth a draught in his hand, _and is satisfied therewith, not adding
+to it; for he is of my party_;—then they drank thereof abundantly,
+excepting a few of them, _who were content only with the handful of
+water. It is related that it sufficed them for their own drinking and
+for their beasts, and they were three hundred, and somewhat more
+than ten._ And when he had passed over it, he and those who believed
+with him, they (_that is, those who had drunk_ [plentifully]) said, We
+have no power to-day _to contend_ against Goliath and his troops. _And
+they were cowardly, and passed not over it._ They [however] who held
+it as certain that they should meet God _at the resurrection_ (_and
+they were those who had passed over it_) said, How many a small body
+of men hath overcome a great body by the permission (_or will_) of
+God! And God is with the patient, _to defend and aid_.—And when they
+went forth to battle against Goliath and his troops, they said, O our
+Lord, pour upon us patience, and make firm our feet, _by strengthening
+our hearts for the holy war_, and help us against the unbelieving
+people!—And they routed them by the permission (_or will_) of God, and
+David [Dáwood, vulg. Dáood], _who was in the army of Saul_, slew
+Goliath. And God gave him (_David_) the kingship _over the children of
+Israel_, and wisdom (_that is prophecy_), _after the death of Samuel
+and Saul, and they_ [namely these two gifts] _had not been given
+together to any one before him_; and He taught him what He
+pleased,[310] _as the art of making coats of mail, and the language of
+birds_. And were it not for God’s repelling men, one by another,
+surely the earth had become corrupt _by the predominance of the
+polytheists and the slaughter of the Muslims and the ruin of the
+places of worship_: but God is beneficent to the peoples, _and hath
+repelled some by others_.
+
+   (ii. 247-252.)
+
+
+Hath the story of the two opposing parties come unto thee, _O
+Moḥammad_, when they ascended over the walls of the oratory of _David,
+having been prevented going in unto him by the door, because of his
+being engaged in devotion?_ When they went in unto David, and he was
+frightened at them, they said, Fear not: _we are_ two opposing
+parties. _It is said that they were two parties of more than one each;
+and it is said that they were two individuals, angels, who came as two
+litigants, to admonish David, who had ninety-nine wives, and had
+desired the wife of a person who had none but her, and married her and
+taken her as his wife._[311] [One of them said,] One of us hath
+wronged the other; therefore judge between us with truth, and be not
+unjust, but direct us into the right way. Verily this my brother _in
+religion_ had nine-and-ninety ewes, and I had one ewe; and he said,
+Make me her keeper. And he overcame me in the dispute.—_And the other
+confessed him to have spoken truth._—[David] said, Verily he hath
+wronged thee in demanding thy ewe _to add her_ to his ewes; and verily
+many associates wrong one another, except those who believe and do
+righteous deeds: and few indeed are they.—_And the two angels said,
+ascending in their_ [proper or assumed] _forms to heaven, The man hath
+passed sentence against himself. So David was admonished._ And David
+perceived that We had tried him _by his love of that woman_; wherefore
+he asked pardon of his Lord, and fell down bowing himself (_or
+prostrating himself_), and repented. So We forgave him that; and
+verily for him [was ordained] a high rank with Us (_that is, an
+increase of good fortune in this world_), and [there shall be for
+him] an excellent retreat _in the world to come_.
+
+   (xxxviii. 20-24.)
+
+
+We compelled the mountains to glorify Us, with David, and the birds
+_also, on his commanding them to do so, when he experienced languor_;
+and We did _this_. And We taught him the art of making coats of mail
+(_for before his time plates of metal were used_) for you _among
+mankind in general_, that they might defend you from your suffering
+_in warring with your enemies_.—Will ye then, _O people of Mekkeh_, be
+thankful _for My favours, believing the apostles_?—And _We subjected_
+unto Solomon [Suleymán] the wind, blowing strongly, _and being light
+at his desire_, which ran at his command[312] to the land that We
+blessed (_namely Syria_);[313] and We knew all things (_knowing that
+what We gave him would stimulate him to be submissive to his Lord_).
+And _We subjected_, of the devils, those who should dive for him _in
+the sea and bring forth from it jewels for him_, and do other work
+besides that; _that is, building, and performing other services_; and
+We watched over them, _that they might not spoil what they executed;
+for they used, when they had finished a work before night, to spoil
+it, if they were not employed in something else_.
+
+   (xxi. 79-82.)
+
+
+We gave unto David Solomon _his son_. How excellent a servant _was
+he_! For he was one who earnestly turned himself unto God, _glorifying
+and praising Him at all times_. [Remember] when, in the latter part of
+the day, _after the commencement of the declining of the sun_, the
+_mares_ standing on three feet and touching the ground with the edge
+of the fourth foot, swift in the course, were displayed before him.
+_They were a thousand mares, which were displayed before him after he
+had performed the noon-prayers, on the occasion of his desiring to
+make use of them in a holy war; and when nine hundred of them had been
+displayed, the sun set, and he had not performed the
+afternoon-prayers. So he was grieved_, and he said, Verily I have
+preferred the love of [earthly] goods above the remembrance of my
+Lord, (_that is, the performance of the afternoon-prayers_,) so that
+_the sun_ is concealed by the veil. Bring them (_namely the horses_)
+back unto me. _Therefore they brought them back._ And he began to
+sever _with his sword_ the legs and the necks, _slaughtering them,
+and_ [then] _cutting off their legs, as a sacrifice unto God, and gave
+their flesh in alms; and God gave him in compensation what was better
+than they were and swifter, namely the wind, which travelled by his
+command whithersoever he desired._—And We tried Solomon _by depriving
+him of his kingdom. This was because he married a woman of whom he
+became enamoured, and she used to worship an idol in his palace
+without his knowledge. His dominion was in his signet; and he pulled
+it off once and deposited it with his wife, who was named El-Emeeneh;
+and a jinnee came unto her in the form of Solomon, and took it from
+her._ And We placed upon his throne a [counterfeit] body; _namely that
+jinnee, who was Ṣakhr, or another. He sat upon the throne of
+Solomon, and the birds and other creatures surrounded him; and Solomon
+went forth, with a changed appearance, and saw him upon his throne,
+and said unto the people, I am Solomon:—but they denied him._ Then he
+returned _unto his kingdom, after some days, having obtained the
+signet and put it on, and seated himself upon his throne._[314] He
+said, O my Lord, forgive me, and give me a dominion that may not be
+to any one after me (_or beside me_); for Thou art the Liberal Giver.
+So We subjected unto him the wind, which ran gently at his command
+whithersoever he desired; and the devils [also], every builder _of
+wonderful structures_, and diver _that brought up pearls from the
+sea_, and others bound in chains _which connected their hands to their
+necks. And We said unto him_, This is Our gift, and bestow thou
+_thereof upon whomsoever thou wilt_, or refrain _from bestowing_,
+without _rendering_ an account. And verily for him [was ordained] a
+high rank with Us, and an excellent retreat.
+
+   (xxxviii. 29-39.)
+
+
+We bestowed on David and Solomon knowledge _in judging men and in the
+language of the birds and other matters_; and they said, Praise be to
+God who hath made us to excel many of His believing servants, _by the
+gift of prophecy and by the subjection of the jinn and mankind and the
+devils_. And Solomon inherited from David _the gift of prophecy and
+knowledge_; and he said, O men, we have been taught the language of
+the birds,[315] and have had bestowed on us of everything _wherewith
+prophets and kings are gifted_. Verily this is manifest
+excellence.—And his armies of jinn and men and birds were gathered
+together unto Solomon, and they were led on in order, until, when they
+came unto the valley of ants, (_which_ [was] _at Eṭ-Ṭáïf or in Syria,
+the ants whereof_ [were] _small or great_,) an ant (_the queen of the
+ants_), _having seen the troops of Solomon_, said, O ants, enter your
+habitations, lest Solomon and his troops crush you violently, while
+they perceive not. And _Solomon_ smiled, _afterwards_ laughing at her
+saying, _which he heard from the distance of three miles, the wind
+conveying it to him: so he withheld his forces when he came in sight
+of their valley, until the ants had entered their dwellings: and his
+troops were on horses and on foot in this expedition_. And he said, O
+my Lord, inspire me to be thankful for Thy favour which Thou hast
+bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and to do righteousness which
+Thou shalt approve, and admit me, in Thy mercy, among Thy servants,
+the righteous, _the prophets and the saints_.
+
+And he examined the birds,[316] _that he might see the lapwing, that
+saw the water beneath the earth, and directed to it by pecking the
+earth, whereupon the devils used to draw it forth when Solomon wanted
+it_ [to perform the ablution] _for prayer; but he saw it not_: and he
+said, Wherefore do I not see the lapwing? Is it [one] of the
+absent?—_And when he was certain of the case he said_, I will
+assuredly punish it with a severe punishment, _by plucking out its
+feathers and its tail and casting it in the sun so that it shall not
+be able to guard against excessive thirst_; or I will slaughter it; or
+it shall bring me a manifest convincing proof _showing its
+excuse_.—And it tarried not long _before it presented itself unto
+Solomon submissively, and raised its head and relaxed its tail and its
+wings: so he forgave it; and he asked it what it had met with during
+its absence_; and it said, I have become acquainted with that
+wherewith thou hast not become acquainted, and I have come unto thee
+from Seba (_a tribe of El-Yemen_) with a sure piece of news. I found a
+woman reigning over them, _named Bilḳees_, and she hath been gifted
+with everything _that princes require_, and hath a magnificent throne.
+_(Its length was eighty cubits; and its breadth, forty cubits; and its
+height, thirty cubits: it was composed of gold and silver set with
+fine pearls and with rubies and chrysolites, and its legs were of
+rubies and chrysolites and emeralds: upon it_ [were closed] _seven
+doors: to each chamber_ [through which one passed to it was] _a closed
+door_.) I found her and her people worshipping the sun instead of God,
+and the devil hath made their works to seem comely unto them, so that
+he hath hindered them from the _right_ way, wherefore they are not
+rightly directed to the worship of God, who produceth what is hidden
+(_namely the rain and vegetables_) in the heavens and the earth, and
+knoweth what they [that is, mankind and others] conceal _in their
+hearts_, and what they reveal _with their tongues_. God: there is no
+deity but He, the Lord of the magnificent throne, _between which and
+the throne of Bilḳees is a vast difference_.
+
+_Solomon_ said _to the lapwing_, We will see whether thou hast spoken
+truth or whether thou art of the liars. _Then the lapwing guided them
+to the water, and it was drawn forth_ [by the devils]; _and they
+quenched their thirst and performed the ablution and prayed. Then
+Solomon wrote a letter, the form whereof was this:—From the servant of
+God, Solomon the son of David, to Bilḳees the queen of Seba. In the
+name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Peace be on whomsoever
+followeth the right direction. After_ [this salutation, I say], _Act
+ye not proudly towards me; but come unto me submitting.—He then sealed
+it with musk, and stamped it with his signet, and said unto the
+lapwing_, Go with this my letter and throw it down unto them (_namely
+Bilḳees and her people_): then turn away from them, _but stay near
+them_, and see what _reply_ they will return. _So the lapwing took it,
+and came unto her, and around her were her forces; and he threw it
+down into her lap; and when she saw it, she trembled with fear. Then
+she considered what was in it, and_ she said _unto the nobles of her
+people_, O nobles, an honourable (_sealed_) letter hath been thrown
+down unto me. It is from Solomon; and it is _this_:—In the name of
+God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Act ye not proudly towards me:
+but come unto me submitting.—She said, O nobles, advise me in mine
+affair. I will not decide upon a thing unless ye bear me
+witness.—They replied, We are endowed with strength and endowed with
+great valour; but the command [belongeth] to thee; therefore see what
+thou wilt command _us to do, and we will obey thee_. She said, Verily
+kings, when they enter a city, waste it, and render the mighty of its
+inhabitants abject; and thus will they do _who have sent the letter_.
+But I will send unto them with a gift, and I will see with what the
+messengers will return, _whether the gift will be accepted, or whether
+it will be rejected. If he be_ [merely] _a king, he will accept it;
+and if he be a prophet, he will not accept it.—And she sent male and
+female servants, a thousand in equal numbers_ [five hundred of each
+sex], _and five hundred bricks of gold, and a crown set with jewels,
+and musk and ambergris and other things, by a messenger with a
+letter.[317] And the lapwing hastened unto Solomon, to tell him the
+news; on hearing which, he commanded that bricks of gold and silver
+should be cast, and that a horse-course should be extended to the
+length of nine leagues from the place where he was, and that they
+should build around it a wall with battlements, of gold and silver,
+and that the handsomest of the beasts of the land and of the sea
+should be brought with the sons of the jinn on the right side of the
+horse-course and on its left._
+
+And when _the messenger_ came _with the gift, and with him his
+attendants_, unto Solomon, he [Solomon] said, Do ye aid me with
+wealth? But what God hath given me (_namely the gift of prophecy and
+the kingdom_) is better than what He hath given you, _of worldly
+goods_; yet ye rejoice in your gift, _because ye glory in the showy
+things of this world_. Return unto them _with the gift that thou hast
+brought_; for we will surely come unto them with forces with which
+they have not power [to contend], and we will surely drive them out
+from it, (_that is, from their country, Seba, which was named after
+the father of their tribe_,) abject and contemptible, _if they come
+not unto us submitting. And when the messenger returned unto her with
+the gift, she placed her throne within seven doors, within her palace,
+and her palace was within seven palaces; and she closed the doors, and
+set guards to them, and prepared to go unto Solomon, that she might
+see what he would command her to do. She departed with twelve thousand
+kings, each king having with him many thousands, and proceeded until
+she came as near to him as a league’s distance; when he knew of her_
+[approach,] he said, O nobles, which of you will bring unto me her
+throne before they come unto me submitting? An ´efreet, of the jinn,
+answered, I will bring it unto thee before thou shalt arise from thy
+place _wherein thou sittest to judge from morning until mid-day_; for
+I am able to do it, [and] trustworthy _with respect to the jewels that
+it compriseth and other matters. Solomon said, I desire it more
+speedily._ [And thereupon] he with whom was knowledge of the
+_revealed_ scripture (_namely_ [his Wezeer] _Áṣaf the son of Barkhiya,
+who was a just person, acquainted with the most great name of God,
+which ensured an answer to him who invoked thereby_[318]) said, I will
+bring it unto thee before thy glance can be withdrawn _from any
+object. And he said unto him, Look at the sky. So he looked at it;
+then he withdrew his glance, and found it placed before him: for
+during his look towards the sky, Áṣaf prayed, by the most great name,
+that God would bring it; and it so happened, the throne passing under
+the ground until it came up before the throne of Solomon._ And when he
+saw it firmly placed before him, he said, This is of the favour of my
+Lord, that He may try me, whether I shall be thankful or whether I
+shall be unthankful. And he who is thankful is thankful for _the sake
+of_ his own soul, _which will have the reward of his thankfulness_;
+and [as to] him who is ungrateful, my Lord is independent [and]
+bountiful.
+
+[Then Solomon] said, Alter ye her throne so that it may not be known
+by her, that we may see whether she be rightly directed _to the
+knowledge thereof_, or whether she be of those who are not rightly
+directed _to the knowledge of that which is altered. He desired
+thereby to try her intelligence. So they altered it, by adding to it,
+or taking from it, or in some other manner._ And when she came, it was
+said _unto her_, Is thy throne like this? She answered, As though it
+were the same. (_She answered them ambiguously like as they had
+questioned her ambiguously, not saying, Is this thy throne?—and had
+they so said, she had answered, Yes._) _And when Solomon saw her
+knowledge, he said_, And we have had knowledge bestowed on us before
+her, and have been Muslims. But what she worshipped instead of God
+hindered her _from worshipping Him_; for she was of an unbelieving
+people.—It was said unto her _also_, Enter the palace. _It had a floor
+of white, transparent glass, beneath which was running water, wherein
+were fish. Solomon had made it on its being said unto him that her
+legs and feet were_ [hairy] _like the legs of an ass._ And when she
+saw it, she imagined it to be a great water, and she uncovered her
+legs, _that she might wade through it; and Solomon was on his throne
+at the upper end of the palace, and he saw that her legs and her feet
+were handsome_. He said _unto her_, Verily it is a palace evenly
+spread with glass. _And he invited her to embrace El-Islám_,
+[whereupon] she said, O my Lord, verily I have acted unjustly towards
+mine own soul, _by worshipping another than Thee_, and I resign
+myself, with Solomon, unto God, the Lord of the worlds. _And he
+desired to marry her; but he disliked the hair upon her legs; so the
+devils made for him the depilatory of quick-lime, wherewith she
+removed the hair, and he married her; and he loved her, and confirmed
+her in her kingdom. He used to visit her every month once, and to
+remain with her three days; and her reign expired on the expiration
+of the reign of Solomon. It is related that he began to reign when he
+was thirteen years of age, and died at the age of three and fifty
+years. Extolled be the perfection of Him to the duration of whose
+dominion there is no end!_
+
+   (xxvii. 15-45.)
+
+
+_We subjected_ unto Solomon the wind, which travelled in the morning
+(_unto the period when the sun began to decline_) _the distance of_ a
+month’s _journey_, and in the evening _from the commencement of the
+declining of the sun into its setting_ a month’s _journey_. And We
+made the fountain of molten brass to flow for him _three days with
+their nights_ [in every month], _as water floweth;[319] and the people
+worked until the day_ [of its flowing], _with that which had been
+given into Solomon_. And of the jinn [were] those who worked in his
+presence, by the will of his Lord; and such of them as swerved from
+_obedience to_ Our command We will cause to taste of the punishment of
+hell _in the world to come_ (_or, as it is said by some, We cause to
+taste of its punishment in the present world, an angel beating them
+with a scourge from hell, the stripe of which burneth them_). They
+made for him whatever he pleased, of lofty halls (_with steps whereby
+to ascend to them_), and images (_for they were not forbidden by his
+law_[320]), and large dishes, like great tanks for watering camels,
+_around each of which assembled a thousand men, eating from it_, and
+cooking-pots standing firmly _on their legs, cut out from the
+mountains in El-Yemen, and to which they ascended by ladders_. _And We
+said_, Work, O family of David, _in the service of God_, with
+thanksgiving _unto Him for what He hath given you_:—but few of My
+servants are the thankful. And when We decreed that he (_namely,
+Solomon_) should die, _and he died, and remained standing, and leaning
+upon his staff for a year, dead, the jinn meanwhile performing those
+difficult works as they were accustomed to do, not knowing of his
+death, until the worm ate his staff, whereupon he fell down_, nothing
+showed them his death but the eating reptile (_the worm_) that ate his
+staff.[321] And when he fell down, the jinn plainly perceived that if
+they had known things unseen (_of which things was the death of
+Solomon_), they had not continued in the ignominious affliction (_that
+is, in their difficult works_), _imagining that he was alive,
+inconsistently with their opinion that they knew things unseen. And
+that the period was a year was known by calculating what the worm had
+eaten of his staff since his death in each day and night or other
+space of time._ (xxxiv. 11-13.)
+
+
+
+
+_JONAH._
+
+
+Verily Jonah [Yoonus] was one of the apostles. [Remember] when he fled
+unto the laden ship, _being angry with his people, because the
+punishment wherewith he had threatened them did not fall upon them;
+wherefore he embarked in the ship; and it became stationary in the
+midst of the sea: so the sailors said, Here is a slave who hath fled
+from his master, and the lot will discover him_:—and he cast lots
+_with those who were in the ship_, and he was [the] one upon whom the
+lot fell. _They therefore cast him into the sea_, and the fish
+swallowed him; and he was reprehensible, _for having gone to the sea,
+and embarked in the ship, without the permission of his Lord_. And had
+he not been of those who glorified God (_by his saying often in the
+belly of the fish, There is no god but Thou! I extol Thy perfection!
+Verily I have been of the offenders!_), he had remained in his belly
+until the day of resurrection.[322] And We cast him on the plain land,
+_the same day, or after three or seven days, or twenty or forty days_;
+and he was sick; and We caused a gourd plant[323] to grow up over him,
+_to shade him_. _It had a trunk, contrary to what is the case of
+gourds in general, being miraculously produced for him._[324] _And a
+wild she-goat came to him evening and morning, of whose milk he
+drank until he became strong._ And We sent him _after that, as
+before_, unto _his people in Nineveh, in the land of El-Moṣil_, a
+hundred thousand, or they were a greater number by _twenty or thirty
+or seventy thousand_; and they believed _on beholding the punishment
+wherewith they had been threatened_;[325] wherefore We allowed them
+enjoyment _of their goods_ for a time, _until the expiration of their
+terms of life_.
+
+   (xxxvii. 139-148.)
+
+
+
+
+_EZRA._
+
+
+[Hast thou not considered] him who passed by a city (_which was
+Jerusalem_), _riding upon an ass, and having with him a basket of figs
+and a vessel of the juice of grapes_ (_and he was ´Ozeyr_ [Ezra]), and
+it was falling down upon its roofs, _Nebuchadnezzar having ruined it_?
+He said, _wondering at the power of God_, How will God quicken this
+after its death?—And God caused him to die for a hundred years. Then
+He raised him to life: [and] He said _unto him_, How long hast thou
+tarried _here_?—He answered I have tarried a day, or part of a
+day.—_For he slept in the first part of the day, and was deprived of
+his life, and was reanimated at sunset._ He said Nay, thou hast
+tarried a hundred years: but look at thy food and thy drink: they have
+not become changed by time: and look at thine ass.—_And he beheld it
+dead, and its bones white and shining.—We have done this that thou
+mayest know_, and that We may make thee a sign _of the resurrection_
+unto men. And look at the bones _of thine ass_, how We will raise
+them; then We will clothe them with flesh.—_So he looked at them, and
+they had become put together, and were clothed with flesh, and life
+was breathed into it, and it brayed._ Therefore when it had been made
+manifest to him he said, I know that God is able to accomplish
+everything. (ii. 261.)
+
+
+
+
+_THE MESSIAH._
+
+
+_Remember_ when the wife of ´Imrán[326] said, (_when she had become
+aged, and desired offspring, wherefore she supplicated God, and became
+sensible of pregnancy_,) O my Lord, verily I devote unto Thee what is
+in my womb, to be dedicated _to the service of Thy holy house_: then
+accept [it] from me; for Thou art the Hearer _of prayer_, the Knower
+_of intentions_. _And ´Imrán perished while she was pregnant._ And
+when she gave birth to it, (_namely her daughter; and she was hoping
+that it might be a boy; since none but boys were dedicated_,) she
+said, O my Lord, verily I have brought forth a female, (and God well
+knew what she had brought forth,) and the male is not as the female,
+_the latter not being fit for the service_ [of the temple]; and I have
+named her Mary [Maryam]; and I beg thy protection for her and her
+offspring from the accursed devil.[327] (_In the traditions_ [it is
+said], _No child is born but the devil hath touched it at the time of
+its birth, wherefore it first raiseth its voice by crying, excepting
+Mary and her son._[328]) And her Lord accepted her (_that is, He
+accepted Mary from her mother_) with a gracious acceptance, and caused
+her to grow with an excellent growth, _as though she grew in a day as
+a child_ [generally] _groweth in a month_. _Her mother took her to the
+doctors, the keepers of the Holy House, and said, Receive ye this
+devoted child. And they eagerly desired her, because she was the
+daughter of their chief. But Zechariah said, I am more worthy of
+having her; for her maternal aunt is with me. They however replied,
+Nay, but we will cast lots.—So they departed (and they were nine and
+twenty) to the river Jordan, and cast their divining arrows on the
+understanding that he whose arrow should become steady in the water
+and rise should be_ [acknowledged] _most worthy of her; and the arrow
+of Zechariah became steady, and he took her, and built for her a
+chamber in the temple, with stairs to which no one ascended but
+himself. And he used to bring her her food and her drink and her
+ointment; and used to find with her the fruits of winter in summer,
+and the fruits of summer in winter, as He—whose name be exalted!—hath
+said_, And Zechariah maintained her. Whenever Zechariah went in to her
+in the chamber, he found with her provisions. He said, O Mary, whence
+came to thee this? She answered, (_being then a little child_,) It is
+from God: _He bringeth it to me from Paradise_: for God supplieth whom
+He pleaseth without reckoning.
+
+Then, _when he saw this, and knew that He who was able to produce a
+thing out of its season was able to give a child in old age, (and the
+people of his house had become extinct,)_ Zechariah supplicated his
+Lord, _when he had entered the chamber to pray in the latter part of
+the night_. He said, O my Lord, give me from Thee a good offspring (_a
+righteous son_); for Thou art the Hearer of prayer.—And the angels
+(_by which is meant Gabriel_) called to him as he stood praying in the
+chamber (_that is, the temple_), saying, God promiseth thee John
+[Yaḥyá], who shall be a verifier of [the] Word _which cometh_ from
+God, (_that is, Jesus_ [´Eesa]; _for he is the Spirit of God, and was
+named_ [the] _Word because he was created by the word Be_,) and a
+chief, (_or one followed_,) and chaste, and a prophet, of the
+righteous. (_It is related that he neither did any sin nor intended
+any._)—He said, O my Lord, how shall I have a son, when old age hath
+come upon me, _when I have attained the utmost age, a hundred and
+twenty years_, and my wife is barren, _and hath attained the age of
+eight and ninety_?—He answered, _It shall be_ thus. God will do what
+He pleaseth.—He said, O my Lord, give me a sign.—He replied, Thy sign
+[shall be] that thou shalt not speak unto men for three days, except
+by signal; but remember thy Lord often, and glorify [Him] in the
+evening and in the morning.
+
+   (iii. 31-36.)
+
+
+And he went forth unto his people from the chamber, and made a sign
+unto them, [as though he would say] Glorify [God] in the morning and
+in the evening _as usual_. _And he knew by his being prevented from
+speaking unto them that his wife had conceived John. And after his
+birth, by some years, God said unto him_, O John, receive the book
+(_that is, the Law_) with resolution. And We bestowed on him wisdom
+(_the gift of prophecy_) [when he was yet] a child, _three years of
+age_, and compassion from Us _for mankind_, and [a disposition to
+bestow] alms _upon them_. And he was pious, and dutiful to his
+parents, and was not proud [nor] rebellious _toward his Lord_; and
+peace _from Us_ [was] on him on the day when he was born, and on the
+day of his death, and [shall be] on the day when he shall be raised to
+life. (xix. 12-15.)
+
+And _remember_ when the angels (_that is, Gabriel_) said, O Mary,
+verily God hath chosen thee and hath purified thee and hath chosen
+thee above the women of the peoples _of thy time_. O Mary, be devout
+towards thy Lord and prostrate thyself and bow down with those who bow
+down: _pray with those who pray_.—This is [one] of the announcements
+of things unseen _by thee_: We reveal it unto thee, _O Moḥammad_; for
+thou wast not with them when they cast their divining arrows _that it
+might appear to them_ which of them should rear Mary, and thou wast
+not with them when they disputed together _as to rearing
+her_.—_Remember_ when the angels (_that is, Gabriel_) said, O Mary,
+verily God promiseth thee [the] Word from Him, whose name [shall be]
+the Messiah [El-Meseeḥ], Jesus the son of Mary, honourable in this
+world _by his prophetic office_, and in the world to come _by his
+intercession and high stations_, and of those admitted near _unto
+God_; and he shall speak unto men in the cradle, and when of full
+age,[329] and [he shall be] of the righteous.—She said, O my Lord, how
+shall I have a son, when a man hath not touched me?—He answered, _It
+shall be_ thus; God will create what He pleaseth: when He determineth
+a thing, He only saith unto it, Be,—and it is. And He will teach him
+writing and wisdom and the Law and the Gospel, and _constitute him_ an
+apostle to the children of Israel, _in youth or after adolescence_.
+_And Gabriel breathed into the bosom of her shift; whereupon she
+conceived; and those events of her history which are related in the
+Soorat Maryam_ [Ḳur. xix.] _happened_.
+
+   (iii. 37-43.)
+
+
+Relate in the book (_that is, the Ḳur-án_) _the history of_ Mary, when
+she retired from her family to a place towards the east, _in the
+house_, and she took a veil [to conceal herself] from them; and We
+sent unto her our spirit _Gabriel_, and he appeared unto her as a
+perfect man. She said, I beg the Compassionate to preserve me from
+thee! If thou be a pious person, _thou wilt withdraw from me_.—He
+replied, I am only the messenger of thy Lord [to inform thee] that He
+will give thee a pure son, _endowed with the gift of prophecy_. She
+said, How shall I have a son, when a man hath not touched me, and I am
+not a harlot? He answered, Thus _shall it be: a son shall be created
+unto thee without a father_. Thy Lord saith, This is easy unto Me; and
+_thus shall it be_ that We may make him a sign unto men, _showing Our
+power_, and a mercy from Us _unto him who shall believe in him_: for
+it is a thing decreed.—And she conceived him; and she retired with
+him [yet unborn] to a distant place _far from her family_; and the
+pains of childbirth urged her to repair to the trunk of a palm-tree
+_that she might lean against it_. _And she gave birth to the child,
+which was conceived and formed and born in an hour._[330] She said,
+Oh! would that I had died before this _event_, and had been a thing
+forgotten [and] unnoticed!—But he who was below her (_namely Gabriel,
+who was on a lower place than she_) called to her, Grieve not. God
+hath made below thee a rivulet: and shake thou towards thee the trunk
+of the palm-tree (_which was dried-up_); it shall let fall upon thee
+ripe dates, fresh-gathered: therefore eat _of the dates_, and drink
+_of the water of the rivulet_, and be of cheerful eye _on account of
+the child_: and if thou see any one of mankind, _asking thee
+concerning the child_, say, I have vowed unto the Compassionate an
+abstinence _from speech with mankind respecting him and other
+matters_; therefore I will not speak to-day unto a man _after this_.
+
+And she brought him [namely the child] unto her people, carrying him.
+They said, O Mary, thou hast done a strange thing. O sister of Aaron,
+(_he was a righteous man; and the meaning is, O thou who art like him
+in chastity_,[331]) thy father was not a man of wickedness, nor was
+thy mother a harlot. _Then whence gottest thou this child?_—And she
+made a sign _to them_, [pointing] towards him, [namely the child, as
+though she would say,] _Speak ye unto him._ They said, How shall we
+speak unto him who is in the cradle, an infant? He [however] said,
+Verily I am the servant of God:[332] He hath given me the book _of the
+Gospel_, and hath appointed me a prophet; and He hath made me blessed
+wherever I shall be, and hath commanded me to observe prayer and give
+alms as long as I shall live, and _hath made me_ dutiful to my mother,
+and hath not made me proud [nor] wicked. And peace _from God_ [was] on
+me on the day when I was born, and [will be] on the day when I shall
+die, and on the day when I shall be raised to life.—This [was] Jesus
+the son of Mary. _I have spoken_ the saying of truth, concerning which
+they (_namely the Christians_) doubt, _saying that Jesus is the son of
+God_. It is not [meet] for God to get a son. Extolled be His purity
+_from that_ [imputation]! When He decreeth a thing _that He desireth
+to bring into existence_, He only saith unto it, Be,—and it is: _and
+thus He created Jesus the son of Mary without a father_.—And _say_,
+Verily God is my Lord and your Lord: therefore worship ye Him: this is
+a right way, _leading to Paradise_. But the sects have differed among
+themselves; _that is, the Christians have differed concerning Jesus,
+as to whether he be the son of God, or a deity with Him, or the third
+of three_. And woe unto them who have disbelieved _in that which hath
+been stated, or in other matters_, on account of the assembly of a
+great day, _the day of resurrection, and its terrors_. How will they
+hear, and how _will they_ see, on the day when they shall come unto Us
+_in the world to come_! But the offenders to-day (_that is, in the
+present world_) are in a manifest error: _they are deaf, so that they
+hear not the truth; and blind, so that they see it not_. And do thou,
+_O Moḥammad_, warn them (_namely the unbelievers of Mekkeh_) of the
+day of sighing (_the day of resurrection, when the evil-doer shall
+sigh for his having neglected to do good in the present world_),
+when the command _for their punishment_ shall be fulfilled, while they
+(_in the present world_) are in a state of heedlessness _with respect
+to it_, and while they believe not _therein_. Verily We shall inherit
+the earth and whomsoever are upon it (_the heedless and others; they
+being destroyed_); and unto Us shall they be brought back _to be
+recompensed_.
+
+   (xix. 16-41.)
+
+
+_And when God sent him_ [Jesus] _to the children of Israel, he said
+unto them, Verily I am the apostle of God unto you_; for I have come
+unto you with a sign from your Lord; for I will make for you of earth
+the similitude of a bird, and will breathe into it, and it shall be a
+bird,[333] by the permission (_or will_) of God;[334] (_and he made
+for them a bat; for it is the most perfect of birds in make; and it
+flew, while they looked at it; but when it had gone out of their
+sight, it fell down dead_;) and I will cure the blind from his birth,
+and the leper; (_and he cured in one day fifty thousand, by prayer, on
+the condition of faith_;) and I will raise to life the dead, by the
+permission of God; (_this he repeated to deny his divinity: and he
+raised to life ´Áriz_ [Lazarus] _a friend of his; and a son of the old
+woman, and the daughter of the publican; and they lived, and children
+were born to them; and Shem the son of Noah, who died immediately_;)
+and I will tell you what ye eat and what ye store up in your houses.
+Verily therein will be a sign unto you, if ye be believers. And _I
+have come unto you_ as a verifier of that which was before me, of the
+Law, and to make lawful unto you part of what was made unlawful to
+you _therein_; (_and he made lawful to them, of fish and fowls,
+whatsoever is without fin or spur; and it is said that he made lawful
+all, and that ‘part’ is used in the sense of ‘the whole:’_) and I have
+come unto you with a sign from your Lord; therefore fear ye God, and
+obey me _in that which I command you, as to the confession of the
+unity of God and the service of Him_. Verily God is my Lord and your
+Lord; therefore worship Him. This is [the] right way. _But they
+accused him of falsehood and believed not in him._ And when Jesus
+perceived their unbelief, he said, Who [will be] my helpers for God?
+The apostles[335] answered, We [will be] the helpers of God. We have
+believed in God; and bear thou witness, _O Jesus_, that we are Muslims
+[or resigned]. O our Lord, we have believed in that which Thou hast
+sent down _of the Gospel_, and we have followed the Apostle, _Jesus_;
+therefore write us down among those who bear witness _of Thy unity and
+of the truth of Thine apostle_.—And they (_that is, the unbelievers
+among the children of Israel_) devised a stratagem _against Jesus, to
+slay him treacherously_; but God devised a stratagem _against them;
+for He put the likeness of Jesus upon one who intended his slaughter,
+and they slew him; and Jesus was taken up_ [into heaven],[336] and
+God is the best of those who devise stratagems.... _It is related that
+God sent a cloud to Jesus, and it took him up; but his mother clung
+unto him and wept: whereupon he said unto her, Verily the resurrection
+will unite us.—It is also related that he will descend shortly before
+the resurrection and judge according to the law of our prophet_
+[Moḥammad], _slay Antichrist and the swine, break the cross, and
+impose the capitation-tax_ [on unbelievers].—_Also, that he will
+remain, according to one tradition, seven years; according to another,
+forty years; and die, and be prayed over: but it is probable that_ [by
+the latter period] _is meant the whole time of his tarrying upon the
+earth, before the ascension and after_.
+
+   (iii. 43—47.)
+
+
+_Remember_ when the apostle said, O Jesus, son of Mary, is thy Lord
+able to cause a table to descend unto us from heaven?[337] He replied,
+Fear God, _in demanding signs_, if ye be believers. They said, We
+desire that we may eat therefrom, and that our hearts may be at ease
+_in consequence of additional evidence_, and we may know, _with
+increased knowledge_, that thou hast spoken truth unto us _in
+asserting thyself to be a prophet_, and may be witnesses
+thereof.—Jesus the son of Mary said, O God, our Lord, cause a table to
+descend unto us from heaven, that it (_namely the day of its descent_)
+may be unto us a festival,[338] unto the first of us and the last of
+us (_or those who shall come after us_), and a sign from Thee _of Thy
+power, and of my prophetic office_; and provide us with food
+_thereby_; for Thou art the best of providers.—God said, _in reply to
+him_, Verily I will cause it to descend unto you; but whosoever of you
+shall disbelieve after _its descent_, I will surely punish him with a
+punishment wherewith I will not punish any [other] of the
+peoples.—_And the angels descended with it from heaven: upon it
+were seven cakes of bread and seven fishes; and they ate of them until
+they were satisfied. And in a tradition related by Ibn-´Abbás it is
+said that the table brought down from heaven bread and flesh, and they
+were commanded not to act deceitfully, nor to store up for the morrow;
+but they_ [that is, some of the people] _did so, and were transformed
+into apes and swine_.
+
+   (v. 112-115.)
+
+
+Propound unto them, as an example, the inhabitants of the city _of
+Antioch_, when the apostles _of Jesus_ came unto it;[339] when We sent
+unto them two,[340] and they charged them with falsehood; wherefore
+We strengthened _them_ with a third;[341] and they said, Verily we are
+sent unto you. They replied, Ye are not [aught] save men like us, and
+the Compassionate hath not revealed anything: ye do nothing but lie.
+They said, Our Lord knoweth that we are indeed sent unto you; and
+naught is imposed on us but the delivering of a plain message, _shown
+to be true by manifest proofs, namely the cure of him who hath been
+born blind and of the leper and the sick, and the raising of the
+dead_. [The people of Antioch] said, Verily we presage evil from you;
+_for the rain is withheld from us on your account_: if ye desist not,
+we will assuredly stone you, and a painful punishment shall surely
+betide you from us. [The apostles] replied, Your evil luck is with you
+_because of your unbelief_. If ye have been warned, _will ye presage
+evil and disbelieve_? Nay, ye are an exorbitant people.—And there came
+from the furthest part of the city a man (_namely Ḥabeeb the
+carpenter, who had believed in the apostles_) running: he said, O my
+people, follow the apostles: follow those who ask not of you a
+recompense, and who are rightly directed. _And it was said unto him,
+Art thou of their religion? He replied_, And why should I not worship
+Him who hath created me, and unto whom ye shall be brought back _after
+death_? Shall I take deities beside Him? If the Compassionate be
+pleased to afflict me, their intercession will not avert from me
+aught, nor will they deliver. Verily, in that case (_if I worshipped
+aught but God_), I should be in a manifest error. Verily I believe in
+your Lord; therefore hear ye me.—_But they stoned him, and he
+died;[342] and_ it was said _unto him at his death_, Enter thou into
+Paradise. _And it is said that he entered it alive._ He said, O would
+that my people knew my Lord’s forgiveness of me and His having made me
+[one] of those who are honoured?—And We sent not down against his
+people after him (_that is, after his death_) an army _of angels_ from
+heaven _to destroy them_, nor were We sending down _angels to destroy
+any one_. It (_namely their punishment_) was naught but one cry _which
+Gabriel uttered against them_; and lo, they were extinct.
+
+   (xxxvi. 12-28.)
+
+
+_We have cursed the Jews_ ... for their disbelief _in Jesus_ and their
+uttering against Mary a great calumny and their saying, We have killed
+the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, the apostle of God,—Yet they
+killed him not nor crucified him; but one (_namely the person whom
+they crucified_) was made to appear to them like _Jesus_; and verily
+those who disagreed respecting him were in doubt concerning him, _or
+his slaughter; for some of them said, when they saw the slain person,
+The face is the face of Jesus; but the body is not his body:—and
+others said, It is he_:[343]—they had no knowledge of him; but only
+followed an opinion. And they did not really kill him; but God took
+him up unto Himself; and God is mighty [and] wise. And there is not of
+the people of the Scripture _one_ but he shall assuredly believe in
+him (_namely Jesus_) before his death; _that is, before his own death,
+or before the death of Jesus, when he descendeth shortly before the
+resurrection_;[344] and on the day of resurrection he (_namely
+Jesus_) shall be a witness against them.
+
+   (iv. 155-157.)
+
+
+When God shall say, _on the day of resurrection_, O Jesus, son of
+Mary, hast thou said unto men, Take me and my mother as two deities,
+beside God?—_Jesus_ shall answer, _after being agitated_ (_or after it
+shall have thundered_), Extolled be Thy purity _from the imputation of
+aught that is unsuitable to Thee, as the having a partner, and other
+things_! It is not for me to say that which is not right for me. Had I
+said it, Thou hadst known it. Thou knowest what is in me; but I know
+not what is in Thee; for Thou well-knowest things unseen. I said not
+unto them aught but that which Thou commandedst me; _namely_ Worship
+ye God, my Lord and your Lord;—and I was a watcher over them,
+_commanding them to abstain from what they said_, while I remained
+among them: but since Thou hast taken me to Thyself,[345] Thou hast
+been the watcher over them, and Thou art the witness of all things. If
+Thou punish them, (_that is, such of them as have continued in
+unbelief_,) they are Thy servants _and Thou mayest do with them as
+Thou pleasest_; and if Thou forgive them, (_that is, such of them as
+have believed_,) Thou art the Mighty, the Wise.
+
+   (v. 116-118.)
+
+
+When the son of Mary was proposed as an instance (_when the saying of
+God was revealed, Verily ye and what ye worship beside God_ [shall be]
+_fuel of hell_ [Kur. xxi. 98], _and the polytheists said, We are
+content for our gods to be with Jesus, for he hath been worshipped
+beside God_,[346]) lo, thy people, _the polytheists_, cried out _in
+joy_ thereat, and they said, [Are] our gods better, or [is] he? _We
+are content for our gods to be with him._—They proposed not it
+(_namely the instance_) unto thee otherwise than as a cause of dispute
+(_knowing that the word ‘what’ applieth to that which is not endowed
+with reason; so that it doth not reflect upon Jesus, on whom be
+peace!_): yea, they are a contentious people. He (_namely Jesus_) is
+no other than a servant whom We favoured _with the gift of prophecy_;
+and We proposed him, _by reason of his having come into existence
+without a father_, as an instance _of the divine power_ unto the
+children of Israel. And if We pleased, We would substitute for you
+angels to succeed in the earth.[347] And verily he (_namely Jesus_)
+_shall be_ a sign of the [last] hour:[348] _it shall be known by his
+descending_: wherefore doubt not thereof.—And _say unto them_, Follow
+ye me _in confessing the unity of God_: this, _which I command you to
+follow_, is a right way. And let not the devil turn you away _from the
+religion of God_; for he is unto you a manifest enemy.—And when Jesus
+came with manifest proofs (_with miracles and ordinances_), he said, I
+have come unto you with wisdom (_with prophecy and with the ordinances
+of the Gospel_), and to explain unto you part of [the things]
+concerning which ye disagree: therefore fear ye God, and obey me.
+Verily God is my Lord and your Lord; wherefore worship ye Him: this is
+a right way.—But the parties disagreed among themselves _respecting
+Jesus, whether he were God, or the son of God, or the third of three_:
+and woe unto them that transgressed _in that which they said
+respecting Jesus_, because of the punishment of an afflicting day!
+
+   (xliii. 57-65.)
+
+
+Verily the similitude of Jesus in the sight of God is as the
+similitude of Adam. He created him (_Adam_) of earth: then He said
+unto him, Be,—and he was. _In like manner he said unto Jesus, Be,
+without a father,—and he was. This is_ the truth from thy Lord:
+therefore be not thou of those who doubt. And whosoever _of the
+Christians_ argueth with thee respecting him, after the knowledge that
+hath come unto thee _concerning him_, say, Come ye, let us call our
+sons and your sons and our wives and your wives, and ourselves and
+yourselves _will assemble_: then we will invoke, and will lay the
+curse of God on those who lie, _saying, O God, curse the liar
+respecting the nature of Jesus!—And the prophet invited a company from
+Nejrán to do so, when they had argued with him respecting Jesus; and
+they said_, [Wait] _until we consider our case: then we will come unto
+thee. And their counsellor said, Ye know his prophetic office, and
+that no people have execrated a prophet but they have perished. They
+however quieted the man, and departed, and came unto the prophet. And
+he had come forth, having with him El-Ḥasan and El-Ḥoseyn and Fáṭimeh
+and ´Alee; and he said unto them, When I pray, say ye Amen. But they
+refused to execrate, and made peace with him on the condition of their
+paying tribute._—Verily this is indeed the true history, and there is
+no deity but God, and verily God is indeed the Mighty, the Wise.
+
+   (iii. 52-55.)
+
+
+O people of the Scripture (_that is, of the Gospel_), exceed not the
+just bounds in your religion,[349] nor say of God [aught] but the
+truth. The Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, [was] only the apostle of
+God, and His Word, which he transmitted unto Mary, and a spirit (_that
+is, a being possessing a spirit_) from Him. (_He is mentioned in
+conjunction with God, in order to show him honour, and is not, as ye
+assert, the son of God, or a God with Him, or the third of three; for
+the being possessing a spirit is compound, and the Deity must be
+confessed to be pure from the imputation of composition and the
+relationship of a compound being to Him._) Therefore believe in God
+and His apostles, and say not, _There are_ three _gods, God and Jesus
+and his mother_.[350] Abstain _from this, and say what will be_ better
+for you; _that is, assert the unity of God_. God is only one god.
+Extolled be His purity from the imputation of His having a son! To Him
+belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth:
+and God is a sufficient witness _thereof_. The Messiah doth not
+disdain to be a servant unto God, nor do the angels who are admitted
+near _unto Him_. (iv. 169, 170.)
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] See prefatory note, p. 2.
+
+[2] _i.e._, the glory of the clan.
+
+[3] Battles.
+
+[4] This and the other verses quoted in this chapter are taken from
+the translations of old Arab poetry contributed by Mr. C. J. Lyall to
+the _Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal (Translations from
+the Hamâseh and the Aghânî; The Mo`allaqah of Zuheyr)_. They imitate
+the metres of the original Arabic verse, but are nevertheless as
+literal as need be. The transliteration of proper names in the verses
+(and in other quotations) has been assimilated to the system adopted
+by Mr. Lane, from which in this work I only depart in the case of
+names which by frequent use have become almost the property of the
+English language.
+
+[5] A tribe.
+
+[6] The subject of the poem, mentioned in the second hemistich of the
+third verse as ‘thou,’ whose death the supposed author (‘one valiant’)
+avenged.
+
+[7] For these and other stories about Ḥátim, see Caussin de Perceval’s
+_Essai sur l’Histoire des Arabes_, ii. 607-628: a book which is a
+treasury of Arab life, and abounds in those anecdotes which reveal
+more of the character of the people than whole volumes of ethnological
+treatise.
+
+[8] The later Arabic poets were mostly incapable of the genius of the
+old singers: the times had changed, and the ancient poetry appeared
+almost as exotic to their ideas as it does to our own. No greater
+mistake can be made than to judge of the old poets by such a writer as
+Behá-ed-deen Zoheyr, of whom Professor E. H. Palmer has lately given
+us so beautiful a version. There is nothing in common between El-Behá
+and ´Antarah—scarcely even the language.
+
+[9] Deutsch, _Lit. Remains_, 453, 454: cp. Nöldeke, _Beiträge zur
+Kennt. d. Poesie d. alten Araber_, xxiii., xxiv.
+
+[10] Ezekiel xxvii. 19-24. The identifications of the various names
+with Arabian towns are partly conjectural, but the general reference
+is clearly to Arabia. Cf. the ‘Speaker’s’ _Commentary_, vi. 122; and
+the interpretations of Hitzig, Movers, Tuch, and Ménant.
+
+[11] C. P. Tiele, _Outlines of the History of Religion_: tr. J. E.
+Carpenter, p. 63.
+
+[12] Deutsch. _Lit. Remains_, pp. 70-72.
+
+[13] R. Bosworth Smith, _Mohammed and Mohammedanism_, 2d ed. p. 131.
+
+[14] Or ‘read,’ ‘recite.’ These lines are the beginning of the 96th
+Soorah of the Ḳur-án.
+
+[15] Sir W. Muir,_ Life of Mahomet_, 402.
+
+[16] The following is an abridgment: cp. Muir 485, and the
+_Seeret-er-Rasool_, tr. Weil, ii. 316, 317.
+
+[17] An attempt has been made to explain away Moḥammad’s fidelity to
+Khadeejeh, by adducing the motive of pecuniary prudence. Moḥammad,
+they say, was a poor man, Khadeejeh rich and powerfully connected; any
+_affaire de cœur_ on the husband’s part would have been followed by
+a divorce and the simultaneous loss of property and position. It is
+hardly necessary to point out that the fear of poverty—a matter of
+little consequence in Arabia and at that time—would not restrain a
+really sensual man for five-and-twenty years; especially when it is by
+no means certain that Khadeejeh, who loved him with all her heart in a
+motherly sort of way, would have procured a divorce for any cause
+soever. And this explanation leaves Moḥammad’s loving remembrance of
+his old wife unaccounted for. If her money alone had curbed him for
+twenty-five years, one would expect him at her death to throw off the
+cloak, thank Heaven for the deliverance, and enter at once upon the
+rake’s progress. He does none of those things. The story of Zeyneb,
+the divorced wife of Zeyd, is a favourite weapon with Moḥammad’s
+accusers. It is not one to enter upon here; but I may say that the
+lady’s own share in the transaction has never been sufficiently
+considered. In all probability Zeyd, the freed slave, was glad enough
+to get rid of his too well-born wife, and certainly he bore no rancour
+against Moḥammad. The real point of the story is the question of
+forged revelations, which is discussed below.
+
+[18] ‘The Prophet said: Whosoever shall bear witness that there is one
+God; and that Moḥammad is His servant and messenger; and that Jesus
+Christ is His servant and messenger, and that he is the son of the
+hand-maid of God, and that he is the Word of God, the word which was
+sent to Mary, and Spirit from God; and [shall bear witness] that there
+is truth in Heaven and Hell, will enter into paradise, whatever sins
+he may be chargeable with.’—_Mishkát-el-Masábeeh_, i. 11.
+
+[19] R. Bosworth Smith: _Mohammed and Mohammedanism_, 2d ed., 255-257.
+
+[20] _The People of Turkey_, by a Consul’s Daughter, preface, xxii.
+
+[21] _Mishkát-el-Masábeeh_, i. 46, 51.
+
+[22] Dr. E. Blyden. See his article on Mohammadanism in Western Africa
+in _The People of Africa_. (New York, 1871.)
+
+[23] It may be interesting to some readers to judge for themselves of
+the different characteristics of these four groups of soorahs; and
+though in a series of translated selections it will hardly be possible
+to gain a thorough appreciation of the change of style or matter, some
+notion may nevertheless be obtained by reading the First Part of these
+Selections in the following order (the numbers referring to the
+figures at the head of each extract):—
+
+Mekka—First Period:—xvii., lxvi., lxv., xviii., xxxvii., xxxviii.,
+xxxix., xl., xli., xlii., xliii., xxx., iii., i.
+
+Second Period:—lx., xlvii., xxix., viii., xiv., lxiii., vi., li.,
+lxii., xxxi., xliv., lxxxvi., lxxxi., xlv., xxxvi., xx.
+
+Third Period:—lxxiii., lxiv., xxxv., liii., xlvi., xvi., lxxvi.,
+xxxii., lix., xxi., vii., lv., xix., xii., x., lxxii., xxviii., xi.
+
+Medina:—ii., lxxxiv., xxxiii., lxxvii., xxxiv., xxiv., xxvi., ix.,
+lii., lxxix., lxvii., lxi., iv., lxxi., lxix., lxx., lxxv., lxxxiii.,
+xlviii., v., lxxviii., xxii., lvi., lvii., xlix., xxvii., xxv., xiii.,
+lviii., lxxiv., l., liv., xxiii., lxxx., xv., lxviii., lxxxv., lxxxii.
+
+[24] This is generally believed to be the night of (that is,
+preceding) the 27th day of the month.
+
+[25] In the Introduction, the references are to the new one volume
+edition, 1877. Since writing my chapter on the early Arabs, Sir W.
+Muir has published an interesting essay on old Arabic poetry in the
+_Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society_ (xi part i. 1879).
+
+[26] The ‘Lord’s Prayer’ of the Muslims, recited several times in each
+of the five daily prayers, and on many other occasions.
+
+[27] _That is, of all creatures._
+
+[28] [‘Do we beg assistance,’ in the original ed.]
+
+[29] _God knoweth best what He meaneth by these letters._
+
+[30] _That it is from God._
+
+[31] _In the resurrection and paradise and hell._
+
+[32] _The Ḳur-án._
+
+[33] _The Pentateuch and the Gospel and other books._
+
+[34] This chapter is held in particular veneration by the Moḥammadans,
+and declared, by a tradition of their prophet, to be equal in value to
+a third part of the whole Korân.—S.
+
+[35] One of the most admired passages in the Ḳur-án, recited (though
+not by all Muslims) at the close of each of the five daily prayers,
+and often engraved on an ornament of gold or silver or a precious
+stone to be worn as an amulet.
+
+[36] ‘The seven heavens and earths in comparison with the Throne are
+nought but as seven dirhems [silver coins] cast into a shield.’—Trad.
+
+[37] [‘Able to do everything,’ orig. ed. Lit. ‘potent over
+everything.’]
+
+[38] Lit. ‘driven away with stones.’ This expression alludes to a
+tradition, that Abraham, when the devil tempted him to disobey God, in
+not sacrificing his son, drove the fiend away by throwing stones at
+him; in memory of which, the Moḥammadans, at the pilgrimage of Mecca,
+throw a certain number of stones at the devil, with certain
+ceremonies, in the valley of Mina.—S. The devils, or evil jinn, it is
+said, had liberty to enter any of the seven heavens till the birth of
+Jesus, when they were excluded from three of them; on the birth of
+Moḥammad they were forbidden the other four. They continue, however,
+to ascend to the confines of the lowest heaven, and there, listening
+to the conversation of the angels respecting things decreed by God,
+obtain knowledge of futurity, which they sometimes impart to men, who
+by means of talismans or certain invocations make them to serve the
+purposes of magical performances. Shooting stars are often hurled at
+the devils when they thus listen.
+
+[39] _That it may not move with its inhabitants._
+
+[40] _Or determined._
+
+[41] _Slaves and beasts and cattle: for it is God only who sustaineth
+them._
+
+[42] _Which cause the clouds to fill with water._
+
+[43] _As the bird from the egg._
+
+[44] _As the egg from the bird._
+
+[45] _Or consider._
+
+[46] _For you previously to birth._
+
+[47] [‘Compacted,’ orig. ed. Strictly, words such as ‘come forth’
+should be supplied before ‘clusters.’]
+
+[48] _In leaf._
+
+[49] _In fruit._
+
+[50] [Genii.] _since they have obeyed them in worshipping idols_. See
+p. 33.
+
+[51] _Alone._
+
+[52] _This was revealed with reference to a man unto whom the Prophet
+sent one to invite him_ to the faith; _but he said, Who is the apostle
+of God, and what is God? Is he of gold, or silver, or brass? Whereupon
+a thunderbolt fell upon him, and struck off his skull_.
+
+[53] _On the Preserved Tablet._
+
+[54] _Restoring your souls in the daytime._
+
+[55] _The term of life._
+
+[56] [‘Predominant,’ orig. ed.]
+
+[57] _Angels who register your deeds._
+
+[58] _The creatures._
+
+[59] _That He may recompense them._
+
+[60] _O Moḥammad, to the people of Mekkeh._
+
+[61] _Namely, the Jews and the Christians, and those_ [Arabs] _who
+assert that the angels are daughters of God_.
+
+[62] [‘Demolished,’ orig. ed.]
+
+[63] _On the day of resurrection._
+
+[64] _Without wealth or helper._
+
+[65] _Of the perfume and saffron with which they are overdaubed._
+
+[66] _Idols._
+
+[67] _This they would not worship them._
+
+[68] [‘Similitudes,’ orig. ed. It is the plural of the same word as
+that translated ‘parable’ at the beginning of the preceding extract,
+and ‘likeness’ twice in this extract.]
+
+[69] [It is said that Moḥammad, when a revelation came down to him,
+used to say, ‘Cover ye me with something whereby I may become warm.’
+Lane: Lexicon, voce _dathara_.]
+
+[70] [Idolatry.]
+
+[71] [This rendering is Mr. Rodwell’s. I do not think it can be
+bettered.]
+
+[72] [Lit. ‘And by the night when it becometh still;’ or (but this is
+less strongly supported) ‘when it darkeneth.’]
+
+[73] [‘In my possession,’ orig. ed.]
+
+[74] [‘Apostle,’ in the orig. ed.; but Christian associations have
+somewhat restricted the original meaning of the word, and I have
+therefore in this and other instances substituted ‘Messenger,’ which
+exactly represents the Arabic _rasool_.]
+
+[75] _To unbelief._
+
+[76] _He will only injure himself._
+
+[77] _The Jews said unto the Muslims, We are the people of the first
+book_ (the Pentateuch), _and our Ḳibleh_ (the point to which we turn
+our faces in praying) _is the more ancient, and the prophets have not
+been of the Arabs, and if Moḥammad were a prophet, he had been of us_.
+_Therefore_ the following _was revealed_.
+
+[78] _So that He may choose of His servants whom He pleaseth._
+
+[79] _That is, God is; and He hath acquitted Abraham of belonging to
+them by His saying_ [Ḳur. iii. 60], _Abraham was not a Jew nor a
+Christian; and the other persons above-mentioned with him were
+followers of him_.
+
+
+[80] _They are the Jews, who have concealed the testimony of God, in
+the Pentateuch, of Abraham’s orthodoxy._
+
+[81] [Moḥammad and Aḥmad are from the same root, _ḥamd_, meaning
+‘praise;’ and both names were borne by the Prophet. The supposed
+prediction of Moḥammad’s coming arose, perhaps, from a confusion
+between Parakletos and Perikleitos or possibly Periklytos in Evang. S.
+Jo. xvi. 7, where the coming of ‘the Paraclete’ is promised; in some
+Arabic version of which the word may have been ignorantly rendered by
+‘Aḥmad,’ and thus reported to Moḥammad.]
+
+[82] _By the description of him in their books._
+
+[83] _The description of him._
+
+[84] _In the Law._
+
+[85] _Or miracles._
+
+[86] _As Zechariah and John, and ye slew them._
+
+[87] _Their belief, if the signs come._ The copies of the original
+differ in this verse, but not in an important manner.
+
+[88] _From the truth, so that they shall not believe._
+
+[89] _The Ḳur-án._
+
+[90] Or art mad.
+
+[91] _That is, with punishment._
+
+[92] [The original copy kept by God.]
+
+[93] [This line is often inscribed on the covers of copies of the Ḳur-án.]
+
+[94] _In eloquence._
+
+[95] [In orig. edition, and literally, ‘Although some of them assisted
+others.’]
+
+[96] _That they may be admonished._
+
+[97] _And not sent an angel?_
+
+[98] _Instead of mankind._
+
+[99] _For no apostle is sent unto a people but one of their own kind._
+
+[100] Forgery.
+
+[101] _Moḥammad._
+
+[102] Chapter.
+
+[103] _To assist you._
+
+[104] _The result of the threat that it containeth._
+
+[105] _As to its being from God._
+
+[106] _In eloquence and beauty of composition and information
+concerning what is unseen._
+
+[107] _Your deities whom ye worship, that they may aid you._
+
+[108] _When the unbelievers cavilled at abrogation, and said,
+‘Moḥammad commandeth his companions to-day to do a thing and
+forbiddeth it tomorrow,’_ the following _was revealed_.
+
+[109] _Namely, a Christian slave whom the Prophet used to visit._ [The
+Mekkans accounted for the production of the Ḳur-án by an unlearned man
+like Moḥammad by ascribing it to the teaching of some Christian, whom
+is doubtful. Moḥammad’s reply is that the Christian’s was a foreign
+tongue, whilst the Ḳur-án was in Arabic.]
+
+[110] [‘As a further supply,’ orig. ed.]
+
+[111] [Lit. ‘Burdens:’ explained by El-Beyḍáwee and others _as buried
+treasures_ and as _dead_.]
+
+[112] _The most highly esteemed of property._
+
+[113] [‘Be set on fire,’ orig. ed. Both these renderings, and also ‘be
+dried up,’ are supported by various authorities. See Lane: Lex. voce
+_sejera_.]
+
+[114] Woman-child.
+
+[115] _Of men’s actions._
+
+[116] _As the skin is plucked off a_ slaughtered _sheep_.
+
+[117] _A kind of thorn which no beast eateth, by reason of its
+impurity._
+
+[118] _Or eight ranks of them._
+
+[119] _Unto a company, by reason of his joy thereat._
+
+[120] _And it shall be said unto such._
+
+[121] _And it shall be said unto the keepers of hell._
+
+[122] _As it hath denied it in the present world._
+
+[123] _Those who shall receive their books in their right hands._
+
+[124] _How honourable shall they be!_
+
+[125] _How contemptible shall they be!_
+
+[126] _In the way to good fortune (namely, the Prophets), how
+honourable shall be!_
+
+[127] [‘Destined to continue for ever _in boyhood_,’ orig. ed.]
+
+[128] [Ḥooreeyehs.]
+
+[129] Intensely black and white, large-eyed.
+
+[130] From bottom to top.
+
+[131] [The Ḥooreeyehs.]
+
+[132] _Polytheism._
+
+[133] Beneath the tents thereof.
+
+[134] _The believers and the unbelievers._
+
+[135] _One after another, barefooted, naked, unarmed._
+
+[136] _Of the resurrection._
+
+[137] _Written in their books._
+
+[138] _I will surely fill Hell_, &c. [Ḳur. vii. 17, given below, p.
+51].
+
+[139] Of righteousness.
+
+[140] _Between all creatures._
+
+[141] [Or ‘marked’ or ‘goodly.’]
+
+[142] [Fighting for the faith.]
+
+[143] [Or ‘end,’ ‘result.’]
+
+[144] “Arms on armour clashing bray’d Horrible discord.”—_Par. Lost_,
+vi. 209.
+
+[145] _O Moḥammad._ The copies of the original differ here, but the
+differences are unimportant.
+
+[146] _By taking to themselves idols._
+
+[147] _Thou wouldst see a great thing!_
+
+[148] _Denying their having led them into error._
+
+[149] _Iblees._
+
+[150] _And the people of paradise are introduced into paradise, and
+the people of the fire into the fire, and when the latter have
+assembled around him._
+
+[151] _Respecting the resurrection and retribution._
+
+[152] _The contrary._
+
+[153] _The people of Mekkeh._
+
+[154] _Of the resurrection._
+
+[155] _If the choice had been given us we had not gone forth and had
+not been slain._
+
+[156] _Namely, the Jews._
+
+[157] [See _Modern Egyptians_, 5th ed., p 284.]
+
+[158] [On the various orders of the Jinn, see Lane’s _Thousand and One
+Nights_, Introduction, note 21. And see above, pp. 7, 9.]
+
+[159] _Consisting of the angels._
+
+[160] _They speak not until after He hath spoken._
+
+[161] _Iblees_ [the devil].
+
+[162] [In the Arabic, ‘Ḳur-án.’]
+
+[163] _This is said to be the most comprehensive verse in the Ḳur-án
+with respect to good and evil._ [The commentators say it contains the
+whole duty of man, both in respect of doing and of shunning. It is
+needless to enumerate the various virtues and sins which they consider
+are implied in each of the simple words of the text.]
+
+[164] [Mr. Rodwell’s rendering.]
+
+[165] The traveller.
+
+[166] _Of being rewarded for so doing._
+
+[167] _Or reproach._
+
+[168] _Their idols._
+
+[169] _Disposition._
+
+[170] [Lit., and in orig. ed., ‘hath great good fortune.’]
+
+[171] [_Mod. Egypt._, 104.]
+
+[172] [The Christians and Jews.]
+
+[173] [Or ‘best:’ so in _Mod. Egypt._, 280.]
+
+[174] [This is Mr. Rodwell’s word, and is, I think, more expressive of
+the original (_muslimoona_) than ‘resigned.’]
+
+[175] _In the prophets._
+
+[176] [Some suppose this verse to be abrogated by the next extract:
+others try to explain it away.]
+
+[177] _And of him who inviteth them to the true religion._
+
+[178] Mirage (_saráb_).
+
+[179] _In like manner the unbeliever reckoneth that his works will
+profit him, until, when he dieth and is brought before his Lord, he
+findeth not his works._
+
+[180] _The unbeliever._
+
+[181] _By his unbelief._
+
+[182] _In the tradition it is said, ‘Whosoever hath any good thing
+given unto him, whether of family or wealth, and saith on the occasion
+thereof, ‘What God willeth (`má-sháä-lláh)! There is no power but in
+God!’ he will not see in it aught displeasing.’_
+
+[183] _On the day of resurrection._
+
+[184] _O Moḥammad._
+
+[185] _Of the people of Mekkeh._
+
+[186] _So as to disdain receiving the truth._ (_This was revealed as
+respecting the envoys who came from the King of Abyssinia: the Prophet
+recited the Soorat Yá-Seen_ [xxxvi.], _whereupon they wept and became
+Muslims, and said, ‘How like is this to that which was revealed to
+Jesus.’_)
+
+[187] _Not believing in Moḥammad._
+
+[188] _With respect to the hypocrites_ the following _was revealed_.
+
+[189] _Their chiefs._
+
+[190] The number of the prophets which have been from time to time
+sent by God into the world amounts to no less than 224,000, according
+to one Moḥammadan tradition, or to 124,000 according to another; among
+whom 313 were apostles, sent with special commissions to reclaim
+mankind 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 Moḥammad. All the
+prophets in general the Moḥammadans believe to have been free from
+great sins and errors of consequence, and professors of one and the
+same religion, that is, El-Islám, notwithstanding the different laws
+and institutions which they observed. In this great number of
+prophets, they not only reckon divers patriarchs and persons named in
+Scripture but not recorded to have been prophets (wherein the Jewish
+and Christian writers have sometimes led the way), as Adam, Seth, Lot,
+Ishmael, Nun, Joshua, &c., and introduce some of them under different
+names, as Enoch, Heber, and Jethro, who are called in the Ḳur-án,
+Idrees, Hood, and Sho´eyb; but several others whose very names do not
+appear in Scripture (though they endeavour to find some persons there
+to fix them on), as Ṣáliḥ, El-Khiḍr, Dhu-l-Kifl.
+
+As to the Scriptures, the Moḥammadans are taught by the Ḳur-án that
+God, in divers ages of the world, gave revelations of His will in
+writing to several prophets, the whole and every word of which it is
+absolutely necessary for a good Muslim 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 Idrees or Enoch, ten to Abraham; and
+the other four, being the Pentateuch, the Psalms, the Gospel, and the
+Ḳur-án, were successively delivered to Moses, David, Jesus, and
+Moḥammad; which last being the _seal_ of the prophets, those
+revelations are now closed and no more are to be expected. All these
+divine books, except the four last, they agree to be now entirely lost
+and their contents unknown; though 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.—S.
+
+[191] ‘El-Jánn’ is here used as a name of Iblees, the father of the
+jinn. It also signifies the jinn themselves.
+
+[192] According to a tradition of the Prophet, the height of Adam was
+equal to that of a tall palm-tree.
+
+[193] The Moḥammadans say, that when they were cast down from Paradise
+[which is in the seventh heaven], Adam fell on the isle of Ceylon, or
+Sarandeeb, and Eve near Juddah (the port of Mekkeh) in Arabia; and
+that, after a separation of two hundred years, Adam was, on his
+repentance, conducted by the angel Gabriel to a mountain near Mekkeh,
+where he found and knew his wife, the mountain being thence named
+´Arafát; and that he afterwards retired with her to Ceylon.—S.
+
+[194] The prayer is inserted by the commentary from Ḳur. vii. 22.
+
+[195] This word has various significations in the Ḳur-án; sometimes,
+as in this passage, it signifies _divine revelation_, or _scripture_
+in general; sometimes the _verses_ of the _Ḳur-án_ in particular; and
+at other times, _visible miracles_. But the sense is easily
+distinguished by the context.—S.
+
+[196] Called in Arabic Hábeel and Ḳábeel.
+
+[197] The occasion of their making this offering is thus related,
+according to the common tradition in the East. Each of them being born
+with a twin-sister, when they were grown up, Adam by God’s direction
+ordered Cain to marry Abel’s twin-sister, and Abel to marry Cain’s;
+(for it being the common opinion that marriages ought not to be had in
+the nearest degrees of consanguinity, since they must necessarily
+marry their sisters, it seemed reasonable to suppose they ought to
+take those of the remoter degree;) but this Cain refusing to agree to,
+because his own sister was the handsomest, Adam ordered them to make
+their offerings to God, thereby referring the dispute to His
+determination. The commentators say Cain’s offering was a sheaf of the
+very worst of his corn; but Abel’s a fat lamb of the best of his
+flock.—S.
+
+[198] Or, as the original literally signifies, boiled over [or
+boiled], which is consonant to what the Rabbins say, that the waters
+of the deluge were boiling hot.—This oven was, as some say, at
+El-Koofeh, in a spot whereon a mosque now stands; or, as others rather
+think, in a certain place in India, or else at ´Eyn-el-Wardeh in
+Mesopotamia. Some pretend that it was the same oven which Eve made use
+of to bake her bread in, being of a form different from those we use,
+having the mouth in the upper part, and that it descended from
+patriarch to patriarch till it came to Noah. It is remarkable that
+Moḥammad, in all probability, borrowed this circumstance from the
+Persian Magi, who also fancied that the first waters of the deluge
+gushed out of the oven of a certain old woman named Zala Cûfa.—But the
+word “tennoor,” which is here translated “oven,” also signifying “the
+superficies of the earth,” or “a place whence waters spring forth,” or
+“where they are collected,” some suppose it means no more in this
+passage than the spot or fissure whence the first eruption of waters
+broke forth.—S.
+
+[199] It is a custom of many Muslims to pronounce these words, ‘In the
+name of God be its course and its mooring,’ on embarking for any
+voyage.—L. The commentators tell us that Noah was two years in
+building the ark, which was framed of Indian plane-tree; that it was
+divided into three stories, of which the lower was designed for the
+beasts, the middle one for the men and women, and the upper for the
+birds; and the men were separated from the women by the body of Adam,
+which Noah had taken into the ark. This last is a tradition of the
+Eastern Christians.—S.
+
+[200] The original of this passage is considered the most sublime in
+the Ḳur-án.
+
+[201] The Moḥammadans say that Noah went into the ark on the tenth of
+Rejeb, and came out of it on the tenth of Moḥarram; which therefore
+became a fast: so that the whole time of Noah’s being in the ark
+according to them was six months.—S. (B.)
+
+[202] ´Ád was an ancient and potent tribe of Arabs, and zealous
+idolaters. They chiefly worshipped four deities, Sákiyeh, Ḥáfiḍhah,
+Ráziḳah, and Sálimeh; 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 restoring them to
+health when afflicted with sickness; according to the signification of
+the several names.—S.
+
+[203] Generally supposed to be the same person as Heber.—S.
+
+[204] Thamood was another tribe of the ancient Arabs who fell into
+idolatry. They dwelt first in the country of the ´Ádites, but their
+numbers increasing, they removed to the territory of Ḥejr.—S.
+
+[205] This extraordinary camel frighting the other cattle from their
+pasture, a certain rich woman, named ´Oneyzeh Umm-Ghánim, having four
+daughters, dressed them out, and offered one Ḳudár his choice of them,
+if he would kill the camel. Whereupon 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 Ṣadaḳah Bint-El-Mukhtár as a
+joint-conspiratress with ´Oneyzeh, and pretending that the young one
+was not killed.’—S. (A.F., B.)
+
+[206] Defying the vengeance with which they were threatened; because
+they trusted in their strong dwellings hewn in the rocks, saying that
+the tribe of ´Ád perished only because their houses were not built
+with sufficient strength.—S.
+
+[207] Like violent and repeated claps of thunder; which some say was
+no other than the voice of the angel Gabriel, which rent their hearts.
+It is said that after they had killed the camel, Ṣáliḥ told them
+that on the morrow their faces should become yellow, the next day 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.—S. (A.F., B.)
+
+[208] In the Mir-át-ez-Zemán it is stated that there are various
+opinions respecting the age in which this person lived: 1. That he
+lived in the first century after the Deluge, and was of the sons of
+Japheth, and was born in the land of the Greeks: so said ´Alee; 2.
+That he was after Thamood: so said El-Ḥasan; 3. That he was of the
+lineage of Esau, the son of Isaac: so said Muḳátil; 4. That he lived
+between the times of Moses and Jesus; 5. That he lived between Jesus
+and Moḥammad; and 6. That he was of the lineage of Yoonán, son [as
+some say] of Noah, in the days of Abraham; and this, adds the author,
+is the most correct.—But some suppose him to be the same with
+Alexander the Great.—Respecting his surname of ‘Dhu-l-Ḳarneyn,’ the
+most obvious signification of which is ‘the two-horned,’ the more
+judicious in general are of opinion that he received it because he
+made expeditions to the extreme parts of the east and west, and
+therefore that it signifies ‘Lord of the two extreme parts of the
+earth.’
+
+[209] Who were clothed in the skins of wild beasts, and lived upon
+what the sea cast on shore.—S. (B.)
+
+[210] The Arabs call them Yájooj and Májooj, and say they are two
+nations or tribes descended from Japheth the son of Noah; or, as
+others write, Gog are a tribe of the Turks, and Magog of those of
+Geelán, the Geli and Gelæ of Ptolemy and Strabo.—It is said these
+barbarous people made their irruptions into the neighbouring countries
+in the spring, and destroyed and carried off all the fruits of the
+earth; and some pretend they were man-eaters.—S. (B.)
+
+[211] The Eastern authors unanimously agree that he (Ázar) 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 was, 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.—S.
+
+[212] Some tell us that Nimrod, on seeing this miraculous deliverance
+from his palace, cried out that he would make an offering to the God
+of Abraham; and that he accordingly sacrificed four thousand kine.
+[B.] But, if he ever relented, he soon relapsed into his former
+infidelity: for he built a tower that he might ascend to heaven to see
+Abraham’s God; which being overthrown [Ḳur. xvi. 28], still
+persisting in his design, he would be carried to heaven in a chest
+borne by four monstrous birds; but after wandering for some time
+through the air, he fell down on a mountain with such force that he
+made it shake, whereto (as some fancy) a passage in the Ḳur-án [xiv.
+47] alludes, which may be translated, ‘although their contrivances be
+such as to make the mountains tremble.’—Nimrod, disappointed in his
+design of making war with God, turned his arms against Abraham, who,
+being a great prince, raised forces to defend himself; but God,
+dividing Nimrod’s subjects, and confounding their language, deprived
+him of the greater part of his people, and plagued those who adhered
+to him by swarms of gnats, which destroyed almost all of them; and one
+of those gnats having entered into the nostril, or ear, of Nimrod,
+penetrated to one of the membranes of his brain, where, growing bigger
+every day, it gave him such intolerable pain, that he was obliged to
+cause his head to be beaten with a mallet, in order to procure some
+ease, which torture he suffered four hundred years; God being willing
+to punish, by one of the smallest of His creatures, him who insolently
+boasted himself to be lord of all. A Syrian calendar places the death
+of Nimrod, as if the time were well known, on the eighth of Tamooz, or
+July.—S.
+
+[213] They tell us that Gabriel thrust his wing under them and lifted
+them up so high that the inhabitants of the lower heaven heard the
+barking of the dogs and the crowing of the cocks; and then, inverting
+them, threw them down to the earth.—S. (B.)
+
+[214] It is the most received opinion among the Moḥammadans that the
+son whom Abraham offered was Ishmael and not Isaac; Ishmael being his
+only son at that time: for the promise of Isaac’s birth is mentioned
+lower, as subsequent in time to this transaction. They also allege the
+testimony of their prophet, who is reported to have said, ‘I am the
+son of the two who were offered in sacrifice;’ meaning his great
+ancestor, Ishmael, and his own father ´Abd-Allah: for
+´Abd-el-Muṭṭalib had made a vow that if God would permit him to
+find out and open the well Zemzem and should give him ten sons he
+would sacrifice one of them; accordingly, when he had obtained his
+desire in both respects, he cast lots on his sons, and the lot falling
+on ´Abd-Allah, he redeemed him by offering a hundred camels, which was
+therefore ordered to be the price of a man’s blood in the Sunneh.—S.
+(B., Z.)
+
+[215] The occasion of this request of Abraham is said to have been a
+doubt proposed to him by the devil in human form, how it was possible
+for the several parts of a corpse 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.—S.
+
+[216] In the original, ‘Imám,’ which answers to the Latin _Antistes_.
+This title the Moḥammadans give to their priests [if such a title may
+be used, for want of one more correct] who begin the prayers in their
+mosques, and whom all the congregation follow.—S.
+
+[217] The term ‘rek´ah’ signifies the repetition of a set form of
+words, chiefly from the Ḳur-án, and ejaculations of ‘God is most
+Great!’ etc., accompanied by particular postures; part of the words
+being repeated in an erect posture, part sitting, and part in other
+postures: an inclination of the head and body, followed by two
+prostrations, distinguishing each rek´ah. Each of the five daily
+prayers of the Muslims consist of a certain number of rek´ahs.
+
+[218] The city of Eṭ-Ṭáïf was so called, according to Abu-l-Fida and
+several other Arab authors, because it, with the adjacent fields,
+was separated from Syria during the Deluge, and after floating round
+about upon the water at length rested in its present situation, where
+its soil has continued to produce the fruits of Syria.
+
+[219] Namely, the Kaạbeh.
+
+[220] In the original, ‘Muslims,’ which is the peculiar and very
+appropriate title of the believers in the religion taught by Moḥammad;
+and as he professed not to teach a religion essentially _new_, this
+title is given to all true believers before him.
+
+[221] ‘El-Islam’ signifies the _resigning_ oneself to God and to His
+service, and is the name given by Moḥammad to that religion which, he
+asserted, all the prophets before him had taught, and he restored; the
+foundation of which was the unity of God.
+
+[222] This well, say some, was a certain well near Jerusalem, or not
+far from the river Jordan; but others call it the well of Egypt, or
+Midian. The commentators tell us that when the sons of Jacob had
+gotten Joseph with them in the field, they began to abuse and to beat
+him so unmercifully that they had killed him had not Judah on his
+crying out for help insisted on the promise they had made not to kill
+him but to cast him into the well. Whereupon they let him down a
+little way; but as he held by the sides of the well, they bound him,
+and took off his inner garment, designing to stain it with blood to
+deceive their father. Joseph begged hard to have his garment returned
+to him, but to no purpose, his brothers telling him, with a sneer,
+that the eleven stars and the sun and the moon might clothe him and
+keep him company.—S. (B., Z.)
+
+[223] The commentators pretend that Gabriel also clothed him in the
+well with a garment of silk of Paradise. For they say that when
+Abraham was thrown into the fire by Nimrod, he was stripped; and that
+Gabriel brought him this garment and put it on him; and that from
+Abraham it descended to Jacob, who folded it up and put it into an
+amulet, which he hung about Joseph’s neck, whence Gabriel drew it
+out.—S. (B., Z.)
+
+[224] These races they used by way of exercise; and the commentators
+generally understand here that kind of race wherein they also showed
+their dexterity in throwing darts, which is still used in the East.—S.
+
+[225] This Jacob had reason to suspect, because when the garment was
+brought to him, he observed that, though it was bloody, yet it was not
+torn.—S. (B.)
+
+[226] Three days after Joseph had been thrown into it.—S.
+
+[227] The commentators are so exact as to give us the name of this
+man, who as they pretend, was Málik Ibn-Doạr, of the tribe of
+Khuzá´ah.—S. (B.)
+
+[228] The expositors are not agreed whether the pronoun _they_ relates
+to Málik and his companions, or to Joseph’s brethren. They who espouse
+the former opinion say that those who came to draw water concealed the
+manner of their coming by him from the rest of the caravan, that they
+might keep him to themselves; pretending that some people of the place
+had given him to them to sell for them in Egypt. And they who prefer
+the latter opinion tell us that Judah carried victuals to Joseph every
+day while he was in the well; but not finding him there on the fourth
+day, he acquainted his brothers with it: whereupon they all went to
+the caravan and claimed Joseph as their slave, he not daring to
+discover that he was their brother, lest something worse should befall
+him; and at length they agreed to sell him to them.—S. (B.)
+
+[229] A corruption of Potiphar. He was a man of great consideration,
+being superintendent of the royal treasury.—S. (B.)
+
+[230] That is, to Ḳiṭfeer and his friends. The occasion of Joseph’s
+imprisonment is said to be either that they suspected him to be guilty
+notwithstanding the proofs which had been given of his innocence, or
+else that Zeleekha desired it, feigning, to deceive her husband, that
+she wanted to have Joseph removed from her sight till she could
+conquer her passion by time; though her real design was to force him
+to compliance.—S.
+
+[231] According to the explication of some who take the pronoun _him_
+to relate to Joseph, this passage may be rendered, ‘But the devil
+caused him (_i.e._, Joseph) to forget to make his application unto his
+lord;’ and to beg the good offices of his fellow-prisoner for his
+deliverance, instead of relying on God alone, as it became a prophet,
+especially, to have done.—S. (B.)
+
+[232] This prince, as the Oriental writers generally agree, was
+Er-Reiyán the son of El-Weleed the Amalekite, who was converted by
+Joseph to the worship of the true God, and died in the lifetime of
+that prophet. But some pretend that the Pharaoh of Joseph and of Moses
+were one and the same person, and that he lived (or rather reigned)
+four hundred years.—S. (B.)
+
+[233] The commentators say that Joseph, being taken out of prison,
+after he had washed and changed his clothes, was introduced to the
+king, whom he saluted in the Hebrew tongue, and on the king’s asking
+what language that was, he answered that it was the language of his
+fathers. This prince, they say, understood no less than seventy
+languages, in every one of which he discoursed with Joseph, who
+answered him in the same; at which the king, greatly marvelling,
+desired him to relate his dream, which he did, describing the most
+minute circumstances: whereupon the king placed Joseph by him on his
+throne, and made him his Wezeer, or chief minister.—S. (B.)
+
+[234] Namely, Ephraim and Manasses: so that according to this
+tradition, she was the same woman who is called Asenath by ‘Moses.’
+This supposed marriage, which authorized their amours, probably
+encouraged the Moḥammadan divines to make use of the loves of Joseph
+and Zeleekha as an allegorical emblem of the spiritual love between
+the Creator and the creature, God and the soul; just as the Christians
+apply the Song of Solomon to the same mystical purpose.—S.
+
+[235] Joseph, being made Wezeer, governed with great wisdom; for he
+not only caused justice to be impartially administered and encouraged
+the people to industry and the improvement of agriculture during the
+seven years of plenty, but began and perfected several works of great
+benefit; the natives at this day ascribing to the patriarch Joseph
+almost all the ancient works of public utility throughout the kingdom;
+as particularly the rendering the province of El-Feiyoom, from a
+standing pool or marsh, the most fertile and best-cultivated land in
+all Egypt. When the years of famine came, the effects of which were
+felt not only in Egypt but in Syria and the neighbouring countries,
+the inhabitants were obliged to apply to Joseph for corn, which he
+sold to them, first for their money, jewels, and ornaments, then for
+their cattle and lands, and at length for their persons; so that all
+the Egyptians in general became slaves to the king, though Joseph by
+his consent soon released them and returned them their substance.—S.
+(B.)
+
+[236] At length Joseph asked them whom they had to vouch for their
+veracity; but they told him they knew no man who could vouch for them
+in Egypt. Then, replied he, one of you shall stay behind with me as a
+pledge, and the others may return home with their provision; and when
+ye come again, ye shall bring your younger brother with you, that I
+may know ye have told me the truth. Whereupon, it being in vain to
+dispute the matter, they cast lots who should stay behind, and the lot
+fell upon Simeon. When they departed, Joseph gave each of them a
+camel, and another for their brother.—S. (B.)
+
+[237] The original word signifying not only money but also goods
+bartered or given in exchange for other merchandise, some commentators
+tell us that they paid for their corn, not in money, but in shoes and
+dressed skins.—S. (B.)
+
+[238] The belief in the influence of the evil eye prevails among all
+the Muslims, even the most religious and learned; for their prophet
+said, ‘The eye hath a complete influence; because verily, if there
+were a thing to overcome fate, it most certainly would be a malignant
+eye.’ Hence he permitted charms (which he disallowed in almost every
+other case) to be employed for the purpose of counteracting its
+influence.
+
+[239] It is related that Joseph, having invited his brethren to an
+entertainment, ordered them to be placed two and two together; by
+which means, Benjamin, the eleventh, was obliged to sit alone, and,
+bursting into tears, said, If my brother Joseph were alive, he would
+have sat with me. Whereupon Joseph ordered him to be seated at the
+same table with himself, and when the entertainment was over,
+dismissed the rest, ordering that they should be lodged two and two in
+a house, but kept Benjamin in his own apartment, where he passed the
+night. The next day, Joseph asked him whether he would accept of
+himself for his brother, in the room of him whom he had lost; to which
+Benjamin replied, ‘Who can find a brother comparable unto thee? Yet
+thou art not the son of Jacob and Rachel.’ And upon this, Joseph
+discovered himself to him.—S. (B.).
+
+[240] Some, however, are of opinion that it was a drinking-cup.
+
+[241] The occasion of this suspicion, it is said, was that Joseph
+having been brought up by his father’s sister, she became so fond of
+him, that when he grew up and Jacob designed to take him from her she
+contrived the following stratagem to keep him. Having a girdle which
+had once belonged to Abraham, she girt it about the child, and then
+pretending she had lost it, caused strict search to be made for it;
+and it being at length found on Joseph, he was adjudged, according to
+the above-mentioned law of the family, to be delivered to her as her
+property. Some, however, say that Joseph actually stole an idol of
+gold, which belonged to his mother’s father, and destroyed it; a story
+probably taken from Rachel’s stealing the images of Laban: and others
+tell us that he once stole a goat or a hen, to give to a poor man.—S.
+
+[242] Miṣr is the name both of Egypt and its capital.
+
+[243] The injury they did Benjamin was the separating him from his
+brother, after which they kept him in so great subjection that he
+durst not speak to them but with the utmost submission. Some say that
+these words were occasioned by a letter which Joseph’s brethren
+delivered to him from their father, requesting the releasement of
+Benjamin, and by their representing his extreme affliction at the loss
+of him and his brother. The commentators observe that Joseph, to
+excuse his brethren’s behaviour towards him, attributes it to their
+ignorance and the heat of youth.—S. (B.)
+
+[244] The frontier town of Egypt towards Syria.
+
+[245] El-Beyḍáwee tell us that Joseph sent carriages and provisions
+for his father and his family; and that he and the king of Egypt went
+forth to meet them. He adds that the number of the children of Israel
+who entered Egypt with him was seventy-two; and that when they were
+led out thence by Moses, they were increased to six hundred thousand
+five hundred and seventy men, and upwards, besides the old people and
+children.—S.
+
+[246] A transposition is supposed to be in these words:—he seated his
+father and mother after they had bowed down to him, and not before.—S.
+(B.)
+
+[247] But when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, he took up the
+coffin, and carried Joseph’s bones with him into Canaan, where he
+buried them by his ancestors.—S. (B.)
+
+[248] The Moḥammadan writers tell us that Job was of the race of Esau,
+and was blessed with a numerous family and abundant riches; but that
+God proved him by taking away all that he had, even his children, who
+were killed by the fall of a house; notwithstanding which he continued
+to serve God and to return Him thanks as usual; that he was then
+struck with a filthy disease, his body being full of worms and so
+offensive that as he lay on the dunghill none could bear to come near
+him: that his wife, however (whom some call Raḥmeh the daughter of
+Ephraim the son of Joseph, and others Makhir the daughter of
+Manasses), attended him with great patience, supporting him with what
+she earned by her labour; but that the devil appearing to her one day,
+after having reminded her of her past prosperity, promised her that if
+she would worship him, he would restore all they had lost; whereupon
+she asked her husband’s consent, who was so angry at the proposal,
+that he swore, if he recovered, to give his wife a hundred stripes.—S.
+(B., J., A.F.)
+
+[249] Some say there were two springs, one of hot water wherein he
+bathed, and the other of cold of which he drank.—S. (B.)
+
+[250] His wife also becoming young and handsome again, and bearing him
+twenty-six sons. Some, to express the great riches which were bestowed
+on Job after his sufferings, say he had two threshing-floors, one for
+wheat and the other for barley, and that God sent two clouds, which
+rained gold on the one and silver on the other till they ran
+over.—(J.) The traditions differ as to the continuance of Job’s
+calamities: one will have it to be eighteen years; another, thirteen;
+another, three; and another, exactly seven years seven months and
+seven hours.—S.
+
+[251] Or ‘a palm-branch having a hundred leaves.’—S.
+
+[252] But see note 1 (248).
+
+[253] The commentators generally suppose him to be the same person
+with the father-in-law of Moses, who is named in Scripture Reuel or
+Raguel, and Jethro. But Aḥmad Ibn-´Abd-El-Ḥaleem charges those who
+entertain this opinion with ignorance. They say (after the Jews) that
+he gave his son-in-law [Moses] that wonder-working rod with which he
+performed all those miracles in Egypt and the Desert, and also
+excellent advice and instructions; whence he had the surname of
+‘Khaṭeeb-el-Ambiya,’ or ‘the Preacher to the Prophets.’—S.
+
+[254] The Arabic word ‘ḍa´eef’ (weak) signifying also in the
+Ḥimyaritic dialect ‘blind,’ some suppose that Sho´eyb was so, and that
+the Midianites objected that to him as a defect which disqualified him
+for the prophetic office.—S.
+
+[255] Which of the kings of Egypt this Pharaoh of Moses was is
+uncertain. Not to mention the opinions of the European writers, those
+of the East generally suppose him to have been El-Weleed, who
+according to some was an Arab of the tribe of ´Ád, or according to
+others the son of Muṣ´ab the son of Er-Reiyán the son of El-Weleed the
+Amalekite. There are historians, however, who suppose Ḳáboos the
+brother and predecessor of El-Weleed was the prince we are speaking
+of, and pretend he lived six hundred and twenty years and reigned four
+hundred. Which is more reasonable, at least, than the opinion of those
+who imagine it was his father Muṣ´ab or grandfather Er-Reiyán.
+Abu-l-Fida says the Muṣ´ab, being one hundred and seventy years old
+and having no child, while he kept the herds saw a cow calve, and
+heard her say at the same time, ‘O Muṣ´ab, be not grieved, for thou
+shalt have a wicked son, who will be at length cast into hell.’ And he
+accordingly had this Weleed, who afterwards coming to be king of Egypt
+proved an impious tyrant.—S. (A.F., Z.)
+
+[256] This name is given to Pharaoh’s chief minister; from whence it
+is generally inferred that Moḥammad had been made Haman the favorite
+of Ahasuerus king of Persia, and who indisputably lived many years
+after Moses, to be that prophet’s contemporary.—S.
+
+[257] It is related that the midwife appointed to attend the Hebrew
+women, terrified by a light which appeared between the eyes of Moses
+at his birth, and touched with an extraordinary affection for the
+child, did not discover him to the officers, so that his mother kept
+him in her house, and nursed him three months; after which it was
+impossible for her to conceal him any longer, the king then giving
+orders to make the searches more strictly.—S. (B.)
+
+[258] The commentators say that his mother made an ark of the papyrus,
+and pitched it, and put in some cotton; and having laid the child
+therein, committed it to the river, a branch of which went into
+Pharaoh’s garden: that the stream carried the ark thither into a
+fishpond, at the head of which Pharaoh was then sitting with his wife
+Ásiyeh the daughter of Muzáḥem; and that the king, having commanded it
+to be taken up and opened, and finding in it a beautiful child, took a
+fancy to it, and ordered it to be brought up.—Some writers mention a
+miraculous preservation of Moses before he was put into the ark; and
+tell us, that his mother having hid him from Pharaoh’s officers in an
+oven, his sister, in her mother’s absence, kindled a large fire in the
+oven to heat it, not knowing the child was there; but that he was
+afterwards taken out unhurt.—S. (B., A.F.)
+
+[259] Ḳur. xxvi. 17.
+
+[260] This person, says the tradition, was an Egyptian and Pharaoh’s
+uncle’s son.—S.
+
+[261] The Jews pretend he was actually imprisoned for the fact, and
+condemned to be beheaded; but that when he should have suffered his
+neck became as hard as ivory, and the sword rebounded on the
+executioner.—S.
+
+[262] According to El-Beyḍáwee, Moses knew not the way, and, coming to
+a place where three roads met, committed himself to the guidance of
+God, and took the middle road, which was the right; Providence
+likewise so ordering it that his pursuers took the other two roads,
+and missed him.—S.
+
+[263] This was Ṣafoora [also called Ṣafoorah and Ṣafooriya,
+or Zipporah, the elder, or as others suppose the younger, daughter of
+Sho´eyb, whom Moses afterwards married.—S.]
+
+
+[264] The commentators say, that Moses, having obtained leave of
+Sho´eyb or Jethro, his father-in-law, to visit his mother, departed
+with his family from Midian towards Egypt; but coming to the valley of
+Ṭuwa, wherein Mount Sinai stands, his wife fell in labour and was
+delivered of a son in a very dark and snowy night: he had also lost
+his way, and his cattle were scattered from him, when on a sudden he
+saw a fire by the side of a mountain, which on his nearer approach he
+found burning in a green bush.—S. (B.)
+
+[265] This was a mark of humility and respect: though some fancy there
+was some uncleanness in the shoes themselves, because they were made
+of the skin of an ass not dressed.—S. (B.)
+
+[266] Which was at first no bigger than the rod, but afterwards
+swelled to a prodigious size.—S. (B.)
+
+[267] When Moses saw the serpent move about with great nimbleness and
+swallow stones and trees, he was greatly terrified, and fled from it;
+but recovering his courage at these words of God, he had the boldness
+to take the serpent by the jaws.—S. (B.)
+
+[268] Moses had an impediment in his speech, which was occasioned by
+the following accident. Pharaoh one day carrying him in his arms when
+a child, he suddenly laid hold of his beard and plucked it in a very
+rough manner, which put Pharaoh into such a passion that he ordered
+him to be put to death: but Ásiyeh his wife representing to him that
+he was but a child, who could not distinguish between a burning coal
+and a ruby, he ordered the experiment to be made; and a live coal and
+a ruby being set before Moses, he took the coal and put it into his
+mouth, and burnt his tongue: and thereupon he was pardoned.—This is a
+Jewish story a little altered.—S.
+
+[269] For he was obliged to abandon his country and his friends, and
+to travel several days in great terror and want of necessary
+provisions to seek a refuge among strangers; and was afterwards forced
+to serve for hire to gain a livelihood.—S.
+
+[270] Aaron being by this time come out to meet his brother, either by
+divine inspiration, or having notice of his design to return to
+Egypt.—S. (B.)
+
+[271] The Arab writers tell enormous fables of this serpent or dragon.
+For they say that he was hairy and of so prodigious a size that when
+he opened his mouth his jaws were fourscore cubits asunder and when he
+laid his lower jaw on the ground his upper reached to the top of the
+palace [or rather, I believe, the _throne_ of Pharaoh]: that Pharaoh,
+seeing this monster make towards him, fled from it; and that the whole
+assembly also betaking themselves to their heels, no less than
+twenty-five thousand of them lost their lives in the press. They add
+that Pharaoh, upon this abjured Moses by God who had sent him to take
+away the serpent, and promised he would believe on Him and let the
+Israelites go; but when Moses had done what he requested, he relapsed
+and grew as hardened as before.—S. (B.)
+
+[272] 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.—S.
+(B.)
+
+[273] They provided themselves with a great number of thick ropes and
+long pieces of wood, which they contrived by some means to move and
+make them twist themselves one over the other; and so imposed on the
+beholders, who at a distance took them to be true serpents. It is also
+said that they rubbed them over with quicksilver, which being wrought
+upon by the heat of the sun caused them to move.—S. (B.)
+
+[274] The expositors add that when this serpent had swallowed up all
+the rods and cords he made directly towards the assembly and put them
+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.—S. (B.)
+
+[275] Sale observes that some writers introduce only two of the
+enchanters as acknowledging Moses’ 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 and
+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 masters slept, or only when they were
+awake; for, said he, enchantments have no effect while the enchanter
+is asleep, and therefore if it be otherwise in this case, you may be
+assured that they act by a divine power. These two magicians then,
+arriving at the capital of Egypt, on inquiry found 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.—S.
+
+[276] 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 Ḳur-án [xxviii. 35], ‘Ye two,
+and they who follow you, shall overcome.’—S.
+
+[277] See p. 101, l. 5, n. 1 (260).
+
+[278] Cp. Act. Apost. v. 38, 39.
+
+[279] ‘The people of Noah and of ´Ád and of Thamood, and those whom
+God destroyed after them.’ So explained in the Ḳámoos.
+
+[280] It is said that Hámán having prepared bricks and other materials
+employed no less than fifty thousand men besides labourers in the
+building, which they carried to so immense a height that the workmen
+could no longer stand on it: that Pharaoh ascending this tower threw a
+javelin towards heaven, which fell back again stained with blood,
+whereupon he impiously boasted that he had killed the god of Moses;
+but at sunset God sent the angel Gabriel, who with one stroke of his
+wing demolished the tower, a part whereof falling on the king’s army
+destroyed a million of men.—S. (Z.)
+
+[281] Some are of opinion that those who were sent by Pharaoh to seize
+the true believer, his kinsman, are the persons more particularly
+meant in this place: for they tell us that the said believer fled to a
+mountain, where they found him at prayers, guarded by the wild beasts,
+which ranged themselves in order about him; and that his pursuers
+thereupon returned in a great fright to their master, who put them to
+death for not performing his command.—S. (B.)
+
+[282] Some expound these words of the previous punishment they are
+doomed to suffer, according to a tradition of Ibn-Mes´ood, which
+informs us that their souls are in the crops of black birds which are
+exposed to hell-fire every morning and evening until the Day of
+Judgment.—S. (B.)
+
+[283] As there is no mention of any such miraculous inundation in the
+[so-called] Mosaic writings, some have imagined this plague to have
+been either a pestilence, or the smallpox, or some other epidemical
+distemper. (B.) For the word ‘ṭoofán,’ which is used in this place,
+and is generally rendered a ‘deluge,’ may also signify any other
+universal destruction or mortality.—S.
+
+[284] 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 Egypt and the Amalekites.—S. (B.)
+
+[285] Particularly the lofty tower [before mentioned] which Pharaoh
+caused to be built, that he might attack the God of Moses.—S.
+
+[286] The word here translated ‘body’ signifying also a ‘coat of
+mail,’ some imagine the meaning to be that his corpse floated armed
+with his coat of mail, which they tell us was of gold, by which they
+knew it was he.—S.
+
+[287] These people some will have to be of the tribe of Amalek, 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.—S. (B.)
+
+[288] The Eastern writers say these quails were of a peculiar kind of
+be found nowhere else but in El-Yemen, from whence they were brought
+by a south wind in great numbers to the Israelites’ camp in the
+desert. The Arabs called these birds ‘selwa,’ which is plainly the
+same with the Hebrew ‘salwim,’ and say they have no bones, but are
+eaten whole.—S.
+
+[289] The word here rendered ‘a great city,’ namely ‘miṣran,’ is
+rendered by Marracci and Sale ‘Egypt,’ and is so understood by many
+learned Arabs; but according to a general rule, to have this
+signification it should be ‘miṣra:’ in some copies of the Ḳur-án,
+however, it is thus written.
+
+[290] See Sale’s note _in loc._
+
+[291] A kind of soft stone, like dry mud.
+
+[292] The story here alluded to, though it occurs among passages
+respecting Moses and his people, is said to relate to a different age
+and to be as follows:—In the days of David, some Israelites dwelt at
+Eyleh, 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 commandment, catched 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 Sabbath, used both persuasion and force to stop this impiety, but
+to no purpose, the offenders growing only more and more obstinate;
+whereupon 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.—S.
+(A. F.)
+
+[293] His breath before [he used the tooth-stick] had the odour of
+musk.—S. (B.)
+
+[294] It is said that not only the ten commandments, but the whole law
+was written thereon.—S.
+
+[295] That is, as some understand it, consisting of flesh and blood;
+or, as others, being a mere body or mass of metal, without a soul.—S.
+(B.)
+
+[296] The person who cast this calf, the Moḥammadans say, was not
+Aaron but Es-Sámiree, 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 Es-Sámiree 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, Es-Sámiree,
+understanding the founder’s art, put them altogether into a furnace,
+to melt them down into one mass, which came out in the form of a calf.
+One writer says, that all the Israelites adored this calf, except only
+twelve thousand.—S. (A. F.)
+
+[297] After he had completed his forty days’ stay in the mount, and
+had received the Law.—S. (B.)
+
+[298] Or, I knew that which they knew not—that the messenger sent to
+thee from God was a pure spirit, and that his footsteps gave life to
+whatever they touched; being no other than the angel Gabriel, mounted
+on the horse of life: and therefore I made use of the dust of his feet
+to animate the molten calf. It is said, Es-Sámiree knew the angel
+because he had saved and taken care of him when a child and exposed by
+his mother for fear of Pharaoh.—S. (B., Jelál.)
+
+[299] The word here rendered ‘hearts’ often signifies stomachs; and if
+this be its meaning here, the narrative agrees with the [so-called]
+Mosaic account: for Moses ‘took the calf which they had made, and
+burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the
+water, and made the children of Israel to drink of it.’—Exod. xxxii.
+20.
+
+[300] 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’
+intercession restored to life.—S.
+
+[301] This person is represented by the commentators as the most
+beautiful of the Israelites, and so far surpassing them all in
+opulence that the riches of Ḳároon have become a proverb.—S.
+
+[302] Moses, as some say, having complained to God of a false
+accusation brought against him by Ḳároon, He directed him to command
+the earth what he pleased, and it should obey him; whereupon he said,
+‘O earth, swallow them up;’ and immediately the earth opened under
+Ḳároon and his confederates, and swallowed them up, with his palace
+and all his riches.—There goes a tradition that as Ḳároon sank
+gradually into the ground, first to his knees, then to his waist, then
+to his neck, he cried out four several times, ‘O Moses, have mercy on
+me!’ but that Moses continued to say, ‘O earth, swallow them up!’ till
+at last he wholly disappeared: upon which God said to Moses, ‘Thou
+hadst no mercy on Ḳároon, though he asked pardon of thee four times;
+but I would have had compassion on him if he had asked pardon of me
+but once.’—S. (B.)
+
+[303] Or rather, fawn-coloured; as are most of the cows of Arabia. The
+word in the original properly signifies yellow.
+
+[304] The story of this young man 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; at which time his mother told him the
+heifer was his, and bid him fetch her and sell her for three pieces of
+gold. When the young 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
+consent; which when he had obtained, he returned to the market-place,
+and met the angel, who now offered 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 done 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.—S. (A.F.)
+
+[305] The more common tradition seems to be that the man was murdered
+by _one_ person, the son of his brother, who desired to obtain his
+property (as his inheritance), or his daughter, or both.
+(Mir-át-ez-Zemán).
+
+[306] Also called El-Khaḍir. This mysterious person, whom the vulgar
+and some others regard as a prophet, and identify with Ilyás (Elias or
+Elijah), and whom some confound with St. George, was, according to the
+more approved opinion of the learned, a just man or saint, the Wezeer
+and counsellor of that equally doubtful personage Dhu-l-Ḳarneyn, whose
+story has already been related in this volume. El-Khiḍr is said to
+have drunk of the Fountain of Life, by virtue of which he still lives,
+and will live till the day of judgment. He is also said to appear
+frequently to Muslims in perplexity, and to be generally clad in green
+garments; whence, according to some, his name.—Sale states, in a note
+on this passage, that the Muslims usually confound El-Khiḍr with
+Phineas, as well as Elias and St. George, saying that his soul passed
+by a metempsychosis successively through all three; and he adds, that
+part of these fictions they took from the Jews, some of whom also
+fancy Phineas was Elias.
+
+[307] Or, as some rather think, El-Ubulleh, near El-Basrah, or else
+Bájarwán in Armenia.—S. (B.)
+
+[308] They were ten brothers, five of whom were past their labour by
+reason of their age.—S. (B.)
+
+[309] 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 ‘sekeeneh,’ which signifies
+‘tranquillity’ or ‘security 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 express
+by the same word ‘Shekinah.’—S.
+
+[310] Sale observes that Yaḥyá most rationally understands hereby the
+divine revelations which David received from God, and not the art of
+making coats of mail.—The cause of his applying himself to this art is
+thus related in the Mir-át-ez-Zemán:—He used to go forth in disguise;
+and when he found any people who knew him not, he approached them and
+asked them respecting the conduct of David, and they praised him and
+prayed for him; but one day, as he was asking questions respecting
+himself as usual, God sent to him an angel in the form of a human
+being, who said, ‘An excellent man were David if he did not take from
+the public treasury:’—whereupon the heart of David was contracted, and
+he begged of God to render him independent: so He made iron soft to
+him, and it became in his hands as thread; and he used to sell a coat
+of mail for four thousand [pieces of money—whether gold or silver is
+not said], and with part of this he obtained food for himself, and part he
+gave in alms, and with part he fed his family.—Hence an excellent coat
+of mail is often called by the Arabs ‘Dáwoodee,’ _i.e._, ‘Davidean.’
+See my translation of ‘The Thousand and One Nights,’ chap. viii. note
+5.
+
+[311] For David, they say, divided his time regularly, setting apart
+one day for the service of God, another day for rendering justice to
+his people, another day for preaching to them, and another day for his
+own affairs.—S. (B.)
+
+[312] They say that he had a carpet of green silk, on which his throne
+was placed, being of a prodigious length and breadth, and sufficient
+for all his forces to stand on, the men placing themselves on his
+right hand, and the spirits [or jinn] on his left; and that when all
+were in order the wind at his command took up the carpet and
+transported it with all that were upon it wherever he pleased; the
+army of birds at the same time flying over their heads and forming a
+kind of canopy to shade them from the sun.—S.
+
+[313] Whither the wind brought back Solomon’s throne in the evening,
+after having carried it to a distant country in the morning.—S.
+
+[314] After the space of forty days, which was the time the image had
+been worshipped in his house, the devil [or jinnee] flew away, and
+threw the signet into the sea: the signet was immediately swallowed by
+a fish, which being taken and given to Solomon, he found the ring in
+its belly, and, having by this means recovered the kingdom, took
+Ṣakhr, and, tying a great stone to his neck, threw him into the
+Lake of Tiberias.—S. (B., A.F.)
+
+[315] See note 30 to the Introduction of my translation of the
+‘Thousand and One Nights.’
+
+[316] The Arab historians tell us that Solomon, having finished the
+Temple of Jerusalem, went in pilgrimage to Mekkeh, where having stayed
+as long as he pleased, he proceeded towards El-Yemen; and leaving
+Mekkeh in the morning he arrived by noon at Ṣan´a, and being
+extremely delighted with the country rested there; but wanting water
+to make the ablution, he looked among the birds for the lapwing which
+found it for him.—S. (B.)
+
+[317] Some add that Bilḳees, to try whether Solomon was a prophet or
+not, drest the boys like girls and the girls like boys, and sent him
+in a casket a pearl not drilled and an onyx drilled with a crooked
+hole; and that Solomon distinguished the boys from the girls by the
+different manner of their taking water, and ordered one worm to bore
+the pearl, and another to pass a thread through the onyx.—S. (B.)
+
+[318] Others, however, suppose it was El-Khiḍr, or else Gabriel, or
+some other angel; and some imagine it to have been Solomon himself.—S.
+(B.)
+
+[319] This fountain they say was in El-Yemen.—S. (B.)
+
+[320] Some say these spirits made him two lions, which were placed at
+the foot of his throne; and two eagles, which were set above it; and
+that when he mounted it, the lions stretched out their paws; and when
+he sat down, the eagles shaded him with their wings.—S. (B.)
+
+[321] The commentators to explain this passage tell us that David,
+having laid the foundations of the Temple of Jerusalem, which was to
+be in lieu of the tabernacle of Moses, when he died, left it to be
+finished by his son Solomon, who employed the genii in the work; that
+Solomon, before the edifice was quite completed, perceiving his end
+drew nigh, begged of God that his death might be concealed from the
+genii till they had entirely finished it; that God therefore so
+ordered it that Solomon died as he stood at his prayers, leaning on
+his staff, which supported the body in that posture a full year; and
+the genii, supposing him to be alive, continued their work during that
+term, at the expiration whereof, the temple being perfectly completed,
+a worm, which had gotten into the staff, ate it through, and the
+corpse fell to the ground and discovered the king’s death.—S. (B.,
+Jelál.)
+
+[322] It is said that the fish, after it had swallowed Jonah, swam
+after the ship with its head above water, that the prophet might
+breathe; who continued to praise God till the fish came to land and
+vomited him out.—S.
+
+[323] Sale states that some imagine Jonah’s plant to have been a fig;
+and others, the móz (or banana), which bears very large leaves and
+excellent fruit.
+
+[324] The commentators add that this plant withered the next morning,
+and that Jonah being much concerned at it God made a remonstrance to
+him in behalf of the Ninevites, agreeably to what is recorded in
+Scripture.—S.
+
+[325] When he first began to exhort them to repentance, instead of
+hearkening to him, they used him very ill, so that he was obliged to
+leave the city, threatening them at his departure that they should be
+destroyed within three days, or, as others say, within forty. But when
+the time drew near, and they saw the heavens overcast with a black
+cloud which shot forth fire and filled the air with smoke and hung
+directly over the city, they were in a terrible consternation, and
+getting into the fields, with their families and cattle, they put on
+sackcloth and humbled themselves before God, calling aloud for pardon
+and sincerely repenting of their past wickedness. Whereupon God was
+pleased to forgive them, and the storm blew over.—S. (B., Jelál, A.F.)
+
+[326] ´Imrán, as observed by Sale, is the name of two several persons
+according to the Muslims: one was the father of Moses and Aaron, and
+the other was the father of the Virgin Mary. The latter is here meant,
+and his wife’s name was Hannah.
+
+[327] Or the devil driven away with stones.—See note 1. (38), p. 7.
+
+[328] And for this reason, they say, neither of them was guilty of any
+sin, like the rest of the children of Adam.—S. (Ḳatádeh.)
+
+[329] That is, between thirty, or thirty-four, and fifty-one: and the
+passage may relate to Christ’s preaching here on earth. But as he had
+scarce attained this age when he was taken up into heaven, the
+commentators choose to understand it of his second coming.—S.
+
+[330] The age of the Virgin Mary at the time of her conception was
+thirteen, or, as others say, ten; and she went six, seven, eight, or
+nine months with him, according to different traditions; though some
+say the child was conceived at its full growth of nine months, and
+that she was delivered of him within an hour after.—S. (B., Yahya.)
+
+[331] Some say the Virgin Mary had really a brother named Aaron, who
+had the same father but a different mother: others suppose Aaron the
+brother of Moses is here meant, but say Mary is called his sister
+either because she was of the Levitical race, (as, by her having been
+related to Elizabeth, it should seem she was,) or by way of
+comparison: others say that it was a different person of that name who
+was contemporary with her and conspicuous for his good or bad
+qualities, and that they likened her to him either by way of
+commendation or of reproach.—S. (B., Z., &c.)
+
+[332] These were the first words which were put into the mouth of
+Jesus, to obviate the imagination of his partaking of the divine
+nature or having a right to the worship of mankind on account of his
+miraculous speaking so soon after his birth.—S. (B.)
+
+[333] It is related in the spurious Gospel of the Infancy of Christ
+that Jesus being seven years old and at play with several children of
+his age, they made several figures of birds and beasts of clay for
+their diversion; and each preferring his own workmanship, Jesus told
+them that he would make his walk and leap; which accordingly at his
+command they did. He made also several figures of sparrows and other
+birds, which flew about or stood on his hands as he ordered them, and
+also ate and drank when he offered them meat and drink. The children,
+telling this to their parents, were forbidden to play any more with
+Jesus, whom they held to be a sorcerer.—S.
+
+[334] The commentators observe that these words are added lest it
+should be thought Jesus did these miracles by his own power, or was
+God.—S. (B.)
+
+[335] In Arabic, ‘el-Ḥawáreeyoon;’ which word they derive from ‘ḥára,’
+‘to be white’ [or rather, ‘to whiten’ clothes], 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.—(B., Jelál.) According to
+which last opinion, their vocation is thus related: That as Jesus
+passed by the sea-side, he saw some fullers at work, and, accosting
+them, said, ‘Ye cleanse these clothes, but cleanse not your hearts;’
+upon which they believed on him. But the true etymology seems to be
+from the Ethiopic verb ‘hawyra,’ ‘to go;’ whence ‘hawârya’ signifies
+‘one that is sent,’ a ‘messenger,’ or ‘apostle.’—S.
+
+[336] The person crucified some will have to be a spy that was sent to
+entrap him; others that it was one Titian, who by the direction of
+Judas entered in at a window of the house where Jesus was; to kill
+him; and others that it was Judas himself, who agreed with the rulers
+of the Jews to betray him for thirty pieces of silver, and led those
+who were sent to take him.—They add, that Jesus, after his crucifixion
+in _effigy_, was sent down again to the earth to comfort his mother
+and disciples and acquaint them how the Jews were deceived, and was
+then taken up a second time into heaven.
+
+It is supposed by several that this story was an original invention of
+Moḥammad’s; but they are certainly mistaken: for several sectaries
+held the same opinion long before his time. The Basilidians, in the
+very beginning of Christianity, denied that Christ himself suffered,
+but [asserted] that Simon the Cirenean was crucified in his place. The
+Corinthians before them, and the Carpocratians next (to name no more
+of those who affirmed Jesus to have been a mere man), did believe the
+same thing, that it was not himself, but one of his followers, very
+like him, that was crucified. Photius tells us that he read a book
+entitled ‘The Journeys of the Apostles,’ relating the acts of Peter,
+John, Andrew, Thomas, and Paul; and among other things contained
+therein this was one, that Christ was not crucified, but another in
+his stead, and that therefore he laughed at his crucifiers, or those
+who thought they had crucified him.—S.
+
+[337] 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 best provider of food.’ What the provisions
+were with which the 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; another, fruits of Paradise: but the most
+received tradition is that when 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 afflicted with bodily infirmities or poverty, ate of these
+provisions and were satisfied, the fish remaining whole as it was at
+the 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
+Moḥammadan writers are of opinion that this table did not really
+descend, but it was only a parable; but most think that the words of
+the Ḳur-án are plain to the contrary. A further tradition is that
+several men were changed into swine [and apes] 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.—S.
+(B.)
+
+[338] Some say the table descended on a Sunday, which was the reason
+of the Christians’ observing that day as sacred. Others pretend 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.—S.
+
+[339] To explain this passage, the commentators tell the following
+story:—The people of Antioch being idolaters, Jesus sent two of his
+disciples thither to preach to them; and when they drew near the city,
+they found Ḥabeeb, surnamed En-Nejjár, or The Carpenter, feeding
+sheep, and acquainted him with their errand; whereupon he asked them
+what proof they had of their veracity, and they told him they could
+cure the sick and the blind and the lepers; and to demonstrate the
+truth of what they said they laid their hands on a child of his who
+was sick and immediately restored him to health. Ḥabeeb was convinced
+by this miracle and believed; after which they went into the city and
+preached the worship of one true God, curing a great number of people
+of several infirmities; but at length, the affair coming to the
+prince’s ear, he ordered them to be imprisoned for endeavouring to
+seduce the people. When Jesus heard of this, he sent another of his
+disciples, generally supposed to have been Simon Peter; who, coming to
+Antioch, and appearing as a zealous idolater, soon insinuated himself
+into the favour of the inhabitants and of their prince, and at length
+took an opportunity to desire the prince would order the two persons
+who, as he was informed, had been put in prison for broaching new
+opinions to be brought before him to be examined; and accordingly they
+were brought: when Peter, having previously warned them to take no
+notice that they knew him, asked them who sent them; to which they
+answered, God, who had created all things and had no companion. He
+then required some convincing proof of their mission, upon which they
+restored a blind person to his sight and performed some other
+miracles, with which Peter seemed not to be satisfied, for that
+according to some he did the very same miracles himself, but declared
+that if their God could enable them to raise the dead he would believe
+them; which condition the two apostles accepting, a lad was brought
+who had been dead seven days, and at their prayers he was raised to
+life; and thereupon Peter acknowledged himself convinced, and ran and
+demolished the idols, a great many of the people following him and
+embracing the true faith; but those who believed not were destroyed by
+the cry of the angel Gabriel.—S. (B., Z., &c.)
+
+[340] Some say these two were John and Paul; but others name different
+persons.—S.
+
+[341] Simon Peter.
+
+[342] His tomb is still shown near Antioch, and is much visited by the
+Moḥammadans.—S.
+
+[343] Also some said he was taken up into heaven; and others, that his
+manhood only suffered, and that his godhead ascended into heaven.—S.
+(B.)
+
+[344] 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
+El-Hajjáj, when a Jew is expiring the angels will strike him on the
+back and face, and say to him, ‘O thou enemy of God, Jesus was sent as
+a prophet unto thee, and thou didst not believe on 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 be 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 [the dead being raised to life in their graves]
+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 establish the Moḥammadan religion and a most
+perfect tranquillity and security on earth [where he will remain forty
+years, and then die.—Others again suppose that the words ‘believe in
+him’ signify ‘believe in God.’]—S. (B., Z., Jelál, &c.)
+
+[345] It is a dispute among the Moḥammadans whether Christ actually
+died or not before his assumption.—S. (B.)
+
+[346] Some, however, are of opinion it [this passage] might have been
+revealed in answer to certain idolaters, who said that the Christians,
+who received the Scriptures, worshipped Jesus, supposing him to be the
+son of God; whereas the angels were more worthy of that honour than
+he.—S. (B.)
+
+[347] As easily as We produced Jesus without a father [B.]. The intent
+of the words is to show how just and reasonable it is to think that
+the angels should bear the relation of children to men rather than to
+God, they being His creatures as well as men, and equally in His
+power.—S.
+
+[348] For some time before the resurrection Jesus is to descend on
+earth according to the Moḥammadans near Damascus, or as some say near
+a rock [or rather a mountain-road] named [´Aḳabet] Afeek, with a lance
+in his hand, wherewith he is to kill Antichrist, whom he will
+encounter at Ludd, or Lydda, a small town not far from Joppa. They add
+that he will arrive at Jerusalem at the time of morning-prayer, that
+he shall perform his devotions after the Moḥammadan institution, and
+officiate instead of the Imám, who shall give place to him; that he
+will break down the cross, and destroy the churches of the Christians,
+of whom he will also make a general slaughter, excepting only such as
+shall profess El-Islám.—S. (B.)
+
+
+[349] Either by rejecting and contemning Jesus, as the Jews do; or
+raising him to an equality with God, as do the Christians.—S. (B.)
+
+[350] 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.—S.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX OF CHAPTERS.
+
+
+   CHAP.                 PAGE
+
+   I. (entire)              3
+
+   II.           1-6        4
+   ”            7-19     41-2
+   ”            21-2       19
+   ”           28-31    49-50
+   ”            33-7     51-2
+   ”              51      121
+   ”            52-3      121
+   ”              54      115
+   ”              57    115-6
+   ”              58      115
+   ”              59       38
+   ”            60-2    116-7
+   ”            63-9    125-7
+   ”              87      121
+   ”           100-1       19
+   ”          118-20     73-5
+   ”             130     47-8
+   ”           133-4       15
+   ”             141       16
+   ”          158-60        8
+   ”           160-2     30-1
+   ”             166       38
+   ”             172       35
+   ”             191       32
+   ”          247-52    132-4
+   ”             256        5
+   ”             260     70-1
+   ”             261      148
+   ”             262       73
+   ”             265       36
+   ”           266-7       36
+   ”             273       36
+   ”             280       37
+
+   III.        12-15       29
+    ”           25-6        6
+    ”           31-6   149-51
+    ”          37-43    151-2
+    ”           43-7    155-7
+    ”           52-5      164
+    ”          58-60     75-6
+    ”             79       38
+    ”            138       14
+    ”            139       32
+    ”            148       32
+    ”          163-5       30
+    ”         179-80       16
+
+   IV.            51    10-11
+   ”            80-1       32
+   ”              88       37
+   ”             123       30
+   ”             144       31
+   ”           155-7    161-2
+   ”             161       14
+   ”          169-70    164-5
+
+   V.           23-9    122-4
+   ”            30-5     53-4
+   ”        56, 62-3       42
+   ”            85-6     40-1
+   ”           112-5    157-9
+   ”           116-8      162
+
+   VI.            50       14
+   ”           59-64       10
+   ”           74-82     66-7
+   ”          95-103      8-9
+   ”             108       36
+   ”          109-11     16-7
+
+   VII.        10-17     50-1
+    ”             22       51
+    ”             52        6
+    ”          63-70     60-1
+    ”           71-7     61-2
+    ”         101-23    107-9
+    ”         124-33    112-4
+    ”          134-6      114
+    ”         138-42    117-8
+    ”          146-8      118
+    ”          154-6    121-2
+    ”          186-8       31
+
+   IX.            18       36
+
+   X.          38-40       19
+   ”            90-2      114
+   ”             100       32
+
+   XI.         27-36     55-6
+   ”              38       56
+   ”           38-46     56-8
+   ”           47-50     58-9
+   ”            72-8       71
+   ”              84       72
+   ”           85-98     95-6
+
+   XII.         4-22    77-80
+    ”          35-50     80-2
+    ”         54-102    82-92
+
+   XIII.        13-4        9
+
+   XIV.         26-7       31
+
+   XV.          6-15       17
+   ”           16-25        7
+
+   XVI.           92       34
+    ”          103-5       20
+
+   XVII.        90-8       18
+
+   XVIII.      28-30       27
+     ”         31-42    39-40
+     ”          45-7       27
+     ”         59-81   127-31
+     ”        82-101     63-5
+     ”           109       20
+     ”           110       14
+
+   XIX.        12-15      151
+    ”          16-41    152-5
+    ”          42-51     67-8
+    ”           91-6       11
+
+   XX.          8-50    103-7
+    ”          88-99   119-21
+
+   XXI.        26-30       33
+    ”          52-75    68-70
+    ”          79-82      136
+
+   XXII.          72       11
+
+   XXIV.       39-40       39
+
+   XXV.        64-75       43
+
+   XXVII.      15-45   138-44
+
+   XXVIII.      21-8   97-103
+     ”         76-82    124-5
+
+   XXIX.        40-3       12
+     ”            45       38
+
+   XXXIV.      11-13    144-5
+     ”            49       14
+
+   XXXVI.      12-28   159-61
+
+   XXXVII.    97-111     72-3
+     ”        139-48    146-7
+
+   XXXVIII.     20-4    135-6
+      ”        29-39    136-8
+      ”         40-4     93-4
+
+   XXXIX.      67-75     28-9
+
+   XL.         27-49   109-12
+
+   XLI.         34-5       37
+
+   XLIII.      57-65    162-4
+
+   L.           30-3       29
+
+   LVI.         1-56     24-6
+    ”           76-9       17
+
+   LXI.          6-9    15-16
+
+   LXII.           5       41
+
+   LXVII.        1-4        6
+     ”           6-8       30
+
+   LXIX.       13-37     23-4
+
+   LXXI.        27-9       56
+
+   LXXII. 1, 2, 8-11       33
+
+   LXXIV.        1-7       13
+
+   LXXVI.      29-30       32
+
+   LXXXI.       1-14     22-3
+
+   LXXXII.  (entire)       22
+
+   LXXXVIII.     1-7       23
+
+   XCII.    (entire)     34-5
+
+   XCIII.   (entire)       13
+
+   XCVI.         1-6    xliii
+
+   XCIX.    (entire)       21
+
+   CI.      (entire)       21
+
+   CVII.    (entire)       35
+
+   CXII.    (entire)        5
+
+
+GENERAL INDEX.
+
+
+   AARON, 105 ff.
+
+   ´Abbás, Ibn-, 50.
+
+   ´Abdallah ibn Ubayy, lx.
+
+   ´Abd-el-Muṭṭalib, xxxvii, 73.
+
+   Abel, 53.
+
+   Aboo-Bekr, xlv, xlvii, lvi, lxxvii.
+
+   Aboo-Firás, xxix.
+
+   Aboo-Lahab, li, lii.
+
+   Aboo-Ṭálib, xxxviii, xlv, xlvii, xlix, l, lii.
+
+   Abraham, xxxii, 15, 47, 66-76.
+
+   Abrogation of revelations, 19, 20, 38.
+
+   Abyssinia, flight to, xlvii.
+
+   Ád, 60, 61.
+
+   Adam, 47, 49-52, 164.
+
+   Advent of Christ, second, 163.
+
+   African converts, xcvii.
+
+   Aḥmad, prophecy of, 15.
+
+   ´Aïsheh, liii, lxix, lxxiii.
+
+   ´Aḳabeh, pledges of the, lv, lvi.
+
+   ´Alee, xxxix, lvi.
+
+   Alláh Ta´ála, xxxiii.
+
+   Alms, lxxxiv, 36.
+
+   Amnesty to Mekka, lxvii.
+
+   Anas, xli.
+
+   Ancestry, pride of, xviii.
+
+   Angels, 33, 49.
+
+   Anṣár, lix, lx.
+
+   ´Anṭarah, xxviii.
+
+   Antichrist, 157, 163.
+
+   Antioch, 159-161.
+
+   Apostles, 14, 47, 156.
+
+   Appearance of Moḥammad, xl.
+
+   Arab poetry, examples, xiv, xv, xvi, xvii, xviii, xix, xxix.
+
+   Arabia, xi-xiii.
+
+   Arabia, submission of, lxvii.
+
+   Arabs at Yethrib, liv.
+
+   Arabs before Islám, the, xi-xxxv;
+     their country, xi;
+     influence on their character, xii;
+     the Bedawee nature, xiii;
+     devotion to the clan, xiv;
+     honour, xv;
+     war and plunder, xvi;
+     ferocity, xvi, xvii;
+     family pride, xviii;
+     pledge of protection, xviii;
+     hospitality, xix;
+     Ḥátim the ideal Arab, xix-xxii;
+     Arab poetry, xxii-xxiv;
+     the fair of ´Okáḍh, xxiv-xxvi;
+     women of Arabia, xxvi;
+     chivalry, xxvii, xxviii;
+     fathers and daughters, xxix;
+     town life, xxx;
+     Mekka, xxx;
+     music and poetry at Mekka, xxxi;
+     dice and drink, xxxi;
+     the Kaạbeh, xxxii;
+     religion of the early Arabs, xxxii;
+     Christianity and Judaism in Arabia, xxxiv;
+     the Ḥaneefs, xxxiv;
+     Zeyd ibn ´Amr, xxxv;
+     the change in the Arabs effected by Moḥammad, xxxv.
+
+   Aristocracy, hostility of, xlvii.
+
+   Ark, 56, 57, 133.
+
+   Áṣaf Solomon’s wezeer, 142.
+
+   Aws, Benee-, liv.
+
+   Azar or Terah, 66.
+
+
+   BABEL, Tower of, 69.
+
+   Bathsheba, 135.
+
+   Bayard of Islám, l.
+
+   Bedr, lxv.
+
+   Behá-ed-deen Zoheyr, xxiv.
+
+   Believers and unbelievers, 38-43.
+
+   Benjamin, 77, 84, 86-89.
+
+   Bilál, the first Muëddin, xlv, xlvii.
+
+   Bilḳees, Queen of Sheba, 139-143.
+
+   Birds and Solomon, 138-139.
+
+   Book, the preserved, 17.
+
+   Books, divine, 47-48.
+
+   Byzantium, Emperor of, lxviii.
+
+
+   CAIN, 53, 54.
+
+   Caleb, 123.
+
+   Calf, the golden, 118 ff.
+
+   Camel of Moḥammad, lxvi.
+
+   Camel of Thamood, 61, 62.
+
+   Camel-driver, Moḥammad a, xxxix.
+
+   Caussin de Perceval, M., xxii.
+
+   Chivalry of ancient Arabs, xxvii, xxviii.
+
+   Christ, 47, 149-165.
+
+   —— divinity of, 154, 162-165.
+
+   —— the Messiah, lxi.
+
+   —— the Word of God, lxxxii, 165.
+
+   —— supposed crucifixion of, 156, 161.
+
+   —— second advent of, 163.
+
+   Christians, xxxiv, 38, 40, 42, 48, 164.
+
+   Clan feeling, xiv.
+
+   Corruption of Christian and Jewish scriptures, 48.
+
+   Cow, sacrifice of, 125-127.
+
+
+   DAUGHTERS of God, xxxiii, 9, 11, 33.
+
+   Daughters, love of, xxix.
+
+   David, 47, 134-36, 138.
+
+   Davidean coats of mail, 135.
+
+   Day of judgment, 21-31.
+
+   Debtors, 37.
+
+   Destiny, 32.
+
+   Deutsch, Dr. Emanuel, xxiv, xl.
+
+   Devils, 7, 31, 136, 137, 138.
+
+   Dhafár, Christians of, xxxiv.
+
+   Dhu-l-Ḳarneyn, 63-65, 128.
+
+   Dhu-l-Kifl, 47.
+
+   Dice, xxxi.
+
+   Disaffected party, lx, lxv.
+
+   Divine books, 47-48.
+
+   Divinity of Christ, 154, 162-165.
+
+   Divinity of the Virgin, 162, 165.
+
+   Drink, love of, xxxi.
+
+
+   EDEN, 51.
+
+   Egypt, 79 ff.
+
+   Egypt, plagues of, 112-114.
+
+   Elias, 128.
+
+   Embarcation formula, 57.
+
+   Emeen, El-, xl, xlv.
+
+   Emeeneh, El-, 137.
+
+   Enoch, 47.
+
+   Eve, 51.
+
+   Evil eye, 85.
+
+   Exodus, the, 114 ff.
+
+   Ezekiel, lines from, xxx.
+
+   Ezra, 148.
+
+
+   FAIR, _see_ ´Okáḍh.
+
+   Family pride of Arabs, xviii.
+
+   Famine of Egypt, 83 ff.
+
+   Fanes, xxxiii.
+
+   Fast, lxxxiv, 117.
+
+   Fate, lxxxi, 32.
+
+   Fathers and daughters, xxix.
+
+   Fátiḥah, 3.
+
+   Fetishism, xxxiii.
+
+   Fijár, war of the, xxxviii.
+
+   Firás, Aboo-, xxix.
+
+   Flight of Moḥammad, lvi, lvii.
+
+   Flight to Abyssinia, xlvii.
+
+   Flood, 55-59.
+
+   Forgery, lxvii ff., 19.
+
+
+   GABRIEL, xliv, 72, 73, 78, 111, 152, 161
+
+   God, 5-12.
+
+   —-- unity, profession of, 5.
+
+   —-- has no partners, 9, 11, 33, 154, 162-165.
+
+   —-- the supreme, xxxiii.
+
+   —-- Moḥammad doctrine of, lxxx.
+
+   Goddesses, moon, xxxiii, xlviii.
+
+   Gog and Magog, 64, 65.
+
+   Golden calf, 118 ff.
+
+   Goliath, 133, 134.
+
+   Good for evil, 37.
+
+   Gospel, 15, 47, 48, 149 ff.
+
+   Greeting, 37.
+
+
+   HABEEB, 159 ff.
+
+   Haggadah, xliii, lxi, lxii.
+
+   Hámán, 97, 110.
+
+   Haneefs, xxxiv.
+
+   Háshimees, xxxviii, li, lii.
+
+   Ḥátim, xix-xxii.
+
+   Ḥawáreeyoon, El-, 156.
+
+   Heber, 47, 160, 161.
+
+   Hell, 21-31.
+
+   Helpers, the, lix, lx.
+
+   Ḥijáz;, xii.
+
+   Hijreh, the, lvii.
+
+   Ḥirá, Mount, xliii.
+
+   Honour, Arab, xv.
+
+   Hood, 47, 60, 61.
+
+   Ḥooreeyehs, Footnotes 128, 131.
+
+   Hospitality, Arab, xix.
+
+   Howwá, 51.
+
+   Hubal, xxxii.
+
+   Humanity, lxxxvi.
+
+   Hypocrites, 31, 41.
+
+   ‘Hypocrites, the,’ lx.
+
+
+   IBLEES, 31, 49, 50.
+
+   Idols, xxxii, xlvi, lxvi, 8, 11, 12, 30.
+
+   Idrees, 47.
+
+   Ilyás, 128.
+
+   Imám, 74, 163.
+
+   ´Imrán, 149.
+
+   Infanticide, xxxii, 23.
+
+   Inspiration, lxxiv.
+
+   Isaac, 47, 70-73.
+
+   Ishmael, xxxii, 47, 72-73.
+
+   Iskender, 63.
+
+   Islám, lxxvii-xcix, 76.
+
+
+   JACOB, 47, 70, 71, 77-92.
+
+   Jann, El-, or Iblees, 49.
+
+   Jerusalem, Temple of, 145.
+
+   Jesus of Nazareth, _see_ Christ.
+
+   Jethro, 47, 95 ff.
+
+   Jewish corruption of Scripture, 48.
+
+   Jews, liv, lxii-lxv, 38, 40, 41, 42, 48.
+
+   Jinn, liii, 7, 9, 33, 136-138, 144, 145.
+
+   Jinnee, Moḥammad possessed by a, 17.
+
+   Ji´ráneh, El-, scene at, lix.
+
+   Job, 93, 94.
+
+   Jonah, 146, 147.
+
+   Joodee, mountain of El-, 58.
+
+   Joseph, 77-92.
+
+   Joseph and Zeleekha, 83.
+
+   Joshua, 47, 123, 124, 127-129.
+
+   Judah, 77-79.
+
+   Judaism in Arabia, xxxiv.
+
+
+   KAẠBEH, xxxii, lxxxiv, 74-75.
+
+   Ḳaṣwá, El-, lxvi.
+
+   Khadeejeh, xxxix, lii, liii, lxxi, lxxii.
+
+   Khaṭeeb-el-Ambiya, 95.
+
+   Khazraj, Benee-, liv.
+
+   Khiḍr, El-, 47, 128-130.
+
+   Khusru, the, lxvii.
+
+   Ḳiṭfeer, 79.
+
+   Korah, 124, 125.
+
+   Kudar ibn Sálif, 62.
+
+   Ḳureysh, xxxvii f, xlv-lviii, lxv-lxvii.
+
+   Ḳur-án, 4, 13-20, 47;
+     state in which it was left by Moḥammad, ci;
+     first revision, ci;
+     second revision, ci;
+     chaotic order, cii;
+     scientific arrangement of Nöldeke, ciii;
+     characteristics of different groups, civ;
+     statistics, cvi.
+
+
+   LAHAB, Aboo-, li, lii.
+
+   Lapwing and Solomon, 139.
+
+   Lát, El-, xxxiii.
+
+   Lazarus, 155.
+
+   Lion of God, l.
+
+   Lot, 47, 69, 70.
+
+   Lyall, Mr. C. J., xv.
+
+
+   MARRIAGES of Moḥammad, xxxix, lxx ff.
+
+   Martyrs for the faith, 30.
+
+   Mary the Virgin, 149 ff.
+
+   Mary, divinity of, 162, 165.
+
+   Medina, lvii, lix ff., lxv, _and see_ Yethrib.
+
+   Mekka, xxx ff., lxvii.
+
+   Menáh, xxxiii.
+
+   Messenger or apostle, 14.
+
+   Messiah, _see_ Christ.
+
+   Metempsychosis, xxxiii.
+
+   Midian, 95, 96, 101.
+
+   Migrations of Muslims, xlvii, lvii.
+
+   Mi´ráj, lv.
+
+   Misr, 88.
+
+   Miracles or signs, 16, 17, 18, 52.
+
+   Miriam (Maryam), 99, 105.
+
+   Moḥammad, 13-20, 47;
+     his family, xxxvii;
+     childhood, xxxvii;
+     youth, xxxviii;
+     shepherding, xxxviii;
+     camel-driving, xxxix;
+     personal appearance, xl;
+     habits, xli, xlii;
+     solitary wanderings, xlii;
+     the call, xliii;
+     public appearance, xliv;
+     first conversions, xlv;
+     address on Mount Eṣ-Ṣafá, xlvi;
+     preaching, xlvi;
+     hostility of the aristocracy, xlvii;
+     torturing of slaves, xlvii;
+     emigration to Abyssinia, xlvii;
+     speech to the Negus, xlviii;
+     persecution by Ḳureysh, xlviii;
+     compromise, xlviii;
+     interview with Aboo-Ṭálib, xlix;
+     conversion of ´Omar and Ḥamzeh, l;
+     the ban of the Háshimees, li;
+     its end, lii;
+     death of Aboo-Ṭálib and Khadeejeh, lii;
+     visit to Eṭ-Ṭáïf, liii;
+     pilgrims from Yethrib, liv;
+     state of parties at Yethrib, liv;
+     first pledge of the ´Aḳabeh, lv;
+     Yethrib and Mekka, lv;
+     the night journey, lv;
+     second pledge of the ´Aḳabeh, lvi;
+     emigration of Muslims to Yethrib, lvii;
+     Moḥammad’s flight or Hijreh, lvii, lviii;
+     retrospect, lviii;
+     parties at Medina, lix;
+     the Refugees, Helpers, Hypocrites, lix, lx;
+     the Jews, lxi;
+     are conciliated, lxii;
+     but become hostile, lxii;
+     their punishment, lxiii-lxv;
+     war with the Ḳureysh, lxv;
+     Bedr, Oḥud, siege of Medina, truce, lxv;
+     the Muslims perform the Lesser Pilgrimage, lxvi;
+     conquest of Mekka, lxvii;
+     complete amnesty, lxvii;
+     submission of Arabia, lxvii;
+     farewell pilgrimage and oration, lxviii;
+     death, lxix;
+     character, lxix;
+     charges of cruelty, sensuality, insincerity, discussed, lxx-lxxvi.
+
+   Moḥammad, the illiterate or Gentile apostle, 122.
+
+   Moon-goddesses, xxxiii, xlvii,
+
+   Moses, 92, 97-131.
+
+   Mosques or temples, 36.
+
+   Mountain-worship, xxxiii.
+
+   Muëddin, the first, xlv, xlvii.
+
+   Muḥájiroon, lx, lxv.
+
+   Munáfiḳoon, lix.
+
+   Muṣ´ab, lv.
+
+   Muṣ´ab ibn Er-Reiyán, 97.
+
+   Muslim, meaning of, 75.
+
+   Muslim, the true, 43.
+
+
+   NEGRO slaves, xlv, xlvii.
+
+   Negus or Nejáshee, xli, xlvii, xlviii.
+
+   Nejd, xii.
+
+   Nejrán, xxxiv, 164.
+
+   Night journey, lv.
+
+   Nimrod, 66, 69, 70.
+
+   Nineveh, 147.
+
+   Noah, 47, 55-59.
+
+   Nöldeke, ciii.
+
+   Nun, 47.
+
+
+   OḤUD, battle of, lxv, 32.
+
+   ´Okaḍh, fair of, xxiv-xxvi, xxxviii.
+
+   ´Omar, l.
+
+   ´Oneyzeh, 62.
+
+   Oration, farewell, lxviii.
+
+   Oratory among the Arabs, xxiv.
+
+   ´Othmán, xlv.
+
+   Oven of El-Koofeh, 37.
+
+   ´Ozeyr or Ezra, 148.
+
+
+   PALMER, Prof. E. H., xxiv.
+
+   Parables, 38-40.
+
+   Paraclete, 15.
+
+   Paradise, 21-31.
+
+   Partners with God, 9, 11, 33.
+
+   Parties at Medina, lix.
+
+   Penates, xxxiii.
+
+   Pentateuch, 47, 48.
+
+   People of the Scripture, 38.
+
+   Perceval, M. Caussin de, xxii.
+
+   Person of Moḥammad, xl.
+
+   Pharaoh of Joseph, 81, 83.
+
+   Pharaoh of Moses, 97 ff.
+
+   Pilgrimage, lxxxiv;
+     lesser, lxvi;
+     last, lxviii.
+
+   Pilgrims, xxxvii, liv.
+
+   Pledges of the ´Aḳabeh, lv, lvi.
+
+   Poetry, Arab, xxii-xxiv.
+
+   Polygamy, lxxxix-xcii.
+
+   Potiphar, 79.
+
+   Potiphar’s wife, 79, 83.
+
+   Prayer, lxxxiii;
+     opening, cvi, 3
+
+   Preaching of Moḥammad, xlvi.
+
+   Preceders, the, 25.
+
+   Predestination, 32.
+
+   Premonition, 4.
+
+   Preserved book, the, 17.
+
+   Pride of ancestry, xviii.
+
+   Priests, xxxiii.
+
+   Prophets, 47, 48.
+
+   Protection, xviii.
+
+   Psalms, 47, 48.
+
+
+   QUEEN of Sheba, 139 ff.
+
+
+   REFUGEES, the, lix, lx.
+
+   Reiyán, Er-, 81, 97.
+
+   Rek´ah, 74.
+
+   Religion of early Arabs, xxxii.
+
+   Religion, true and false, 34-37.
+
+   Resurrection, 21-31.
+
+   Reuel, _see_ Sho´eyb.
+
+   Revelations, series of, 14, 47-48.
+
+   Revelations, Moḥammad’s, c, 13.
+
+
+   SABIANS, 38, 48.
+
+   Sabbath-breaking, 116.
+
+   Ṣadaḳah, 62.
+
+   Eṣ-Ṣafá, xlvi, lxvi.
+
+   Ṣafoora, 102.
+
+   Sáliḥ, 47, 61, 62.
+
+   Sámiree Es-, 118 ff.
+
+   Samuel, 133.
+
+   Sarah, 71.
+
+   Saul, 132.
+
+   Seers, xxxiii.
+
+   Sensuality of Moḥammad, lxx ff.
+
+   Seth, 47.
+
+   Sheba, Queen of, 139 ff.
+
+   Shi-b or quarter, li.
+
+   Shepherding, xxxviii.
+
+   Sho´eyb, or Jethro, or Reuel, 47, 95 ff.
+
+   Ṣiḍḍeek, Es-, xlv.
+
+   Siege of Medina, lxv.
+
+   Sierra Leone, xcviii.
+
+   Signs, _see_ Miracles.
+
+   Sincerity of Moḥammad, lxxii ff.
+
+   Slaves, xlv, xlvii, lxviii.
+
+   Smith, Mr. R. Bosworth, xliii, lxxxvii.
+
+   Sodom, 70 ff.
+
+   Solomon, 136-145.
+
+   Sons of God, 9, 11, 33, 154, 162-165.
+
+   Soorah, the first, xliii.
+
+   Soorah, the second, xliv.
+
+   Soorahs, “forged,” lxxii.
+
+
+   TABLE from heaven, the, 157-159.
+
+   Tablet, the preserved, 17.
+
+   Ṭaïf, Eṭ-, liii, 74, 138.
+
+   Talḥah, xlv.
+
+   Ṭálib, _see_ Aboo-Ṭálib.
+
+   Terah, 66.
+
+   Temples, xxxiii, 36, 145.
+
+   Thamood, 61, 62.
+
+   Throne-verse, 5.
+
+   Thór, Mount, lvii.
+
+   Torturing slaves, xlvii.
+
+   Town-life in Arabia, xxx.
+
+   Treating with Jews, lxii.
+
+   Tree-worship, xxxiii.
+
+   Truce with Ḳureysh, lxv.
+
+
+   UBAYY, Ibn-, lx.
+
+   Umm-Ghánim, 62.
+
+   Umeyyeh, branch of, xxxviii.
+
+   Unity, profession of the, 5.
+
+   Uzzá, El-, xxxiii.
+
+
+   WARAḲAH, xxxv.
+
+   Wars of Moḥammad, xxxviii, lxv.
+
+   Weleed, El-, 81, 97.
+
+   Wives of Moḥammad, lxx ff.
+
+   Wives, command as to, lxviii.
+
+   Women of Arabia, xxvii ff.
+
+   Women in Paradise, 30.
+
+
+   YETHRIB, xxxvii, liv, lv, lvi, _and_ see Medina.
+
+
+   ZELEEKHA, 79, 83.
+
+   Zemzem, xxxii, 73.
+
+   Zeyd, xxxix.
+
+   Zeyd ibn ´Amr, xxxv.
+
+   Zeyd ibn Thábit, ci.
+
+   Zeyneb, lxxii.
+
+   Zipporah, 102.
+
+
+ERRATUM.—P. 36, line 1, _for_ should _read_ shall.
+
+P. 122, line 21, _after_ illiterate _add_ [or Gentile, _i.e._, Arab].
+
+
+   PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.
+   EDINBURGH AND LONDON
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
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diff --git a/old/44515-0.zip b/old/44515-0.zip
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+Project Gutenberg's Selections From The Kur-an, by Edward William Lane
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Selections From The Kur-an
+
+Author: Edward William Lane
+
+Contributor: Stanley Lane Poole
+
+Release Date: December 26, 2013 [EBook #44515]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SELECTIONS FROM THE KUR-AN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Fritz Ohrenschall, Turgut Dincer and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+TR�BNER'S
+
+ORIENTAL SERIES.
+
+VII.
+
+
+   Ballantyne Press
+   BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.
+   EDINBURGH AND LONDON
+
+[Illustration: MECCA.]
+
+
+   SELECTIONS FROM THE KUR-�N
+
+   BY
+
+   EDWARD WILLIAM LANE,
+
+   HON. DOCTOR OF LITERATURE, LEYDEN;
+   CORRESPONDENT OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE;
+   HON. MEMBER OF THE GERMAN ORIENTAL SOCIETY, THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY,
+   THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE, ETC.;
+   AUTHOR OF "THE MODERN EGYPTIANS," AND "AN ARABIC-ENGLISH LEXICON;"
+   TRANSLATOR OF "THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS."
+
+   A New Edition, Revised and Enlarged,
+
+   _WITH AN INTRODUCTION_,
+
+   BY
+
+   STANLEY LANE POOLE.
+
+   LONDON:
+   TR�BNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL.
+
+   1879.
+
+   [_All rights reserved._]
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+There are several translations of the Kur-�n in several languages; but
+there are very few people who have the strength of mind to read any of
+them through. The chaotic arrangement and frequent repetitions, and
+the obscurity of the language, are sufficient to deter the most
+persistent reader, whilst the nature of a part of its contents renders
+the Kur-�n unfit for a woman's eye.
+
+Yet there always has been a wish to know something about the sacred
+book of the Mohammadans, and it was with the design of satisfying this
+wish, whilst avoiding the weariness and the disgust which a complete
+perusal of the Kur-�n must produce, that Mr. Lane arranged the
+'Selections' which were published in 1843. In spite of many printer's
+errors, due to the author's absence from England, the book was so far
+successful that the edition was exhausted, and it is now very
+difficult to obtain a copy. But partly owing to the obstructions to
+the reading offered by an interwoven native commentary, and partly by
+reason of the preference shown for the doctrinal over the poetical
+passages, the book went into scholars' hands rather than into the
+libraries of the general reading public. It has proved of
+considerable service to students of Arabic, who have found it the most
+accurate rendering in existence of a large part of the Kur-�n; and
+even native Muslims of India, ignorant of Arabic, have used Lane's
+'Selections' as their Bible.
+
+In this edition I have endeavoured rather to carry out the original
+intention of the translator. Experience has shown that the first plan
+was over-learned to commend itself to the average reader, for whom Mr.
+Lane had destined the book; in this edition I have therefore omitted
+many of the notes, which will not be missed by the reader for whom the
+book is intended, and for which the Arabic scholar has only to refer
+to the first edition, or to Sale's _Koran_, whence most of them were
+derived. Again, the text of the first edition was obscured and
+interrupted by an interwoven commentary, which destroyed the pleasure
+of the language and often made the meaning less intelligible than
+before. This commentary has been thinned. Where it added nothing to
+the text, it has been erased; where it gave a curious or valuable
+explanation, it has been thrown into a footnote; where it merely
+supplied a necessary word to complete the sense, that word has been
+left in the text distinguished by a different type[1]. Once more, the
+early and wilder _soorahs_ were almost wholly omitted in the first
+edition, whilst the later more dogmatic and less poetical _soorahs_
+were perhaps too fully represented. I have endeavoured to establish
+the balance between the two.
+
+In this edition the Selections are divided into two parts. The first
+is Isl�m; the second, other religions as regarded in Isl�m. In the
+first are grouped, under distinctive headings, the more important
+utterances of Mohammad on what his followers must believe and do; in
+the second are his versions of the history of the patriarchs and other
+personages of the Jewish and Christian writings.
+
+It is only in the First Part that I have made much alteration, either
+by adding fresh extracts (distinguished by a sign), or by making a few
+merely verbal alterations in the original extracts, or by the
+suppression or transposition of the commentary. Any alterations that
+go beyond this--new renderings, for instance--are duly recorded in the
+footnotes.
+
+The Second Part is almost unchanged from the first edition. In this
+part the interwoven commentary is left entire, for the traditions of
+the commentators about Abraham and Moses and Christ are as curious as
+the traditions of Mohammad, and about as credible; and the narrative
+style of the Second Part allows the introduction of parentheses more
+easily than the rhetorical form which many of the extracts in the
+First Part present.
+
+Mr. Lane's Introduction was abridged from Sale's Preliminary
+Discourse, with but little addition from his own knowledge. Sale's
+Discourse abounds in information, but it is too detailed and lengthy
+for the purpose of this volume. I have, then, substituted a short
+sketch of the beginnings of Isl�m. I have tried to bring home to the
+reader the little we know of the early Arabs; then to draw the picture
+of the great Arab prophet and his work; to show what are the salient
+points of Isl�m; and finally to explain something of the history of
+the Kur-�n and its contents. I am conscious of having drawn the
+picture with a weak hand, but I hope the sketch may serve as a not
+quite useless introduction to a volume of typical selections from a
+book which, in the peculiar character of its contents and the
+extraordinary power of its influence, has not its parallel in the
+world.
+
+   S. L. P.
+
+   _June 1878._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+        _INTRODUCTION._
+
+                                                 PAGE
+      I. THE ARABS BEFORE MOHAMMAD                 xi
+     II. MOHAMMAD                              xxxvii
+    III. ISL�M                                 lxxvii
+     IV. THE KUR-�N                                 c
+
+
+        _PART THE FIRST._
+
+      I. THE OPENING PRAYER                         3
+     II. PREMONITION                                4
+    III. GOD                                        5
+     IV. MOHAMMAD AND THE KUR-�N                   13
+      V. THE RESURRECTION, PARADISE, AND HELL      21
+     VI. PREDESTINATION                            32
+    VII. ANGELS AND JINN                           33
+   VIII. TRUE RELIGION AND FALSE                   34
+     IX. BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS                 38
+
+
+        _PART THE SECOND._
+
+      I. PROPHETS, APOSTLES, AND DIVINE BOOKS      47
+     II. ADAM AND EVE                              49
+    III. ABEL AND CAIN                             53
+     IV. NOAH AND THE FLOOD                        55
+      V. ��D AND THAMOOD                           60
+     VI. DHU-L-KARNEYN                             63
+    VII. ABRAHAM, ISHMAEL, ISAAC                   66
+   VIII. JACOB, JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN            77
+     IX. JOB                                       93
+      X. SHO�EYB                                   95
+     XI. MOSES AND HIS PEOPLE                      97
+    XII. SAUL, DAVID, SOLOMON                     132
+   XIII. JONAH                                    146
+    XIV. EZRA                                     148
+     XV. THE MESSIAH                              149
+
+         INDEXES                                  167
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+I.--_THE ARABS BEFORE MOHAMMAD._
+
+
+     'Oh, our manhood's prime vigour! No spirit feels waste,
+   Not a muscle is stopped in its playing nor sinew unbraced.
+   Oh, the wild joys of living! the leaping from rock up to rock,
+   The strong rending of boughs from the fir-tree, the cool silver shock
+   Of the plunge in the pool's living water, the hunt of the bear,
+   And the sultriness showing the lion is couched in his lair.
+   And the meal, the rich dates yellowed over with gold-dust divine,
+   And the locust flesh steeped in the pitcher, the full draught of wine,
+   And the sleep in the dried river-channel where bulrushes tell
+   That the water was wont to go warbling so softly and well.
+   How good is man's life, the mere living! how fit to employ
+   All the heart and the soul and the senses for ever in joy!'
+
+   --BROWNING, _Saul_.
+
+
+Between Egypt and Assyria, jostled by both, yielding to neither, lay a
+strange country, unknown save at its marches even to its neighbours,
+dwelt-in by a people that held itself aloof from all the earth--a
+people whom the great empires of the ancient world in vain essayed to
+conquer, against whom the power of Persia, Egypt, Rome, Byzantium was
+proven impotence, and at whose hands even the superb Alexander, had he
+lived to test his dream, might for once have learnt the lesson of
+defeat. Witnessing the struggle and fall of one and another of the
+great tyrannies of antiquity, yet never entering the arena of the
+fight;--swept on its northern frontier by the conflicting armies of
+Khusru and C�sar, but lifting never a hand in either cause;--Arabia was
+at length to issue forth from its silent mystery, and after baffling
+for a thousand years the curious gaze of strangers, was at last to
+draw to itself the fearful eyes of all men. The people of whom almost
+nothing before could certainly be asserted but its existence was
+finally of its own free will to throw aside the veil, to come forth
+from its fastnesses, and imperiously to bring to its feet the kingdoms
+of the world.
+
+It is not all Arabia of which I speak. The story to tell has nothing
+as yet to say to the 'happy' tilled lands of the south, nor to the
+outlying princedoms of El-Heereh and Ghass�n bordering the territories
+and admitting the suzerainty of Persia and Rome. These lands were not
+wrapped in mystery: the Himyerite's kingdom in the Yemen, the rule of
+Zenobia at Palmyra, were familiar to the nations around. But the
+cradle of Isl�m was not here.
+
+Along the eastern coast of the Red Sea, sometimes thrusting its spurs
+of red sandstone and porphyry into the waves, sometimes drawing away
+and leaving a wide stretch of lowland, runs a rugged range of
+mountain. One above another, the hills rise from the coast, leaving
+here and there between them a green valley, where you may see an Arab
+settlement or a group of Bedawees watering their flocks. Rivers there
+are none; and the streams that gather from the rainfall are scarcely
+formed but they sink into the parched earth. Yet beneath the dried-up
+torrent-beds a rivulet trickles at times, and straightway there
+spreads a rich oasis dearly prized by the wanderers of the desert. All
+else is bare and desolate. Climb hill after hill, and the same sight
+meets the eye--barren mountain-side, dry gravelly plain, and the rare
+green valleys. At length you have reached the topmost ridge; and you
+see, not a steep descent, no expected return to the plain, but a vast
+desert plateau, blank, inhospitable, to all but Arabs unindwellable.
+You have climbed the Hij�z--the 'barrier'--and are come to the steppes
+of the Nejd--the 'highland.' In the valleys of this barrier-land are
+the Holy Cities, Mekka and Medina. Here is the birthplace of Isl�m:
+the Arab tribes of the Hij�z and the Nejd were the first disciples of
+Mohammad.
+
+One may tell much of a people's character from its home. Truism as it
+seems, there is yet a meaning in the saying that the Arabs are
+peculiarly the people of Arabia. Those who have travelled in this
+wonderful land tell us of the quickening influence of the air and
+scene of the desert. The fresh breath of the plain, the glorious sky,
+the still of the wide expanse, trod by no step but your own, looked
+upon only by yourself and perhaps yonder solitary eagle or the wild
+goat leaping the cliffs you have left behind, the absolute stillness
+and aloneness, bring about a strange sense of delight and exultation,
+a bounding-up of spirits held in long restraint, an unknown nimbleness
+of wit and limb. The Arabs felt all this and more in their bright
+imaginative souls. A few would settle in villages, and engage in the
+trade which came through from India to the West; but such were held in
+poor repute by the true Bedawees, who preferred above all things else
+the free life of the desert. It is a relief to turn from the hurry and
+unrest of modern civilisation, from the never-ending strife for
+wealth, for 'position,' for pleasure, even for knowledge, and look for
+a moment on the careless life of the Bedawee. He lived the aimless,
+satisfied life of some child; he sought no change; he was supremely
+content with the exquisite sense of simple existence; he was happy
+because he lived. He wished no more. He dreaded the dark After-death;
+he thrust it from his thoughts as often as it would force itself
+unwelcome upon him. Utterly fearless of man and fortune, he took no
+thought for the morrow: whatever it brought forth, he felt confidently
+his strength to enjoy or endure; only let him seize the happiness of
+to-day while it shall last, and drain to the dregs the overbrimming
+cup of his life. He was ambitious of glory and victory, but it was not
+an ambition that clouded his joy. Throughout a life that was full of
+energy, of passion, of strong endeavour after his ideal of desert
+perfectness, there was yet a restful sense of satisfied enjoyment, a
+feeling that life was of a surety well worth living.
+
+For the Arab had his ideal of life. The true son of the desert must in
+the old times do more than stretch his limbs contentedly under the
+shade of the overhanging rock. He must be brave and chivalrous,
+generous, hospitable; ready to sacrifice himself and his substance for
+his clan; prompt to help the needy and the traveller; true to his
+word, and, not least, eloquent in his speech.
+
+Devotion to the clan was the strongest tie the Arab possessed. Though
+tracing their descent from a common traditional ancestor, the great
+northern family of Bedawees was split up into numerous clans, owning
+no central authority, but led, scarcely governed, each by its own
+chief, who was the most valiant and best-born man in it. The whole
+clan acted as one being; an injury done to one member was revenged by
+all, and even a crime committed by a clansman was upheld by the whole
+brotherhood. Though a small spark would easily light-up war between
+even friendly clans, it was rarely that those of kin met as enemies.
+It is told how a clan suffered long and oft-repeated injuries from a
+kindred clan without one deed of revenge. 'They are our brothers,'
+they said; 'perhaps they will return to better feelings; perhaps we
+shall see them again as they once were.' To be brought to poverty or
+even to die for the clan, the Arab deemed his duty--his privilege. To
+add by his prowess or his hospitality or his eloquence to the glory of
+the clan was his ambition.
+
+   A mountain[2] we have where dwells he whom we shelter there,
+     lofty, before whose height the eye falls back blunted:
+   Deep-based is its root below ground, and overhead there soars
+     its peak to the stars of heaven whereto no man reaches.
+   A folk are we who deem it no shame to be slain in fight,
+     though that be the deeming thereof of Salool and ��mir;
+   Our love of death brings near to us our days of doom,
+     but their dooms shrink from death and stand far distant.
+   There dies among us no lord a quiet death in his bed,
+     and never is blood of us poured forth without vengeance.
+   Our souls stream forth in a flood from the edge of the whetted swords:
+     no otherwise than so does our spirit leave its mansion.
+   Pure is our stock, unsullied: fair is it kept and bright
+     by mothers whose bed bears well, and fathers mighty.
+   To the best of the uplands we wend, and when the season comes
+     we travel adown to the best of fruitful valleys.
+   Like rain of the heaven are we: there is not in all our line
+     one blunt of heart, nor among us is counted a niggard.
+   We say nay when so we will to the words of other men,
+     but no man to us says nay when we give sentence.
+   When passes a lord of our line, in his stead there rises straight
+     a lord to say the say and do the deeds of the noble.
+   Our beacon is never quenched to the wanderer of the night,
+     nor has ever a guest blamed us where men meet together.
+   Our Days[3] are famous among our foemen, of fair report,
+     branded and blazed with glory like noble horses.
+   Our swords have swept throughout all lands both west and east,
+     and gathered many a notch from the steel of hauberk-wearers;
+   Not used are they when drawn to be laid back in the sheaths
+     before that the folk they meet are spoiled and scattered.
+   If thou knowest not, ask men what they think of us and them
+     --not alike are he that knows and he that knows not.
+   The children of Ed-Dayy�n are the shaft of their people's mill,
+     --around them it turns and whirls, while they stand midmost.[4]
+
+The renown of the clan was closely wrapped up with the Arab
+chieftain's personal renown. He was keenly sensitive on the point of
+honour, and to that notion he attached a breadth of meaning which can
+scarcely be understood in these days. Honour included all the
+different virtues that went to make up the ideal Bedawee. To be proved
+wanting in any of these was to be dishonoured. Above all things, the
+man who would 'keep his honour and defile it not' must be brave and
+hospitable--
+
+   A rushing rain-flood when he gave guerdons:
+     when he sprang to the onset, a mighty lion.
+
+The Arab warrior was a mighty man of valour. He would spend whole days
+in the saddle, burdened with heavy armour, in the pursuit of a foe,
+seeking the life of the slayer of his kin, or sweeping down upon the
+caravan of rich merchandise which his more peaceful countrymen of the
+towns were carrying through the deserts. The Arab lived mainly by
+plunder. His land did not yield him food--unless it were dates, the
+Bedawee's bread--and he relied on the success of his foraging
+expeditions for his support. These he conducted with perfect
+good-breeding; he used no violence when it could be avoided; he merely
+relieved the caravan from the trouble of carrying any further the
+goods that he was himself willing to take charge of, urging, if
+necessary, the unfair treatment of his forefather Ishmael as an
+excellent reason for pillaging the sons of Isaac. 'When a woman is the
+victim, no Bedouin brigand, however rude, will be ill-mannered enough
+to lay hands upon her. He begs her to take off the garment on which he
+has set his heart, and he then retires to a distance and stands with
+eyes averted, lest he should do violence to her modesty.'
+
+The poems of the early Arabs are full of the deeds of their warriors,
+the excitement of the pitched battle, the delight of the pursuit, the
+nightly raid on the camp, the trial of skill between rival chiefs, and
+the other pictures of a warrior's triumph. Here we find little of the
+generosity of war: mercy was rarely exercised and hatred was carried
+to its extremest limits; quarter was neither asked nor given; to
+despatch a wounded man was no disgrace; the families of the vanquished
+were enslaved. Notwithstanding his frank genial nature, the Arab was
+of a dangerously quick temper, derived, he boasted, from the flesh he
+lived on of the camel, the surliest and most ill-conditioned of
+beasts. If he conceived himself insulted, he was bound to revenge
+himself to the full, or he would have been deemed dishonoured for
+ever. And since his fiery temper easily took offence, the history of
+the early Arabs is full of the traditions of slight quarrels and their
+horrible results--secret assassination and the long-lasting blood-feud.
+
+   Many the warriors, noon-journeying, who, when
+     night fell, journeyed on and halted at dawning--
+   Keen each one of them, girt with a keen blade
+     that when one drew it flashed forth like the lightning--
+   They were tasting of sleep by sips, when, as
+     they nodded, thou didst fright them, and they were scattered.
+   Vengeance we did on them: there escaped us
+     of the two houses none but the fewest.
+   And if Hudheyl[5] broke the edge of his[6] sword-blade--
+     many the notch that Hudheyl gained from him!
+   Many the time that he made them kneel down on
+     jagged rocks where the hoof is worn with running!
+   Many the morning he fell on their shelter,
+     and after slaughter came plunder and spoiling!
+   Hudheyl has been burned by me, one valiant
+     whom Evil tires not though they be wearied--
+   Whose spear drinks deep the first draught, and thereon
+     drinks deep again of the blood of foemen.
+   Forbidden was wine, but now it is lawful:
+     hard was the toil that made it lawful!
+   Reach me the cup, O Saw�d son of �Amr!
+     my body is spent with gaining my vengeance.
+   To Hudheyl we gave to drink Death's goblet,
+     whose dregs are disgrace and shame and dishonour.
+   The hyena laughs over the slain of Hudheyl, and
+     the wolf--see thou--grins by their corpses,
+   And the vultures flap their wings, full-bellied
+     treading their dead, too gorged to leave them.
+
+The contempt which the Arab, with a few noble exceptions, felt for the
+gentler virtues is seen in these lines:--
+
+   Had I been a son of M�zin, there had not plundered my herds
+     the sons of the Child of the Dust, Dhuhl son of Sheyb�n!
+   There had straightway arisen to help me a heavy-handed kin,
+     good smiters when help is needed, though the feeble bend to the blow:
+   Men who, when Evil bares before them his hindmost teeth,
+     fly gaily to meet him, in companies or alone.
+   They ask not their brother, when he lays before them his wrong
+     in his trouble, to give them proof of the truth of what he says.
+   But as for my people, though their number be not small,
+     they are good for nought against evil, however light it be;
+   They requite with forgiveness the wrong of those that do them wrong,
+     and the evil deeds of the evil they meet with kindness and love;
+   As though thy Lord had created among the tribes of men
+     themselves alone to fear Him, and never one man more.
+   Would that I had in their stead a folk who, when they ride forth,
+     strike swiftly and hard, on horse or on camel borne!
+
+A point on which the temper of the Bedawee was easily touched was his
+family pride. The Arab prized good blood as much in men as in his
+horses and camels. In these he saw the importance of breed, and in men
+he firmly believed the same principle held good. With the tenacious
+memory of his race, he had no difficulty in remembering the whole of a
+complicated pedigree, and he would often proudly dwell on the purity
+of his blood and the gallant deeds of his forefathers. He would
+challenge another chief to prove a more noble descent, and hot
+disputes and bitter rivalries often came of these comparisons.
+
+But if noble birth brought rivalry and hatred, it brought withal
+excellent virtues. The Arab nobleman was not a man who was richer and
+more idle and luxurious than his inferiors: his position, founded upon
+descent, depended for its maintenance on personal qualities. Rank
+brought with it onerous obligations. The chief, if he would retain and
+carry on the repute of his line, must not only be fearless and ready
+to fight all the world; he must be given to hospitality, generous to
+kith and kin, and to all who cry unto him. His tent must be so pitched
+in the camp that it shall not only be the first that the enemy
+attacks, but also the first the wayworn stranger approaches; and at
+night fires must be kindled hard by to guide wanderers in the desert
+to his hospitable entertainment. If a man came to an Arab noble's
+tent and said, 'I throw myself on your honour,' he was safe from his
+enemies until they had trampled on the dead body of his host. Nothing
+was baser than to give up a guest; the treachery was rare, and brought
+endless dishonour upon the clan in which the shame had taken place.
+The poet extols the tents--
+
+   Where dwells a kin great of heart, whose word is enough to shield
+     whom they shelter when peril comes in a night of fierce strife
+     and storm;
+   Yea, noble are they: the seeker of vengeance gains not from them
+     the blood of his foe, nor is he that wrongs them left without
+     help.
+
+The feeling lasted even under the debased rule of Muslim despots; for
+it is related that a governor was once ordering-out some prisoners to
+execution, when one of them asked for a drink of water, which was
+immediately given him. He then turned to the governor and said, 'Wilt
+thou slay thy guest?' and was forthwith set free. A pledge of
+protection was inferred in the giving of hospitality, and to break his
+word was a thing not to be thought upon by an Arab. He did not care to
+give an oath; his simple word was enough, for it was known to be
+inviolable. Hence the priceless worth of the Arab chief's word of
+welcome: it meant protection, unswerving fidelity, help, and succour.
+
+There was no bound to this hospitality. It was the pride of the Arab
+to place everything he possessed at the service of the guest. The last
+milch-camel must be killed sooner than the duties of hospitality be
+neglected. The story is told of H�tim, a gallant poet-warrior of the
+tribe of Tayyi, which well illustrates the Arab ideal of hostship.
+H�tim was at one time brought to the brink of starvation by the dearth
+of a rainless season. For a whole day he and his family had eaten
+nothing, and at night, after soothing the children to sleep by telling
+them some of those stories in which the Arabs have few rivals, he was
+trying by his cheerful conversation to make his wife forget her
+hunger. Just then they heard steps without, and a corner of the tent
+was raised. 'Who is there?' said H�tim. A woman's voice replied, 'I am
+such a one, thy neighbour. My children have nothing to eat, and are
+howling like young wolves, and I have come to beg help of thee.'
+'Bring them here,' said H�tim. His wife asked him what he would do,
+for if he could not feed his own children, how should he find food for
+this woman's? 'Do not disturb thyself,' he answered. Now H�tim had a
+horse renowned far and wide for the purity of his stock and the
+fleetness and beauty of his paces. He would not kill his favourite for
+himself nor even for his own children; but now he went out and slew
+him, and prepared him with fire for the strangers' need. And when he
+saw them eating with his wife and children, he exclaimed, 'It were a
+shame that you alone should eat whilst all the camp is perishing of
+hunger;' and he went and called the neighbours to the meal, and in the
+morning there remained of the horse nothing but his bones. But as for
+himself, wrapped in his mantle, he sat apart in a corner of the tent.
+
+This H�tim is a type of the Arab nature at its noblest. Though
+renowned for his courage and skill in war, he never suffered his
+enmity to overcome his generosity. He had sworn an oath never to take
+a man's life, and he strictly observed it, and always withheld the
+fatal last blow. In spite of his clemency, he was ever successful in
+the wars of his clan, and brought back from his raids many a rich
+spoil, only to spend it at once in his princely fashion. His
+generosity and faithful observance of his word at times placed him in
+positions of great danger; but the alternative of denying his
+principles seems never to have occurred to his mind. For instance, he
+had imposed upon himself as a law never to refuse a gift to him that
+asked it of him. Once, engaged in single combat, he had disarmed and
+routed his opponent, who then turned and said, 'H�tim, give me thy
+spear.' At once he threw it to him, leaving himself defenceless; and
+had he not met an adversary worthy of himself, this had been the last
+of his deeds. Happily H�tim was not the only generous warrior of the
+Arabs, and his foe did not avail himself of his advantage. When
+H�tim's friends remonstrated with him on the rashness of an act which,
+in the spirit of shopkeepers, they regarded as quixotic, H�tim said,
+'What would you have me to do? He asked of me a gift!'
+
+It was H�tim's practice to buy the liberty of all captives who sought
+his aid: it was but another application of the Arab virtue of
+hospitality. Once a captive called to him when he was on a journey and
+had not with him the means of paying the ransom. But he was not wont
+to allow any difficulties to baulk him of the exercise of his duty,
+and he had the prisoner released, stepping meanwhile into his chains
+until his own clan should send the ransom.
+
+Brave, chivalrous, faithful, and generous beyond the needful of Arab
+ideal--so that his niggard wife, using the privilege of high dames,
+repudiated him because he was ever ruining himself and her by his open
+hand--H�tim filled up the measure of Arab virtue by his eloquence, and
+such of his poems as have come down to us reflect the nobility of his
+life. As a youth he had shown a strong passion for poetry, and would
+spare no means of doing honour to poets. His grandfather, in despair
+at the boy's extravagance, sent him away from the camp to guard the
+camels, which were pastured at a distance. Sitting there in a state of
+solitude little congenial to his nature, H�tim lifted his eyes and saw
+a caravan approaching. It was the caravan of three great poets who
+were travelling to the court of the King of El-Heereh. H�tim begged
+them to alight and to accept of refreshment after the hot and dreary
+journey. He killed them a camel each, though one would have more than
+sufficed for the three; and in return they wrote him verses in praise
+of himself and his kindred. Overjoyed at the honour, H�tim insisted on
+the poets each accepting a hundred camels; and they departed with
+their gifts. When the grandfather came to the pasturing and asked
+where the camels were gone, H�tim answered, 'I have exchanged them for
+a crown of honour, which will shine for all time on the brow of thy
+race. The lines in which great poets have celebrated our house will
+pass from mouth to mouth, and will carry our glory over all Arabia.'
+[7]
+
+This story well illustrates the Arab's passionate love of poetry. He
+conceived his language to be the finest in the world, and he prized
+eloquence and poetry as the goodliest gifts of the gods. There were
+three great events in Arab life, when the clan was called together and
+great feastings and rejoicings ensued. One was the birth of a son to a
+chief; another the foaling of a generous mare; the third was the
+discovery that a great poet had risen up among them. The advent of the
+poet meant the immortality of the deeds of the clansmen and the
+everlasting contumely of their foes; it meant the raising up of the
+glory of the tribe over all the clans of Arabia, and the winning of
+triumphs by bitterer weapons than sword and spear--the weapons of
+stinging satire and scurrilous squib. No man might dare withstand the
+power of the poets among a people who were keenly alive to the point
+of an epigram, and who never forgot an ill-natured jibe if it were
+borne upon musical verse. Most of the great heroes of the desert were
+poets as well as warriors, and their poesy was deemed the chiefest gem
+in their crown, and, like their courage, was counted a proof of
+generous birth. The Khalif �Omar said well, 'The kings of the Arabs
+are their orators and poets, those who practise and who celebrate all
+the virtues of the Bedawee.'
+
+This ancient poetry of the Arabs is the reflection of the people's
+life. Far away from the trouble of the world, barred by wild wastes
+from the stranger, the Bedawee lived his happy child's life, enjoying
+to the uttermost the good the gods had sent him, delighting in the
+face that Nature showed him, inspired by the glorious breath of the
+deserts that were his home. His poetry rings of that desert life. It
+is emotional, passionate, seldom reflective. Not the end of life, the
+whence and the whither, but the actual present joy of existence, was
+the subject of his song. Vivid painting of nature is the
+characteristic of this poetry: it is natural, unpolished, unlaboured.
+The scenes of the desert--the terrors of the nightly ride through the
+hill-girdled valley where the Ghools and the Jinn have their haunts;
+the gloom of the barren plain, where the wolf, 'like a ruined
+gamester,' roams ululating; the weariness of the journey under the
+noonday sun; the stifling of the sand-storm, the delusions of the
+mirage; or again, the solace of the palm-tree's shade, and the
+delights of the cool well;--such are the pictures of the Arab poet. The
+people's life is another frequent theme: the daily doings of the
+herdsman, the quiet pastoral life, on the one hand; on the other, the
+deeds of the chiefs--war, plunder, the chase, wassail, revenge,
+friendship, love. There were satires on rival tribes, panegyrics on
+chiefs, laments for the dead. This poetry is wholly objective,
+artless, childlike; it is the outcome of a people still in the
+freshness of youth, whom the mysteries and complications of life have
+not yet set a-thinking. 'Just as his language knows but the present
+and the past, so the ancient Arab lived but in to-day and yesterday.
+The future is nought to him; he seizes the present with too thorough
+abandonment to have an emotion left for anything beyond. He troubles
+himself not with what fate the morrow may bring forth, he dreams not
+of a beautiful future,--only he revels in the present, and his glance
+looks backward alone. Rich in ideas and impressions, he is poor in
+thought. He drains hastily the foaming cup of life; he feels deeply
+and passionately; but it is as if he were never conscious of the
+coming of the thoughtful age which, while it surveys the past, as
+often turns an anxious look to the unknown future.'
+
+It is very difficult for a Western mind to enter into the real beauty
+of the old Arab poetry. The life it depicts is so unlike any we can
+now witness, that it is almost removed beyond the pale of our
+sympathies. The poetry is loaded with metaphors and similes, which to
+us seem far-fetched, though they are drawn from the simplest daily
+sights of the Bedawee. Moreover, it is only in fragments that we can
+read it; for the change in the whole character of Arab life and in the
+current of Arab ideas which followed the conquests of Isl�m
+extinguished the old songs, which were no longer suitable to the new
+conditions of things; and as they were seldom recorded in writing, we
+possess but a little remnant of them.[8] Yet 'these fragments may be
+broken, defaced, dimmed, and obscured by fanaticism, ignorance, and
+neglect; but out of them there arises anew all the freshness, bloom,
+and glory of desert-song, as out of Homer's epics rise the glowing
+spring-time of humanity and the deep blue heavens of Hellas. It is not
+a transcendental poetry, rich in deep and thoughtful legend and lore,
+or glittering in the many-coloured prisms of fancy, but a poetry the
+chief task of which is to paint life and nature as they really are;
+and within its narrow bounds it is magnificent. It is chiefly and
+characteristically full of manliness, of vigour, and of a chivalrous
+spirit, doubly striking when compared with the spirit of abjectness
+and slavery found in some other Asiatic nations. It is wild and vast
+and monotonous as the yellow seas of its desert solitudes; it is
+daring and noble, tender and true.' [9]
+
+There was one place where, above all others, the Kaseedehs of the
+ancient Arabs were recited: this was �Ok�dh, the Olympia of Arabia,
+where there was held a great annual Fair, to which not merely the
+merchants of Mekka and the south, but the poet-heroes of all the land
+resorted. The Fair of �Ok�dh was held during the sacred months,--a sort
+of 'God's Truce,' when blood could not be shed without a violation of
+the ancient customs and faiths of the Bedawees. Thither went the poets
+of rival clans, who had as often locked spears as hurled rhythmical
+curses. There was little fear of a bloody ending to the poetic
+contest, for those heroes who might meet there with enemies or
+blood-avengers are said to have worn masks or veils, and their poems
+were recited by a public orator at their dictation. That these
+precautions and the sacredness of the time could not always prevent
+the ill-feeling evoked by the pointed personalities of rival singers
+leading to a fray and bloodshed is proved by recorded instances; but
+such results were uncommon, and as a rule the customs of the time and
+place were respected. In spite of occasional broils on the spot, and
+the lasting feuds which these poetic contests must have excited, the
+Fair of �Ok�dh was a grand institution. It served as a focus for the
+literature of all Arabia: every one with any pretensions to poetic
+power came, and if he could not himself gain the applause of the
+assembled people, at least he could form one of the critical audience
+on whose verdict rested the fame or the shame of every poet. The Fair
+of �Ok�dh was a literary congress, without formal judges, but with
+unbounded influence. It was here that the polished heroes of the
+desert determined points of grammar and prosody; here the seven Golden
+Songs were recited, although (alas for the charming legend!) they were
+_not_ afterwards 'suspended' on the Kaabeh; and here 'a magical
+language, the language of the Hij�z,' was built out of the dialects of
+Arabia, and was made ready to the skilful hand of Mohammad, that he
+might conquer the world with his Kur-�n.
+
+The Fair of �Ok�dh was not merely a centre of emulation for Arab
+poets: it was also an annual review of Bedawee virtues. It was there
+that the Arab nation once-a-year inspected itself, so to say, and
+brought forth and criticised its ideals of the noble and the beautiful
+in life and in poetry. For it was in poetry that the Arab--and for that
+matter each man all the world over--expressed his highest thoughts, and
+it was at �Ok�dh that these thoughts were measured by the standard of
+the Bedawee ideal. The Fair not only maintained the highest standard
+of poetry that the Arabic language has ever reached: it also upheld
+the noblest idea of life and duty that the Arab nation has yet set
+forth and obeyed. �Ok�dh was the press, the stage, the pulpit, the
+Parliament, and the Acad�mie Fran�aise of the Arab people; and when,
+in his fear of the infidel poets (whom Imra-el-Keys was to usher to
+hell), Mohammad abolished the Fair, he destroyed the Arab nation even
+whilst he created his own new nation of Muslims;--and the Muslims
+cannot sit in the places of the old pagan Arabs.
+
+It is very difficult for the Western mind to dissociate the idea of
+Oriental poetry from the notion of amatory odes, and sonnets to the
+lady's eyebrow: but even the few extracts that have been given in this
+chapter show that the Arab had many other subjects besides love to
+sing about, and though the divine theme has its place in almost every
+poem, it seldom rivals the prominence of war and nature-painting, and
+it is treated from a much less sensual point of view than that of
+later Arab poets. Many writers have drawn a gloomy picture of the
+condition of women in Arabia before the coming of Mohammad, and there
+is no doubt that in many cases their lot was a miserable one. There
+are ancient Arabic proverbs that point to the contempt in which
+woman's judgment and character were held by the Arabs of 'the Time of
+Ignorance,' and Mohammad must have derived his mean opinion of women
+from a too general impression among his countrymen. The marriage tie
+was certainly very loose among the ancient Arabs. The ceremony itself
+was of the briefest. The man said _khitb_ (_i.e._ I am an
+asker-in-marriage), and the giver-away answered _nikh_ (_i.e._, I am a
+giver-in-marriage), and the knot was thus tied, only to be undone with
+equal facility and brevity. The frequency of divorce among the Arabs
+does not speak well for their constancy, and must have had a degrading
+effect upon the women. Hence it is argued that women were the objects
+of contempt rather than of respect among the ancient Arabs.
+
+Yet there is reason to believe that the evidence upon which this
+conclusion is founded is partial and one-sided. There was a wide gulf
+between the Bedawee and the town Arab. It is not impossible that the
+view commonly entertained as to the state of women in pre�slamic times
+is based mainly on what Mohammad saw around him in Mekka, and not on
+the ordinary life of the desert. To such a conjecture a curiously
+uniform support is lent by the ancient poetry of the desert; and
+though the poets were then--as they always are--men of finer mould than
+the rest, yet their example, and still more their poems passing from
+mouth to mouth, must have created a widespread belief in their
+principles. It is certain that the roaming Bedawee, like the medi�val
+knight, entertained a chivalrous reverence for women, although he,
+too, like the knight, was not always above a career of promiscuous
+gallantry; but there was always a certain glamour of romance about the
+intrigues of the Bedawee. He did not regard the object of his love as
+a chattel to be possessed, but as a divinity to be assiduously
+worshipped. The poems are full of instances of the courtly respect
+displayed by the heroes of the desert toward defenceless maidens, and
+the mere existence of so general an ideal of conduct in the poems is a
+strong argument for Arab chivalry: for with the Arabs the abyss
+between the ideal accepted of the mind and the attaining thereof in
+action was narrower than it is among 'more advanced' nations.
+
+Whatever was the condition of women in the trading cities and
+villages, it is certain that in the desert woman was regarded as she
+has never since been among Muslims. The modern hareem system was there
+as yet undreamt of; the maid of the desert was unfettered by the
+ruinous restrictions of modern life in the East. She was free to
+choose her own husband, and to bind him to have no other wife than
+herself. She might receive male visitors, even strangers, without
+suspicion: for her virtue was too dear to her and too well assured to
+need the keeper. It was the bitterest taunt of all to say to a hostile
+clan that their men had not the heart to give nor their women to deny;
+for the chastity of the women of the clan was reckoned only next to
+the valour and generosity of the men. In those days bastardy was an
+indelible stain. It was the wife who inspired the hero to deeds of
+glory, and it was her praise that he most valued when he returned
+triumphant. The hero of desert song thought himself happy to die in
+guarding some women from their pursuers. Wounded to the death,
+�Antarah halted alone in a narrow pass, and bade the women press on to
+a place of safety. Planting his spear in the ground, he supported
+himself on his horse, so that when the pursuers came up they knew not
+he was dead, and dared not approach within reach of his dreaded arm.
+At length the horse moved, and the body fell to the ground, and the
+enemies saw that it was but the corpse of the hero that had held the
+pass. In death, as in a life _sans peur et sans reproche_, �Antarah
+was true to the chivalry of his race.
+
+There are many instances like this of the knightly courtesy of the
+Arab chief in 'the Time of Ignorance.' In the old days, as an ancient
+writer says, the true Arab had but one love, and her he loved till
+death, and she him. Even when polygamy became commoner, especially in
+the towns, it was not what is meant by polygamy in a modern Muslim
+state: it was rather the patriarchal system of Abram and Sarai.
+
+There is much in the fragments of the ancient poetry which reflects
+this fine spirit. It is ofttimes 'tender and true,' and even Isl�m
+could not wholly root out the real Arab sentiment, which reappears in
+Muslim times in the poems of Aboo-Fir�s. Especially valuable is the
+evidence of the old poetry with regard to the love of a father for his
+daughters. Infanticide, which is commonly attributed to the whole Arab
+nation of every age before Isl�m, was in reality exceedingly rare in
+the desert, and after almost dying out only revived about the time of
+Mohammad. It was probably adopted by poor and weak clans, either from
+inability to support their children, or in order to protect themselves
+from the stain of having their children dishonoured by stronger
+tribes, and the occasional practice of this barbarous and suicidal
+custom affords no ground for assuming an unnatural hatred and contempt
+for girls among the ancient Arabs. These verses of a father to his
+daughter tell a different story:--
+
+   If no Umeymeh were there, no want would trouble my soul,
+     no labour call me to toil for bread through pitchiest night;
+   What moves my longing to live is but that well do I know
+     how low the fatherless lies, how hard the kindness of kin.
+   I quake before loss of wealth lest lacking fall upon her,
+     and leave her shieldless and bare as flesh set forth on a board.
+   My life she prays for, and I from mere love pray for her death--
+     yea death, the gentlest and kindest guest to visit a maid.
+   I fear an uncle's rebuke, a brother's harshness for her;
+     my chiefest end was to spare her heart the grief of a word.
+
+Once more, the following lines do not breathe the spirit of
+infanticide:--
+
+   Fortune has brought me down (her wonted way)
+     from station great and high to low estate;
+   Fortune has rent away my plenteous store:
+     of all my wealth, honour alone is left.
+   Fortune has turned my joy to tears: how oft
+     did Fortune make me laugh with what she gave!
+   But for these girls, the Kata's downy brood,
+     unkindly thrust from door to door as hard,
+   Far would I roam and wide to seek my bread
+     in earth that has no lack of breadth and length;
+   Nay, but our children in our midst, what else
+     but our hearts are they walking on the ground?
+   If but the wind blow harsh on one of them,
+     mine eye says no to slumber all night long.
+
+Hitherto we have been looking at but one side of Arab life. The
+Bedawees were indeed the bulk of the race, and furnished the swords of
+the Muslim conquests; but there was also a vigorous town-life in
+Arabia, and the citizens waxed rich with the gains of their
+trafficking. For through Arabia ran the trade-route between East and
+West: it was the Arab traders who carried the produce of the Yemen to
+the markets of Syria; and how ancient was their commerce one may
+divine from the words of a poet of Jud�a spoken more than a thousand
+years before the coming of Mohammad.
+
+   Wedan and Javan from San�a paid for thy produce:
+     sword-blades, cassia, and calamus were in thy trafficking.
+   Dedan was thy merchant in saddle-cloths for riding;
+   Arabia and all the merchants of Kedar, they were the merchants
+     of thy hand:
+     in lambs and rams and goats, in these were they thy merchants.
+   The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants,
+     with the chief of all spices, and with every precious stone,
+       and gold,
+          they paid for thy produce.
+   Haran, Aden, and Canneh, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur and
+     Chilmad were thy merchants;
+   They were thy merchants in excellent wares,
+     in cloth of blue and broidered work,
+     in chests of cloth of divers colours, bound with cords
+        and made fast among thy merchandize.[10]
+
+Mekka was the centre of this trading life, the typical Arab city of
+old times--a stirring little town, with its caravans bringing the silks
+and woven stuffs of Syria and the far-famed damask, and carrying away
+the sweet-smelling produce of Arabia, frankincense, cinnamon,
+sandal-wood, aloe, and myrrh, and the dates and leather and metals of
+the south, and the goods that come to the Yemen from Africa and even
+India; its assemblies of merchant-princes in the Council Hall near the
+Kaabeh; and again its young poets running over with love and
+gallantry; its Greek and Persian slave-girls brightening the luxurious
+banquet with their native songs, when as yet there was no Arab school
+of music, and the monotonous but not unmelodious chant of the
+camel-driver was the national song of Arabia; and its club, where busy
+men spent their idle hours in playing chess and draughts, or in
+gossiping with their acquaintance. It was a little republic of
+commerce, too much infected with the luxuries and refinements of the
+states it traded with, yet retaining enough of the free Arab nature to
+redeem it from the charge of effeminacy.
+
+Mekka was a great home of music and poetry, and this characteristic
+lasted into Muslim times. There is a story of a certain stonemason who
+had a wonderful gift of singing. When he was at work the young men
+used to come and importune him, and bring him gifts of money and food
+to induce him to sing. He would then make a stipulation that they
+should first help him in his work; and forthwith they would strip off
+their cloaks, and the stones would gather round him rapidly. Then he
+would mount a rock and begin to sing, whilst the whole hill was
+coloured red and yellow with the variegated garments of his audience.
+Singers were then held in the highest admiration, and the greatest
+chiefs used to pay their court to ladies of the musical profession.
+One of them used to give receptions, open to the whole city, in which
+she would appear in great state, surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting,
+each dressed magnificently, and wearing 'an elegant artificial
+chignon.' It was in this town-life that the worse qualities of the
+Arab came out; it was here that his raging passion for dicing and his
+thirst for wine were most prominent. In the desert there was little
+opportunity for indulging in either luxury; but in a town which often
+welcomed a caravan bringing goods to the value of twenty thousand
+pound, such excesses were to be looked for. Excited by the song of the
+Greek slave-girl and the fumes of mellow wine, the Mekkan would throw
+the dice till, like the Germans of Tacitus, he had staked and lost his
+own liberty.
+
+But Mekka was more than a centre of trade and of song. It was the
+focus of the religion of the Arabs. Thither the tribes went up every
+year to kiss the black stone which had fallen from heaven in the
+primeval days of Adam, and to make the seven circuits of the Kaabeh
+naked,--for they would not approach God in the garments in which they
+had done their sins,--and to perform the other ceremonies of the
+pilgrimage. The Kaabeh, a cubical building in the centre of Mekka, was
+the most sacred temple in all Arabia, and it gave its sanctity to all
+the district around. It had been, saith tradition, first built by Adam
+from a heavenly model, and then rebuilt from time to time by Seth and
+Abraham and Ishmael, and less reverend persons, and it contained the
+sacred things of the land. Here was the black stone, here the great
+god of red agate, Hubal, and the three hundred and sixty idols, one
+for each day of the year, which Mohammad afterwards destroyed in one
+day. Here was Abraham's stone and that other which marked the tomb of
+Ishmael, and hard by Zemzem, the god-sent spring which gushed from the
+sand when the forefather of the Arabs was perishing of thirst.
+
+The religion of the ancient Arabs, little as we know of it, is
+especially interesting, inasmuch as the Arabs longest retained the
+original Semitic character, and hence probably the original Semitic
+religion: and so in the ancient religion of Arabia we see the religion
+once professed by Chaldeans, Canaanites, Ph[oe]nicians. This ancient
+religion 'rises little higher than animistic polydaemonism. It is a
+collection of tribal religions standing side by side, only loosely
+united, though there are traces of a once closer connection.' [11]
+The great objects of worship were the sun and the stars and the three
+moon-goddesses--El-L�t the bright moon, Men�h the dark, and El-�Uzz�
+the union of the two; whilst a lower cultus of trees, stones, and
+mountains, supposed to be dwelt-in by souls, shows that the religion
+had not yet quite risen above simple fetishism. At the time of
+Mohammad the Arabs worshipped numerous images, which may have been
+merely a development from the previous stone-worship, or may have been
+introduced from intercourse with Christians. There are traces of a
+belief in a supreme God behind this pantheon, and the moon-goddesses
+and other divinities were regarded as daughters of _the most high God_
+(All�h ta��la)--a conception also possibly derived from Christianity.
+The various deities (but not the Supreme Allah) had their fanes, where
+human sacrifices, though rare, were not unknown; and their cultus was
+superintended by a hereditary line of seers, who were held in great
+reverence, but never developed into a priestly caste.
+
+Besides the tribal gods, individual households had their special
+Penates, to whom was due the first and the last sal�m of the returning
+or outgoing host. But in spite of all this superstitious apparatus the
+Arabs were never a religious people. In the old days, as now, they
+were reckless, skeptical, materialistic. They had their gods and their
+divining-arrows, but they were ready to demolish both if the responses
+proved contrary to their wishes. A great majority believed in no
+future life nor in a reckoning-day of good and evil. If a few tied
+camels to the graves of the dead that the corpse might ride mounted to
+the judgment-seat, it must have been the exception; and if there are
+some doubtful traces of the doctrine of metempsychosis, this again
+must have been the creed of the very few.
+
+Christianity and Judaism had made but small impress upon the Arabs.
+There were Jewish tribes in the north, and there is evidence in the
+Kur-�n and elsewhere that the traditions and rites of Judaism were
+widely known in Arabia. But the creed was too narrow and too
+exclusively national to commend itself to the majority of the people.
+Christianity fared even worse. Whether or not St. Paul went there, it
+is at least certain that very little effect was produced by the
+preaching of Christianity in Arabia. We hear of Christians on the
+borders, and even two or three among the Mekkans, and bishops and
+churches are spoken of at Dhaf�r and Nejr�n. But the Christianity that
+the Arabs knew was, like the Judaism of the northern tribes, a very
+imperfect reflection of the faith it professed to set forth. It had
+become a thing of the head instead of the heart, and the refinements
+of monophysite and monothelite doctrines gained no hold upon the Arab
+mind.
+
+Thus Judaism and Christianity, though they were well known, and
+furnished many ideas and ceremonies to Isl�m, were never able to
+effect any general settlement in Arabia. The common Arabs did not care
+much about any religion, and the finer spirits found the wrangling
+dogmatism of the Christian and the narrow isolation of the Jew little
+to their mind. For there were before the time of Mohammad men who were
+dissatisfied with the low fetishism in which their countrymen were
+plunged, and who protested emphatically against the idle and often
+cruel superstitions of the Arabs. Not to refer to the prophets, who,
+as the Kur-�n relates, were sent in old time to the tribes of ��d and
+Thamood to convert them, there was, immediately before the preaching
+of Mohammad, a general feeling that a change was at hand; a prophet
+was expected, and women were anxiously hoping for male children if so
+be they might mother the Apostle of God; and the more thoughtful
+minds, tinged with traditions of Judaism, were seeking for what they
+called 'the religion of Abraham.' These men were called _'Haneefs,'_
+or skeptics, and their religion seems to have consisted chiefly in a
+negative position, in denying the superstition of the Arabs, and in
+only asserting the existence of one sole-ruling God whose absolute
+slaves are all mankind, without being able to decide on any minor
+doctrines, or to determine in what manner this one God was to be
+worshipped. So long as the Haneefs could give their countrymen no more
+definite creed than this, their influence was limited to a few
+inquiring and doubting minds. It was reserved for Mohammad to
+formulate the faith of the Haneefs in the dogmas of Isl�m. For the
+leader of these few 'skeptics' was Zeyd ibn �Amr, to whom Mohammad
+often resorted, and another, Warakah, was the cousin of the Prophet
+and his near neighbour: and thus the Haneefs were the forerunners of
+the man who was to change the destinies of the Arabs.
+
+We can no longer see the true Arab as he was in 'the Time of
+Ignorance,' and we cannot but regret our loss; for the Pagan Arab is a
+noble type of man, though there be nobler. There is much that is
+admirable in his high mettle, his fine sense of honour, his
+knightliness, his 'open-handed, both-handed,' generosity, his frank
+friendship, and his manly independent spirit; and the faults of this
+wild reckless nature are not to be weighed against its many
+excellencies. When Mohammad turned abroad the current of Arab life, he
+changed the character of the people. The mixture with foreign nations,
+and the quiet town-life that succeeded to the tumult of conquest,
+gradually effaced many of the leading ideas of the old Arab nature,
+and the remnant that still dwell in the land of their fathers have
+lost much of that nobleness of character which in their ancestors
+covered a multitude of sins. Mohammad in part destroyed the Arab and
+created the Muslim. The last is no amends for the first. The modern
+Bedawee is neither the one nor the other; he has lost the greatness
+of the old type without gaining that of the new. As far as the Arabs
+alone are concerned, Mohammad effected a temporary good and a lasting
+harm. As to the world at large, that is matter for another chapter.
+
+
+
+
+II.--_MOHAMMAD._
+
+   For every fiery prophet in old times,
+   And all the sacred madness of the bard,
+   When God made music through them, could but speak
+   His music by the framework and the chord;
+   And as _he_ saw it _he hath_ spoken truth.
+
+   --THE HOLY GRAIL.
+
+
+A prophet for the Arabs must fulfil two conditions if he will bring
+with his good tidings the power of making them accepted: he must
+spring from the traditional centre of Arabian religion, and he must
+come of a noble family of pure Arab blood. Mohammad fulfilled both.
+His family was that branch of the Kureysh which had raised Mekka to
+the dignity of the undisputed metropolis of Arabia, and which, though
+impoverished, still held the chief offices of the sacred territory.
+Mohammad's grandfather was the virtual chief of Mekka; for to him
+belonged the guardianship of the Kaabeh, and he it was who used the
+generous privilege of giving food and water to the pilgrims who
+resorted to the 'House of God.' His youngest son, after marrying a
+kinswoman belonging to a branch of the Kureysh, settled at Yethrib
+(Medina), died before the birth of his son (571), and this son,
+Mohammad, lost his mother when he was only six years old. The orphan
+was adopted by his grandfather, �Abd-el-Muttalib; and a tender
+affection sprang up between the chief of eighty years and his little
+grandson. Many a day the old man might be seen sitting at his wonted
+place near the Kaabeh, and sharing his mat with his favourite. He
+lived but two years more; and at his dying request, his son Aboo-T�lib
+took charge of Mohammad, for whom he too ever showed a love as of
+father and mother.
+
+Such is the bare outline of Mohammad's childhood; and of his youth we
+know about as little, though the Arabian biographies abound in
+legends, of which some may be true and most are certainly false. There
+are stories of his journeyings to Syria with his uncle, and his
+encounter with a mysterious monk of obscure faith; but there is
+nothing to show for this tale, and much to be brought against it. All
+we can say is, that Mohammad probably assisted his family in the war
+of the Fij�r, and that he must many a time have frequented the annual
+Fair of �Ok�dh, hearing the songs of the desert chiefs and the praise
+of Arab life, and listening to the earnest words of the Jews and
+Christians and others who came to the Fair. He was obliged at an early
+age to earn his own living; for the noble family of the H�shimees, to
+which he belonged, was fast losing its commanding position, whilst
+another branch of the Kureysh was succeeding to its dignities. The
+princely munificence of H�shim and �Abd-el-Muttalib was followed by
+the poverty and decline of their heirs. The duty of providing the
+pilgrims with food was given up by the H�shimees to the rival branch
+of Umeyyeh, whilst they retained only the lighter office of serving
+water to the worshippers. Mohammad must take his share in the labour
+of the family, and he was sent to pasture the sheep of the Kureysh on
+the hills and valleys round Mekka; and though the people despised the
+shepherd's calling, he himself was wont to look back with pleasure to
+these early days, saying that God called never a prophet save from
+among the sheep-folds. And doubtless it was then that he developed
+that reflective disposition of mind which at length led him to seek
+the reform of his people, whilst in his solitary wanderings with the
+sheep he gained that marvellous eye for the beauty and wonder of the
+earth and sky which resulted in the gorgeous nature-painting of the
+Kur-�n. Yet he was glad to change this menial work for the more
+lucrative and adventurous post of camel-driver to the caravans of his
+wealthy kinswoman Khadeejeh; and he seems to have taken so kindly to
+the duty, which involved responsibilities, and to have acquitted
+himself so worthily, that he attracted the notice of his employer, who
+straightway fell in love with him, and presented him with her hand.
+The marriage was a singularly happy one, though Mohammad was scarcely
+twenty-five and his wife nearly forty, and it brought him that repose
+and exemption from daily toil which he needed in order to prepare his
+mind for his great work. But beyond that, it gave him a loving woman's
+heart, that was the first to believe in his mission, that was ever
+ready to console him in his despair and to keep alive within him the
+thin flickering flame of hope when no man believed in him--not even
+himself--and the world was black before his eyes.
+
+We know very little of the next fifteen years. Khadeejeh bore him sons
+and daughters, but only the daughters lived. We hear of his joining a
+league for the protection of the weak and oppressed, and there is a
+legend of his having acted with wise tact and judgment as arbitrator
+in a dispute among the great families of Mekka on the occasion of the
+rebuilding of the Kaabeh. During this time, moreover, he relieved his
+still impoverished uncle of the charge of his son �Alee--afterwards the
+Bayard of Isl�m,--and he freed and adopted a certain captive, Zeyd; and
+these two became his most devoted friends and disciples. Such is the
+short but characteristic record of these fifteen years of manhood. We
+know very little about what Mohammad did, but we hear only one voice
+as to what he was. Up to the age of forty his unpretending modest way
+of life had attracted but little notice from his townspeople. He was
+only known as a simple upright man, whose life was severely pure and
+refined, and whose true desert sense of honour and faith-keeping had
+won him the high title of El-Emeen, 'the Trusty.'
+
+Let us see what fashion of man this was, who was about to work a
+revolution among his countrymen, and change the conditions of social
+life in a vast part of the world. The picture[12] is drawn from an
+older man than we have yet seen; but Mohammad at forty and Mohammad at
+fifty or more were probably very little different. 'He was of the
+middle height, rather thin, but broad of shoulders, wide of chest,
+strong of bone and muscle. His head was massive, strongly developed.
+Dark hair, slightly curled, flowed in a dense mass down almost to his
+shoulders. Even in advanced age it was sprinkled by only about twenty
+grey hairs--produced by the agonies of his "Revelations." His face was
+oval-shaped, slightly tawny of colour. Fine, long, arched eyebrows
+were divided by a vein which throbbed visibly in moments of passion.
+Great black restless eyes shone out from under long, heavy eyelashes.
+His nose was large, slightly aquiline. His teeth, upon which he
+bestowed great care, were well set, dazzling white. A full beard
+framed his manly face. His skin was clear and soft, his complexion
+"red and white," his hands were as "silk and satin," even as those of
+a woman. His step was quick and elastic, yet firm, and as that of one
+"who steps from a high to a low place," In turning his face he would
+also turn his full body. His whole gait and presence were dignified
+and imposing. His countenance was mild and pensive. His laugh was
+rarely more than a smile....
+
+'In his habits he was extremely simple, though he bestowed great care
+on his person. His eating and drinking, his dress and his furniture,
+retained, even when he had reached the fulness of power, their almost
+primitive nature. The only luxuries he indulged in were, besides arms,
+which he highly prized, a pair of yellow boots, a present from the
+Negus of Abyssinia. Perfumes, however, he loved passionately, being
+most sensitive of smell. Strong drinks he abhorred.
+
+'His constitution was extremely delicate. He was nervously afraid of
+bodily pain; he would sob and roar under it. Eminently unpractical in
+all common things of life, he was gifted with mighty powers of
+imagination, elevation of mind, delicacy and refinement of feeling.
+"He is more modest than a virgin behind her curtain," it was said of
+him. He was most indulgent to his inferiors, and would never allow his
+awkward little page to be scolded, whatever he did. "Ten years," said
+Anas, his servant, "was I about the Prophet, and he never said as much
+as 'uff' to me." He was very affectionate towards his family. One of
+his boys died on his breast in the smoky house of the nurse, a
+blacksmith's wife. He was very fond of children. He would stop them in
+the streets and pat their little cheeks. He never struck any one in
+his life. The worst expression he ever made use of in conversation
+was, "What has come to him?--may his forehead be darkened with mud!"
+When asked to curse some one he replied, "I have not been sent to
+curse, but to be a mercy to mankind." "He visited the sick, followed
+any bier he met, accepted the invitation of a slave to dinner, mended
+his own clothes, milked his goats, and waited upon himself," relates
+summarily another tradition. He never first withdrew his hand out of
+another man's palm, and turned not before the other had turned.... He
+was the most faithful protector of those he protected, the sweetest
+and most agreeable in conversation; those who saw him were suddenly
+filled with reverence; those who came near him loved him; they who
+described him would say, "I have never seen his like either before or
+after." He was of great taciturnity; but when he spoke it was with
+emphasis and deliberation, and no one could ever forget what he said.
+He was, however, very nervous and restless withal, often low-spirited,
+downcast as to heart and eyes. Yet he would at times suddenly break
+through these broodings, become gay, talkative, jocular, chiefly among
+his own. He would then delight in telling little stories, fairy tales,
+and the like. He would romp with the children and play with their
+toys.'
+
+'He lived with his wives in a row of humble cottages, separated from
+one another by palm-branches, cemented together with mud. He would
+kindle the fire, sweep the floor, and milk the goats himself. ���sheh
+tells us that he slept upon a leathern mat, and that he mended his
+clothes, and even clouted his shoes, with his own hand. For months
+together ... he did not get a sufficient meal. The little food that he
+had was always shared with those who dropped in to partake of it.
+Indeed, outside the Prophet's house was a bench or gallery, on which
+were always to be found a number of the poor, who lived entirely on
+his generosity, and were hence called the "people of the bench." His
+ordinary food was dates and water or barley-bread; milk and honey were
+luxuries of which he was fond, but which he rarely allowed himself.
+The fare of the desert seemed most congenial to him, even when he was
+sovereign of Arabia.' [13]
+
+Mohammad was full forty before he felt himself called to be an apostle
+to his people. If he did not actually worship the local deities of the
+place, at least he made no public protest against the fetish worship
+of the Kureysh. Yet in the several phases of his life, in his contact
+with traders, in his association with Zeyd and other men, he had
+gained an insight into better things than idols and human sacrifices,
+divining-arrows and mountains and stars. He had heard a dim echo of
+some 'religion of Abraham;' he had listened to the stories of the
+Haggadah: he knew a very little about Jesus of Nazareth. He seems to
+have suffered long under the burden of doubt and self-distrust. He
+used to wander about the hills alone, brooding over these things; he
+shunned the society of men, and 'solitude became a passion to him.'
+
+At length came the crisis. He was spending the sacred months on Mount
+Hir�, 'a huge barren rock, torn by cleft and hollow ravine, standing
+out solitary in the full white glare of the desert sun, shadowless,
+flowerless, without well or rill.' Here in a cave Mohammad gave
+himself up to prayer and fasting. Long months or even years of doubt
+had increased his nervous excitable disposition. He had had, they say,
+cataleptic fits during his childhood, and was evidently more
+delicately and finely constituted than those around him. Given this
+nervous nature, and the grim solitude of the hill where he had almost
+lived for long weary months, blindly feeling after some truth upon
+which to rest his soul, it is not difficult to believe the tradition
+of the cave, that Mohammad heard a voice say, 'Cry!' 'What shall I
+cry?' he answers--the question that has been burning his heart during
+all his mental struggles--
+
+   Cry[14]! in the name of thy Lord, who hath created;
+   He hath created man from a clot of blood.
+   Cry! and thy Lord is the Most Bountiful,
+   Who hath taught [writing] by the pen:
+   He hath taught man that which he knew not.
+
+Mohammad arose trembling, and went to Khadeejeh, and told her what he
+had seen; and she did her woman's part, and believed in him and
+soothed his terror, and bade him hope for the future. Yet he could not
+believe in himself. Was he not perhaps mad, possessed by a devil? Were
+these voices of a truth from God? And so he went again on his solitary
+wanderings, hearing strange sounds, and thinking them at one time the
+testimony of Heaven, at another the temptings of Satan or the ravings
+of madness. Doubting, wondering, hoping, he had fain put an end to a
+life which had become intolerable in its changings from the heaven of
+hope to the hell of despair, when again he heard the voice, 'Thou art
+the messenger of God, and I am Gabriel.' Conviction at length seized
+hold upon him; he was indeed to bring a message of good tidings to
+the Arabs, the message of God through His angel Gabriel. He went back
+to Khadeejeh exhausted in mind and body. 'Wrap me, wrap me,' he said;
+and the word came unto him--
+
+   O thou enwrapped in thy mantle
+   Arise and warn!
+   And thy Lord,--magnify Him!
+   And thy raiment,--purify it!
+   And the abomination,--flee it!
+   And bestow not favours that thou mayest receive again with increase,
+   And for thy Lord wait thou patiently.
+
+There are those who see imposture in all this; for such I have no
+answer. Nor does it matter whether in a hysterical fit or under any
+physical disease soever Mohammad saw these visions and heard these
+voices. We are not concerned to draw the lines of demarcation between
+enthusiasm and ecstasy and inspiration. It is sufficient that Mohammad
+_did_ see these things--the subjective creations of a tormented mind.
+It is sufficient that he believed them to be a message from on high,
+and that for years of neglect and persecution and for years of triumph
+and conquest he acted upon his belief.
+
+Mohammad now (612) came forward as the Apostle of the One God to the
+people of Arabia: he was at last well assured that his God was of a
+truth _the_ God, and that He had indeed sent him with a message to his
+people, that they too might turn from their idols and serve the living
+God. He was in the minority of one, but he was no longer afraid; he
+had learnt that self-trust which is the condition of all true work. At
+first he spoke to his near kinsmen and friends; and it is impossible
+to overrate the importance of the fact that his closest relations and
+those who lived under his roof were the first to believe and the
+staunchest of faith. The prophet who is _with_ honour in his own home
+need appeal to no stronger proof of his sincerity, and that Mohammad
+_was_ 'a hero to his own valet' is an invincible argument for his
+earnestness. The motherly Khadeejeh had at once, with a woman's
+instinct, divined her husband's heart and confirmed his fainting hope
+by her firm faith in him. His dearest friends, Zeyd and �Alee, were
+the next converts; and though, to his grief, he could never induce his
+lifelong protector, Aboo-T�lib, to abandon the gods of his fathers,
+yet the old man loved him none the less, and said, when he heard of
+�Alee's conversion, 'Well, my son, he will not call thee to aught save
+what is good; wherefore thou art free to cleave unto him.' A priceless
+aid was gained in the accession of Aboo-Bekr, who succeeded Mohammad
+as the first Khalif of Isl�m, and whose calm judgment and quick
+sagacity, joined to a gentle and compassionate heart, were of
+incalculable service to the faith. Aboo-Bekr was one of the wealthiest
+merchants of Mekka, and exercised no small influence among his
+fellow-citizens, no less by his character than his position. Like
+Mohammad, he had a nickname, Es-Siddeek, 'The True:' _The True_ and
+_The Trusty_,--no mean augury for the future of the religion!
+
+Five converts followed in Aboo-Bekr's steps; among them �Othm�n, the
+third Khalif, and Talhah, the man of war. The ranks of the faithful
+were swelled from humbler sources. There were many negro slaves in
+Mekka, and of them not a few had been predisposed by earlier teaching
+to join in the worship of the One God; and of those who were first
+converted was the Abyssinian Bil�l, the original Mu�ddin of Isl�m, and
+ever a devoted disciple of the Prophet. These and others from the
+Kureysh raised the number of Muslims to more than thirty souls by the
+fourth year of Mohammad's mission--thirty in three long years, and few
+of them men of influence!
+
+This small success had been achieved with very little opposition from
+the idolaters. Mohammad had not spoken much in public; and when he did
+speak to strangers, he restrained himself from attacking their
+worship, and only enjoined them to worship the One God who had
+created all things. The people were rather interested, and wondered
+whether he were a soothsayer or madman, or if indeed there were truth
+in his words. But now (A.D. 615) Mohammad entered upon a more public
+career. He summoned the Kureysh to a conference at the hill of
+Es-Saf�, and said, 'I am come to you as a warner, and as the
+forerunner of a fearful punishment.... I cannot protect you in this
+world, nor can I promise you aught in the next life, unless ye say,
+There is no God but All�h.' He was laughed to scorn, and the assembly
+broke up; but from this time he ceased not to preach to the people of
+a punishment that would come upon the unbelieving city. He told them,
+in the fiery language of the early soorahs, how God had punished the
+old tribes of the Arabs who would not believe in His messengers, how
+the Flood had swallowed up the people who would not hearken to Noah.
+He swore unto them, by the wonderful sights of nature, by the noonday
+brightness, by the night when she spreadeth her veil, by the day when
+it appeareth in glory, that a like destruction would assuredly come
+upon them if they did not turn away from their idols and serve God
+alone. He enforced his message with every resource of language and
+metaphor, till he made it burn in the ears of the people. And then he
+told them of the Last Day, when a just reckoning should be taken of
+the deeds they had done; and he spoke of Paradise and Hell with all
+the glow of Eastern imagery. The people were moved, terrified;
+conversions increased. It was time the Kureysh should take some step.
+If the idols were destroyed, what would come to them, the keepers of
+the idols, and their renown throughout the land? How should they
+retain the allegiance of the neighbouring tribes who came to worship
+their several divinities at the Kaabeh? That a few should follow the
+ravings of a madman or magician who preferred one god above the
+beautiful deities of Mekka was little matter; but that some leading
+men of the city should join the sect, and that the magician should
+terrify the people in open day with his denunciations of the worship
+which _they_ superintended, was intolerable. The chiefs were seriously
+alarmed, and resolved on a more active policy. Hitherto they had
+merely ridiculed the professors of this new faith; they would now take
+stronger measures. Mohammad himself they dared not touch; for he
+belonged to a noble family, which, though it was reduced and
+impoverished, had deserved well of the city, and which, moreover, was
+now headed by a man who was reverenced throughout Mekka, and was none
+other than the adoptive father and protector of Mohammad himself. Nor
+was it safe to attack the other chief men among the Muslims, for the
+blood-revenge was no light risk. They were thus compelled to content
+themselves with the mean satisfaction of torturing the black slaves
+who had joined the obnoxious faction. They exposed them on the
+scorching sand, and withheld water till they recanted--which they did,
+only to profess the faith once more when they were let go. The first
+Mu�ddin alone remained steadfast: as he lay half stifled he would only
+answer, 'Ahad! Ahad!'--'One [God]! One!'--till Aboo-Bekr came and bought
+his freedom, as he was wont to do for many of the miserable victims.
+Mohammad was very gentle with these forced renegades: he knew what
+stuff men are made of, and he bade them be of good cheer for their
+lips, so that their hearts were sound.
+
+At last, moved by the sufferings of his lowly followers, he advised
+them to seek a refuge in Abyssinia--'a land of righteousness, wherein
+no man is wronged;' and in the fifth year of his mission (616) eleven
+men and four women left Mekka secretly, and were received in Abyssinia
+with welcome and peace. These first emigrants were followed by more
+the next year, till the number reached one hundred. The Kureysh were
+very wroth at the escape of their victims, and sent ambassadors to the
+Nej�shee, the Christian king of Abyssinia, to demand that the refugees
+should be given up to them. But the Nej�shee assembled his bishops
+and sent for the Muslims and asked them why they had fled; and one of
+them answered and said--
+
+'O king! we lived in ignorance, idolatry, and unchastity; the strong
+oppressed the weak; we spoke untruth; we violated the duties of
+hospitality. Then a prophet arose, one whom we knew from our youth,
+with whose descent and conduct and good faith and morality we are all
+well acquainted. He told us to worship one God, to speak truth, to
+keep good faith, to assist our relations, to fulfil the rights of
+hospitality, and to abstain from all things impure, ungodly,
+unrighteous. And he ordered us to say prayers, give alms, and to fast.
+We believed in him; we followed him. But our countrymen persecuted us,
+tortured us, and tried to cause us to forsake our religion; and now we
+throw ourselves upon thy protection. Wilt thou not protect us?' And he
+recited a chapter of the Kur-�n, which spoke of Christ; and the king
+and the bishops wept upon their beards. And the king dismissed the
+messengers and would not give up the men.
+
+The Kureysh, foiled in their attempt to recapture the slaves, vented
+their malice on those believers who remained. Insults were heaped upon
+the Muslims, and persecution grew hotter each day. For a moment
+Mohammad faltered in his work. Could he not spare his people these
+sufferings? Was it impossible to reconcile the religion of the city
+with the belief in one supreme God? After all, was the worship of
+those idols so false a thing? did it not hold the germ of a great
+truth? And so Mohammad made his first and last concession. He recited
+a revelation to the Kureysh, in which he spoke respectfully of the
+three moon-goddesses, and asserted that their intercession with God
+might be hoped for: 'Wherefore bow down before God and serve Him;' and
+the whole audience, overjoyed at the compromise, bowed down and
+worshipped at the name of the God of Mohammad--the whole city was
+reconciled to the double religion. But this Dreamer of the Desert was
+not the man to rest upon a lie. At the price of the whole city of
+Mekka he would not remain untrue to himself. He came forward and said
+he had done wrong--the devil had tempted him. He openly and frankly
+retracted what he had said: and 'As for their idols, they were but
+empty names which they and their fathers had invented.'
+
+Western biographers have rejoiced greatly over 'Mohammad's fall.' Yet
+it was a tempting compromise, and few would have withstood it. And the
+life of Mohammad is not the life of a god, but of a man: from first to
+last it is intensely human. But if for once he was not superior to the
+temptation of gaining over the whole city and obtaining peace where
+before there was only bitter persecution, what can we say of his
+manfully thrusting back the rich prize he had gained, freely
+confessing his fault, and resolutely giving himself over again to the
+old indignities and insults? If he was once insincere--and who is
+not?--how intrepid was his after-sincerity! He was untrue to himself
+for a while, and he is ever referring to it in his public preaching
+with shame and remorse; but the false step was more than atoned for by
+his magnificent recantation.
+
+Mohammad's influence with the people at large was certainly weakened
+by this temporary change of front, and the opposition of the leaders
+of the Kureysh, checked for the moment by the Prophet's concession,
+now that he had repudiated it, broke forth into fiercer flame. They
+heaped insults upon him, and he could not traverse the city without
+the encounter of a curse. They threw unclean things at him, and vexed
+him in his every doing. The protection of Aboo-T�lib alone saved him
+from personal danger. This refuge the Kureysh determined to remove.
+They had attempted before, but had been turned back with a soft
+answer. They now went to the chief, of fourscore years, and demanded
+that he should either compel his nephew to hold his peace, or else
+that he should withdraw his protection. Having thus spoken they
+departed. The old man sent for Mohammad, and told him what they had
+said. 'Now therefore save thyself and me also, and cast not upon me a
+burden heavier than I can bear;' for he was grieved at the strife
+between his family and his wider kindred, and would fain have seen
+Mohammad temporize with the Kureysh. But though the Prophet believed
+that at length his uncle was indeed about to abandon him, his courage
+and high resolve never faltered. 'Though they should set the sun on my
+right hand and the moon on my left to persuade me, yet while God
+commands me I will not renounce my purpose.' But to lose his uncle's
+love!--he burst into tears, and turned to go. But Aboo-T�lib called
+aloud, 'Son of my brother, come back.' So he came. And he said,
+'Depart in peace, my nephew, and say whatsoever thou desirest; for, by
+the Lord, I will never deliver thee up.'
+
+The faithfulness of Aboo-T�lib was soon to be tried. At first, indeed,
+things looked brighter. The old chief's firm bearing overawed the
+Kureysh, and they were still more cowed by two great additions that
+were now joined to the Muslim ranks. One was Mohammad's uncle, Hamzeh,
+'the Lion of God,' a mighty hunter and warrior of the true Arab
+mettle, whose sword was worth twenty of weaker men to the cause of
+Isl�m. The other was �Omar, afterwards Khalif, whose fierce impulsive
+nature had hitherto marked him as a violent opponent of the new faith,
+but who afterwards proved himself one of the mainstays of Isl�m. The
+gain of two such men first frightened then maddened the Kureysh. The
+leaders met together and consulted what they should do. It was no
+longer a case of an enthusiast followed by a crowd of slaves and a few
+worthy merchants; it was a faction led by stout warriors, such as
+Hamzeh, Talhah, �Omar,--half-a-dozen picked swordsmen; and the Muslims,
+emboldened by their new allies, were boldly surrounding the Kaabeh,
+and performing the rites of their religion in the face of all the
+people. The Kureysh resolved on extreme measures. They determined to
+shut off the obnoxious family of the H�shimees from the rest of their
+kindred. The chiefs drew up a document, in which they vowed that they
+would not marry with the H�shimees, nor buy and sell with them, nor
+hold with them any communication soever; and this they hung up in the
+Kaabeh.
+
+The H�shimees were not many enough to fight the whole city, so they
+went every man of them, save one, to the shi-b (or quarter) of
+Aboo-T�lib,--a long, narrow mountain defile on the eastern skirts of
+Mekka, cut off by rocks or walls from the city, except for one narrow
+gateway,--and there shut themselves up. For though the ban did not
+forbid them to go about as heretofore, they knew that no soul would
+speak with them, and that they would be subject to the maltreatment of
+any vagabond they met. So they collected their stores and waited.
+Every man of the family, Muslim or Pagan, cast in his lot with their
+common kinsman, Mohammad, saving only his own uncle, Aboo-Lahab, a
+determined enemy to Isl�m, to whom a special denunciation is justly
+consecrated in the Kur-�n.
+
+For two long years the H�shimees remained shut up in their quarter.
+Only at the pilgrimage-time--when the blessed institution of the sacred
+months made violence sacrilege--could Mohammad come forth and speak
+unto the people of the things that were in his heart to say. Scarcely
+any converts were made during this weary time; and most of those who
+had previously been converted, and did not belong to the doomed clan,
+took refuge in Abyssinia; so that in the seventh year of Mohammad's
+mission there were probably not more than twelve Muslims of any weight
+who remained by him. Still the H�shimees remained in their quarter. It
+seemed as if they must all perish: their stores were almost gone, and
+the cries of starving children could be heard outside. Kind-hearted
+neighbours would sometimes smuggle-in a camel's load of food, but it
+availed little. The Kureysh themselves were getting ashamed of their
+work, and were wishing for an excuse for releasing their kinsmen. The
+excuse came in time. It was discovered that the deed of ban was eaten
+up by worms, and Aboo-T�lib turned the discovery to his advantage. The
+venerable old chief went out and met the Kureysh at the Kaabeh, and
+pointing to the crumbling leaf he bitterly reproached them with their
+hardness of heart towards their brethren: then he departed. And
+straightway there rose up five chiefs, heads of great families, and,
+amid the murmurs of the fiercer spirits who were still for no quarter,
+they put on their armour, and going to the shi-b of Aboo-T�lib, bade
+the H�shimees come forth in peace. And they came forth.
+
+It was now the eighth year of Mohammad's mission; and for the last two
+years, wasted in excommunication, Isl�m had almost stood still, at
+least externally. For though Mohammad's patient bearing under the ban
+had gained over a few of his imprisoned clan to his side, he had made
+no converts beyond the walls of his quarter. During the sacred months
+he had gone forth to speak to the people,--to the caravans of strangers
+and the folk at the fairs,--but he had no success; for hard behind him
+followed Aboo-Lahab, the squinter, who mocked at him, and told the
+people he was only 'a liar and a sabian.' And the people answered that
+his own kindred must best know what he was, and they would hear
+nothing from him. The bold conduct of the five chiefs had indeed
+secured for Mohammad a temporary respite from persecution; but this
+relief was utterly outweighed by the troubles that now fell upon him
+and fitly gave that year the name of 'The Year of Mourning.' For soon
+after the revoking of the ban Aboo-T�lib died, and five weeks later
+Khadeejeh. In the first Mohammad lost his ancient protector, who,
+though he would never give up his old belief, had yet faithfully
+guarded the Prophet from his childhood upwards, and, with the true
+Arab sentiment of kinship, had subjected himself and his clan to years
+of persecution and poverty in order to defend his brother's son from
+his enemies. The death of Khadeejeh was even a heavier calamity to
+Mohammad. She first had believed in him, and she had ever been his
+angel of hope and consolation. To his death he cherished a tender
+regret for her; and when his young bride ���sheh, the favourite of his
+declining years, jealously abused 'that toothless old woman,' he
+answered with indignation, 'When I was poor, she enriched me; when
+they called me a liar, she alone believed in me; when all the world
+was against me, she alone remained true.'
+
+Mohammad might well feel himself alone in the world. Most of his
+followers were in Abyssinia; only a few tried friends remained at
+Mekka. All the city was against him; his protector was dead, and his
+faithful wife. Dejected, almost hopeless, he would try a new field. If
+Mekka rejected him, might not Et-T��f give him welcome? He set out on
+foot on his journey of seventy miles, taking only Zeyd with him; and
+he told the people of Et-T��f his simple message. They stoned him out
+of the city for three miles. Bleeding and fainting, he paused to rest
+in an orchard, to recover strength before he went back to the insults
+of his own people. The owners of the place sent him some grapes; and
+he gathered up his strength once more, and bent his weary feet towards
+Mekka. On the way, as he slept, his fancy called up a strange dream:
+men had rejected him, and now he thought he saw the Jinn, the spirits
+of the air, falling down and worshipping the One God, and bearing
+witness to the truth of Isl�m. Heartened by the vision, he pushed on;
+and when Zeyd asked him if he did not fear to throw himself again into
+the hands of the Kureysh, he answered, 'God will protect His religion
+and help His prophet.'
+
+So this lonely man came back to dwell among his enemies. Though a
+brave Arab gentleman, compassionating his aloneness, gave him the
+Bedawee pledge of protection, yet he well knew that the power of his
+foes made such protection almost useless, and at any time he might be
+assassinated. But the Kureysh had not yet come to think of the last
+resource, and meanwhile a new prospect was opening out for Mohammad.
+That same year, as he was visiting the caravans of the pilgrims who
+had come from all parts of Arabia to worship at the Kaabeh, he found a
+group of men of Yethrib who were willing to listen to his words. He
+expounded to them the faith he was sent to preach, and he told them
+how his people had rejected him, and asked them whether Yethrib would
+receive him. The men were impressed with his words and professed
+Isl�m, and promised to bring news the next year; then they returned
+home and talked of this matter to their brethren. Now at Yethrib,
+besides two pagan tribes that had migrated upwards from the south,
+there were three clans of Jewish Arabs. Between the pagans and Jews,
+and then between the two pagan clans, there had been deadly wars; and
+now there were many parties in the city, and no one was master. The
+Jews, on the one hand, were expecting their Messiah; the pagans looked
+for a prophet. If Mohammad were not the Messiah, the Jews thought that
+he might at least be their tool to subdue their pagan rivals. 'Whether
+he is a prophet or not,' said the pagans, 'he is our kinsman by his
+mother, and will help us to overawe the Jews; and if he is the coming
+prophet, it is our policy to recognise him before those Jews who are
+always threatening us with their Messiah.' The teaching of Mohammad
+was so nearly Jewish, that a union of the two creeds might be hoped
+for; whilst to the pagan Arabs of Yethrib monotheism was no strange
+doctrine. All parties were therefore willing to receive Mohammad and
+at least try the experiment of his influence. As a peace-maker,
+prophet, or messiah, he would be equally welcome in a city torn
+asunder by party jealousies.
+
+When the time of pilgrimage again came round, Mohammad waited at the
+appointed place in a secluded glen, and there met him men from the two
+pagan tribes of Yethrib--the clans of Khazraj and Aws--ten from one and
+two from the other. They told him of the willingness of their people
+to embrace Isl�m, and their hope to make ready the city for his
+welcome. They plighted their faith with him in these words: 'We will
+not worship save one God; we will not steal, nor commit adultery, nor
+kill our children; we will in nowise slander, nor will we disobey the
+prophet in anything that is right.' This is the first pledge of the
+�Akabeh.
+
+The twelve men of Yethrib went back and preached Isl�m to their
+people. 'So prepared was the ground, so zealous the propagation, and
+so apt the method, that the new faith spread rapidly from house to
+house and from tribe to tribe. The Jews looked on in amazement at the
+people, whom they had in vain endeavoured for generations to convince
+of the errors of Polytheism and dissuade from the abominations of
+idolatry, suddenly and of their own accord casting away their idols
+and professing belief in God alone.' They asked Mohammad to send them
+a teacher versed in the Kur-�n, so anxious were they to know Isl�m
+truly; and Mus�ab was sent, and taught them and conducted their
+worship; so that Isl�m took deep root at Yethrib.
+
+Meanwhile Mohammad was still among the Kureysh at Mekka. His is now an
+attitude of waiting; he is listening for news from his distant
+converts. Resting his hopes upon them, and despairing of influencing
+the Mekkans, he does not preach so much as heretofore. He holds his
+peace mainly, and bides his time. One hears little of this interval of
+quietude. Isl�m seems stationary at Mekka, and its followers are
+silent and reserved. The Kureysh are joyful at the ceasing of those
+denunciations which terrified whilst they angered them, yet they are
+not quite satisfied. The Muslims have a waiting look, as though there
+were something at hand.
+
+It was during this year of expectation that the Prophet's celebrated
+'Night Journey' took place. This Mi�r�j has been the subject of
+extravagant embellishments on the part of the traditionists and
+commentators, and the cause of much obloquy to the Prophet from his
+religious opponents. Mohammad dreamed a dream, and referred to it
+briefly and obscurely in the Kur-�n. His followers persisted in
+believing it to have been a reality--an ascent to heaven in the
+body--till Mohammad was sick of repeating his simple assertion that it
+was a dream. The traditional form of this wonderful vision may be read
+in any life of Mohammad, and though it is doubtless very different
+from the story the Prophet himself gave, it is still a grand vision,
+full of glorious imagery, fraught with deep meaning.
+
+Again the time of pilgrimage came round, and again Mohammad repaired
+to the glen of the Mountain-road. Mus�ab had told him the good tidings
+of the spread of the faith at Yethrib, and he was met at the
+rendezvous by more than seventy men. They came by twos and threes
+secretly for fear of the Kureysh, 'waking not the sleeper, nor
+tarrying for the absent.' Then Mohammad recited to them verses from
+the Kur-�n, and in answer to their invitation that he should come to
+them, and their profession that their lives were at his service, he
+asked them to pledge themselves to defend him as they would their own
+wives and children. And a murmur of eager assent rolled round about
+from the seventy, and an old man, one of their chiefs, stood forth and
+said, 'Stretch out thy hand, O Mohammad.' And the chief struck his own
+hand into Mohammad's palm in the frank Bedawee fashion, and thus
+pledged his fealty. Man after man the others followed, and struck
+their hands upon Mohammad's. Then he chose twelve of them as leaders
+over the rest, saying, 'Moses chose from among his people twelve
+leaders. Ye shall be the sureties for the rest, even as the apostles
+of Jesus were; and I am the surety for my people.' A voice of some
+stranger was heard near by, and the assembly hastily dispersed and
+stole back to their camp. This is the second pledge of the �Akabeh.
+
+The Kureysh knew that some meeting had taken place, and though they
+could not bring home the offence to any of the Yethrib pilgrims, they
+kept a stricter watch on the movements of Mohammad and his friends
+after the pilgrims had returned homeward. It was clear that Mekka was
+no longer a safe place for the Muslims, and a few days after the
+second pledge Mohammad told his followers to betake themselves
+secretly to Yethrib. For two months at the beginning of the eleventh
+year of the mission (622) the Muslims were leaving Mekka in small
+companies to make the journey of 250 miles to Yethrib. One hundred
+families had gone, and whole quarters of the city were deserted, left
+with empty houses and locked doors, 'a prey to woe and wind.' There
+were but three believers now remaining in Mekka--these were Mohammad,
+Aboo-Bekr, and �Alee. Like the captain of a sinking ship, the Prophet
+would not leave till all the crew were safe. But now they were all
+gone save his two early friends, and everything was ready for the
+journey; still the Prophet did not go. But the Kureysh, who had been
+too much taken by surprise to prevent the emigration, now prepared
+measures for a summary vengeance on the disturber of their peace and
+the emptier of their city. They set a watch on his house, and, it is
+said, commissioned a band of armed youths of different families to
+assassinate him together, that the blood recompense might not fall on
+one household alone. But Mohammad had warning of his danger, and
+leaving �Alee to deceive the enemy, he was concealed with Aboo-Bekr in
+a narrow-mouthed cave on Mount Th�r, an hour-and-a-half's journey from
+Mekka, before the Kureysh knew of his escape. For three days they
+remained hidden there, while their enemies were searching the country
+for them. Once they were very near, and Aboo-Bekr trembled:--'We are
+but two.' 'Nay,' answered Mohammad, 'we are three, for God is with
+us.' And a spider, they say, wove its web over the entrance of the
+cave, so that the Kureysh passed on, thinking that no man had entered
+there.
+
+On the third night the pursuit had been almost given over, and the two
+fugitives took up their journey again. Mounted on camels they
+journeyed to Yethrib. In eight days they reached the outskirts of the
+city (September 622). Mohammad was received with acclamation, and took
+up his residence among his kindred. The seat of Isl�m was transferred
+from Mekka to Yethrib, henceforward to be known as
+Medina,--_Medeenet-en-Nebee_, 'the City of the Prophet.'
+
+This is the _Hijreh_, or Flight of the Prophet, from which the Muslims
+date their history. Their first year began on the 16th day of June of
+the Year of Grace 622.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A great change now comes over the Prophet's life. It is still the same
+man, but the surroundings are totally different; the work to be done
+is on a wider, rougher stage. Thus far we have seen a gentle,
+thoughtful boy tending the sheep round Mekka;--a young man of little
+note, of whom the people only knew that he was pure and upright and
+true;--then a man of forty whose solitary communion with his soul has
+pressed him to the last terrible questions that each man, if he will
+think at all, must some time ask himself--What is life? What does this
+world mean? What is reality, what is truth? Long months, years
+perhaps, we know not how long and weary, filled with the tortures of
+doubt and the despair of ever attaining to the truth, filled with the
+dreary thought of his aloneness in the relentless universe, and the
+longing to end it all, brought at last their fruits--sure conviction of
+the great secret of life, a firm belief in the Creator in whom all
+things live and move and have their being, whom to serve is man's
+highest duty and privilege, the one thing to be done. And then ten
+years of struggling with careless, unthinking idolators; ten years of
+slow results, the gaining over of a few close friends, the devoted
+attachment of some slaves and men of the meaner rank; finally, the
+conversion of half-a-dozen great citizen chiefs, ending in the flight
+of the whole brotherhood of believers from their native city and their
+welcome to a town of strangers, where the faith had forced itself home
+to the hearts of perhaps two hundred citizens. It was but little that
+was done; so many years of toil, of indomitable courage and
+perseverance and long-suffering, and only about three hundred converts
+at the end! But it was the seed of a great harvest. Mohammad had shown
+men what he was; the nobility of his character, his strong friendship,
+his endurance and courage, above all, his earnestness and fiery
+enthusiasm for the truth he came to preach,--these things had revealed
+the hero, the master whom it was alike impossible to disobey and
+impossible not to love. Henceforward it is only a question of time. As
+the men of Medina come to know Mohammad, they too will devote
+themselves to him body and soul; and the enthusiasm will catch fire
+and spread among the tribes till all Arabia is at the feet of the
+Prophet of the One God. 'No emperor with his tiaras was obeyed as this
+man in a cloak of His own clouting.' He had the gift of influencing
+men, and he had the nobility only to influence them for good.
+
+We have now to see Mohammad as king. Though he came as a fugitive,
+rejected as an impostor by his own citizens, yet it was not long
+before his word was supreme in his adopted city. He had to rule over a
+mixed and divided people, and this must have helped him to the supreme
+voice. There were four distinct parties at Medina. First, the
+'Refugees' (Muh�jiroon), who had fled from Mekka; on these Mohammad
+could always rely with implicit faith. But he attached equal
+importance to the early converts of Medina, who had invited him among
+them and given him a home when the future seemed very hopeless before
+him, and who were thenceforward known by the honourable title of the
+'Helpers' (Ans�r). How devoted was the affection of these men is
+shown by the well-known scene at El-Ji�r�neh, when the Helpers were
+discontented with their share of the spoils, and Mohammad answered,
+'Why are ye disturbed in mind because of the things of this life
+wherewith I have sought to incline the hearts of these men of Mekka
+into Isl�m, whereas ye are already steadfast in the faith? Are ye not
+satisfied that others should obtain the flocks and the camels, while
+ye carry back the Prophet of the Lord unto your homes? Nay, I will not
+leave you for ever. If all mankind went one way, and the men of Medina
+went another way, verily I would go the way of the men of Medina. The
+Lord be favourable unto them, and bless them, and their sons, and
+their sons' sons, for ever!' And the 'Helpers' wept upon their beards,
+and cried with one voice, 'Yea, we are well satisfied, O Prophet, with
+our lot.' To retain the allegiance of the Refugees and the Helpers was
+never a trouble to Mohammad; the only difficulty was to rein in their
+zeal and hold them back from doing things of blood and vengeance on
+the enemies of Isl�m. To prevent the danger of jealousy between the
+Refugees and the Helpers, Mohammad assigned each Refugee to one of the
+Ans�r to be his brother; and this tie of gossipry superseded all
+nearer ties, till Mohammad saw the time was over when it was needed.
+The third party in Medina was that of the 'Disaffected,' or in the
+language of Isl�m the 'Hypocrites' (Mun�fikoon). This was composed of
+the large body of men who gave in their nominal allegiance to Mohammad
+and his religion when they saw they could not safely withstand his
+power, but who were always ready to turn about if they thought there
+was a chance of his overthrow. Mohammad treated these men and their
+leader �Abdallah ibn Ubayy (who himself aspired to the sovranty of
+Medina) with patient courtesy and friendliness, and, though they
+actually deserted him more than once at vitally critical moments, he
+never retaliated, even when he was strong enough to crush them, but
+rather sought to win them over heartily to his cause by treating them
+as though they were what he would have them be. The result was that
+this party gradually diminished and became absorbed in the general
+mass of earnest Muslims, and though up to its leader's death it
+constantly called forth Mohammad's powers of conciliation, after that
+it vanished from the history of parties.
+
+The fourth party was the real thorn in the Prophet's side. It
+consisted of the Jews, of whom three tribes were settled in the
+suburbs of Medina. They had at first been well disposed to Mohammad's
+coming. He could not indeed be the Messiah, because he was not of the
+lineage of David; but he would do very well to pass off upon their
+neighbours, the pagan Arabs, as, if not the Messiah, at least a great
+prophet; and by his influence the Jews might regain their old
+supremacy in Medina. Mohammad's teaching was very nearly Jewish--they
+had taught him the fables of their Haggadah, and he believed in their
+prophets--why should he not be one of them and help them to the
+dominion? When Mohammad came, they found out their mistake; instead of
+a tool they had a master. He told the people, indeed, the stories of
+the Midrash, and he professed to revive the religion of Abraham: but
+he added to this several damning articles; he taught that Jesus _was_
+the Messiah, and that no other Messiah was to be looked for; and,
+moreover, whilst reverencing and inculcating the doctrine of the
+Hebrew prophets and of Christ, as he knew it, he yet insisted on his
+own mission as in nowise inferior to theirs--as, in fact, the seal of
+prophecy by which all that went before was confirmed or abrogated. The
+illusion was over; the Jews would have nothing to say to Isl�m: they
+set themselves instead to oppose it, ridicule it, and vex its Preacher
+in every way that their notorious ingenuity could devise.
+
+The step was false: the Jews missed their game, and they had to pay
+for it. Whether it was possible to form a coalition,--whether the Jews
+might have induced Mohammad to waive certain minor points if they
+recognised his prophetic mission,--it is difficult to say. It seems
+most probable that Mohammad would not have yielded a jot to their
+demands, and would have accepted nothing short of unconditional
+surrender to his religion. And it is at least doubtful whether Isl�m
+would have gained anything by a further infusion of Judaism. It
+already contained all that it could assimilate of the Hebrew faith;
+the rest was too narrow for the universal scope of Isl�m. The religion
+of Mohammad lost little, we may be sure, by the standing aloof of the
+Arabian Jews; but the Jews themselves lost much. Mohammad, indeed,
+treated them kindly so long as kindness was possible. He made a treaty
+with them, whereby the rights of the Muslims and the Jews were
+defined. They were to practise their several religions unmolested;
+protection and security were promised to all the parties to the
+treaty, irrespective of creed; each was to help the other if attacked;
+no alliance was to be made with the Kureysh; war was to be made in
+common, and no war could be made without the consent of Mohammad:
+crime alone could do away with the protection of this treaty.
+
+But the Jews would not content themselves with standing aloof; they
+must needs act on the offensive. They began by asking Mohammad hard
+questions out of their law, and his answers they easily refuted from
+their books. They denied all knowledge of the Jewish stories in the
+Kur-�n--though they knew that they came from their own Haggadah, which
+was ever in their mouths in their own quarter,--and they showed him
+their Bible, where, of course, the Haggadistic legends were not to be
+found. Mohammad had but one course open to him--to say they had
+suppressed or changed their books; and he denounced them accordingly,
+and said that his was the true account of the patriarchs and prophets,
+revealed from heaven. Not satisfied with tormenting Mohammad with
+questions on that T�rah which they were always wrangling about
+themselves, they took hold of the every day formulas of Isl�m, the
+daily prayers and ejaculations, and, 'twisting their tongues,'
+mispronounced them so that they meant something absurd or blasphemous.
+When asked which they preferred, Isl�m or idolatry, they frankly
+avowed that they preferred idolatry. To lie about their own religion
+and to ridicule another religion that was doing a great and good work
+around them was not enough for these Jews; they must set their poets
+to work to lampoon the women of the believers in obscene verse, and
+such outrages upon common decency, not to say upon the code of Arab
+honour and chivalry, became a favourite occupation among the poets of
+the Jewish clans.
+
+These were offences against the religion and the persons of the
+Muslims. They also conspired against the state. Mohammad was not only
+the preacher of Isl�m, he was also the king of Medina, and was
+responsible for the safety and peace of the city. As a prophet, he
+could afford to ignore the jibes of the Jews, though they maddened him
+to fury; but as the chief of the city, the general in a time of almost
+continual warfare, when Medina was kept in a state of military defence
+and under a sort of military discipline, he could not overlook
+treachery. He was bound by his duty to his subjects to suppress a
+party that might (and nearly did) lead to the sack of the city by
+investing armies. The measures he took for this object have furnished
+his European biographers with a handle for attack. It is, I believe,
+solely on the ground of his treatment of the Jews that Mohammad has
+been called 'a bloodthirsty tyrant:' it would certainly be difficult
+to support the epithet on other grounds.
+
+The bloodthirstiness consists in this: some half-dozen Jews, who had
+distinguished themselves by their virulence against the Muslims, or by
+their custom of carrying information to the common enemy of Medina,
+were executed; two of the three Jewish clans were sent into exile,
+just as they had previously come into exile, and the third was
+exterminated--the men killed, and the women and children made slaves.
+The execution of the half-dozen marked Jews is generally called
+assassination, because a Muslim was sent secretly to kill each of the
+criminals. The reason is almost too obvious to need explanation. There
+were no police or law-courts or even courts-martial at Medina; some
+one of the followers of Mohammad must therefore be the executor of the
+sentence of death, and it was better it should be done quietly, as the
+executing of a man openly before his clan would have caused a brawl
+and more bloodshed and retaliation, till the whole city had become
+mixed up in the quarrel. If secret assassination is the word for such
+deeds, secret assassination was a necessary part of the internal
+government of Medina. The men must be killed, and best in that way. In
+saying this I assume that Mohammad was cognisant of the deed, and that
+it was not merely a case of private vengeance; but in several
+instances the evidence that traces these executions to Mohammad's
+order is either entirely wanting or is too doubtful to claim our
+credence.
+
+Of the sentences upon the three whole clans, that of exile, passed
+upon two of them, was clement enough. They were a turbulent set,
+always setting the people of Medina by the ears; and finally a brawl
+followed by an insurrection resulted in the expulsion of one tribe;
+and insubordination, alliance with enemies, and a suspicion of
+conspiracy against the Prophet's life, ended similarly for the second.
+Both tribes had violated the original treaty, and had endeavoured in
+every way to bring Mohammad and his religion to ridicule and
+destruction. The only question is whether their punishment was not too
+light. Of the third clan a fearful example was made, not by Mohammad,
+but by an arbiter appointed by themselves. When the Kureysh and their
+allies were besieging Medina, and had well-nigh stormed the defences,
+this Jewish tribe entered into negotiations with the enemy, which were
+only circumvented by the diplomacy of the Prophet. When the besiegers
+had retired, Mohammad naturally demanded an explanation of the Jews.
+They resisted in their dogged way, and were themselves besieged and
+compelled to surrender at discretion. Mohammad, however, consented to
+the appointing of a chief of a tribe allied to the Jews as the judge
+who should pronounce sentence upon them. The man in question was a
+fierce soldier, who had been wounded in the attack on the Jews, and
+indeed died from his wound the same day. This chief gave sentence that
+the men, in number some six hundred, should be killed, and the women
+and children enslaved; and the sentence was carried out. It was a
+harsh, bloody sentence, worthy of the episcopal generals of the army
+against the Albigenses, or of the deeds of the Augustan age of
+Puritanism; but it must be remembered that the crime of these men was
+high treason against the State, during time of siege; and those who
+have read how Wellington's march could be traced by the bodies of
+deserters and pillagers hanging from the trees, need not be surprized
+at the summary execution of a traitorous clan.
+
+Whilst Mohammad's supremacy was being established and maintained among
+the mixed population of Mekka, a vigorous warfare was being carried on
+outside with his old persecutors, the Kureysh. On the history of this
+war, consisting as it did mainly of small raids and attacks upon
+caravans, I need not dwell; its leading features were the two battles
+of Bedr and Ohud, in the first of which three hundred Muslims, though
+outnumbered at the odds of three to one, were completely victorious
+(A.D. 624, A.H. 2); whilst at Ohud, being outnumbered in the like
+proportion and deserted by the 'Disaffected' party, they were almost
+as decisively defeated (A.H. 3). Two years later the Kureysh,
+gathering together their allies, advanced upon Medina and besieged it
+for fifteen days; but the foresight of Mohammad in digging a trench,
+and the enthusiasm of the Muslims in defending it, resisted all
+assaults, and the coming of the heavy storms for which the climate of
+Medina is noted drove the enemy back to Mekka. The next year (A.H. 6)
+a ten years' truce was concluded with the Kureysh, in pursuance of
+which a strange scene took place in the following spring. It was
+agreed that Mohammad and his people should perform the Lesser
+Pilgrimage, and that the Kureysh should for that purpose vacate Mekka
+for three days. Accordingly, in March 629, about two thousand Muslims,
+with Mohammad at their head on his famous camel El-Kasw�--the same on
+which he had fled from Mekka--trooped down the valley and performed the
+rites which every Muslim to this day observes.
+
+'It was surely a strange sight which at this time presented itself in
+the vale of Mekka,--a sight unique in the history of the world. The
+ancient city is for three days evacuated by all its inhabitants, high
+and low, every house deserted; and, as they retire, the exiled
+converts, many years banished from their birthplace, approach in a
+great body, accompanied by their allies, revisit the empty homes of
+their childhood, and within the short allotted space fulfil the rites
+of pilgrimage. The ousted inhabitants, climbing the heights around,
+take refuge under tents or other shelter among the hills and glens;
+and, clustering on the overhanging peak of Aboo-Kubeys, thence watch
+the movements of the visitors beneath, as with the Prophet at their
+head they make the circuit of the Kaabeh and the rapid procession
+between Es-Saf� and Marwah; and anxiously scan every figure if
+perchance they may recognise among the worshippers some long-lost
+friend or relative. It was a scene rendered possible only by the
+throes which gave birth to Isl�m.'[15]
+
+When the three days were over, Mohammad and his party peaceably
+returned to Medina; and the Mekkans re-entered their homes. But this
+pilgrimage, and the self-restraint of the Muslims therein, advanced
+the cause of Isl�m among its enemies. Converts increased daily, and
+some leading men of the Kureysh now went over to Mohammad. The clans
+around were sending in their deputations of homage. But the final
+keystone was set in the eighth year of the flight (A.D. 630), when a
+body of Kureysh broke the truce by attacking an ally of the Muslims;
+and Mohammad forthwith marched upon Mekka with ten thousand men, and
+the city, defence being hopeless, surrendered. Now was the time for
+the Prophet to show his bloodthirsty nature. His old persecutors are
+at his feet. Will he not trample on them, torture them, revenge
+himself after his own cruel manner? Now the man will come forward in
+his true colours: we may prepare our horror, and cry shame beforehand.
+
+But what is this? Is there no blood in the streets? Where are the
+bodies of the thousands that have been butchered? Facts are hard
+things; and it is a fact that the day of Mohammad's greatest triumph
+over his enemies was also the day of his grandest victory over
+himself. He freely forgave the Kureysh all the years of sorrow and
+cruel scorn they had inflicted on him: he gave an amnesty to the whole
+population of Mekka. Four criminals, whom justice condemned, made up
+Mohammad's proscription list when he entered as a conqueror the city
+of his bitterest enemies. The army followed his example, and entered
+quietly and peaceably; no house was robbed, no woman insulted. One
+thing alone suffered destruction. Going to the Kaabeh, Mohammad stood
+before each of the three hundred and sixty idols and pointed to it
+with his staff, saying, 'Truth is come and lying is undone,' and at
+these words his attendants hewed it down; and all the idols and
+household gods of Mekka and round about were destroyed.
+
+It was thus that Mohammad entered again his native city. Through all
+the annals of conquest, there is no triumphant entry like unto this
+one.
+
+The taking of Mekka was soon followed by the adhesion of all Arabia.
+Every reader knows the story of the spread of Isl�m. The tribes of
+every part of the peninsula sent embassies to do homage to the
+Prophet. Arabia was not enough: the Prophet had written in his bold
+uncompromising way to the great kings of the East, to the Persian
+Khusru, and the Greek Emperor; and these little knew how soon his
+invitation to the faith would be repeated, and how quickly Isl�m would
+be knocking at their doors with no faltering hand.
+
+The Prophet's career was near its end. In the tenth year of the
+Flight, twenty years after he had first felt the Spirit move him to
+preach to his people, he resolved once more to leave his adopted city
+and go to Mekka to perform a farewell pilgrimage. And when the rites
+were done in the valley of Min�, the Prophet spoke unto the
+multitude--the forty thousand pilgrims--with solemn last words.[16]
+
+'YE PEOPLE! Hearken to my words; for I know not whether after this
+year I shall ever be amongst you here again.
+
+'Your Lives and your Property are sacred and inviolable amongst one
+another until the end of time.
+
+'The Lord hath ordained to every man the share of his inheritance: a
+Testament is not lawful to the prejudice of heirs.
+
+'The child belongeth to the Parent; and the violator of Wedlock shall
+be stoned.
+
+'Ye people! Ye have rights demandable of your Wives, and they have
+rights demandable of you. Treat your women well.
+
+'And your Slaves, see that you feed them with such food as ye eat
+yourselves, and clothe them with the stuff ye wear. And if they commit
+a fault which ye are not willing to forgive, then sell them, for they
+are the servants of the Lord, and are not to be tormented.
+
+'Ye people! Hearken unto my speech and comprehend it. Know that every
+Muslim is the brother of every other Muslim. All of you are on the
+same equality: ye are one Brotherhood.'
+
+Then, looking up to heaven, he cried, 'O Lord! I have delivered my
+message and fulfilled my mission.' And all the multitude answered,
+'Yea, verily hast thou'!--'O Lord! I beseech Thee, bear Thou witness to
+it'! and, like Moses, he lifted up his hands and blessed the people.
+
+
+Three months more and Mohammad was dead.
+
+   A.H. 11. June, 632.
+
+
+It is a hard thing to form a calm estimate of the Dreamer of the
+Desert. There is something so tender and womanly, and withal so
+heroic, about the man, that one is in peril of finding the judgment
+unconsciously blinded by the feeling of reverence and well-nigh love
+that such a nature inspires. He who, standing alone, braved for years
+the hatred of his people, is the same who was never the first to
+withdraw his hand from another's clasp, the beloved of children, who
+never passed a group of little ones without a smile from his wonderful
+eyes and a kind word for them, sounding all the kinder in that
+sweet-toned voice. The frank friendship, the noble generosity, the
+dauntless courage and hope of the man, all tend to melt criticism in
+admiration.
+
+In telling in brief outline the story of Mohammad's life I have
+endeavoured to avoid controversial points. I have tried to convey in
+the simplest manner the view of that life which a study of the
+authorities must force upon every unbiassed mind. Many of the events
+of Mohammad's life have been distorted and credited with ignoble
+motives by European biographers; but on the facts they mainly agree,
+and these I have narrated, without encumbering them with the
+ingenious adumbrations of their learned recorders. But there are some
+things in the Prophet's life which have given rise to charges too
+weighty to be dismissed without discussion. He has been accused of
+cruelty, sensuality, and insincerity; he has been called a
+'bloodthirsty tyrant,' a voluptuary, and an impostor.
+
+The charge of cruelty scarcely deserves consideration. I have already
+spoken of the punishment of the Jews, which forms the ground of the
+accusation. One has but to refer to Mohammad's conduct to the
+prisoners after the battle of Bedr, to his patient tolerance towards
+his enemies at Medina, his gentleness to his people, his love of
+children and the dumb creatures, and above all, his bloodless entry
+into Mekka, and the complete amnesty he gave to those who had been his
+bitter enemies during eighteen years of insult and persecution and
+finally open war, to show that cruelty was no part of Mohammad's
+nature.
+
+To say that Mohammad, or any other Arab, was sensual in a higher
+degree than an ordinary European is simply to enounce a well-worn
+axiom: the passions of the men of the sunland are not as those of the
+chill north. But to say that Mohammad was a voluptuary is false. The
+simple austerity of his daily life, to the very last, his hard mat for
+sleeping on, his plain food, his self-imposed menial work, point him
+out as an ascetic rather than a voluptuary in most senses of the word.
+Two things he loved, perfumes and women; the first was harmless
+enough, and the special case of his wives has its special answer. A
+great deal too much has been said about these wives. It is a
+melancholy spectacle to see professedly Christian biographers gloating
+over the stories and fables of Mohammad's domestic relations like the
+writers and readers of 'society' journals. It is, of course, a fact
+that whilst the Prophet allowed his followers only four wives he took
+more than a dozen himself; but be it remembered that, with his
+unlimited power, he need not have restricted himself to a number
+insignificant compared with the hareems of some of his successors,
+that he never divorced one of his wives, that all of them save one
+were widows, and that one of these widows was endowed with so terrific
+a temper that Aboo-Bekr and �Othm�n had already politely declined the
+honour of her alliance before the Prophet married her: the
+gratification of living with a vixen cannot surely be excessive.
+Several of these marriages must have been entered into from the
+feeling that those women whose husbands had fallen in battle for the
+faith, and who had thus been left unprotected, had a claim upon the
+generosity of him who prompted the fight. Other marriages were
+contracted from motives of policy, in order to conciliate the heads of
+rival factions. It was not a high motive, but one does not look for
+very romantic ideas about love-matches from a man who regarded women
+as 'crooked ribs,' and whose system certainly does its best to make
+marriage from love impossible; yet, on the other hand, it was not a
+sensual motive. Perhaps the strongest reason--one of which it is
+impossible to over-estimate the force--that impelled Mohammad to take
+wife after wife was his desire for male offspring. It was a natural
+wish that he should have a son who should follow in his steps and
+carry on his work; but the wish was never gratified, Mohammad's sons
+died young. After all, the overwhelming argument is his fidelity to
+his first wife. When he was little more than a boy he married
+Khadeejeh, who was fifteen years older than himself, with all the
+added age that women gain so quickly in the East. For five-and-twenty
+years Mohammad remained faithful to his elderly wife, and when she was
+sixty-five, and they might have celebrated their 'silver wedding,' he
+was as devoted to her as when first he married her. During all those
+years there was never a breath of scandal. Thus far Mohammad's life
+will bear microscopic scrutiny. Then Khadeejeh died; and though he
+married many women afterwards, some of them rich in youth and beauty,
+he never forgot his old wife, and loved her best to the end: 'when I
+was poor she enriched me, when they called me a liar she alone
+believed in me, when all the world was against me she alone remained
+true.' This loving, tender memory of an old wife laid in the grave
+belongs only to a noble nature; it is not to be looked for in a
+voluptuary.[17]
+
+When, however, all has been said, when it has been shown that Mohammad
+was not the rapacious voluptuary some have taken him for, and that his
+violation of his own marriage-law may be due to motives reasonable and
+just from his point of view rather than to common sensuality, there
+remains the fact that some of the soorahs of the Kur-�n bear
+unmistakable marks of self-accommodation and personal convenience;
+that Mohammad justified his domestic excesses by words which he gave
+as from God. And hence the third and gravest charge, the charge of
+imposture. We must clearly understand what is meant by this
+accusation. It is meant that the Prophet _consciously_ fabricated
+speeches, and palmed them off upon the people as the very word of God.
+The question, it will at once be perceived, has nothing whatever to
+do with the truth or untruth of the revelations. Many an earnest
+enthusiast has uttered prophecies and exhortations which he firmly
+believed to be the promptings of the Spirit, and no man can charge
+such an one with imposture. He thoroughly believes what he says, and
+the fault is in the judgment, not the conscience. The question is
+clearly narrowed to this: Did Mohammad believe he was speaking the
+words of God equally when he declared that permission was given him to
+take unto him more wives, as when he proclaimed 'There is no god but
+God'? It is a question that concerns the conscience of man; and each
+must answer it for himself. How far a man may be deluded into
+believing everything he says is inspired it is impossible to define.
+There are men to-day who would seem to claim infallibility; and in
+Mohammad's time it was so much easier to believe in one's self. Now,
+one never wants a friend to remind him of his weakness; then, there
+were hundreds who would fain have made the man think himself God. It
+is wonderful, with his temptations, how great a humility was ever his,
+how little he assumed of all the god-like attributes men forced upon
+him. His whole life is one long argument for his loyalty to truth. He
+had but one answer for his worshippers, 'I am no more than a man, I am
+only human.' 'Do none enter Paradise save by the mercy of God?' asked
+���sheh. 'None, none, none,' he answered. 'Not even thou by thy own
+merits?' 'Neither shall I enter Paradise unless God cover me with His
+mercy.' He was a man like unto his brethren in all things save one,
+and that one difference served only to increase his humbleness, and
+render him the more sensitive to his shortcomings. He was sublimely
+confident of this single attribute, that he was the messenger of the
+Lord of the Daybreak, and that the words he spake came verily from
+Him. He was fully persuaded--and no man dare dispute his right to the
+belief--that God had sent him to do a great work among his people in
+Arabia. Nervous to the verge of madness, subject to hysteria, given to
+wild dreamings in solitary places, his was a temperament that easily
+leads itself to religious enthusiasm. He felt a subtle influence
+within him which he believed to be the movings of the Spirit: he
+thought he heard a voice; it became real and audible to him, awed and
+terrified him, so that he fell into frantic fits. Then he would arise
+and utter some noble saying; and what wonder if he thought it came
+straight from highest heaven? It was not without a sore struggle that
+he convinced himself of his own inspiration; but once admitted, the
+conviction grew with his years and his widening influence for good,
+and nothing then could shake his belief that he was the literal
+mouthpiece of the All-Merciful. When a man has come to this point, he
+cannot be expected to discriminate between this saying and that. As
+the instrument of God he has lost his individuality; he believes God
+is ever speaking through his lips; he dare not question the
+inspiration of the speech lest he should seem to doubt the Giver.
+
+Yet there must surely be a limit to this delusion. There are some
+passages in the Kur-�n which it is difficult to think Mohammad truly
+believed to be the voice of the Lord of the Worlds. Mohammad's was a
+sensitive conscience in the early years of his teaching, and it is
+hard to think that it could have been so obscured in later times that
+he could really believe in the inspired source of some of his
+revelations. He may have thought the commands they conveyed necessary,
+but he could hardly have deemed them divine. In some cases he could
+scarcely fail to be aware that the object of the 'revelation' was his
+own comfort or pleasure or reputation, and not the _major Dei gloria_,
+nor the good of the people.
+
+The truth would seem to be that in the latter part of his life
+Mohammad was forced to enlarge the limits of his revelations as the
+sphere of his influence increased. From a private citizen of Mekka he
+had become the Emeer, the chief of the Arabs, the ruler of a
+factious, jealous, turbulent people; and the change must have had its
+effect upon his character. The man who from addressing a few devout
+followers in a tent in the desert finds himself the head of a nation
+of many tribes, king of a country twice the size of France, will find
+many things difficult that before seemed easy. As a statesman Mohammad
+was as great as he was as a preacher of righteousness; but as his
+field of work enlarged, his mind had to accommodate itself to the
+needs of commoner minds. He learnt to see the expedient where before
+he knew only the right. His revelations now deal with the things of
+earth, when before they looked only towards the things of heaven; and
+petty social rules, 'general orders,' selfish permissions, are
+promulgated with the same authority and as from the same divine source
+as the command to worship one God alone. He governed the nation as a
+prophet and not as a king, and as a prophet his ordinances must be
+endorsed with the divine afflatus. He found he must regulate the
+meanest details of the people's life, and he believed he could only do
+this by using God's name for his decrees. He doubtless argued himself
+into the belief that even these petty, and to us sometimes immoral,
+regulations, being for the good of the people, as he conceived the
+good, were really God's ordinances; but even thus he had lowered the
+standard of his teaching, and alloyed with base metal the pure gold of
+his early ideal. It was a temptation that few men have withstood, but
+it was, nevertheless, a falling-off from the Mohammad we loved at
+Mekka, the simple truth-loving bearer of good tidings to the Arabs.
+
+Yet behind this engrafted character, formed by the difficulties of his
+position, by the invincible jealousy and treachery of the tribes he
+governed, the old nature still lived, and ever and anon broke forth in
+fervid words of faith and hope in the cause and the promises that had
+been the light and support of his early years of trial. In the late
+chapters of the Kur-�n, among complicated directions for the Muslim's
+guidance in all the circumstances of life, we suddenly hear an echo of
+the old fiery eloquence and the expression of the strong faith which
+never deserted him.
+
+Surely the character of Mohammad has been misjudged. He was not the
+ambitious schemer some would have him, still less the hypocrite and
+sham prophet others have imagined. He was an enthusiast in that
+noblest sense when enthusiasm becomes the salt of the earth, the one
+thing that keeps men from rotting whilst they live. Enthusiasm is
+often used despitefully, because it is joined to an unworthy cause, or
+falls upon barren ground and bears no fruit. So was it not with
+Mohammad. He was an enthusiast when enthusiasm was the one thing
+needed to set the world aflame, and his enthusiasm was noble for a
+noble cause. He was one of those happy few who have attained the
+supreme joy of making one great truth their very life-spring. He was
+the messenger of the One God, and never to his life's end did he
+forget who he was, or the message which was the marrow of his being.
+He brought his tidings to his people with a grand dignity, sprung from
+the consciousness of his high office, together with a most sweet
+humility, whose roots lay in the knowledge of his own weakness. Well
+did Carlyle choose him for his prophet-hero! There have been purer
+lives and higher aspirations than Mohammad's; but no man was ever more
+thoroughly filled with the sense of his mission or carried out that
+mission more heroically.
+
+
+
+
+III.--ISLAM.
+
+   'Your turning your faces in prayer towards the east and the
+   west is not piety; but the pious is he who believeth in God
+   and the Last Day, and in the Angels, and the Scripture, and
+   who giveth money, notwithstanding his love thereof, to
+   relations and orphans, and to the needy and the son of the
+   road, and to the askers, and for the freeing of slaves, and
+   who performeth prayer and giveth the appointed alms; and those
+   who perform their covenant when they covenant, and the patient
+   in adversity and affliction and in the time of violence. These
+   are they who have been true: and these are they who fear
+   God.'--_Kur-�n_, ii. 172.
+
+When it was noised abroad that the Prophet was dead, �Omar, the
+fiery-hearted, the Simon Peter of Isl�m, rushed among the people, and
+fiercely told them they lied, it could not be true, Mohammad was not
+dead. And Aboo-Bekr came and said, 'Ye people! he that hath worshipped
+Mohammad, let him know that Mohammad is dead; but he that hath
+worshipped God,--that the Lord liveth, and doth not die.'
+
+Many have sought to answer the questions--Why was the triumph of Isl�m
+so speedy and so complete? Why have so many millions embraced the
+religion of Mohammad, and scarcely a hundred ever recanted? Why do a
+thousand Christians become Muslims to one Muslim who adopts
+Christianity? Why do a hundred and fifty millions of human beings
+still cling to the faith of Isl�m? Some have attempted to explain the
+first overwhelming success of the Mohammadan religion by the argument
+of the sword. They forget Carlyle's laconic reply, 'First get your
+sword.' You must win men's hearts before you can induce them to peril
+their lives for you, and the first conquerors of Isl�m must have been
+made Muslims before they were made 'fighters on the path of God.'
+Others allege the low morality of the religion and the sensual
+paradise it promises as a sufficient cause for the zeal of its
+followers; but even were these admitted to the full, to say that such
+reasons could win the hearts of millions of men who have the same
+hopes and longings after the right and the noble as we, is to libel
+mankind. No religion has ever gained a lasting hold upon the souls of
+men by the force of its sensual permissions and fleshly promises. It
+is urged, again, that Isl�m met no fair foe, that the worn-out forms
+of Christianity and Judaism it encountered were no test of its power
+as a quickening faith, and that it prevailed simply because there was
+nothing to prevent it; and this was undoubtedly a help to the progress
+of the new creed, but it could not have been the cause of its victory.
+
+In all these reasons the religion itself is left out of the question.
+Decidedly Isl�m itself was the main cause of its triumph. By some
+strange intuition Mohammad succeeded in finding the one form of
+Monotheism that has ever commended itself to any wide section of the
+Eastern world. It was only a remnant of the Jews that learned to
+worship the one God of the prophets after the hard lessons of the
+Captivity. Christianity has never gained a hold upon the East. Isl�m
+not only was at once accepted (partly in earnest, partly in name, but
+accepted) by Arabia, Syria, Persia, Egypt, Northern Africa, and
+Southern Spain at its first outburst, but, with the exception of
+Spain, it has never lost its vantage-ground; it has seen no country
+that has once embraced its doctrine turn to another faith; it has
+added great multitudes in India and China and Turkestan to its
+subjects; and in quite recent times it has been spreading in wide and
+swiftly--following waves over Africa, and has left but a small part of
+that vast continent unconverted to its creed. Admitting the mixed
+causes that contributed to the rapidity of the first torrent of
+Mohammadan conquest, they do not account for the duration of Isl�m.
+There must be something in the religion itself to explain its
+persistence and increase, and to account for its present hold over so
+large a proportion of the dwellers on the earth.
+
+Men trained in European ideas of religion have always found a
+difficulty in understanding the fascination which the Muslim faith has
+for so many minds in the East. 'There is no god but God, and Mohammad
+is His Prophet.' There is nothing in this, they say, to move the
+heart. Yet this creed has stirred an enthusiasm that has never been
+surpassed. Isl�m has had its martyrs, its self-tormentors, its
+recluses, who have renounced all that life offered and have accepted
+death with a smile for the sake of the faith that was in them. It is
+idle to say the eternity of happiness will explain this. The truest
+martyrs of Isl�m, as well as of Christianity, did not die to gain
+paradise. And if they did, the belief in the promises of the creed
+must follow the hearty belief in the creed. Isl�m must have possessed
+a power of seizing men's belief before it could have inspired them
+with such a love of its paradise.
+
+Mohammad's conception of God has, I think, been misunderstood, and its
+effect upon the people consequently under-estimated. The God of Isl�m
+is commonly represented as a pitiless tyrant, who plays with humanity
+as on a chessboard, and works out his game without regard to the
+sacrifice of the pieces; and there is a certain truth in the figure.
+There is more in Isl�m of the potter who shapes the clay than of the
+father pitying his children. Mohammad conceived of God as the Semitic
+mind has always preferred to think of Him: his God is the All-Mighty,
+the All-Knowing, the All-Just. Irresistible Power is the first
+attribute he thinks of: the Lord of the Worlds, the Author of the
+Heavens and the Earth, who hath created Life and Death, in whose hand
+is Dominion, who maketh the Dawn to appear and causeth the Night to
+cover the Day, the Great, All-Powerful Lord of the glorious Throne;
+the Thunder proclaimeth His perfection, the whole earth is His
+handful, and the Heavens shall be folded together in His right hand.
+And with the Power He conceives the Knowledge that directs it to
+right ends. God is the Wise, the Just, the True, the Swift in
+reckoning, who knoweth every ant's weight of good and of ill that each
+man hath done, and who suffereth not the reward of the faithful to
+perish.
+
+   'God! There is no God but He, the Ever-Living, the
+   Ever-Subsisting. Slumber seizeth Him not nor sleep. To Him
+   belongeth whatsoever is in the Heavens and whatsoever is in
+   the Earth. Who is he that shall intercede with Him, save by
+   His permission? He knoweth the things that have gone before
+   and the things that follow after, and men shall not compass
+   aught of His knowledge, save what He willeth. His Throne
+   comprehendeth the Heavens and the Earth, and the care of them
+   burdeneth Him not. And He is the High, the Great.'--_Kur-�n_,
+   ii. 256.
+
+But with this Power there is also the gentleness that belongs only to
+great strength. God is the Guardian over His servants, the Shelterer
+of the orphan, the Guider of the erring, the Deliverer from every
+affliction; in His hand is Good, and He is the Generous Lord, the
+Gracious, the Hearer, the Near-at-Hand. Every soorah of the Kur-�n
+begins with the words, 'In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
+Merciful,' and Mohammad was never tired of telling the people how God
+was Very-Forgiving, that His love for man was more tender than the
+mother-bird for her young.
+
+It is too often forgotten how much there is in the Kur-�n of the
+loving-kindness of God, but it must be allowed that these are not the
+main thoughts in Mohammad's teaching. It is the doctrine of the Might
+of God that most held his imagination, and that has impressed itself
+most strongly upon Muslims of all ages. The fear rather than the love
+of God is the spur of Isl�m. There can be no question which is the
+higher incentive to good; but it is nearly certain that the love of
+God is an idea absolutely foreign to most of the races that have
+accepted Isl�m, and to preach such a doctrine would have been to
+mistake the leaning of the Semitic mind.
+
+The leading doctrine of Mohammad, then, is the belief in One
+All-Powerful God. Isl�m is the self-surrender of every man to the will
+of God. Its danger lies in the stress laid on the power of God, which
+has brought about the stifling effects of fatalism. Mohammad taught
+the foreknowledge of God, but he did not lay down precisely the
+doctrine of Predestination. He found it, as all have found it, a
+stumbling-block in the way of man's progress. It perplexed him, and he
+spoke of it, but often contradicted himself; and he would become angry
+if the subject were mooted in his presence: 'Sit not with a disputer
+about fate,' he said, 'nor begin a conversation with him.' Mohammad
+vaguely recognised that little margin of Free Will which makes life
+not wholly mechanical.
+
+This doctrine of one Supreme God, to whose will it is the duty of
+every man to surrender himself, is the kernel of Isl�m, the truth for
+which Mohammad lived and suffered and triumphed. But it was no new
+teaching, as he himself was constantly saying. His was only the last
+of revelations. Many prophets--Abraham, Moses, and Christ--had taught
+the same faith before; but people had hearkened little to their words.
+So Mohammad was sent, not different from them, only a messenger, yet
+the last and greatest of them, the 'seal of prophecy,' the 'most
+excellent of the creation of God.' This is the second dogma of Isl�m:
+Mohammad is the apostle of God. It is well worthy of notice that it is
+not said, 'Mohammad is the only apostle of God.' Isl�m is more
+tolerant in this matter than other religions. Its prophet is not the
+sole commissioner of the Most High, nor is his teaching the only true
+teaching the world has ever received. Many other messengers had been
+sent by God to guide men to the right, and these taught the same
+religion that was in the mouth of the preacher of Isl�m. Hence Muslims
+reverence Moses and Christ only next to Mohammad. All they claim for
+their founder is that he was the last and best of the messengers of
+the one God.[18]
+
+After the belief in God and his prophets and scriptures, the Muslim
+must believe in angels, good and evil genii, in the resurrection and
+the judgment, and in future rewards and punishments. What the teaching
+of the Kur-�n is upon these points may be seen in the First Part of
+the 'Selections.' They form a very common weapon of attack on the
+ground of their superstition, their anthropomorphism, and their
+sensuality. Yet these minor beliefs have their place in all religions,
+and they are conceived in scarcely more absurdly realistic a manner in
+Isl�m than in any other creed. Every religion seems to need an
+improbable, almost a ludicrous, side, in order to provide material for
+the faith of the masses. Mohammad himself was what is called a
+superstitious man, and the improbable side thus found its way easily
+into his creed. With all the fancies floating in Arabia in his time,
+it would have been strange if he had introduced nothing of the
+superstitious into Isl�m. The Jinn, the Afreets, and the other beings
+of the air and water, have not done much harm to the Mohammadan mind;
+and they have given so many a delightful fable to the West, that we
+must feel a certain grateful respect for them. The realistic pictures
+of paradise and hell have exercised a more serious influence. The
+minute details of these infernal and celestial pictures must move
+alternately the disgust and the contemptuous amusement of a Western
+reader; yet these same things were very real facts to Mohammad, and
+have been of the utmost importance to generation after generation of
+Muslims. In the present day there are cultured men who receive these
+descriptions in the same allegorical sense as some Christians accept
+the Revelation of S. John--which, indeed, in some respects offers a
+close parallel to the pictorial parts of the Kur-�n; but the vast
+majority of believers (like many Christians in the parallel case) take
+the descriptions literally, and there can be no doubt that the belief
+founded on such pictures, accepted literally, must work an ill effect
+on the professors of the faith of which these doctrines form a minor,
+but a too prominent, part; and it is the aim of rational Muslims to
+sweep away such cobwebs from their sky.
+
+Isl�m lies more in doing than in believing. That 'faith without works
+is dead' is a doctrine which every day's routine must bring home to
+the mind of the devout Muslim. The practical duties of the Mohammadan
+religion, beyond the actual profession of faith, are the performance
+of prayer, the giving of alms, the keeping of the fasts, and the
+accomplishing the pilgrimage. Mr. Lane has so minutely described the
+regular prayers used over all the Mohammadan East, that it is only
+necessary here to refer to his account of them in the 'Modern
+Egyptians.' There it will be seen that they form no light part of the
+religious duties of the Muslim, especially since they involve careful
+preparatory ablutions; for Mohammad impressed upon his followers the
+salutary doctrine that cleanliness is an essential part of godliness,
+and the scrupulous cleanliness of the Mohammadan, which contrasts so
+favourably with the unsavoury state of Easterns of other creeds, is an
+excellent feature in the practical influence of Isl�m. The charge
+which missionaries and the like are fond of bringing against the
+Muslim prayers, that they are merely lifeless forms and vain
+repetitions, is an exaggeration. There is a vast deal of repetition in
+the Mohammadan ritual, just as the paternoster is repeated again and
+again in the principal Christian liturgies; but iteration does not
+necessarily kill devotion. There is plenty of real fervour in the
+prayers of the Mosque, and they are joined-in by the worshippers with
+an earnest attention which shames the listless sleepy bearing of most
+congregations in England. It is true the greater part of the prayers
+are laid down in prescribed forms; but there is an interval set apart
+for private supplication, and the original congregations in the
+mosques availed themselves of this permission more generally than is
+now the case, when the old fervour has become comparatively cool; and
+Mohammad frequently enjoins private prayer at home, and specially
+praises him who 'passeth his night worshipping God.'
+
+Almsgiving was originally compulsory, and the tax was collected by the
+officers of the Khalif; but now the Muslim is merely expected to give
+voluntarily about a fortieth part of his income in charity each year.
+The great fast of Ramad�n is too well known to need more than a
+passing mention here; but it is not so well known that Mohammad,
+ascetic as he was himself in this as in many other matters, whilst he
+ordained the month of fasting for the chastening of his able-bodied
+followers, was a determined enemy to useless mortification of the
+flesh, and boldly affirmed that God took no pleasure in a man's
+wantonly injuring himself; and so if one that was weakly and sick
+could not keep the fast without bodily detriment he was to omit it.
+And the same wise leniency was shown by the Arab prophet in respect of
+prayer,--which may be curtailed or omitted in certain cases,--and with
+regard to the pilgrimage, which no one was to perform to his hurt.
+This same pilgrimage is often urged as a sign of Mohammad's tendency
+to superstition and even idolatry. It is asked how the destroyer of
+idols could have reconciled his conscience to the circuits of the
+Kaabeh and the veneration of the black stone covered with adoring
+kisses. The rites of the pilgrimage cannot certainly be defended
+against the charge of superstition; but it is easy to see why Mohammad
+enjoined them. They were hallowed to him by the memories of his
+ancestors, who had been the guardians of the sacred temple, and by the
+traditional reverence of all his people; and besides this tie of
+association, which in itself was enough to make it impossible for him
+to do away with the rites, Mohammad perceived that the worship in the
+Kaabeh would prove of real value to his religion. He swept away the
+more idolatrous and immoral part of the ceremonies, but he retained
+the pilgrimage to Mekka and the old veneration of the temple for
+reasons of which it is impossible to dispute the wisdom. He well knew
+the consolidating effect of forming a centre to which his followers
+should gather; and hence he reasserted the sanctity of the black stone
+that 'came down from Heaven;' he ordained that everywhere throughout
+the world the Muslim should pray looking towards the Kaabeh, and he
+enjoined him to make the pilgrimage thither. Mekka is to the Muslim
+what Jerusalem is to the Jew. It bears with it all the influence of
+centuries of associations. It carries the Muslim back to the cradle of
+his faith, the childhood of his prophet; it reminds him of the
+struggle between the old faith and the new, of the overthrow of the
+idols, and the establishment of the worship of the One God. And, most
+of all, it bids him remember that all his brother Muslims are
+worshipping towards the same sacred spot; that he is one of a great
+company of believers, united by one faith, filled with the same hopes,
+reverencing the same things, worshipping the same God. Mohammad showed
+his knowledge of the religious emotions in man when he preserved the
+sanctity of the temple of Isl�m.
+
+It would take too much space to look closely into the lesser duties of
+Isl�m, many of which suggest exceedingly wholesome lessons to Western
+civilisation. But we must not pass over one of these minor duties, for
+it reflects the highest credit upon the founder and the professors of
+Mohammadanism--I mean the humane treatment of animals.
+
+'There is no religion which has taken a higher view in its
+authoritative documents of animal life, and none wherein the precept
+has been so much honoured by its practical observance. 'There is no
+beast on earth,' says the Kur-�n, 'nor bird which flieth with its
+wings, but the same is a people like unto you--unto the Lord shall they
+return;' and it is the current belief that animals will share with men
+the general resurrection, and be judged according to their works. At
+the slaughter of an animal, the Prophet ordered that the name of God
+should always be named; but the words, 'the Compassionate, the
+Merciful,' were to be omitted; for, on the one hand, such an
+expression seemed a mockery to the sufferer, and, on the other, he
+could not bring himself to believe that the destruction of any life,
+however necessary, could be altogether pleasing to the All-Merciful.
+'In the name of God,' says a pious Musalman before he strikes the
+fatal blow; 'God is most great; God give thee patience to endure the
+affliction which He hath allotted thee!' In the East there has been no
+moralist like Bentham to insist in noble words on the extension of the
+sphere of morality to all sentient beings, and to be ridiculed for it
+by people who call themselves religious; there has been no naturalist
+like Darwin, to demonstrate by his marvellous powers of observation
+how large a part of the mental and moral faculties which we usually
+claim for ourselves alone we share with other beings; there has been
+no Oriental 'Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.' But
+one reason of this is not far to seek. What the legislation of the
+last few years has at length attempted to do, and, from the mere fact
+that it is legislation, must do ineffectually, has been long effected
+in the East by the moral and religious sentiment which, like almost
+everything that is good in that part of the world, can be traced back,
+in part at least, to the great Prophet of Arabia. In the East, so far
+as it has not been hardened by the West, there is a real sympathy
+between man and the domestic animals; they understand one another; and
+the cruelties which the most humane of our countrymen unconsciously
+effect in the habitual use, for instance, of the muzzle or the
+bearing-rein on the most docile, the most patient, the most faithful,
+and the most intelligent of their companions, are impossible in the
+East. An Arab _cannot_ ill-treat his horse; and Mr. Lane bears
+emphatic testimony to the fact that in his long residence in Egypt he
+never saw an ass or a dog (though the latter is there looked upon as
+an unclean animal) treated with cruelty, except in those cities which
+were overrun by Europeans.'[19]
+
+There are some very beautiful traditions of the Prophet, showing the
+tenderness with which he always treated animals and which he ever
+enjoined on his people. A man once came to him with a carpet and said,
+'O Prophet, I passed through a wood and heard the voices of the young
+of birds, and I took and put them into my carpet, and their mother
+came fluttering round my head.' And the Prophet said, 'Put them down;'
+and when he had put them down the mother joined the young. And the
+Prophet said, 'Do you wonder at the affection of the mother towards
+her young? I swear by Him who has sent me, Verily God is more loving
+to his servants than the mother to these young birds. Return them to
+the place from which ye took them, and let their mother be with them.'
+'Fear God with regard to animals,' said Mohammad; 'ride them when they
+are fit to be ridden, and get off when they are tired. Verily there
+are rewards for our doing good to dumb animals, and giving them water
+to drink.'
+
+
+Such, in brief outline, is the religion of Mohammad. It is a form of
+pure theism, simpler and more austere than the theism of most forms of
+modern Christianity, lofty in its conception of the relation of man to
+God, and noble in its doctrine of the duty of man to man, and of man
+to the lower creation. There is little in it of superstition, less of
+complexity of dogmas; it is an exacting religion, without the
+repulsiveness of asceticism; severe, but not merciless. On the other
+hand, it is over-rigid and formal; it leaves too little to the
+believer and too much to his ritual; it places a prophet and a book
+between man and God, and practically discourages the desire for a
+direct relation between the Deity and his servant; it draws the
+picture of that God in too harsh outlines, and leaves out too much of
+the tenderness and loving-kindness of the God of Christ's teaching,
+and hence it has been the source of more intolerance and fanatical
+hatred than most creeds.
+
+This religion is Isl�m as understood and taught by its Prophet, so far
+as we can gather it from the Kur-�n, aided by those traditions which
+seem to have the stamp of authenticity. It need hardly be said that it
+is not identical with the Isl�m with which the philosophers of Baghd�d
+amused themselves, nor with the fantastic creed which the F�timee
+Khalifs of Egypt represented, and brought in the person of El-H�kim to
+its limit of extravagance; nor is it the Isl�m with which as much as
+with their ferocity the Karmatees aroused the fear and abhorrence of
+all good Muslims. Neither the Soofism of Persia nor the dervish
+sensation-religion of Turkey conform to this ancient Isl�m, to which
+perhaps a modification of the Wahh�bee puritanism would be the
+nearest approach. The original faith of Mohammad has not gained by its
+development in foreign lands and alien minds, and perhaps the best we
+can hope for modern Isl�m is that it may try the experiment of
+retrogression, or rather seek to regain the simplicity of the old form
+without losing the advantages (if there be any) which it has acquired
+from contact with Western civilisation.
+
+
+Isl�m is unfortunately a social system as well as a religion; and
+herein lies the great difficulty of fairly estimating its good and its
+bad influence on the world. It is but in the nature of things that the
+teacher who lays down the law of the relation of man to God should
+also endeavour to appoint the proper relation between man and his
+neighbour. Christianity was undoubtedly a social even more than a
+religious reform, but the social regulations were too indefinite, or
+at all events too impracticable, for any wide acceptance among the
+professors of the religion. Isl�m was less fortunate. Mohammad not
+only promulgated a religion; he laid down a complete social system,
+containing minute regulations for a man's conduct in all circumstances
+of life, with due rewards or penalties according to his fulfilment of
+these rules. As a religion Isl�m is great: it has taught men to
+worship one God with a pure worship who formerly worshipped many gods
+impurely. As a social system Isl�m is a complete failure: it has
+misunderstood the relations of the sexes, upon which the whole
+character of a nation's life hangs, and, by degrading women, has
+degraded each successive generation of their children down an
+increasing scale of infamy and corruption, until it seems almost
+impossible to reach a lower level of vice.
+
+The fatal spot in Isl�m is the degradation of women. The true test of
+a nation's place in the ranks of civilisation is the position of its
+women. When they are held in reverence, when it is considered the most
+infamous of crimes to subject a woman to dishonour, and the highest
+distinction to protect her from wrong; when the family life is real
+and strong, of which the mother-wife is the heart; when each man's
+pulse beats loyal to womanhood, then is a nation great. When women are
+treated as playthings, toys, drudges, worth anything only if they have
+beauty to be enjoyed or strength to labour; when sex is considered the
+chief thing in a woman, and heart and mind are forgotten; when a man
+buys women for his pleasure and dismisses them when his appetite is
+glutted, then is a nation despicable.
+
+And so is it in the East. Yet it would be hard to lay the blame
+altogether on Mohammad. The real roots of the degradation of women lie
+much deeper. When Isl�m was instituted, polygamy was almost
+necessitated by the number of women and their need of support; and the
+facility of divorce was quite necessitated by the separation of the
+sexes, and the consequence that a man could not know or even see the
+woman he was about to marry before the marriage ceremony was
+accomplished. It is not Mohammad whom we must blame for these great
+evils, polygamy and divorce; it is the state of society which demanded
+the separation of the sexes, and in which it was not safe to allow men
+and women freely to associate; in other words, it was the sensual
+constitution of the Arab that lay at the root of the matter. Mohammad
+might have done better. He might boldly have swept away the traditions
+of Arab society, unveiled the women, intermingled the sexes, and
+punished by the most severe measures any license which such
+association might at first encourage. With his boundless influence, it
+is possible that he might have done this, and, the new system once
+fairly settled, and the people accustomed to it, the good effects of
+the change would have begun to show themselves. But such an idea could
+never have occurred to him. We must always remember that we are
+dealing with a social system of the seventh century, not of the
+nineteenth. Mohammad's ideas about women were like those of the rest
+of his contemporaries. He looked upon them as charming snares to the
+believer, ornamental articles of furniture difficult to keep in order,
+pretty playthings; but that a woman should be the counsellor and
+companion of a man does not seem to have occurred to him. It is to be
+wondered that the feeling of respect he always entertained for his
+first wife, Khadeejeh, (which, however, is partly accounted for by the
+fact that she was old enough to have been his mother,) found no
+counterpart in his general opinion of womankind: 'Woman was made from
+a crooked rib, and if you try to bend it straight, it will break;
+therefore treat your wives kindly.' Mohammad was not the man to make a
+social reform affecting women, nor was Arabia the country in which
+such a change should be made, nor Arab ladies perhaps the best
+subjects for the experiment. Still he did something towards bettering
+the condition of women: he limited the number of wives to four; laid
+his hand with the utmost severity on the incestuous marriages that
+were then rife in Arabia; compelled husbands to support their divorced
+wives during their four months of probation; made irrevocable divorce
+less common by adding the rough, but deterring, condition that a woman
+triply divorced could not return to her husband without first being
+married to some one else--a condition exceedingly disagreeable to the
+first husband; and required four witnesses to prove a charge of
+adultery against a wife--a merciful provision, difficult to be
+fulfilled. The evil permitted by Mohammad in leaving the number of
+wives four instead of insisting on monogamy was not great. Without
+considering the sacrifice of family peace which the possession of a
+large harem entails, the expense of keeping several wives, each of
+whom must have a separate suite of apartments or a separate house, is
+so great that not more than one in twenty can afford it. It is not so
+much in the matter of wives as in that of concubines that Mohammad
+made an irretrievable mistake. The condition of the female slave in
+the East is indeed deplorable. She is at the entire mercy of her
+master, who can do what he pleases with her and her companions; for
+the Muslim is not restricted in the number of his concubines, as he is
+in that of his wives. The female white slave is kept solely for the
+master's sensual gratification, and is sold when he is tired of her,
+and so she passes from master to master, a very wreck of womanhood.
+Her condition is a little improved if she bear a son to her tyrant;
+but even then he is at liberty to refuse to acknowledge the child as
+his own, though it must be owned he seldom does this. Kind as the
+Prophet was himself towards bondswomen, one cannot forget the
+unutterable brutalities which he suffered his followers to inflict
+upon conquered nations in the taking of slaves. The Muslim soldier was
+allowed to do as he pleased with any 'infidel' woman he might meet
+with on his victorious march. When one thinks of the thousands of
+women, mothers and daughters, who must have suffered untold shame and
+dishonour by this license, he cannot find words to express his horror.
+And this cruel indulgence has left its mark on the Muslim character,
+nay, on the whole character of Eastern life. Now, as at the first,
+young Christian girls are dragged away from their homes and given over
+to the unhallowed lusts of a Turkish voluptuary; and not only to
+Turks, but to Englishmen; for the contagion has spread, and
+Englishmen, even those who by their sacred order should know better,
+instead of uttering their protest, as men of honour and Christians,
+against the degradation, have followed the example of the Turk, and
+helped in the ruin of women. Concubinage is the black stain in Isl�m.
+With Mohammad's views of women, we could hardly expect him to do
+better; but, on the other hand, he could scarcely have done worse.
+There are, however, one or two alleviating circumstances. One is the
+fact that the canker has not eaten into the whole of Eastern society;
+it is chiefly among the rich that the evil effects of the system are
+felt. And another fact which shows that the Mohammadan system, bad as
+it is, is free from a defect which social systems better in other
+respects than Mohammad's are subject to is the extreme rarity of
+prostitution in Muslim towns. The courtesan forms a very small item in
+the census of a Mohammadan city, and is retained more for strangers
+from Europe than for the Muslim inhabitants. Instances are frequently
+occurring in the Indian law courts which show the strong feeling that
+exists on the subject among the Mohammadans of India. They consider it
+quite inconceivable that a Muslim should have illicit intercourse with
+a free Muslimeh woman, and this inconceivableness of the action is
+urged as evidence in trials of the legitimacy of children. But whilst
+admitting the importance of this remarkable feature in Isl�m, it must
+not be forgotten that the liberty allowed by their law to Muslims in
+the matter of concubines does not very materially differ from
+prostitution, and whilst the latter is directly forbidden by the
+dominant religion of Europe, concubinage is as directly permitted by
+Isl�m.
+
+One would think that long intercourse with Europeans might have
+somewhat raised the estimation of women in the East; but either
+because travellers in the East are not always the best specimens of
+Western morality, or because the Eastern mind has an unequalled
+aptitude for assimilating the bad and rejecting the good in any system
+it meets, it is certain that women are no better off now than they
+were in the East. A well-known correspondent of a leading daily print
+writes thus of Turkish home life:--
+
+   'It is obvious that the home life of any people will depend
+   almost entirely on the position which is assigned to women. It
+   is not necessary to inquire what this position is according to
+   the teaching of the sacred books of a race. Between
+   Christianity and Isl�m it is enough to notice that there is
+   apparently no country where the first is the prevailing
+   religion in which woman is hindered by religion from obtaining
+   a position almost, if not quite, on an equality with man, and
+   similarly, no country where the second prevails where woman is
+   not in a degraded position.... Under Christianity she is
+   everywhere free. Under Isl�m she is everywhere a slave. The
+   pious Mohammadan, like the pious Jew, thanks God that he has
+   not been made a woman. The pious Mohammadan woman, like the
+   pious Jewess, thanks God that she has been made according to
+   the Creator's will. Man and woman alike recognise that to be a
+   woman is to be in an inferior condition. This feeling of the
+   degradation of woman so pervades Turkey that the poorer
+   classes of Christians have even become infected by it. When a
+   son is born there is nothing but congratulations. When a
+   daughter, nothing but condolences. A polite Turk, if he has
+   occasion to mention his wife, will do so with an apology....
+   He regards it as a piece of rudeness to mention the fact to
+   you, and it would be equally rude for him to inquire after
+   your wife, or to hint that he knew you were guilty of anything
+   so unmentionable as to have one. Charles the Twelfth told his
+   queen that she had been chosen to give children, and not
+   advice. The Turk regards woman as destined solely for the same
+   purpose and for his pleasure. Probably polygamy is of itself
+   sufficient to account for the way in which Mohammadans regard
+   woman. But whether this is so or not, there is one influence
+   which polygamy asserts which accounts for the low ideal of
+   woman prevalent in all Muslim countries. When a man has a
+   number of wives it is impossible that they can all become his
+   companions and his confidantes, or that one of them can become
+   his companion or confidante to the same extent as if the man
+   had only one wife. Hence a man who is limited to one will not
+   be contented with beauty alone. He must have a certain amount
+   of intelligence and education. The Turk, on the other hand,
+   has no reason whatever to think of anything except beauty. As
+   he never means to see much of his wife, intelligence or
+   education is a matter of small account. If he can afford it he
+   will have a Circassian wife, a woman who has been reared with
+   the intention of being sold, who has not an idea in her head,
+   who has seen nothing, and knows nothing. Such a woman would be
+   as objectionable as a wife to the great majority of Europeans
+   as a South Sea Island beauty. But she satisfies the ideal of
+   the Turk. She is beautiful, and beauty is all that he
+   requires.'
+
+It is this sensual and degraded view of woman that destroys to so
+great an extent the good influence which the better part of the
+teaching of Isl�m might exert in the East. So long as women are held
+in so light an esteem, they will remain ignorant, and bigoted, and
+sensual; and so long as mothers are what most Muslim mothers are now,
+their children will be ignorant and fanatical and vicious. In Turkey
+there are other influences at work besides the Mohammadan social
+system; but Turkish women may serve as an instance of the state of
+things which that system encourages. 'In those early years spent at
+home, when the child ought to have instilled into him some germ of
+those principles of conduct by which men must walk in the world if
+they are to hold up their heads among civilised nations, the Turkish
+child is only taught the first steps towards those vicious habits of
+mind and body which have made his race what it is. The root of the
+evil is partly found in the harem system. So long as that system keeps
+Turkish women in their present depressed state, so long will Turkish
+boys and girls be vicious and ignorant.' As I have said elsewhere,[20]
+'It is quite certain that there is no hope for the Turks so long as
+Turkish women remain what they are, and home-training is the
+initiation of vice.' If the mother is ignorant and vicious, the son
+cannot form a high ideal of womanhood, and thus is barred off from the
+chivalrous spirit wherewith alone a man may reach to the highest
+love:--that
+
+           'Subtle master under heaven,
+   Not only to keep down the base in man,
+   But teach high thought, and amiable words,
+   And courtliness, and the desire of fame,
+   And love of truth, and all that makes a man.'
+
+The Muslin has no ideal of chivalry like this to make his life pure
+and honourable: his religion encourages an opposite view, and the
+women among whom he is brought up only confirm it.
+
+If Isl�m is to be a power for good in the future, it is imperatively
+necessary to cut off the social system from the religion. At the
+beginning, among a people who had advanced but a little way on the
+road of civilisation, the defects of the social system were not so
+apparent; but now, when Easterns are endeavouring to mix on equal
+terms with Europeans, and are trying to adopt the manners and customs
+of the West, it is clear that the condition of their women must be
+radically changed if any good is to come of the Europeanising
+tendency. The difficulty lies in the close connection between the
+religious and social ordinances in the Kur-�n: the two are so
+intermingled that it is hard to see how they can be disentangled
+without destroying both. The theory of revelation would have to be
+modified. Muslims would have to give up their doctrine of the syllabic
+inspiration of the Kur-�n and exercise their moral sense in
+distinguishing between the particular and the general, the temporary
+and the permanent: they would have to recognise that there was much in
+Mohammad's teaching which, though useful at the time, is inapplicable
+to the present conditions of life; that his knowledge was often
+partial, and his judgment sometimes at fault; that the moral sense is
+capable of education as much as the intellect, and, therefore, that
+what was apparently moral and wise in the seventh century may quite
+possibly be immoral and suicidal in a society of the nineteenth
+century. Mohammad himself said, according to tradition, 'I am no more
+than a man: when I order you anything respecting religion, receive it;
+and when I order you about the affairs of the world, then I am nothing
+more than man.' And he seemed to foresee that the time would come when
+his minor regulations would call for revision: 'Ye are in an age,' he
+said, 'in which, if ye abandon one-tenth of what is ordered, ye will
+be ruined. After this, a time will come when he who shall observe
+one-tenth of what is now ordered will be redeemed.'[21]
+
+If Muslims would take these warnings of their prophet to heart, there
+would be some hope for Isl�m. Some few of the higher intellects among
+them have already admitted the principle of moral criticism applied to
+the Kur-�n; but it is very doubtful whether 'rational Isl�m' will ever
+gain a wide following, any more than 'rational Christianity.' People
+in general do not care to think for themselves in matters religious.
+They like their creed served up to them as cooked meat, not raw flesh.
+They must have definite texts and hard-and-fast commandments to appeal
+to. They will not believe in the spirit, but prefer the letter. They
+will have nothing to say to tendencies, but must have facts. It is of
+no avail to speak to them of the spirit of a life or of a whole book;
+they must hang their doctrine on a solitary sentence. They will either
+believe every letter of their scripture, or they will believe nothing.
+
+Such people make up the majority of the professors of Isl�m; and with
+them no reform, within Isl�m, seems possible. Among the upper (I will
+not call them the higher) classes, they are either fanatics or
+concealed infidels; and their lives are a proof of the
+incompatibility of ordinary Mohammadanism, real or nominal, with a
+high social and national life. Among the poorer classes, the social
+system has a more restricted field of operation, for the poor are
+naturally less able to avail themselves of the permissions of their
+Prophet. In a poor community Isl�m exerts an eminently salutary
+influence, as the condition of the Mohammadan converts in Western
+Africa conclusively proves. An able observer,[22] whose African birth
+and training qualify him in a high degree for properly understanding
+the true state of his countrymen, whilst his Christian profession
+serves as a guarantee against excessive prejudice in favour of Isl�m,
+has recorded his experience of the work of Mohammadan missionaries in
+Liberia and the neighbouring parts of Africa. 'All careful and candid
+observers,' he remarks, 'agree that the influence of Isl�m in Central
+and West Africa has been, upon the whole, of a most salutary
+character.... As an eliminatory and subversive agency it has displaced
+or unsettled nothing as good as itself.' It has inculcated habits of
+moderation and soberness over the whole of the vast region covered by
+its emissaries; and so great is the influence of its teaching, that
+where there are Muslim inhabitants, even in pagan towns, it is a very
+rare thing to see a person intoxicated. The Mohammadan converts drink
+nothing but water. 'From Senegal to Lagos, over two thousand miles,
+there is scarcely an important town on the seaboard where there is not
+at least one mosque and active representatives of Isl�m, side by side
+with the Christian teacher. And as soon as a pagan, however obscure or
+degraded, embraces the Muslim faith, he is at once admitted as an
+equal to the society.... The pagan village possessing a Muslim teacher
+is always found to be in advance of its neighbours in all the elements
+of civilisation.... The introduction of Isl�m into Central and West
+Africa has been the most important, if not the sole, preservative
+against the desolations of the slave trade. Mohammadanism furnished a
+protection to the tribes who embraced it, by effectually binding them
+together in one strong religious fraternity, and enabling them by
+their united efforts to baffle the attempts of powerful slave-hunters.
+Enjoying this comparative immunity from sudden hostile incursion,
+industry was stimulated among them; industry diminished their poverty;
+and as they increased in worldly substance, they also increased in
+desire for knowledge. Receiving a desire of letters by a study of the
+Arabic language, they acquired loftier views, wider tastes, and those
+energetic habits which so pleasingly distinguish them from their pagan
+neighbours.' Students often travel on foot from the west coast right
+across Africa to study at the great mosque of the Azhar in Cairo. It
+must be remembered that these results were observed in the very centre
+of African Christianity, in Sierra Leone and other coast settlements.
+It is said that in Sierra Leone three-fourths of the Muslim population
+were not born Muslims, but were converted from Christianity or
+paganism; and this, although 'all liberated Africans are always handed
+over to Christian missionaries for instruction, and their children are
+baptized and brought up at the public expense in Christian schools,
+and are thus, in a sense, ready-made Christians.'
+
+These facts show that, even in the present day, and with the
+competition of Christian missionary societies, Isl�m may be a power
+for good in poor communities--that it can not only give them a pure
+instead of a degraded faith, but can raise them socially and
+intellectually. The effects of a simple form of Isl�m on these African
+converts may give one some notion of its influence on its hearers in
+the early days, before the theologians had corrupted it.
+
+But this good influence is very partial and limited, even among the
+poorer classes. In communities where all are poor, Isl�m is an
+excellent agent for improvement; but in countries where there are
+many grades of wealth and rank, the poor only ape in a humble manner
+the vices of those whom they are taught to regard as their 'betters.'
+In all civilised and wealthy countries the social system of Isl�m
+exerts a ruinous influence on all classes, and if there is to be any
+great future for the Mohammadan world, that system of society must be
+done away.
+
+   THE WOMAN'S CAUSE IS MAN'S; THEY RISE OR SINK
+   TOGETHER, DWARFED OR GODLIKE, BOND OR FREE.
+
+
+
+
+IV.--_THE KUR-�N._
+
+   The Muslim who reads the Kur-�n is like the orange-fruit,
+   whose smell and taste are sweet; and the Muslim who reads not
+   the Kur-�n is like the date, which hath no smell, but its
+   taste is sweet; and the Hypocrite who reads not the Kur-�n is
+   like the colocynth, without a smell, and with a bitter taste;
+   and the Hypocrite who reads it is like the sweet bazil, whose
+   smell is sweet, but its taste bitter.--_Tradition._
+
+
+It is an immense merit in the Kur-�n that there is no doubt as to its
+genuineness. The 'Word of the Lord' came to Mohammad, and he uttered
+it, and the people wrote it down or committed it to memory; and that
+very word we can now read with full confidence that it has remained
+unchanged through nearly thirteen hundred years.
+
+The revelations came to Mohammad in many ways and at all times, but
+never 'in visions bright, transcendant, exalted. They came ghastly,
+weird, most horrible. After long solitary broodings, a something used
+to move Mohammad, all of a sudden, with frightful vehemence. He
+"roared like a camel," his eyes rolled and glowed like red coals, and
+on the coldest day terrible perspirations would break out all over his
+body. When the terror ceased, it seemed to him as if he had heard
+bells ringing, "the sound whereof seemed to rend him to pieces"--as if
+he had heard the voice of a man--as if he had seen Gabriel--or as if
+words _had been written in his heart_. Such was the agony he endured,
+that some of the verses revealed to him well-nigh made his hair turn
+white.'
+
+No collection of these revelations was made during Mohammad's
+lifetime; at his death, the Kur-�n existed only as scattered
+chaotically among the believers. But about a year later, the death in
+battle of some of the men who had specially committed passages of the
+Kur-�n to memory, and the dread that the whole of Mohammad's teaching
+might vanish at the end of a generation or two, induced Aboo-Bekr to
+make the innovation from which every one shrank, and he gave orders to
+the Prophet's secretary, Zeyd ibn Th�bit, to collect the fragments of
+the Kur-�n in one book. So Zeyd gathered the Kur-�n from palm-leaves,
+skins, shoulder-blades, stones, and the hearts of men, arranged the
+chapters in a certain order, and presented Aboo-Bekr with a Kur-�n
+which probably differed in no essential particular from the book we
+have now. All scholars are agreed that Zeyd did his work faithfully,
+and neither inserted nor omitted anything from party motives. But he
+seems to have occasionally mixed up fragments of very different date
+in one chapter--Mohammad himself countenanced this--and may possibly
+have omitted some portions that were not found till afterwards.
+
+Some twenty years later a second recension was ordered by the Khalif
+�Othm�n. Slight varieties of reading, mainly dialectal, had arisen;
+swords were near being drawn over them; and it was evident that a
+serious schism would come about if a uniform authorised text of the
+Kur-�n were not provided. These slight dialectal differences were not
+sufficiently settled, it would seem, in Aboo-Bekr's edition, so this
+new recension was made by Zeyd and three men of the Kureysh, for they
+would best know the original dialect of the Kur-�n. The new edition
+followed the first one, apparently, both in order and in matter;
+definitely fixing, however, the true text in the dialect of the
+Kureysh, and possibly adding any verses that might have been
+discovered since Zeyd's first edition. This second recension was
+conducted with the same careful fidelity and scrupulous impartiality
+as the first; and it was accepted by all the different parties that
+were then disputing the supremacy. Copies of this edition were then
+distributed to the principal cities of the empire, and the old copies
+and fragments were called-in and burned.
+
+This edition of �Othm�n, made about A.D. 660, is the one that has ever
+since been the authorised and only version of the Kur-�n throughout
+the Muslim world and in the studies of European linguists. The only
+differences that have since crept into the text are certain
+unimportant varieties in vocalisation and orthography and in the
+division of verses.
+
+It was a singular system these early revisers went upon. They seem,
+indeed, to have established the authenticity of each saying
+satisfactorily; but in the arrangement of them they showed an
+extraordinary dulness. The tradition of the year when each revelation
+was spoken appears to have been lost even in the short time that had
+elapsed since it had been spoken. People remembered the words, but
+seldom the occasion of the words. Hence the revisers had to devise an
+artificial order; not according to subject, nor after the development
+of the style, but simply in order of length! They put the longest
+chapters first and the shortest last; that is to say, they inverted,
+roughly speaking, the true order, for the early soorahs were short and
+the later ones long.
+
+Read in this order, the Kur-�n is an unintelligible jumble. Carlyle
+may well say that 'nothing but a sense of duty could carry any
+European through the Kur-�n.' You can trace no development of mind or
+doctrine in the present arrangement; it is indeed a confused mass of
+'endless iterations, long-windedness, entanglement, most crude,
+incondite.' But scholars have long discovered certain signs of a true
+order--several kinds of evidence by which a chronological arrangement
+of the Kur-�n may be attempted. These are--(1.) The _references to
+historical events_ in the Kur-�n, as identified by tradition. These,
+however, are but few, and occur chiefly in quite the latest soorahs;
+and tradition is apt to identify any reference with any event it
+chooses. A much more important test is (2.) the _style_; for a
+distinct development can be traced in the rime, in the length of
+verses, and in the words employed. And then there is (3.) the
+_matter_ test, based on what we know of Mohammad's life, from which we
+can argue a certain change in his preaching at Mekka, and still more
+when, from addressing idolaters in his birthplace, he came to preach
+to Jews and Christians at Medina. The danger of this last test is that
+each man forms his own theory of Mohammad's mental and religious
+growth, and may arrange the soorahs in accordance with that theory.
+Even with these three tests, used by the most accomplished critics, it
+is impossible to arrive at an exact order, and to determine the
+precise chronological position of each soorah. But whilst it is
+admitted that an exact chronological arrangement of each individual
+chapter of the Kur-�n is impossible, it is yet no less certain that
+the soorahs may be roughly grouped together, and that these groups can
+be definitely assigned to certain periods of Mohammad's career.
+
+Professor Th. N�ldeke's _Geschichte des Qor�ns_ has established his
+right to the first place in this science of Kur-�n arrangement, and
+his order of soorahs may fairly be accepted as authoritative. Of this
+order Mr. Rodwell's English version of the Kur-�n is an example,
+except that a few of the earliest soorahs are transposed. N�ldeke has
+two great divisions of the soorahs: those revealed at Mekka, and those
+revealed during the Medina period. Further, he divides the Mekkan
+division into three groups.[23]
+
+
+         {   I. A.D. 612-617 (Rodwell, pp. 1-64)--To the Abyssinian
+         {         exile (fifth year).
+         {
+         {  II. A.D. 617-619 (Rodwell, pp. 64-192)--Fifth and sixth
+   Mekka {         years of Mohammad's mission.
+         {
+         { III. A.D. 619-622 (Rodwell, pp. 193-366)--From the
+         {         seventh year to the Flight.
+
+   Medina       A.D. 622-633 (Rodwell, pp. 366-555)--At Medina.
+
+
+Read in this order the Kur-�n becomes intelligible. It is still
+confused in its progression and strangely mixed in its contents; but
+the development of Mohammad's faith can be traced in it, and we can
+see dimly into the workings of his mind, as it struggles with the deep
+things of God, wrestles with the doubts which echoed the cavils of the
+unbelievers, soars upwards on the wings of ecstatic faith, till at
+last it gains the repose of fruition. Studied thus, the Kur-�n is no
+longer dull reading to one who cares to look upon the working of a
+passionate troubled human soul, and who can enter into its trials and
+share in the joy of its triumphs.
+
+In the soorahs revealed at Mekka, Mohammad has but one theme--God; and
+one object--to draw his people away from their idols and bring them to
+the feet of that God. He tells them of Him in glowing language, that
+comes from the heart's white heat. He points to the glories of nature,
+and tells them these are God's works. With all the brilliant imagery
+of the Arab, he tries to show them what God is, to convince them of
+His power and His wisdom and His justice. The soorahs of this period
+are short, for they are pitched in too high a key to be long
+sustained. The language has the ring of poetry, though no part of the
+Kur-�n complies with the demands of Arab metre. The sentences are
+short and full of half-restrained energy, yet with a musical cadence.
+The thought is often only half expressed; one feels the speaker has
+essayed a thing beyond words, and has suddenly discovered the
+impotence of language, and broken off with the sentence unfinished.
+There is the fascination of true poetry about these earliest soorahs;
+as we read them we understand the enthusiasm of the Prophet's
+followers, though we cannot fully realise the beauty and the power,
+inasmuch as we cannot hear them hurled forth with Mohammad's fiery
+eloquence. From first to last the Kur-�n is essentially a book to be
+heard, not read, but this is especially the case with the earliest
+chapters.
+
+In the soorahs of the second period of Mekka we begin to trace the
+decline of the Prophet's eloquence. There are still the same earnest
+appeals to the people, the same gorgeous pictures of the Last Day and
+the world to come; but the language begins to approach the quiet of
+prose, the sentences become longer, the same words and phrases are
+frequently repeated, and the wearisome stories of the Jewish prophets
+and patriarchs, which fill so large a place in the later portion of
+the Kur-�n, now make their appearance. The fierce passion of the
+earliest soorahs, that could not out save in short burning verses,
+gives place to a calmer more argumentative style. Mohammad appeals
+less to the works of God as proofs of his teaching, and more to the
+history of former teachers, and the punishments of the people who
+would not hear them. And the characteristic oaths of the first period,
+when Mohammad swears by all the varied sights of nature as they
+mirrored themselves in his imagination, have gone, and in their place
+we find only the weaker oath 'by the Kur-�n.' And this declension is
+carried still further in the last group of the soorahs revealed at
+Mekka. The style becomes more involved and the sentences longer, and
+though the old enthusiasm bursts forth ever and anon, it is rather an
+echo of former things than a new and present intoxication of faith.
+The fables and repetitions become more and more dreary, and but for
+the rich eloquence of the old Arabic tongue, which gives some charm
+even to inextricable sentences and dull stories, the Kur-�n at this
+period would be unreadable. As it is, we feel we have fallen the whole
+depth from poetry to prose, and the matter of the prose is not so
+superlative as to give us amends for the loss of the poetic thought
+of the earlier time and the musical fall of the sentences.
+
+In the soorahs of the Medina period these faults reach their climax.
+We read a singularly varied collection of criminal laws, social
+regulations, orders for battle, harangues to the Jews, first
+conciliatory, then denunciatory, and exhortations to spread the faith,
+and such-like heterogeneous matters. Happily the Jewish stories
+disappear in the latest soorahs, but their place is filled by scarcely
+more palatable materials. The chapters of this period are interesting
+chiefly as containing the laws which have guided every Muslim state,
+regulated every Muslim society, and directed in their smallest acts
+every Mohammadan man and woman in all parts of the world from the
+Prophet's time till now. The Medina part of the Kur-�n is the most
+important part for Isl�m, considered as a scheme of ritual and a
+system of manners; the earliest Mekka revelations are those which
+contain what is highest in a great religion and what was purest in a
+great man.
+
+The word _Kur-�n_ means the _crying_, _reciting_, _reading_, and is
+applied not only to the whole book, but to any chapter or section of
+it. The Kur-�n is also called El-Furk�n, 'the Distinguisher,' and
+El-Mushaf, 'the Volume,' and El-Kit�b, 'the Book,' and Edh-Dhikr, 'the
+Admonition.' The Kur-�n contains, in its ordinary form, 114 chapters
+(_soorahs_), 6616 verses (_�y�t_, literally 'signs' or 'wonders'),
+77,934 words, and 323,671 letters, according to the estimates of
+laborious Muslim divines, which differ, however, in a slight manner in
+consequence of the various divisions of verses. After the first
+chapter, which is a short prayer (the F�tihah), the soorahs gradually
+decrease in length from 289 verses in the second to from three to six
+in the ten concluding chapters. Each chapter is headed by a title,
+taken from same prominent word in it (as the 'Chapter of the
+Striking,' 'of the Cow,' &c.); beneath which is noted whether it was
+promulgated (according to tradition) at Mekka or Medina, and the
+number of its verses. Then follow the words:--'In the Name of God, the
+Compassionate, the Merciful;' after which the chapter begins. To
+twenty-nine chapters are prefixed certain letters (_e.g._, ch. ii. on
+p. 4), or a single letter, which have never been successfully
+interpreted. The Muslims believe them to conceal profound mysteries.
+In Soorah 55 a refrain is found, and traces of a like imitation in
+Soorahs 54 and 17. It is probable that the Kur-�n was originally
+_chanted_ in somewhat the same manner as it is in the present day.
+
+The Kur-�n is also divided in thirty sections, and these are again
+subdivided; and from this division rather than from chapter and verse
+do the Muslims generally quote.
+
+'The Muslims absolutely deny that the Kur-�n was composed by their
+Prophet himself, or by 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 tablet of vast size, called the Preserved Tablet,
+in which are also recorded the divine decrees, past and future; that a
+copy from this tablet, in one volume on paper, was, by the ministry of
+the angel Gabriel, sent down to the lowest heaven, in the month of
+Ramad�n, on the Night of Power;[24] whence Gabriel revealed it to
+Mohammad by parcels, some at Mekka, and some at Medina, at different
+times during the space of twenty-three years, as the exigency of
+affairs required; giving him, however, the consolation to show him the
+whole (which they tell us was bound in silk, and adorned with gold and
+precious 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 directions of the angel. The first parcel that was
+revealed is generally agreed to have been the first five verses of the
+ninety-sixth chapter. After the new revealed passages had been from
+the Prophet's mouth taken down in writing by his scribe, they were
+published to his followers, several of whom took copies for their
+private use; but the far greater number got them by heart. The
+originals, when returned, were put promiscuously into a chest, without
+regard to any order of time, for which reason it is uncertain when
+many passages were revealed.
+
+'The Kur-�n being the Muslims' rule 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 Kur-�n into allegorical and literal. The former comprehends the
+more obscure, 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
+tradition and study, to know the time when each passage was revealed,
+its circumstances, state, and history, and the reasons or particular
+emergencies for the sake of which it was revealed. Or, more
+explicitly, whether the passage was revealed at Mekka 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 depend thereon; whether it be particular
+or general; and lastly, whether it be implicit by intention, or
+explicit in words.
+
+'By what has been said, the reader may easily believe that this book
+is held by the Muslims in the greatest reverence and esteem. The more
+strict among them dare not touch it without being first washed or
+legally purified; which lest they should do by inadvertence, they
+sometimes write these words of the book itself on the cover or label,
+"None shall touch it but they who are purified." 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, inscribe sentences from it on their banners, sometimes adorn
+it with gold and precious stones, and knowingly suffer it not to be in
+the possession of any person of a different persuasion. It is the
+foundation of their education; and the children in the schools are
+taught to chant it, and commit the whole of it to memory.'
+
+
+
+
+BOOKS.
+
+
+In reading a large number of works bearing upon the subjects of this
+Introduction, I have remarked a curious freedom of quotation in most
+of the writers. I find the same sentence, or at least the same
+thought, repeated in several books without any reference to the author
+who first put it forth. Each writer seems to have studied his
+predecessors with such minuteness that he can quote their very words,
+but he does not appear to remember whence the words came. When a
+thought has once been perfectly expressed, it were a ridiculous vanity
+to seek to frame it in different words, and so far it is undoubtedly
+wise to make use of the best of what has preceded us; nevertheless, it
+is well to acknowledge our debt. Yet thoughts, and even phrases,
+impress themselves on the memory till one unconsciously comes to
+appropriate them as his own; and this, I doubt not, is the cause of
+much of the plagiarism I have noticed. It is extremely probable that I
+have been guilty of the same sin. I have crowded my pages with marks
+of quotation, sometimes with foot references, sometimes without (for
+the student of the subject will know where to look for them), but it
+is quite likely that I have often unconsciously used another's phrase
+or metaphor without rendering thanks. So I now append a list of the
+principal European books I have used, and beg once and for all to
+record my indebtedness to their writers. The original Arabic
+authorities will dispense with my acknowledgments, and the catalogue
+of them would not assist the English reader who wishes to proceed
+further in the study of the subject, for whom this list may prove
+useful.
+
+   BURCKHARDT, J. L. _Notes on the Bedouins and Wah�bys._ 2 vols.
+       1831.
+
+   DEUTSCH, EMANUEL. _Literary Remains._ 1874.
+
+   DOZY, R. _Essai sur l�Histoire de l�Islamisme_, trad. par V.
+       Chauvin. 1879.
+
+   FRESNEL, F. _Lettres sur l�Histoire des Arabes avant
+       l�Islamisme._ 1836-38.
+
+   HUGHES, REV. T. P. _Notes on Muhammadanism._ 2d ed. 1877.
+
+   KREMER, A. VON. _Geschichte der herrschenden Ideen des
+       Isl�ms._ 1868.
+
+   ---- _Culturgeschichte des Orients unter den Chalifen._ 2 vols.
+   1876, 1877.
+
+   LANE, E. W. _The Modern Egyptians._ 5th ed. 1 vol. 1860.
+
+   ---- _The Thousand and One Nights_ (notes). 2d ed. 3 vols.
+       1859, 1860.
+
+   ---- _Selections from the Kur-�n._ 1st ed. 1843.
+
+   ---- _Arabic-English Lexicon_, Preface, &c. 1863.
+
+   LYALL, C. J. _Translations from the Ham�seh and the Agh�n�; The
+       Mo�allaqah of Zuheyr._ (Journal As. Soc. of Bengal, 1878.)
+
+   MUIR, SIR W. _The Life of Mahomet._ 4 vols. New edition.[25]
+       1867.
+
+   N�LDEKE, TH. _Geschichte des Qor�ns._ 1860.
+
+   ---- _Beitr�ge zur Kenntniss der Poesie der alten Araber._
+       1864.
+
+   PALGRAVE, W. GIFFORD. _Central and Eastern Arabia._ 6th ed.
+       1871.
+
+   PERCEVAL, A.-P. CAUSSIN DE. _Essai sur l�Histoire des Arabes
+       avant l�Islamisme._ 3 vols. 1847, 1848.
+
+   POOLE, R. STUART. _Pagan and Muslim Arabs._ (Fortnightly
+       Review, October 15, 1865.)
+
+   RODWELL, J. M. _El-Kor�n._ 2d ed. 1876.
+
+   SALE, G. _The Koran._ 1836.
+
+   S�DILLOT, L.-A. _Histoire G�n�rale des Arabes._ 2d ed. 2 vols.
+       1877.
+
+   SMITH, R. BOSWORTH. _Mohammed and Mohammedanism._ 2d ed. 1876.
+
+   SPRENGER, A. _Das Leben und die Lehre des Mohammad._ 2d ed. 3
+       vols. 1869.
+
+   ST. HILAIRE, T.-BARTH�LEMY. _Mahomet et le Coran._ 2d ed.
+   1865.
+
+   TIELE, C. P. _Outlines of the History of Religion_, translated
+       by J. E. Carpenter. (Tr�bner's Philosophical Library. Vol.
+       vii. 1877.)
+
+   WEIL, G. _Das Leben Mohammed's nach Ibn Ishak_ bearbeitet von
+       Ibn Hischam. 2 vols. 1864.
+
+
+
+
+SELECTIONS FROM THE KUR-�N.
+
+_PART THE FIRST._
+
+NOTE.
+
+
+The following extracts were all translated by Mr. Lane, with the
+exception of those to which an obelus ([+]) is prefixed, for
+which I alone am responsible. In the text, the words in italics are
+inserted from the commentary of the Jel�leyn; words in square brackets
+[] are Mr. Lane's additions, inserted where the difference between the
+Arabic and English idioms required them.
+
+In the foot-notes, words in italics are from the commentary of the
+Jel�leyn; notes followed by the initial S., from Sale's _Koran_; the
+letters B., Z., and A. F., following S. in parenthesis, point to the
+authorities from which Sale's note was derived, the great commentaries
+of El-Beyd�wee and Ez-Zamakhsharee, and Abu-l-Fid�'s Life of Mohammad,
+respectively. The other notes are Mr. Lane's, either from the original
+edition or extracted from his _Modern Egyptians_ (5th 1 vol. ed.
+1860), or his notes to the _Thousand and One Nights_ (2d ed. 1859);
+except those enclosed in square brackets, which are due to myself.
+
+The numbers at the end of each extract refer to the chapter (soorah)
+and verse in Fl�gel's text of the Kur-�n (Lipsi�, 1869).
+
+   S. L. P.
+
+
+
+
+_PART THE FIRST._
+
+
+_THE OPENING PRAYER._[26]
+
+_EL-F�TIHAH._
+
+
+I.
+
+   In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
+
+   Praise be to God, the Lord of the Worlds,[27]
+   The Compassionate, the Merciful,
+   The King of the day of judgment.
+   Thee do we worship, and of Thee seek we help.[28]
+   Guide us in the right way,
+   The way of those to whom Thou hast been gracious,
+   Not of those with whom Thou art wroth, nor of the erring.
+
+   (i.)
+
+
+
+
+_PREMONITION._
+
+
+II.
+
+A.L.M.[29] Respecting this Book there is no doubt;[30] _it is_ a
+guidance for them that fear Him,
+
+Who believe in the unseen,[31] and perform the prayer, and of what We
+have bestowed on them expend,
+
+And who believe in that which hath been sent down to thee,[32] and
+what hath been sent down before thee,[33] and have firm assurance of
+the life to come.
+
+Those follow a right direction from their Lord, and those are they who
+shall prosper.
+
+As for those who have disbelieved, it will be equal to them whether
+thou admonish them or admonish them not: they will not believe.
+
+God hath sealed their hearts and their ears, and over their eyes is a
+covering, and for them is [ordained] a great punishment.
+
+   (ii. 1-6.)
+
+
+
+
+_GOD._
+
+
+III.
+
+   SAY, He is God, One [God];
+   God, the Eternal.
+   He begetteth not nor is begotten,
+   And there is none equal unto Him.
+
+   (cxii.)[34]
+
+
+IV.
+
+_The Throne-Verse._[35]
+
+God! There is no God but He, the _Ever_-Living, the Ever-Subsisting.
+Slumber seizeth Him not, nor sleep. To Him belongeth whatsoever is in
+the Heavens and whatsoever is in the Earth. Who is he that shall
+intercede with Him, unless by His permission? He knoweth what [hath
+been] before them and what [shall be] after them, and they shall not
+compass aught of His knowledge save what He willeth. His Throne
+comprehendeth the Heavens and the Earth,[36] and the care of them
+burdeneth Him not. And He is the High, the Great.
+
+   (ii. 256.)
+
+
+V.
+
+[+]SAY, O God, to whom belongeth dominion, Thou givest dominion
+to whom Thou wilt, and from whom Thou wilt Thou takest it away; Thou
+exaltest whom Thou wilt, and whom Thou wilt Thou humblest. In Thy hand
+is good. Verily Thou art all-powerful.
+
+Thou causest the night to pass into the day, and Thou causest the day
+to pass into the night; and Thou bringest forth the living from the
+dead, and Thou bringest forth the dead from the living; and thou
+givest sustenance to whom Thou wilt without measure.
+
+   (iii. 25, 26.)
+
+
+VI.
+
+Blessed be He in whose hand is the dominion and who is
+all-powerful;[37]
+
+Who hath created death and life, that He may prove you, which of you
+[will be] best in works: and He is the Mighty, the Very-Forgiving:
+
+Who hath created seven heavens, one above another. Thou seest not any
+fault in the creation of the Compassionate. But lift up the eyes again
+_to heaven_. Dost thou see any fissures?
+
+Then lift up the eyes again twice; the sight shall return unto thee
+dull and dim.
+
+   (lxvii. 1-4.)
+
+
+VII.
+
+Verily your Lord is God, who created the heavens and the earth in six
+days: then He ascended the throne. He causeth the night to cover the
+day; it followeth it swiftly: and _He created_ the sun and the moon
+and the stars, made subject utterly to His command. Do not the _whole_
+creation and command belong to Him? Blessed be God, the Lord of the
+Worlds.
+
+   (vii. 52.)
+
+
+VIII.
+
+We have placed in heaven _the twelve_ signs _of the Zodiac_, and
+adorned them for the beholders _with the constellations_;
+
+And We have guarded them (_by means of shooting stars_) from every
+accursed devil,[38]
+
+Excepting him who listeneth by stealth, whom a manifest shooting star
+pursueth.
+
+We have also spread forth the earth, and thrown thereon firm
+_mountains_,[39] and We have caused to spring forth in it every kind
+[of green thing] weighed.[40]
+
+And We have provided for you therein necessaries of life, and _for_
+him whom ye do not sustain;[41]
+
+And there is not a thing but the storehouses thereof are with Us, and
+We send it not down save in determined quantities.
+
+We also send the fertilizing winds,[42] and We send down water from
+heaven, and give you to drink thereof; and ye are not the storers of
+it.
+
+And verily We give life and death, and We are the heirs _of all the
+creation_.
+
+We also know those who have gone before you, and We know those who
+follow after [you].
+
+And verily thy Lord will assemble them together: for He is Wise,
+Knowing.
+
+   (xv. 16-25.)
+
+
+IX.
+
+And your God is One God: there is no god but He, the Compassionate,
+the Merciful.
+
+Verily in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the varying
+of night and day, and the ships that course upon the sea _laden_ with
+what is profitable to mankind, and the water that God hath sent down
+from heaven, quickening the earth thereby after its death, and
+scattering about it all kinds of beasts; and in the changing of the
+winds, and the clouds that are compelled to do service between heaven
+and earth, are signs unto a people who understand.
+
+Yet among men are those who take to themselves, beside God, idols,
+which they love as _with_ the love for God: but those who have
+believed are more loving towards God _than these towards their idols_.
+
+   (ii. 158-160.)
+
+
+X.
+
+Verily God causeth the grain to come forth, and the date-stone: He
+bringeth forth the living from the dead,[43] and He bringeth forth the
+dead from the living:[44] This is God; then wherefore are ye turned
+away?
+
+He causeth the dawn to appear, and hath ordained the night for rest,
+and the sun and the moon for reckoning _time_: this is the appointment
+of the Mighty, the Wise.
+
+And it is He who hath ordained for you the stars, that ye may be
+guided by them in the darknesses of the land and of the sea: We have
+clearly shown the signs _of Our power_ unto the people who know.[45]
+
+And it is He who hath produced you from one soul, and _there is_ a
+place of rest and of storing:[46] We have clearly shown the signs to
+the people who understand.
+
+And it is He who hath sent down water from heaven, and We have
+produced thereby the germs of everything, and We have caused the
+green thing to come forth therefrom, from which We draw forth grains
+massed; and from the palm-tree, from its fruit-branch, clusters of
+dates heaped together:[47] and gardens of grapes, and the olive and
+the pomegranate, like one another[48] and not like.[49] Look ye at
+their fruits when they bear fruit, and their ripening. Verily therein
+are signs unto the people who believe.
+
+Yet they have set up the Jinn[50] as partners of God, though He hath
+created them, and without knowledge have they falsely attributed to
+Him sons and daughters. Extolled be His purity, and high be He exalted
+above that which they attribute [to Him]!
+
+_He is_ the Author of the heavens and the earth. How then should He
+have offspring, when He hath no consort, and hath created everything
+and knoweth everything?
+
+This is God your Lord. There is no God but He, the Creator of
+everything: therefore worship ye Him;[51] and He is guardian over
+everything.
+
+The eyes see Him not, but He seeth the eyes: and He is the Gracious,
+the Knowing.
+
+   (vi. 95-103.)
+
+
+XI.
+
+It is He who maketh the lightning to appear unto you, [causing] fear
+and hope _of rain_, and formeth the pregnant clouds.
+
+And the thunder proclaimeth His perfection with His praise; and
+[likewise] the angels, in fear of Him. And He sendeth the
+thunderbolts, and striketh with them whom He pleaseth, whilst they
+dispute concerning God; for He is mighty in power.[52]
+
+   (xiii. 13, 14.)
+
+
+XII.
+
+With Him are the keys of the hidden things: none knoweth them but He:
+and He knoweth whatsoever is on the land and in the sea, and there
+falleth not a leaf but He knoweth it, nor a grain in the dark parts of
+the earth, nor a moist thing nor a dry thing, but [it is noted] in a
+distinct writing.[53]
+
+And it is He who taketh your souls at night, and knoweth what ye have
+gained in the day; then He reviveth you therein,[54] that an appointed
+time[55] may be fulfilled. Then unto Him shall ye return: then will He
+declare unto you what ye have done.
+
+And He is the Supreme[56] over His servants, and He sendeth watchers
+over you,[57] until when death cometh unto any one of you, Our
+messengers take his soul, and they fail not.
+
+Then are they[58] returned unto God their Lord, the True.[59] Doth not
+judgment belong to Him? And He is the most quick of reckoners.
+
+SAY,[60] Who delivereth you from the darknesses of the land and of the
+sea, _when_ ye supplicate Him humbly and in secret, _saying_, 'If Thou
+deliver us from these _dangers_, we will assuredly be of [the number
+of] the thankful'?
+
+SAY, God delivereth you from them and from every affliction.
+
+   (vi. 59-64.)
+
+
+XIII.
+
+Verily God will not forgive the associating with Him [any other being
+as a god], but will forgive other _sins_ unto whom He pleaseth; and
+whoso associateth [another] with God hath wrought a great wickedness.
+
+   (iv. 51.)
+
+
+XIV.
+
+They[61] say, 'The Compassionate hath gotten offspring:' Ye have done
+an impious thing.
+
+It wanteth little but that the heavens be rent thereat, and that the
+earth cleave asunder, and that the mountains fall down in pieces.[62]
+
+_For_ that they have attributed offspring to the Compassionate, when
+it beseemeth not the Compassionate to get offspring.
+
+There is none of all that are in the heavens and the earth but he
+shall come unto the Compassionate as a servant.[63] He hath known them
+and numbered them with an _exact_ numbering.
+
+And each of them shall come unto Him on the day of resurrection,
+alone.[64]
+
+[+]Verily those who have believed and have done the things that
+are right, on them the Compassionate will bestow [His] love.
+
+   (xix. 91-96.)
+
+
+XV.
+
+O men _of Mekkeh_, a parable is propounded, wherefore hearken unto it.
+Verily, those _idols_ which ye invoke beside God can never create a
+fly, although they assembled for it: and if the fly carry off from
+them aught,[65] they cannot recover the same from it. Weak are the
+seeker and the sought!
+
+   (xxii. 72.)
+
+
+XVI.
+
+The likeness of those who take to themselves Tutelars[66] instead of
+God is as the likeness of the spider, which maketh for herself a
+dwelling; and the frailest of dwellings surely is the dwelling of the
+spider! If they knew[67]----!
+
+Verily God knoweth whatever thing they invoke in His stead; and He is
+the Mighty, the Wise.
+
+And these parables[68] we propound unto men; but none understand them
+except the wise.
+
+God hath created the heavens and the earth in truth: verily therein is
+a sign unto the believers.
+
+   (xxix. 40-43.)
+
+
+
+
+_MOHAMMAD AND THE KUR-�N._
+
+
+XVII.
+
+   [+]O thou enwrapped _in thy mantle_,[69]
+   Arise and warn!
+   And thy Lord--magnify Him!
+   And thy raiment--purify it!
+   And the abomination[70]--flee it!
+   And bestow not favours that thou mayest receive again with increase.
+   And for thy Lord wait thou patiently.[71]
+
+   (lxxiv. 1-7.)
+
+
+XVIII.
+
+   [+]By the morning-brightness,
+   And by the still of night,[72]
+   Thy Lord hath not forsaken thee, neither hath He hated thee.
+   And surely the Future will be better for thee than the Present,
+   And thy Lord will give to thee, and thou wilt be well-pleased.
+   Did He not find thee an orphan, and sheltered thee?
+   And He found thee erring, and guided thee,
+   And found thee needy, and enriched thee.
+   Then, as to the orphan, oppress him not;
+   And as to him that asketh of thee, chide him not away;
+   And as for the bounty of thy Lord, tell it then [abroad].
+
+   (xciii.)
+
+
+XIX.
+
+SAY, I do not say unto you, 'With me[73] are the treasures of God,'
+nor, 'I know what is unseen,' nor do I say unto you, 'Verily I am an
+angel.' I follow not [aught] but what is revealed unto me.
+
+   (vi. 50.)
+
+
+XX.
+
+[+]SAY, I am only a man like unto you. It is only revealed unto
+me that your God is One God. He then that hopeth to meet his Lord, let
+him work a righteous work, and in the worship of his Lord let him not
+associate any [other god].
+
+   (xviii. 110.)
+
+
+XXI.
+
+[+]SAY, If I err, only against myself shall I err, but if I am
+rightly-guided, it [is] of what my Lord hath revealed to me. Verily,
+He is the Hearer, the Near-at-hand!
+
+   (xxxiv. 49.)
+
+
+XXII.
+
+Mohammad is nought but a Messenger.[74] The Messengers have passed
+away before him. If then he die or be slain, will ye turn round upon
+your heels?[75] But he who turneth round upon his heels will not
+injure God a whit;[76] and God will reward the thankful.
+
+   (iii. 138.)
+
+
+XXIII.
+
+Verily We have revealed unto thee as we revealed unto Noah and the
+prophets after him, and _as_ We revealed unto Abraham, and Ishmael,
+and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and Jesus, and Job, and Jonah,
+and Aaron, and Solomon; and We gave unto David the Psalms.
+
+   (iv. 161.)
+
+
+XXIV.
+
+[77] SAY _unto them_, Do ye argue with us concerning God, when
+He is our Lord and your Lord,[78] and when we have our works and ye
+have your works, and when we are sincere towards Him?
+
+Nay, do ye say that Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the
+tribes were Jews or Christians? SAY _unto them_, Are ye the more
+knowing, or is God?[79] And who is more unrighteous than they who
+conceal a testimony that they have from God?[80] But God is not
+heedless of that which ye do.
+
+   (ii. 133, 134.)
+
+
+XXV.
+
+_Remember_, when Jesus the son of Mary said, 'O children of Israel,
+Verily I am the Messenger of God unto you, confirming the Law which
+[was] before me, and giving good tidings of a Messenger who shall come
+after me, whose name [shall be] Ahmad.'[81] But when he (_Ahmad_) came
+unto them with evident proofs, they said, 'This is manifest magic!'
+
+And who is more unrighteous than he who forgeth falsehood against God,
+when he is invited unto El-Isl�m? And God directeth not the
+unrighteous people.
+
+They desire to put out the light of God with their mouths: but God
+will perfect His light, though the unbelievers be loth _thereto_.
+
+It is He who hath sent His messenger with the direction and the
+religion of truth, that He may exalt above every religion, though the
+polytheists be loth _thereto_.
+
+   (lxi. 6-9.)
+
+
+XXVI.
+
+Those to whom We have given the Scripture know him (_Mohammad_) as
+they know their children.[82] But a party of them do conceal the
+truth[83] while they know.
+
+   (ii. 141.)
+
+
+XXVII.
+
+_The Jews said unto Mohammad_, 'Verily God hath enjoined us[84] that
+we should not believe an apostle until he bring us a sacrifice which
+fire shall devour.'
+
+SAY, Apostles have come unto you before me with manifest proofs,[85]
+and with that ye have mentioned:[86] then wherefore did ye slay them,
+if ye be speakers of truth?
+
+   (iii. 179, 180.)
+
+
+XXVIII.
+
+_The unbelievers of Mekkeh_ have sworn by God, with the mightiest of
+their oaths, that if a sign come unto them they will assuredly believe
+therein. SAY, Signs are only with God. And what will make you to
+know?[87] Verily if they come they will not believe.
+
+And We will turn away their hearts and their eyes,[88] as they
+believed not therein the first time; and We will leave them in their
+transgression, wandering about in perplexity.
+
+And though We had sent down unto them the angels, and the dead had
+spoken unto them, and We had gathered together about them everything
+in tribes, they had not believed unless God had pleased; but the
+greater number of them know not.
+
+   (vi. 109-111.)
+
+
+XXIX.
+
+And they have said, 'O thou unto whom the Admonition[89] hath been
+sent down, thou art certainly possessed by a Jinnee.[90]
+
+Why dost thou not come unto us with the angels, if thou be of those
+that speak truth?'
+
+We send not down the angels save with justice,[91] nor would they then
+be respited.
+
+Verily, We have sent down the Admonition, and We will surely preserve
+it.
+
+And We have sent _Messengers_ before thee among the sects of the
+former generations;
+
+And there came not unto them any Messenger but they had him in
+derision:
+
+In like manner will We put it into the hearts of the sinners _of
+Mekkeh to do so_;
+
+They shall not believe in him, and the punishment of the former
+generations hath passed.
+
+And if We should open above them a gate in heaven, and they should
+pass the day mounting up to it,
+
+They would say, 'Our eyes are only intoxicated, or rather we are a
+people enchanted.'
+
+   (xv. 6-15.)
+
+
+XXX.
+
+   [+]Verily, it is the excellent Kur-�n,
+   Written in the Preserved Book.[92]
+   None shall touch it but they who are purified.[93]
+   It is a revelation from the Lord of the Worlds.
+
+   (lvi. 76-79.)
+
+
+XXXI.
+
+SAY, Verily if mankind and the Jinn assembled together for the purpose
+of producing the like of this Kur-�n,[94] they could not produce the
+like thereof, although they helped one another.[95]
+
+And We have explained unto men in this Kur-�n every _kind of_
+parable,[96] but the greater number of men have refused [all else]
+save unbelief,
+
+And have said, 'We will by no means believe in thee until thou cause a
+fountain to gush forth for us from the earth,
+
+_Or_ thou have a garden of palm-trees and grapes, and thou cause
+rivers to spring forth in the midst thereof in abundance,
+
+_Or_ thou cause heaven to fall down upon us, as thou hast pretended,
+in pieces, or thou bring God and the angels before _us_,
+
+_Or_ thou have a house of gold, or thou ascend into heaven, and we
+will not believe thy ascending until thou cause a book to descend unto
+us which we may read.' SAY, Extolled be the perfection of my Lord! Am
+I [aught] save a man, [sent] as a Messenger?
+
+And nothing hath hindered men from believing when the direction hath
+come unto them, but their saying, 'Hath God sent a man as a
+Messenger?'[97]
+
+SAY, If there were upon the earth angels walking at ease,[98] We had
+sent down unto them from heaven an angel as a Messenger.[99]
+
+SAY, God is a sufficient witness between me and you: for He knoweth
+and seeth His servants.
+
+   (xvii. 90-98.)
+
+
+XXXII.
+
+And this Kur-�n is not an invention[100] of one who is not God, but
+_it hath been sent down_ as a confirmation of those _books which have
+been_ before it, and an explanation of the Scripture--there is no doubt
+thereof--from the Lord of the Worlds.
+
+Do they say, 'He[101] hath forged it?' SAY, Then bring ye a
+Soorah[102] like unto it and call whom ye can,[103] other than God, if
+ye speak truth.
+
+Nay they have charged with falsehood that which they comprehend not,
+and the explanation thereof[104] hath not yet come unto them. In like
+manner did those who were before them charge _their Messengers_ with
+falsehood; but see how was the end of the offenders!
+
+   (x. 38-40.)
+
+
+XXXIII.
+
+If ye be in doubt concerning that which We have sent down unto Our
+servant _Mohammad_,[105] bring ye a Soorah like unto it,[106] and
+invoke your witnesses,[107] other than God, if ye be speakers of
+truth.
+
+But if ye do _it_ not (and do _it_ ye shall not), fear the fire whose
+fuel is men and stones: it is prepared for the unbelievers.
+
+   (ii. 21, 22.)
+
+
+XXXIV.
+
+Whatsoever[108] verse We abrogate or cause _thee_ to forget, We will
+produce one better than it or like unto it. Dost thou not know that
+God is all-powerful?
+
+Dost thou not know that to God _belongeth_ the dominion of the heavens
+and the earth, and that beside God ye have no protector or defender?
+
+   (ii. 100, 101.)
+
+
+XXXV.
+
+When We substitute a verse in the stead of a verse (and God best
+knoweth what He revealeth), they say, 'Thou art but a forger!'--but the
+greater number of them know not!
+
+SAY, The Holy Spirit _Gabriel_ hath brought it down from thy Lord with
+truth, to stablish those who have believed, and as a direction and
+good tidings unto the Muslims.
+
+And We well know that they say, 'Only a man[109] teacheth him.' The
+tongue of him to whom they incline is foreign, and this _is the_
+perspicuous Arabic tongue.
+
+   (xvi. 103-105).
+
+
+XXXVI.
+
+SAY, If the sea were ink, for _writing_ the words of my Lord, the sea
+would be dried up or ever the words of my Lord were exhausted; and
+[so] if we brought its like in aid.[110]
+
+   (xviii. 109).
+
+
+
+
+_THE RESURRECTION, PARADISE, AND HELL._
+
+
+XXXVII.
+
+   [+]The Striking! what is the Striking?
+   And what shall teach thee what the Striking is?
+   _It is_ a day when men shall be like scattered moths,
+   And the mountains like carded wool!
+   Then as for him whose balances are heavy, his shall be a life
+     well-pleasing.
+   As for him whose balances are light, his abode shall be the Pit.
+   And what shall teach thee what that is?
+   A raging fire!
+
+   (ci.)
+
+
+XXXVIII.
+
+   [+]When the earth is shaken with her shaking,
+   And the earth hath cast forth her dead,[111]
+   And man shall say, 'What aileth her?'
+   On that day shall she tell out her tidings,
+   Because thy Lord hath inspired her.
+   On that day shall men come one by one to behold their works,
+   And whosoever shall have wrought an ant's weight of good shall
+     behold it,
+   And whosoever shall have wrought an ant's weight of ill shall
+     behold it.
+
+   (xcix.)
+
+
+XXXIX.
+
+
+   [+]When the heaven shall be cloven asunder,
+   And when the stars shall be scattered,
+   And when the seas shall be let loose,
+   And when the graves shall be turned upside-down,
+   _Every_ soul shall know what it hath done and left undone.
+   O man! what hath seduced thee from thy generous Lord,
+   Who created thee and fashioned thee and disposed thee aright?
+   In the form which pleased Him hath He fashioned thee.
+   Nay, but ye treat the Judgment as a lie.
+   Verily there are watchers over you,
+   Worthy recorders,
+   Knowing what ye do.
+   Verily in delight shall the righteous dwell;
+   And verily the wicked in Hell[-Fire];
+   They shall be burnt at it on the day of doom,
+   And they shall not be hidden from it.
+   And what shall teach thee what the Day of Judgment is?
+   Again: What shall teach thee what is the Day of Judgment?
+   _It is_ a day when one soul shall be powerless for another soul;
+     and all on that day shall be in the hands of God.
+
+   (lxxxii.)
+
+
+XL.
+
+   When the sun shall be wrapped up,
+   And when the stars shall fall down,
+   And when the mountains shall be made to pass away,
+   And when the camels ten months gone with young[112] shall be neglected,
+   And when the wild beasts shall be gathered together,
+   And when the seas shall overflow,[113]
+   And when the souls shall be joined _to their bodies_,
+   And when the child[114] that hath been buried alive shall be asked
+   For what crime she was put to death,
+   And when the books[115] shall be laid open,
+   And when the heaven shall be removed,[116]
+   And when Hell shall be made to burn,
+   And when Paradise shall be brought near,--
+   _Then every_ soul shall know what it hath done.
+
+   (lxxxi. 1-14.)
+
+
+XLI.
+
+
+   Hath the news of the Overwhelming reached thee?
+   Countenances on that day [shall be] abased,
+   Labouring, toiling:
+   They shall feel the heat of scorching fire,
+   They shall be given to drink from a fountain fiercely boiling,
+   There shall be no food for them but of daree',[117]--
+   It shall not fatten nor satisfy hunger.
+
+   (lxxxviii. 1-7.)
+
+
+XLII.
+
+   When one blast shall be blown on the trumpet,
+   And the earth shall be raised and the mountains, and be broken to
+     dust with one breaking,
+   On that day the Calamity shall come to pass:
+   And the heaven shall cleave asunder, being frail on that day,
+   And the angels on the sides thereof; and over them on that day
+     eight _of the angels_[118] shall bear the throne of thy Lord.
+   On that day ye shall be presented _for the reckoning_; none of
+     your secrets shall be hidden.
+   And as to him who shall have his book given to him in his right
+     hand, he shall say,[119] 'Take ye, read my book;
+   Verily I was sure I should come to my reckoning.
+   And his [shall be] a pleasant life
+   In a lofty garden,
+   Whose clusters [shall be] near at hand.
+   [120]'Eat ye and drink with benefit on account of that which ye paid
+      beforehand in the past days.'
+
+
+   But as to him who shall have his book given to him in his left
+     hand, he shall say, 'O would that I had not had my book given
+     to me,
+   Nor known what [was] my reckoning!
+   O would that _my death_ had been the ending _of me_!
+   My wealth hath not profited me!
+   My power is passed away from me!'
+   '[121]Take him and chain him,
+   Then cast him into hell to be burnt,
+   Then in a chain of seventy cubits bind him:
+   For he believed not in God, the Great,
+   Nor urged to feed the poor;
+   Therefore he shall not have here this day a friend,
+   Nor any food save filth
+   Which none but the sinners shall eat.'
+
+   (lxix. 13-37.)
+
+
+XLIII.
+
+   When the Calamity shall come to pass
+   There shall not be _a soul_ that will deny its happening,[122]
+   [It will be] an abaser _of some_, an exalter _of others_;
+   When the earth shall be shaken with a _violent_ shaking,
+   And the mountains shall be crumbled with a [violent] crumbling,
+   And shall become fine dust scattered abroad;
+   And ye shall be three classes.
+   And the people of the right hand,[123] what [shall be] the people
+     of the right hand![124]
+   And the people of the left hand, what the people of the left
+     hand![125]
+   And the Preceders,[126] the Preceders!
+   These [shall be] the brought-nigh [unto God]
+   In the gardens of delight,--
+   A crowd of the former generations,
+   And a few of the latter generations,
+   Upon inwrought couches
+   Reclining thereon, face to face.
+   Youths ever-young[127] shall go unto them round about
+   With goblets and ewers and a cup of flowing wine,
+   Their [heads] shall ache not with it neither shall they be drunken;
+   And with fruits of the [sorts] which they shall choose,
+   And the flesh of birds of the [kinds] which they shall desire.
+   And damsels[128] with eyes[129] like pearls laid up
+   _We will give them_ as a reward for that which they have done.
+   Therein shall they hear no vain discourse nor accusation of sin,
+   But [only] the saying, 'Peace! Peace!'
+
+   And the people of the right hand--what [shall be] the people of
+     the right hand!
+   [They shall dwell] among lote-trees without thorns
+   And bananas loaded with fruit,[130]
+   And a shade _ever_-spread,
+   And water _ever_-flowing,
+   And fruits abundant
+   Unstayed and unforbidden,
+   And couches raised.
+   Verily we have created them[131] by a [peculiar] creation,
+   And have made them virgins,
+   Beloved of their husbands, of equal age [with them],
+   For the people of the right hand,
+   A crowd of the former generations
+   And a crowd of the latter generations.
+
+   And the people of the left hand--what [shall be] the people of
+     the left hand!
+   [They shall dwell] amidst burning wind and scalding water,
+   And a shade of blackest smoke,
+   Not cool and not grateful.
+   For before this they were blest with worldly goods,
+   And they persisted in heinous sin,[132]
+   And said, 'When we shall have died and become dust and bones,
+     shall we indeed be raised to life,
+   And our fathers the former generations?'
+   SAY, Verily the former and the latter generations
+   Shall be gathered together for the appointed time of a known day.
+   Then ye, O ye erring, belying [people],
+   Shall surely eat of the tree of Ez-Zakkoom,
+   And fill therewith [your] bellies,
+   And drink thereon boiling water,
+   And ye shall drink as thirsty camels drink.--
+   This [shall be] their entertainment on the day of retribution.
+
+   (lvi. 1-56.)
+
+
+XLIV.
+
+Verily We have prepared for the offenders fire, the smoke of which
+shall encompass them; and if they ask relief, they shall be relieved
+with water like the dregs of oil, which shall scald _their_ faces.
+Miserable shall be the drink, and evil shall be the couch.
+
+As for those who have believed and done the things that are right,
+verily We will not suffer the reward of him that hath done well to
+perish:
+
+For these are gardens of perpetual abode, beneath them[133] shall
+rivers run; they shall be adorned therein with bracelets of gold, and
+shall wear green garments of fine brocade and of thick brocade,
+reclining therein on the thrones. Excellent shall be the reward, and
+pleasant shall be the couch.
+
+   (xviii. 28-30.)
+
+
+XLV.
+
+_Call to mind_ the day when We will cause the mountains to pass away
+and thou shalt see the earth plain; and We will assemble them[134] and
+not leave of them any one.
+
+And they shall be set before thy Lord in ranks: 'Now are ye come unto
+Us as We created you the first time.[135] Nay, ye thought that We
+would not perform [Our] promise to you.'[136]
+
+And the book shall be put [in every man's hand], and thou shalt see
+the sinners fearful because of that which is [written] therein, and
+they shall say, 'O woe is us! what meaneth this book? It leaveth
+neither a small _sin_ nor a great _sin_, but it enumerateth it!' And
+they shall find that which they shall have wrought present;[137] and
+thy Lord will not deal unjustly with any one.
+
+   (xviii. 45-47.)
+
+
+XLVI.
+
+They have not esteemed God with the estimation due unto Him, since the
+whole earth [shall be] His handful on the day of resurrection, and the
+heavens [shall be] folded together by His right hand. Extolled be His
+perfection and high be He exalted above the [things] they associate
+_with Him_!
+
+And the trumpet shall be blown, and they that are in the heavens and
+they that are in the earth shall die, except those whom God shall
+please. Then it shall be blown another time; and lo, they shall arise,
+waiting.
+
+And the earth shall shine with the light of its Lord. And the book
+shall be placed, and the prophets shall be brought and the witnesses,
+and judgment shall be given between them with truth, and they shall
+not be treated unjustly.
+
+And every soul shall be fully paid _the reward_ of what it hath done,
+and He well knoweth what they do.
+
+And those who have disbelieved shall be driven in troops unto hell,
+until when they come to it, its gates shall be opened, and its
+guardians shall say unto them, 'Did not Messengers from among you come
+unto you rehearsing the signs of your Lord, and warning you of the
+meeting of this your day?' They shall answer, 'Yea:' (But the sentence
+of punishment[138] hath been justly pronounced against the
+unbelievers:)
+
+It shall be said, 'Enter ye the gates of hell to remain therein for
+ever:' and evil shall be the abode of the proud.
+
+
+And those who have feared their Lord shall be urged on in troops unto
+paradise, until when they come unto it, its gates are already opened,
+and its guardians say unto them: 'Peace be on you! Ye have been good:
+therefore enter it to abide _therein_ for ever.'
+
+And they shall say, 'Praise be to God, who hath performed unto us His
+promise, and hath made us to inherit the land, that we may dwell in
+Paradise wheresoever we please; and how excellent is the reward of the
+workers!'[139]
+
+And thou shalt see the angels encompassing the throne, extolling the
+perfection with the praise of their Lord. And judgment shall be given
+between them[140] with truth: and it shall be said,'Praise be to God,
+the Lord of the Worlds!'
+
+   (xxxix. 67-75.)
+
+
+XLVII.
+
+Paradise shall be brought near unto the pious, _to a place_ not
+distant _from them, so that they shall see it_.
+
+_And it shall be said unto them_, 'This is what ye have been promised,
+unto every one who hath earnestly turned himself unto God and kept
+_His laws_,
+
+Who hath feared the Compassionate in secret, and come with a penitent
+heart:
+
+Enter it in peace: this is the Day of Eternity.'
+
+   (l. 30-33.)
+
+
+XLVIII.
+
+[+]Fairseeming to men is the love of pleasures from women and
+children, and hoarded riches of gold and silver, and pastured[141]
+horses, and flocks, and corn-fields. Such is the enjoyment of this
+world's life! But God, goodly is the home with Him!
+
+SAY, Shall I tell you of better things than these prepared in the
+presence of their Lord for those that fear [God]? Theirs shall be
+gardens beneath which rivers run, and in which they shall abide for
+ever, and stainless wives, and acceptance with God: for God regardeth
+His servants,
+
+--Who say, 'O our Lord, verily we have believed; forgive us then our
+sins, and keep us from the torment of the fire,'--
+
+The patient, and the truthful, and the lowly, and the charitable, and
+they who seek pardon at each daybreak.
+
+   (iii. 12-15.)
+
+
+XLIX.
+
+[+]And repute not those slain in God's cause[142] to be dead:
+nay, alive with their Lord, they are provided for;
+
+Joyful in what God of His bounty hath vouchsafed them, and rejoicing
+for those that follow after them, but have not yet overtaken them,
+that on them no fear shall come, neither shall they grieve;
+
+Rejoicing at the favour of God and His bounty, and that God suffereth
+not the reward of the faithful to perish.
+
+   (iii. 163-165.)
+
+
+L.
+
+Whosoever doeth the things that are right, whether male or female,
+being a believer,--these shall enter paradise, and shall not be wronged
+in the least degree.
+
+   (iv. 123.)
+
+
+LI.
+
+For those who have disbelieved in their Lord [is prepared] the
+punishment of hell; and evil [shall be] the journey.[143]
+
+When they shall be cast into it they shall hear it braying,[144] while
+it boileth, well-nigh bursting with fury.
+
+   (lxvii. 6-8.)
+
+
+LII.
+
+If thou shouldst see[145] those who have offended[146] when they see
+the punishment![147]--for power belongeth altogether unto God, and God
+is severe in punishing:
+
+When those who have been followed will declare themselves clear of
+those who have followed [them],[148] when they have seen the
+punishment, and the ties [that bound them together] shall be severed
+from them:
+
+And those who have followed shall say, 'O that there were for us a
+return _to the world_! then would we declare ourselves clear of them,
+like as they have _now_ declared themselves clear of us!' After this
+manner will God show them their _evil_ works, for which [they shall
+pour forth] lamentations; and they shall not come forth from the fire.
+
+   (ii. 160-162.)
+
+
+LIII.
+
+And the Devil[149] shall say, when the matter shall have been
+determined,[150] 'Verily God promised you the promise of truth;[151]
+and I promised you,[152] but I deceived you: yet had I no power over
+you;
+
+But I only called you and ye answered me. Therefore blame not me, but
+blame your own selves. I am not a helper of you, neither are ye
+helpers of me. Verily I renounce your having associated me _with God_
+heretofore.'
+
+   (xiv. 26, 27).
+
+
+LIV.
+
+Verily the hypocrites shall be in the lowest abyss of the fire, and
+thou shalt not find for them any defender.
+
+   (iv. 144.)
+
+
+LV.
+
+They[153] will ask thee respecting the Hour,[154] at what time is its
+coming fixed. SAY, The knowledge of it is only with my Lord: none
+shall manifest it in its time but He. It is grievous in the heavens
+and in the earth. It shall not come upon you otherwise than suddenly.
+
+They will ask thee as though thou wert well acquainted therewith. SAY,
+The knowledge of it is only with God: but the greater number of men
+know not!
+
+SAY, I possess not for myself _power to procure_ advantage nor _to
+avert_ mischief, save as God pleaseth: and if I knew things unseen, I
+should obtain abundance of good, and evil should not happen unto me. I
+am only a denouncer of threats _unto the unbelievers_, and an
+announcer of good tidings unto the people who believe.
+
+   (vii. 186-188.)
+
+
+
+
+_PREDESTINATION._
+
+
+LVI.
+
+A soul cannot die unless by permission of God, according to a writing
+_of God_, definite _as to time_.
+
+   (iii. 139.)
+
+
+LVII.
+
+They say [whose companions were slain at the battle of Ohod], 'If
+aught of the affair had been _submitted_ to us we had not been slain
+here.'[155] SAY, Had ye been in your houses, those _of you_ who were
+decreed to be slain had gone forth to the places where they lie.
+
+   (iii. 148.)
+
+
+LVIII.
+
+Wheresoever ye be, death will overtake you, although you be in lofty
+towers. If good fortune betide them,[156] they say, 'This is from
+God!' But if evil betide them, they say, 'This is from thee, _O
+Mohammad_!' SAY, All is from God. And what aileth this people that
+they are not near to understanding what is said _unto them_?
+
+Whatsoever good betideth thee, _O man, it is_ from God; and whatsoever
+evil betideth thee, from thyself _is it_.
+
+   (iv. 80, 81.)
+
+
+LIX.
+
+[+]No soul can believe but by the permission of God.
+
+   (x. 100.)
+
+
+LX.
+
+[+]And whoso willeth taketh the way to his Lord: But ye shall
+not will it, unless God will it.
+
+   (lxxvi. 29, 30.)
+
+
+LXI.
+
+[+]Expend in the way of God, and throw not yourselves into
+destruction.[157]
+
+   (ii. 191.)
+
+
+_ANGELS AND JINN._[158]
+
+
+LXII.
+
+They say, 'The Compassionate hath gotten offspring.'[159] Extolled be
+His purity! Nay, _they are_ honoured servants.
+
+They prevent Him not in speech,[160] and according to His command they
+act.
+
+He knoweth what is before them and what is behind them, and they shall
+not intercede
+
+Save for whom He shall please, and they fear in dread of Him.
+
+And him[161] among them who saith, 'I am a god beside Him,' that
+[angel] We will recompense with Hell.
+
+   (xxi. 26-30.)
+
+
+LXIII.
+
+[+]SAY, It hath been revealed to me that a company of the Jinn
+listened [to me] and said, 'Verily we have heard a wonderful
+discourse[162]
+
+Which guideth unto right: wherefore we believed in it, and we will by
+no means associate any one with our Lord....
+
+We tried the heaven, but we found it filled with a mighty garrison and
+darting flames;
+
+We sat on some of its seats to listen, but whosoever listeneth now
+findeth a darting flame in ambush for him.
+
+We know not whether evil be meant for them that are on the earth, or
+whether their Lord intendeth for them a right guidance.
+
+There are among us the good, and among us _those who are_ not so,--we
+are of various ways.
+
+   (lxxii. 1, 2, 8-11.)
+
+
+
+
+_TRUE RELIGION AND FALSE._
+
+
+LXIV.
+
+Verily God commandeth justice and the doing of good and the giving
+unto the relation: and He forbiddeth wickedness and iniquity and
+oppression. He admonisheth you that ye may reflect.
+
+   (xvi. 92.)[163]
+
+
+LXV.
+
+
+   [+]By the Night when she spreadeth her veil,
+   By the Day when it appeareth in glory,
+   By Him who made male and female;
+   Verily your aims are indeed different!
+   As then for him who giveth [alms] and feareth [God],
+   And yieldeth assent to the Good,
+   To him will We therefore make easy the path to happiness.
+   But as to him who is covetous and bent on riches,
+   And calleth the Good a lie,
+   To him will We make easy the path to distress;
+   And what shall his wealth avail him when he goeth down headlong?
+   Truly man's guidance is with Us,
+   And Ours the next Life and this life Present.
+   I warn you therefore of the flaming fire;
+   None shall be burned at it but the most wretched,--
+   Who hath called the truth a lie and turned his back.
+   But the greatly God-fearing shall escape it,--
+   Who giveth away his substance that he may become pure,
+   And who [offereth] not favours to any one for the sake
+     of recompense,
+   But only as seeking the face of his Lord the Most High.
+   And assuredly in the end he shall be well content.[1]
+
+   (xcii.)
+
+
+LXVI.
+
+   [+]What thinkest thou of him who treateth the day of judgment as a lie?
+   It is he who thrusteth away the orphan,
+   And stirreth not [others] up to feed the poor.
+   Woe, then, to those who pray,
+   Who in their prayer are careless,
+   Who make a show [of devotion],
+   But refuse help [to the needy].[164]
+
+   (cvii.)
+
+
+LXVII.
+
+Your turning your faces _in prayer_ towards the east and the west is
+not piety: but the pious is he who believeth in God and the Last Day,
+and in the angels, and the Scripture, and the prophets, and who giveth
+money, notwithstanding his love _of it_, to relations and orphans, and
+to the needy and the son of the road,[165] and to the askers and for
+_the freeing_ of slaves, and who performeth prayer and giveth the
+[appointed] alms, and those who perform their covenant when they
+covenant, and the patient in adversity and affliction and in the time
+of violence. These are they who have been true: and these are they who
+fear God.
+
+   (ii. 172.)
+
+
+LXVIII.
+
+[+]He only shall visit the temples of God who believeth in God
+and the Last Day, and observeth prayer, and payeth the [appointed]
+alms, and dreadeth none but God: for these are among the
+rightly-guided.
+
+   (ix. 18.)
+
+
+LXIX.
+
+O ye who have believed, make not your alms of no effect by reproach
+and harm, like him who expendeth his wealth to make a vain show unto
+men, and believeth not in God and the Last Day. For his likeness is as
+the likeness of a smooth stone upon which was earth, and a violent
+rain hath fallen upon it, and left it smooth and hard. [Such] cannot
+have aught that they have gained, and God directeth not the
+unbelieving people.
+
+And the likeness of those who expend their wealth from a desire of
+God's being pleased, and from assurance on their part,[166] is as the
+likeness of a garden upon a hill, on which a violent rain hath fallen,
+and it hath produced its fruit twofold: and if a violent rain fall not
+upon it, a gentle rain _falleth_.
+
+   (ii. 266, 267.)
+
+
+LXX.
+
+If ye manifest alms, good will it be: but if ye conceal them and give
+them to the poor, it will be better for you; and it will expiate
+_some_ of your sins.
+
+   (ii. 273.)
+
+
+LXXI.
+
+A kind speech and forgiveness are better than alms which hurt[167]
+followeth.
+
+   (ii. 265.)
+
+
+LXXII.
+
+Revile not what they invoke in preference to God,[168] lest they
+revile God evilly without knowledge.
+
+   (vi. 108.)
+
+
+LXXIII.
+
+Turn away _evil_ by that which is better: and lo, he between whom and
+thyself [was] enmity [shall become] as though he were a warm friend:
+
+But none is endowed with this[169] except those who have been patient,
+and none is endowed with it except he who is greatly favoured.[170]
+
+   (xli. 34, 35.)
+
+
+LXXIV.
+
+[+]If ye are greeted with a greeting, then greet ye with a
+better greeting, or at least return it: verily God taketh count of all
+things.
+
+   (iv. 88.)
+
+
+LXXV.
+
+[+]If there be any [debtor] under a difficulty [of paying his
+debt], let [his creditor] wait until it be easy: but if ye remit it as
+alms, it will be better for you.
+
+   (ii. 280.)[171]
+
+
+
+
+_BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS._
+
+
+LXXVI.
+
+[+]Dispute not with the people of the Scripture[172] unless in
+the kindliest[173] manner, except against such of them as deal evilly
+[with you]; and say [unto them], We believe in that which hath been
+sent down unto us and [that which] hath been sent down unto you, and
+our God and your God is one, and to Him are we self-surrendered.[174]
+
+   (xxix. 45.)
+
+
+LXXVII.
+
+Verily those who have believed,[175] and those who have become Jews,
+and the Christians, and the Sabians, whosoever hath believed in God
+and the Last Day, and hath done that which is right,--they shall have
+their reward with their Lord, and _there shall come_ no fear upon
+them, neither shall they grieve.
+
+   (ii. 59.)[176]
+
+
+LXVIII.
+
+Whoso desireth any other religion than El-Isl�m, it shall not be
+accepted of him, and in the world to come he [shall be] of those that
+perish.
+
+   (iii. 79.)
+
+
+LXXIX.
+
+The likeness of those who have disbelieved[177] is as the likeness of
+him who crieth out to that which heareth not [aught] save a calling
+and a voice. _They are_ deaf, dumb, blind: therefore they do not
+understand.
+
+   (ii. 166.)
+
+
+LXXX.
+
+[As to] the unbelievers, their works are like a vapour[178] in a
+plain, which the thirsty imagineth to be water, until when he cometh
+to it he findeth it not aught:[179] (but he findeth God there, and He
+fully payeth him his account: and God is swift in reckoning:)
+
+Or, like darknesses in a deep sea, covered by waves over waves,--over
+them clouds,--darknesses one over another: when [one] putteth forth his
+hand he is not nearly able to see it. And unto whomsoever God giveth
+not light, he hath no light.
+
+   (xxiv. 39, 40.)
+
+
+LXXXI.
+
+Propound unto them as a parable two men, on one of whom[180] We
+bestowed two gardens of grape-vines, and We surrounded them with
+palm-trees, and put corn between them; each of the gardens brought
+forth its fruit, and failed not thereof at all;
+
+And We caused a river to flow between them; and he had abundance. And
+he said unto his companion, disputing with him, 'I am greater than
+thou in wealth and more mighty in family.'
+
+And he entered his garden, being unjust to his own soul.[181] He said,
+'I do not think that this will ever perish,
+
+And I do not think that the [Last] Hour will come; and if I should be
+taken back unto my Lord, I shall assuredly find a better [garden] than
+it in return.'
+
+His companion said unto him, disputing with him, 'Dost thou disbelieve
+in Him who created thee of dust, then completely fashioned thee into a
+man?
+
+God is my Lord, and I will not associate any one with my Lord.
+
+And why when thou enteredst thy garden didst thou not say, 'What God
+willeth[182] [cometh to pass]: there is no power but in God?' If thou
+seest me to be inferior to thee in amount of wealth and in number of
+children,
+
+Perhaps my Lord may give me [what will be] better than thy garden; and
+may send upon [thine] thunderbolts from heaven, so that it shall
+become a smooth and slippery ground;
+
+Or its water may become deep-sunk [in the earth], so that thou shalt
+not be able to draw it.'--
+
+And his possessions were encompassed _with destruction_, and he began
+to turn down the palms of his hands for that which he had expended
+thereon; for it[s vines were] falling down upon its trellises; and he
+said, 'O would that I had not associated any one with my Lord!'
+
+And there was no party for him to assist him instead of God, nor was
+he able to defend himself.
+
+In that case[183] protection [belongeth] unto God, the True; He is the
+best rewarder and the best giver of success.
+
+   (xviii. 31-42.)
+
+
+LXXXII.
+
+Thou shalt certainly find[184] the Jews and those who have attributed
+partners to God[185] the most violent of men in hatred of those who
+have believed; and thou shalt certainly find the nearest of them to
+friendship to those who have believed those who say, 'We are
+Christians.' This is because there are among them priests and monks,
+and because they are not proud.[186]
+
+And when they hear that which hath been sent down unto the Apostle,
+thou seest their eyes overflow with tears because of the truth that
+they know: they say, 'O our Lord, we believe, therefore write us down
+among those who bear witness.'
+
+   (v. 85, 86.)
+
+
+LXXXIII.
+
+The likeness of those who were charged to bear in mind the Law [of
+Moses], then bore it not in mind,[187] is as the likeness of the ass
+that beareth books. Evil is the likeness of the people who have
+charged the signs of God with falsehood: and God directeth not the
+unjust people.
+
+   (lxii. 5.)
+
+
+LXXXIV.
+
+[188] Among men are those who say, We believe in God and in
+the Last Day: but they are not believers.
+
+They try to deceive God and those who have believed; but they deceive
+not any except themselves, and they know [it] not.
+
+In their hearts is a disease, and God hath increased their disease,
+and for them [is ordained] a painful punishment, because they have
+charged with falsehood _the prophet of God_.
+
+And when it is said unto them, Corrupt not in the earth, they reply,
+'We are only rectifiers.'
+
+Assuredly they are the corrupters; but they know [it] not.
+
+And when it is said unto them, Believe ye as _other_ men have
+believed, they say, 'Shall we believe as the fools have believed?'
+Assuredly they are the fools; but they know it not.
+
+And when they meet those who have believed, they say, 'We believe:'
+but when they retire privately to their devils,[189] they say, 'We
+_hold_ with you: we only mock _at them_.'
+
+God will mock at them, and keep them in their exceeding wickedness,
+wandering about in perplexity.
+
+These are they who have purchased error in exchange for right
+guidance: but their traffic hath not been profitable; and they have
+not been rightly guided.
+
+Their likeness is as the likeness of those who have kindled a fire _in
+the dark_, and when it hath enlightened what is around them, God
+taketh away their light and leaveth them in darkness, seeing not.
+
+_They are_ deaf, dumb, blind: therefore they will not turn back.
+
+Or _they are_ like _people in_ a storm of rain from heaven, wherein
+are darkness and thunder and lightning: they put their fingers in
+their ears because of the vehement sounds of the thunder, for fear of
+death. And God encompasseth the unbelievers.
+
+The lightning almost snatcheth away their eyes: whenever it shineth on
+them they walk in _the light of_ it, but when darkness cometh on them
+they stand still. And if God pleased He would certainly take away
+their ears and eyes: for God is all-powerful.
+
+   (ii. 7-19.)
+
+
+LXXXV.
+
+O ye who have believed, take not the Jews and Christians as friends.
+They are friends one to another; and whosoever of you taketh them as
+his friends, verily he is _of the number_ of them.
+
+O ye who have believed, take not as friends those who have made your
+religion a laughing-stock and a jest, of those who have received the
+Scripture before you, and the unbelievers: (But fear God if ye be
+believers:)
+
+And _those who_ when ye call to prayer make it a laughing-stock and a
+jest. This _they do_ because they are a people who do not understand.
+
+   (v. 56, 62, 63.)
+
+
+LXXXVI.
+
+[+]The servants of the Merciful are they that walk upon the
+earth softly; and when the ignorant speak unto them, they reply
+'Peace!'--
+
+And they that pass the night worshipping their Lord, prostrate and
+standing;--
+
+And that say, 'O our Lord, turn away from us the torment of Hell:
+verily its torment is endless; verily it is an ill abode and
+resting-place!'--
+
+And those who when they spend are neither lavish nor niggard, but keep
+the mean;--
+
+And those who call on no other gods with God, nor slay whom God hath
+forbidden to be slain, except for a just cause; nor are unchaste;--
+
+And they who bear not witness to a lie, and when they pass by vain
+discourse pass it by with dignity;--
+
+These shall be rewarded with the highest Heaven, for that they
+persevered, and they shall be accosted therein with 'Welcome and
+Peace,' to live therein for ever--a fair abode and resting-place!
+
+   (xxv. 64-75.)
+
+
+
+
+_PART THE SECOND._
+
+_PROPHETS, APOSTLES, AND DIVINE BOOKS._[190]
+
+
+SAY YE, We believe in God, and in that which hath been sent down unto
+us (_namely, the Kur-�n_), and what hath been sent down unto Abraham
+(_the ten books_), and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes,
+_his children_, and what Moses received (_namely, the Pentateuch_),
+and Jesus (_namely, the Gospel_), and what the prophets received from
+their Lord (_namely, books and signs_): we make no separation of any
+of them, _believing in some, and disbelieving in some, like the Jews
+and the Christians_; and we resign ourselves unto Him.
+
+   (ii. 130.)
+
+
+
+
+_ADAM AND EVE._
+
+
+_Remember, O Mohammad_, when thy Lord said unto the angels, I am about
+to place in the earth a vicegerent _to act for me in the execution of
+my ordinances therein, namely, Adam_,--they said, Wilt Thou place in it
+one who will corrupt in it _by disobediences_, and will shed blood
+(_as did the sons of El-J�nn,[191] who were in it; wherefore, when
+they acted corruptly, God sent to them the angels, who drove them away
+to the islands and the mountains_), when we [on the contrary]
+celebrate the divine perfection, _occupying ourselves_ with Thy
+praise, and extol Thy holiness? _Therefore we are more worthy of the
+vicegerency._--_God_ replied, Verily, I know that which ye know not,
+_as to the affair of appointing Adam vicegerent, and that among his
+posterity will be the obedient and the rebellious, and the just will
+be manifest among them. And He created Adam from the surface of the
+earth, taking a handful of every colour that it comprised, which was
+kneaded with various waters; and He completely formed it, and breathed
+into it the soul: so it became an animated sentient being._[192] And
+He taught Adam the names of all things, _infusing the knowledge of
+them into his heart_. Then He showed them (_namely, the things_) to
+the angels, and said, Declare unto me the names of these _things_, if
+ye say truth _in your assertion that I will not create any more
+knowing than ye, and that ye are more worthy of the vicegerency_. They
+replied, [_We extol_] Thy perfection! We have no knowledge excepting
+what Thou hast taught us; for Thou art the Knowing, the Wise.--_God_
+said, O Adam, tell them their names. And when he had told them their
+names, _God_ said, Did I not say unto you that I know the secrets of
+the heavens and the earth, and know what ye reveal _of your words,
+saying, Wilt thou place in it_, etc., and what ye did conceal _of your
+words, saying, He will not create any more generous towards Him than
+we, nor any more knowing_?
+
+   (ii. 28-31.)
+
+
+We created you; _that is, your father Adam_: then we formed you; _we
+formed him, and you in him_: then We said unto the angels, Prostrate
+yourselves unto Adam, _by way of salutation_; whereupon they
+prostrated themselves, except Iblees, _the father of the jinn, who was
+amid the angels_: he was not of those who prostrated themselves. _God_
+said, What hath hindered thee from prostrating thyself, when I
+commanded thee? He answered, I am better than he: Thou hast created me
+of fire, and Thou hast created him of earth. [God] said, Then descend
+thou from it; _that is, from Paradise; or, as some say, from the
+heavens_; for it is not fit for thee that thou behave thyself proudly
+therein: so go thou forth: verily thou [shalt be] of the contemptible.
+He replied, Grant me respite until the day when they (_that is,
+mankind_) shall be raised from the dead. He said, Thou shalt be of
+those [who are] respited: _and, in another verse_ [in xv. 38, it is
+said], _until the day of the known period; that is, until the period
+of the first blast_ [of the trumpet]. [And the devil] said, Now, as
+Thou hast led me into error, I will surely lay wait for them (_that
+is, for the sons of Adam_) in Thy right way, _the way that leadeth to
+Thee_: then I will surely come upon them, from before them, and from
+behind them, and from their right hands, and from their left, _and
+hinder them from pursuing the way_ (_but, saith Ibn-�Abb�s, he cannot
+come upon them above, lest he should intervene between the servant and
+God's mercy_), and Thou shalt not find the greater number of them
+grateful, _or believing_. [God] said, Go forth from it, despised and
+driven away _from mercy_. Whosoever of them (_that is, of mankind_)
+shall follow thee, I will surely fill hell with you all; _with thee,
+and thy offspring, and with men_.
+
+   (vii. 10-17.)
+
+
+And we said, O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife (_Howw�_ [or Eve], _whom
+God created from a rib of his left side_) in the garden, and eat ye
+therefrom plentifully, wherever ye will; but approach ye not this
+tree, _to eat thereof_; (_and it was wheat, or the grape-vine, or some
+other tree_;) for _if ye do so_, ye will be of _the number of_ the
+offenders. But the devil, _Iblees_, caused them to slip from it, _that
+is, from the garden, by his saying unto them, Shall I show you the way
+to the tree of eternity? And he swore to them by God that he was one
+of the faithful advisers to them: so they ate of it_, and He ejected
+them from that _state of delight_ in which they were. And We said,
+Descend ye[193] _to the earth, ye two with the offspring that ye
+comprise_ [yet unborn], one of you (_that is, of your offspring_) an
+enemy to another; and there shall be for you, in the earth, a place of
+abode, and a provision, _of its vegetable produce_, for a time, _until
+the period of the expiration of your terms of life_. And Adam learned,
+from his Lord, words, _which were these_:--_O Lord, we have acted
+unjustly to our own souls, and if Thou do not forgive us, and be
+merciful unto us, we shall surely be of those who suffer loss_.[194]
+_And he prayed in these words_; and He became propitious towards him,
+_accepting his repentance_; for He is the Very Propitious, the
+Merciful. We said, Descend ye from it (_from the garden_) altogether;
+and if there come unto you from Me a direction (_a book and an
+apostle_), those who follow my direction, _there shall come_ no fear
+on them, nor shall they grieve _in the world to come; for they shall
+enter paradise_: but they who disbelieve and accuse our signs[195] of
+falsehood, these shall be the companions of the fire: they shall
+remain therein for ever.
+
+   (ii. 33-37.)
+
+
+
+
+_ABEL AND CAIN._
+
+
+Recite, _O Mohammad_, unto them (_that is, to thy people_) the history
+of the two sons of Adam, _namely, Abel and Cain_,[196] with truth.
+When they offered [their] offering _to God_[197] (_Abel's being a ram,
+and Cain's being produce of the earth_), and it was accepted from one
+of them (_that is, from Abel; for fire descended from heaven, and
+devoured his offering_), and it was not accepted from the other, _Cain
+was enraged; but he concealed his envy until Adam performed a
+pilgrimage, when_ he said _unto his brother_, I will assuredly slay
+thee. _Abel said, Wherefore? Cain answered, Because of the acceptance
+of thine offering to the exclusion of mine. Abel_ replied, God only
+accepteth from the pious. If thou stretch forth to me thy hand to slay
+me, I will not stretch forth to thee my hand to slay thee; for I fear
+God, the Lord of the worlds. I desire that thou shouldst bear the sin
+[which thou intendest to commit] against me, _by slaying me_, and thy
+sin _which thou hast committed before_, and thou wilt be of the
+companions of the fire.--And that is the recompense of the
+offenders.--But his soul suffered him to slay his brother: so he slew
+him; and he became of [the number of] those who suffer loss. _And he
+knew not what to do with him; for he was the first dead person upon
+the face of the earth of the sons of Adam. So he carried him upon his
+back._ And God sent a raven, which scratched up the earth _with its
+bill and its talons and raised it over a dead raven that was with it
+until it hid it_, to show him how he should hide the corpse of his
+brother. He said, O my disgrace! Am I unable to be like this raven,
+and to hide the corpse of my brother?--And he became of [the number of]
+the repentant. _And he digged_ [a grave] _for him, and hid him_.--On
+account of this _which Cain did_ We commanded the children of Israel
+that he who should slay a soul (not for _the latter's having slain_ a
+soul or _committed_ wickedness in the earth, _such as infidelity, or
+adultery, or intercepting the way, and the like_) [should be regarded]
+as though he had slain all mankind; and he who saveth it alive, _by
+abstaining from slaying it_, as though he had saved alive all mankind.
+
+   (v. 30-35.)
+
+
+
+
+_NOAH AND THE FLOOD._
+
+
+We formerly sent Noah [Nooh] unto his people, _saying_, Verily I am
+unto you a plain admonisher that ye worship not [any] but God. Verily
+I fear for you, _if ye worship any other_, the punishment of an
+afflictive day _in this world and in the world to come_.--But the
+chiefs who disbelieved among his people replied, We see thee not to be
+other than a man, like unto us; and we see not any to have followed
+thee except the meanest of us, _as the weavers and the cobblers_, at
+first thought (_or rashly_), nor do we see you to have any excellence
+above us: nay, we imagine you to be liars _in your claim to the
+apostolic commission_. He said, O my people, tell me, if I have an
+evident proof from my Lord and He hath bestowed on me mercy (_the gift
+of prophecy_) from Himself which is hidden from you, shall we compel
+you to _receive_ it when ye are averse thereto? _We cannot do so._
+And, O my people, I ask not of you any riches for it; _namely, for
+delivering my message_. My reward is not due from any but God; and I
+will not drive away those who have believed _as ye have commanded me_
+[because they are poor people]. Verily they shall meet their Lord _at
+the resurrection, and He will recompense them, and will exact for
+them_ [reparation] _from those who have treated them with injustice,
+and driven them away_. But I see you [to be] a people who are ignorant
+_of the end of your case_. And, O my people, who will defend me
+against God if I drive them away? Will ye not then consider? And I do
+not say unto you, I have the treasures of God; nor [do I say], I know
+the things unseen; nor do I say, Verily I am an angel; nor do I say,
+of those whom your eyes contemn, God will by no means bestow on them
+good: (God best knoweth what is in their minds:) verily I should in
+that case be [one] of the offenders.--They replied, O Noah, thou hast
+disputed with us and multiplied disputes with us: now bring upon us
+that _punishment_ wherewith thou threatenest us, if thou be of those
+that speak truth. He said, Only God will bring it upon you, if He
+please _to hasten it unto you; for it is His affair, not mine_; and ye
+shall not escape _God_: nor will my counsel profit you, if I desire to
+counsel you, if God desire to lead you into error. He is your Lord;
+and unto Him shall ye be brought back.
+
+   (xi. 27-36.)
+
+
+And it was said by revelation unto Noah, Verily there shalt not
+believe of thy people [any] but they who have already believed;
+therefore be not grieved for that which they have done.
+
+   (xi. 38.)
+
+
+_And he uttered an imprecation upon them, saying_, O my Lord, leave
+not upon the earth any one of the unbelievers; for if Thou leave them,
+they will lead Thy servants into error, and will not beget [any] but a
+wicked, ungrateful [offspring]. O my Lord, forgive me and my parents
+(_for they were believers_), and whomsoever entereth my house (_my
+abode, or my place of worship_), being a believer, and the believing
+men, and the believing women, (_to the day of resurrection_), and add
+not to the offenders [aught] save destruction.
+
+   (lxxi. 27-29.)
+
+
+_And God answered his prayer, and said_, Construct the ark in our
+sight and according to our revelation, and speak not unto Me
+concerning those who have offended, _to beg Me not to destroy them_;
+for they [shall be] drowned. And he constructed the ark; and whenever
+a company of his people passed by him, they derided him. He said, If
+ye deride us, we will deride you, like as ye deride, _when we are
+saved and ye are drowned_, and ye shall know on whom shall come a
+punishment which shall render him vile, and whom shall befall a
+lasting punishment. [Thus he was employed] until when Our decree _for
+their destruction_ came to pass, and the _baker's_ oven overflowed
+_with water_[198] (_for this was a signal unto Noah_), We said, Carry
+into it (_that is, into the ark_) of every pair, _male and female, of
+each of these descriptions_, two (_and it is related that God
+assembled for Noah the wild beasts and the birds and other creatures,
+and he proceeded to put his hands upon each kind, and his right hand
+fell always upon the male, and his left upon the female, and he
+carried them into the ark_), and thy family (excepting him upon whom
+the sentence _of destruction_ hath already been pronounced, _namely,
+Noah's wife, and his son Canaan: but Shem and Ham and Japheth and
+their three wives he took_), and those who have believed; but there
+believed not with him save a few: _they were six men and their wives:
+and it is said that all who were in the ark were eighty, half of whom
+were men and half women_. And _Noah_ said, Embark ye therein. In the
+name of God [be] its course and its mooring.[199] Verily my Lord is
+very forgiving [and] merciful.--And it moved along with them amid
+waves like mountains; and Noah called unto his son, _Canaan_, who was
+apart _from the ark_, O my child, embark with us, and be not with the
+unbelievers! He replied, I will betake me to a mountain which will
+secure me from the water. [Noah] said, There is nought that will
+secure to-day from the decree of God [any] but him on whom He hath
+mercy. And the waves intervened between them; so he became [one] of
+the drowned. And it was said, O earth, swallow up thy water
+(_whereupon it drank it up, except what had descended from heaven,
+which became rivers and seas_), and, O heaven, cease _from
+raining_;--and the water abated, and the decree was fulfilled, and it
+(_namely, the ark_) rested on El-Joodee (_a mountain of El-Jezeereh,
+near El-M�sil_); and it was said, Perdition to the offending
+people![200]
+
+   (xi. 38-46.)
+
+
+And Noah called upon his Lord, and said, O my Lord, verily my son is
+of my family, _and Thou hast promised me to save them_, and verily Thy
+promise is true, and Thou art the most just of those who exercise
+judgment. _God_ replied, O Noah, verily he is not of thy family _who
+should be saved, or of the people of thy religion_. Verily it
+(_namely, thine asking me to save him_) is not a righteous act; _for
+he was an unbeliever, and there is no safety for the unbelievers_;
+therefore ask not of me that wherein thou hast no knowledge. I
+admonish thee, lest thou become [one] of the ignorant.--_Noah_ said, O
+my Lord, I beg Thee to preserve me from asking Thee that wherein I
+have no knowledge; and if Thou do not forgive me and have mercy upon
+me, I shall be of those who suffer loss.--It was said, O Noah, descend
+_from the ark_,[201] with peace from Us, and blessings, upon thee and
+upon peoples [that shall proceed] from those who are with thee _in the
+ark_ (_that is, their believing posterity_); but peoples [that shall
+proceed] _from those who are with thee_ We will permit to enjoy _the
+provisions of this world_; then a painful punishment shall befall them
+from Us, _in the world to come; they being unbelievers_.
+
+   (xi. 47-50.)
+
+
+
+
+_�AD AND THAMOOD._
+
+
+And _we sent_ unto _the former_ [tribe of] ��d[202] their brother
+Hood.[203] He said, O my people, worship God: _assert His unity_. Ye
+have no other deity than Him. Will ye not then fear _Him, and
+believe_?--The chiefs who disbelieved among his people answered, Verily
+we see thee to be in a foolish way, and verily we esteem thee one of
+the liars _with respect to the apostolic commission_. He replied, O my
+people, there is no folly in me; but I am an apostle from the Lord of
+the worlds. I bring unto you the messages of my Lord, and I am unto
+you a counsellor, intrusted _with the apostolic office_. Do ye wonder
+that an admonition hath come unto you from your Lord by _the tongue
+of_ a man from among you, that he may warn you? And remember how He
+hath appointed you vicegerents _in the earth_ after the people of
+Noah, and increased you in tallness of stature. (_For the tall among
+them was a hundred cubits, and the short among them sixty._) Remember,
+then, the benefits of God, that ye may prosper. They said, Art thou
+come unto us that we may worship God alone, and relinquish what our
+fathers worshipped? Then bring upon us that _punishment_ with which
+thou threatenest us, if thou be of those who speak truth.--He replied,
+Punishment and indignation from your Lord have become necessary for
+you. Do ye dispute with me concerning names which ye and your fathers
+have given _to idols which ye worship_, concerning which (_that is,
+the worship of which_) God hath not set down any convincing proof?
+Then await ye _the punishment_. I am with you, of those who await
+_that, for your accusing me of falsehood. And the unprofitable wind
+was sent upon them._ But We delivered him (_namely, Hood_) and them
+who were with him (_of the believers_) by Our mercy; and We cut off
+the uppermost part of those who charged Our signs with falsehood and
+who were not believers.
+
+   (vii. 63-70.)
+
+
+And _We sent_ unto _the tribe of_ Thamood[204] their brother S�lih.
+He said, O my people, worship God. Ye have no other deity than Him. A
+_miraculous_ proof _of my veracity_ hath come unto you from your Lord,
+this she-camel of God being a sign unto you. [He had caused her, at
+their demand, to come forth from the heart of a rock.] Therefore let
+her feed in God's earth, and do her no harm, lest a painful punishment
+seize you. And remember how He hath appointed you vicegerents _in the
+earth_ after [the tribe of] ��d, and given you a habitation in the
+earth: ye make yourselves, on its plains, pavilions _wherein ye dwell
+in summer_, and cut the mountains into houses _wherein ye dwell in
+winter_. Remember then the benefits of God, and do not evil in the
+earth, acting corruptly.--The chiefs who were elated with pride, among
+his people, said unto those who were esteemed weak, _namely_, to those
+who had believed among them, Do ye know that S�lih hath been sent
+_unto you_ from his Lord? They answered, _Yea_: verily we believe in
+that wherewith he hath been sent. Those who were elated with pride
+replied, Verily we disbelieve in that wherein ye have believed.--_And
+the she-camel had a day to water; and they had a day; and they became
+weary of this._ And they hamstrung the she-camel (_Kud�r_ [the son of
+S�lif] _doing so by their order and slaying her with the sword_);[205]
+and they impiously transgressed the command of their Lord,[206] and
+said, O S�lih, bring upon us that _punishment_ with which thou
+threatenest us _for killing her_, if thou be [one] of the apostles.
+And the violent convulsion (_a great earthquake, and a cry from
+heaven_[207]) assailed them, and in the morning they were in their
+dwellings prostrate _and dead_. So he turned away from them, and said,
+O my people, I have brought unto you the message of my Lord and given
+you faithful counsel; but ye loved not faithful counsellors.
+
+   (vii. 71-77.)
+
+
+
+
+_DHU-L-KARNEYN._
+
+
+They (_namely, the Jews_) will ask thee concerning Dhu-l-Karneyn.[208]
+(_His name was El-Iskender, and he was not a prophet._) Answer, I will
+recite unto you an account of him. We gave him ability in the earth,
+_by facilitating his journeying therein_, and gave him a way to
+_attain_ everything _that he required_. And he followed a way _towards
+a place where the sun setteth_, until, when he came to the place where
+the sun setteth, he found that it set in a spring of black mud, _as it
+appeared to the eye; but really that spring was greater than the
+world_; and he found near it a people _who were unbelievers_.[209] We
+said, _by inspiration_, O Dhu-l-Karneyn, either punish _the people by
+slaughter_, or proceed against them gently, _taking them captive_. He
+said, As to him who offendeth _by polytheism_, we will punish him _by
+slaughter_: then he shall be taken back to his Lord, and He will
+punish him with a severe punishment, _in the fire of hell_. But as
+to him who believeth, and doeth that which is right, he shall have as
+a reward paradise, and We will say unto him, in Our command, _that
+which will be_ easy _unto him_.--Then he followed a way _towards the
+place where the sun riseth_, until, when he came to the place where
+the sun riseth, he found that it rose upon a people (_namely, the
+Zenj_) unto whom We had not given anything wherewith to shelter
+themselves therefrom, _neither clothing nor roof; for their land bore
+no building; but they had subterranean dwellings, into which they
+retired at sunrise, and they came forth when the sun was high_. Thus
+_was the case_; and We comprehended with Our knowledge what were with
+him (_namely, Dhu-l-Karneyn_), _of weapons and forces and other
+things_.--Then he followed a way until, when he came between the two
+barriers (_or mountains, at the confines of the country of the Turks,
+between which is the barrier of El-Iskender, as will be related
+presently_), he found before them a people who could scarce understand
+speech. They said, O Dhu-l-Karneyn, verily Y�jooj and M�jooj [Gog and
+Magog[210]] are corrupting in the earth, _by plunder and tyranny, when
+they came forth unto us_. Shall we therefore pay thee tribute, on the
+condition that thou make a barrier between us and them?--He answered,
+The ability which my Lord hath given me, _by wealth and other things_,
+is better _than your tribute, which I need not. I will make the
+barrier for you gratuitously_: but assist me strenuously _by doing
+that which I desire_: I will make between you and them a strong
+barrier. Bring me pieces of iron _of the size of the blocks of stone
+used in building.--And he built with them, and placed amid them
+firewood and charcoal_, until, when it [the mass] filled up the space
+between the upper parts of the two mountains, _and he had put the
+bellows and fire around that mass_, he said, Blow ye [with the
+bellows]. _So they blew_ until, when he had made it (_that is, the
+iron_) _like_ fire, he said, Bring me molten brass, that I may pour
+upon it. _And he poured the molten brass upon the heated iron, so that
+it entered between its pieces and the whole became one mass._ And they
+(_namely, Y�jooj and M�jooj_) were not able to ascend to its top _by
+reason of its height and smoothness_; nor were they able to perforate
+it _by reason of its hardness and thickness_. _Dhu-l-Karneyn_ said,
+This (_namely, the barrier, or the gift of the ability to construct
+it_) is a mercy from my Lord: but when the promise of my Lord, _as to
+the eruption of Y�jooj and M�jooj shortly before the resurrection_,
+shall come _to be fulfilled_, He will reduce it (_namely, the
+barrier_) to dust; and the promise of my Lord concerning _their
+eruption and other events_ is true. And We will suffer some of them,
+on that day (_the day of their eruption_), to pour tumultuously among
+others: and the trumpet shall be blown _for the resurrection_, and We
+will gather them (_namely, all creatures_) together in a body, _in one
+place_. And We will set hell, on that day, _near_ before the
+unbelievers, whose eyes have been veiled from my admonition (_the
+Kur-�n_), _and who, being blind, have not been directed by it_, and
+who could not hear _what the prophet recited unto them, by reason of
+their hatred of him; wherefore they believed not in him_.
+
+   (xviii. 82-101.)
+
+
+
+
+_ABRAHAM, ISHMAEL, ISAAC._
+
+
+_Remember_ when Abraham [Ibr�heem] said to his father A�zar (_this was
+the surname of Terah_), Dost thou take images as deities?[211] Verily
+I see thee and thy people to be in a manifest error.--(And thus, _as We
+showed him the error of his father and his people_, did We show
+Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and [We did so] that
+he might be of [the number of] those who firmly believe.) And when the
+night overshadowed him, he saw a star (_it is said that it was
+Venus_), [and] he said _unto his people, who were astrologers_, This
+is my Lord, _according to your assertion_.--But when it set, he said, I
+like not those that set, _to take them as Lords, since it is not meet
+for a Lord to experience alteration and change of place, as they are
+of the nature of accidents_. _Yet this had no effect upon them._ And
+when he saw the moon rising, he said _unto them_, This is my Lord.--But
+when it set, he said, Verily if my Lord direct me not (_if He confirm
+me not in the right way_), I shall assuredly be of the erring
+people.--_This was a hint to his people that they were in error; but it
+had no effect upon them._ And when he saw the sun rising, he said,
+This is my Lord. This is greater _than the star and the moon_.--But
+when it set, _and the proof had been rendered more strong to them, yet
+they desisted not_, he said, O my people, verily I am clear of the
+[things] which ye associate _with God; namely, the images and the
+heavenly bodies_. _So they said unto him, What dost thou worship? He
+answered_, Verily I direct my face unto Him who hath created the
+heavens and the earth, following the right religion, and I am not of
+the polytheists.--And his people argued with him; [but] he said, Do ye
+argue with me respecting God, when He hath directed me, and I fear not
+what ye associate with Him, unless my Lord will _that_ aught
+_displeasing should befall me_? My Lord comprehendeth everything by
+_His_ knowledge. Will ye not therefore consider? And wherefore should
+I fear what ye have associated _with God_, when ye fear not for your
+having associated with God that of which He hath not sent down unto
+you a proof? Then which of the two parties is the more worthy of
+safety? _Are we, or you?_ If ye know _who is the more worthy of it,
+follow him_.--_God saith_, They who have believed, and not mixed their
+belief with injustice (_that is, polytheism_), for these shall be
+safety _from punishment_, and they are rightly directed.
+
+   (vi. 74-82.)
+
+
+Relate _unto them_, in the book (_that is, the Kur-�n_), _the history
+of_ Abraham. Verily he was a person of great veracity, a prophet. When
+he said unto his father _A�zar, who worshipped idols_, O my father,
+wherefore dost thou worship that which heareth not, nor seeth, nor
+averteth from thee aught, _whether of advantage or of injury_? O my
+father, verily [a degree] of knowledge hath come unto me, that hath
+not come unto thee: therefore follow me: I will direct thee into a
+right way. O my father, serve not the devil, _by obeying him in
+serving idols_; for the devil is very rebellious unto the
+Compassionate. O my father, verily I fear that a punishment will
+betide thee from the Compassionate, _if thou repent not_, and that
+thou wilt be unto the devil an aider, _and a companion in
+hell-fire_.--He replied, Art thou a rejector of my Gods, O Abraham,
+_and dost thou revile them_? If thou abstain not, I will assuredly
+assail thee _with stones or with ill words; therefore beware of me_,
+and leave me for a long time.--_Abraham_ said, Peace _from me_ be on
+thee! I will ask pardon for thee of my Lord; for He is gracious unto
+me: and I will separate myself from you and from what ye invoke
+instead of God; and I will call upon my Lord: perhaps I shall not be
+unsuccessful in calling upon my Lord, _as ye are in calling upon
+idols_.--And when he had separated himself from them, and from what
+they worshipped instead of God, _by going to the Holy Land_, We gave
+him _two sons, that he might cheer himself thereby, namely_, Isaac and
+Jacob; and each [of them] We made a prophet; and We bestowed upon them
+(_namely, the three_), of our mercy, _wealth and children_; and We
+caused them to receive high commendation.
+
+   (xix. 42-51.)
+
+
+We gave unto Abraham his direction formerly, _before he had attained
+to manhood_; and We knew him _to be worthy of it_. When he said unto
+his father and his people, What are these images, to _the worship of_
+which ye are devoted?--they answered, We found our fathers worshipping
+them, _and we have followed their example_. He said _unto them_,
+Verily ye and your fathers have been in a manifest error. They said,
+Hast thou come unto us with truth _in saying this_, or art thou of
+those who jest? He answered, Nay, your Lord (_the being who deserveth
+to be worshipped_) is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, who
+created them, _not after the similitude of anything pre-existing_; and
+I am of those who bear witness thereof. And, by God, I will assuredly
+devise a plot against your idols after ye shall have retired, turning
+your backs.--So, _after they had gone to their place of assembly, on a
+day when they held a festival_, he brake them in pieces _with an axe_,
+except the chief of them, _upon whose neck he hung the axe_; that they
+might return unto it (_namely, the chief_) _and see what he had done
+with the others_. They said, _after they had returned and seen what he
+had done_, Who hath done this unto our gods? Verily he is of the
+unjust.--_And some of them_ said, We heard a young man mention them
+_reproachfully_: he is called Abraham. They said, Then bring him
+before the eyes of the people, that they may bear witness _against him
+of his having done it_. They said _unto him, when he had been
+brought_, Hast thou done this unto our gods, O Abraham? He answered,
+Nay, this their chief did it: and ask ye them, if they [can] speak.
+And they returned unto themselves, _upon reflection_, and said _unto
+themselves_, Verily ye are the unjust, _in worshipping that which
+speaketh not_. Then they reverted to their obstinacy, _and said_,
+Verily thou knowest that these speak not: _then wherefore dost thou
+order us to ask them?_ He said, Do ye then worship, instead of God,
+that which doth not profit you at all, nor injure you _if ye worship
+it not_? Fy on you, and on that which ye worship instead of God! Do ye
+not then understand?--They said, Burn ye him, and avenge your gods, if
+ye will do _so_. _So they collected abundance of firewood for him, and
+set fire to it; and they bound Abraham, and put him into an engine,
+and cast him into the fire. But, saith God_, We said, O fire, be
+thou cold, and a security unto Abraham! _So nought of him was burned
+save his bonds: the heat of the fire ceased, but its light remained;
+and by God's saying, Security,--Abraham was saved from dying, by reason
+of its cold._ And they intended against him a plot; but he caused them
+to be the sufferers.[212] And We delivered him and Lot, _the son of_
+_his brother Haran, from El-�Er�k_, [bringing them] unto the land
+which we blessed for the peoples, _by the abundance of its rivers and
+trees, namely, Syria. Abraham took up his abode in Palestine, and Lot
+in El-Mu-tekifeh, between which is a day's journey._ And _when Abraham
+had asked a son_, We gave unto him Isaac, and Jacob as an additional
+gift, _beyond what he had asked, being a son's son_; and all of them
+We made righteous persons _and prophets_. And We made them models of
+religion who directed _men_ by Our command _unto Our religion_; and We
+commanded them by inspiration to do good works and to perform prayer
+and to give the appointed alms; and they served Us. And unto Lot We
+gave judgment and knowledge; and We delivered him from the city which
+committed filthy actions; for they were a people of evil, shameful
+doers; and We admitted him into our mercy; for he was [one] of the
+righteous.
+
+   (xxi. 52-75.)
+
+
+Hast thou not considered him who disputed with Abraham concerning his
+Lord, because God had given him the kingdom? _And he was Nimrod._ When
+Abraham said, (_upon his saying unto him, Who is thy Lord, unto whom
+thou invitest us?_), My Lord is He who giveth life and causeth to
+die,--he replied, I give life and cause to die.--_And he summoned two
+men, and slew one of them, and left the other. So when he saw that he
+understood not_, Abraham said, And verily God bringeth the sun from
+the east: now do thou bring it from the west.--And he who disbelieved
+was confounded; and God directeth not the offending people.
+
+   (ii. 260.)
+
+
+And Our messengers came formerly unto Abraham with good tidings _of
+Isaac and Jacob, who should be after him_. They said, Peace. He
+replied, _Peace be on you_. And he tarried not, but brought a roasted
+calf. And when he saw that their hands touched it not, he disliked
+them and conceived a fear of them. They said, Fear not: for we are
+sent unto the people of Lot, _that we may destroy them_. And his wife
+_Sarah_ was standing _serving them_, and she laughed, _rejoicing at
+the tidings of their destruction_. And we gave her good tidings of
+Isaac [Ish�k]; and after Isaac, Jacob [Yaakoob]. She said, Alas! shall
+I bear a child when I am an old woman, _of nine and ninety years_, and
+when this my husband is an old man, _of a hundred or a hundred and
+twenty years_? Verily this [would be] a wonderful thing.--They said,
+Dost thou wonder at the command of God? The mercy of God and His
+blessings be on you, O people of the house (_of Abraham_)! for He is
+praiseworthy, glorious.--And when the terror had departed from Abraham,
+and the good tidings had come unto him, he disputed with Us (_that is,
+with Our messengers_) respecting the people of Lot; for Abraham was
+gentle, compassionate, repentant. _And he said unto them, Will ye
+destroy a city wherein are three hundred believers? They answered, No.
+He said, And will ye destroy a city wherein are two hundred believers?
+They answered, No. He said, And will ye destroy a city wherein are
+forty believers? They answered, No. He said, And will ye destroy a
+city wherein are fourteen believers? They answered, No. He said, And
+tell me, if there be in it one believer? They answered, No. He said,
+Verily in it is Lot. They replied, We know best who is in it. And when
+their dispute had become tedious, they said_, O Abraham, abstain from
+this _disputation_; for the command of thy Lord hath come _for their
+destruction_, and a punishment not [to be] averted is coming upon
+them.
+
+   (xi. 72-78.)
+
+
+And when Our decree for _the destruction of the people of Lot_ came
+[to be executed], We turned them (_that is, their cities_)
+upside-down; _for Gabriel raised them to heaven, and let them fall
+upside-down to the earth_;[213] and We rained upon them stones of
+baked clay, sent one after another, marked with thy Lord, _each with
+the name of him upon whom it should be cast_: and they [are] not far
+distant from the offenders; _that is, the stones are not, or the
+cities of the people of Lot were not, far distant from the people of
+Mekkeh_.
+
+   (xi. 84.)
+
+
+And [Abraham] said [after his escape from Nimrod], Verily I am going
+unto my Lord, who will direct me _unto the place whither He hath
+commanded me to go, namely, Syria. And when he had arrived at the Holy
+Land, he said_, O my Lord, give me _a son_ [who shall be one] of the
+righteous. Whereupon We gave him the glad tidings of a mild youth. And
+when he had attained to the age when he could work with him (_as some
+say, seven years; and some, thirteen_), he said, O my child, verily I
+have seen in a dream that I should sacrifice thee (_and the dreams of
+prophets are true; and their actions, by the command of God_);
+therefore consider what thou seest advisable _for me to do_. He
+replied, O my father, do what thou art commanded: thou shalt find me,
+if God please, [of the number] of the patient. And when they had
+resigned themselves, and he had laid him down on his temple, _in_ [the
+valley of] _Mind, and had drawn the knife across his throat_ (_but it
+produced no effect, by reason of an obstacle interposed by the divine
+power_), We called unto him, O Abraham, thou hast verified the vision.
+Verily thus do We reward the well-doers. Verily this was the manifest
+trial. And We ransomed him _whom he had been commanded to sacrifice_
+(_and he was Ishmael_ [Ism�eel] _or Isaac; for there are two
+opinions_)[214] with an excellent victim, _a ram from Paradise, the
+same that Abel had offered: Gabriel_ (_on whom be peace!_) _brought
+it, and the lord Abraham sacrificed it, saying, God is most great!_
+And We left _this salutation_ [to be bestowed] on him by the latter
+generations, Peace [be] on Abraham! Thus do We reward the well-doers:
+for he was of our believing servants.
+
+   (xxxvii. 97-111.)
+
+
+_Remember_ when Abraham said, O my Lord, show me how Thou will raise
+to life the dead.[215]--He said, Hast thou not believed? He answered,
+Yea: but _I have asked Thee_ that my heart may be at ease. He replied,
+Then take four birds and draw them towards thee, _and cut them in
+pieces and mingle together their flesh and their feathers_; then place
+upon each mountain _of thy land_ a portion of them, then call them
+_unto thee_: they shall come unto thee quickly: and know thou that God
+is mighty [and] wise.--_And he took a peacock and a vulture and a raven
+and a cock, and did with them as hath been described, and kept their
+heads with him, and called them; whereupon the portions flew about,
+one to another, until they became complete: then they came to their
+heads._
+
+   (ii. 262.)
+
+
+_Remember_ when his Lord had tried Abraham by [certain] words,
+_commands and prohibitions_, and he fulfilled them, _God_ said _unto
+him_, I constitute thee a model of religion unto men.[216] He replied,
+And of my offspring _constitute models of religion_. [God] said, My
+covenant doth not apply to the offenders, _the unbelievers among
+them_.--And when We appointed the house (_that is, the Kaabeh_) to be a
+place for the resort of men, and a place of security (_a man would
+meet the slayer of his father there and he would not provoke him_ [to
+revenge],) and [said], Take, _O men_, the station of Abraham (_the
+stone upon which he stood at the time of building the House_) as a
+place of prayer, _that ye may perform behind it the prayers of the two
+rek�ahs_[217] [which are ordained to be performed after the ceremony]
+_of the circuiting_ [of the Kaabeh].--And We commanded Abraham and
+Ishmael, [saying], Purify my House (_rid it of the idols_) for those
+who shall compass [it], and those who shall abide _there_, and those
+who shall bow down and prostrate themselves.--And when Abraham said, O
+my Lord, make this _place_ a secure territory (_and God hath answered
+his prayer, and made it a sacred place, wherein the blood of man is
+not shed, nor is any one oppressed in it, nor is its game hunted_ [or
+shot], _nor are its plants cut or pulled up_), and supply its
+inhabitants with fruits _which hath been done by the transporting of
+Et-T��f from Syria thither, when it_ [that is, the territory of
+Mekkeh] _was desert, without sown land or water_,[218] such of them as
+shall believe in God and the last day.--_He mentioned them peculiarly
+in the prayer agreeably with the saying of God, My covenant doth not
+apply to the offenders._--_God_ replied, And _I will supply_ him who
+disbelieveth: I will make him to enjoy _a supply of food in this
+world_, a little _while_: then I will force him, _in the world to
+come_, to the punishment of the fire; and evil shall be the transit.
+
+   (ii. 118-120.)
+
+
+And _remember_ when Abraham was raising the foundations of the
+House[219] (_that is, building it_), together with Ishmael, _and they
+said_, O our Lord, accept of us _our building_; for Thou art the
+Hearer _of what is said_, the Knower _of what is done_. O our Lord,
+also make us resigned[220] unto Thee, and _make_ from among our
+offspring a people resigned unto Thee, and show us our rites (_the
+ordinances of our worship, or our pilgrimage_), and be propitious
+towards us; for Thou art the Very Propitious, the Merciful. (_They
+begged Him to be propitious to them, notwithstanding their honesty,
+from a motive of humility, and by way of instruction to their
+offspring._) O our Lord, also send unto them (_that is, the people of
+the House_) an apostle from among them (_and God hath answered their
+prayer by sending Mohammad_), who shall recite unto them Thy signs
+(the Kur-�n), and shall teach them the book (_the Kur-�n_), and the
+knowledge _that it containeth_, and shall purify them _from
+polytheism_; for Thou art the Mighty, the Wise.--And who will be averse
+from the religion of Abraham but he who maketh his soul foolish, _who
+is ignorant that it is God's creation, and that the worship of Him is
+incumbent on it; or who lightly esteemeth it and applieth it to vile
+purposes_; when We have chosen him in this world _as an apostle and a
+friend_, and he shall be in the world to come one of the righteous
+_for whom are high ranks?--And remember_ when his lord said unto
+him, Resign thyself:--he replied, I resign myself unto the Lord of the
+worlds.--And Abraham commanded his children to follow it (_namely, the
+religion_); and Jacob,_ his children; saying_, O my children, verily
+God hath chosen for you the religion _of El-Isl�m_;[221] therefore die
+not without your being Muslims.--_It was a prohibition from abandoning
+El-Isl�m and a command to persevere therein unto death._
+
+   (ii. 121-126.)
+
+
+_When the Jews said, Abraham was a Jew, and we are of his
+religion,--and the Christians said the like_, [the following] _was
+revealed_:--O people of the Scripture, wherefore do ye argue respecting
+Abraham, _asserting that he was of your religion_, when the Pentateuch
+and the Gospel were not sent down but after him _a long time_? Do ye
+not then understand the _falsity of your saying_? So ye, O people,
+have argued respecting that of which ye have knowledge, _concerning
+Moses and Jesus, and have asserted that ye are of their religion_:
+then wherefore do ye argue respecting that of which ye have no
+knowledge, _concerning Abraham_? But God knoweth _his case_, and ye
+know _it_ not. Abraham was not a Jew nor a Christian: but he was
+orthodox, a Muslim [or one resigned], _a unitarian_, and he was not of
+the polytheists.
+
+   (iii. 58-60.)
+
+
+
+
+_JACOB, JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN._
+
+
+_Remember_, when Joseph [Yoosuf] said unto his father, O my father,
+verily I saw _in sleep_ eleven stars and the sun and the moon: I saw
+them making obeisance unto me. He replied, O my child, relate not thy
+vision to thy brethren, lest they contrive a plot against thee,
+_knowing its interpretation to be that they are the stars and that the
+sun is thy mother and the moon thy father_; for the devil is unto man
+a manifest enemy. And thus, _as thou sawest_, thy Lord will choose
+thee, and teach thee the interpretation of events, _or dreams_, and
+will accomplish his favour upon thee _by the gift of prophecy_, and
+upon the family of Jacob, as He accomplished it upon thy fathers
+before, Abraham and Isaac; for thy Lord is knowing [and] wise.--Verily
+in _the history of_ Joseph and his brethren are signs to the
+inquirers.--When they (_the brethren of Joseph_) said, _one to
+another_, Verily Joseph and his brother _Benjamin_ are dearer unto our
+father than we, and we are a number of men; verily our father is in a
+manifest error; slay ye Joseph, or drive him away into a _distant_
+land; so the face of your father shall be directed alone unto you,
+_regarding no other_, and ye shall be after it a just people:--a
+speaker among them, _namely, Judah_, said, Slay not Joseph, but throw
+him to the bottom of the well; then some of the travellers may light
+upon him, if ye do _this_. _And they were satisfied therewith_. They
+said, O our father, wherefore dost thou not intrust us with Joseph,
+when verily we are faithful unto him? Send him with us tomorrow _into
+the plain_, that he may divert himself and sport; and we will surely
+take care of him.--He replied, Verily your taking him away will grieve
+me, and I fear lest the wolf devour him while ye are heedless of him.
+They said, Surely if the wolf devour him, when we are a number of men,
+we shall in that case be indeed weak. _So he sent him with them._ And
+when they went away with him, and agreed to put him at the bottom of
+the well, _they did so_.[222] _They pulled off his shirt, after they
+had beaten him and had treated him with contempt and had desired to
+slay him; and they let him down; and when he had arrived half-way down
+the well they let him fall, that he might die; and he fell into the
+water. He then betook himself to a mass of rock; and they called to
+him; so he answered them, imagining that they would have mercy upon
+him. They however desired to crush him with a piece of rock; but Judah
+prevented them._ And We said unto him by revelation, _while he was in
+the well (and he was seventeen years of age, or less), to quiet his
+heart_, Thou shalt assuredly declare unto them this their action, and
+they shall not know _thee at the time_.[223] And they came to their
+father at nightfall weeping. They said, O our father, we went to run
+races,[224] and left Joseph with our clothes, and the wolf devoured
+him; and thou wilt not believe us, though we speak truth. And they
+brought false blood upon his shirt. _Jacob_ said _unto them_, Nay,
+your minds have made a thing seem pleasant unto you, _and ye have done
+it_;[225] but patience is seemly, and God's assistance is implored
+with respect to that which ye relate.
+
+And travellers came _on their way from Midian (Medyen) to Egypt, and
+alighted near the well_;[226] and they sent their drawer of
+water,[227] and he let down his bucket _into the well: so Joseph
+caught hold upon it, and the man drew him forth; and when he saw him_,
+he said, O good news! This is a young man!--_And his brethren thereupon
+knew his case; wherefore they came unto him_, and they[228] concealed
+his case, _making him_ as a piece of merchandise; _for they said, He
+is our slave who hath absconded. And Joseph was silent, fearing lest
+they should slay him._ And God knew that which they did. And they sold
+him for a mean price, [for] some dirhems counted down, _twenty, or
+two-and-twenty_; and they were indifferent to him. _The travellers
+then brought him to Egypt, and he who had bought him sold him for
+twenty deen�rs and a pair of shoes and two garments._ And the Egyptian
+who bought him, _namely, Kitfeer_,[229] said unto his wife _Zeleekha_,
+Treat him hospitably; peradventure he may be advantageous to us, or
+we may adopt him as a son. _For he was childless._ And thus We
+prepared an establishment for Joseph in the land _of Egypt_, to teach
+him the interpretation of events, _or dreams_; for God is well able to
+effect His purpose; but the greater number of men, _namely, the
+unbelievers_, know not _this_. And when he had attained his age of
+strength (_thirty years, or three-and-thirty_), We bestowed on him
+wisdom and knowledge _in matters of religion, before he was sent as a
+prophet_; for thus do We recompense the well-doers. (xii. 4-22.--_Then
+follows an account of his temptation by his mistress, Zeleekha._)
+
+Then it seemed good unto them,[230] after they had seen the signs of
+_his innocence, to imprison him_. They will assuredly imprison him for
+a time, _until the talk of the people respecting him cease_. _So they
+imprisoned him._ And there entered with him into the prison two young
+men, _servants of the king, one of whom was his cup-bearer and the
+other was his victualler_. _And they found that he interpreted dreams;
+wherefore_ one of them, _namely, the cup-bearer_, said, I dreamed that
+I was pressing grapes: and the other said, I dreamed that I was
+carrying upon my head some bread, whereof the birds did eat: acquaint
+us with the interpretation thereof; for we see thee to be [one] of the
+beneficent.--He replied, There shall not come unto you any food
+wherewith ye shall be fed _in a dream_, but I will acquaint you with
+the interpretation thereof _when ye are awake_, before _the
+interpretation of_ it come unto you. This is _a part_ of that which my
+Lord hath taught me. Verily I have abandoned the religion of a people
+who believe not in God and who disbelieve in the world to come; and I
+follow the religion of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. It is
+not _fit_ for us to associate anything with God. This _knowledge of
+the unity_ [hath been given us] of the bounty of God towards us and
+towards mankind; but the greater number of men are not thankful. O ye
+two companions (_or inmates_) of the prison, are sundry lords better,
+or is God, the One, the Almighty? Ye worship not, beside Him, [aught]
+save names which ye and your fathers have given _to idols_, concerning
+which God hath not sent down any convincing proof. Judgment belongeth
+not [unto any] save unto God _alone_. He hath commanded that ye
+worship not [any] but Him. This is the right religion; but the greater
+number of men know not. O ye two companions of the prison, as to one
+of you, _namely, the cup-bearer_, he will serve wine unto his lord _as
+formerly_; and as to the other, he will be crucified, and the birds
+will eat from off his head.--_Upon this they said, We dreamed not
+aught. He replied_, The thing is decreed concerning which ye [did]
+ask a determination, _whether ye have spoken truth or have lied_. And
+he said unto him whom he judged to be the person who should escape of
+them two, _namely the cup-bearer_, Mention me unto thy Lord, _and say
+unto him, In the prison is a young man imprisoned unjustly.--And he
+went forth._ But the devil caused him to forget to mention _Joseph_
+unto his lord:[231] so he remained in the prison some years: _it is
+said, seven; and it is said, twelve._
+
+And the king of _Egypt,[232] Er-Reiy�n the son of El-Weleed_ said,
+Verily I saw [in a dream] seven fat kine which seven lean _kine_
+devoured, and seven green ears of corn and _seven_ other _ears_ dried
+up. O ye nobles, explain unto me my dream, if ye interpret a
+dream.--They replied, _These are_ confused dreams, and we know not the
+interpretation of dreams. And he who had escaped, of the two _young
+men, namely the cup-bearer_, said (for he remembered after a time _the
+condition of Joseph_), I will acquaint you with the interpretation
+thereof; wherefore send me. _So they sent him; and he came unto
+Joseph, and said_, O Joseph, O thou of great veracity, give us an
+explanation respecting seven fat kine which seven lean [kine]
+devoured, and seven green ears of corn and other [seven] dried up,
+that I may return unto the men (_the king and his companions_), that
+they may know _the interpretation thereof_. He replied, Ye shall sow
+seven years as usual: (_this is the interpretation of the seven fat
+kine_:) and what ye reap do ye leave in its ear, _lest it spoil_;
+except a little, whereof ye shall eat. Then there shall come, after
+that, seven grievous [years]: (_this is the interpretation of the
+seven lean kine_:) they shall consume what ye shall have provided for
+them, _of the grain sown in the seven years of plenty_, except a
+little which ye shall have kept. Then there shall come, after that, a
+year wherein men shall be aided _with rain_, and wherein they shall
+press _grapes and other fruits_.--And the king said, _when the
+messenger came unto him and acquainted him with the interpretation of
+the dream_, Bring unto me him _who hath interpreted it_.
+
+   (xii. 35-50.)
+
+
+And when he had spoken unto him,[233] he said _unto him_, Thou art
+this day firmly established with us, and intrusted _with our affairs_.
+_What then seest thou fit for us to do?--He answered, Collect
+provision, and sow abundant seed in these plentiful years, and
+store up the grain in its ear: then the people will come unto thee
+that they may obtain provision from thee. The king said, And who
+will act for me in this affair? Joseph_ said, Set me over the
+granaries of the land; for I am careful [and] knowing.--Thus did We
+prepare an establishment for Joseph in the land, that he might take
+for himself a dwelling therein wherever he pleased.--_And it is related
+that the king crowned him, and put a ring on his finger, and instated
+him in the place of Kitfeer, whom he dismissed from his office; after
+which, Kitfeer died, and thereupon the king married him to his wife
+Zeleekha, and she bore him two sons._[234] We bestow Our mercy on whom
+We please, and We cause not the reward of the well-doers to perish:
+and certainly the reward of the world to come is better for those who
+have believed and have feared.
+
+_And the years of scarcity began, and afflicted the land of Canaan and
+Syria_, and the brethren of Joseph came, _except Benjamin, to procure
+provision, having heard that the governor of Egypt gave food for its
+price_.[235] And they went in unto him, and he knew them; but they
+knew him not; _and they spake unto him in the Hebrew language;
+whereupon he said, as one who distrusted them, What hath brought you
+to my country? So they answered, For corn. But he said, Perhaps ye are
+spies. They replied, God preserve us_ [_from being spies_]! _He said,
+Then whence are ye? They answered, From the land of Canaan, and our
+father is Jacob, the prophet of God. He said, And hath he sons beside
+you? They answered, Yea: we were twelve; but the youngest of us went
+away, and perished in the desert, and he was the dearest of us unto
+him; and his uterine brother remained, and he retained him that he
+might console himself thereby for the loss of the other._[236] _And
+Joseph gave orders to lodge them, and to treat them generously._ And
+when he had furnished them with their provision, _and given them their
+full measure_, he said, Bring me your brother from your father,
+_namely, Benjamin, that I may know your veracity in that ye have
+said_. Do ye not see that I give full measure, and that I am the most
+hospitable of the receivers of guests? But if ye bring him not, there
+shall be no measuring _of corn_ for you from me, nor shall ye approach
+me.--They replied, We will solicit his father for him, and we will
+surely perform _that_. And he said unto his young men, Put their
+money,[237] _which they brought as the price of the corn_, in their
+sacks, that they may know it when they have returned to their family:
+peradventure they will return _to us; for they will not deem it lawful
+to keep it_.--And when they returned to their father, they said, O our
+father, the measuring [of corn] is denied us _if thou send not our
+brother unto him_; therefore send with us our brother, that we may
+obtain measure; and we will surely take care of him. He said, Shall I
+intrust you with him otherwise than as I intrusted you with his
+brother _Joseph_ before? But God is the best guardian, and He is the
+most merciful of those who show mercy.--And when they opened their
+goods, they found their money had been returned unto them. They said,
+O our father, what desire we _of the, generosity of the king greater
+than this?_ This our money hath been returned unto us; and we will
+provide corn for our family, and will take care of our brother, and
+shall receive a camel-load more, _for our brother_. This is a quantity
+easy _unto the king, by reason of his munificence_.--He said, I will by
+no means send him with you until ye give me a solemn promise by God
+that ye will assuredly bring him back unto me unless _an inevitable
+and insuperable impediment_ encompass you. _And they complied with
+this his desire._ And when they had given him their solemn promise, he
+said, God is witness of what we say. _And he sent him with them_; and
+he said, O my sons, enter not _the city of Misr_ by one gate; but
+enter by different gates; _lest the_ [evil] _eye fall upon you_.[238]
+But I shall not avert from you, _by my saying this_, anything _decreed
+to befall you_ from God: _I only say this from a feeling of
+compassion._ Judgment belongeth not [unto any] save unto God _alone_.
+On Him do I rely, and on Him let those rely who rely.
+
+And when they entered as their father had commanded them,
+_separately_, it did not avert from them anything _decreed to befall
+them_ from God, but [only satisfied] a desire in the soul of Jacob,
+which he accomplished; _that is, the desire of averting the_ [evil]
+_eye, arising from a feeling of compassion:_ and he was endowed with
+knowledge, because We had taught him: but the greater number of men,
+_namely the unbelievers_, know not _God's inspiration of His saints_.
+And when they went in unto Joseph, he received unto him (_or pressed
+unto him_) his brother. He said, Verily I am thy brother;[239]
+therefore be not sorrowful for that which they did _from envy to us_.
+_And he commanded him that he should not inform them, and agree with
+him that he should employ a stratagem to retain him with him._ And
+when he had furnished them with their provision, he put the cup,
+_which was a measure made of gold set with jewels_,[240] in the sack
+of his brother _Benjamin_. Then a crier cried, _after they had gone
+forth from the chamber of Joseph_, O company of travellers, ye are
+surely thieves. They said (and turned unto them), What is it that ye
+miss? They answered, We miss the king's measure; and to him who shall
+bring it [shall be given] a camel-load _of corn_, and I am surety for
+it, _namely the load_. They replied, By God! ye well know that we have
+not come to act corruptly in the land, and we have not been thieves.
+_The crier and his companions said_, Then what shall be the recompense
+of him _who hath stolen it_, if ye be liars _in your saying, We have
+not been thieves,--and it be found among you?_ They answered, His
+recompense [shall be that] he in whose sack it shall be found _shall
+be made a slave:_ he, _the thief_, shall be compensation for it;
+_namely, for the thing stolen. Such was the usage of the family of
+Jacob._ Thus do We recompense the offenders _who are guilty of
+theft.--So they turned towards Joseph, that he might search their
+sacks._ And he began with their sacks, _and searched them_ before the
+sack of his brother [Benjamin], _lest he should be suspected_. Then he
+took it forth (_namely, the measure_) from the sack of his brother.
+Thus, _saith God_, did We contrive a stratagem for Joseph. It was not
+[lawful] for him to take his brother _as a slave for theft_ by the law
+of the king of _Egypt_ (_for his recompense by his law was beating,
+and a fine of twice the value of the thing stolen; not the being made
+a slave_), unless God had pleased, _by inspiring him to inquire of his
+brethren and inspiring them to reply according to their usage_. We
+exalt unto degrees [of knowledge and honour] whom We please, _as
+Joseph_; and [there is who is] knowing above every one [else] endowed
+with knowledge.--They said, If he steal, a brother of his hath stolen
+before; _namely, Joseph;[241] for he stole an idol of gold belonging
+to the father of his mother, and broke it, that he might not worship
+it._ And Joseph concealed it in his mind, and did not discover it to
+them. He said _within himself_, Ye are in a worse condition _than
+Joseph and his brother, by reason of your having stolen your brother
+from your father and your having treated him unjustly_; and God well
+knoweth what ye state _concerning him_.--They said, O prince, verily he
+hath a father, a very old man, _who loveth him more than us, and
+consoleth himself by him for the loss of his son who hath perished,
+and the separation of him grieveth him_; therefore take one of us _as
+a slave_ in his stead; for we see thee [to be one] of the beneficent.
+He replied, God preserve us from taking [any] save him in whose
+possession we found our property; for then (_if we took another_), we
+[should be] unjust.
+
+And when they despaired of [obtaining] him, they retired to confer
+privately together. The chief of them _in age_ (_namely, Reuben, or in
+judgment, namely, Judah_), said, Do ye not know that your father hath
+obtained of you a solemn promise in the name of God, _with respect of
+your brother_, and how ye formerly failed of your duty with respect to
+Joseph? Therefore I will by no means depart from the land _of Egypt_
+until my father give me permission _to return to him_, or God decide
+for me _by the delivery of my brother_; and He is the best, _the most
+just_, of those who decide. Return ye to your father, and say, O our
+father, verily thy son hath committed theft, and we bore not testimony
+_against him_ save according to that which we knew _of a certainty, by
+our seeing the cup in his sack_; and we were not acquainted with what
+was unseen _by us when we gave the solemn promise: had we known that
+he would commit theft, we had not taken him. And send thou_, and ask
+_the people of_ the city in which we have been (_namely, Misr_)[242]
+and the company of travellers with whom we have arrived (_who were a
+people of Canaan_): and we are surely speakers of truth.--_So they
+returned to him, and said unto him those words_. He replied, Nay, your
+minds have made a thing seem pleasant unto you, _and ye have done it_
+(_he suspected them, on account of their former conduct in the case of
+Joseph_); but patience is seemly: peradventure God will bring them
+back (_namely, Joseph and his brother_) unto me, together; for He is
+the Knowing _with respect to my case_, the Wise _in His acts_. And
+he turned from them, and said, O! my sorrow for Joseph! And his eyes
+became white in consequence of mourning, and he was oppressed with
+silent grief. They said, By God, thou wilt not cease to think upon
+Joseph until thou be at the point of death, or be of [the number of]
+the dead. He replied, I only complain of my great and unconcealable
+grief and my sorrow unto God; _not unto any beside Him; for He it is
+unto whom complaint is made with advantage_; and I know [by
+revelation] from God what ye know not; _namely, that the dream of
+Joseph was true, and that he is living_. _Then he said_, O my sons, go
+and seek news of Joseph and his brother; and despair not of the mercy
+of God; for none despaireth of the mercy of God except the unbelieving
+people.
+
+_So they departed towards Egypt, unto Joseph_; and when they went in
+unto him, they said, O Prince, distress (_that is, hunger_) hath
+affected us and our family, and we have come with paltry money (_it
+was base money, or some other sort_): yet give us full measure, and be
+charitable to us, _by excusing the badness of our money_; for God
+recompenseth those who act charitably. _And he had pity upon them, and
+compassion affected him, and he lifted up the curtain that was between
+him and them: then_ he said _unto them in reproach_, Do ye know what
+ye did unto Joseph, _in beating and selling and other actions_, and
+his brother, _by your injurious conduct to him after the separation of
+his brother_, when ye were ignorant _of what would be the result of
+the case of Joseph?_[243] They replied, _after they had recognised him
+(desiring confirmation)_, Art thou indeed Joseph? He answered, I am
+Joseph, and this is my brother. God hath been gracious unto us, _by
+bringing us together_; for whosoever feareth _God_ and is patient
+[will be rewarded]: God will not suffer the reward of the well-doers
+to perish. They replied, By God, verily God hath preferred thee above
+us, and we have been indeed sinners. He said, [There shall be] no
+reproach [cast] on you this day: God forgive you; for He is the most
+merciful of those that show mercy. _And he asked them respecting his
+father: so they answered, His eyes are gone. And he said_, Go ye
+with this my shirt (_it was the shirt of Abraham, which he wore when
+he was cast into the fire: it was on his_ [that is, Joseph's] _neck_
+[appended as an amulet] _in the well; and it was from paradise:
+Gabriel commanded him to send it, and said, In it is its odour_ [that
+is, the odour of paradise], _and it shall not be cast upon any one
+afflicted_ [with a disease] _but he shall be restored to health_), and
+cast it [said Joseph] upon the face of my father: he shall recover his
+sight; and bring unto me all your family.--And when the company of
+travellers had gone forth _from El-�Areesh[244] of Egypt_, their
+father said, _unto those who were present of his offspring_, Verily I
+perceive the smell of Joseph (_for the zephyr had conveyed it to him,
+by permission of Him whose name be exalted, from the distance of three
+days' journey, or eight, or more_): were it not that ye think I dote,
+_ye would believe me._ They replied, By God, thou art surely in thine
+old error. And when the messenger of good tidings (_namely, Judah_)
+came _with the shirt_ (_and he had borne the bloody shirt; wherefore
+he desired to rejoice him, as he had grieved him_), he cast it upon
+his face, and he recovered his sight. [Thereupon Jacob] said, Did I
+not say unto you, I know, from God, what ye know not? They said, O our
+father, ask pardon of our crimes for us; for we have been sinners. He
+replied, I will ask pardon for you of my Lord; for He is the Very
+forgiving, the Merciful.--_He delayed doing so until the first
+appearance of the dawn_, _that the prayer might be more likely to be
+answered; or, as some say, until the night of_ [that is, preceding]
+_Friday_.
+
+_They then repaired to Egypt, and Joseph and the great men came forth
+to meet them_; and when they went in unto Joseph, _in his pavilion or
+tent_, he received unto him (_or pressed unto him_) his parents (_his
+father and his mother and his maternal aunt_), and said unto _them_,
+Enter ye Misr, if God please, in safety.[245] _So they entered; and
+Joseph seated himself upon his couch_, and he caused his parents to
+ascend upon the seat of state, and they (_that is, his parents and his
+brethren_) fell down, bowing themselves unto him[246] (_bending, but
+not putting the forehead_) [upon the ground]: _such being their mode
+of obeisance in that time_. And he said, O my father, this is the
+interpretation of my dream of former times: my Lord hath made it true;
+and He hath shown favour unto me, since He took me forth from the
+prison (_he said not, from the well,--from a motive of generosity, that
+his brethren might not be abashed_), and hath brought you from the
+desert, after that the devil had excited discord between me and my
+brethren; for my Lord is gracious unto whom He pleaseth; for He is the
+Knowing, the Wise.--_And his father resided with him four and twenty
+years, or seventeen; and the period of his separation was eighteen, or
+forty, or eighty years. And death came unto him; and thereupon he
+charged Joseph that he should carry him and bury him by his fathers.
+So he went himself and buried him. Then he returned to Egypt and
+remained after him three and twenty years; and when his case was
+ended, and he knew that he should not last_ [upon earth], _and his
+soul desired the lasting possession, he said_, O my Lord, Thou hast
+given me dominion, and taught me the interpretation of events (_or
+dreams_): Creator of the heavens and the earth, Thou art my guardian
+in this world and in the world to come. Make me to die a Muslim, and
+join me with the righteous _among my forefathers. And he lived after
+that a week, or more, and died a hundred and twenty years old. And the
+Egyptians disputed concerning his burial: so they put him in a chest
+of marble, and buried him in the upper part of the Nile, that the
+blessing_ [resulting from him] _might be general to the tracts on each
+side of it.[247] Extolled be the perfection of Him to whose dominion
+there is no end!_
+
+   (xii. 54-102).
+
+
+
+
+JOB.
+
+
+And remember Our servant Job [Eiyoob[248]] when he called unto his
+Lord, Verily the devil hath afflicted me with calamity and pain. (_The
+affliction is attributed to the devil, though all was from God._) _And
+it was said unto him_, Strike _the earth_ with thy foot. _And he did
+so; whereupon a fountain of water sprang forth.[249] And it was said_,
+This _is_ cool _water for thee_ to wash with, and to drink. _So he
+washed himself and drank; and every disease that he had, external and
+internal, quitted him._ And We gave unto him his family, and as many
+more with them (_that is, God raised to life for him those of his
+children who had died, and blest him with as many more_),[250] in Our
+mercy and as an admonition unto those who are endowed with faculties
+of understanding. [And We said unto him,] Take in thy hand a handful
+_of dry grass, or of twigs_,[251] and strike with it _thy wife_ (_for
+he had sworn that he would inflict upon her a hundred blows, because
+she had staid away from him too long one day_[252]) and break not
+thine oath _by abstaining from striking her._--_So he took a hundred
+stalks of schoemanthus, or some other plant, and gave her one blow
+with them._ Verily We found him a patient person. How excellent a
+servant _was he_! For he was one who earnestly turned himself unto
+God.
+
+   (xxxviii. 40-44.)
+
+
+
+
+SHO�EYB.
+
+
+And _we sent_ unto Midian [Medyen] their brother Sho�eyb.[253] He
+said, O my people, worship God; _assert His unity_. Ye have no other
+deity but Him. And give not short measure and weight. Verily I see you
+[to be] in a state of prosperity _that placeth you above the need of
+doing so_; and verily I fear for you, _if ye believe not_, the
+punishment of a day that will encompass _you with destruction_. And, O
+my people, give full measure and weight with equity; and diminish not
+unto men _aught_ of their things nor commit injustice in the earth,
+acting corruptly, _by murder or other offences_. The residue of God
+(_His supply that remaineth to you after the completion of the
+measure_) will be better for you _than diminution_, if ye be
+believers. And I am not a guardian over you, _to recompense you for
+your actions: I have only been sent as an admonisher_.--They replied,
+_in mockery_, O Sho�eyb, do thy prayers command thee that we are to
+leave what our fathers worshipped, or _cease_ to do with our riches
+what we please? Verily thou art the mild, the right director. _This
+they said in mockery._--He said, O my people, tell me, if I act
+according to an evident proof from my Lord, and He hath supplied me
+with a good _lawful_ provision, shall I mix it up with what is
+forbidden, and shall I not desire to oppose you, _and shall I betake
+myself_ to that which I forbid you? I desire not [aught] but _your_
+reformation, as far as I am able [to effect it], and my help is not
+[in any] but in God: on Him do I rely, and unto Him do I turn me. And,
+O my people, let not the opposition of me procure for you the
+befalling you of the like of that which befell the people of Noah or
+the people of Hood or the people of S�lih. And _the abodes of the_
+people of Lot [are] not distant from you: (_or the time of their
+destruction was not long ago:_) _therefore be admonished_. And ask ye
+forgiveness of your Lord, and turn unto Him with repentance; for my
+Lord is merciful _to the believers_, loving _to them_. They replied, O
+Sho�eyb, we understand not much of what thou sayest, and verily we see
+thee to be weak[254] among us; and were it not for thy family, we had
+stoned thee; for thou art not, in our estimation, an honourable
+person: _thy family only are the honourable_. He said, O my people,
+are my family more honourable in your estimation than God, _and do ye
+abstain from slaying me for their sake, and not preserve me for God_,
+and have ye cast Him behind you as a thing neglected? Verily my Lord
+comprehendeth that which ye do, _and He will recompense you_. And, O
+my people, act ye according to your condition: verily I will act
+_according to mine_. Ye shall know on whom shall come a punishment
+that shall render him vile, and who is a liar: and await ye _the issue
+of your case_: verily I await with you.--And when Our degree _for their
+destruction_ came [to be executed], we delivered Sho�eyb and those who
+believed with him, in our mercy, and the cry _of Gabriel_ assailed
+those who had offended, so that in the morning they were in their
+abodes prostrate _and dead_, as though they had not dwelt therein. Was
+not Midian removed as Thamood had been removed?
+
+   (xi. 85-98.)
+
+
+
+
+MOSES AND HIS PEOPLE.
+
+
+We will rehearse unto thee, [O Mohammad, somewhat] of the history of
+Moses [Moos�] and Pharaoh [Fir�own or Far�oon],[255] with truth, for
+_the sake of_ people who believe. Verily Pharaoh exalted himself in
+the land _of Egypt_, and divided its inhabitants into parties _to
+serve him_. He rendered weak one class of them, _namely the children
+of Israel_, slaughtering their male children, and preserving alive
+their females, _because one of the diviners said unto him, A child
+will be born among the children of Israel, who will be the means of
+the loss of thy kingdom;_--for he was [one] of the corrupt doers. And
+We desired to be gracious unto those who had been deemed weak in the
+land, and to make them models of religion, and to make them the heirs
+_of the possessions of Pharaoh_, and to establish them in the land _of
+Egypt, and in Syria_, and to show Pharaoh and H�m�n[256] and their
+forces what they feared from them. And We said, by revelation, unto
+the mother of Moses, _the child above-mentioned, of whose birth none
+knew save his sister_, Suckle him; and when thou fearest for him cast
+him in the river _Nile_, and fear not _his being drowned_, nor mourn
+_for his separation_; for We will restore him unto thee, and will make
+him [one] of the apostles.[257] _So she suckled him three months,
+during which he wept not; and then she feared for him, wherefore she
+put him into an ark pitched within and furnished with a bed for him,
+and she closed it and cast it in the river Nile by night._ And the
+family (_or servants_) of Pharaoh lighted upon him _in the ark on the
+morrow of that night_;[258] _so they put it before him, and it was
+opened, and Moses was taken forth from it, sucking milk from his
+thumb:_ [this happened] that he might be unto them _eventually_ an
+enemy (_slaying their men_) and an affliction (_making slaves of their
+women_); for Pharaoh and H�m�n (_his Wezeer_) and their forces were
+sinners; _wherefore they were punished by his hand_. And the wife of
+Pharaoh said, _when he and his servants had proposed to kill him_, He
+_is_ delight of the eye unto me and unto thee: do not ye kill him:
+peradventure he may be serviceable unto us, or we may adopt him as a
+son. _And they complied with her desire_; and they knew not _the
+consequence_.
+
+And the heart of the mother of Moses, _when she knew of his having
+been lighted upon_, became disquieted; and she had almost made him
+known _to be her son_, had We not fortified her heart with patience,
+that she might be [one] of the believers _in Our promise_. And she
+said unto his sister _Maryam_ [or Mary], Trace him, _that thou mayest
+know his case_. And she watched him from a distance, while they knew
+not _that she was his sister and that she was watching him_. And We
+forbade him the breasts, _preventing him from taking the breast of any
+nurse except his mother_, before _his restoration to her_: so _his
+sister_ said, Shall I direct you unto the people of a house who will
+nurse him for you, and who will be faithful unto him? _And her offer
+was accepted; therefore she brought his mother, and he took her
+breast: so she returned with him to her house, as God hath said_,--And
+We restored him to his mother, that her eye might be cheerful and that
+she might not grieve, and that she might know that the promise of God
+_to restore him unto her_ was true: but the greater number of them
+(_that is, of mankind_) know not _this_. _And it appeared not that
+this was his sister and this his mother; and he remained with her
+until she had weaned him; and her hire was paid her, for every day a
+deen�r, which she took_ [without scruple] _because it was the wealth
+of a hostile person. She then brought him unto Pharaoh, and he was
+brought up in his abode, as God hath related of him in the Chapter of
+the Poets,_[259] [where Pharaoh said unto Moses,] _Have we not brought
+thee up among us a child, and hast thou not dwelt among us_ [thirty]
+_years of thy life?_
+
+And when he had attained his age of strength (_thirty years or thirty
+and three_), and had become of full age (_forty years_), We bestowed
+on him wisdom and knowledge _in religion, before he was sent as a
+prophet_; and thus do We reward the well-doers. And he entered the
+city _of Pharaoh, which was Munf_ [or Memphis], _after he had been
+absent from him a while_, at a time when its inhabitants were
+inadvertent, _at the hour of the noon-sleep_, and he found therein two
+men fighting; this [being] of his party (_namely an Israelite_), and
+this of his enemies (_an Egyptian_), _who was compelling the Israelite
+to carry firewood to the kitchen of Pharaoh without pay_: and he who
+was of his party begged him to aid him against him who was of his
+enemies. _So Moses said unto the latter, Let him go. And it is said
+that he replied to Moses, I have a mind to put the burden upon thee._
+And Moses struck him with his fist, and killed him. _But he intended
+not to kill him; and he buried him in the sand._ He said, This is of
+the work of the devil, _who hath excited my anger_; for he is an enemy
+_unto the son of Adam_, a manifest misleader _of him_. He said, _in
+repentance_, O my Lord, verily I have acted injuriously unto mine own
+soul, _by killing him_; therefore forgive me. So He forgave him: for
+He is the Very Forgiving, the Merciful.--He said, O my Lord, by the
+favours with which Thou hast favoured me, _defend me_, and I will by
+no means be an assistant to the sinners _after this_.--And the next
+morning he was afraid in the city, watching _for what might happen
+unto him on account of the slain man_; and lo, he who had begged his
+assistance the day before was crying out to him for aid _against
+another Egyptian_. Moses said unto him, Verily thou art a person
+manifestly in error, _because of that which thou hast done yesterday
+and to-day_. But when he was about to lay violent hands upon him who
+was an enemy unto them both, (_namely unto Moses and him who begged
+his aid_,) _the latter_ said, _imagining that he would lay violent
+hands upon him, because of that which he had said unto him_, O Moses,
+dost thou desire to kill me, as thou killedst a soul yesterday? Thou
+desirest not [aught] but to be an oppressor in the land, and thou
+desirest not to be [one] of the reconcilers.--_And the Egyptian heard
+that: so he knew that the killer was Moses; wherefore he departed
+unto Pharaoh and acquainted him therewith, and Pharaoh commanded the
+executioners to slay Moses, and they betook themselves to seek him._
+But a man _who was a believer of the family of Pharaoh_[260] came from
+the furthest part of the city, running _by a way that was nearer than
+the way by which they had come_: he said, O Moses, verily the chiefs
+_of the people of Pharaoh_ are consulting respecting thee, to slay
+thee; therefore go forth _from the city_: verily I am unto thee [one]
+of the admonishers. So he went forth from it in fear, watching _in
+fear of pursuer, or for the aid of God_. He said, O my Lord, deliver
+me from the unjust people _of Pharaoh_![261]
+
+And when he was journeying towards Medyen, _which was the city of
+Sho�eyb, eight days' journey from Misr (named after Medyen the son of
+Abraham), and he knew not the way unto it_, he said, Peradventure my
+Lord will direct me unto the right way, _or the middle way. And God
+sent unto him an angel, having in his hand a short spear; and he went
+with him thither._[262] And when he came unto the water (_or well_) of
+Medyen, he found at it a company of men watering _their animals_; and
+he found besides them two women keeping away _their sheep from the
+water_. He said _unto them_ (_namely the two women_), What is the
+matter with you _that ye water not_? They answered, We shall not water
+until the pastors shall have driven away _their animals_; and our
+father is a very old man, _who cannot water the sheep_. And he watered
+for them _from another well near unto them, from which he lifted a
+stone that none could lift but ten persons._ Then he retired to the
+shade _of an Egyptian thorn-tree on account of the violence of the
+heat of the sun; and he was hungry_, and he said, O my Lord, verily I
+am in need of the good _provision_ which Thou shalt send down unto me.
+_And the two women returned unto their father in less time than they
+were accustomed to do: so he asked them the reason thereof; and they
+informed him of the person who had watered for them; whereupon he said
+unto one of them, Call him unto me._
+
+And one of them[263] came unto him, walking bashfully, _with the
+sleeve of her shift over her face, by reason of her abashment at him_:
+she said, My father calleth thee, that he may recompense thee with the
+reward of thy having watered for us. _And he assented to her call,
+disliking in his mind the receiving of the reward: but it seemeth that
+she intended the compensation if he were of such as desired it. And
+she walked before him; and the wind blew her garment, and her legs
+were discovered: so he said unto her, Walk behind me and direct me in
+the way. And she did so, until she came unto her father, who was
+Sho�eyb, on whom be peace! and with him was_ [prepared] _a supper. He
+said unto him, Sit and sup. But he replied, I fear lest it be a
+compensation for my having watered for them, and we are a family who
+seek not a compensation for doing good. He said, Nay, it is my custom
+and hath been the custom of my fathers to entertain the guest and to
+give food. So he ate; and acquainted, him with his case._ And when he
+had come unto him, and had related to him the story _of his having
+killed the Egyptian and their intention to kill him and his fear of
+Pharaoh_, he replied, Fear not: thou hast escaped from the unjust
+people. (_For Pharaoh had no dominion over Medyen._) One of them
+[namely of the women] said (_and she was the one who had been sent_),
+O my father, hire him _to tend our sheep in our stead_; for the best
+whom thou canst hire is the strong, the trustworthy. _So he asked her
+respecting him, and she acquainted him with what hath been above
+related, his lifting up the stone of the well, and his saying unto
+her, Walk behind me;--and moreover, that when she had come unto him,
+and he knew of her presence, he hung down his head and raised it not._
+He _therefore_ said, Verily I desire to marry thee unto one of these
+my two daughters, on the condition that thou shalt be a hired servant
+to me, _to tend my sheep_, eight years; and if thou fulfil ten
+_years_, it shall be of thine own will; and I desire not to lay a
+difficulty upon thee _by imposing as a condition the ten years_: thou
+shalt find me, if God please, [one] of the just, _who are faithful to
+their covenants_. He replied, This [be the covenant] between me and
+thee: whichever of the two terms I fulfil, there shall be no injustice
+against me _by demanding an addition thereto_; and God is witness of
+what we say. _And the marriage-contract was concluded according to
+this; and Sho�eyb ordered his daughter to give unto Moses a rod
+wherewith to drive away the wild beasts from his sheep: and the rods
+of the prophets were in his possession; and the rod of Adam, of the
+myrtle of paradise, fell into her hand; and Moses took it, with the
+knowledge of Sho�eyb._
+
+   (xxviii. 21-28.)
+
+
+Hath the history of Moses been related to thee? when he saw fire,[264]
+_during his journey from Medyen, on his way to Egypt_, and said unto
+his family, _or his wife_, Tarry ye _here_; for I have seen fire:
+perhaps I may bring you a brand from it, or find at the fire a guide
+_to direct me in the way. For he had missed the way in consequence of
+the darkness of the night._ And when he came unto it (_and it was a
+bramble-bush_), he was called to [by a voice saying], O Moses, verily
+I am thy Lord; therefore pull off thy shoes;[265] for thou art in the
+holy valley of Tuwa. And I have chosen thee _from among thy people_;
+wherefore hearken attentively unto that which is revealed _unto thee
+by Me_. Verily I am God: there is no Deity except Me; therefore
+worship Me, and perform prayer in remembrance of Me. Verily the hour
+is coming: I will manifest it _unto mankind, and its nearness shall
+appear unto them by its signs_, that every soul may be recompensed
+_therein_ for its good and evil work: therefore let not him who
+believeth not in it, and followeth his lust, hinder thee from
+_believing in_ it, lest thou perish. And what is that in thy right
+hand, O Moses?--He answered, It is my rod, whereon I lean and wherewith
+I beat down leaves for my sheep _that they may eat them_; and I have
+other uses for it, _as the carrying of provision and the water-skin,
+and the driving away of reptiles_. He said, Cast it down, O Moses. So
+he cast it down; and lo, it was a serpent,[266] running along. _God_
+said, Take it, and fear _it_ not:[267] we will restore it to its
+former state. _And he put his hand into its mouth; whereupon it became
+again a rod._ [And God said,] And put thy _right_ hand to thy _left_
+arm-pit, _and take it forth_: it shall come forth white, without evil,
+(_that is, without leprosy; shining like the rays of the sun, dazzling
+the sight,_) as another sign, that We may show thee the greatest of
+our signs _of thine apostleship_. (_And when he desired to restore his
+hand to its first state, he put it as before described, and drew it
+forth._) Go _as an apostle_ unto Pharaoh _and those who are with
+him_; for he hath acted with exceeding impiety _by arrogating to
+himself divinity_.--_Moses_ said, O my Lord, dilate my bosom, _that it
+may hear the message_, and make my affair easy unto me, and loose the
+knot of my tongue (_this had arisen from his having been burned in his
+mouth by a live coal when he was a child_),[268] that they may
+understand my speech _when I deliver the message_. And appoint unto me
+a Wezeer of my family, _namely_ Aaron [H�roon] my brother. Strengthen
+my back by him, and make him a colleague in my affair, that we may
+glorify Thee much, and remember Thee much; for Thou knowest us.
+
+God replied, Thou hast obtained thy petition, O Moses, and We have
+been gracious unto thee another time: forasmuch as We revealed unto
+thy mother what was revealed, _when she gave birth to thee and feared
+that Pharaoh would kill thee among the others that were born_,
+[saying,] Cast him into the ark, and then cast him, _in the ark_, into
+the river _Nile_, and the river shall throw him on the shore; then an
+enemy unto Me and an enemy unto him (_namely Pharaoh_) shall take him.
+And I bestowed on thee, _after he had taken thee_, love from Me, _that
+thou mightest be loved by men, so that Pharaoh and all that saw thee
+loved thee_; and that thou mightest be bred up in Mine eye. [Also]
+forasmuch as thy sister _Maryam_ went _that she might learn what
+became of thee, after they had brought nurses and thou hadst refused
+to take the breast of any one of them_, and she said, Shall I direct
+you unto one who will nurse him? (_whereupon her proposal was_
+_accepted, and she brought his mother_): so We restored thee to thy
+mother, that her eye might become cheerful and that she might not
+grieve. And thou slewest a soul, _namely the Copt in Egypt, and wast
+sorry for his slaughter, on account of Pharaoh_, and We delivered thee
+from sorrow; and We tried thee with _other_ trial, _and delivered thee
+from it_.[269] And thou stayedst _ten_ years among the people of
+Medyen, _after thou hadst come thither from Egypt, at the abode of
+Sho�eyb the prophet, and he married thee to his daughter._ Then thou
+camest according to _My_ decree, _as to the time of thy mission, when
+thou hadst attained the age of forty years_, O Moses; and I have
+chosen thee for Myself. Go thou and thy brother[270] _unto the
+people_, with My _nine_ signs, and cease ye not to remember Me. Go ye
+unto Pharaoh; for he hath acted with exceeding impiety, _by arrogating
+to himself divinity_, and speak unto him with gentle speech,
+_exhorting him to relinquish that conduct_: peradventure he will
+consider, or will fear _God, and repent_. (_The_ [mere] _hope with
+respect to the two_ [results is expressed] _because of God's knowledge
+that he would not repent._)--They replied, O our Lord, verily we fear
+that he may be precipitately violent against us, _hastening to punish
+us_, or that he may act with exceeding injustice _towards us_. He
+said, Fear ye not; for I am with you: I will hear and will see.
+Therefore go ye unto him, and say, Verily we are the apostles of thy
+Lord: therefore send with us the children of Israel _unto Syria_, and
+do not afflict them, _but cease to employ them in thy difficult works,
+such as digging and building and carrying the heavy burden_. We have
+come unto thee with a sign from thy Lord, _attesting our veracity in
+asserting ourselves apostles_: and peace be on him who followeth the
+right direction:--_that is, he shall be secure from punishment_. Verily
+it hath been revealed unto us that punishment [shall be inflicted]
+upon him who chargeth with falsehood _that wherewith we have come_,
+and turneth away _from it_.
+
+   (xx. 8-50.)
+
+
+Then We sent after them, _namely the apostles before mentioned_ [who
+were Sho�eyb and his predecessors], Moses, with Our signs unto Pharaoh
+and his nobles, and they acted unjustly with respect to them,
+_disbelieving in the signs_: but see what was the end of the corrupt
+doers. And Moses said, O Pharaoh, verily I am an apostle from the Lord
+of the worlds _unto thee_. _But he charged him with falsehood: so he
+said, I am_ right not to say of God aught but the truth. I have come
+unto you with a proof from your Lord: therefore send with me _to
+Syria_ the children of Israel.--_Pharaoh_ said _unto him_, If thou hast
+come with a sign _confirmatory of thy pretension_, produce it, if thou
+be of those who speak truth, So he cast down his rod; and lo, it was a
+manifest serpent.[271] And he drew forth his hand _from his bosom_;
+and lo, it was white _and radiant_ unto the beholders.[272] The nobles
+of the people of Pharaoh said, Verily this is a knowing enchanter: he
+desireth to expel you from your land. What then do ye command?--They
+answered, Put off for a time him and his brother, and send unto the
+cities collectors [of the inhabitants], that they may bring unto thee
+every knowing enchanter. And the enchanters came unto Pharaoh. They
+said, Shall we surely have a reward if we be the party who overcome?
+He answered, Yea; and verily ye shall be of those who are admitted
+near [unto my person]. They said, O Moses, either do thou cast down
+_thy rod_, or we will cast down _what we have with us_. He replied,
+Cast ye. And when they cast down _their cords and their rods_, they
+enchanted the eyes of the men, _diverting them from the true
+perception of them_; and they terrified them; _for they imagined them
+to be serpents running_; and they performed a great enchantment.[273]
+And We spake by revelation unto Moses, [saying,] Cast down thy rod.
+And lo, it swallowed up what they had caused to appear changed.[274]
+So the truth was confirmed, and that which they had wrought became
+vain; and they were overcome there, and were rendered contemptible.
+And the enchanters cast themselves down prostrate:[275] they said, We
+believe in the Lord of the worlds, the Lord of Moses and Aaron.
+Pharaoh said, Have ye believed in Him before I have given you
+permission? Verily this is a plot that ye have contrived in the city,
+that ye may cause its inhabitants to go forth from it. But ye shall
+know _what shall happen unto you at my hand_. I will assuredly cut off
+your hands and your feet on the opposite sides--_the right hand of each
+and his left foot_: then I will crucify you all.--They replied. Verily
+unto our Lord shall we return, _after our death, of whatever kind it
+be_; and thou dost not take vengeance on us but because we believed in
+the signs of our Lord when they came unto us. O our Lord, pour upon us
+patience, and cause us to die Muslims![276]
+
+   (vii. 101-123.)
+
+
+And Pharaoh said, Let me alone, that I may kill Moses, (_for they had
+diverted him from killing him_,) and let him call upon his Lord _to
+defend him from me_. Verily I fear lest he change your religion, _and
+prevent your worshipping me_, or that he may cause corruption to
+appear in the earth (_that is, slaughter, and other offences_).--And
+Moses said _unto his people, having heard this_, Verily I have
+recourse for defence unto my Lord and your Lord from every proud
+person who believeth not in the day of account. And a man [who was] a
+believer, of the family of Pharaoh (_it is said that he was the son of
+his paternal uncle_,)[277] who concealed his faith, said, Will ye kill
+a man because he saith, My Lord is God,--when he hath come unto you
+with evident proofs from your Lord? And if he be a liar, on him [will
+be] _the evil consequence of_ his lie; but if he be a speaker of
+truth, somewhat of that _punishment with_ which he threateneth you
+will befall you _speedily_. Verily God directeth not him who is a
+transgressor, _or polytheist_, [and] a liar. O my people, ye have the
+dominion to-day, being overcomers in the land _of Egypt_; but who will
+defend us from the punishment of God _if ye kill his favourite
+servants_, if it come unto us?[278]--Pharaoh said, I will not advise
+you to do [aught] save what I see to be advisable, _which is, to kill
+Moses_; and I will not direct you save into the right way. And he who
+had believed said, O my people, verily I fear for you the like of the
+day of the confederates,[279] the like of the condition of the people
+of Noah and ��d and Thamood and those who [have lived] after them: and
+God willeth not injustice unto [His] servants. And, O my people,
+verily I fear for you the day of calling (_that is, the day of
+resurrection, when the people of Paradise and those of Hell shall
+often call one to another_). On the day when ye shall turn back _from
+the place of reckoning unto hell_, ye shall have no protector against
+God. And he whom God shall cause to err shall have no director.
+Moreover, Joseph (_who was Joseph the son of Jacob according to one
+opinion, and who lived unto the time of Moses; and Joseph the son of
+Abraham the son of Joseph the son of Jacob, according to another
+opinion_) came unto you before _Moses_, with evident _miraculous_
+proofs; but ye ceased not to be in doubt respecting that wherewith he
+came unto you, until, when he died, ye said _without proof_ God will
+by no means send an apostle after him. Thus God causeth to err him who
+is a transgressor, _or polytheist_, [and] a sceptic. They who dispute
+respecting the signs of God, without any convincing proof having come
+unto them, _their disputing_ is very hateful with God and with those
+who have believed. Thus God sealeth every heart (_or the whole heart_)
+of a proud contumacious person.
+
+And Pharaoh said, O H�m�n, build for me a tower, that I may reach the
+avenues, the avenues of the heavens, and ascend unto the God of
+Moses;[280] but verily I think him, _namely Moses_, a liar _in his
+assertion that he hath any god but myself_. And thus the wickedness of
+his deed was made to seem comely unto Pharaoh, and he was turned away
+from the path _of rectitude_; and the artifice of Pharaoh [ended] not
+save in loss. And he who had believed said, O my people, follow me: I
+will direct you into the right way. O my people, this present life is
+only a temporary enjoyment; but the world to come is the mansion of
+firm continuance. Whosoever doeth evil, he shall not be recompensed
+save with the like of it; and whosoever doeth good, whether male or
+female, and is a believer, these shall enter Paradise; they shall be
+provided for therein without reckoning. And, O my people, how is it
+that I invite you unto salvation, and ye invite me unto the Fire? Ye
+invite me to deny God, and to associate with Him that of which I have
+no knowledge; but I invite you unto the Mighty, the Very Forgiving.
+[There is] no doubt but that the [false gods] _to the worship of_
+which ye invite me are not to be invoked in this world, nor in the
+world to come, and that our return [shall be] unto God, and that the
+transgressors [shall be] the companions of the Fire. And ye shall
+remember, _when ye see the punishment_, what I say unto you; and I
+commit my case unto God; for God seeth [His] servants.--_This he said
+when they threatened him for his opposing their religion._ Therefore
+God preserved him from the evils which they had artfully devised
+(_namely slaughter_), and a most evil punishment encompassed the
+people of Pharaoh,[281] _with Pharaoh himself (namely the
+drowning); then_ they shall be exposed to the Fire morning and
+evening;[282] and on the day when the hour [of judgment] shall come,
+_it shall be said unto the angels_, Introduce the people of Pharaoh
+into the most severe punishment.
+
+   (xl. 27-49.)
+
+
+And the nobles of the people of Pharaoh said _unto him_, Wilt thou let
+Moses and his people go that they may act corruptly in the earth, _by
+inviting to disobey thee_, and leave thee and thy gods? (_For he had
+made for them little idols for them to worship, and he said, I am your
+Lord and their Lord;--and therefore he said, I am your Lord the Most
+High._) He answered, We will slaughter their male children and will
+suffer their females to live: and verily we shall prevail over them.
+_And thus they did unto them; wherefore the children of Israel
+complained, and_ Moses said unto his people, Seek aid of God, and be
+patient; for the earth belongeth unto God: He causeth whomsoever He
+will of His servants to inherit it; and the _prosperous_ end is for
+those who fear _God_. They replied, We have been afflicted before thou
+camest unto us and since thou hast come unto us. He said, Perhaps your
+Lord will destroy your enemy and cause you to succeed [him] in the
+earth, and He will see how ye will act _therein_.--And We had punished
+the family of Pharaoh with dearth and with scarcity of fruits, that
+they might be admonished _and might believe_. But when good betided
+them, they said, This is ours:--_that is, we deserve it;--and they were
+not grateful for it_; and if evil befell them, they ascribed it to
+the ill luck of Moses and those _believers_ who were with him. Nay,
+their ill luck was only with God: _He brought it upon them_: but the
+greater number of them know not _this_. And they said _unto Moses_,
+Whatsoever sign thou bring unto us, to enchant us therewith, we will
+not believe in thee. _So he uttered an imprecation upon them_, and We
+sent upon them the flood, _which entered their houses and reached to
+the throats of the persons sitting, seven days_,[283] and the locusts,
+_which ate their corn and their fruits_, and the kummal, _or grubs, or
+a kind of tick, which sought after what the locusts had left_, and the
+frogs, _which filled their houses and their food_, and the blood _in
+their waters_; distinct signs: but they were proud, _refusing to
+believe in them_, and were a wicked people. And when the punishment
+fell upon them, they said, O Moses, supplicate for us thy Lord,
+according to that which He hath covenanted with thee, _namely that He
+will withdraw from us the punishment if we believe_: verily, if thou
+remove from us the punishment, we will assuredly believe thee, and we
+will assuredly send with thee the children of Israel. But when We
+removed from them the punishment until a period at which they should
+arrive, lo, they brake their promise. Wherefore We took vengeance on
+them, and drowned them in the sea, because they charged our signs with
+falsehood and were heedless of them. And We caused the people who had
+been rendered weak, _by being enslaved_, to inherit the eastern parts
+of the earth and its western parts,[284] which we blessed _with water
+and trees, (namely Syria)_; and the gracious word of thy Lord was
+fulfilled on the children of Israel, because they had been patient;
+and We destroyed the _structures_ which Pharaoh and his people had
+built and what they had erected.[285]
+
+   (vii. 124-133.)
+
+
+We brought the children of Israel across the sea, and Pharaoh and his
+troops pursued them with violence and hostility, until, when drowning
+overtook him, he said, I believe that there is no deity but He in whom
+the children of Israel believe, and I am [one] of the Muslims. _But
+Gabriel thrust into his mouth some of the mire of the sea, lest mercy
+should be granted him, and said_, Now _thou believest_, and thou hast
+been rebellious hitherto, and wast [one] of the corrupters. But to-day
+we will raise thee with thy lifeless body _from the sea_, that thou
+mayest be a sign unto those [who shall come] after thee. (_It is
+related, on the authority of Ibn-�Abb�s, that some of the children of
+Israel doubted his death; wherefore he was brought forth to them that
+they might see him._)[286] But verily many men are heedless of Our
+signs.
+
+   (x. 90-92.)
+
+
+And We brought the children of Israel across the sea; and they came
+unto a people who gave themselves up to _the worship of_ idols
+belonging to them;[287] [whereupon] they said, O Moses, make for us a
+god (_an idol for us to worship_), like as they have gods. He replied,
+Verily ye are a people who are ignorant, _since ye have requited God's
+favour towards you with that which ye have said_; for that [religion]
+in which these are [occupied shall be] destroyed, and vain is that
+which they do. He said, Shall I seek for you any other deity than God,
+when He hath preferred you above the peoples _of your time_?
+
+   (vii. 134-136.)
+
+
+And We caused the thin clouds to shade you _from the heat of the sun
+in the desert_, and caused the manna and the quails[288] to descend
+upon you, _and said_, Eat of the good things which We have given you
+for food, _and store not up.--But they were ungrateful for the benefit,
+and stored up; wherefore it was cut off from them_. And they injured
+not Us _thereby_; but they did injure their own souls.
+
+   (ii. 54.)
+
+
+[Remember, O children of Israel,] when ye said, O Moses, we will not
+bear patiently the having one _kind of_ food, _the manna and the
+quails_; therefore supplicate for us thy Lord, that He may produce for
+us _somewhat_ of that which the earth bringeth forth, of its herbs and
+its cucumbers and its wheat and its lentils and its onions:--he said
+_unto them_, Will ye take in exchange that which is worse for that
+which is better?--_But they refused to recede; therefore he supplicated
+God, and He said_, Get ye down into a great city;[289] for ye shall
+have _therein_ what ye have asked.--And the _marks of_ abjection and
+poverty were stamped upon them: _so these characteristics necessarily
+belong to them, even if they are rich, as necessarily as the stamped
+coin belongeth to its die_; and they returned with indignation from
+God. This was because they did disbelieve in the signs of God, and
+slay the prophets (_as Zechariah and John_) unjustly: this was because
+they rebelled and did transgress.
+
+   (ii. 58.)
+
+
+And _remember_ when Moses asked drink for his people, _who had become
+thirsty in the desert_, and We said, Strike with thy rod the stone.
+(_It was the stone that fled away with his garment:[290] it was
+light, square, like the head of a man, marble or kedhdh�n._[291])
+_Accordingly he struck it_; and there gushed out from it twelve
+fountains, _according to the number of the tribes_, all men (_each
+tribe of them_) knowing their drinking-place. _And We said unto them_,
+Eat ye and drink of the supply of God, and commit not evil in the
+earth, acting corruptly.
+
+   (ii. 57.)
+
+
+_Remember_ also when We obtained your bond _that ye would do according
+to that which is contained in the Law_, and _had_ lifted up over you
+the mountain [namely Mount Sinai], _pulled it up by the roots and
+raised it over you when ye had refused to accept the Law, and We
+said_, Receive that which We have given you, with resolution, and
+remember that which is contained in it, _to do according thereto_:
+peradventure ye will fear _the Fire, or acts of disobedience_.--Then ye
+turned back after that; and had it not been for the grace of God
+towards you and His mercy, ye had certainly been of those who perish.
+And ye know those of you who transgressed on the Sabbath, _by catching
+fish, when We had forbidden them to do so_ (_and they were the people
+of Eyleh_[292],) and We said unto them, Be ye apes, driven away from
+the society of men.--_Thereupon they became such, and they perished
+after three days._--And We made it (_namely that punishment_) an
+example unto those who were contemporary with them and those who came
+after them, and a warning to the pious.
+
+   (ii. 60-62.)
+
+
+And We appointed unto Moses thirty nights, _at the expiration of which
+We would speak to him, on the condition of his fasting during them;
+and they were_ [the nights of the month of] _Dhu-l-Kaadeh; and he
+fasted during them: but, when they were ended, he disliked the smell
+of his breath; so he used a tooth-stick; whereupon God commanded him
+to fast ten other nights, that He might speak to Him with the odour of
+his breath,[293] as He whose name be exalted hath said_,--and We
+completed them by [adding] ten _nights of Dhu-l-Hijjeh_: so the stated
+time of his Lord was completed, forty nights. And Moses said unto his
+brother Aaron, _at his departure to the mountain for the private
+collocution_, Be thou my deputy among my people, and act rightly, and
+follow not the way of the corrupt doers _by agreeing with them in acts
+of disobedience_. And when Moses came at Our appointed time, and his
+Lord spake unto him _without an intermediary_, he said, O my Lord,
+show me _Thyself_, that I may see Thee. He replied, Thou shalt not see
+Me: but look at the mountain, _which is stronger than thou_; and if it
+remain firm in its place, then shalt thou see Me. And when his Lord
+displayed Himself to the mountain (_that is, when there appeared, of
+His light, half of the tip of His little finger, as related in a
+tradition which El-H�kim hath verified_), He reduced it to powder,
+_levelling it even with the ground around it_; and Moses fell down in
+a swoon. And when he recovered, he said, Extolled be Thy perfection! I
+turn unto Thee repenting, and I am the first of the believers _in my
+time_.--_God_ said _unto him_, O Moses, I have chosen thee above the
+people _of thy time_ [by honouring thee] by My commissions and by My
+speaking _unto thee_: therefore receive what I have given thee, and be
+of those who are grateful. And We wrote for him upon the tables of
+_the Law_[294] (_which were of the lote-tree of Paradise, or of
+chrysolite, or of emerald; in number seven, or ten_) an admonition
+concerning every _requisite_ matter _of religion_, and a distinct
+explanation of everything; _and said_, Therefore receive it with
+resolution, and command thy people to act according to the most
+excellent [precepts] thereof.
+
+   (vii. 138-142.)
+
+
+And the people of Moses, after it (_that is, after his departure for
+the private collocution_), made, of their ornaments (_which they had
+borrowed of the people of Pharaoh_), a corporeal calf[295] _which
+Es-S�miree cast for them,_[296] _and_ which lowed; _for he had the
+faculty of doing so in consequence of their having put into its mouth
+some dust taken from_ [beneath] _the hoof of the horse of Gabriel; and
+they took it as a god_. Did they not see that it spake not to them,
+nor directed them in the way? They took it _as a god_, and were
+offenders. But when they repented, and saw that they had erred, _which
+was after the return of Moses_, they said, Verily if our Lord do not
+have mercy upon us and forgive us, we shall assuredly be of those who
+perish.
+
+   (vii. 146-148.)
+
+
+And Moses returned unto his people[297] enraged _against them_,
+exceedingly sorrowful. He said, O my people, did not your Lord promise
+you a good _true_ promise, _that He would give you the Law?_ But did
+the time of _my absence_ seem tedious to you, or did ye desire that
+indignation from your Lord should befall you, and therefore did ye
+break your promise to me, _and abstain from coming after one?_--They
+answered, We did not break our promise to thee of our own authority;
+but we were made to carry loads of the ornaments of the people _of
+Pharaoh_ (_which the children of Israel had borrowed of them under
+pretence of_ [requiring them for] _a wedding, and which remained in
+their possession_), and we cast them _into the fire, by order of
+Es-S�miree_. And in like manner also Es-S�miree cast _their ornaments
+which he had, and some of the dust which he had taken from the traces
+of the hoofs of the horse of Gabriel;_ and he produced unto them a
+corporeal calf, _of flesh and blood_, which lowed, _by reason of the
+dust, the property of which is to give life to that into which it is
+put; and he had put it, after he had moulded the calf, into its
+mouth_. And they (_namely, Es-S�miree and his followers_) said, This
+is your god, and the god of Moses; but he hath forgotten _his lord
+here, and gone to seek him. God saith_, But did they not see that it
+returned them not an answer, nor was able to cause them hurt or
+profit? And Aaron had said unto them, before _the return of Moses_, O
+my people, ye are only tried by it; and verily your Lord is the
+Compassionate; therefore follow me, _by worshipping Him_, and obey my
+command. They replied, We will by no means cease to be devoted to _the
+worship of_ it until Moses return unto us. _Moses_ said _after his
+return_, O Aaron, what hindered thee, when thou sawest that they had
+gone astray, from following me? Hast thou then been disobedient to my
+command, _by remaining among them who worshipped another than God_?
+--He answered, O son of my mother, seize me not by my beard (_for he
+had taken hold of his beard with his left hand_), nor by [the hair of]
+my head (_for he had taken hold of his hair with his right hand, in
+anger_). Verily I feared lest _if I followed thee (for a company of
+those who worshipped the calf would inevitably have followed me)_ thou
+shouldst say, Thou hast made a division among the children of Israel,
+and hast not waited for my sentence. _Moses_ said, And what was thy
+motive _for doing as thou hast_, O S�miree? He answered, I saw that
+which they saw not;[298] therefore I took a handful _of dust_ from the
+foot-marks _of the horse_ of the apostle _Gabriel_, and cast it _into
+the molten calf_; and thus my soul allured me _to take a handful of
+the dust above-mentioned, and to cast it upon that which had no life,
+that it might have life; and I saw that thy people had demanded of
+thee that thou wouldst make them a god; so my soul suggested to me
+that this calf should be their god. Moses_ said _unto him_, Then get
+thee gone _from among us_, and [the punishment] for thee during _the
+period of thy_ life [shall be], that thou shalt say _unto whomsoever
+thou shalt see_, Touch _me_ not:--(_so he used to wander about the
+desert, and when he touched any one, or any one touched him, they both
+became affected with a burning fever:_) and verily for thee is a
+threat which thou shalt by no means find to be false. And look at thy
+god, to _the worship of_ which thou hast continued devoted. We will
+assuredly burn it: then we will assuredly reduce it to powder and
+scatter it in the sea. (_And Moses, after he had slaughtered it, did
+this._) Your deity is God only, except whom there is no deity. He
+comprehendeth all things by _His_ knowledge.--Thus, _O Mohammad_, do We
+relate unto thee accounts of what hath happened heretofore; and We
+have given thee, from Us, an admonition; _namely the Kur-�n_.
+
+   (xx. 88-99.)
+
+
+And they were made to drink down the calf into their hearts,[299]
+(_that is, the love of it mingled with their hearts as drink
+mingleth_,) because of their unbelief.
+
+   (ii. 87.)
+
+
+[Remember, O children of Israel,] when Moses said unto his people _who
+worshipped the calf_, O my people, verily ye have injured your own
+souls by your taking to yourselves the calf _as a god_; therefore turn
+with repentance unto your Creator _from the worship of it_, and slay
+one another: (_that is, let the innocent among you slay the
+criminal_:) this will be best for you in the estimation of your
+Creator. _And He aided you to do that, sending upon you a black cloud,
+lest one of you should see another and have compassion on him, until
+there were slain of you about seventy thousand._ And _thereupon_ He
+became propitious towards you, _accepting your repentance_; for He is
+the Very Propitious, the Merciful.
+
+   (ii. 51.)
+
+
+[Remember also, O children of Israel,] when ye said, _having gone
+forth with Moses to beg pardon of God for your worship of the calf,
+and having heard his words_, O Moses, we will not believe thee until
+we see God manifestly:--whereupon the vehement sound assailed you, _and
+ye died_, while ye beheld _what happened to you_. Then We raised you
+to life after ye had been dead, that peradventure ye might give
+thanks.[300]
+
+   (ii. 52, 53.)
+
+
+And Moses chose _from_ his people seventy men, _of those who had not
+worshipped the calf, by the command of God_, at the time appointed by
+Us _for their coming to ask pardon for their companions' worship of
+the calf; and he went forth with them_; and when the convulsion (_the
+violent earthquake_) took them away (_because, saith Ibn-�Abb�s, they
+did not separate themselves from their people when the latter
+worshipped the calf_), _Moses_ said, O my Lord, if Thou hadst pleased,
+Thou hadst destroyed them before _my going forth with them, that the
+children of Israel might have beheld it and might not suspect me_; and
+me [also]. Wilt Thou destroy us for that which the foolish among us
+have done? It is naught but Thy trial: Thou wilt cause to err thereby
+whom Thou pleasest, and Thou wilt rightly guide whom Thou pleasest.
+Thou art our guardian; and do Thou forgive us and have mercy upon us;
+for Thou art the best of those who forgive: and appoint for us in this
+world what is good, and in the world to come; for unto Thee have we
+turned with repentance.--_God_ replied, I will afflict with My
+punishment whom I please, and My mercy extendeth over everything _in
+the world_; and I will appoint it, _in the world to come_, for those
+who fear and give the legal alms, and those who believe on Our signs,
+who shall follow the apostle, the illiterate [or Gentile, _i.e._, Arab]
+prophet, _Mohammad_, whom they shall find written down with them in the
+Pentateuch and the Gospel, _by his name and his description_. He will
+command them that which is right, and forbid them that which is evil;
+and will allow them as lawful the good things _among those forbidden in
+their law_, and prohibit them the impure, _as carrion and other things_,
+and will take off from them their burden and the yokes that were upon
+them, _as the slaying of a soul_ [for an atonement] _in repentance, and
+the cutting off of the mark left by impurity_. And those who shall
+believe in him and honour him and assist him and follow the light which
+shall be sent down with him, _namely the Kur-�n_, these shall be the
+prosperous.
+
+   (vii. 154-156).
+
+
+And _remember_ when Moses said unto his people, O my people, remember
+the favour of God towards you, since He hath appointed prophets from
+among you, and made you princes (_masters of servants and other
+attendants_), and given you what He hath not given any [other] of the
+peoples (_as the manna and the quails and other things_). O my people,
+enter the Holy Land which God hath decreed for you (_namely Syria_),
+and turn not back, lest ye turn losers.--They replied, O Moses, verily
+there is in it a gigantic people, _of the remains of the tribe of
+�Ad_, and we will not enter it until they go forth from it; but if
+they go forth from it, then we will enter.--[Thereupon] two men, of
+those who feared _to disobey God, namely Joshua and Caleb, of the
+chiefs whom Moses sent to discover the circumstances of the giants,
+and_ upon whom God had conferred favour, _and who had concealed what
+they had seen of the state of the giants, excepting from Moses,
+wherefore the other chiefs became cowardly_, said _unto them_, Enter
+ye upon them through the gate _of the city, and fear them not; for
+they are bodies without hearts_; and when ye enter it, ye overcome;
+and upon God place your dependence, if ye be believers.--[But] they
+said, O Moses, we will never enter it while they remain therein.
+Therefore go thou and thy Lord, and fight: for we remain here.--_Then
+Moses_ said, O my Lord, verily I am not master of any but myself and
+my brother: therefore distinguish between us and the unrighteous
+people.--_God_ replied, Verily it (_namely the Holy Land_) shall be
+forbidden them forty years; they shall wander in perplexity in the
+land: and be not thou solicitous for the unrighteous people.--_The
+land_ [through which they wandered] _was_ [only] _nine leagues_ [in
+extent]. _They used to journey during the night with diligence; but in
+the morning they found themselves in the place whence they had set
+forth; and they journeyed during the day in like manner. Thus they did
+until all of them had become extinct, excepting those who had not
+attained the age of twenty years; and it is said that they were six
+hundred thousand. Aaron and Moses died in the desert; and mercy was
+their lot: but punishment was the lot of those. And Moses begged his
+Lord, when he was about to die, that He would bring him as near as a
+stone's throw to the Holy Land: wherefore He did so. And Joshua was
+made a prophet after the forty [years], and he gave orders to fight
+against the giants. So he went with those who were with him, and
+fought against them: and it was Friday; and the sun stood still for
+him awhile, until he had made an end of fighting against them._
+
+   (v. 23-29).
+
+
+K�roon[301] [or Korah] was of the people of Moses (_he was the son of
+his paternal uncle, and the son of his maternal aunt, and he believed
+in him_); but he behaved insolently towards them; for We had bestowed
+upon him such treasures that their keys were heavy burdens for a
+company of men endowed with strength, _in number, as some say,
+seventy; and some, forty; and some, ten; and some, another number.
+Remember when his people (the believers among the children of Israel)_
+said unto him, Rejoice not _exultingly in the abundance of thy
+wealth_; for God loveth not those who _so_ rejoice; but seek to
+attain, by means of the _wealth_ which God hath given thee, the latter
+abode [of Paradise], _by expending thy wealth in the service of God_;
+and neglect not thy part in this world, _to work therein for the world
+to come_; but be beneficent _unto mankind, by bestowing alms_, as God
+hath been beneficent unto thee; and seek not to act corruptly in the
+earth; for God loveth not the corrupt doers. He replied, I have only
+been given it on account of the knowledge that I possess. _For he was
+the most learned of the children of Israel in the Law, after Moses and
+Aaron. God saith_, Did he not know that God had destroyed before him,
+of the generations, those that were mightier than he in strength and
+who had amassed more abundance _of wealth_? And the wicked shall not
+be asked respecting their sins, _because God knoweth them: therefore
+they shall be sent into the Fire without a reckoning_. And _K�roon_
+went forth unto his people in his pomp, _with his many dependants
+mounted, adorned with garments of gold and silk, upon decked horses
+and mules_. Those who desired the present life said, O would that we
+had the like of that which hath been bestowed on K�roon _in this
+world_! Verily he is possessed of great good fortune!--But those unto
+whom knowledge _of what God hath promised in the world to come_ had
+been given, said _unto them_, Woe to you! The reward of God _in the
+world to come_ (_which is Paradise_) is better for him who believeth
+and worketh righteousness _than that which hath been bestowed on
+K�roon in the present world_; and none shall receive it but the
+patient _in the service of God_. And We caused the earth to cleave
+asunder and swallow up him and his mansion,[302] and he had no forces
+to defend him, in the place of God, nor was he of the [number of the]
+saved. And the next morning, those who had wished for his place the
+day before said, Aha! God enlargeth provision unto whom He pleaseth of
+His servants, and is sparing _of it unto whom He pleaseth!_ Had not
+God been gracious unto us, He had caused [the earth] to cleave asunder
+and swallow up us! Aha! the ungrateful _for His benefits_ do not
+prosper!
+
+   (xxviii. 76-82.)
+
+
+_Remember_, [O children of Israel,] when Moses said unto his people
+(_when one of them had been slain, whose murderer was not known, and
+they asked him to beg God that He would discover him to them,
+wherefore he supplicated Him_), Verily God commandeth you to sacrifice
+a cow. They said, Dost thou make a jest of us? He said, I beg God to
+preserve me from being _one_ of the foolish. _So when they knew that
+he decidedly intended_ [what he had ordered], they said, Supplicate
+for us thy Lord, that He may manifest to us what she is; _that is,
+what is her age_. _Moses_ replied, He saith, She is a cow neither old
+nor young; _but_ of a middle age, between those _two_: therefore do as
+ye are commanded. They said, Supplicate for us thy Lord, that He may
+manifest to us what is her colour. He replied, He saith, She is a
+red[303] cow: her colour is very bright: she rejoiceth the beholders.
+They said, Supplicate for us thy Lord, that He may manifest to us what
+she is, _whether she be a pasturing or a working cow_; for cows _of
+the description mentioned_ are to us like one another; and we, if God
+please, shall indeed be rightly directed _to her_. (_In a tradition it
+is said, Had they not said, 'If God please,'--she had not ever been
+manifested to them._) He replied, He saith, She is a cow not subdued
+_by work_ that plougheth the ground, nor doth she water the field:
+[she is] free _from defects and the marks of work_; there is no colour
+in her different from the rest of her colour. They said, Now thou hast
+brought the truth. _And they sought her, and found her in the
+possession of the young man who acted piously towards his mother, and
+they bought her for as much gold as her hide would contain._[304]
+Then they sacrificed her; but they were near to leaving it undone, on
+_account of the greatness of her price_. (_And in a tradition it is
+said, Had they sacrificed any cow whatever, He had satisfied them: but
+they acted hardly towards themselves; so God acted hardly towards
+them._) And when ye slew a soul, and contended together respecting it,
+(and God brought forth [to light] that which ye did conceal--_this is
+the beginning of the story_ [and was the occasion of the order to
+sacrifice this particular cow,]) We said, Strike him (_that is, the
+slain person_) with part of her. _So he was struck with her tongue, or
+the root of her tail, or, as some say, with her right thigh; whereupon
+he came to life, and said, Such-a-one and such-a-one slew me,--to the
+two sons of his uncle. And he died. They two_ [the murderers] _were
+therefore deprived of the inheritance, and were slain._[305] Thus God
+raiseth to life the dead, and showeth you His signs (_the proof of His
+power_), that peradventure ye may understand, _and know that He who is
+able to raise to life one soul is able to raise to life many souls._
+Then your hearts became hard, _O ye Jews, so as not to accept the
+truth_, after that, and they [were] as stones, or more hard: for of
+stones there are indeed some from which rivers gush forth; and of them
+there are indeed some that cleave asunder and water issueth from them;
+and of them there are indeed some that fall down through fear of God;
+_whereas your hearts are not impressed, nor do they grow soft, nor do
+they become humble._ But God is not heedless of that which ye do: _He
+only reserveth you unto your time._
+
+   (ii. 63-69.)
+
+
+_Remember_ when Moses said to his young man _Joshua the son of Nun,
+who served him and acquired knowledge from him_, I will not cease _to
+go forward_ until I reach the place where the two seas (_the Sea of
+Greece and the Sea of Persia_) meet, or travel for a long space of
+time. And when they reached the place where they (_the two seas_) met
+they forgot their fish: _Joshua forgot to take it up, on their
+departure; and Moses forgot to remind him_; and it made its way in the
+sea by a hollow passage, _God withholding the water from it_. And when
+they had passed beyond _that place, and proceeded until the time of
+the morning-meal on the following day_, [Moses] said unto his young
+man, Bring us our morning-meal: we have experienced fatigue from this
+our journey. He replied, What thinkest thou? When we repaired to the
+rock to rest _at that place_, I forgot the fish, and none made me
+forget to mention it but the devil; and it made its way in the sea in
+a wonderful manner.--_Moses_ said, That (_namely our loss of the fish_)
+is what we were desiring; _for it is a sign unto us of our finding him
+whom we seek_. And they returned by the way that they had come,
+following the footsteps, _and came to the rock_. And they found one of
+Our servants (_namely El-Khidr_[306]) unto whom We had granted mercy
+from Us (_that is the gift of prophecy in the opinion of some, and the
+rank of a saint according to another opinion which most of the learned
+hold_), and whom We had taught knowledge from Us respecting things
+unseen.--_El-Bukh�ree hath related a tradition stating that Moses
+performed the office of a preacher among the children of Israel, and
+was asked who was the most knowing of men; to which he answered,
+I:--whereupon God blamed him for this, because he did not refer the
+knowledge thereof to Him. And God said unto him by revelation,
+Verily I have a servant at the place where the two seas meet, and he
+is more knowing than thou. Moses said, O my Lord, and how shall I meet
+with him? He answered, Thou shalt take with thee a fish, and put it
+into a measuring-vessel, and where thou shalt lose the fish, there is
+he. So he took a fish, and put it into a vessel. Then he departed, and
+Joshua the son of Nun departed with him, until they came to the rock,
+where they laid down their heads and slept. And the fish became
+agitated in the vessel, and escaped from it, and fell into the sea,
+and it made its way in the sea by a hollow passage, God withholding
+the water from the fish so that it became like a vault over it: and
+when Moses' companion awoke, he forgot to inform him of the fish._
+
+Moses said unto him [namely El-Khidr], Shall I follow thee, that thou
+mayest teach me [part] of that which thou hast been taught, for a
+direction _unto me_? He answered, Verily thou canst not have patience
+with me. For how canst thou be patient with respect to that whereof
+thou comprehendest not the knowledge?--He replied, Thou shalt find me,
+if God please, patient; and I will not disobey any command of thine.
+He said, Then if thou follow me, ask me not respecting anything: _but
+be patient_ until I give thee an account thereof. _And Moses assented
+to his condition._ And they departed, _walking along the shore of the
+sea_, until, when they embarked in the ship _that passed by them_, he
+(El-Khidr) made a hole in it, _by pulling out a plank or two planks
+from it on the outside by means of an axe when it reached the middle
+of the sea. Moses_ said _unto him_, Hast thou made a hole in it that
+thou mayest drown its people? Thou hast done a grievous thing.--(_But
+it is related that the water entered not the hole._) He replied, Did I
+not say that thou couldst not have patience with me? [Moses] said,
+Chastise me not for my forgetfulness, nor impose on me a difficulty in
+my case.--And they departed, _after they had gone forth from the
+vessel_, _walking on_, until, when they found a boy _who had not
+attained the age of knowing right and wrong, playing with other
+children, and he was the most beautiful of them in countenance_, and
+he (_El-Khidr_) slew him, _Moses_ said _unto him_, Hast thou slain an
+innocent soul, without _his having slain_ a soul? Thou hast done an
+iniquitous thing.--He replied, Did I not say that thou couldst not have
+patience with me? [Moses] said, If I ask thee concerning anything
+after this _time_, suffer me not to accompany thee. Now hast thou
+received from me an excuse _for thy separating thyself from me_.--And
+they departed [and proceeded] until, when they came to the people of a
+city (_which was Antioch[307]_), they asked food of its people; but
+they refused to entertain them: and they found therein a wall, _the
+height whereof was a hundred cubits_, which was about to fall down;
+whereupon he (_El-Khidr_) set it upright _with his hand_. _Moses_ said
+_unto him_, If thou wouldst, thou mightest have obtained pay for it,
+_since they did not entertain us, notwithstanding our want of food_.
+_El-Khidr_ said _unto him_, This shall be a separation between me and
+thee; _but before my separation from thee_, I will declare unto thee
+the interpretation of that which thou couldst not bear with patience.
+
+As to the vessel, it belonged to _ten_ poor men,[308] who pursued
+their business on the sea; and I desired to render it unsound; for
+there was behind them a king, _an unbeliever_, who took every _sound_
+vessel by force. And as to the boy, his parents were believers, and we
+feared that he would transgress against them rebelliously and
+impiously: _for, according to a tradition related by Muslim, he was
+constituted by nature an unbeliever, and had he lived he had so
+acted_; wherefore we desired that their Lord should create for them a
+better than he in virtue, and [one] more disposed than he to filial
+piety. _And God created for them a daughter, who married a prophet,
+and gave birth to a prophet, by means of whom God directed a people
+to the right way_. And as to the wall, it belonged to two orphan
+youths in the city, and beneath it was a treasure _buried_, _of gold
+and silver_, belonging to them; and their father was a righteous man;
+and thy Lord desired that they should attain their age of strength and
+take forth their treasure through the mercy of thy Lord. And I did it
+not (_namely what hath been mentioned_) of mine own will, _but by
+direction of God_. This is the interpretation of that which thou
+couldst not bear with patience.
+
+   (Chap. xviii. 59-81.)
+
+
+
+
+SAUL, DAVID, SOLOMON.
+
+
+Hast thou not considered the assembly of the children of Israel after
+_the death of_ Moses, when they said unto a prophet of theirs, _namely
+Samuel_, Set up for us a king, _under whom_ we will fight in the way
+of God? He said _unto them_, If fighting be prescribed as incumbent on
+you, will ye, peradventure, abstain from fighting? They replied, And
+wherefore should we not fight in the way of God, since we have been
+expelled from our habitations and our children _by their having been
+taken prisoners and slain?_--_The people of Goliath_ [J�loot] _had done
+thus unto them_.--But when fighting was commanded them, they turned
+back, excepting a few of them, _who crossed the river with Saul_
+[T�loot], _as will be related_. And God knoweth the offenders. _And
+the prophet begged his Lord to send a king; whereupon he consented to
+send Saul._ And their prophet said unto them, Verily God hath set up
+Saul as your king. They said, How shall he have the dominion over us,
+when we are more worthy of the dominion than he, (_for he was not of
+the royal lineage, nor of the prophetic, and he was a tanner, or a
+tender of flocks or herds,_) and he hath not been endowed with ample
+wealth? He replied, Verily God hath chosen him _as king_ over you, and
+increased him in largeness of knowledge and of body, (_for he was the
+wisest of the children of Israel at that time, and the most comely of
+them, and the most perfect of them in make,_) and God giveth his
+kingdom unto whom He pleaseth; and God is ample _in His beneficence_,
+knowing _with respect to him who is worthy of the kingdom_.--And their
+prophet said unto them, _when they demanded of him a sign in proof of
+his kingship_, Verily the sign of his kingship shall be that the ark
+shall come unto you (_in it were the images of the prophets: God sent
+it down unto Adam, and it passed into their possession; but the
+Amalekites took it from them by force: and they used to seek victory
+thereby over their enemy, and to advance it in the fight, and to trust
+in it, as He--whose name be exalted!--hath said_); therein [shall be]
+tranquillity from your Lord,[309] and relics of what the family of
+Moses and the family of Aaron have left: _namely, the two shoes (or
+sandals) of Moses, and his rod, and the turban of Aaron, and a measure
+of the manna that used to descend upon them, and the fragments of the
+tables_ [of the Law]: the angels shall bear it. Verily in this shall
+be a sign unto you _of his kingship_, if ye be believers. _Accordingly
+the angels bore it between heaven and earth, while they looked at it,
+until they placed it by Saul; whereupon they acknowledged his
+kingship, and hastened to the holy war; and he chose of their young
+men seventy thousand._
+
+And when Saul went forth with the troops _from Jerusalem, and it was
+violently hot weather, and they demanded of him water_, he said,
+Verily God will try you by a river, _that the obedient among you, and
+the disobedient, may appear_, (_and it was between the Jordan and
+Palestine_,) and whoso drinketh thereof, he is not of my party (but he
+who tasteth not thereof, he is of my party), excepting him who taketh
+forth a draught in his hand, _and is satisfied therewith, not adding
+to it; for he is of my party_;--then they drank thereof abundantly,
+excepting a few of them, _who were content only with the handful of
+water. It is related that it sufficed them for their own drinking and
+for their beasts, and they were three hundred, and somewhat more
+than ten._ And when he had passed over it, he and those who believed
+with him, they (_that is, those who had drunk_ [plentifully]) said, We
+have no power to-day _to contend_ against Goliath and his troops. _And
+they were cowardly, and passed not over it._ They [however] who held
+it as certain that they should meet God _at the resurrection_ (_and
+they were those who had passed over it_) said, How many a small body
+of men hath overcome a great body by the permission (_or will_) of
+God! And God is with the patient, _to defend and aid_.--And when they
+went forth to battle against Goliath and his troops, they said, O our
+Lord, pour upon us patience, and make firm our feet, _by strengthening
+our hearts for the holy war_, and help us against the unbelieving
+people!--And they routed them by the permission (_or will_) of God, and
+David [D�wood, vulg. D�ood], _who was in the army of Saul_, slew
+Goliath. And God gave him (_David_) the kingship _over the children of
+Israel_, and wisdom (_that is prophecy_), _after the death of Samuel
+and Saul, and they_ [namely these two gifts] _had not been given
+together to any one before him_; and He taught him what He
+pleased,[310] _as the art of making coats of mail, and the language of
+birds_. And were it not for God's repelling men, one by another,
+surely the earth had become corrupt _by the predominance of the
+polytheists and the slaughter of the Muslims and the ruin of the
+places of worship_: but God is beneficent to the peoples, _and hath
+repelled some by others_.
+
+   (ii. 247-252.)
+
+
+Hath the story of the two opposing parties come unto thee, _O
+Mohammad_, when they ascended over the walls of the oratory of _David,
+having been prevented going in unto him by the door, because of his
+being engaged in devotion?_ When they went in unto David, and he was
+frightened at them, they said, Fear not: _we are_ two opposing
+parties. _It is said that they were two parties of more than one each;
+and it is said that they were two individuals, angels, who came as two
+litigants, to admonish David, who had ninety-nine wives, and had
+desired the wife of a person who had none but her, and married her and
+taken her as his wife._[311] [One of them said,] One of us hath
+wronged the other; therefore judge between us with truth, and be not
+unjust, but direct us into the right way. Verily this my brother _in
+religion_ had nine-and-ninety ewes, and I had one ewe; and he said,
+Make me her keeper. And he overcame me in the dispute.--_And the other
+confessed him to have spoken truth._--[David] said, Verily he hath
+wronged thee in demanding thy ewe _to add her_ to his ewes; and verily
+many associates wrong one another, except those who believe and do
+righteous deeds: and few indeed are they.--_And the two angels said,
+ascending in their_ [proper or assumed] _forms to heaven, The man hath
+passed sentence against himself. So David was admonished._ And David
+perceived that We had tried him _by his love of that woman_; wherefore
+he asked pardon of his Lord, and fell down bowing himself (_or
+prostrating himself_), and repented. So We forgave him that; and
+verily for him [was ordained] a high rank with Us (_that is, an
+increase of good fortune in this world_), and [there shall be for
+him] an excellent retreat _in the world to come_.
+
+   (xxxviii. 20-24.)
+
+
+We compelled the mountains to glorify Us, with David, and the birds
+_also, on his commanding them to do so, when he experienced languor_;
+and We did _this_. And We taught him the art of making coats of mail
+(_for before his time plates of metal were used_) for you _among
+mankind in general_, that they might defend you from your suffering
+_in warring with your enemies_.--Will ye then, _O people of Mekkeh_, be
+thankful _for My favours, believing the apostles_?--And _We subjected_
+unto Solomon [Suleym�n] the wind, blowing strongly, _and being light
+at his desire_, which ran at his command[312] to the land that We
+blessed (_namely Syria_);[313] and We knew all things (_knowing that
+what We gave him would stimulate him to be submissive to his Lord_).
+And _We subjected_, of the devils, those who should dive for him _in
+the sea and bring forth from it jewels for him_, and do other work
+besides that; _that is, building, and performing other services_; and
+We watched over them, _that they might not spoil what they executed;
+for they used, when they had finished a work before night, to spoil
+it, if they were not employed in something else_.
+
+   (xxi. 79-82.)
+
+
+We gave unto David Solomon _his son_. How excellent a servant _was
+he_! For he was one who earnestly turned himself unto God, _glorifying
+and praising Him at all times_. [Remember] when, in the latter part of
+the day, _after the commencement of the declining of the sun_, the
+_mares_ standing on three feet and touching the ground with the edge
+of the fourth foot, swift in the course, were displayed before him.
+_They were a thousand mares, which were displayed before him after he
+had performed the noon-prayers, on the occasion of his desiring to
+make use of them in a holy war; and when nine hundred of them had been
+displayed, the sun set, and he had not performed the
+afternoon-prayers. So he was grieved_, and he said, Verily I have
+preferred the love of [earthly] goods above the remembrance of my
+Lord, (_that is, the performance of the afternoon-prayers_,) so that
+_the sun_ is concealed by the veil. Bring them (_namely the horses_)
+back unto me. _Therefore they brought them back._ And he began to
+sever _with his sword_ the legs and the necks, _slaughtering them,
+and_ [then] _cutting off their legs, as a sacrifice unto God, and gave
+their flesh in alms; and God gave him in compensation what was better
+than they were and swifter, namely the wind, which travelled by his
+command whithersoever he desired._--And We tried Solomon _by depriving
+him of his kingdom. This was because he married a woman of whom he
+became enamoured, and she used to worship an idol in his palace
+without his knowledge. His dominion was in his signet; and he pulled
+it off once and deposited it with his wife, who was named El-Emeeneh;
+and a jinnee came unto her in the form of Solomon, and took it from
+her._ And We placed upon his throne a [counterfeit] body; _namely that
+jinnee, who was Sakhr, or another. He sat upon the throne of
+Solomon, and the birds and other creatures surrounded him; and Solomon
+went forth, with a changed appearance, and saw him upon his throne,
+and said unto the people, I am Solomon:--but they denied him._ Then he
+returned _unto his kingdom, after some days, having obtained the
+signet and put it on, and seated himself upon his throne._[314] He
+said, O my Lord, forgive me, and give me a dominion that may not be
+to any one after me (_or beside me_); for Thou art the Liberal Giver.
+So We subjected unto him the wind, which ran gently at his command
+whithersoever he desired; and the devils [also], every builder _of
+wonderful structures_, and diver _that brought up pearls from the
+sea_, and others bound in chains _which connected their hands to their
+necks. And We said unto him_, This is Our gift, and bestow thou
+_thereof upon whomsoever thou wilt_, or refrain _from bestowing_,
+without _rendering_ an account. And verily for him [was ordained] a
+high rank with Us, and an excellent retreat.
+
+   (xxxviii. 29-39.)
+
+
+We bestowed on David and Solomon knowledge _in judging men and in the
+language of the birds and other matters_; and they said, Praise be to
+God who hath made us to excel many of His believing servants, _by the
+gift of prophecy and by the subjection of the jinn and mankind and the
+devils_. And Solomon inherited from David _the gift of prophecy and
+knowledge_; and he said, O men, we have been taught the language of
+the birds,[315] and have had bestowed on us of everything _wherewith
+prophets and kings are gifted_. Verily this is manifest
+excellence.--And his armies of jinn and men and birds were gathered
+together unto Solomon, and they were led on in order, until, when they
+came unto the valley of ants, (_which_ [was] _at Et-T��f or in Syria,
+the ants whereof_ [were] _small or great_,) an ant (_the queen of the
+ants_), _having seen the troops of Solomon_, said, O ants, enter your
+habitations, lest Solomon and his troops crush you violently, while
+they perceive not. And _Solomon_ smiled, _afterwards_ laughing at her
+saying, _which he heard from the distance of three miles, the wind
+conveying it to him: so he withheld his forces when he came in sight
+of their valley, until the ants had entered their dwellings: and his
+troops were on horses and on foot in this expedition_. And he said, O
+my Lord, inspire me to be thankful for Thy favour which Thou hast
+bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and to do righteousness which
+Thou shalt approve, and admit me, in Thy mercy, among Thy servants,
+the righteous, _the prophets and the saints_.
+
+And he examined the birds,[316] _that he might see the lapwing, that
+saw the water beneath the earth, and directed to it by pecking the
+earth, whereupon the devils used to draw it forth when Solomon wanted
+it_ [to perform the ablution] _for prayer; but he saw it not_: and he
+said, Wherefore do I not see the lapwing? Is it [one] of the
+absent?--_And when he was certain of the case he said_, I will
+assuredly punish it with a severe punishment, _by plucking out its
+feathers and its tail and casting it in the sun so that it shall not
+be able to guard against excessive thirst_; or I will slaughter it; or
+it shall bring me a manifest convincing proof _showing its
+excuse_.--And it tarried not long _before it presented itself unto
+Solomon submissively, and raised its head and relaxed its tail and its
+wings: so he forgave it; and he asked it what it had met with during
+its absence_; and it said, I have become acquainted with that
+wherewith thou hast not become acquainted, and I have come unto thee
+from Seba (_a tribe of El-Yemen_) with a sure piece of news. I found a
+woman reigning over them, _named Bilkees_, and she hath been gifted
+with everything _that princes require_, and hath a magnificent throne.
+_(Its length was eighty cubits; and its breadth, forty cubits; and its
+height, thirty cubits: it was composed of gold and silver set with
+fine pearls and with rubies and chrysolites, and its legs were of
+rubies and chrysolites and emeralds: upon it_ [were closed] _seven
+doors: to each chamber_ [through which one passed to it was] _a closed
+door_.) I found her and her people worshipping the sun instead of God,
+and the devil hath made their works to seem comely unto them, so that
+he hath hindered them from the _right_ way, wherefore they are not
+rightly directed to the worship of God, who produceth what is hidden
+(_namely the rain and vegetables_) in the heavens and the earth, and
+knoweth what they [that is, mankind and others] conceal _in their
+hearts_, and what they reveal _with their tongues_. God: there is no
+deity but He, the Lord of the magnificent throne, _between which and
+the throne of Bilkees is a vast difference_.
+
+_Solomon_ said _to the lapwing_, We will see whether thou hast spoken
+truth or whether thou art of the liars. _Then the lapwing guided them
+to the water, and it was drawn forth_ [by the devils]; _and they
+quenched their thirst and performed the ablution and prayed. Then
+Solomon wrote a letter, the form whereof was this:--From the servant of
+God, Solomon the son of David, to Bilkees the queen of Seba. In the
+name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Peace be on whomsoever
+followeth the right direction. After_ [this salutation, I say], _Act
+ye not proudly towards me; but come unto me submitting.--He then sealed
+it with musk, and stamped it with his signet, and said unto the
+lapwing_, Go with this my letter and throw it down unto them (_namely
+Bilkees and her people_): then turn away from them, _but stay near
+them_, and see what _reply_ they will return. _So the lapwing took it,
+and came unto her, and around her were her forces; and he threw it
+down into her lap; and when she saw it, she trembled with fear. Then
+she considered what was in it, and_ she said _unto the nobles of her
+people_, O nobles, an honourable (_sealed_) letter hath been thrown
+down unto me. It is from Solomon; and it is _this_:--In the name of
+God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Act ye not proudly towards me:
+but come unto me submitting.--She said, O nobles, advise me in mine
+affair. I will not decide upon a thing unless ye bear me
+witness.--They replied, We are endowed with strength and endowed with
+great valour; but the command [belongeth] to thee; therefore see what
+thou wilt command _us to do, and we will obey thee_. She said, Verily
+kings, when they enter a city, waste it, and render the mighty of its
+inhabitants abject; and thus will they do _who have sent the letter_.
+But I will send unto them with a gift, and I will see with what the
+messengers will return, _whether the gift will be accepted, or whether
+it will be rejected. If he be_ [merely] _a king, he will accept it;
+and if he be a prophet, he will not accept it.--And she sent male and
+female servants, a thousand in equal numbers_ [five hundred of each
+sex], _and five hundred bricks of gold, and a crown set with jewels,
+and musk and ambergris and other things, by a messenger with a
+letter.[317] And the lapwing hastened unto Solomon, to tell him the
+news; on hearing which, he commanded that bricks of gold and silver
+should be cast, and that a horse-course should be extended to the
+length of nine leagues from the place where he was, and that they
+should build around it a wall with battlements, of gold and silver,
+and that the handsomest of the beasts of the land and of the sea
+should be brought with the sons of the jinn on the right side of the
+horse-course and on its left._
+
+And when _the messenger_ came _with the gift, and with him his
+attendants_, unto Solomon, he [Solomon] said, Do ye aid me with
+wealth? But what God hath given me (_namely the gift of prophecy and
+the kingdom_) is better than what He hath given you, _of worldly
+goods_; yet ye rejoice in your gift, _because ye glory in the showy
+things of this world_. Return unto them _with the gift that thou hast
+brought_; for we will surely come unto them with forces with which
+they have not power [to contend], and we will surely drive them out
+from it, (_that is, from their country, Seba, which was named after
+the father of their tribe_,) abject and contemptible, _if they come
+not unto us submitting. And when the messenger returned unto her with
+the gift, she placed her throne within seven doors, within her palace,
+and her palace was within seven palaces; and she closed the doors, and
+set guards to them, and prepared to go unto Solomon, that she might
+see what he would command her to do. She departed with twelve thousand
+kings, each king having with him many thousands, and proceeded until
+she came as near to him as a league's distance; when he knew of her_
+[approach,] he said, O nobles, which of you will bring unto me her
+throne before they come unto me submitting? An �efreet, of the jinn,
+answered, I will bring it unto thee before thou shalt arise from thy
+place _wherein thou sittest to judge from morning until mid-day_; for
+I am able to do it, [and] trustworthy _with respect to the jewels that
+it compriseth and other matters. Solomon said, I desire it more
+speedily._ [And thereupon] he with whom was knowledge of the
+_revealed_ scripture (_namely_ [his Wezeer] _�saf the son of Barkhiya,
+who was a just person, acquainted with the most great name of God,
+which ensured an answer to him who invoked thereby_[318]) said, I will
+bring it unto thee before thy glance can be withdrawn _from any
+object. And he said unto him, Look at the sky. So he looked at it;
+then he withdrew his glance, and found it placed before him: for
+during his look towards the sky, �saf prayed, by the most great name,
+that God would bring it; and it so happened, the throne passing under
+the ground until it came up before the throne of Solomon._ And when he
+saw it firmly placed before him, he said, This is of the favour of my
+Lord, that He may try me, whether I shall be thankful or whether I
+shall be unthankful. And he who is thankful is thankful for _the sake
+of_ his own soul, _which will have the reward of his thankfulness_;
+and [as to] him who is ungrateful, my Lord is independent [and]
+bountiful.
+
+[Then Solomon] said, Alter ye her throne so that it may not be known
+by her, that we may see whether she be rightly directed _to the
+knowledge thereof_, or whether she be of those who are not rightly
+directed _to the knowledge of that which is altered. He desired
+thereby to try her intelligence. So they altered it, by adding to it,
+or taking from it, or in some other manner._ And when she came, it was
+said _unto her_, Is thy throne like this? She answered, As though it
+were the same. (_She answered them ambiguously like as they had
+questioned her ambiguously, not saying, Is this thy throne?--and had
+they so said, she had answered, Yes._) _And when Solomon saw her
+knowledge, he said_, And we have had knowledge bestowed on us before
+her, and have been Muslims. But what she worshipped instead of God
+hindered her _from worshipping Him_; for she was of an unbelieving
+people.--It was said unto her _also_, Enter the palace. _It had a floor
+of white, transparent glass, beneath which was running water, wherein
+were fish. Solomon had made it on its being said unto him that her
+legs and feet were_ [hairy] _like the legs of an ass._ And when she
+saw it, she imagined it to be a great water, and she uncovered her
+legs, _that she might wade through it; and Solomon was on his throne
+at the upper end of the palace, and he saw that her legs and her feet
+were handsome_. He said _unto her_, Verily it is a palace evenly
+spread with glass. _And he invited her to embrace El-Isl�m_,
+[whereupon] she said, O my Lord, verily I have acted unjustly towards
+mine own soul, _by worshipping another than Thee_, and I resign
+myself, with Solomon, unto God, the Lord of the worlds. _And he
+desired to marry her; but he disliked the hair upon her legs; so the
+devils made for him the depilatory of quick-lime, wherewith she
+removed the hair, and he married her; and he loved her, and confirmed
+her in her kingdom. He used to visit her every month once, and to
+remain with her three days; and her reign expired on the expiration
+of the reign of Solomon. It is related that he began to reign when he
+was thirteen years of age, and died at the age of three and fifty
+years. Extolled be the perfection of Him to the duration of whose
+dominion there is no end!_
+
+   (xxvii. 15-45.)
+
+
+_We subjected_ unto Solomon the wind, which travelled in the morning
+(_unto the period when the sun began to decline_) _the distance of_ a
+month's _journey_, and in the evening _from the commencement of the
+declining of the sun into its setting_ a month's _journey_. And We
+made the fountain of molten brass to flow for him _three days with
+their nights_ [in every month], _as water floweth;[319] and the people
+worked until the day_ [of its flowing], _with that which had been
+given into Solomon_. And of the jinn [were] those who worked in his
+presence, by the will of his Lord; and such of them as swerved from
+_obedience to_ Our command We will cause to taste of the punishment of
+hell _in the world to come_ (_or, as it is said by some, We cause to
+taste of its punishment in the present world, an angel beating them
+with a scourge from hell, the stripe of which burneth them_). They
+made for him whatever he pleased, of lofty halls (_with steps whereby
+to ascend to them_), and images (_for they were not forbidden by his
+law_[320]), and large dishes, like great tanks for watering camels,
+_around each of which assembled a thousand men, eating from it_, and
+cooking-pots standing firmly _on their legs, cut out from the
+mountains in El-Yemen, and to which they ascended by ladders_. _And We
+said_, Work, O family of David, _in the service of God_, with
+thanksgiving _unto Him for what He hath given you_:--but few of My
+servants are the thankful. And when We decreed that he (_namely,
+Solomon_) should die, _and he died, and remained standing, and leaning
+upon his staff for a year, dead, the jinn meanwhile performing those
+difficult works as they were accustomed to do, not knowing of his
+death, until the worm ate his staff, whereupon he fell down_, nothing
+showed them his death but the eating reptile (_the worm_) that ate his
+staff.[321] And when he fell down, the jinn plainly perceived that if
+they had known things unseen (_of which things was the death of
+Solomon_), they had not continued in the ignominious affliction (_that
+is, in their difficult works_), _imagining that he was alive,
+inconsistently with their opinion that they knew things unseen. And
+that the period was a year was known by calculating what the worm had
+eaten of his staff since his death in each day and night or other
+space of time._ (xxxiv. 11-13.)
+
+
+
+
+_JONAH._
+
+
+Verily Jonah [Yoonus] was one of the apostles. [Remember] when he fled
+unto the laden ship, _being angry with his people, because the
+punishment wherewith he had threatened them did not fall upon them;
+wherefore he embarked in the ship; and it became stationary in the
+midst of the sea: so the sailors said, Here is a slave who hath fled
+from his master, and the lot will discover him_:--and he cast lots
+_with those who were in the ship_, and he was [the] one upon whom the
+lot fell. _They therefore cast him into the sea_, and the fish
+swallowed him; and he was reprehensible, _for having gone to the sea,
+and embarked in the ship, without the permission of his Lord_. And had
+he not been of those who glorified God (_by his saying often in the
+belly of the fish, There is no god but Thou! I extol Thy perfection!
+Verily I have been of the offenders!_), he had remained in his belly
+until the day of resurrection.[322] And We cast him on the plain land,
+_the same day, or after three or seven days, or twenty or forty days_;
+and he was sick; and We caused a gourd plant[323] to grow up over him,
+_to shade him_. _It had a trunk, contrary to what is the case of
+gourds in general, being miraculously produced for him._[324] _And a
+wild she-goat came to him evening and morning, of whose milk he
+drank until he became strong._ And We sent him _after that, as
+before_, unto _his people in Nineveh, in the land of El-Mosil_, a
+hundred thousand, or they were a greater number by _twenty or thirty
+or seventy thousand_; and they believed _on beholding the punishment
+wherewith they had been threatened_;[325] wherefore We allowed them
+enjoyment _of their goods_ for a time, _until the expiration of their
+terms of life_.
+
+   (xxxvii. 139-148.)
+
+
+
+
+_EZRA._
+
+
+[Hast thou not considered] him who passed by a city (_which was
+Jerusalem_), _riding upon an ass, and having with him a basket of figs
+and a vessel of the juice of grapes_ (_and he was �Ozeyr_ [Ezra]), and
+it was falling down upon its roofs, _Nebuchadnezzar having ruined it_?
+He said, _wondering at the power of God_, How will God quicken this
+after its death?--And God caused him to die for a hundred years. Then
+He raised him to life: [and] He said _unto him_, How long hast thou
+tarried _here_?--He answered I have tarried a day, or part of a
+day.--_For he slept in the first part of the day, and was deprived of
+his life, and was reanimated at sunset._ He said Nay, thou hast
+tarried a hundred years: but look at thy food and thy drink: they have
+not become changed by time: and look at thine ass.--_And he beheld it
+dead, and its bones white and shining.--We have done this that thou
+mayest know_, and that We may make thee a sign _of the resurrection_
+unto men. And look at the bones _of thine ass_, how We will raise
+them; then We will clothe them with flesh.--_So he looked at them, and
+they had become put together, and were clothed with flesh, and life
+was breathed into it, and it brayed._ Therefore when it had been made
+manifest to him he said, I know that God is able to accomplish
+everything. (ii. 261.)
+
+
+
+
+_THE MESSIAH._
+
+
+_Remember_ when the wife of �Imr�n[326] said, (_when she had become
+aged, and desired offspring, wherefore she supplicated God, and became
+sensible of pregnancy_,) O my Lord, verily I devote unto Thee what is
+in my womb, to be dedicated _to the service of Thy holy house_: then
+accept [it] from me; for Thou art the Hearer _of prayer_, the Knower
+_of intentions_. _And �Imr�n perished while she was pregnant._ And
+when she gave birth to it, (_namely her daughter; and she was hoping
+that it might be a boy; since none but boys were dedicated_,) she
+said, O my Lord, verily I have brought forth a female, (and God well
+knew what she had brought forth,) and the male is not as the female,
+_the latter not being fit for the service_ [of the temple]; and I have
+named her Mary [Maryam]; and I beg thy protection for her and her
+offspring from the accursed devil.[327] (_In the traditions_ [it is
+said], _No child is born but the devil hath touched it at the time of
+its birth, wherefore it first raiseth its voice by crying, excepting
+Mary and her son._[328]) And her Lord accepted her (_that is, He
+accepted Mary from her mother_) with a gracious acceptance, and caused
+her to grow with an excellent growth, _as though she grew in a day as
+a child_ [generally] _groweth in a month_. _Her mother took her to the
+doctors, the keepers of the Holy House, and said, Receive ye this
+devoted child. And they eagerly desired her, because she was the
+daughter of their chief. But Zechariah said, I am more worthy of
+having her; for her maternal aunt is with me. They however replied,
+Nay, but we will cast lots.--So they departed (and they were nine and
+twenty) to the river Jordan, and cast their divining arrows on the
+understanding that he whose arrow should become steady in the water
+and rise should be_ [acknowledged] _most worthy of her; and the arrow
+of Zechariah became steady, and he took her, and built for her a
+chamber in the temple, with stairs to which no one ascended but
+himself. And he used to bring her her food and her drink and her
+ointment; and used to find with her the fruits of winter in summer,
+and the fruits of summer in winter, as He--whose name be exalted!--hath
+said_, And Zechariah maintained her. Whenever Zechariah went in to her
+in the chamber, he found with her provisions. He said, O Mary, whence
+came to thee this? She answered, (_being then a little child_,) It is
+from God: _He bringeth it to me from Paradise_: for God supplieth whom
+He pleaseth without reckoning.
+
+Then, _when he saw this, and knew that He who was able to produce a
+thing out of its season was able to give a child in old age, (and the
+people of his house had become extinct,)_ Zechariah supplicated his
+Lord, _when he had entered the chamber to pray in the latter part of
+the night_. He said, O my Lord, give me from Thee a good offspring (_a
+righteous son_); for Thou art the Hearer of prayer.--And the angels
+(_by which is meant Gabriel_) called to him as he stood praying in the
+chamber (_that is, the temple_), saying, God promiseth thee John
+[Yahy�], who shall be a verifier of [the] Word _which cometh_ from
+God, (_that is, Jesus_ [�Eesa]; _for he is the Spirit of God, and was
+named_ [the] _Word because he was created by the word Be_,) and a
+chief, (_or one followed_,) and chaste, and a prophet, of the
+righteous. (_It is related that he neither did any sin nor intended
+any._)--He said, O my Lord, how shall I have a son, when old age hath
+come upon me, _when I have attained the utmost age, a hundred and
+twenty years_, and my wife is barren, _and hath attained the age of
+eight and ninety_?--He answered, _It shall be_ thus. God will do what
+He pleaseth.--He said, O my Lord, give me a sign.--He replied, Thy sign
+[shall be] that thou shalt not speak unto men for three days, except
+by signal; but remember thy Lord often, and glorify [Him] in the
+evening and in the morning.
+
+   (iii. 31-36.)
+
+
+And he went forth unto his people from the chamber, and made a sign
+unto them, [as though he would say] Glorify [God] in the morning and
+in the evening _as usual_. _And he knew by his being prevented from
+speaking unto them that his wife had conceived John. And after his
+birth, by some years, God said unto him_, O John, receive the book
+(_that is, the Law_) with resolution. And We bestowed on him wisdom
+(_the gift of prophecy_) [when he was yet] a child, _three years of
+age_, and compassion from Us _for mankind_, and [a disposition to
+bestow] alms _upon them_. And he was pious, and dutiful to his
+parents, and was not proud [nor] rebellious _toward his Lord_; and
+peace _from Us_ [was] on him on the day when he was born, and on the
+day of his death, and [shall be] on the day when he shall be raised to
+life. (xix. 12-15.)
+
+And _remember_ when the angels (_that is, Gabriel_) said, O Mary,
+verily God hath chosen thee and hath purified thee and hath chosen
+thee above the women of the peoples _of thy time_. O Mary, be devout
+towards thy Lord and prostrate thyself and bow down with those who bow
+down: _pray with those who pray_.--This is [one] of the announcements
+of things unseen _by thee_: We reveal it unto thee, _O Mohammad_; for
+thou wast not with them when they cast their divining arrows _that it
+might appear to them_ which of them should rear Mary, and thou wast
+not with them when they disputed together _as to rearing
+her_.--_Remember_ when the angels (_that is, Gabriel_) said, O Mary,
+verily God promiseth thee [the] Word from Him, whose name [shall be]
+the Messiah [El-Meseeh], Jesus the son of Mary, honourable in this
+world _by his prophetic office_, and in the world to come _by his
+intercession and high stations_, and of those admitted near _unto
+God_; and he shall speak unto men in the cradle, and when of full
+age,[329] and [he shall be] of the righteous.--She said, O my Lord, how
+shall I have a son, when a man hath not touched me?--He answered, _It
+shall be_ thus; God will create what He pleaseth: when He determineth
+a thing, He only saith unto it, Be,--and it is. And He will teach him
+writing and wisdom and the Law and the Gospel, and _constitute him_ an
+apostle to the children of Israel, _in youth or after adolescence_.
+_And Gabriel breathed into the bosom of her shift; whereupon she
+conceived; and those events of her history which are related in the
+Soorat Maryam_ [Kur. xix.] _happened_.
+
+   (iii. 37-43.)
+
+
+Relate in the book (_that is, the Kur-�n_) _the history of_ Mary, when
+she retired from her family to a place towards the east, _in the
+house_, and she took a veil [to conceal herself] from them; and We
+sent unto her our spirit _Gabriel_, and he appeared unto her as a
+perfect man. She said, I beg the Compassionate to preserve me from
+thee! If thou be a pious person, _thou wilt withdraw from me_.--He
+replied, I am only the messenger of thy Lord [to inform thee] that He
+will give thee a pure son, _endowed with the gift of prophecy_. She
+said, How shall I have a son, when a man hath not touched me, and I am
+not a harlot? He answered, Thus _shall it be: a son shall be created
+unto thee without a father_. Thy Lord saith, This is easy unto Me; and
+_thus shall it be_ that We may make him a sign unto men, _showing Our
+power_, and a mercy from Us _unto him who shall believe in him_: for
+it is a thing decreed.--And she conceived him; and she retired with
+him [yet unborn] to a distant place _far from her family_; and the
+pains of childbirth urged her to repair to the trunk of a palm-tree
+_that she might lean against it_. _And she gave birth to the child,
+which was conceived and formed and born in an hour._[330] She said,
+Oh! would that I had died before this _event_, and had been a thing
+forgotten [and] unnoticed!--But he who was below her (_namely Gabriel,
+who was on a lower place than she_) called to her, Grieve not. God
+hath made below thee a rivulet: and shake thou towards thee the trunk
+of the palm-tree (_which was dried-up_); it shall let fall upon thee
+ripe dates, fresh-gathered: therefore eat _of the dates_, and drink
+_of the water of the rivulet_, and be of cheerful eye _on account of
+the child_: and if thou see any one of mankind, _asking thee
+concerning the child_, say, I have vowed unto the Compassionate an
+abstinence _from speech with mankind respecting him and other
+matters_; therefore I will not speak to-day unto a man _after this_.
+
+And she brought him [namely the child] unto her people, carrying him.
+They said, O Mary, thou hast done a strange thing. O sister of Aaron,
+(_he was a righteous man; and the meaning is, O thou who art like him
+in chastity_,[331]) thy father was not a man of wickedness, nor was
+thy mother a harlot. _Then whence gottest thou this child?_--And she
+made a sign _to them_, [pointing] towards him, [namely the child, as
+though she would say,] _Speak ye unto him._ They said, How shall we
+speak unto him who is in the cradle, an infant? He [however] said,
+Verily I am the servant of God:[332] He hath given me the book _of the
+Gospel_, and hath appointed me a prophet; and He hath made me blessed
+wherever I shall be, and hath commanded me to observe prayer and give
+alms as long as I shall live, and _hath made me_ dutiful to my mother,
+and hath not made me proud [nor] wicked. And peace _from God_ [was] on
+me on the day when I was born, and [will be] on the day when I shall
+die, and on the day when I shall be raised to life.--This [was] Jesus
+the son of Mary. _I have spoken_ the saying of truth, concerning which
+they (_namely the Christians_) doubt, _saying that Jesus is the son of
+God_. It is not [meet] for God to get a son. Extolled be His purity
+_from that_ [imputation]! When He decreeth a thing _that He desireth
+to bring into existence_, He only saith unto it, Be,--and it is: _and
+thus He created Jesus the son of Mary without a father_.--And _say_,
+Verily God is my Lord and your Lord: therefore worship ye Him: this is
+a right way, _leading to Paradise_. But the sects have differed among
+themselves; _that is, the Christians have differed concerning Jesus,
+as to whether he be the son of God, or a deity with Him, or the third
+of three_. And woe unto them who have disbelieved _in that which hath
+been stated, or in other matters_, on account of the assembly of a
+great day, _the day of resurrection, and its terrors_. How will they
+hear, and how _will they_ see, on the day when they shall come unto Us
+_in the world to come_! But the offenders to-day (_that is, in the
+present world_) are in a manifest error: _they are deaf, so that they
+hear not the truth; and blind, so that they see it not_. And do thou,
+_O Mohammad_, warn them (_namely the unbelievers of Mekkeh_) of the
+day of sighing (_the day of resurrection, when the evil-doer shall
+sigh for his having neglected to do good in the present world_),
+when the command _for their punishment_ shall be fulfilled, while they
+(_in the present world_) are in a state of heedlessness _with respect
+to it_, and while they believe not _therein_. Verily We shall inherit
+the earth and whomsoever are upon it (_the heedless and others; they
+being destroyed_); and unto Us shall they be brought back _to be
+recompensed_.
+
+   (xix. 16-41.)
+
+
+_And when God sent him_ [Jesus] _to the children of Israel, he said
+unto them, Verily I am the apostle of God unto you_; for I have come
+unto you with a sign from your Lord; for I will make for you of earth
+the similitude of a bird, and will breathe into it, and it shall be a
+bird,[333] by the permission (_or will_) of God;[334] (_and he made
+for them a bat; for it is the most perfect of birds in make; and it
+flew, while they looked at it; but when it had gone out of their
+sight, it fell down dead_;) and I will cure the blind from his birth,
+and the leper; (_and he cured in one day fifty thousand, by prayer, on
+the condition of faith_;) and I will raise to life the dead, by the
+permission of God; (_this he repeated to deny his divinity: and he
+raised to life ��riz_ [Lazarus] _a friend of his; and a son of the old
+woman, and the daughter of the publican; and they lived, and children
+were born to them; and Shem the son of Noah, who died immediately_;)
+and I will tell you what ye eat and what ye store up in your houses.
+Verily therein will be a sign unto you, if ye be believers. And _I
+have come unto you_ as a verifier of that which was before me, of the
+Law, and to make lawful unto you part of what was made unlawful to
+you _therein_; (_and he made lawful to them, of fish and fowls,
+whatsoever is without fin or spur; and it is said that he made lawful
+all, and that 'part' is used in the sense of 'the whole:'_) and I have
+come unto you with a sign from your Lord; therefore fear ye God, and
+obey me _in that which I command you, as to the confession of the
+unity of God and the service of Him_. Verily God is my Lord and your
+Lord; therefore worship Him. This is [the] right way. _But they
+accused him of falsehood and believed not in him._ And when Jesus
+perceived their unbelief, he said, Who [will be] my helpers for God?
+The apostles[335] answered, We [will be] the helpers of God. We have
+believed in God; and bear thou witness, _O Jesus_, that we are Muslims
+[or resigned]. O our Lord, we have believed in that which Thou hast
+sent down _of the Gospel_, and we have followed the Apostle, _Jesus_;
+therefore write us down among those who bear witness _of Thy unity and
+of the truth of Thine apostle_.--And they (_that is, the unbelievers
+among the children of Israel_) devised a stratagem _against Jesus, to
+slay him treacherously_; but God devised a stratagem _against them;
+for He put the likeness of Jesus upon one who intended his slaughter,
+and they slew him; and Jesus was taken up_ [into heaven],[336] and
+God is the best of those who devise stratagems.... _It is related that
+God sent a cloud to Jesus, and it took him up; but his mother clung
+unto him and wept: whereupon he said unto her, Verily the resurrection
+will unite us.--It is also related that he will descend shortly before
+the resurrection and judge according to the law of our prophet_
+[Mohammad], _slay Antichrist and the swine, break the cross, and
+impose the capitation-tax_ [on unbelievers].--_Also, that he will
+remain, according to one tradition, seven years; according to another,
+forty years; and die, and be prayed over: but it is probable that_ [by
+the latter period] _is meant the whole time of his tarrying upon the
+earth, before the ascension and after_.
+
+   (iii. 43--47.)
+
+
+_Remember_ when the apostle said, O Jesus, son of Mary, is thy Lord
+able to cause a table to descend unto us from heaven?[337] He replied,
+Fear God, _in demanding signs_, if ye be believers. They said, We
+desire that we may eat therefrom, and that our hearts may be at ease
+_in consequence of additional evidence_, and we may know, _with
+increased knowledge_, that thou hast spoken truth unto us _in
+asserting thyself to be a prophet_, and may be witnesses
+thereof.--Jesus the son of Mary said, O God, our Lord, cause a table to
+descend unto us from heaven, that it (_namely the day of its descent_)
+may be unto us a festival,[338] unto the first of us and the last of
+us (_or those who shall come after us_), and a sign from Thee _of Thy
+power, and of my prophetic office_; and provide us with food
+_thereby_; for Thou art the best of providers.--God said, _in reply to
+him_, Verily I will cause it to descend unto you; but whosoever of you
+shall disbelieve after _its descent_, I will surely punish him with a
+punishment wherewith I will not punish any [other] of the
+peoples.--_And the angels descended with it from heaven: upon it
+were seven cakes of bread and seven fishes; and they ate of them until
+they were satisfied. And in a tradition related by Ibn-�Abb�s it is
+said that the table brought down from heaven bread and flesh, and they
+were commanded not to act deceitfully, nor to store up for the morrow;
+but they_ [that is, some of the people] _did so, and were transformed
+into apes and swine_.
+
+   (v. 112-115.)
+
+
+Propound unto them, as an example, the inhabitants of the city _of
+Antioch_, when the apostles _of Jesus_ came unto it;[339] when We sent
+unto them two,[340] and they charged them with falsehood; wherefore
+We strengthened _them_ with a third;[341] and they said, Verily we are
+sent unto you. They replied, Ye are not [aught] save men like us, and
+the Compassionate hath not revealed anything: ye do nothing but lie.
+They said, Our Lord knoweth that we are indeed sent unto you; and
+naught is imposed on us but the delivering of a plain message, _shown
+to be true by manifest proofs, namely the cure of him who hath been
+born blind and of the leper and the sick, and the raising of the
+dead_. [The people of Antioch] said, Verily we presage evil from you;
+_for the rain is withheld from us on your account_: if ye desist not,
+we will assuredly stone you, and a painful punishment shall surely
+betide you from us. [The apostles] replied, Your evil luck is with you
+_because of your unbelief_. If ye have been warned, _will ye presage
+evil and disbelieve_? Nay, ye are an exorbitant people.--And there came
+from the furthest part of the city a man (_namely Habeeb the
+carpenter, who had believed in the apostles_) running: he said, O my
+people, follow the apostles: follow those who ask not of you a
+recompense, and who are rightly directed. _And it was said unto him,
+Art thou of their religion? He replied_, And why should I not worship
+Him who hath created me, and unto whom ye shall be brought back _after
+death_? Shall I take deities beside Him? If the Compassionate be
+pleased to afflict me, their intercession will not avert from me
+aught, nor will they deliver. Verily, in that case (_if I worshipped
+aught but God_), I should be in a manifest error. Verily I believe in
+your Lord; therefore hear ye me.--_But they stoned him, and he
+died;[342] and_ it was said _unto him at his death_, Enter thou into
+Paradise. _And it is said that he entered it alive._ He said, O would
+that my people knew my Lord's forgiveness of me and His having made me
+[one] of those who are honoured?--And We sent not down against his
+people after him (_that is, after his death_) an army _of angels_ from
+heaven _to destroy them_, nor were We sending down _angels to destroy
+any one_. It (_namely their punishment_) was naught but one cry _which
+Gabriel uttered against them_; and lo, they were extinct.
+
+   (xxxvi. 12-28.)
+
+
+_We have cursed the Jews_ ... for their disbelief _in Jesus_ and their
+uttering against Mary a great calumny and their saying, We have killed
+the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, the apostle of God,--Yet they
+killed him not nor crucified him; but one (_namely the person whom
+they crucified_) was made to appear to them like _Jesus_; and verily
+those who disagreed respecting him were in doubt concerning him, _or
+his slaughter; for some of them said, when they saw the slain person,
+The face is the face of Jesus; but the body is not his body:--and
+others said, It is he_:[343]--they had no knowledge of him; but only
+followed an opinion. And they did not really kill him; but God took
+him up unto Himself; and God is mighty [and] wise. And there is not of
+the people of the Scripture _one_ but he shall assuredly believe in
+him (_namely Jesus_) before his death; _that is, before his own death,
+or before the death of Jesus, when he descendeth shortly before the
+resurrection_;[344] and on the day of resurrection he (_namely
+Jesus_) shall be a witness against them.
+
+   (iv. 155-157.)
+
+
+When God shall say, _on the day of resurrection_, O Jesus, son of
+Mary, hast thou said unto men, Take me and my mother as two deities,
+beside God?--_Jesus_ shall answer, _after being agitated_ (_or after it
+shall have thundered_), Extolled be Thy purity _from the imputation of
+aught that is unsuitable to Thee, as the having a partner, and other
+things_! It is not for me to say that which is not right for me. Had I
+said it, Thou hadst known it. Thou knowest what is in me; but I know
+not what is in Thee; for Thou well-knowest things unseen. I said not
+unto them aught but that which Thou commandedst me; _namely_ Worship
+ye God, my Lord and your Lord;--and I was a watcher over them,
+_commanding them to abstain from what they said_, while I remained
+among them: but since Thou hast taken me to Thyself,[345] Thou hast
+been the watcher over them, and Thou art the witness of all things. If
+Thou punish them, (_that is, such of them as have continued in
+unbelief_,) they are Thy servants _and Thou mayest do with them as
+Thou pleasest_; and if Thou forgive them, (_that is, such of them as
+have believed_,) Thou art the Mighty, the Wise.
+
+   (v. 116-118.)
+
+
+When the son of Mary was proposed as an instance (_when the saying of
+God was revealed, Verily ye and what ye worship beside God_ [shall be]
+_fuel of hell_ [Kur. xxi. 98], _and the polytheists said, We are
+content for our gods to be with Jesus, for he hath been worshipped
+beside God_,[346]) lo, thy people, _the polytheists_, cried out _in
+joy_ thereat, and they said, [Are] our gods better, or [is] he? _We
+are content for our gods to be with him._--They proposed not it
+(_namely the instance_) unto thee otherwise than as a cause of dispute
+(_knowing that the word 'what' applieth to that which is not endowed
+with reason; so that it doth not reflect upon Jesus, on whom be
+peace!_): yea, they are a contentious people. He (_namely Jesus_) is
+no other than a servant whom We favoured _with the gift of prophecy_;
+and We proposed him, _by reason of his having come into existence
+without a father_, as an instance _of the divine power_ unto the
+children of Israel. And if We pleased, We would substitute for you
+angels to succeed in the earth.[347] And verily he (_namely Jesus_)
+_shall be_ a sign of the [last] hour:[348] _it shall be known by his
+descending_: wherefore doubt not thereof.--And _say unto them_, Follow
+ye me _in confessing the unity of God_: this, _which I command you to
+follow_, is a right way. And let not the devil turn you away _from the
+religion of God_; for he is unto you a manifest enemy.--And when Jesus
+came with manifest proofs (_with miracles and ordinances_), he said, I
+have come unto you with wisdom (_with prophecy and with the ordinances
+of the Gospel_), and to explain unto you part of [the things]
+concerning which ye disagree: therefore fear ye God, and obey me.
+Verily God is my Lord and your Lord; wherefore worship ye Him: this is
+a right way.--But the parties disagreed among themselves _respecting
+Jesus, whether he were God, or the son of God, or the third of three_:
+and woe unto them that transgressed _in that which they said
+respecting Jesus_, because of the punishment of an afflicting day!
+
+   (xliii. 57-65.)
+
+
+Verily the similitude of Jesus in the sight of God is as the
+similitude of Adam. He created him (_Adam_) of earth: then He said
+unto him, Be,--and he was. _In like manner he said unto Jesus, Be,
+without a father,--and he was. This is_ the truth from thy Lord:
+therefore be not thou of those who doubt. And whosoever _of the
+Christians_ argueth with thee respecting him, after the knowledge that
+hath come unto thee _concerning him_, say, Come ye, let us call our
+sons and your sons and our wives and your wives, and ourselves and
+yourselves _will assemble_: then we will invoke, and will lay the
+curse of God on those who lie, _saying, O God, curse the liar
+respecting the nature of Jesus!--And the prophet invited a company from
+Nejr�n to do so, when they had argued with him respecting Jesus; and
+they said_, [Wait] _until we consider our case: then we will come unto
+thee. And their counsellor said, Ye know his prophetic office, and
+that no people have execrated a prophet but they have perished. They
+however quieted the man, and departed, and came unto the prophet. And
+he had come forth, having with him El-Hasan and El-Hoseyn and F�timeh
+and �Alee; and he said unto them, When I pray, say ye Amen. But they
+refused to execrate, and made peace with him on the condition of their
+paying tribute._--Verily this is indeed the true history, and there is
+no deity but God, and verily God is indeed the Mighty, the Wise.
+
+   (iii. 52-55.)
+
+
+O people of the Scripture (_that is, of the Gospel_), exceed not the
+just bounds in your religion,[349] nor say of God [aught] but the
+truth. The Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, [was] only the apostle of
+God, and His Word, which he transmitted unto Mary, and a spirit (_that
+is, a being possessing a spirit_) from Him. (_He is mentioned in
+conjunction with God, in order to show him honour, and is not, as ye
+assert, the son of God, or a God with Him, or the third of three; for
+the being possessing a spirit is compound, and the Deity must be
+confessed to be pure from the imputation of composition and the
+relationship of a compound being to Him._) Therefore believe in God
+and His apostles, and say not, _There are_ three _gods, God and Jesus
+and his mother_.[350] Abstain _from this, and say what will be_ better
+for you; _that is, assert the unity of God_. God is only one god.
+Extolled be His purity from the imputation of His having a son! To Him
+belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth:
+and God is a sufficient witness _thereof_. The Messiah doth not
+disdain to be a servant unto God, nor do the angels who are admitted
+near _unto Him_. (iv. 169, 170.)
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] See prefatory note, p. 2.
+
+[2] _i.e._, the glory of the clan.
+
+[3] Battles.
+
+[4] This and the other verses quoted in this chapter are taken from
+the translations of old Arab poetry contributed by Mr. C. J. Lyall to
+the _Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal (Translations from
+the Ham�seh and the Agh�n�; The Mo'allaqah of Zuheyr)_. They imitate
+the metres of the original Arabic verse, but are nevertheless as
+literal as need be. The transliteration of proper names in the verses
+(and in other quotations) has been assimilated to the system adopted
+by Mr. Lane, from which in this work I only depart in the case of
+names which by frequent use have become almost the property of the
+English language.
+
+[5] A tribe.
+
+[6] The subject of the poem, mentioned in the second hemistich of the
+third verse as 'thou,' whose death the supposed author ('one valiant')
+avenged.
+
+[7] For these and other stories about H�tim, see Caussin de Perceval's
+_Essai sur l'Histoire des Arabes_, ii. 607-628: a book which is a
+treasury of Arab life, and abounds in those anecdotes which reveal
+more of the character of the people than whole volumes of ethnological
+treatise.
+
+[8] The later Arabic poets were mostly incapable of the genius of the
+old singers: the times had changed, and the ancient poetry appeared
+almost as exotic to their ideas as it does to our own. No greater
+mistake can be made than to judge of the old poets by such a writer as
+Beh�-ed-deen Zoheyr, of whom Professor E. H. Palmer has lately given
+us so beautiful a version. There is nothing in common between El-Beh�
+and �Antarah--scarcely even the language.
+
+[9] Deutsch, _Lit. Remains_, 453, 454: cp. N�ldeke, _Beitr�ge zur
+Kennt. d. Poesie d. alten Araber_, xxiii., xxiv.
+
+[10] Ezekiel xxvii. 19-24. The identifications of the various names
+with Arabian towns are partly conjectural, but the general reference
+is clearly to Arabia. Cf. the 'Speaker's' _Commentary_, vi. 122; and
+the interpretations of Hitzig, Movers, Tuch, and M�nant.
+
+[11] C. P. Tiele, _Outlines of the History of Religion_: tr. J. E.
+Carpenter, p. 63.
+
+[12] Deutsch. _Lit. Remains_, pp. 70-72.
+
+[13] R. Bosworth Smith, _Mohammed and Mohammedanism_, 2d ed. p. 131.
+
+[14] Or 'read,' 'recite.' These lines are the beginning of the 96th
+Soorah of the Kur-�n.
+
+[15] Sir W. Muir,_ Life of Mahomet_, 402.
+
+[16] The following is an abridgment: cp. Muir 485, and the
+_Seeret-er-Rasool_, tr. Weil, ii. 316, 317.
+
+[17] An attempt has been made to explain away Mohammad's fidelity to
+Khadeejeh, by adducing the motive of pecuniary prudence. Mohammad,
+they say, was a poor man, Khadeejeh rich and powerfully connected; any
+_affaire de c[oe]ur_ on the husband's part would have been followed by
+a divorce and the simultaneous loss of property and position. It is
+hardly necessary to point out that the fear of poverty--a matter of
+little consequence in Arabia and at that time--would not restrain a
+really sensual man for five-and-twenty years; especially when it is by
+no means certain that Khadeejeh, who loved him with all her heart in a
+motherly sort of way, would have procured a divorce for any cause
+soever. And this explanation leaves Mohammad's loving remembrance of
+his old wife unaccounted for. If her money alone had curbed him for
+twenty-five years, one would expect him at her death to throw off the
+cloak, thank Heaven for the deliverance, and enter at once upon the
+rake's progress. He does none of those things. The story of Zeyneb,
+the divorced wife of Zeyd, is a favourite weapon with Mohammad's
+accusers. It is not one to enter upon here; but I may say that the
+lady's own share in the transaction has never been sufficiently
+considered. In all probability Zeyd, the freed slave, was glad enough
+to get rid of his too well-born wife, and certainly he bore no rancour
+against Mohammad. The real point of the story is the question of
+forged revelations, which is discussed below.
+
+[18] 'The Prophet said: Whosoever shall bear witness that there is one
+God; and that Mohammad is His servant and messenger; and that Jesus
+Christ is His servant and messenger, and that he is the son of the
+hand-maid of God, and that he is the Word of God, the word which was
+sent to Mary, and Spirit from God; and [shall bear witness] that there
+is truth in Heaven and Hell, will enter into paradise, whatever sins
+he may be chargeable with.'--_Mishk�t-el-Mas�beeh_, i. 11.
+
+[19] R. Bosworth Smith: _Mohammed and Mohammedanism_, 2d ed., 255-257.
+
+[20] _The People of Turkey_, by a Consul's Daughter, preface, xxii.
+
+[21] _Mishk�t-el-Mas�beeh_, i. 46, 51.
+
+[22] Dr. E. Blyden. See his article on Mohammadanism in Western Africa
+in _The People of Africa_. (New York, 1871.)
+
+[23] It may be interesting to some readers to judge for themselves of
+the different characteristics of these four groups of soorahs; and
+though in a series of translated selections it will hardly be possible
+to gain a thorough appreciation of the change of style or matter, some
+notion may nevertheless be obtained by reading the First Part of these
+Selections in the following order (the numbers referring to the
+figures at the head of each extract):--
+
+Mekka--First Period:--xvii., lxvi., lxv., xviii., xxxvii., xxxviii.,
+xxxix., xl., xli., xlii., xliii., xxx., iii., i.
+
+Second Period:--lx., xlvii., xxix., viii., xiv., lxiii., vi., li.,
+lxii., xxxi., xliv., lxxxvi., lxxxi., xlv., xxxvi., xx.
+
+Third Period:--lxxiii., lxiv., xxxv., liii., xlvi., xvi., lxxvi.,
+xxxii., lix., xxi., vii., lv., xix., xii., x., lxxii., xxviii., xi.
+
+Medina:--ii., lxxxiv., xxxiii., lxxvii., xxxiv., xxiv., xxvi., ix.,
+lii., lxxix., lxvii., lxi., iv., lxxi., lxix., lxx., lxxv., lxxxiii.,
+xlviii., v., lxxviii., xxii., lvi., lvii., xlix., xxvii., xxv., xiii.,
+lviii., lxxiv., l., liv., xxiii., lxxx., xv., lxviii., lxxxv., lxxxii.
+
+[24] This is generally believed to be the night of (that is,
+preceding) the 27th day of the month.
+
+[25] In the Introduction, the references are to the new one volume
+edition, 1877. Since writing my chapter on the early Arabs, Sir W.
+Muir has published an interesting essay on old Arabic poetry in the
+_Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society_ (xi part i. 1879).
+
+[26] The 'Lord's Prayer' of the Muslims, recited several times in each
+of the five daily prayers, and on many other occasions.
+
+[27] _That is, of all creatures._
+
+[28] ['Do we beg assistance,' in the original ed.]
+
+[29] _God knoweth best what He meaneth by these letters._
+
+[30] _That it is from God._
+
+[31] _In the resurrection and paradise and hell._
+
+[32] _The Kur-�n._
+
+[33] _The Pentateuch and the Gospel and other books._
+
+[34] This chapter is held in particular veneration by the Mohammadans,
+and declared, by a tradition of their prophet, to be equal in value to
+a third part of the whole Kor�n.--S.
+
+[35] One of the most admired passages in the Kur-�n, recited (though
+not by all Muslims) at the close of each of the five daily prayers,
+and often engraved on an ornament of gold or silver or a precious
+stone to be worn as an amulet.
+
+[36] 'The seven heavens and earths in comparison with the Throne are
+nought but as seven dirhems [silver coins] cast into a shield.'--Trad.
+
+[37] ['Able to do everything,' orig. ed. Lit. 'potent over
+everything.']
+
+[38] Lit. 'driven away with stones.' This expression alludes to a
+tradition, that Abraham, when the devil tempted him to disobey God, in
+not sacrificing his son, drove the fiend away by throwing stones at
+him; in memory of which, the Mohammadans, at the pilgrimage of Mecca,
+throw a certain number of stones at the devil, with certain
+ceremonies, in the valley of Mina.--S. The devils, or evil jinn, it is
+said, had liberty to enter any of the seven heavens till the birth of
+Jesus, when they were excluded from three of them; on the birth of
+Mohammad they were forbidden the other four. They continue, however,
+to ascend to the confines of the lowest heaven, and there, listening
+to the conversation of the angels respecting things decreed by God,
+obtain knowledge of futurity, which they sometimes impart to men, who
+by means of talismans or certain invocations make them to serve the
+purposes of magical performances. Shooting stars are often hurled at
+the devils when they thus listen.
+
+[39] _That it may not move with its inhabitants._
+
+[40] _Or determined._
+
+[41] _Slaves and beasts and cattle: for it is God only who sustaineth
+them._
+
+[42] _Which cause the clouds to fill with water._
+
+[43] _As the bird from the egg._
+
+[44] _As the egg from the bird._
+
+[45] _Or consider._
+
+[46] _For you previously to birth._
+
+[47] ['Compacted,' orig. ed. Strictly, words such as 'come forth'
+should be supplied before 'clusters.']
+
+[48] _In leaf._
+
+[49] _In fruit._
+
+[50] [Genii.] _since they have obeyed them in worshipping idols_. See
+p. 33.
+
+[51] _Alone._
+
+[52] _This was revealed with reference to a man unto whom the Prophet
+sent one to invite him_ to the faith; _but he said, Who is the apostle
+of God, and what is God? Is he of gold, or silver, or brass? Whereupon
+a thunderbolt fell upon him, and struck off his skull_.
+
+[53] _On the Preserved Tablet._
+
+[54] _Restoring your souls in the daytime._
+
+[55] _The term of life._
+
+[56] ['Predominant,' orig. ed.]
+
+[57] _Angels who register your deeds._
+
+[58] _The creatures._
+
+[59] _That He may recompense them._
+
+[60] _O Mohammad, to the people of Mekkeh._
+
+[61] _Namely, the Jews and the Christians, and those_ [Arabs] _who
+assert that the angels are daughters of God_.
+
+[62] ['Demolished,' orig. ed.]
+
+[63] _On the day of resurrection._
+
+[64] _Without wealth or helper._
+
+[65] _Of the perfume and saffron with which they are overdaubed._
+
+[66] _Idols._
+
+[67] _This they would not worship them._
+
+[68] ['Similitudes,' orig. ed. It is the plural of the same word as
+that translated 'parable' at the beginning of the preceding extract,
+and 'likeness' twice in this extract.]
+
+[69] [It is said that Mohammad, when a revelation came down to him,
+used to say, 'Cover ye me with something whereby I may become warm.'
+Lane: Lexicon, voce _dathara_.]
+
+[70] [Idolatry.]
+
+[71] [This rendering is Mr. Rodwell's. I do not think it can be
+bettered.]
+
+[72] [Lit. 'And by the night when it becometh still;' or (but this is
+less strongly supported) 'when it darkeneth.']
+
+[73] ['In my possession,' orig. ed.]
+
+[74] ['Apostle,' in the orig. ed.; but Christian associations have
+somewhat restricted the original meaning of the word, and I have
+therefore in this and other instances substituted 'Messenger,' which
+exactly represents the Arabic _rasool_.]
+
+[75] _To unbelief._
+
+[76] _He will only injure himself._
+
+[77] _The Jews said unto the Muslims, We are the people of the first
+book_ (the Pentateuch), _and our Kibleh_ (the point to which we turn
+our faces in praying) _is the more ancient, and the prophets have not
+been of the Arabs, and if Mohammad were a prophet, he had been of us_.
+_Therefore_ the following _was revealed_.
+
+[78] _So that He may choose of His servants whom He pleaseth._
+
+[79] _That is, God is; and He hath acquitted Abraham of belonging to
+them by His saying_ [Kur. iii. 60], _Abraham was not a Jew nor a
+Christian; and the other persons above-mentioned with him were
+followers of him_.
+
+
+[80] _They are the Jews, who have concealed the testimony of God, in
+the Pentateuch, of Abraham's orthodoxy._
+
+[81] [Mohammad and Ahmad are from the same root, _hamd_, meaning
+'praise;' and both names were borne by the Prophet. The supposed
+prediction of Mohammad's coming arose, perhaps, from a confusion
+between Parakletos and Perikleitos or possibly Periklytos in Evang. S.
+Jo. xvi. 7, where the coming of 'the Paraclete' is promised; in some
+Arabic version of which the word may have been ignorantly rendered by
+'Ahmad,' and thus reported to Mohammad.]
+
+[82] _By the description of him in their books._
+
+[83] _The description of him._
+
+[84] _In the Law._
+
+[85] _Or miracles._
+
+[86] _As Zechariah and John, and ye slew them._
+
+[87] _Their belief, if the signs come._ The copies of the original
+differ in this verse, but not in an important manner.
+
+[88] _From the truth, so that they shall not believe._
+
+[89] _The Kur-�n._
+
+[90] Or art mad.
+
+[91] _That is, with punishment._
+
+[92] [The original copy kept by God.]
+
+[93] [This line is often inscribed on the covers of copies of the Kur-�n.]
+
+[94] _In eloquence._
+
+[95] [In orig. edition, and literally, 'Although some of them assisted
+others.']
+
+[96] _That they may be admonished._
+
+[97] _And not sent an angel?_
+
+[98] _Instead of mankind._
+
+[99] _For no apostle is sent unto a people but one of their own kind._
+
+[100] Forgery.
+
+[101] _Mohammad._
+
+[102] Chapter.
+
+[103] _To assist you._
+
+[104] _The result of the threat that it containeth._
+
+[105] _As to its being from God._
+
+[106] _In eloquence and beauty of composition and information
+concerning what is unseen._
+
+[107] _Your deities whom ye worship, that they may aid you._
+
+[108] _When the unbelievers cavilled at abrogation, and said,
+'Mohammad commandeth his companions to-day to do a thing and
+forbiddeth it tomorrow,'_ the following _was revealed_.
+
+[109] _Namely, a Christian slave whom the Prophet used to visit._ [The
+Mekkans accounted for the production of the Kur-�n by an unlearned man
+like Mohammad by ascribing it to the teaching of some Christian, whom
+is doubtful. Mohammad's reply is that the Christian's was a foreign
+tongue, whilst the Kur-�n was in Arabic.]
+
+[110] ['As a further supply,' orig. ed.]
+
+[111] [Lit. 'Burdens:' explained by El-Beyd�wee and others _as buried
+treasures_ and as _dead_.]
+
+[112] _The most highly esteemed of property._
+
+[113] ['Be set on fire,' orig. ed. Both these renderings, and also 'be
+dried up,' are supported by various authorities. See Lane: Lex. voce
+_sejera_.]
+
+[114] Woman-child.
+
+[115] _Of men's actions._
+
+[116] _As the skin is plucked off a_ slaughtered _sheep_.
+
+[117] _A kind of thorn which no beast eateth, by reason of its
+impurity._
+
+[118] _Or eight ranks of them._
+
+[119] _Unto a company, by reason of his joy thereat._
+
+[120] _And it shall be said unto such._
+
+[121] _And it shall be said unto the keepers of hell._
+
+[122] _As it hath denied it in the present world._
+
+[123] _Those who shall receive their books in their right hands._
+
+[124] _How honourable shall they be!_
+
+[125] _How contemptible shall they be!_
+
+[126] _In the way to good fortune (namely, the Prophets), how
+honourable shall be!_
+
+[127] ['Destined to continue for ever _in boyhood_,' orig. ed.]
+
+[128] [Hooreeyehs.]
+
+[129] Intensely black and white, large-eyed.
+
+[130] From bottom to top.
+
+[131] [The Hooreeyehs.]
+
+[132] _Polytheism._
+
+[133] Beneath the tents thereof.
+
+[134] _The believers and the unbelievers._
+
+[135] _One after another, barefooted, naked, unarmed._
+
+[136] _Of the resurrection._
+
+[137] _Written in their books._
+
+[138] _I will surely fill Hell_, &c. [Kur. vii. 17, given below, p.
+51].
+
+[139] Of righteousness.
+
+[140] _Between all creatures._
+
+[141] [Or 'marked' or 'goodly.']
+
+[142] [Fighting for the faith.]
+
+[143] [Or 'end,' 'result.']
+
+[144] "Arms on armour clashing bray'd Horrible discord."--_Par. Lost_,
+vi. 209.
+
+[145] _O Mohammad._ The copies of the original differ here, but the
+differences are unimportant.
+
+[146] _By taking to themselves idols._
+
+[147] _Thou wouldst see a great thing!_
+
+[148] _Denying their having led them into error._
+
+[149] _Iblees._
+
+[150] _And the people of paradise are introduced into paradise, and
+the people of the fire into the fire, and when the latter have
+assembled around him._
+
+[151] _Respecting the resurrection and retribution._
+
+[152] _The contrary._
+
+[153] _The people of Mekkeh._
+
+[154] _Of the resurrection._
+
+[155] _If the choice had been given us we had not gone forth and had
+not been slain._
+
+[156] _Namely, the Jews._
+
+[157] [See _Modern Egyptians_, 5th ed., p 284.]
+
+[158] [On the various orders of the Jinn, see Lane's _Thousand and One
+Nights_, Introduction, note 21. And see above, pp. 7, 9.]
+
+[159] _Consisting of the angels._
+
+[160] _They speak not until after He hath spoken._
+
+[161] _Iblees_ [the devil].
+
+[162] [In the Arabic, 'Kur-�n.']
+
+[163] _This is said to be the most comprehensive verse in the Kur-�n
+with respect to good and evil._ [The commentators say it contains the
+whole duty of man, both in respect of doing and of shunning. It is
+needless to enumerate the various virtues and sins which they consider
+are implied in each of the simple words of the text.]
+
+[164] [Mr. Rodwell's rendering.]
+
+[165] The traveller.
+
+[166] _Of being rewarded for so doing._
+
+[167] _Or reproach._
+
+[168] _Their idols._
+
+[169] _Disposition._
+
+[170] [Lit., and in orig. ed., 'hath great good fortune.']
+
+[171] [_Mod. Egypt._, 104.]
+
+[172] [The Christians and Jews.]
+
+[173] [Or 'best:' so in _Mod. Egypt._, 280.]
+
+[174] [This is Mr. Rodwell's word, and is, I think, more expressive of
+the original (_muslimoona_) than 'resigned.']
+
+[175] _In the prophets._
+
+[176] [Some suppose this verse to be abrogated by the next extract:
+others try to explain it away.]
+
+[177] _And of him who inviteth them to the true religion._
+
+[178] Mirage (_sar�b_).
+
+[179] _In like manner the unbeliever reckoneth that his works will
+profit him, until, when he dieth and is brought before his Lord, he
+findeth not his works._
+
+[180] _The unbeliever._
+
+[181] _By his unbelief._
+
+[182] _In the tradition it is said, 'Whosoever hath any good thing
+given unto him, whether of family or wealth, and saith on the occasion
+thereof, 'What God willeth ('m�-sh��-ll�h)! There is no power but in
+God!' he will not see in it aught displeasing.'_
+
+[183] _On the day of resurrection._
+
+[184] _O Mohammad._
+
+[185] _Of the people of Mekkeh._
+
+[186] _So as to disdain receiving the truth._ (_This was revealed as
+respecting the envoys who came from the King of Abyssinia: the Prophet
+recited the Soorat Y�-Seen_ [xxxvi.], _whereupon they wept and became
+Muslims, and said, 'How like is this to that which was revealed to
+Jesus.'_)
+
+[187] _Not believing in Mohammad._
+
+[188] _With respect to the hypocrites_ the following _was revealed_.
+
+[189] _Their chiefs._
+
+[190] The number of the prophets which have been from time to time
+sent by God into the world amounts to no less than 224,000, according
+to one Mohammadan tradition, or to 124,000 according to another; among
+whom 313 were apostles, sent with special commissions to reclaim
+mankind 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 Mohammad. All the
+prophets in general the Mohammadans believe to have been free from
+great sins and errors of consequence, and professors of one and the
+same religion, that is, El-Isl�m, notwithstanding the different laws
+and institutions which they observed. In this great number of
+prophets, they not only reckon divers patriarchs and persons named in
+Scripture but not recorded to have been prophets (wherein the Jewish
+and Christian writers have sometimes led the way), as Adam, Seth, Lot,
+Ishmael, Nun, Joshua, &c., and introduce some of them under different
+names, as Enoch, Heber, and Jethro, who are called in the Kur-�n,
+Idrees, Hood, and Sho�eyb; but several others whose very names do not
+appear in Scripture (though they endeavour to find some persons there
+to fix them on), as S�lih, El-Khidr, Dhu-l-Kifl.
+
+As to the Scriptures, the Mohammadans are taught by the Kur-�n that
+God, in divers ages of the world, gave revelations of His will in
+writing to several prophets, the whole and every word of which it is
+absolutely necessary for a good Muslim 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 Idrees or Enoch, ten to Abraham; and
+the other four, being the Pentateuch, the Psalms, the Gospel, and the
+Kur-�n, were successively delivered to Moses, David, Jesus, and
+Mohammad; which last being the _seal_ of the prophets, those
+revelations are now closed and no more are to be expected. All these
+divine books, except the four last, they agree to be now entirely lost
+and their contents unknown; though 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.--S.
+
+[191] 'El-J�nn' is here used as a name of Iblees, the father of the
+jinn. It also signifies the jinn themselves.
+
+[192] According to a tradition of the Prophet, the height of Adam was
+equal to that of a tall palm-tree.
+
+[193] The Mohammadans say, that when they were cast down from Paradise
+[which is in the seventh heaven], Adam fell on the isle of Ceylon, or
+Sarandeeb, and Eve near Juddah (the port of Mekkeh) in Arabia; and
+that, after a separation of two hundred years, Adam was, on his
+repentance, conducted by the angel Gabriel to a mountain near Mekkeh,
+where he found and knew his wife, the mountain being thence named
+�Araf�t; and that he afterwards retired with her to Ceylon.--S.
+
+[194] The prayer is inserted by the commentary from Kur. vii. 22.
+
+[195] This word has various significations in the Kur-�n; sometimes,
+as in this passage, it signifies _divine revelation_, or _scripture_
+in general; sometimes the _verses_ of the _Kur-�n_ in particular; and
+at other times, _visible miracles_. But the sense is easily
+distinguished by the context.--S.
+
+[196] Called in Arabic H�beel and K�beel.
+
+[197] The occasion of their making this offering is thus related,
+according to the common tradition in the East. Each of them being born
+with a twin-sister, when they were grown up, Adam by God's direction
+ordered Cain to marry Abel's twin-sister, and Abel to marry Cain's;
+(for it being the common opinion that marriages ought not to be had in
+the nearest degrees of consanguinity, since they must necessarily
+marry their sisters, it seemed reasonable to suppose they ought to
+take those of the remoter degree;) but this Cain refusing to agree to,
+because his own sister was the handsomest, Adam ordered them to make
+their offerings to God, thereby referring the dispute to His
+determination. The commentators say Cain's offering was a sheaf of the
+very worst of his corn; but Abel's a fat lamb of the best of his
+flock.--S.
+
+[198] Or, as the original literally signifies, boiled over [or
+boiled], which is consonant to what the Rabbins say, that the waters
+of the deluge were boiling hot.--This oven was, as some say, at
+El-Koofeh, in a spot whereon a mosque now stands; or, as others rather
+think, in a certain place in India, or else at �Eyn-el-Wardeh in
+Mesopotamia. Some pretend that it was the same oven which Eve made use
+of to bake her bread in, being of a form different from those we use,
+having the mouth in the upper part, and that it descended from
+patriarch to patriarch till it came to Noah. It is remarkable that
+Mohammad, in all probability, borrowed this circumstance from the
+Persian Magi, who also fancied that the first waters of the deluge
+gushed out of the oven of a certain old woman named Zala C�fa.--But the
+word "tennoor," which is here translated "oven," also signifying "the
+superficies of the earth," or "a place whence waters spring forth," or
+"where they are collected," some suppose it means no more in this
+passage than the spot or fissure whence the first eruption of waters
+broke forth.--S.
+
+[199] It is a custom of many Muslims to pronounce these words, 'In the
+name of God be its course and its mooring,' on embarking for any
+voyage.--L. The commentators tell us that Noah was two years in
+building the ark, which was framed of Indian plane-tree; that it was
+divided into three stories, of which the lower was designed for the
+beasts, the middle one for the men and women, and the upper for the
+birds; and the men were separated from the women by the body of Adam,
+which Noah had taken into the ark. This last is a tradition of the
+Eastern Christians.--S.
+
+[200] The original of this passage is considered the most sublime in
+the Kur-�n.
+
+[201] The Mohammadans say that Noah went into the ark on the tenth of
+Rejeb, and came out of it on the tenth of Moharram; which therefore
+became a fast: so that the whole time of Noah's being in the ark
+according to them was six months.--S. (B.)
+
+[202] ��d was an ancient and potent tribe of Arabs, and zealous
+idolaters. They chiefly worshipped four deities, S�kiyeh, H�fidhah,
+R�zikah, and S�limeh; 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 restoring them to
+health when afflicted with sickness; according to the signification of
+the several names.--S.
+
+[203] Generally supposed to be the same person as Heber.--S.
+
+[204] Thamood was another tribe of the ancient Arabs who fell into
+idolatry. They dwelt first in the country of the ��dites, but their
+numbers increasing, they removed to the territory of Hejr.--S.
+
+[205] This extraordinary camel frighting the other cattle from their
+pasture, a certain rich woman, named �Oneyzeh Umm-Gh�nim, having four
+daughters, dressed them out, and offered one Kud�r his choice of them,
+if he would kill the camel. Whereupon 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 Sadakah Bint-El-Mukht�r as a
+joint-conspiratress with �Oneyzeh, and pretending that the young one
+was not killed.'--S. (A.F., B.)
+
+[206] Defying the vengeance with which they were threatened; because
+they trusted in their strong dwellings hewn in the rocks, saying that
+the tribe of ��d perished only because their houses were not built
+with sufficient strength.--S.
+
+[207] Like violent and repeated claps of thunder; which some say was
+no other than the voice of the angel Gabriel, which rent their hearts.
+It is said that after they had killed the camel, S�lih told them
+that on the morrow their faces should become yellow, the next day 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.--S. (A.F., B.)
+
+[208] In the Mir-�t-ez-Zem�n it is stated that there are various
+opinions respecting the age in which this person lived: 1. That he
+lived in the first century after the Deluge, and was of the sons of
+Japheth, and was born in the land of the Greeks: so said �Alee; 2.
+That he was after Thamood: so said El-Hasan; 3. That he was of the
+lineage of Esau, the son of Isaac: so said Muk�til; 4. That he lived
+between the times of Moses and Jesus; 5. That he lived between Jesus
+and Mohammad; and 6. That he was of the lineage of Yoon�n, son [as
+some say] of Noah, in the days of Abraham; and this, adds the author,
+is the most correct.--But some suppose him to be the same with
+Alexander the Great.--Respecting his surname of 'Dhu-l-Karneyn,' the
+most obvious signification of which is 'the two-horned,' the more
+judicious in general are of opinion that he received it because he
+made expeditions to the extreme parts of the east and west, and
+therefore that it signifies 'Lord of the two extreme parts of the
+earth.'
+
+[209] Who were clothed in the skins of wild beasts, and lived upon
+what the sea cast on shore.--S. (B.)
+
+[210] The Arabs call them Y�jooj and M�jooj, and say they are two
+nations or tribes descended from Japheth the son of Noah; or, as
+others write, Gog are a tribe of the Turks, and Magog of those of
+Geel�n, the Geli and Gel� of Ptolemy and Strabo.--It is said these
+barbarous people made their irruptions into the neighbouring countries
+in the spring, and destroyed and carried off all the fruits of the
+earth; and some pretend they were man-eaters.--S. (B.)
+
+[211] The Eastern authors unanimously agree that he (�zar) 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 was, 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.--S.
+
+[212] Some tell us that Nimrod, on seeing this miraculous deliverance
+from his palace, cried out that he would make an offering to the God
+of Abraham; and that he accordingly sacrificed four thousand kine.
+[B.] But, if he ever relented, he soon relapsed into his former
+infidelity: for he built a tower that he might ascend to heaven to see
+Abraham's God; which being overthrown [Kur. xvi. 28], still
+persisting in his design, he would be carried to heaven in a chest
+borne by four monstrous birds; but after wandering for some time
+through the air, he fell down on a mountain with such force that he
+made it shake, whereto (as some fancy) a passage in the Kur-�n [xiv.
+47] alludes, which may be translated, 'although their contrivances be
+such as to make the mountains tremble.'--Nimrod, disappointed in his
+design of making war with God, turned his arms against Abraham, who,
+being a great prince, raised forces to defend himself; but God,
+dividing Nimrod's subjects, and confounding their language, deprived
+him of the greater part of his people, and plagued those who adhered
+to him by swarms of gnats, which destroyed almost all of them; and one
+of those gnats having entered into the nostril, or ear, of Nimrod,
+penetrated to one of the membranes of his brain, where, growing bigger
+every day, it gave him such intolerable pain, that he was obliged to
+cause his head to be beaten with a mallet, in order to procure some
+ease, which torture he suffered four hundred years; God being willing
+to punish, by one of the smallest of His creatures, him who insolently
+boasted himself to be lord of all. A Syrian calendar places the death
+of Nimrod, as if the time were well known, on the eighth of Tamooz, or
+July.--S.
+
+[213] They tell us that Gabriel thrust his wing under them and lifted
+them up so high that the inhabitants of the lower heaven heard the
+barking of the dogs and the crowing of the cocks; and then, inverting
+them, threw them down to the earth.--S. (B.)
+
+[214] It is the most received opinion among the Mohammadans that the
+son whom Abraham offered was Ishmael and not Isaac; Ishmael being his
+only son at that time: for the promise of Isaac's birth is mentioned
+lower, as subsequent in time to this transaction. They also allege the
+testimony of their prophet, who is reported to have said, 'I am the
+son of the two who were offered in sacrifice;' meaning his great
+ancestor, Ishmael, and his own father �Abd-Allah: for
+�Abd-el-Muttalib had made a vow that if God would permit him to
+find out and open the well Zemzem and should give him ten sons he
+would sacrifice one of them; accordingly, when he had obtained his
+desire in both respects, he cast lots on his sons, and the lot falling
+on �Abd-Allah, he redeemed him by offering a hundred camels, which was
+therefore ordered to be the price of a man's blood in the Sunneh.--S.
+(B., Z.)
+
+[215] The occasion of this request of Abraham is said to have been a
+doubt proposed to him by the devil in human form, how it was possible
+for the several parts of a corpse 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.--S.
+
+[216] In the original, 'Im�m,' which answers to the Latin _Antistes_.
+This title the Mohammadans give to their priests [if such a title may
+be used, for want of one more correct] who begin the prayers in their
+mosques, and whom all the congregation follow.--S.
+
+[217] The term 'rek�ah' signifies the repetition of a set form of
+words, chiefly from the Kur-�n, and ejaculations of 'God is most
+Great!' etc., accompanied by particular postures; part of the words
+being repeated in an erect posture, part sitting, and part in other
+postures: an inclination of the head and body, followed by two
+prostrations, distinguishing each rek�ah. Each of the five daily
+prayers of the Muslims consist of a certain number of rek�ahs.
+
+[218] The city of Et-T��f was so called, according to Abu-l-Fida and
+several other Arab authors, because it, with the adjacent fields,
+was separated from Syria during the Deluge, and after floating round
+about upon the water at length rested in its present situation, where
+its soil has continued to produce the fruits of Syria.
+
+[219] Namely, the Kaabeh.
+
+[220] In the original, 'Muslims,' which is the peculiar and very
+appropriate title of the believers in the religion taught by Mohammad;
+and as he professed not to teach a religion essentially _new_, this
+title is given to all true believers before him.
+
+[221] 'El-Islam' signifies the _resigning_ oneself to God and to His
+service, and is the name given by Mohammad to that religion which, he
+asserted, all the prophets before him had taught, and he restored; the
+foundation of which was the unity of God.
+
+[222] This well, say some, was a certain well near Jerusalem, or not
+far from the river Jordan; but others call it the well of Egypt, or
+Midian. The commentators tell us that when the sons of Jacob had
+gotten Joseph with them in the field, they began to abuse and to beat
+him so unmercifully that they had killed him had not Judah on his
+crying out for help insisted on the promise they had made not to kill
+him but to cast him into the well. Whereupon they let him down a
+little way; but as he held by the sides of the well, they bound him,
+and took off his inner garment, designing to stain it with blood to
+deceive their father. Joseph begged hard to have his garment returned
+to him, but to no purpose, his brothers telling him, with a sneer,
+that the eleven stars and the sun and the moon might clothe him and
+keep him company.--S. (B., Z.)
+
+[223] The commentators pretend that Gabriel also clothed him in the
+well with a garment of silk of Paradise. For they say that when
+Abraham was thrown into the fire by Nimrod, he was stripped; and that
+Gabriel brought him this garment and put it on him; and that from
+Abraham it descended to Jacob, who folded it up and put it into an
+amulet, which he hung about Joseph's neck, whence Gabriel drew it
+out.--S. (B., Z.)
+
+[224] These races they used by way of exercise; and the commentators
+generally understand here that kind of race wherein they also showed
+their dexterity in throwing darts, which is still used in the East.--S.
+
+[225] This Jacob had reason to suspect, because when the garment was
+brought to him, he observed that, though it was bloody, yet it was not
+torn.--S. (B.)
+
+[226] Three days after Joseph had been thrown into it.--S.
+
+[227] The commentators are so exact as to give us the name of this
+man, who as they pretend, was M�lik Ibn-Doar, of the tribe of
+Khuz�ah.--S. (B.)
+
+[228] The expositors are not agreed whether the pronoun _they_ relates
+to M�lik and his companions, or to Joseph's brethren. They who espouse
+the former opinion say that those who came to draw water concealed the
+manner of their coming by him from the rest of the caravan, that they
+might keep him to themselves; pretending that some people of the place
+had given him to them to sell for them in Egypt. And they who prefer
+the latter opinion tell us that Judah carried victuals to Joseph every
+day while he was in the well; but not finding him there on the fourth
+day, he acquainted his brothers with it: whereupon they all went to
+the caravan and claimed Joseph as their slave, he not daring to
+discover that he was their brother, lest something worse should befall
+him; and at length they agreed to sell him to them.--S. (B.)
+
+[229] A corruption of Potiphar. He was a man of great consideration,
+being superintendent of the royal treasury.--S. (B.)
+
+[230] That is, to Kitfeer and his friends. The occasion of Joseph's
+imprisonment is said to be either that they suspected him to be guilty
+notwithstanding the proofs which had been given of his innocence, or
+else that Zeleekha desired it, feigning, to deceive her husband, that
+she wanted to have Joseph removed from her sight till she could
+conquer her passion by time; though her real design was to force him
+to compliance.--S.
+
+[231] According to the explication of some who take the pronoun _him_
+to relate to Joseph, this passage may be rendered, 'But the devil
+caused him (_i.e._, Joseph) to forget to make his application unto his
+lord;' and to beg the good offices of his fellow-prisoner for his
+deliverance, instead of relying on God alone, as it became a prophet,
+especially, to have done.--S. (B.)
+
+[232] This prince, as the Oriental writers generally agree, was
+Er-Reiy�n the son of El-Weleed the Amalekite, who was converted by
+Joseph to the worship of the true God, and died in the lifetime of
+that prophet. But some pretend that the Pharaoh of Joseph and of Moses
+were one and the same person, and that he lived (or rather reigned)
+four hundred years.--S. (B.)
+
+[233] The commentators say that Joseph, being taken out of prison,
+after he had washed and changed his clothes, was introduced to the
+king, whom he saluted in the Hebrew tongue, and on the king's asking
+what language that was, he answered that it was the language of his
+fathers. This prince, they say, understood no less than seventy
+languages, in every one of which he discoursed with Joseph, who
+answered him in the same; at which the king, greatly marvelling,
+desired him to relate his dream, which he did, describing the most
+minute circumstances: whereupon the king placed Joseph by him on his
+throne, and made him his Wezeer, or chief minister.--S. (B.)
+
+[234] Namely, Ephraim and Manasses: so that according to this
+tradition, she was the same woman who is called Asenath by 'Moses.'
+This supposed marriage, which authorized their amours, probably
+encouraged the Mohammadan divines to make use of the loves of Joseph
+and Zeleekha as an allegorical emblem of the spiritual love between
+the Creator and the creature, God and the soul; just as the Christians
+apply the Song of Solomon to the same mystical purpose.--S.
+
+[235] Joseph, being made Wezeer, governed with great wisdom; for he
+not only caused justice to be impartially administered and encouraged
+the people to industry and the improvement of agriculture during the
+seven years of plenty, but began and perfected several works of great
+benefit; the natives at this day ascribing to the patriarch Joseph
+almost all the ancient works of public utility throughout the kingdom;
+as particularly the rendering the province of El-Feiyoom, from a
+standing pool or marsh, the most fertile and best-cultivated land in
+all Egypt. When the years of famine came, the effects of which were
+felt not only in Egypt but in Syria and the neighbouring countries,
+the inhabitants were obliged to apply to Joseph for corn, which he
+sold to them, first for their money, jewels, and ornaments, then for
+their cattle and lands, and at length for their persons; so that all
+the Egyptians in general became slaves to the king, though Joseph by
+his consent soon released them and returned them their substance.--S.
+(B.)
+
+[236] At length Joseph asked them whom they had to vouch for their
+veracity; but they told him they knew no man who could vouch for them
+in Egypt. Then, replied he, one of you shall stay behind with me as a
+pledge, and the others may return home with their provision; and when
+ye come again, ye shall bring your younger brother with you, that I
+may know ye have told me the truth. Whereupon, it being in vain to
+dispute the matter, they cast lots who should stay behind, and the lot
+fell upon Simeon. When they departed, Joseph gave each of them a
+camel, and another for their brother.--S. (B.)
+
+[237] The original word signifying not only money but also goods
+bartered or given in exchange for other merchandise, some commentators
+tell us that they paid for their corn, not in money, but in shoes and
+dressed skins.--S. (B.)
+
+[238] The belief in the influence of the evil eye prevails among all
+the Muslims, even the most religious and learned; for their prophet
+said, 'The eye hath a complete influence; because verily, if there
+were a thing to overcome fate, it most certainly would be a malignant
+eye.' Hence he permitted charms (which he disallowed in almost every
+other case) to be employed for the purpose of counteracting its
+influence.
+
+[239] It is related that Joseph, having invited his brethren to an
+entertainment, ordered them to be placed two and two together; by
+which means, Benjamin, the eleventh, was obliged to sit alone, and,
+bursting into tears, said, If my brother Joseph were alive, he would
+have sat with me. Whereupon Joseph ordered him to be seated at the
+same table with himself, and when the entertainment was over,
+dismissed the rest, ordering that they should be lodged two and two in
+a house, but kept Benjamin in his own apartment, where he passed the
+night. The next day, Joseph asked him whether he would accept of
+himself for his brother, in the room of him whom he had lost; to which
+Benjamin replied, 'Who can find a brother comparable unto thee? Yet
+thou art not the son of Jacob and Rachel.' And upon this, Joseph
+discovered himself to him.--S. (B.).
+
+[240] Some, however, are of opinion that it was a drinking-cup.
+
+[241] The occasion of this suspicion, it is said, was that Joseph
+having been brought up by his father's sister, she became so fond of
+him, that when he grew up and Jacob designed to take him from her she
+contrived the following stratagem to keep him. Having a girdle which
+had once belonged to Abraham, she girt it about the child, and then
+pretending she had lost it, caused strict search to be made for it;
+and it being at length found on Joseph, he was adjudged, according to
+the above-mentioned law of the family, to be delivered to her as her
+property. Some, however, say that Joseph actually stole an idol of
+gold, which belonged to his mother's father, and destroyed it; a story
+probably taken from Rachel's stealing the images of Laban: and others
+tell us that he once stole a goat or a hen, to give to a poor man.--S.
+
+[242] Misr is the name both of Egypt and its capital.
+
+[243] The injury they did Benjamin was the separating him from his
+brother, after which they kept him in so great subjection that he
+durst not speak to them but with the utmost submission. Some say that
+these words were occasioned by a letter which Joseph's brethren
+delivered to him from their father, requesting the releasement of
+Benjamin, and by their representing his extreme affliction at the loss
+of him and his brother. The commentators observe that Joseph, to
+excuse his brethren's behaviour towards him, attributes it to their
+ignorance and the heat of youth.--S. (B.)
+
+[244] The frontier town of Egypt towards Syria.
+
+[245] El-Beyd�wee tell us that Joseph sent carriages and provisions
+for his father and his family; and that he and the king of Egypt went
+forth to meet them. He adds that the number of the children of Israel
+who entered Egypt with him was seventy-two; and that when they were
+led out thence by Moses, they were increased to six hundred thousand
+five hundred and seventy men, and upwards, besides the old people and
+children.--S.
+
+[246] A transposition is supposed to be in these words:--he seated his
+father and mother after they had bowed down to him, and not before.--S.
+(B.)
+
+[247] But when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, he took up the
+coffin, and carried Joseph's bones with him into Canaan, where he
+buried them by his ancestors.--S. (B.)
+
+[248] The Mohammadan writers tell us that Job was of the race of Esau,
+and was blessed with a numerous family and abundant riches; but that
+God proved him by taking away all that he had, even his children, who
+were killed by the fall of a house; notwithstanding which he continued
+to serve God and to return Him thanks as usual; that he was then
+struck with a filthy disease, his body being full of worms and so
+offensive that as he lay on the dunghill none could bear to come near
+him: that his wife, however (whom some call Rahmeh the daughter of
+Ephraim the son of Joseph, and others Makhir the daughter of
+Manasses), attended him with great patience, supporting him with what
+she earned by her labour; but that the devil appearing to her one day,
+after having reminded her of her past prosperity, promised her that if
+she would worship him, he would restore all they had lost; whereupon
+she asked her husband's consent, who was so angry at the proposal,
+that he swore, if he recovered, to give his wife a hundred stripes.--S.
+(B., J., A.F.)
+
+[249] Some say there were two springs, one of hot water wherein he
+bathed, and the other of cold of which he drank.--S. (B.)
+
+[250] His wife also becoming young and handsome again, and bearing him
+twenty-six sons. Some, to express the great riches which were bestowed
+on Job after his sufferings, say he had two threshing-floors, one for
+wheat and the other for barley, and that God sent two clouds, which
+rained gold on the one and silver on the other till they ran
+over.--(J.) The traditions differ as to the continuance of Job's
+calamities: one will have it to be eighteen years; another, thirteen;
+another, three; and another, exactly seven years seven months and
+seven hours.--S.
+
+[251] Or 'a palm-branch having a hundred leaves.'--S.
+
+[252] But see note 1 (248).
+
+[253] The commentators generally suppose him to be the same person
+with the father-in-law of Moses, who is named in Scripture Reuel or
+Raguel, and Jethro. But Ahmad Ibn-�Abd-El-Haleem charges those who
+entertain this opinion with ignorance. They say (after the Jews) that
+he gave his son-in-law [Moses] that wonder-working rod with which he
+performed all those miracles in Egypt and the Desert, and also
+excellent advice and instructions; whence he had the surname of
+'Khateeb-el-Ambiya,' or 'the Preacher to the Prophets.'--S.
+
+[254] The Arabic word 'da�eef' (weak) signifying also in the
+Himyaritic dialect 'blind,' some suppose that Sho�eyb was so, and that
+the Midianites objected that to him as a defect which disqualified him
+for the prophetic office.--S.
+
+[255] Which of the kings of Egypt this Pharaoh of Moses was is
+uncertain. Not to mention the opinions of the European writers, those
+of the East generally suppose him to have been El-Weleed, who
+according to some was an Arab of the tribe of ��d, or according to
+others the son of Mus�ab the son of Er-Reiy�n the son of El-Weleed the
+Amalekite. There are historians, however, who suppose K�boos the
+brother and predecessor of El-Weleed was the prince we are speaking
+of, and pretend he lived six hundred and twenty years and reigned four
+hundred. Which is more reasonable, at least, than the opinion of those
+who imagine it was his father Mus�ab or grandfather Er-Reiy�n.
+Abu-l-Fida says the Mus�ab, being one hundred and seventy years old
+and having no child, while he kept the herds saw a cow calve, and
+heard her say at the same time, 'O Mus�ab, be not grieved, for thou
+shalt have a wicked son, who will be at length cast into hell.' And he
+accordingly had this Weleed, who afterwards coming to be king of Egypt
+proved an impious tyrant.--S. (A.F., Z.)
+
+[256] This name is given to Pharaoh's chief minister; from whence it
+is generally inferred that Mohammad had been made Haman the favorite
+of Ahasuerus king of Persia, and who indisputably lived many years
+after Moses, to be that prophet's contemporary.--S.
+
+[257] It is related that the midwife appointed to attend the Hebrew
+women, terrified by a light which appeared between the eyes of Moses
+at his birth, and touched with an extraordinary affection for the
+child, did not discover him to the officers, so that his mother kept
+him in her house, and nursed him three months; after which it was
+impossible for her to conceal him any longer, the king then giving
+orders to make the searches more strictly.--S. (B.)
+
+[258] The commentators say that his mother made an ark of the papyrus,
+and pitched it, and put in some cotton; and having laid the child
+therein, committed it to the river, a branch of which went into
+Pharaoh's garden: that the stream carried the ark thither into a
+fishpond, at the head of which Pharaoh was then sitting with his wife
+�siyeh the daughter of Muz�hem; and that the king, having commanded it
+to be taken up and opened, and finding in it a beautiful child, took a
+fancy to it, and ordered it to be brought up.--Some writers mention a
+miraculous preservation of Moses before he was put into the ark; and
+tell us, that his mother having hid him from Pharaoh's officers in an
+oven, his sister, in her mother's absence, kindled a large fire in the
+oven to heat it, not knowing the child was there; but that he was
+afterwards taken out unhurt.--S. (B., A.F.)
+
+[259] Kur. xxvi. 17.
+
+[260] This person, says the tradition, was an Egyptian and Pharaoh's
+uncle's son.--S.
+
+[261] The Jews pretend he was actually imprisoned for the fact, and
+condemned to be beheaded; but that when he should have suffered his
+neck became as hard as ivory, and the sword rebounded on the
+executioner.--S.
+
+[262] According to El-Beyd�wee, Moses knew not the way, and, coming to
+a place where three roads met, committed himself to the guidance of
+God, and took the middle road, which was the right; Providence
+likewise so ordering it that his pursuers took the other two roads,
+and missed him.--S.
+
+[263] This was Safoora [also called Safoorah and Safooriya,
+or Zipporah, the elder, or as others suppose the younger, daughter of
+Sho�eyb, whom Moses afterwards married.--S.]
+
+
+[264] The commentators say, that Moses, having obtained leave of
+Sho�eyb or Jethro, his father-in-law, to visit his mother, departed
+with his family from Midian towards Egypt; but coming to the valley of
+Tuwa, wherein Mount Sinai stands, his wife fell in labour and was
+delivered of a son in a very dark and snowy night: he had also lost
+his way, and his cattle were scattered from him, when on a sudden he
+saw a fire by the side of a mountain, which on his nearer approach he
+found burning in a green bush.--S. (B.)
+
+[265] This was a mark of humility and respect: though some fancy there
+was some uncleanness in the shoes themselves, because they were made
+of the skin of an ass not dressed.--S. (B.)
+
+[266] Which was at first no bigger than the rod, but afterwards
+swelled to a prodigious size.--S. (B.)
+
+[267] When Moses saw the serpent move about with great nimbleness and
+swallow stones and trees, he was greatly terrified, and fled from it;
+but recovering his courage at these words of God, he had the boldness
+to take the serpent by the jaws.--S. (B.)
+
+[268] Moses had an impediment in his speech, which was occasioned by
+the following accident. Pharaoh one day carrying him in his arms when
+a child, he suddenly laid hold of his beard and plucked it in a very
+rough manner, which put Pharaoh into such a passion that he ordered
+him to be put to death: but �siyeh his wife representing to him that
+he was but a child, who could not distinguish between a burning coal
+and a ruby, he ordered the experiment to be made; and a live coal and
+a ruby being set before Moses, he took the coal and put it into his
+mouth, and burnt his tongue: and thereupon he was pardoned.--This is a
+Jewish story a little altered.--S.
+
+[269] For he was obliged to abandon his country and his friends, and
+to travel several days in great terror and want of necessary
+provisions to seek a refuge among strangers; and was afterwards forced
+to serve for hire to gain a livelihood.--S.
+
+[270] Aaron being by this time come out to meet his brother, either by
+divine inspiration, or having notice of his design to return to
+Egypt.--S. (B.)
+
+[271] The Arab writers tell enormous fables of this serpent or dragon.
+For they say that he was hairy and of so prodigious a size that when
+he opened his mouth his jaws were fourscore cubits asunder and when he
+laid his lower jaw on the ground his upper reached to the top of the
+palace [or rather, I believe, the _throne_ of Pharaoh]: that Pharaoh,
+seeing this monster make towards him, fled from it; and that the whole
+assembly also betaking themselves to their heels, no less than
+twenty-five thousand of them lost their lives in the press. They add
+that Pharaoh, upon this abjured Moses by God who had sent him to take
+away the serpent, and promised he would believe on Him and let the
+Israelites go; but when Moses had done what he requested, he relapsed
+and grew as hardened as before.--S. (B.)
+
+[272] 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.--S.
+(B.)
+
+[273] They provided themselves with a great number of thick ropes and
+long pieces of wood, which they contrived by some means to move and
+make them twist themselves one over the other; and so imposed on the
+beholders, who at a distance took them to be true serpents. It is also
+said that they rubbed them over with quicksilver, which being wrought
+upon by the heat of the sun caused them to move.--S. (B.)
+
+[274] The expositors add that when this serpent had swallowed up all
+the rods and cords he made directly towards the assembly and put them
+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.--S. (B.)
+
+[275] Sale observes that some writers introduce only two of the
+enchanters as acknowledging Moses' 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 and
+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 masters slept, or only when they were
+awake; for, said he, enchantments have no effect while the enchanter
+is asleep, and therefore if it be otherwise in this case, you may be
+assured that they act by a divine power. These two magicians then,
+arriving at the capital of Egypt, on inquiry found 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.--S.
+
+[276] 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 Kur-�n [xxviii. 35], 'Ye two,
+and they who follow you, shall overcome.'--S.
+
+[277] See p. 101, l. 5, n. 1 (260).
+
+[278] Cp. Act. Apost. v. 38, 39.
+
+[279] 'The people of Noah and of ��d and of Thamood, and those whom
+God destroyed after them.' So explained in the K�moos.
+
+[280] It is said that H�m�n having prepared bricks and other materials
+employed no less than fifty thousand men besides labourers in the
+building, which they carried to so immense a height that the workmen
+could no longer stand on it: that Pharaoh ascending this tower threw a
+javelin towards heaven, which fell back again stained with blood,
+whereupon he impiously boasted that he had killed the god of Moses;
+but at sunset God sent the angel Gabriel, who with one stroke of his
+wing demolished the tower, a part whereof falling on the king's army
+destroyed a million of men.--S. (Z.)
+
+[281] Some are of opinion that those who were sent by Pharaoh to seize
+the true believer, his kinsman, are the persons more particularly
+meant in this place: for they tell us that the said believer fled to a
+mountain, where they found him at prayers, guarded by the wild beasts,
+which ranged themselves in order about him; and that his pursuers
+thereupon returned in a great fright to their master, who put them to
+death for not performing his command.--S. (B.)
+
+[282] Some expound these words of the previous punishment they are
+doomed to suffer, according to a tradition of Ibn-Mes�ood, which
+informs us that their souls are in the crops of black birds which are
+exposed to hell-fire every morning and evening until the Day of
+Judgment.--S. (B.)
+
+[283] As there is no mention of any such miraculous inundation in the
+[so-called] Mosaic writings, some have imagined this plague to have
+been either a pestilence, or the smallpox, or some other epidemical
+distemper. (B.) For the word 'toof�n,' which is used in this place,
+and is generally rendered a 'deluge,' may also signify any other
+universal destruction or mortality.--S.
+
+[284] 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 Egypt and the Amalekites.--S. (B.)
+
+[285] Particularly the lofty tower [before mentioned] which Pharaoh
+caused to be built, that he might attack the God of Moses.--S.
+
+[286] The word here translated 'body' signifying also a 'coat of
+mail,' some imagine the meaning to be that his corpse floated armed
+with his coat of mail, which they tell us was of gold, by which they
+knew it was he.--S.
+
+[287] These people some will have to be of the tribe of Amalek, 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.--S. (B.)
+
+[288] The Eastern writers say these quails were of a peculiar kind of
+be found nowhere else but in El-Yemen, from whence they were brought
+by a south wind in great numbers to the Israelites' camp in the
+desert. The Arabs called these birds 'selwa,' which is plainly the
+same with the Hebrew 'salwim,' and say they have no bones, but are
+eaten whole.--S.
+
+[289] The word here rendered 'a great city,' namely 'misran,' is
+rendered by Marracci and Sale 'Egypt,' and is so understood by many
+learned Arabs; but according to a general rule, to have this
+signification it should be 'misra:' in some copies of the Kur-�n,
+however, it is thus written.
+
+[290] See Sale's note _in loc._
+
+[291] A kind of soft stone, like dry mud.
+
+[292] The story here alluded to, though it occurs among passages
+respecting Moses and his people, is said to relate to a different age
+and to be as follows:--In the days of David, some Israelites dwelt at
+Eyleh, 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 commandment, catched 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 Sabbath, used both persuasion and force to stop this impiety, but
+to no purpose, the offenders growing only more and more obstinate;
+whereupon 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.--S.
+(A. F.)
+
+[293] His breath before [he used the tooth-stick] had the odour of
+musk.--S. (B.)
+
+[294] It is said that not only the ten commandments, but the whole law
+was written thereon.--S.
+
+[295] That is, as some understand it, consisting of flesh and blood;
+or, as others, being a mere body or mass of metal, without a soul.--S.
+(B.)
+
+[296] The person who cast this calf, the Mohammadans say, was not
+Aaron but Es-S�miree, 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 Es-S�miree 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, Es-S�miree,
+understanding the founder's art, put them altogether into a furnace,
+to melt them down into one mass, which came out in the form of a calf.
+One writer says, that all the Israelites adored this calf, except only
+twelve thousand.--S. (A. F.)
+
+[297] After he had completed his forty days' stay in the mount, and
+had received the Law.--S. (B.)
+
+[298] Or, I knew that which they knew not--that the messenger sent to
+thee from God was a pure spirit, and that his footsteps gave life to
+whatever they touched; being no other than the angel Gabriel, mounted
+on the horse of life: and therefore I made use of the dust of his feet
+to animate the molten calf. It is said, Es-S�miree knew the angel
+because he had saved and taken care of him when a child and exposed by
+his mother for fear of Pharaoh.--S. (B., Jel�l.)
+
+[299] The word here rendered 'hearts' often signifies stomachs; and if
+this be its meaning here, the narrative agrees with the [so-called]
+Mosaic account: for Moses 'took the calf which they had made, and
+burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the
+water, and made the children of Israel to drink of it.'--Exod. xxxii.
+20.
+
+[300] 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'
+intercession restored to life.--S.
+
+[301] This person is represented by the commentators as the most
+beautiful of the Israelites, and so far surpassing them all in
+opulence that the riches of K�roon have become a proverb.--S.
+
+[302] Moses, as some say, having complained to God of a false
+accusation brought against him by K�roon, He directed him to command
+the earth what he pleased, and it should obey him; whereupon he said,
+'O earth, swallow them up;' and immediately the earth opened under
+K�roon and his confederates, and swallowed them up, with his palace
+and all his riches.--There goes a tradition that as K�roon sank
+gradually into the ground, first to his knees, then to his waist, then
+to his neck, he cried out four several times, 'O Moses, have mercy on
+me!' but that Moses continued to say, 'O earth, swallow them up!' till
+at last he wholly disappeared: upon which God said to Moses, 'Thou
+hadst no mercy on K�roon, though he asked pardon of thee four times;
+but I would have had compassion on him if he had asked pardon of me
+but once.'--S. (B.)
+
+[303] Or rather, fawn-coloured; as are most of the cows of Arabia. The
+word in the original properly signifies yellow.
+
+[304] The story of this young man 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; at which time his mother told him the
+heifer was his, and bid him fetch her and sell her for three pieces of
+gold. When the young 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
+consent; which when he had obtained, he returned to the market-place,
+and met the angel, who now offered 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 done 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.--S. (A.F.)
+
+[305] The more common tradition seems to be that the man was murdered
+by _one_ person, the son of his brother, who desired to obtain his
+property (as his inheritance), or his daughter, or both.
+(Mir-�t-ez-Zem�n).
+
+[306] Also called El-Khadir. This mysterious person, whom the vulgar
+and some others regard as a prophet, and identify with Ily�s (Elias or
+Elijah), and whom some confound with St. George, was, according to the
+more approved opinion of the learned, a just man or saint, the Wezeer
+and counsellor of that equally doubtful personage Dhu-l-Karneyn, whose
+story has already been related in this volume. El-Khidr is said to
+have drunk of the Fountain of Life, by virtue of which he still lives,
+and will live till the day of judgment. He is also said to appear
+frequently to Muslims in perplexity, and to be generally clad in green
+garments; whence, according to some, his name.--Sale states, in a note
+on this passage, that the Muslims usually confound El-Khidr with
+Phineas, as well as Elias and St. George, saying that his soul passed
+by a metempsychosis successively through all three; and he adds, that
+part of these fictions they took from the Jews, some of whom also
+fancy Phineas was Elias.
+
+[307] Or, as some rather think, El-Ubulleh, near El-Basrah, or else
+B�jarw�n in Armenia.--S. (B.)
+
+[308] They were ten brothers, five of whom were past their labour by
+reason of their age.--S. (B.)
+
+[309] 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 'sekeeneh,' which signifies
+'tranquillity' or 'security 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 express
+by the same word 'Shekinah.'--S.
+
+[310] Sale observes that Yahy� most rationally understands hereby the
+divine revelations which David received from God, and not the art of
+making coats of mail.--The cause of his applying himself to this art is
+thus related in the Mir-�t-ez-Zem�n:--He used to go forth in disguise;
+and when he found any people who knew him not, he approached them and
+asked them respecting the conduct of David, and they praised him and
+prayed for him; but one day, as he was asking questions respecting
+himself as usual, God sent to him an angel in the form of a human
+being, who said, 'An excellent man were David if he did not take from
+the public treasury:'--whereupon the heart of David was contracted, and
+he begged of God to render him independent: so He made iron soft to
+him, and it became in his hands as thread; and he used to sell a coat
+of mail for four thousand [pieces of money--whether gold or silver is
+not said], and with part of this he obtained food for himself, and part he
+gave in alms, and with part he fed his family.--Hence an excellent coat
+of mail is often called by the Arabs 'D�woodee,' _i.e._, 'Davidean.'
+See my translation of 'The Thousand and One Nights,' chap. viii. note
+5.
+
+[311] For David, they say, divided his time regularly, setting apart
+one day for the service of God, another day for rendering justice to
+his people, another day for preaching to them, and another day for his
+own affairs.--S. (B.)
+
+[312] They say that he had a carpet of green silk, on which his throne
+was placed, being of a prodigious length and breadth, and sufficient
+for all his forces to stand on, the men placing themselves on his
+right hand, and the spirits [or jinn] on his left; and that when all
+were in order the wind at his command took up the carpet and
+transported it with all that were upon it wherever he pleased; the
+army of birds at the same time flying over their heads and forming a
+kind of canopy to shade them from the sun.--S.
+
+[313] Whither the wind brought back Solomon's throne in the evening,
+after having carried it to a distant country in the morning.--S.
+
+[314] After the space of forty days, which was the time the image had
+been worshipped in his house, the devil [or jinnee] flew away, and
+threw the signet into the sea: the signet was immediately swallowed by
+a fish, which being taken and given to Solomon, he found the ring in
+its belly, and, having by this means recovered the kingdom, took
+Sakhr, and, tying a great stone to his neck, threw him into the
+Lake of Tiberias.--S. (B., A.F.)
+
+[315] See note 30 to the Introduction of my translation of the
+'Thousand and One Nights.'
+
+[316] The Arab historians tell us that Solomon, having finished the
+Temple of Jerusalem, went in pilgrimage to Mekkeh, where having stayed
+as long as he pleased, he proceeded towards El-Yemen; and leaving
+Mekkeh in the morning he arrived by noon at San�a, and being
+extremely delighted with the country rested there; but wanting water
+to make the ablution, he looked among the birds for the lapwing which
+found it for him.--S. (B.)
+
+[317] Some add that Bilkees, to try whether Solomon was a prophet or
+not, drest the boys like girls and the girls like boys, and sent him
+in a casket a pearl not drilled and an onyx drilled with a crooked
+hole; and that Solomon distinguished the boys from the girls by the
+different manner of their taking water, and ordered one worm to bore
+the pearl, and another to pass a thread through the onyx.--S. (B.)
+
+[318] Others, however, suppose it was El-Khidr, or else Gabriel, or
+some other angel; and some imagine it to have been Solomon himself.--S.
+(B.)
+
+[319] This fountain they say was in El-Yemen.--S. (B.)
+
+[320] Some say these spirits made him two lions, which were placed at
+the foot of his throne; and two eagles, which were set above it; and
+that when he mounted it, the lions stretched out their paws; and when
+he sat down, the eagles shaded him with their wings.--S. (B.)
+
+[321] The commentators to explain this passage tell us that David,
+having laid the foundations of the Temple of Jerusalem, which was to
+be in lieu of the tabernacle of Moses, when he died, left it to be
+finished by his son Solomon, who employed the genii in the work; that
+Solomon, before the edifice was quite completed, perceiving his end
+drew nigh, begged of God that his death might be concealed from the
+genii till they had entirely finished it; that God therefore so
+ordered it that Solomon died as he stood at his prayers, leaning on
+his staff, which supported the body in that posture a full year; and
+the genii, supposing him to be alive, continued their work during that
+term, at the expiration whereof, the temple being perfectly completed,
+a worm, which had gotten into the staff, ate it through, and the
+corpse fell to the ground and discovered the king's death.--S. (B.,
+Jel�l.)
+
+[322] It is said that the fish, after it had swallowed Jonah, swam
+after the ship with its head above water, that the prophet might
+breathe; who continued to praise God till the fish came to land and
+vomited him out.--S.
+
+[323] Sale states that some imagine Jonah's plant to have been a fig;
+and others, the m�z (or banana), which bears very large leaves and
+excellent fruit.
+
+[324] The commentators add that this plant withered the next morning,
+and that Jonah being much concerned at it God made a remonstrance to
+him in behalf of the Ninevites, agreeably to what is recorded in
+Scripture.--S.
+
+[325] When he first began to exhort them to repentance, instead of
+hearkening to him, they used him very ill, so that he was obliged to
+leave the city, threatening them at his departure that they should be
+destroyed within three days, or, as others say, within forty. But when
+the time drew near, and they saw the heavens overcast with a black
+cloud which shot forth fire and filled the air with smoke and hung
+directly over the city, they were in a terrible consternation, and
+getting into the fields, with their families and cattle, they put on
+sackcloth and humbled themselves before God, calling aloud for pardon
+and sincerely repenting of their past wickedness. Whereupon God was
+pleased to forgive them, and the storm blew over.--S. (B., Jel�l, A.F.)
+
+[326] �Imr�n, as observed by Sale, is the name of two several persons
+according to the Muslims: one was the father of Moses and Aaron, and
+the other was the father of the Virgin Mary. The latter is here meant,
+and his wife's name was Hannah.
+
+[327] Or the devil driven away with stones.--See note 1. (38), p. 7.
+
+[328] And for this reason, they say, neither of them was guilty of any
+sin, like the rest of the children of Adam.--S. (Kat�deh.)
+
+[329] That is, between thirty, or thirty-four, and fifty-one: and the
+passage may relate to Christ's preaching here on earth. But as he had
+scarce attained this age when he was taken up into heaven, the
+commentators choose to understand it of his second coming.--S.
+
+[330] The age of the Virgin Mary at the time of her conception was
+thirteen, or, as others say, ten; and she went six, seven, eight, or
+nine months with him, according to different traditions; though some
+say the child was conceived at its full growth of nine months, and
+that she was delivered of him within an hour after.--S. (B., Yahya.)
+
+[331] Some say the Virgin Mary had really a brother named Aaron, who
+had the same father but a different mother: others suppose Aaron the
+brother of Moses is here meant, but say Mary is called his sister
+either because she was of the Levitical race, (as, by her having been
+related to Elizabeth, it should seem she was,) or by way of
+comparison: others say that it was a different person of that name who
+was contemporary with her and conspicuous for his good or bad
+qualities, and that they likened her to him either by way of
+commendation or of reproach.--S. (B., Z., &c.)
+
+[332] These were the first words which were put into the mouth of
+Jesus, to obviate the imagination of his partaking of the divine
+nature or having a right to the worship of mankind on account of his
+miraculous speaking so soon after his birth.--S. (B.)
+
+[333] It is related in the spurious Gospel of the Infancy of Christ
+that Jesus being seven years old and at play with several children of
+his age, they made several figures of birds and beasts of clay for
+their diversion; and each preferring his own workmanship, Jesus told
+them that he would make his walk and leap; which accordingly at his
+command they did. He made also several figures of sparrows and other
+birds, which flew about or stood on his hands as he ordered them, and
+also ate and drank when he offered them meat and drink. The children,
+telling this to their parents, were forbidden to play any more with
+Jesus, whom they held to be a sorcerer.--S.
+
+[334] The commentators observe that these words are added lest it
+should be thought Jesus did these miracles by his own power, or was
+God.--S. (B.)
+
+[335] In Arabic, 'el-Haw�reeyoon;' which word they derive from 'h�ra,'
+'to be white' [or rather, 'to whiten' clothes], 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.--(B., Jel�l.) According to
+which last opinion, their vocation is thus related: That as Jesus
+passed by the sea-side, he saw some fullers at work, and, accosting
+them, said, 'Ye cleanse these clothes, but cleanse not your hearts;'
+upon which they believed on him. But the true etymology seems to be
+from the Ethiopic verb 'hawyra,' 'to go;' whence 'haw�rya' signifies
+'one that is sent,' a 'messenger,' or 'apostle.'--S.
+
+[336] The person crucified some will have to be a spy that was sent to
+entrap him; others that it was one Titian, who by the direction of
+Judas entered in at a window of the house where Jesus was; to kill
+him; and others that it was Judas himself, who agreed with the rulers
+of the Jews to betray him for thirty pieces of silver, and led those
+who were sent to take him.--They add, that Jesus, after his crucifixion
+in _effigy_, was sent down again to the earth to comfort his mother
+and disciples and acquaint them how the Jews were deceived, and was
+then taken up a second time into heaven.
+
+It is supposed by several that this story was an original invention of
+Mohammad's; but they are certainly mistaken: for several sectaries
+held the same opinion long before his time. The Basilidians, in the
+very beginning of Christianity, denied that Christ himself suffered,
+but [asserted] that Simon the Cirenean was crucified in his place. The
+Corinthians before them, and the Carpocratians next (to name no more
+of those who affirmed Jesus to have been a mere man), did believe the
+same thing, that it was not himself, but one of his followers, very
+like him, that was crucified. Photius tells us that he read a book
+entitled 'The Journeys of the Apostles,' relating the acts of Peter,
+John, Andrew, Thomas, and Paul; and among other things contained
+therein this was one, that Christ was not crucified, but another in
+his stead, and that therefore he laughed at his crucifiers, or those
+who thought they had crucified him.--S.
+
+[337] 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 best provider of food.' What the provisions
+were with which the 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; another, fruits of Paradise: but the most
+received tradition is that when 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 afflicted with bodily infirmities or poverty, ate of these
+provisions and were satisfied, the fish remaining whole as it was at
+the 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
+Mohammadan writers are of opinion that this table did not really
+descend, but it was only a parable; but most think that the words of
+the Kur-�n are plain to the contrary. A further tradition is that
+several men were changed into swine [and apes] 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.--S.
+(B.)
+
+[338] Some say the table descended on a Sunday, which was the reason
+of the Christians' observing that day as sacred. Others pretend 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.--S.
+
+[339] To explain this passage, the commentators tell the following
+story:--The people of Antioch being idolaters, Jesus sent two of his
+disciples thither to preach to them; and when they drew near the city,
+they found Habeeb, surnamed En-Nejj�r, or The Carpenter, feeding
+sheep, and acquainted him with their errand; whereupon he asked them
+what proof they had of their veracity, and they told him they could
+cure the sick and the blind and the lepers; and to demonstrate the
+truth of what they said they laid their hands on a child of his who
+was sick and immediately restored him to health. Habeeb was convinced
+by this miracle and believed; after which they went into the city and
+preached the worship of one true God, curing a great number of people
+of several infirmities; but at length, the affair coming to the
+prince's ear, he ordered them to be imprisoned for endeavouring to
+seduce the people. When Jesus heard of this, he sent another of his
+disciples, generally supposed to have been Simon Peter; who, coming to
+Antioch, and appearing as a zealous idolater, soon insinuated himself
+into the favour of the inhabitants and of their prince, and at length
+took an opportunity to desire the prince would order the two persons
+who, as he was informed, had been put in prison for broaching new
+opinions to be brought before him to be examined; and accordingly they
+were brought: when Peter, having previously warned them to take no
+notice that they knew him, asked them who sent them; to which they
+answered, God, who had created all things and had no companion. He
+then required some convincing proof of their mission, upon which they
+restored a blind person to his sight and performed some other
+miracles, with which Peter seemed not to be satisfied, for that
+according to some he did the very same miracles himself, but declared
+that if their God could enable them to raise the dead he would believe
+them; which condition the two apostles accepting, a lad was brought
+who had been dead seven days, and at their prayers he was raised to
+life; and thereupon Peter acknowledged himself convinced, and ran and
+demolished the idols, a great many of the people following him and
+embracing the true faith; but those who believed not were destroyed by
+the cry of the angel Gabriel.--S. (B., Z., &c.)
+
+[340] Some say these two were John and Paul; but others name different
+persons.--S.
+
+[341] Simon Peter.
+
+[342] His tomb is still shown near Antioch, and is much visited by the
+Mohammadans.--S.
+
+[343] Also some said he was taken up into heaven; and others, that his
+manhood only suffered, and that his godhead ascended into heaven.--S.
+(B.)
+
+[344] 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
+El-Hajj�j, when a Jew is expiring the angels will strike him on the
+back and face, and say to him, 'O thou enemy of God, Jesus was sent as
+a prophet unto thee, and thou didst not believe on 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 be 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 [the dead being raised to life in their graves]
+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 establish the Mohammadan religion and a most
+perfect tranquillity and security on earth [where he will remain forty
+years, and then die.--Others again suppose that the words 'believe in
+him' signify 'believe in God.']--S. (B., Z., Jel�l, &c.)
+
+[345] It is a dispute among the Mohammadans whether Christ actually
+died or not before his assumption.--S. (B.)
+
+[346] Some, however, are of opinion it [this passage] might have been
+revealed in answer to certain idolaters, who said that the Christians,
+who received the Scriptures, worshipped Jesus, supposing him to be the
+son of God; whereas the angels were more worthy of that honour than
+he.--S. (B.)
+
+[347] As easily as We produced Jesus without a father [B.]. The intent
+of the words is to show how just and reasonable it is to think that
+the angels should bear the relation of children to men rather than to
+God, they being His creatures as well as men, and equally in His
+power.--S.
+
+[348] For some time before the resurrection Jesus is to descend on
+earth according to the Mohammadans near Damascus, or as some say near
+a rock [or rather a mountain-road] named [�Akabet] Afeek, with a lance
+in his hand, wherewith he is to kill Antichrist, whom he will
+encounter at Ludd, or Lydda, a small town not far from Joppa. They add
+that he will arrive at Jerusalem at the time of morning-prayer, that
+he shall perform his devotions after the Mohammadan institution, and
+officiate instead of the Im�m, who shall give place to him; that he
+will break down the cross, and destroy the churches of the Christians,
+of whom he will also make a general slaughter, excepting only such as
+shall profess El-Isl�m.--S. (B.)
+
+
+[349] Either by rejecting and contemning Jesus, as the Jews do; or
+raising him to an equality with God, as do the Christians.--S. (B.)
+
+[350] 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.--S.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX OF CHAPTERS.
+
+
+   CHAP.                 PAGE
+
+   I. (entire)              3
+
+   II.           1-6        4
+   "            7-19     41-2
+   "            21-2       19
+   "           28-31    49-50
+   "            33-7     51-2
+   "              51      121
+   "            52-3      121
+   "              54      115
+   "              57    115-6
+   "              58      115
+   "              59       38
+   "            60-2    116-7
+   "            63-9    125-7
+   "              87      121
+   "           100-1       19
+   "          118-20     73-5
+   "             130     47-8
+   "           133-4       15
+   "             141       16
+   "          158-60        8
+   "           160-2     30-1
+   "             166       38
+   "             172       35
+   "             191       32
+   "          247-52    132-4
+   "             256        5
+   "             260     70-1
+   "             261      148
+   "             262       73
+   "             265       36
+   "           266-7       36
+   "             273       36
+   "             280       37
+
+   III.        12-15       29
+    "           25-6        6
+    "           31-6   149-51
+    "          37-43    151-2
+    "           43-7    155-7
+    "           52-5      164
+    "          58-60     75-6
+    "             79       38
+    "            138       14
+    "            139       32
+    "            148       32
+    "          163-5       30
+    "         179-80       16
+
+   IV.            51    10-11
+   "            80-1       32
+   "              88       37
+   "             123       30
+   "             144       31
+   "           155-7    161-2
+   "             161       14
+   "          169-70    164-5
+
+   V.           23-9    122-4
+   "            30-5     53-4
+   "        56, 62-3       42
+   "            85-6     40-1
+   "           112-5    157-9
+   "           116-8      162
+
+   VI.            50       14
+   "           59-64       10
+   "           74-82     66-7
+   "          95-103      8-9
+   "             108       36
+   "          109-11     16-7
+
+   VII.        10-17     50-1
+    "             22       51
+    "             52        6
+    "          63-70     60-1
+    "           71-7     61-2
+    "         101-23    107-9
+    "         124-33    112-4
+    "          134-6      114
+    "         138-42    117-8
+    "          146-8      118
+    "          154-6    121-2
+    "          186-8       31
+
+   IX.            18       36
+
+   X.          38-40       19
+   "            90-2      114
+   "             100       32
+
+   XI.         27-36     55-6
+   "              38       56
+   "           38-46     56-8
+   "           47-50     58-9
+   "            72-8       71
+   "              84       72
+   "           85-98     95-6
+
+   XII.         4-22    77-80
+    "          35-50     80-2
+    "         54-102    82-92
+
+   XIII.        13-4        9
+
+   XIV.         26-7       31
+
+   XV.          6-15       17
+   "           16-25        7
+
+   XVI.           92       34
+    "          103-5       20
+
+   XVII.        90-8       18
+
+   XVIII.      28-30       27
+     "         31-42    39-40
+     "          45-7       27
+     "         59-81   127-31
+     "        82-101     63-5
+     "           109       20
+     "           110       14
+
+   XIX.        12-15      151
+    "          16-41    152-5
+    "          42-51     67-8
+    "           91-6       11
+
+   XX.          8-50    103-7
+    "          88-99   119-21
+
+   XXI.        26-30       33
+    "          52-75    68-70
+    "          79-82      136
+
+   XXII.          72       11
+
+   XXIV.       39-40       39
+
+   XXV.        64-75       43
+
+   XXVII.      15-45   138-44
+
+   XXVIII.      21-8   97-103
+     "         76-82    124-5
+
+   XXIX.        40-3       12
+     "            45       38
+
+   XXXIV.      11-13    144-5
+     "            49       14
+
+   XXXVI.      12-28   159-61
+
+   XXXVII.    97-111     72-3
+     "        139-48    146-7
+
+   XXXVIII.     20-4    135-6
+      "        29-39    136-8
+      "         40-4     93-4
+
+   XXXIX.      67-75     28-9
+
+   XL.         27-49   109-12
+
+   XLI.         34-5       37
+
+   XLIII.      57-65    162-4
+
+   L.           30-3       29
+
+   LVI.         1-56     24-6
+    "           76-9       17
+
+   LXI.          6-9    15-16
+
+   LXII.           5       41
+
+   LXVII.        1-4        6
+     "           6-8       30
+
+   LXIX.       13-37     23-4
+
+   LXXI.        27-9       56
+
+   LXXII. 1, 2, 8-11       33
+
+   LXXIV.        1-7       13
+
+   LXXVI.      29-30       32
+
+   LXXXI.       1-14     22-3
+
+   LXXXII.  (entire)       22
+
+   LXXXVIII.     1-7       23
+
+   XCII.    (entire)     34-5
+
+   XCIII.   (entire)       13
+
+   XCVI.         1-6    xliii
+
+   XCIX.    (entire)       21
+
+   CI.      (entire)       21
+
+   CVII.    (entire)       35
+
+   CXII.    (entire)        5
+
+
+GENERAL INDEX.
+
+
+   AARON, 105 ff.
+
+   �Abb�s, Ibn-, 50.
+
+   �Abdallah ibn Ubayy, lx.
+
+   �Abd-el-Muttalib, xxxvii, 73.
+
+   Abel, 53.
+
+   Aboo-Bekr, xlv, xlvii, lvi, lxxvii.
+
+   Aboo-Fir�s, xxix.
+
+   Aboo-Lahab, li, lii.
+
+   Aboo-T�lib, xxxviii, xlv, xlvii, xlix, l, lii.
+
+   Abraham, xxxii, 15, 47, 66-76.
+
+   Abrogation of revelations, 19, 20, 38.
+
+   Abyssinia, flight to, xlvii.
+
+   �d, 60, 61.
+
+   Adam, 47, 49-52, 164.
+
+   Advent of Christ, second, 163.
+
+   African converts, xcvii.
+
+   Ahmad, prophecy of, 15.
+
+   �A�sheh, liii, lxix, lxxiii.
+
+   �Akabeh, pledges of the, lv, lvi.
+
+   �Alee, xxxix, lvi.
+
+   All�h Ta��la, xxxiii.
+
+   Alms, lxxxiv, 36.
+
+   Amnesty to Mekka, lxvii.
+
+   Anas, xli.
+
+   Ancestry, pride of, xviii.
+
+   Angels, 33, 49.
+
+   Ans�r, lix, lx.
+
+   �Antarah, xxviii.
+
+   Antichrist, 157, 163.
+
+   Antioch, 159-161.
+
+   Apostles, 14, 47, 156.
+
+   Appearance of Mohammad, xl.
+
+   Arab poetry, examples, xiv, xv, xvi, xvii, xviii, xix, xxix.
+
+   Arabia, xi-xiii.
+
+   Arabia, submission of, lxvii.
+
+   Arabs at Yethrib, liv.
+
+   Arabs before Isl�m, the, xi-xxxv;
+     their country, xi;
+     influence on their character, xii;
+     the Bedawee nature, xiii;
+     devotion to the clan, xiv;
+     honour, xv;
+     war and plunder, xvi;
+     ferocity, xvi, xvii;
+     family pride, xviii;
+     pledge of protection, xviii;
+     hospitality, xix;
+     H�tim the ideal Arab, xix-xxii;
+     Arab poetry, xxii-xxiv;
+     the fair of �Ok�dh, xxiv-xxvi;
+     women of Arabia, xxvi;
+     chivalry, xxvii, xxviii;
+     fathers and daughters, xxix;
+     town life, xxx;
+     Mekka, xxx;
+     music and poetry at Mekka, xxxi;
+     dice and drink, xxxi;
+     the Kaabeh, xxxii;
+     religion of the early Arabs, xxxii;
+     Christianity and Judaism in Arabia, xxxiv;
+     the Haneefs, xxxiv;
+     Zeyd ibn �Amr, xxxv;
+     the change in the Arabs effected by Mohammad, xxxv.
+
+   Aristocracy, hostility of, xlvii.
+
+   Ark, 56, 57, 133.
+
+   �saf Solomon's wezeer, 142.
+
+   Aws, Benee-, liv.
+
+   Azar or Terah, 66.
+
+
+   BABEL, Tower of, 69.
+
+   Bathsheba, 135.
+
+   Bayard of Isl�m, l.
+
+   Bedr, lxv.
+
+   Beh�-ed-deen Zoheyr, xxiv.
+
+   Believers and unbelievers, 38-43.
+
+   Benjamin, 77, 84, 86-89.
+
+   Bil�l, the first Mu�ddin, xlv, xlvii.
+
+   Bilkees, Queen of Sheba, 139-143.
+
+   Birds and Solomon, 138-139.
+
+   Book, the preserved, 17.
+
+   Books, divine, 47-48.
+
+   Byzantium, Emperor of, lxviii.
+
+
+   CAIN, 53, 54.
+
+   Caleb, 123.
+
+   Calf, the golden, 118 ff.
+
+   Camel of Mohammad, lxvi.
+
+   Camel of Thamood, 61, 62.
+
+   Camel-driver, Mohammad a, xxxix.
+
+   Caussin de Perceval, M., xxii.
+
+   Chivalry of ancient Arabs, xxvii, xxviii.
+
+   Christ, 47, 149-165.
+
+   ---- divinity of, 154, 162-165.
+
+   ---- the Messiah, lxi.
+
+   ---- the Word of God, lxxxii, 165.
+
+   ---- supposed crucifixion of, 156, 161.
+
+   ---- second advent of, 163.
+
+   Christians, xxxiv, 38, 40, 42, 48, 164.
+
+   Clan feeling, xiv.
+
+   Corruption of Christian and Jewish scriptures, 48.
+
+   Cow, sacrifice of, 125-127.
+
+
+   DAUGHTERS of God, xxxiii, 9, 11, 33.
+
+   Daughters, love of, xxix.
+
+   David, 47, 134-36, 138.
+
+   Davidean coats of mail, 135.
+
+   Day of judgment, 21-31.
+
+   Debtors, 37.
+
+   Destiny, 32.
+
+   Deutsch, Dr. Emanuel, xxiv, xl.
+
+   Devils, 7, 31, 136, 137, 138.
+
+   Dhaf�r, Christians of, xxxiv.
+
+   Dhu-l-Karneyn, 63-65, 128.
+
+   Dhu-l-Kifl, 47.
+
+   Dice, xxxi.
+
+   Disaffected party, lx, lxv.
+
+   Divine books, 47-48.
+
+   Divinity of Christ, 154, 162-165.
+
+   Divinity of the Virgin, 162, 165.
+
+   Drink, love of, xxxi.
+
+
+   EDEN, 51.
+
+   Egypt, 79 ff.
+
+   Egypt, plagues of, 112-114.
+
+   Elias, 128.
+
+   Embarcation formula, 57.
+
+   Emeen, El-, xl, xlv.
+
+   Emeeneh, El-, 137.
+
+   Enoch, 47.
+
+   Eve, 51.
+
+   Evil eye, 85.
+
+   Exodus, the, 114 ff.
+
+   Ezekiel, lines from, xxx.
+
+   Ezra, 148.
+
+
+   FAIR, _see_ �Ok�dh.
+
+   Family pride of Arabs, xviii.
+
+   Famine of Egypt, 83 ff.
+
+   Fanes, xxxiii.
+
+   Fast, lxxxiv, 117.
+
+   Fate, lxxxi, 32.
+
+   Fathers and daughters, xxix.
+
+   F�tihah, 3.
+
+   Fetishism, xxxiii.
+
+   Fij�r, war of the, xxxviii.
+
+   Fir�s, Aboo-, xxix.
+
+   Flight of Mohammad, lvi, lvii.
+
+   Flight to Abyssinia, xlvii.
+
+   Flood, 55-59.
+
+   Forgery, lxvii ff., 19.
+
+
+   GABRIEL, xliv, 72, 73, 78, 111, 152, 161
+
+   God, 5-12.
+
+   ---- unity, profession of, 5.
+
+   ---- has no partners, 9, 11, 33, 154, 162-165.
+
+   ---- the supreme, xxxiii.
+
+   ---- Mohammad doctrine of, lxxx.
+
+   Goddesses, moon, xxxiii, xlviii.
+
+   Gog and Magog, 64, 65.
+
+   Golden calf, 118 ff.
+
+   Goliath, 133, 134.
+
+   Good for evil, 37.
+
+   Gospel, 15, 47, 48, 149 ff.
+
+   Greeting, 37.
+
+
+   HABEEB, 159 ff.
+
+   Haggadah, xliii, lxi, lxii.
+
+   H�m�n, 97, 110.
+
+   Haneefs, xxxiv.
+
+   H�shimees, xxxviii, li, lii.
+
+   H�tim, xix-xxii.
+
+   Haw�reeyoon, El-, 156.
+
+   Heber, 47, 160, 161.
+
+   Hell, 21-31.
+
+   Helpers, the, lix, lx.
+
+   Hij�z;, xii.
+
+   Hijreh, the, lvii.
+
+   Hir�, Mount, xliii.
+
+   Honour, Arab, xv.
+
+   Hood, 47, 60, 61.
+
+   Hooreeyehs, Footnotes 128, 131.
+
+   Hospitality, Arab, xix.
+
+   Howw�, 51.
+
+   Hubal, xxxii.
+
+   Humanity, lxxxvi.
+
+   Hypocrites, 31, 41.
+
+   'Hypocrites, the,' lx.
+
+
+   IBLEES, 31, 49, 50.
+
+   Idols, xxxii, xlvi, lxvi, 8, 11, 12, 30.
+
+   Idrees, 47.
+
+   Ily�s, 128.
+
+   Im�m, 74, 163.
+
+   �Imr�n, 149.
+
+   Infanticide, xxxii, 23.
+
+   Inspiration, lxxiv.
+
+   Isaac, 47, 70-73.
+
+   Ishmael, xxxii, 47, 72-73.
+
+   Iskender, 63.
+
+   Isl�m, lxxvii-xcix, 76.
+
+
+   JACOB, 47, 70, 71, 77-92.
+
+   Jann, El-, or Iblees, 49.
+
+   Jerusalem, Temple of, 145.
+
+   Jesus of Nazareth, _see_ Christ.
+
+   Jethro, 47, 95 ff.
+
+   Jewish corruption of Scripture, 48.
+
+   Jews, liv, lxii-lxv, 38, 40, 41, 42, 48.
+
+   Jinn, liii, 7, 9, 33, 136-138, 144, 145.
+
+   Jinnee, Mohammad possessed by a, 17.
+
+   Ji�r�neh, El-, scene at, lix.
+
+   Job, 93, 94.
+
+   Jonah, 146, 147.
+
+   Joodee, mountain of El-, 58.
+
+   Joseph, 77-92.
+
+   Joseph and Zeleekha, 83.
+
+   Joshua, 47, 123, 124, 127-129.
+
+   Judah, 77-79.
+
+   Judaism in Arabia, xxxiv.
+
+
+   KAABEH, xxxii, lxxxiv, 74-75.
+
+   Kasw�, El-, lxvi.
+
+   Khadeejeh, xxxix, lii, liii, lxxi, lxxii.
+
+   Khateeb-el-Ambiya, 95.
+
+   Khazraj, Benee-, liv.
+
+   Khidr, El-, 47, 128-130.
+
+   Khusru, the, lxvii.
+
+   Kitfeer, 79.
+
+   Korah, 124, 125.
+
+   Kudar ibn S�lif, 62.
+
+   Kureysh, xxxvii f, xlv-lviii, lxv-lxvii.
+
+   Kur-�n, 4, 13-20, 47;
+     state in which it was left by Mohammad, ci;
+     first revision, ci;
+     second revision, ci;
+     chaotic order, cii;
+     scientific arrangement of N�ldeke, ciii;
+     characteristics of different groups, civ;
+     statistics, cvi.
+
+
+   LAHAB, Aboo-, li, lii.
+
+   Lapwing and Solomon, 139.
+
+   L�t, El-, xxxiii.
+
+   Lazarus, 155.
+
+   Lion of God, l.
+
+   Lot, 47, 69, 70.
+
+   Lyall, Mr. C. J., xv.
+
+
+   MARRIAGES of Mohammad, xxxix, lxx ff.
+
+   Martyrs for the faith, 30.
+
+   Mary the Virgin, 149 ff.
+
+   Mary, divinity of, 162, 165.
+
+   Medina, lvii, lix ff., lxv, _and see_ Yethrib.
+
+   Mekka, xxx ff., lxvii.
+
+   Men�h, xxxiii.
+
+   Messenger or apostle, 14.
+
+   Messiah, _see_ Christ.
+
+   Metempsychosis, xxxiii.
+
+   Midian, 95, 96, 101.
+
+   Migrations of Muslims, xlvii, lvii.
+
+   Mi�r�j, lv.
+
+   Misr, 88.
+
+   Miracles or signs, 16, 17, 18, 52.
+
+   Miriam (Maryam), 99, 105.
+
+   Mohammad, 13-20, 47;
+     his family, xxxvii;
+     childhood, xxxvii;
+     youth, xxxviii;
+     shepherding, xxxviii;
+     camel-driving, xxxix;
+     personal appearance, xl;
+     habits, xli, xlii;
+     solitary wanderings, xlii;
+     the call, xliii;
+     public appearance, xliv;
+     first conversions, xlv;
+     address on Mount Es-Saf�, xlvi;
+     preaching, xlvi;
+     hostility of the aristocracy, xlvii;
+     torturing of slaves, xlvii;
+     emigration to Abyssinia, xlvii;
+     speech to the Negus, xlviii;
+     persecution by Kureysh, xlviii;
+     compromise, xlviii;
+     interview with Aboo-T�lib, xlix;
+     conversion of �Omar and Hamzeh, l;
+     the ban of the H�shimees, li;
+     its end, lii;
+     death of Aboo-T�lib and Khadeejeh, lii;
+     visit to Et-T��f, liii;
+     pilgrims from Yethrib, liv;
+     state of parties at Yethrib, liv;
+     first pledge of the �Akabeh, lv;
+     Yethrib and Mekka, lv;
+     the night journey, lv;
+     second pledge of the �Akabeh, lvi;
+     emigration of Muslims to Yethrib, lvii;
+     Mohammad's flight or Hijreh, lvii, lviii;
+     retrospect, lviii;
+     parties at Medina, lix;
+     the Refugees, Helpers, Hypocrites, lix, lx;
+     the Jews, lxi;
+     are conciliated, lxii;
+     but become hostile, lxii;
+     their punishment, lxiii-lxv;
+     war with the Kureysh, lxv;
+     Bedr, Ohud, siege of Medina, truce, lxv;
+     the Muslims perform the Lesser Pilgrimage, lxvi;
+     conquest of Mekka, lxvii;
+     complete amnesty, lxvii;
+     submission of Arabia, lxvii;
+     farewell pilgrimage and oration, lxviii;
+     death, lxix;
+     character, lxix;
+     charges of cruelty, sensuality, insincerity, discussed, lxx-lxxvi.
+
+   Mohammad, the illiterate or Gentile apostle, 122.
+
+   Moon-goddesses, xxxiii, xlvii,
+
+   Moses, 92, 97-131.
+
+   Mosques or temples, 36.
+
+   Mountain-worship, xxxiii.
+
+   Mu�ddin, the first, xlv, xlvii.
+
+   Muh�jiroon, lx, lxv.
+
+   Mun�fikoon, lix.
+
+   Mus�ab, lv.
+
+   Mus�ab ibn Er-Reiy�n, 97.
+
+   Muslim, meaning of, 75.
+
+   Muslim, the true, 43.
+
+
+   NEGRO slaves, xlv, xlvii.
+
+   Negus or Nej�shee, xli, xlvii, xlviii.
+
+   Nejd, xii.
+
+   Nejr�n, xxxiv, 164.
+
+   Night journey, lv.
+
+   Nimrod, 66, 69, 70.
+
+   Nineveh, 147.
+
+   Noah, 47, 55-59.
+
+   N�ldeke, ciii.
+
+   Nun, 47.
+
+
+   OHUD, battle of, lxv, 32.
+
+   �Okadh, fair of, xxiv-xxvi, xxxviii.
+
+   �Omar, l.
+
+   �Oneyzeh, 62.
+
+   Oration, farewell, lxviii.
+
+   Oratory among the Arabs, xxiv.
+
+   �Othm�n, xlv.
+
+   Oven of El-Koofeh, 37.
+
+   �Ozeyr or Ezra, 148.
+
+
+   PALMER, Prof. E. H., xxiv.
+
+   Parables, 38-40.
+
+   Paraclete, 15.
+
+   Paradise, 21-31.
+
+   Partners with God, 9, 11, 33.
+
+   Parties at Medina, lix.
+
+   Penates, xxxiii.
+
+   Pentateuch, 47, 48.
+
+   People of the Scripture, 38.
+
+   Perceval, M. Caussin de, xxii.
+
+   Person of Mohammad, xl.
+
+   Pharaoh of Joseph, 81, 83.
+
+   Pharaoh of Moses, 97 ff.
+
+   Pilgrimage, lxxxiv;
+     lesser, lxvi;
+     last, lxviii.
+
+   Pilgrims, xxxvii, liv.
+
+   Pledges of the �Akabeh, lv, lvi.
+
+   Poetry, Arab, xxii-xxiv.
+
+   Polygamy, lxxxix-xcii.
+
+   Potiphar, 79.
+
+   Potiphar's wife, 79, 83.
+
+   Prayer, lxxxiii;
+     opening, cvi, 3
+
+   Preaching of Mohammad, xlvi.
+
+   Preceders, the, 25.
+
+   Predestination, 32.
+
+   Premonition, 4.
+
+   Preserved book, the, 17.
+
+   Pride of ancestry, xviii.
+
+   Priests, xxxiii.
+
+   Prophets, 47, 48.
+
+   Protection, xviii.
+
+   Psalms, 47, 48.
+
+
+   QUEEN of Sheba, 139 ff.
+
+
+   REFUGEES, the, lix, lx.
+
+   Reiy�n, Er-, 81, 97.
+
+   Rek�ah, 74.
+
+   Religion of early Arabs, xxxii.
+
+   Religion, true and false, 34-37.
+
+   Resurrection, 21-31.
+
+   Reuel, _see_ Sho�eyb.
+
+   Revelations, series of, 14, 47-48.
+
+   Revelations, Mohammad's, c, 13.
+
+
+   SABIANS, 38, 48.
+
+   Sabbath-breaking, 116.
+
+   Sadakah, 62.
+
+   Es-Saf�, xlvi, lxvi.
+
+   Safoora, 102.
+
+   S�lih, 47, 61, 62.
+
+   S�miree Es-, 118 ff.
+
+   Samuel, 133.
+
+   Sarah, 71.
+
+   Saul, 132.
+
+   Seers, xxxiii.
+
+   Sensuality of Mohammad, lxx ff.
+
+   Seth, 47.
+
+   Sheba, Queen of, 139 ff.
+
+   Shi-b or quarter, li.
+
+   Shepherding, xxxviii.
+
+   Sho�eyb, or Jethro, or Reuel, 47, 95 ff.
+
+   Siddeek, Es-, xlv.
+
+   Siege of Medina, lxv.
+
+   Sierra Leone, xcviii.
+
+   Signs, _see_ Miracles.
+
+   Sincerity of Mohammad, lxxii ff.
+
+   Slaves, xlv, xlvii, lxviii.
+
+   Smith, Mr. R. Bosworth, xliii, lxxxvii.
+
+   Sodom, 70 ff.
+
+   Solomon, 136-145.
+
+   Sons of God, 9, 11, 33, 154, 162-165.
+
+   Soorah, the first, xliii.
+
+   Soorah, the second, xliv.
+
+   Soorahs, "forged," lxxii.
+
+
+   TABLE from heaven, the, 157-159.
+
+   Tablet, the preserved, 17.
+
+   Ta�f, Et-, liii, 74, 138.
+
+   Talhah, xlv.
+
+   T�lib, _see_ Aboo-T�lib.
+
+   Terah, 66.
+
+   Temples, xxxiii, 36, 145.
+
+   Thamood, 61, 62.
+
+   Throne-verse, 5.
+
+   Th�r, Mount, lvii.
+
+   Torturing slaves, xlvii.
+
+   Town-life in Arabia, xxx.
+
+   Treating with Jews, lxii.
+
+   Tree-worship, xxxiii.
+
+   Truce with Kureysh, lxv.
+
+
+   UBAYY, Ibn-, lx.
+
+   Umm-Gh�nim, 62.
+
+   Umeyyeh, branch of, xxxviii.
+
+   Unity, profession of the, 5.
+
+   Uzz�, El-, xxxiii.
+
+
+   WARAKAH, xxxv.
+
+   Wars of Mohammad, xxxviii, lxv.
+
+   Weleed, El-, 81, 97.
+
+   Wives of Mohammad, lxx ff.
+
+   Wives, command as to, lxviii.
+
+   Women of Arabia, xxvii ff.
+
+   Women in Paradise, 30.
+
+
+   YETHRIB, xxxvii, liv, lv, lvi, _and_ see Medina.
+
+
+   ZELEEKHA, 79, 83.
+
+   Zemzem, xxxii, 73.
+
+   Zeyd, xxxix.
+
+   Zeyd ibn �Amr, xxxv.
+
+   Zeyd ibn Th�bit, ci.
+
+   Zeyneb, lxxii.
+
+   Zipporah, 102.
+
+
+ERRATUM.--P. 36, line 1, _for_ should _read_ shall.
+
+P. 122, line 21, _after_ illiterate _add_ [or Gentile, _i.e._, Arab].
+
+
+   PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.
+   EDINBURGH AND LONDON
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Selections From The Kur-an, by Edward William Lane
+
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+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Selections from the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n by Edward William Lane.
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+<pre>
+
+Project Gutenberg's Selections From The Kur-an, by Edward William Lane
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Selections From The Kur-an
+
+Author: Edward William Lane
+
+Contributor: Stanley Lane Poole
+
+Release Date: December 26, 2013 [EBook #44515]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SELECTIONS FROM THE KUR-AN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Fritz Ohrenschall, Turgut Dincer and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="title-page">
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/front.jpg" width="500" height="765" alt="front cover" title="" />
+<span class="caption">front cover</span>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">TR&Uuml;BNER&#8217;S<br />
+
+ORIENTAL SERIES.<br />
+
+VII.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><small><b>Ballantyne Press</b><br />
+BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.<br />
+EDINBURGH AND LONDON</small></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i"></a></span></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii"></a></span></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii"></a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/frontispiece.jpg" width="500" height="372" alt="MECCA" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MECCA</span>
+</div>
+
+<h1>SELECTIONS FROM THE &#7730;UR-&Aacute;N<br /><br /></h1>
+
+<p class="center">BY<br />
+
+<big>EDWARD WILLIAM LANE,</big></p>
+
+<p class="center"><small>HON. DOCTOR OF LITERATURE, LEYDEN;<br />
+CORRESPONDENT OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE;<br />
+HON. MEMBER OF THE GERMAN ORIENTAL SOCIETY, THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY,<br />
+THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE, ETC.;<br />
+AUTHOR OF &#8220;THE MODERN EGYPTIANS,&#8221; AND &#8220;AN ARABIC-ENGLISH LEXICON;&#8221;<br />
+TRANSLATOR OF &#8220;THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS.&#8221;</small></p>
+
+<p class="center"><b>A New Edition, Revised and Enlarged,</b><br /><br />
+
+<i>WITH AN INTRODUCTION</i>,<br /><br />
+
+BY<br />
+
+<big>STANLEY LANE POOLE.</big><br /><br />
+
+LONDON:<br />
+TR&Uuml;BNER &amp; CO., LUDGATE HILL.<br />
+1879.<br /><br />
+<small>[<i>All rights reserved.</i>]</small></p>
+
+</div>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv"></a></span></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg&nbsp;v]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>PREFACE.</h2>
+
+<p>There are several translations of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n in several
+languages; but there are very few people who have the
+strength of mind to read any of them through. The
+chaotic arrangement and frequent repetitions, and the
+obscurity of the language, are sufficient to deter the most
+persistent reader, whilst the nature of a part of its contents
+renders the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n unfit for a woman&#8217;s eye.</p>
+
+<p>Yet there always has been a wish to know something
+about the sacred book of the Mohammadans, and it was
+with the design of satisfying this wish, whilst avoiding
+the weariness and the disgust which a complete perusal
+of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n must produce, that Mr. Lane arranged the
+&#8216;Selections&#8217; which were published in 1843. In spite of
+many printer&#8217;s errors, due to the author&#8217;s absence from
+England, the book was so far successful that the edition
+was exhausted, and it is now very difficult to obtain
+a copy. But partly owing to the obstructions to the
+reading offered by an interwoven native commentary,
+and partly by reason of the preference shown for the
+doctrinal over the poetical passages, the book went
+into scholars&#8217; hands rather than into the libraries of
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg&nbsp;vi]</a></span>
+the general reading public. It has proved of considerable
+service to students of Arabic, who have found
+it the most accurate rendering in existence of a large part
+of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n; and even native Muslims of India, ignorant
+of Arabic, have used Lane&#8217;s &#8216;Selections&#8217; as their Bible.</p>
+
+<p>In this edition I have endeavoured rather to carry out
+the original intention of the translator. Experience has
+shown that the first plan was over-learned to commend
+itself to the average reader, for whom Mr. Lane had
+destined the book; in this edition I have therefore
+omitted many of the notes, which will not be missed
+by the reader for whom the book is intended, and for
+which the Arabic scholar has only to refer to the first
+edition, or to Sale&#8217;s <i>Koran</i>, whence most of them were
+derived. Again, the text of the first edition was obscured
+and interrupted by an interwoven commentary, which
+destroyed the pleasure of the language and often made the
+meaning less intelligible than before. This commentary
+has been thinned. Where it added nothing to the text, it
+has been erased; where it gave a curious or valuable explanation,
+it has been thrown into a footnote; where it
+merely supplied a necessary word to complete the sense,
+that word has been left in the text distinguished by a different
+type[1]. Once more, the early and wilder <i>soorahs</i>
+were almost wholly omitted in the first edition, whilst
+the later more dogmatic and less poetical <i>soorahs</i> were
+perhaps too fully represented. I have endeavoured to
+establish the balance between the two.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg&nbsp;vii]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In this edition the Selections are divided into two parts.
+The first is Isl&aacute;m; the second, other religions as regarded
+in Isl&aacute;m. In the first are grouped, under distinctive
+headings, the more important utterances of Mo&#7717;ammad on
+what his followers must believe and do; in the second are
+his versions of the history of the patriarchs and other personages
+of the Jewish and Christian writings.</p>
+
+<p>It is only in the First Part that I have made much alteration,
+either by adding fresh extracts (distinguished by a
+sign), or by making a few merely verbal alterations in the
+original extracts, or by the suppression or transposition of
+the commentary. Any alterations that go beyond this&mdash;new
+renderings, for instance&mdash;are duly recorded in the
+footnotes.</p>
+
+<p>The Second Part is almost unchanged from the first
+edition. In this part the interwoven commentary is left
+entire, for the traditions of the commentators about Abraham
+and Moses and Christ are as curious as the traditions
+of Mo&#7717;ammad, and about as credible; and the narrative
+style of the Second Part allows the introduction of parentheses
+more easily than the rhetorical form which many
+of the extracts in the First Part present.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lane&#8217;s Introduction was abridged from Sale&#8217;s Preliminary
+Discourse, with but little addition from his own
+knowledge. Sale&#8217;s Discourse abounds in information, but
+it is too detailed and lengthy for the purpose of this
+volume. I have, then, substituted a short sketch of the
+beginnings of Isl&aacute;m. I have tried to bring home to the
+reader the little we know of the early Arabs; then to draw
+the picture of the great Arab prophet and his work; to
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg&nbsp;viii]</a></span>
+show what are the salient points of Isl&aacute;m; and finally
+to explain something of the history of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n and its
+contents. I am conscious of having drawn the picture
+with a weak hand, but I hope the sketch may serve as a
+not quite useless introduction to a volume of typical selections
+from a book which, in the peculiar character of its
+contents and the extraordinary power of its influence, has
+not its parallel in the world.</p>
+
+<p class="name">S. L. P.</p>
+
+<p><i>June 1878.</i></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg&nbsp;ix]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+<table summary="TOC" style="font-size: .9em;">
+<tr>
+<td class="center padt1 padb05" colspan="3"><i>INTRODUCTION.</i></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right" colspan="3">PAGE<br /></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">I.</td>
+<td class="left">THE ARABS BEFORE MO&#7716;AMMAD</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_xi">xi</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">II.</td>
+<td class="left">MO&#7716;AMMAD</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_xxxvii">xxxvii</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">III.</td>
+<td class="left">ISL&Aacute;M</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_lxxvii">lxxvii</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">IV.</td>
+<td class="left">THE &#7730;UR-&Aacute;N</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_c">c</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="center padt1 padb05" colspan="3"><i>PART THE FIRST.</i></td>
+</tr><tr>
+
+<td class="right vertt">I.</td>
+<td class="left">THE OPENING PRAYER</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_3">3</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">II.</td>
+<td class="left">PREMONITION</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_4">4</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">III.</td>
+<td class="left">GOD</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_5">5</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">IV.</td>
+<td class="left">MO&#7716;AMMAD AND THE &#7730;UR-&Aacute;N</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">V.</td>
+<td class="left">THE RESURRECTION, PARADISE, AND HELL</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">VI.</td>
+<td class="left">PREDESTINATION</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">VII.</td>
+<td class="left">ANGELS AND JINN</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">VIII.</td>
+<td class="left">TRUE RELIGION AND FALSE</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_34">34</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">IX.</td>
+<td class="left">BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="center padt1 padb05" colspan="3"><i>PART THE SECOND.</i></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">I.</td>
+<td class="left">PROPHETS, APOSTLES, AND DIVINE BOOKS</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">II.</td>
+<td class="left">ADAM AND EVE</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_49">49</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">III.</td>
+<td class="left">ABEL AND CAIN</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">IV.</td>
+<td class="left">NOAH AND THE FLOOD</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_55">55</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">V.</td>
+<td class="left">&acute;&Aacute;D AND THAMOOD</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_60">60</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">VI.</td>
+<td class="left">DHU-L-&#7730;ARNEYN</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_63">63</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">VII.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg&nbsp;x]</a></span></td>
+<td class="left">ABRAHAM, ISHMAEL, ISAAC</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_66">66</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">VIII.</td>
+<td class="left">JACOB, JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_77">77</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">IX.</td>
+<td class="left">JOB</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">X.</td>
+<td class="left">SHO&acute;EYB</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_95">95</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">XI.</td>
+<td class="left">MOSES AND HIS PEOPLE</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_97">97</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">XII.</td>
+<td class="left">SAUL, DAVID, SOLOMON</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_132">132</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">XIII.</td>
+<td class="left">JONAH</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_146">146</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">XIV.</td>
+<td class="left">EZRA</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_148">148</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">XV.</td>
+<td class="left">THE MESSIAH</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_149">149</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="left">INDEXES</td>
+<td class="right vertb"><a href="#Page_167">167</a></td>
+</tr></table>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[Pg&nbsp;xi]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><big>INTRODUCTION.</big></h2>
+
+<hr />
+<h3>I.&mdash;<i>THE ARABS BEFORE MO&#7716;AMMAD.</i></h3>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line i1">&#8216;Oh, our manhood&#8217;s prime vigour! No spirit feels waste,</div>
+<div class="line">Not a muscle is stopped in its playing nor sinew unbraced.</div>
+<div class="line">Oh, the wild joys of living! the leaping from rock up to rock,</div>
+<div class="line">The strong rending of boughs from the fir-tree, the cool silver shock</div>
+<div class="line">Of the plunge in the pool&#8217;s living water, the hunt of the bear,</div>
+<div class="line">And the sultriness showing the lion is couched in his lair.</div>
+<div class="line">And the meal, the rich dates yellowed over with gold-dust divine,</div>
+<div class="line">And the locust flesh steeped in the pitcher, the full draught of wine,</div>
+<div class="line">And the sleep in the dried river-channel where bulrushes tell</div>
+<div class="line">That the water was wont to go warbling so softly and well.</div>
+<div class="line">How good is man&#8217;s life, the mere living! how fit to employ</div>
+<div class="line">All the heart and the soul and the senses for ever in joy!&#8217;</div>
+<div class="line i15">&mdash;<span class="smcap">Browning</span>, <i>Saul</i>.</div>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p>Between Egypt and Assyria, jostled by both, yielding to
+neither, lay a strange country, unknown save at its marches
+even to its neighbours, dwelt-in by a people that held
+itself aloof from all the earth&mdash;a people whom the great
+empires of the ancient world in vain essayed to conquer,
+against whom the power of Persia, Egypt, Rome, Byzantium
+was proven impotence, and at whose hands even the
+superb Alexander, had he lived to test his dream, might
+for once have learnt the lesson of defeat. Witnessing the
+struggle and fall of one and another of the great tyrannies
+of antiquity, yet never entering the arena of the fight;&mdash;swept
+on its northern frontier by the conflicting armies of
+Khusru and C&aelig;sar, but lifting never a hand in either
+cause;&mdash;Arabia was at length to issue forth from its silent
+mystery, and after baffling for a thousand years the curious
+gaze of strangers, was at last to draw to itself the
+fearful eyes of all men. The people of whom almost
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[Pg&nbsp;xii]</a></span>
+nothing before could certainly be asserted but its existence
+was finally of its own free will to throw aside the veil, to
+come forth from its fastnesses, and imperiously to bring
+to its feet the kingdoms of the world.</p>
+
+<p>It is not all Arabia of which I speak. The story to
+tell has nothing as yet to say to the &#8216;happy&#8217; tilled lands of
+the south, nor to the outlying princedoms of El-&#7716;eereh and
+Ghass&aacute;n bordering the territories and admitting the suzerainty
+of Persia and Rome. These lands were not wrapped
+in mystery: the Himyerite&#8217;s kingdom in the Yemen, the
+rule of Zenobia at Palmyra, were familiar to the nations
+around. But the cradle of Isl&aacute;m was not here.</p>
+
+<p>Along the eastern coast of the Red Sea, sometimes
+thrusting its spurs of red sandstone and porphyry into the
+waves, sometimes drawing away and leaving a wide stretch
+of lowland, runs a rugged range of mountain. One above
+another, the hills rise from the coast, leaving here and there
+between them a green valley, where you may see an Arab
+settlement or a group of Bedawees watering their flocks.
+Rivers there are none; and the streams that gather from
+the rainfall are scarcely formed but they sink into the
+parched earth. Yet beneath the dried-up torrent-beds a
+rivulet trickles at times, and straightway there spreads a
+rich oasis dearly prized by the wanderers of the desert.
+All else is bare and desolate. Climb hill after hill, and
+the same sight meets the eye&mdash;barren mountain-side, dry
+gravelly plain, and the rare green valleys. At length
+you have reached the topmost ridge; and you see, not
+a steep descent, no expected return to the plain, but a
+vast desert plateau, blank, inhospitable, to all but Arabs
+unindwellable. You have climbed the &#7716;ij&aacute;z&mdash;the &#8216;barrier&#8217;&mdash;and
+are come to the steppes of the Nejd&mdash;the &#8216;highland.&#8217;
+In the valleys of this barrier-land are the Holy
+Cities, Mekka and Medina. Here is the birthplace of
+Isl&aacute;m: the Arab tribes of the &#7716;ij&aacute;z and the Nejd were
+the first disciples of Mo&#7717;ammad.</p>
+
+<p>One may tell much of a people&#8217;s character from its
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[Pg&nbsp;xiii]</a></span>
+home. Truism as it seems, there is yet a meaning in the
+saying that the Arabs are peculiarly the people of Arabia.
+Those who have travelled in this wonderful land tell us of
+the quickening influence of the air and scene of the desert.
+The fresh breath of the plain, the glorious sky, the still
+of the wide expanse, trod by no step but your own, looked
+upon only by yourself and perhaps yonder solitary eagle
+or the wild goat leaping the cliffs you have left behind,
+the absolute stillness and aloneness, bring about a strange
+sense of delight and exultation, a bounding-up of spirits
+held in long restraint, an unknown nimbleness of wit and
+limb. The Arabs felt all this and more in their bright
+imaginative souls. A few would settle in villages, and
+engage in the trade which came through from India
+to the West; but such were held in poor repute by the
+true Bedawees, who preferred above all things else the free
+life of the desert. It is a relief to turn from the hurry
+and unrest of modern civilisation, from the never-ending
+strife for wealth, for &#8216;position,&#8217; for pleasure, even for
+knowledge, and look for a moment on the careless life of
+the Bedawee. He lived the aimless, satisfied life of some
+child; he sought no change; he was supremely content
+with the exquisite sense of simple existence; he was
+happy because he lived. He wished no more. He
+dreaded the dark After-death; he thrust it from his
+thoughts as often as it would force itself unwelcome upon
+him. Utterly fearless of man and fortune, he took no
+thought for the morrow: whatever it brought forth, he
+felt confidently his strength to enjoy or endure; only let
+him seize the happiness of to-day while it shall last, and
+drain to the dregs the overbrimming cup of his life. He
+was ambitious of glory and victory, but it was not an
+ambition that clouded his joy. Throughout a life that
+was full of energy, of passion, of strong endeavour after
+his ideal of desert perfectness, there was yet a restful sense
+of satisfied enjoyment, a feeling that life was of a surety
+well worth living.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[Pg&nbsp;xiv]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>For the Arab had his ideal of life. The true son of the
+desert must in the old times do more than stretch his
+limbs contentedly under the shade of the overhanging
+rock. He must be brave and chivalrous, generous, hospitable;
+ready to sacrifice himself and his substance for his
+clan; prompt to help the needy and the traveller; true to
+his word, and, not least, eloquent in his speech.</p>
+
+<p>Devotion to the clan was the strongest tie the Arab
+possessed. Though tracing their descent from a common
+traditional ancestor, the great northern family of Bedawees
+was split up into numerous clans, owning no
+central authority, but led, scarcely governed, each by its
+own chief, who was the most valiant and best-born man
+in it. The whole clan acted as one being; an injury done
+to one member was revenged by all, and even a crime
+committed by a clansman was upheld by the whole brotherhood.
+Though a small spark would easily light-up war
+between even friendly clans, it was rarely that those of
+kin met as enemies. It is told how a clan suffered
+long and oft-repeated injuries from a kindred clan without
+one deed of revenge. &#8216;They are our brothers,&#8217; they
+said; &#8216;perhaps they will return to better feelings; perhaps
+we shall see them again as they once were.&#8217; To be brought
+to poverty or even to die for the clan, the Arab deemed
+his duty&mdash;his privilege. To add by his prowess or his
+hospitality or his eloquence to the glory of the clan was
+his ambition.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">A mountain<a name="FNanchor_2" id="FNanchor_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">2</a> we have where dwells he whom we shelter there,</div>
+<div class="line i1">lofty, before whose height the eye falls back blunted:</div>
+<div class="line">Deep-based is its root below ground, and overhead there soars</div>
+<div class="line i1">its peak to the stars of heaven whereto no man reaches.</div>
+<div class="line">A folk are we who deem it no shame to be slain in fight,</div>
+<div class="line i1">though that be the deeming thereof of Salool and &acute;&Aacute;mir;</div>
+<div class="line">Our love of death brings near to us our days of doom,</div>
+<div class="line i1">but their dooms shrink from death and stand far distant.</div>
+<div class="line">There dies among us no lord a quiet death in his bed,</div>
+<div class="line i1">and never is blood of us poured forth without vengeance.</div>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[Pg&nbsp;xv]</a></span>
+<div class="line">Our souls stream forth in a flood from the edge of the whetted swords:</div>
+<div class="line i1">no otherwise than so does our spirit leave its mansion.</div>
+<div class="line">Pure is our stock, unsullied: fair is it kept and bright</div>
+<div class="line i1">by mothers whose bed bears well, and fathers mighty.</div>
+<div class="line">To the best of the uplands we wend, and when the season comes</div>
+<div class="line i1">we travel adown to the best of fruitful valleys.</div>
+<div class="line">Like rain of the heaven are we: there is not in all our line</div>
+<div class="line i1">one blunt of heart, nor among us is counted a niggard.</div>
+<div class="line">We say nay when so we will to the words of other men,</div>
+<div class="line i1">but no man to us says nay when we give sentence.</div>
+<div class="line">When passes a lord of our line, in his stead there rises straight</div>
+<div class="line i1">a lord to say the say and do the deeds of the noble.</div>
+<div class="line">Our beacon is never quenched to the wanderer of the night,</div>
+<div class="line i1">nor has ever a guest blamed us where men meet together.</div>
+<div class="line">Our Days<a name="FNanchor_3" id="FNanchor_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">3</a> are famous among our foemen, of fair report,</div>
+<div class="line i1">branded and blazed with glory like noble horses.</div>
+<div class="line">Our swords have swept throughout all lands both west and east,</div>
+<div class="line i1">and gathered many a notch from the steel of hauberk-wearers;</div>
+<div class="line">Not used are they when drawn to be laid back in the sheaths</div>
+<div class="line i1">before that the folk they meet are spoiled and scattered.</div>
+<div class="line">If thou knowest not, ask men what they think of us and them</div>
+<div class="line i1">&mdash;not alike are he that knows and he that knows not.</div>
+<div class="line">The children of Ed-Dayy&aacute;n are the shaft of their people&#8217;s mill,</div>
+<div class="line i1">&mdash;around them it turns and whirls, while they stand midmost.<a name="FNanchor_4" id="FNanchor_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">4</a></div>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p>The renown of the clan was closely wrapped up with
+the Arab chieftain&#8217;s personal renown. He was keenly
+sensitive on the point of honour, and to that notion he
+attached a breadth of meaning which can scarcely be
+understood in these days. Honour included all the different
+virtues that went to make up the ideal Bedawee.
+To be proved wanting in any of these was to be dishonoured.
+Above all things, the man who would &#8216;keep
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xvi" id="Page_xvi">[Pg&nbsp;xvi]</a></span>
+his honour and defile it not&#8217; must be brave and hospitable&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">A rushing rain-flood when he gave guerdons:</div>
+<div class="line i1">when he sprang to the onset, a mighty lion.</div>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p>The Arab warrior was a mighty man of valour. He
+would spend whole days in the saddle, burdened with heavy
+armour, in the pursuit of a foe, seeking the life of the
+slayer of his kin, or sweeping down upon the caravan of
+rich merchandise which his more peaceful countrymen
+of the towns were carrying through the deserts. The
+Arab lived mainly by plunder. His land did not yield
+him food&mdash;unless it were dates, the Bedawee&#8217;s bread&mdash;and
+he relied on the success of his foraging expeditions for his
+support. These he conducted with perfect good-breeding;
+he used no violence when it could be avoided; he merely
+relieved the caravan from the trouble of carrying any
+further the goods that he was himself willing to take
+charge of, urging, if necessary, the unfair treatment of his
+forefather Ishmael as an excellent reason for pillaging the
+sons of Isaac. &#8216;When a woman is the victim, no Bedouin
+brigand, however rude, will be ill-mannered enough to
+lay hands upon her. He begs her to take off the garment
+on which he has set his heart, and he then retires to a
+distance and stands with eyes averted, lest he should do
+violence to her modesty.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>The poems of the early Arabs are full of the deeds of
+their warriors, the excitement of the pitched battle, the
+delight of the pursuit, the nightly raid on the camp, the
+trial of skill between rival chiefs, and the other pictures
+of a warrior&#8217;s triumph. Here we find little of
+the generosity of war: mercy was rarely exercised and
+hatred was carried to its extremest limits; quarter was
+neither asked nor given; to despatch a wounded man was
+no disgrace; the families of the vanquished were enslaved.
+Notwithstanding his frank genial nature, the Arab was of
+a dangerously quick temper, derived, he boasted, from the
+flesh he lived on of the camel, the surliest and most ill-conditioned
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xvii" id="Page_xvii">[Pg&nbsp;xvii]</a></span>
+of beasts. If he conceived himself insulted,
+he was bound to revenge himself to the full, or he would
+have been deemed dishonoured for ever. And since his
+fiery temper easily took offence, the history of the early
+Arabs is full of the traditions of slight quarrels and their
+horrible results&mdash;secret assassination and the long-lasting
+blood-feud.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">Many the warriors, noon-journeying, who, when</div>
+<div class="line i1">night fell, journeyed on and halted at dawning&mdash;</div>
+<div class="line">Keen each one of them, girt with a keen blade</div>
+<div class="line i1">that when one drew it flashed forth like the lightning&mdash;</div>
+<div class="line">They were tasting of sleep by sips, when, as</div>
+<div class="line i1">they nodded, thou didst fright them, and they were scattered.</div>
+<div class="line">Vengeance we did on them: there escaped us</div>
+<div class="line i1">of the two houses none but the fewest.</div>
+<div class="line">And if Hudheyl<a name="FNanchor_5" id="FNanchor_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">5</a> broke the edge of his<a name="FNanchor_6" id="FNanchor_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">6</a> sword-blade&mdash;</div>
+<div class="line i1">many the notch that Hudheyl gained from him!</div>
+<div class="line">Many the time that he made them kneel down on</div>
+<div class="line i1">jagged rocks where the hoof is worn with running!</div>
+<div class="line">Many the morning he fell on their shelter,</div>
+<div class="line i1">and after slaughter came plunder and spoiling!</div>
+<div class="line">Hudheyl has been burned by me, one valiant</div>
+<div class="line i1">whom Evil tires not though they be wearied&mdash;</div>
+<div class="line">Whose spear drinks deep the first draught, and thereon</div>
+<div class="line i1">drinks deep again of the blood of foemen.</div>
+<div class="line">Forbidden was wine, but now it is lawful:</div>
+<div class="line i1">hard was the toil that made it lawful!</div>
+<div class="line">Reach me the cup, O Saw&aacute;d son of &acute;Amr!</div>
+<div class="line i1">my body is spent with gaining my vengeance.</div>
+<div class="line">To Hudheyl we gave to drink Death&#8217;s goblet,</div>
+<div class="line i1">whose dregs are disgrace and shame and dishonour.</div>
+<div class="line">The hyena laughs over the slain of Hudheyl, and</div>
+<div class="line i1">the wolf&mdash;see thou&mdash;grins by their corpses,</div>
+<div class="line">And the vultures flap their wings, full-bellied</div>
+<div class="line i1">treading their dead, too gorged to leave them.</div>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p>The contempt which the Arab, with a few noble exceptions,
+felt for the gentler virtues is seen in these lines:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">Had I been a son of M&aacute;zin, there had not plundered my herds</div>
+<div class="line i1">the sons of the Child of the Dust, Dhuhl son of Sheyb&aacute;n!</div>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xviii" id="Page_xviii">[Pg&nbsp;xviii]</a></span>
+<div class="line">There had straightway arisen to help me a heavy-handed kin,</div>
+<div class="line i1">good smiters when help is needed, though the feeble bend to the blow:</div>
+<div class="line">Men who, when Evil bares before them his hindmost teeth,</div>
+<div class="line i1">fly gaily to meet him, in companies or alone.</div>
+<div class="line">They ask not their brother, when he lays before them his wrong</div>
+<div class="line i1">in his trouble, to give them proof of the truth of what he says.</div>
+<div class="line">But as for my people, though their number be not small,</div>
+<div class="line i1">they are good for nought against evil, however light it be;</div>
+<div class="line">They requite with forgiveness the wrong of those that do them wrong,</div>
+<div class="line i1">and the evil deeds of the evil they meet with kindness and love;</div>
+<div class="line">As though thy Lord had created among the tribes of men</div>
+<div class="line i1">themselves alone to fear Him, and never one man more.</div>
+<div class="line">Would that I had in their stead a folk who, when they ride forth,</div>
+<div class="line i1">strike swiftly and hard, on horse or on camel borne!</div>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p>A point on which the temper of the Bedawee was easily
+touched was his family pride. The Arab prized good blood
+as much in men as in his horses and camels. In these
+he saw the importance of breed, and in men he firmly believed
+the same principle held good. With the tenacious
+memory of his race, he had no difficulty in remembering
+the whole of a complicated pedigree, and he would
+often proudly dwell on the purity of his blood and the
+gallant deeds of his forefathers. He would challenge
+another chief to prove a more noble descent, and hot
+disputes and bitter rivalries often came of these comparisons.</p>
+
+<p>But if noble birth brought rivalry and hatred, it
+brought withal excellent virtues. The Arab nobleman
+was not a man who was richer and more idle and luxurious
+than his inferiors: his position, founded upon descent,
+depended for its maintenance on personal qualities. Rank
+brought with it onerous obligations. The chief, if he
+would retain and carry on the repute of his line, must not
+only be fearless and ready to fight all the world; he must
+be given to hospitality, generous to kith and kin, and
+to all who cry unto him. His tent must be so pitched
+in the camp that it shall not only be the first that the
+enemy attacks, but also the first the wayworn stranger
+approaches; and at night fires must be kindled hard by to
+guide wanderers in the desert to his hospitable entertain
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xix" id="Page_xix">[Pg&nbsp;xix]</a></span>ment.
+If a man came to an Arab noble&#8217;s tent and said, &#8216;I
+throw myself on your honour,&#8217; he was safe from his enemies
+until they had trampled on the dead body of his host.
+Nothing was baser than to give up a guest; the treachery
+was rare, and brought endless dishonour upon the clan in
+which the shame had taken place. The poet extols the
+tents&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">Where dwells a kin great of heart, whose word is enough to shield</div>
+<div class="line i1">whom they shelter when peril comes in a night of fierce strife and storm;</div>
+<div class="line">Yea, noble are they: the seeker of vengeance gains not from them</div>
+<div class="line i1">the blood of his foe, nor is he that wrongs them left without help.</div>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p>The feeling lasted even under the debased rule of
+Muslim despots; for it is related that a governor was once
+ordering-out some prisoners to execution, when one of
+them asked for a drink of water, which was immediately
+given him. He then turned to the governor and said,
+&#8216;Wilt thou slay thy guest?&#8217; and was forthwith set free.
+A pledge of protection was inferred in the giving of hospitality,
+and to break his word was a thing not to be
+thought upon by an Arab. He did not care to give an
+oath; his simple word was enough, for it was known to
+be inviolable. Hence the priceless worth of the Arab
+chief&#8217;s word of welcome: it meant protection, unswerving
+fidelity, help, and succour.</p>
+
+<p>There was no bound to this hospitality. It was the
+pride of the Arab to place everything he possessed at
+the service of the guest. The last milch-camel must be
+killed sooner than the duties of hospitality be neglected.
+The story is told of &#7716;&aacute;tim, a gallant poet-warrior of the
+tribe of &#7788;ayyi, which well illustrates the Arab ideal of
+hostship. &#7716;&aacute;tim was at one time brought to the brink of
+starvation by the dearth of a rainless season. For a whole
+day he and his family had eaten nothing, and at night, after
+soothing the children to sleep by telling them some of those
+stories in which the Arabs have few rivals, he was trying
+by his cheerful conversation to make his wife forget her
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xx" id="Page_xx">[Pg&nbsp;xx]</a></span>
+hunger. Just then they heard steps without, and a corner
+of the tent was raised. &#8216;Who is there?&#8217; said &#7716;&aacute;tim. A
+woman&#8217;s voice replied, &#8216;I am such a one, thy neighbour.
+My children have nothing to eat, and are howling like young
+wolves, and I have come to beg help of thee.&#8217; &#8216;Bring them
+here,&#8217; said &#7716;&aacute;tim. His wife asked him what he would do,
+for if he could not feed his own children, how should he find
+food for this woman&#8217;s? &#8216;Do not disturb thyself,&#8217; he answered.
+Now &#7716;&aacute;tim had a horse renowned far and wide for
+the purity of his stock and the fleetness and beauty of his
+paces. He would not kill his favourite for himself nor
+even for his own children; but now he went out and slew
+him, and prepared him with fire for the strangers&#8217; need. And
+when he saw them eating with his wife and children, he
+exclaimed, &#8216;It were a shame that you alone should eat
+whilst all the camp is perishing of hunger;&#8217; and he went
+and called the neighbours to the meal, and in the morning
+there remained of the horse nothing but his bones. But
+as for himself, wrapped in his mantle, he sat apart in a
+corner of the tent.</p>
+
+<p>This &#7716;&aacute;tim is a type of the Arab nature at its noblest.
+Though renowned for his courage and skill in war, he
+never suffered his enmity to overcome his generosity. He
+had sworn an oath never to take a man&#8217;s life, and he
+strictly observed it, and always withheld the fatal last blow.
+In spite of his clemency, he was ever successful in the
+wars of his clan, and brought back from his raids many a
+rich spoil, only to spend it at once in his princely fashion.
+His generosity and faithful observance of his word at
+times placed him in positions of great danger; but the
+alternative of denying his principles seems never to have
+occurred to his mind. For instance, he had imposed upon
+himself as a law never to refuse a gift to him that asked it
+of him. Once, engaged in single combat, he had disarmed
+and routed his opponent, who then turned and said, &#8216;&#7716;&aacute;tim,
+give me thy spear.&#8217; At once he threw it to him, leaving
+himself defenceless; and had he not met an adversary
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxi" id="Page_xxi">[Pg&nbsp;xxi]</a></span>
+worthy of himself, this had been the last of his deeds.
+Happily &#7716;&aacute;tim was not the only generous warrior of the
+Arabs, and his foe did not avail himself of his advantage.
+When &#7716;&aacute;tim&#8217;s friends remonstrated with him on the rashness
+of an act which, in the spirit of shopkeepers, they
+regarded as quixotic, &#7716;&aacute;tim said, &#8216;What would you have
+me to do? He asked of me a gift!&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>It was &#7716;&aacute;tim&#8217;s practice to buy the liberty of all captives
+who sought his aid: it was but another application of the
+Arab virtue of hospitality. Once a captive called to him
+when he was on a journey and had not with him the
+means of paying the ransom. But he was not wont to
+allow any difficulties to baulk him of the exercise of his
+duty, and he had the prisoner released, stepping meanwhile
+into his chains until his own clan should send the
+ransom.</p>
+
+<p>Brave, chivalrous, faithful, and generous beyond the
+needful of Arab ideal&mdash;so that his niggard wife, using the
+privilege of high dames, repudiated him because he was
+ever ruining himself and her by his open hand&mdash;&#7716;&aacute;tim
+filled up the measure of Arab virtue by his eloquence,
+and such of his poems as have come down to us reflect
+the nobility of his life. As a youth he had shown a
+strong passion for poetry, and would spare no means of
+doing honour to poets. His grandfather, in despair at the
+boy&#8217;s extravagance, sent him away from the camp to guard
+the camels, which were pastured at a distance. Sitting there
+in a state of solitude little congenial to his nature, &#7716;&aacute;tim
+lifted his eyes and saw a caravan approaching. It was the
+caravan of three great poets who were travelling to the
+court of the King of El-&#7716;eereh. &#7716;&aacute;tim begged them to alight
+and to accept of refreshment after the hot and dreary journey.
+He killed them a camel each, though one would have more
+than sufficed for the three; and in return they wrote him
+verses in praise of himself and his kindred. Overjoyed at
+the honour, &#7716;&aacute;tim insisted on the poets each accepting a
+hundred camels; and they departed with their gifts. When
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxii" id="Page_xxii">[Pg&nbsp;xxii]</a></span>
+the grandfather came to the pasturing and asked where
+the camels were gone, &#7716;&aacute;tim answered, &#8216;I have exchanged
+them for a crown of honour, which will shine for all time
+on the brow of thy race. The lines in which great poets
+have celebrated our house will pass from mouth to mouth,
+and will carry our glory over all Arabia.&#8217; <a name="FNanchor_7" id="FNanchor_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">7</a></p>
+
+<p>This story well illustrates the Arab&#8217;s passionate love
+of poetry. He conceived his language to be the finest
+in the world, and he prized eloquence and poetry as the
+goodliest gifts of the gods. There were three great events
+in Arab life, when the clan was called together and great
+feastings and rejoicings ensued. One was the birth of a
+son to a chief; another the foaling of a generous mare;
+the third was the discovery that a great poet had risen
+up among them. The advent of the poet meant the immortality
+of the deeds of the clansmen and the everlasting
+contumely of their foes; it meant the raising up of the
+glory of the tribe over all the clans of Arabia, and the
+winning of triumphs by bitterer weapons than sword and
+spear&mdash;the weapons of stinging satire and scurrilous squib.
+No man might dare withstand the power of the poets
+among a people who were keenly alive to the point of an
+epigram, and who never forgot an ill-natured jibe if it
+were borne upon musical verse. Most of the great heroes
+of the desert were poets as well as warriors, and their
+poesy was deemed the chiefest gem in their crown, and,
+like their courage, was counted a proof of generous birth.
+The Khalif &acute;Omar said well, &#8216;The kings of the Arabs are
+their orators and poets, those who practise and who celebrate
+all the virtues of the Bedawee.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>This ancient poetry of the Arabs is the reflection of the
+people&#8217;s life. Far away from the trouble of the world,
+barred by wild wastes from the stranger, the Bedawee
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxiii" id="Page_xxiii">[Pg&nbsp;xxiii]</a></span>
+lived his happy child&#8217;s life, enjoying to the uttermost the
+good the gods had sent him, delighting in the face that
+Nature showed him, inspired by the glorious breath of the
+deserts that were his home. His poetry rings of that
+desert life. It is emotional, passionate, seldom reflective.
+Not the end of life, the whence and the whither, but the
+actual present joy of existence, was the subject of his song.
+Vivid painting of nature is the characteristic of this poetry:
+it is natural, unpolished, unlaboured. The scenes of the
+desert&mdash;the terrors of the nightly ride through the hill-girdled
+valley where the Ghools and the Jinn have their
+haunts; the gloom of the barren plain, where the wolf,
+&#8216;like a ruined gamester,&#8217; roams ululating; the weariness
+of the journey under the noonday sun; the stifling of the
+sand-storm, the delusions of the mirage; or again, the
+solace of the palm-tree&#8217;s shade, and the delights of the
+cool well;&mdash;such are the pictures of the Arab poet. The
+people&#8217;s life is another frequent theme: the daily doings
+of the herdsman, the quiet pastoral life, on the one hand;
+on the other, the deeds of the chiefs&mdash;war, plunder, the
+chase, wassail, revenge, friendship, love. There were
+satires on rival tribes, panegyrics on chiefs, laments for
+the dead. This poetry is wholly objective, artless, childlike;
+it is the outcome of a people still in the freshness of
+youth, whom the mysteries and complications of life have
+not yet set a-thinking. &#8216;Just as his language knows but
+the present and the past, so the ancient Arab lived but in
+to-day and yesterday. The future is nought to him; he
+seizes the present with too thorough abandonment to have
+an emotion left for anything beyond. He troubles himself
+not with what fate the morrow may bring forth, he
+dreams not of a beautiful future,&mdash;only he revels in the
+present, and his glance looks backward alone. Rich in
+ideas and impressions, he is poor in thought. He drains
+hastily the foaming cup of life; he feels deeply and passionately;
+but it is as if he were never conscious of the
+coming of the thoughtful age which, while it surveys the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxiv" id="Page_xxiv">[Pg&nbsp;xxiv]</a></span>
+past, as often turns an anxious look to the unknown
+future.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>It is very difficult for a Western mind to enter into the
+real beauty of the old Arab poetry. The life it depicts is
+so unlike any we can now witness, that it is almost removed
+beyond the pale of our sympathies. The poetry is
+loaded with metaphors and similes, which to us seem far-fetched,
+though they are drawn from the simplest daily
+sights of the Bedawee. Moreover, it is only in fragments
+that we can read it; for the change in the whole character
+of Arab life and in the current of Arab ideas which
+followed the conquests of Isl&aacute;m extinguished the old
+songs, which were no longer suitable to the new conditions
+of things; and as they were seldom recorded
+in writing, we possess but a little remnant of them.<a name="FNanchor_8" id="FNanchor_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">8</a>
+Yet &#8216;these fragments may be broken, defaced, dimmed,
+and obscured by fanaticism, ignorance, and neglect; but
+out of them there arises anew all the freshness, bloom,
+and glory of desert-song, as out of Homer&#8217;s epics rise the
+glowing spring-time of humanity and the deep blue
+heavens of Hellas. It is not a transcendental poetry, rich
+in deep and thoughtful legend and lore, or glittering in
+the many-coloured prisms of fancy, but a poetry the chief
+task of which is to paint life and nature as they really
+are; and within its narrow bounds it is magnificent. It
+is chiefly and characteristically full of manliness, of vigour,
+and of a chivalrous spirit, doubly striking when compared
+with the spirit of abjectness and slavery found in some
+other Asiatic nations. It is wild and vast and monotonous
+as the yellow seas of its desert solitudes; it is daring and
+noble, tender and true.&#8217; <a name="FNanchor_9" id="FNanchor_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">9</a></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxv" id="Page_xxv">[Pg&nbsp;xxv]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>There was one place where, above all others, the &#7730;a&#7779;eedehs
+of the ancient Arabs were recited: this was &acute;Ok&aacute;&#7693;h, the
+Olympia of Arabia, where there was held a great annual
+Fair, to which not merely the merchants of Mekka and the
+south, but the poet-heroes of all the land resorted. The
+Fair of &acute;Ok&aacute;&#7693;h was held during the sacred months,&mdash;a sort
+of &#8216;God&#8217;s Truce,&#8217; when blood could not be shed without a
+violation of the ancient customs and faiths of the Bedawees.
+Thither went the poets of rival clans, who had as
+often locked spears as hurled rhythmical curses. There
+was little fear of a bloody ending to the poetic contest, for
+those heroes who might meet there with enemies or blood-avengers
+are said to have worn masks or veils, and their
+poems were recited by a public orator at their dictation.
+That these precautions and the sacredness of the time could
+not always prevent the ill-feeling evoked by the pointed
+personalities of rival singers leading to a fray and bloodshed
+is proved by recorded instances; but such results
+were uncommon, and as a rule the customs of the time
+and place were respected. In spite of occasional broils
+on the spot, and the lasting feuds which these poetic
+contests must have excited, the Fair of &acute;Ok&aacute;&#7693;h was a
+grand institution. It served as a focus for the literature
+of all Arabia: every one with any pretensions to poetic
+power came, and if he could not himself gain the applause
+of the assembled people, at least he could form one of the
+critical audience on whose verdict rested the fame or the
+shame of every poet. The Fair of &acute;Ok&aacute;&#7693;h was a literary
+congress, without formal judges, but with unbounded
+influence. It was here that the polished heroes of the
+desert determined points of grammar and prosody; here
+the seven Golden Songs were recited, although (alas for
+the charming legend!) they were <i>not</i> afterwards &#8216;suspended&#8217;
+on the Ka&#7841;beh; and here &#8216;a magical language, the language
+of the &#7716;ij&aacute;z,&#8217; was built out of the dialects of Arabia,
+and was made ready to the skilful hand of Mo&#7717;ammad,
+that he might conquer the world with his &#7730;ur-&aacute;n.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxvi" id="Page_xxvi">[Pg&nbsp;xxvi]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The Fair of &acute;Ok&aacute;&#7693;h was not merely a centre of emulation
+for Arab poets: it was also an annual review of Bedawee
+virtues. It was there that the Arab nation once-a-year
+inspected itself, so to say, and brought forth and
+criticised its ideals of the noble and the beautiful in life
+and in poetry. For it was in poetry that the Arab&mdash;and
+for that matter each man all the world over&mdash;expressed
+his highest thoughts, and it was at &acute;Ok&aacute;&#7693;h that these
+thoughts were measured by the standard of the Bedawee
+ideal. The Fair not only maintained the highest standard
+of poetry that the Arabic language has ever reached: it
+also upheld the noblest idea of life and duty that the
+Arab nation has yet set forth and obeyed. &acute;Ok&aacute;&#7693;h was
+the press, the stage, the pulpit, the Parliament, and the
+Acad&eacute;mie Fran&ccedil;aise of the Arab people; and when, in his
+fear of the infidel poets (whom Imra-el-&#7730;eys was to usher
+to hell), Mo&#7717;ammad abolished the Fair, he destroyed the
+Arab nation even whilst he created his own new nation of
+Muslims;&mdash;and the Muslims cannot sit in the places of
+the old pagan Arabs.</p>
+
+<p>It is very difficult for the Western mind to dissociate the
+idea of Oriental poetry from the notion of amatory odes, and
+sonnets to the lady&#8217;s eyebrow: but even the few extracts
+that have been given in this chapter show that the Arab
+had many other subjects besides love to sing about, and
+though the divine theme has its place in almost every poem,
+it seldom rivals the prominence of war and nature-painting,
+and it is treated from a much less sensual point of view
+than that of later Arab poets. Many writers have drawn
+a gloomy picture of the condition of women in Arabia
+before the coming of Mo&#7717;ammad, and there is no doubt
+that in many cases their lot was a miserable one. There
+are ancient Arabic proverbs that point to the contempt in
+which woman&#8217;s judgment and character were held by the
+Arabs of &#8216;the Time of Ignorance,&#8217; and Mo&#7717;ammad must
+have derived his mean opinion of women from a too general
+impression among his countrymen. The marriage tie was
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxvii" id="Page_xxvii">[Pg&nbsp;xxvii]</a></span>
+certainly very loose among the ancient Arabs. The ceremony
+itself was of the briefest. The man said <i>khi&#7789;b</i> (<i>i.e.</i>
+I am an asker-in-marriage), and the giver-away answered
+<i>nik&#7717;</i> (<i>i.e.</i>, I am a giver-in-marriage), and the knot was thus
+tied, only to be undone with equal facility and brevity.
+The frequency of divorce among the Arabs does not speak
+well for their constancy, and must have had a degrading
+effect upon the women. Hence it is argued that women
+were the objects of contempt rather than of respect among
+the ancient Arabs.</p>
+
+<p>Yet there is reason to believe that the evidence upon
+which this conclusion is founded is partial and one-sided.
+There was a wide gulf between the Bedawee and the town
+Arab. It is not impossible that the view commonly entertained
+as to the state of women in pre&iuml;slamic times is
+based mainly on what Mo&#7717;ammad saw around him in
+Mekka, and not on the ordinary life of the desert. To
+such a conjecture a curiously uniform support is lent by
+the ancient poetry of the desert; and though the poets
+were then&mdash;as they always are&mdash;men of finer mould than
+the rest, yet their example, and still more their poems
+passing from mouth to mouth, must have created a widespread
+belief in their principles. It is certain that the
+roaming Bedawee, like the medi&aelig;val knight, entertained
+a chivalrous reverence for women, although he, too, like
+the knight, was not always above a career of promiscuous
+gallantry; but there was always a certain glamour of
+romance about the intrigues of the Bedawee. He did not
+regard the object of his love as a chattel to be possessed,
+but as a divinity to be assiduously worshipped. The poems
+are full of instances of the courtly respect displayed by
+the heroes of the desert toward defenceless maidens, and
+the mere existence of so general an ideal of conduct in the
+poems is a strong argument for Arab chivalry: for with
+the Arabs the abyss between the ideal accepted of the
+mind and the attaining thereof in action was narrower
+than it is among &#8216;more advanced&#8217; nations.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxviii" id="Page_xxviii">[Pg&nbsp;xxviii]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Whatever was the condition of women in the trading
+cities and villages, it is certain that in the desert woman
+was regarded as she has never since been among Muslims.
+The modern &#7717;areem system was there as yet undreamt
+of; the maid of the desert was unfettered by the
+ruinous restrictions of modern life in the East. She was
+free to choose her own husband, and to bind him to have
+no other wife than herself. She might receive male
+visitors, even strangers, without suspicion: for her virtue
+was too dear to her and too well assured to need the
+keeper. It was the bitterest taunt of all to say to a
+hostile clan that their men had not the heart to give
+nor their women to deny; for the chastity of the women
+of the clan was reckoned only next to the valour
+and generosity of the men. In those days bastardy was
+an indelible stain. It was the wife who inspired the
+hero to deeds of glory, and it was her praise that he most
+valued when he returned triumphant. The hero of desert
+song thought himself happy to die in guarding some women
+from their pursuers. Wounded to the death, &acute;Antarah
+halted alone in a narrow pass, and bade the women press
+on to a place of safety. Planting his spear in the ground,
+he supported himself on his horse, so that when the pursuers
+came up they knew not he was dead, and dared not
+approach within reach of his dreaded arm. At length the
+horse moved, and the body fell to the ground, and the
+enemies saw that it was but the corpse of the hero that
+had held the pass. In death, as in a life <i>sans peur et sans
+reproche</i>, &acute;Antarah was true to the chivalry of his race.</p>
+
+<p>There are many instances like this of the knightly
+courtesy of the Arab chief in &#8216;the Time of Ignorance.&#8217;
+In the old days, as an ancient writer says, the true Arab
+had but one love, and her he loved till death, and she him.
+Even when polygamy became commoner, especially in the
+towns, it was not what is meant by polygamy in a modern
+Muslim state: it was rather the patriarchal system of
+Abram and Sarai.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxix" id="Page_xxix">[Pg&nbsp;xxix]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>There is much in the fragments of the ancient poetry
+which reflects this fine spirit. It is ofttimes &#8216;tender and
+true,&#8217; and even Isl&aacute;m could not wholly root out the
+real Arab sentiment, which reappears in Muslim times
+in the poems of Aboo-Fir&aacute;s. Especially valuable is the
+evidence of the old poetry with regard to the love of
+a father for his daughters. Infanticide, which is commonly
+attributed to the whole Arab nation of every age
+before Isl&aacute;m, was in reality exceedingly rare in the
+desert, and after almost dying out only revived about
+the time of Mo&#7717;ammad. It was probably adopted by
+poor and weak clans, either from inability to support
+their children, or in order to protect themselves from the
+stain of having their children dishonoured by stronger
+tribes, and the occasional practice of this barbarous and
+suicidal custom affords no ground for assuming an unnatural
+hatred and contempt for girls among the ancient
+Arabs. These verses of a father to his daughter tell a
+different story:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">If no Umeymeh were there, no want would trouble my soul,</div>
+<div class="line i1">no labour call me to toil for bread through pitchiest night;</div>
+<div class="line">What moves my longing to live is but that well do I know</div>
+<div class="line i1">how low the fatherless lies, how hard the kindness of kin.</div>
+<div class="line">I quake before loss of wealth lest lacking fall upon her,</div>
+<div class="line i1">and leave her shieldless and bare as flesh set forth on a board.</div>
+<div class="line">My life she prays for, and I from mere love pray for her death&mdash;</div>
+<div class="line i1">yea death, the gentlest and kindest guest to visit a maid.</div>
+<div class="line">I fear an uncle&#8217;s rebuke, a brother&#8217;s harshness for her;</div>
+<div class="line i1">my chiefest end was to spare her heart the grief of a word.</div>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p>Once more, the following lines do not breathe the spirit
+of infanticide:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">
+Fortune has brought me down (her wonted way)</div>
+<div class="line i1">from station great and high to low estate;</div>
+<div class="line">Fortune has rent away my plenteous store:</div>
+<div class="line i1">of all my wealth, honour alone is left.</div>
+<div class="line">Fortune has turned my joy to tears: how oft</div>
+<div class="line i1">did Fortune make me laugh with what she gave!</div>
+<div class="line">But for these girls, the &#7730;a&#7789;a&#8217;s downy brood,</div>
+<div class="line i1">unkindly thrust from door to door as hard,</div>
+<div class="line">Far would I roam and wide to seek my bread</div>
+<div class="line i1">in earth that has no lack of breadth and length;</div>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxx" id="Page_xxx">[Pg&nbsp;xxx]</a></span>
+<div class="line">Nay, but our children in our midst, what else</div>
+<div class="line i1">but our hearts are they walking on the ground?</div>
+<div class="line">If but the wind blow harsh on one of them,</div>
+<div class="line i1">mine eye says no to slumber all night long.</div>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p>Hitherto we have been looking at but one side of Arab
+life. The Bedawees were indeed the bulk of the race, and
+furnished the swords of the Muslim conquests; but there
+was also a vigorous town-life in Arabia, and the citizens
+waxed rich with the gains of their trafficking. For through
+Arabia ran the trade-route between East and West: it was
+the Arab traders who carried the produce of the Yemen to
+the markets of Syria; and how ancient was their commerce
+one may divine from the words of a poet of Jud&aelig;a
+spoken more than a thousand years before the coming of
+Mo&#7717;ammad.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container" style="margin-left: 2em;">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">Wedan and Javan from San&acute;a paid for thy produce:</div>
+<div class="line i1">sword-blades, cassia, and calamus were in thy trafficking.</div>
+<div class="line">Dedan was thy merchant in saddle-cloths for riding;</div>
+<div class="line">Arabia and all the merchants of Kedar, they were the merchants of thy
+hand:</div>
+<div class="line i1">in lambs and rams and goats, in these were they thy merchants.</div>
+<div class="line">The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants,</div>
+<div class="line i1">with the chief of all spices, and with every precious stone, and gold,
+they paid for thy produce.</div>
+<div class="line">Haran, Aden, and Canneh, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur and Chilmad
+were thy merchants;</div>
+<div class="line">They were thy merchants in excellent wares,</div>
+<div class="line i1">in cloth of blue and broidered work,</div>
+<div class="line i1">in chests of cloth of divers colours, bound with cords and made fast
+among thy merchandize.<a name="FNanchor_10" id="FNanchor_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">10</a></div>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p>Mekka was the centre of this trading life, the typical
+Arab city of old times&mdash;a stirring little town, with its
+caravans bringing the silks and woven stuffs of Syria and
+the far-famed damask, and carrying away the sweet-smelling
+produce of Arabia, frankincense, cinnamon, sandal-wood,
+aloe, and myrrh, and the dates and leather
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxxi" id="Page_xxxi">[Pg&nbsp;xxxi]</a></span>
+and metals of the south, and the goods that come to
+the Yemen from Africa and even India; its assemblies
+of merchant-princes in the Council Hall near the
+Ka&#7841;beh; and again its young poets running over with
+love and gallantry; its Greek and Persian slave-girls
+brightening the luxurious banquet with their native songs,
+when as yet there was no Arab school of music, and the
+monotonous but not unmelodious chant of the camel-driver
+was the national song of Arabia; and its club, where
+busy men spent their idle hours in playing chess and
+draughts, or in gossiping with their acquaintance. It
+was a little republic of commerce, too much infected with
+the luxuries and refinements of the states it traded with,
+yet retaining enough of the free Arab nature to redeem it
+from the charge of effeminacy.</p>
+
+<p>Mekka was a great home of music and poetry, and
+this characteristic lasted into Muslim times. There
+is a story of a certain stonemason who had a wonderful
+gift of singing. When he was at work the young
+men used to come and importune him, and bring him
+gifts of money and food to induce him to sing. He
+would then make a stipulation that they should first help
+him in his work; and forthwith they would strip off their
+cloaks, and the stones would gather round him rapidly.
+Then he would mount a rock and begin to sing, whilst the
+whole hill was coloured red and yellow with the variegated
+garments of his audience. Singers were then held in the
+highest admiration, and the greatest chiefs used to pay
+their court to ladies of the musical profession. One of
+them used to give receptions, open to the whole city, in
+which she would appear in great state, surrounded by her
+ladies-in-waiting, each dressed magnificently, and wearing
+&#8216;an elegant artificial chignon.&#8217; It was in this town-life that
+the worse qualities of the Arab came out; it was here that
+his raging passion for dicing and his thirst for wine were
+most prominent. In the desert there was little opportunity
+for indulging in either luxury; but in a town which
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxxii" id="Page_xxxii">[Pg&nbsp;xxxii]</a></span>
+often welcomed a caravan bringing goods to the value of
+twenty thousand pound, such excesses were to be looked
+for. Excited by the song of the Greek slave-girl and the
+fumes of mellow wine, the Mekkan would throw the dice
+till, like the Germans of Tacitus, he had staked and lost
+his own liberty.</p>
+
+<p>But Mekka was more than a centre of trade and of
+song. It was the focus of the religion of the Arabs.
+Thither the tribes went up every year to kiss the black
+stone which had fallen from heaven in the primeval
+days of Adam, and to make the seven circuits of the
+Ka&#7841;beh naked,&mdash;for they would not approach God in the
+garments in which they had done their sins,&mdash;and to perform
+the other ceremonies of the pilgrimage. The Ka&#7841;beh,
+a cubical building in the centre of Mekka, was the most
+sacred temple in all Arabia, and it gave its sanctity to all
+the district around. It had been, saith tradition, first
+built by Adam from a heavenly model, and then rebuilt
+from time to time by Seth and Abraham and Ishmael, and
+less reverend persons, and it contained the sacred things of
+the land. Here was the black stone, here the great god of
+red agate, Hubal, and the three hundred and sixty idols,
+one for each day of the year, which Mo&#7717;ammad afterwards
+destroyed in one day. Here was Abraham&#8217;s stone
+and that other which marked the tomb of Ishmael, and hard
+by Zemzem, the god-sent spring which gushed from the
+sand when the forefather of the Arabs was perishing of
+thirst.</p>
+
+<p>The religion of the ancient Arabs, little as we know of
+it, is especially interesting, inasmuch as the Arabs longest
+retained the original Semitic character, and hence probably
+the original Semitic religion: and so in the ancient religion
+of Arabia we see the religion once professed by
+Chaldeans, Canaanites, Ph&oelig;nicians. This ancient religion
+&#8216;rises little higher than animistic polydaemonism. It is a
+collection of tribal religions standing side by side, only
+loosely united, though there are traces of a once closer
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxxiii" id="Page_xxxiii">[Pg&nbsp;xxxiii]</a></span>
+connection.&#8217; <a name="FNanchor_11" id="FNanchor_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">11</a> The great objects of worship were the sun
+and the stars and the three moon-goddesses&mdash;El-L&aacute;t the
+bright moon, Men&aacute;h the dark, and El-&acute;Uzz&agrave; the union of
+the two; whilst a lower cultus of trees, stones, and mountains,
+supposed to be dwelt-in by souls, shows that the
+religion had not yet quite risen above simple fetishism. At
+the time of Mo&#7717;ammad the Arabs worshipped numerous
+images, which may have been merely a development from
+the previous stone-worship, or may have been introduced
+from intercourse with Christians. There are traces of a
+belief in a supreme God behind this pantheon, and the
+moon-goddesses and other divinities were regarded as
+daughters of <i>the most high God</i> (All&aacute;h ta&acute;&aacute;la)&mdash;a conception
+also possibly derived from Christianity. The various
+deities (but not the Supreme Allah) had their fanes, where
+human sacrifices, though rare, were not unknown; and
+their cultus was superintended by a hereditary line of
+seers, who were held in great reverence, but never developed
+into a priestly caste.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the tribal gods, individual households had their
+special Penates, to whom was due the first and the last
+sal&aacute;m of the returning or outgoing host. But in spite of
+all this superstitious apparatus the Arabs were never a
+religious people. In the old days, as now, they were reckless,
+skeptical, materialistic. They had their gods and
+their divining-arrows, but they were ready to demolish
+both if the responses proved contrary to their wishes. A
+great majority believed in no future life nor in a reckoning-day
+of good and evil. If a few tied camels to the graves
+of the dead that the corpse might ride mounted to the
+judgment-seat, it must have been the exception; and if
+there are some doubtful traces of the doctrine of metempsychosis,
+this again must have been the creed of the very
+few.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxxiv" id="Page_xxxiv">[Pg&nbsp;xxxiv]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Christianity and Judaism had made but small impress
+upon the Arabs. There were Jewish tribes in the north,
+and there is evidence in the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n and elsewhere that the
+traditions and rites of Judaism were widely known in
+Arabia. But the creed was too narrow and too exclusively
+national to commend itself to the majority of the
+people. Christianity fared even worse. Whether or not
+St. Paul went there, it is at least certain that very little
+effect was produced by the preaching of Christianity in
+Arabia. We hear of Christians on the borders, and even
+two or three among the Mekkans, and bishops and churches
+are spoken of at Dhaf&aacute;r and Nejr&aacute;n. But the Christianity
+that the Arabs knew was, like the Judaism of the northern
+tribes, a very imperfect reflection of the faith it professed
+to set forth. It had become a thing of the head instead
+of the heart, and the refinements of monophysite and
+monothelite doctrines gained no hold upon the Arab
+mind.</p>
+
+<p>Thus Judaism and Christianity, though they were well
+known, and furnished many ideas and ceremonies to
+Isl&aacute;m, were never able to effect any general settlement in
+Arabia. The common Arabs did not care much about any
+religion, and the finer spirits found the wrangling dogmatism
+of the Christian and the narrow isolation of the Jew
+little to their mind. For there were before the time of
+Mo&#7717;ammad men who were dissatisfied with the low
+fetishism in which their countrymen were plunged, and
+who protested emphatically against the idle and often cruel
+superstitions of the Arabs. Not to refer to the prophets,
+who, as the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n relates, were sent in old time to the tribes
+of &acute;&Aacute;d and Thamood to convert them, there was, immediately
+before the preaching of Mo&#7717;ammad, a general feeling
+that a change was at hand; a prophet was expected, and
+women were anxiously hoping for male children if so be
+they might mother the Apostle of God; and the more
+thoughtful minds, tinged with traditions of Judaism, were
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxxv" id="Page_xxxv">[Pg&nbsp;xxxv]</a></span>
+seeking for what they called &#8216;the religion of Abraham.&#8217;
+These men were called <i>&#8216;&#7716;aneefs,&#8217;</i> or skeptics, and their
+religion seems to have consisted chiefly in a negative position,
+in denying the superstition of the Arabs, and in only
+asserting the existence of one sole-ruling God whose absolute
+slaves are all mankind, without being able to decide
+on any minor doctrines, or to determine in what manner
+this one God was to be worshipped. So long as the &#7716;aneefs
+could give their countrymen no more definite creed than
+this, their influence was limited to a few inquiring and
+doubting minds. It was reserved for Mo&#7717;ammad to formulate
+the faith of the &#7716;aneefs in the dogmas of Isl&aacute;m.
+For the leader of these few &#8216;skeptics&#8217; was Zeyd ibn &acute;Amr,
+to whom Mo&#7717;ammad often resorted, and another, Wara&#7731;ah,
+was the cousin of the Prophet and his near neighbour: and
+thus the &#7716;aneefs were the forerunners of the man who
+was to change the destinies of the Arabs.</p>
+
+<p>We can no longer see the true Arab as he was in &#8216;the
+Time of Ignorance,&#8217; and we cannot but regret our loss;
+for the Pagan Arab is a noble type of man, though
+there be nobler. There is much that is admirable in
+his high mettle, his fine sense of honour, his knightliness,
+his &#8216;open-handed, both-handed,&#8217; generosity, his
+frank friendship, and his manly independent spirit;
+and the faults of this wild reckless nature are not
+to be weighed against its many excellencies. When
+Mo&#7717;ammad turned abroad the current of Arab life, he
+changed the character of the people. The mixture with
+foreign nations, and the quiet town-life that succeeded to
+the tumult of conquest, gradually effaced many of the
+leading ideas of the old Arab nature, and the remnant that
+still dwell in the land of their fathers have lost much of
+that nobleness of character which in their ancestors covered
+a multitude of sins. Mo&#7717;ammad in part destroyed the
+Arab and created the Muslim. The last is no amends for
+the first. The modern Bedawee is neither the one nor the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxxvi" id="Page_xxxvi">[Pg&nbsp;xxxvi]</a></span>
+other; he has lost the greatness of the old type without
+gaining that of the new. As far as the Arabs alone are
+concerned, Mo&#7717;ammad effected a temporary good and a
+lasting harm. As to the world at large, that is matter for
+another chapter.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxxvii" id="Page_xxxvii">[Pg&nbsp;xxxvii]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3>II.&mdash;<i>MO&#7716;AMMAD.</i></h3>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">For every fiery prophet in old times,</div>
+<div class="line">And all the sacred madness of the bard,</div>
+<div class="line">When God made music through them, could but speak</div>
+<div class="line">His music by the framework and the chord;</div>
+<div class="line">And as <i>he</i> saw it <i>he hath</i> spoken truth.</div>
+<div class="right">&mdash;<i>The Holy Grail.</i></div>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p>A prophet for the Arabs must fulfil two conditions if
+he will bring with his good tidings the power of making
+them accepted: he must spring from the traditional centre
+of Arabian religion, and he must come of a noble family
+of pure Arab blood. Mo&#7717;ammad fulfilled both. His
+family was that branch of the &#7730;ureysh which had raised
+Mekka to the dignity of the undisputed metropolis of
+Arabia, and which, though impoverished, still held
+the chief offices of the sacred territory. Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s
+grandfather was the virtual chief of Mekka; for to him
+belonged the guardianship of the Ka&#7841;beh, and he it was
+who used the generous privilege of giving food and
+water to the pilgrims who resorted to the &#8216;House of God.&#8217;
+His youngest son, after marrying a kinswoman belonging
+to a branch of the &#7730;ureysh, settled at Yethrib (Medina),
+died before the birth of his son (571), and this son,
+Mo&#7717;ammad, lost his mother when he was only six years
+old. The orphan was adopted by his grandfather, &acute;Abd-el-Mu&#7789;&#7789;alib;
+and a tender affection sprang up between
+the chief of eighty years and his little grandson.
+Many a day the old man might be seen sitting at his
+wonted place near the Ka&#7841;beh, and sharing his mat
+with his favourite. He lived but two years more; and
+at his dying request, his son Aboo-&#7788;&aacute;lib took charge of
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxxviii" id="Page_xxxviii">[Pg&nbsp;xxxviii]</a></span>
+Mo&#7717;ammad, for whom he too ever showed a love as of
+father and mother.</p>
+
+<p>Such is the bare outline of Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s childhood;
+and of his youth we know about as little, though the
+Arabian biographies abound in legends, of which some
+may be true and most are certainly false. There are
+stories of his journeyings to Syria with his uncle,
+and his encounter with a mysterious monk of obscure
+faith; but there is nothing to show for this tale, and
+much to be brought against it. All we can say is,
+that Mo&#7717;ammad probably assisted his family in the war
+of the Fij&aacute;r, and that he must many a time have frequented
+the annual Fair of &acute;O&#7731;&aacute;dh, hearing the songs of the desert
+chiefs and the praise of Arab life, and listening to the
+earnest words of the Jews and Christians and others who
+came to the Fair. He was obliged at an early age to earn
+his own living; for the noble family of the H&aacute;shimees, to
+which he belonged, was fast losing its commanding
+position, whilst another branch of the &#7730;ureysh was
+succeeding to its dignities. The princely munificence of
+H&aacute;shim and &acute;Abd-el-Mu&#7789;&#7789;alib was followed by the poverty
+and decline of their heirs. The duty of providing the
+pilgrims with food was given up by the H&aacute;shimees to
+the rival branch of Umeyyeh, whilst they retained only the
+lighter office of serving water to the worshippers. Mo&#7717;ammad
+must take his share in the labour of the family,
+and he was sent to pasture the sheep of the &#7730;ureysh on
+the hills and valleys round Mekka; and though the people
+despised the shepherd&#8217;s calling, he himself was wont to
+look back with pleasure to these early days, saying that
+God called never a prophet save from among the sheep-folds.
+And doubtless it was then that he developed
+that reflective disposition of mind which at length
+led him to seek the reform of his people, whilst in his
+solitary wanderings with the sheep he gained that marvellous
+eye for the beauty and wonder of the earth and
+sky which resulted in the gorgeous nature-painting of
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxxix" id="Page_xxxix">[Pg&nbsp;xxxix]</a></span>
+the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n. Yet he was glad to change this menial
+work for the more lucrative and adventurous post of
+camel-driver to the caravans of his wealthy kinswoman
+Khadeejeh; and he seems to have taken so kindly to the
+duty, which involved responsibilities, and to have acquitted
+himself so worthily, that he attracted the notice of
+his employer, who straightway fell in love with him, and
+presented him with her hand. The marriage was a singularly
+happy one, though Mo&#7717;ammad was scarcely twenty-five
+and his wife nearly forty, and it brought him that repose
+and exemption from daily toil which he needed in order
+to prepare his mind for his great work. But beyond
+that, it gave him a loving woman&#8217;s heart, that was the
+first to believe in his mission, that was ever ready to console
+him in his despair and to keep alive within him the
+thin flickering flame of hope when no man believed in
+him&mdash;not even himself&mdash;and the world was black before
+his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>We know very little of the next fifteen years. Khadeejeh
+bore him sons and daughters, but only the daughters
+lived. We hear of his joining a league for the protection
+of the weak and oppressed, and there is a legend of his
+having acted with wise tact and judgment as arbitrator in
+a dispute among the great families of Mekka on the occasion
+of the rebuilding of the Ka&#7841;beh. During this time,
+moreover, he relieved his still impoverished uncle of the
+charge of his son &acute;Alee&mdash;afterwards the Bayard of Isl&aacute;m,&mdash;and
+he freed and adopted a certain captive, Zeyd; and
+these two became his most devoted friends and disciples.
+Such is the short but characteristic record of these fifteen
+years of manhood. We know very little about what
+Mo&#7717;ammad did, but we hear only one voice as to what
+he was. Up to the age of forty his unpretending modest
+way of life had attracted but little notice from his townspeople.
+He was only known as a simple upright man,
+whose life was severely pure and refined, and whose true
+desert sense of honour and faith-keeping had won him
+the high title of El-Emeen, &#8216;the Trusty.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xl" id="Page_xl">[Pg&nbsp;xl]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Let us see what fashion of man this was, who was about
+to work a revolution among his countrymen, and change
+the conditions of social life in a vast part of the world.
+The picture<a name="FNanchor_12" id="FNanchor_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">12</a> is drawn from an older man than we have yet
+seen; but Mo&#7717;ammad at forty and Mo&#7717;ammad at fifty or
+more were probably very little different. &#8216;He was of the
+middle height, rather thin, but broad of shoulders, wide of
+chest, strong of bone and muscle. His head was massive,
+strongly developed. Dark hair, slightly curled, flowed in
+a dense mass down almost to his shoulders. Even in
+advanced age it was sprinkled by only about twenty grey
+hairs&mdash;produced by the agonies of his &#8220;Revelations.&#8221; His
+face was oval-shaped, slightly tawny of colour. Fine,
+long, arched eyebrows were divided by a vein which
+throbbed visibly in moments of passion. Great black
+restless eyes shone out from under long, heavy eyelashes.
+His nose was large, slightly aquiline. His teeth, upon
+which he bestowed great care, were well set, dazzling
+white. A full beard framed his manly face. His skin
+was clear and soft, his complexion &#8220;red and white,&#8221; his
+hands were as &#8220;silk and satin,&#8221; even as those of a woman.
+His step was quick and elastic, yet firm, and as that of
+one &#8220;who steps from a high to a low place,&#8221; In turning
+his face he would also turn his full body. His whole gait
+and presence were dignified and imposing. His countenance
+was mild and pensive. His laugh was rarely more
+than a smile....</p>
+
+<p>&#8216;In his habits he was extremely simple, though he
+bestowed great care on his person. His eating and drinking,
+his dress and his furniture, retained, even when he
+had reached the fulness of power, their almost primitive
+nature. The only luxuries he indulged in were, besides
+arms, which he highly prized, a pair of yellow boots, a
+present from the Negus of Abyssinia. Perfumes, however,
+he loved passionately, being most sensitive of smell.
+Strong drinks he abhorred.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xli" id="Page_xli">[Pg&nbsp;xli]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&#8216;His constitution was extremely delicate. He was nervously
+afraid of bodily pain; he would sob and roar under
+it. Eminently unpractical in all common things of life,
+he was gifted with mighty powers of imagination, elevation
+of mind, delicacy and refinement of feeling. &#8220;He is
+more modest than a virgin behind her curtain,&#8221; it was said
+of him. He was most indulgent to his inferiors, and would
+never allow his awkward little page to be scolded, whatever
+he did. &#8220;Ten years,&#8221; said Anas, his servant, &#8220;was I
+about the Prophet, and he never said as much as &#8216;uff&#8217; to
+me.&#8221; He was very affectionate towards his family. One
+of his boys died on his breast in the smoky house of the
+nurse, a blacksmith&#8217;s wife. He was very fond of children.
+He would stop them in the streets and pat their little
+cheeks. He never struck any one in his life. The worst
+expression he ever made use of in conversation was,
+&#8220;What has come to him?&mdash;may his forehead be darkened
+with mud!&#8221; When asked to curse some one he replied,
+&#8220;I have not been sent to curse, but to be a mercy to mankind.&#8221;
+&#8220;He visited the sick, followed any bier he met,
+accepted the invitation of a slave to dinner, mended his
+own clothes, milked his goats, and waited upon himself,&#8221;
+relates summarily another tradition. He never first withdrew
+his hand out of another man&#8217;s palm, and turned not
+before the other had turned.... He was the most faithful
+protector of those he protected, the sweetest and most
+agreeable in conversation; those who saw him were suddenly
+filled with reverence; those who came near him
+loved him; they who described him would say, &#8220;I have
+never seen his like either before or after.&#8221; He was of
+great taciturnity; but when he spoke it was with emphasis
+and deliberation, and no one could ever forget what he
+said. He was, however, very nervous and restless withal,
+often low-spirited, downcast as to heart and eyes. Yet he
+would at times suddenly break through these broodings,
+become gay, talkative, jocular, chiefly among his own. He
+would then delight in telling little stories, fairy tales, and
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xlii" id="Page_xlii">[Pg&nbsp;xlii]</a></span>
+the like. He would romp with the children and play
+with their toys.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>&#8216;He lived with his wives in a row of humble cottages,
+separated from one another by palm-branches, cemented
+together with mud. He would kindle the fire, sweep the
+floor, and milk the goats himself. &acute;&Aacute;&iuml;sheh tells us that
+he slept upon a leathern mat, and that he mended his
+clothes, and even clouted his shoes, with his own hand.
+For months together ... he did not get a sufficient meal.
+The little food that he had was always shared with those
+who dropped in to partake of it. Indeed, outside the Prophet&#8217;s
+house was a bench or gallery, on which were always
+to be found a number of the poor, who lived entirely on
+his generosity, and were hence called the &#8220;people of the
+bench.&#8221; His ordinary food was dates and water or barley-bread;
+milk and honey were luxuries of which he was
+fond, but which he rarely allowed himself. The fare of
+the desert seemed most congenial to him, even when he
+was sovereign of Arabia.&#8217; <a name="FNanchor_13" id="FNanchor_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">13</a></p>
+
+<p>Mo&#7717;ammad was full forty before he felt himself called
+to be an apostle to his people. If he did not actually worship
+the local deities of the place, at least he made no public
+protest against the fetish worship of the &#7730;ureysh. Yet
+in the several phases of his life, in his contact with traders,
+in his association with Zeyd and other men, he had gained
+an insight into better things than idols and human sacrifices,
+divining-arrows and mountains and stars. He
+had heard a dim echo of some &#8216;religion of Abraham;&#8217;
+he had listened to the stories of the Haggadah: he
+knew a very little about Jesus of Nazareth. He seems
+to have suffered long under the burden of doubt and self-distrust.
+He used to wander about the hills alone, brooding
+over these things; he shunned the society of men, and
+&#8216;solitude became a passion to him.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>At length came the crisis. He was spending the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xliii" id="Page_xliii">[Pg&nbsp;xliii]</a></span>
+sacred months on Mount &#7716;ir&aacute;, &#8216;a huge barren rock,
+torn by cleft and hollow ravine, standing out solitary in
+the full white glare of the desert sun, shadowless, flowerless,
+without well or rill.&#8217; Here in a cave Mo&#7717;ammad
+gave himself up to prayer and fasting. Long months or
+even years of doubt had increased his nervous excitable
+disposition. He had had, they say, cataleptic fits during
+his childhood, and was evidently more delicately and
+finely constituted than those around him. Given this
+nervous nature, and the grim solitude of the hill where he
+had almost lived for long weary months, blindly feeling
+after some truth upon which to rest his soul, it is not difficult
+to believe the tradition of the cave, that Mo&#7717;ammad
+heard a voice say, &#8216;Cry!&#8217; &#8216;What shall I cry?&#8217; he answers&mdash;the
+question that has been burning his heart during
+all his mental struggles&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">Cry<a name="FNanchor_14" id="FNanchor_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">14</a>! in the name of thy Lord, who hath created;</div>
+<div class="line">He hath created man from a clot of blood.</div>
+<div class="line">Cry! and thy Lord is the Most Bountiful,</div>
+<div class="line">Who hath taught [writing] by the pen:</div>
+<div class="line">He hath taught man that which he knew not.</div>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p>Mo&#7717;ammad arose trembling, and went to Khadeejeh, and
+told her what he had seen; and she did her woman&#8217;s part,
+and believed in him and soothed his terror, and bade him
+hope for the future. Yet he could not believe in himself.
+Was he not perhaps mad, possessed by a devil? Were
+these voices of a truth from God? And so he went again
+on his solitary wanderings, hearing strange sounds, and
+thinking them at one time the testimony of Heaven,
+at another the temptings of Satan or the ravings of
+madness. Doubting, wondering, hoping, he had fain
+put an end to a life which had become intolerable in its
+changings from the heaven of hope to the hell of despair,
+when again he heard the voice, &#8216;Thou art the messenger
+of God, and I am Gabriel.&#8217; Conviction at length seized
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xliv" id="Page_xliv">[Pg&nbsp;xliv]</a></span>
+hold upon him; he was indeed to bring a message of good
+tidings to the Arabs, the message of God through His
+angel Gabriel. He went back to Khadeejeh exhausted in
+mind and body. &#8216;Wrap me, wrap me,&#8217; he said; and the
+word came unto him&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container" style="padding-left: 7em;">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">O thou enwrapped in thy mantle</div>
+<div class="line">Arise and warn!</div>
+<div class="line">And thy Lord,&mdash;magnify Him!</div>
+<div class="line">And thy raiment,&mdash;purify it!</div>
+<div class="line">And the abomination,&mdash;flee it!</div>
+<div class="line">And bestow not favours that thou mayest receive again with increase,</div>
+<div class="line">And for thy Lord wait thou patiently.</div>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p>There are those who see imposture in all this; for such
+I have no answer. Nor does it matter whether in a hysterical
+fit or under any physical disease soever Mo&#7717;ammad
+saw these visions and heard these voices. We are not
+concerned to draw the lines of demarcation between
+enthusiasm and ecstasy and inspiration. It is sufficient
+that Mo&#7717;ammad <i>did</i> see these things&mdash;the subjective
+creations of a tormented mind. It is sufficient
+that he believed them to be a message from on high, and
+that for years of neglect and persecution and for years of
+triumph and conquest he acted upon his belief.</p>
+
+<p>Mo&#7717;ammad now (612) came forward as the Apostle of
+the One God to the people of Arabia: he was at last well
+assured that his God was of a truth <i>the</i> God, and that He
+had indeed sent him with a message to his people, that
+they too might turn from their idols and serve the living
+God. He was in the minority of one, but he was no
+longer afraid; he had learnt that self-trust which is the
+condition of all true work. At first he spoke to his near
+kinsmen and friends; and it is impossible to overrate the
+importance of the fact that his closest relations and those
+who lived under his roof were the first to believe and the
+staunchest of faith. The prophet who is <i>with</i> honour
+in his own home need appeal to no stronger proof of his
+sincerity, and that Mo&#7717;ammad <i>was</i> &#8216;a hero to his own
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xlv" id="Page_xlv">[Pg&nbsp;xlv]</a></span>
+valet&#8217; is an invincible argument for his earnestness. The
+motherly Khadeejeh had at once, with a woman&#8217;s instinct,
+divined her husband&#8217;s heart and confirmed his fainting
+hope by her firm faith in him. His dearest friends,
+Zeyd and &acute;Alee, were the next converts; and though,
+to his grief, he could never induce his lifelong protector,
+Aboo-&#7788;&aacute;lib, to abandon the gods of his fathers,
+yet the old man loved him none the less, and said, when
+he heard of &acute;Alee&#8217;s conversion, &#8216;Well, my son, he will not
+call thee to aught save what is good; wherefore thou art
+free to cleave unto him.&#8217; A priceless aid was gained in
+the accession of Aboo-Bekr, who succeeded Mo&#7717;ammad
+as the first Khalif of Isl&aacute;m, and whose calm judgment and
+quick sagacity, joined to a gentle and compassionate heart,
+were of incalculable service to the faith. Aboo-Bekr was
+one of the wealthiest merchants of Mekka, and exercised no
+small influence among his fellow-citizens, no less by his
+character than his position. Like Mo&#7717;ammad, he had
+a nickname, E&#7779;-&#7778;iddee&#7731;, &#8216;The True:&#8217; <i>The True</i> and <i>The
+Trusty</i>,&mdash;no mean augury for the future of the religion!</p>
+
+<p>Five converts followed in Aboo-Bekr&#8217;s steps; among&#7778;
+them &acute;Othm&aacute;n, the third Khalif, and &#7788;al&#7717;ah, the man of
+war. The ranks of the faithful were swelled from humbler
+sources. There were many negro slaves in Mekka, and of
+them not a few had been predisposed by earlier teaching
+to join in the worship of the One God; and of those who
+were first converted was the Abyssinian Bil&aacute;l, the original
+Mu&euml;ddin of Isl&aacute;m, and ever a devoted disciple of the
+Prophet. These and others from the &#7730;ureysh raised the
+number of Muslims to more than thirty souls by the
+fourth year of Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s mission&mdash;thirty in three long
+years, and few of them men of influence!</p>
+
+<p>This small success had been achieved with very little
+opposition from the idolaters. Mo&#7717;ammad had not spoken
+much in public; and when he did speak to strangers, he
+restrained himself from attacking their worship, and only
+enjoined them to worship the One God who had created
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xlvi" id="Page_xlvi">[Pg&nbsp;xlvi]</a></span>
+all things. The people were rather interested, and wondered
+whether he were a soothsayer or madman, or if
+indeed there were truth in his words. But now (<span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 615)
+Mo&#7717;ammad entered upon a more public career. He summoned
+the &#7730;ureysh to a conference at the hill of E&#7779;-&#7778;af&aacute;, and
+said, &#8216;I am come to you as a warner, and as the forerunner
+of a fearful punishment.... I cannot protect you in this
+world, nor can I promise you aught in the next life, unless
+ye say, There is no God but All&aacute;h.&#8217; He was laughed
+to scorn, and the assembly broke up; but from this time
+he ceased not to preach to the people of a punishment
+that would come upon the unbelieving city. He told
+them, in the fiery language of the early soorahs, how God
+had punished the old tribes of the Arabs who would not
+believe in His messengers, how the Flood had swallowed
+up the people who would not hearken to Noah. He
+swore unto them, by the wonderful sights of nature, by
+the noonday brightness, by the night when she spreadeth
+her veil, by the day when it appeareth in glory, that a
+like destruction would assuredly come upon them if they
+did not turn away from their idols and serve God alone.
+He enforced his message with every resource of language
+and metaphor, till he made it burn in the ears of the
+people. And then he told them of the Last Day, when a
+just reckoning should be taken of the deeds they had
+done; and he spoke of Paradise and Hell with all the
+glow of Eastern imagery. The people were moved, terrified;
+conversions increased. It was time the &#7730;ureysh
+should take some step. If the idols were destroyed,
+what would come to them, the keepers of the idols, and
+their renown throughout the land? How should they
+retain the allegiance of the neighbouring tribes who came
+to worship their several divinities at the Ka&#7841;beh? That
+a few should follow the ravings of a madman or magician
+who preferred one god above the beautiful deities of Mekka
+was little matter; but that some leading men of the city
+should join the sect, and that the magician should terrify the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xlvii" id="Page_xlvii">[Pg&nbsp;xlvii]</a></span>
+people in open day with his denunciations of the worship
+which <i>they</i> superintended, was intolerable. The chiefs
+were seriously alarmed, and resolved on a more active
+policy. Hitherto they had merely ridiculed the professors
+of this new faith; they would now take stronger
+measures. Mo&#7717;ammad himself they dared not touch; for
+he belonged to a noble family, which, though it was
+reduced and impoverished, had deserved well of the city,
+and which, moreover, was now headed by a man who
+was reverenced throughout Mekka, and was none other
+than the adoptive father and protector of Mo&#7717;ammad
+himself. Nor was it safe to attack the other chief
+men among the Muslims, for the blood-revenge was
+no light risk. They were thus compelled to content
+themselves with the mean satisfaction of torturing the
+black slaves who had joined the obnoxious faction. They
+exposed them on the scorching sand, and withheld water
+till they recanted&mdash;which they did, only to profess the
+faith once more when they were let go. The first Mu&euml;ddin
+alone remained steadfast: as he lay half stifled he
+would only answer, &#8216;A&#7717;ad! A&#7717;ad!&#8217;&mdash;&#8216;One [God]! One!&#8217;&mdash;till
+Aboo-Bekr came and bought his freedom, as he was
+wont to do for many of the miserable victims. Mo&#7717;ammad
+was very gentle with these forced renegades: he
+knew what stuff men are made of, and he bade them be
+of good cheer for their lips, so that their hearts were sound.</p>
+
+<p>At last, moved by the sufferings of his lowly followers,
+he advised them to seek a refuge in Abyssinia&mdash;&#8216;a land
+of righteousness, wherein no man is wronged;&#8217; and in the
+fifth year of his mission (616) eleven men and four women
+left Mekka secretly, and were received in Abyssinia with
+welcome and peace. These first emigrants were followed
+by more the next year, till the number reached one
+hundred. The &#7730;ureysh were very wroth at the escape of
+their victims, and sent ambassadors to the Nej&aacute;shee, the
+Christian king of Abyssinia, to demand that the refugees
+should be given up to them. But the Nej&aacute;shee assembled
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xlviii" id="Page_xlviii">[Pg&nbsp;xlviii]</a></span>
+his bishops and sent for the Muslims and asked them why
+they had fled; and one of them answered and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8216;O king! we lived in ignorance, idolatry, and unchastity;
+the strong oppressed the weak; we spoke untruth;
+we violated the duties of hospitality. Then a prophet
+arose, one whom we knew from our youth, with whose
+descent and conduct and good faith and morality we are
+all well acquainted. He told us to worship one God, to
+speak truth, to keep good faith, to assist our relations, to
+fulfil the rights of hospitality, and to abstain from all
+things impure, ungodly, unrighteous. And he ordered us
+to say prayers, give alms, and to fast. We believed in
+him; we followed him. But our countrymen persecuted
+us, tortured us, and tried to cause us to forsake our religion;
+and now we throw ourselves upon thy protection.
+Wilt thou not protect us?&#8217; And he recited a chapter of
+the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n, which spoke of Christ; and the king and the
+bishops wept upon their beards. And the king dismissed
+the messengers and would not give up the men.</p>
+
+<p>The &#7730;ureysh, foiled in their attempt to recapture the
+slaves, vented their malice on those believers who remained.
+Insults were heaped upon the Muslims, and persecution
+grew hotter each day. For a moment Mo&#7717;ammad faltered
+in his work. Could he not spare his people these sufferings?
+Was it impossible to reconcile the religion of the
+city with the belief in one supreme God? After all, was
+the worship of those idols so false a thing? did it not hold
+the germ of a great truth? And so Mo&#7717;ammad made his
+first and last concession. He recited a revelation to the
+&#7730;ureysh, in which he spoke respectfully of the three moon-goddesses,
+and asserted that their intercession with God
+might be hoped for: &#8216;Wherefore bow down before God
+and serve Him;&#8217; and the whole audience, overjoyed at
+the compromise, bowed down and worshipped at the name
+of the God of Mo&#7717;ammad&mdash;the whole city was reconciled
+to the double religion. But this Dreamer of the Desert
+was not the man to rest upon a lie. At the price of the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xlix" id="Page_xlix">[Pg&nbsp;xlix]</a></span>
+whole city of Mekka he would not remain untrue to himself.
+He came forward and said he had done wrong&mdash;the
+devil had tempted him. He openly and frankly
+retracted what he had said: and &#8216;As for their idols,
+they were but empty names which they and their fathers
+had invented.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>Western biographers have rejoiced greatly over &#8216;Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s
+fall.&#8217; Yet it was a tempting compromise, and
+few would have withstood it. And the life of Mo&#7717;ammad
+is not the life of a god, but of a man: from first
+to last it is intensely human. But if for once he was
+not superior to the temptation of gaining over the whole
+city and obtaining peace where before there was only
+bitter persecution, what can we say of his manfully
+thrusting back the rich prize he had gained, freely
+confessing his fault, and resolutely giving himself over
+again to the old indignities and insults? If he was
+once insincere&mdash;and who is not?&mdash;how intrepid was his
+after-sincerity! He was untrue to himself for a while,
+and he is ever referring to it in his public preaching with
+shame and remorse; but the false step was more than
+atoned for by his magnificent recantation.</p>
+
+<p>Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s influence with the people at large was
+certainly weakened by this temporary change of front,
+and the opposition of the leaders of the &#7730;ureysh, checked
+for the moment by the Prophet&#8217;s concession, now that he
+had repudiated it, broke forth into fiercer flame. They
+heaped insults upon him, and he could not traverse
+the city without the encounter of a curse. They threw
+unclean things at him, and vexed him in his every doing.
+The protection of Aboo-&#7788;&aacute;lib alone saved him from
+personal danger. This refuge the &#7730;ureysh determined
+to remove. They had attempted before, but had been
+turned back with a soft answer. They now went to
+the chief, of fourscore years, and demanded that he
+should either compel his nephew to hold his peace, or
+else that he should withdraw his protection. Having
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_l" id="Page_l">[Pg&nbsp;l]</a></span>
+thus spoken they departed. The old man sent for Mo&#7717;ammad,
+and told him what they had said. &#8216;Now therefore
+save thyself and me also, and cast not upon me a burden
+heavier than I can bear;&#8217; for he was grieved at the strife
+between his family and his wider kindred, and would fain
+have seen Mo&#7717;ammad temporize with the &#7730;ureysh. But
+though the Prophet believed that at length his uncle was
+indeed about to abandon him, his courage and high resolve
+never faltered. &#8216;Though they should set the sun on my
+right hand and the moon on my left to persuade me, yet
+while God commands me I will not renounce my purpose.&#8217;
+But to lose his uncle&#8217;s love!&mdash;he burst into tears,
+and turned to go. But Aboo-&#7788;&aacute;lib called aloud, &#8216;Son
+of my brother, come back.&#8217; So he came. And he said,
+&#8216;Depart in peace, my nephew, and say whatsoever thou
+desirest; for, by the Lord, I will never deliver thee up.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>The faithfulness of Aboo-&#7788;&aacute;lib was soon to be tried.
+At first, indeed, things looked brighter. The old chief&#8217;s
+firm bearing overawed the &#7730;ureysh, and they were still
+more cowed by two great additions that were now joined
+to the Muslim ranks. One was Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s uncle,
+&#7716;amzeh, &#8216;the Lion of God,&#8217; a mighty hunter and warrior
+of the true Arab mettle, whose sword was worth twenty of
+weaker men to the cause of Isl&aacute;m. The other was &acute;Omar,
+afterwards Khalif, whose fierce impulsive nature had
+hitherto marked him as a violent opponent of the new
+faith, but who afterwards proved himself one of the mainstays
+of Isl&aacute;m. The gain of two such men first frightened
+then maddened the &#7730;ureysh. The leaders met together
+and consulted what they should do. It was no longer a
+case of an enthusiast followed by a crowd of slaves and a
+few worthy merchants; it was a faction led by stout
+warriors, such as &#7716;amzeh, &#7788;al&#7717;ah, &acute;Omar,&mdash;half-a-dozen
+picked swordsmen; and the Muslims, emboldened by their
+new allies, were boldly surrounding the Ka&#7841;beh, and performing
+the rites of their religion in the face of all the
+people. The &#7730;ureysh resolved on extreme measures.
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_li" id="Page_li">[Pg&nbsp;li]</a></span>
+They determined to shut off the obnoxious family of the
+H&aacute;shimees from the rest of their kindred. The chiefs
+drew up a document, in which they vowed that they
+would not marry with the H&aacute;shimees, nor buy and sell
+with them, nor hold with them any communication soever;
+and this they hung up in the Ka&#7841;beh.</p>
+
+<p>The H&aacute;shimees were not many enough to fight the
+whole city, so they went every man of them, save one, to
+the shi-b (or quarter) of Aboo-&#7788;&aacute;lib,&mdash;a long, narrow
+mountain defile on the eastern skirts of Mekka, cut off by
+rocks or walls from the city, except for one narrow gateway,&mdash;and
+there shut themselves up. For though the ban
+did not forbid them to go about as heretofore, they knew
+that no soul would speak with them, and that they would
+be subject to the maltreatment of any vagabond they met.
+So they collected their stores and waited. Every man of
+the family, Muslim or Pagan, cast in his lot with their
+common kinsman, Mo&#7717;ammad, saving only his own uncle,
+Aboo-Lahab, a determined enemy to Isl&aacute;m, to whom a
+special denunciation is justly consecrated in the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n.</p>
+
+<p>For two long years the H&aacute;shimees remained shut up in
+their quarter. Only at the pilgrimage-time&mdash;when the
+blessed institution of the sacred months made violence
+sacrilege&mdash;could Mo&#7717;ammad come forth and speak unto
+the people of the things that were in his heart to say.
+Scarcely any converts were made during this weary time;
+and most of those who had previously been converted,
+and did not belong to the doomed clan, took refuge in
+Abyssinia; so that in the seventh year of Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s
+mission there were probably not more than twelve Muslims
+of any weight who remained by him. Still the H&aacute;shimees
+remained in their quarter. It seemed as if they must all
+perish: their stores were almost gone, and the cries of
+starving children could be heard outside. Kind-hearted
+neighbours would sometimes smuggle-in a camel&#8217;s load of
+food, but it availed little. The &#7730;ureysh themselves were
+getting ashamed of their work, and were wishing for an
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lii" id="Page_lii">[Pg&nbsp;lii]</a></span>
+excuse for releasing their kinsmen. The excuse came in
+time. It was discovered that the deed of ban was eaten
+up by worms, and Aboo-&#7788;&aacute;lib turned the discovery to his
+advantage. The venerable old chief went out and met
+the &#7730;ureysh at the Ka&#7841;beh, and pointing to the crumbling
+leaf he bitterly reproached them with their hardness
+of heart towards their brethren: then he departed.
+And straightway there rose up five chiefs, heads of great
+families, and, amid the murmurs of the fiercer spirits who
+were still for no quarter, they put on their armour, and
+going to the shi-b of Aboo-&#7788;&aacute;lib, bade the H&aacute;shimees
+come forth in peace. And they came forth.</p>
+
+<p>It was now the eighth year of Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s mission;
+and for the last two years, wasted in excommunication,
+Isl&aacute;m had almost stood still, at least externally. For
+though Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s patient bearing under the ban had
+gained over a few of his imprisoned clan to his side, he
+had made no converts beyond the walls of his quarter.
+During the sacred months he had gone forth to speak to
+the people,&mdash;to the caravans of strangers and the folk at
+the fairs,&mdash;but he had no success; for hard behind him
+followed Aboo-Lahab, the squinter, who mocked at him,
+and told the people he was only &#8216;a liar and a sabian.&#8217;
+And the people answered that his own kindred must best
+know what he was, and they would hear nothing from
+him. The bold conduct of the five chiefs had indeed
+secured for Mo&#7717;ammad a temporary respite from persecution;
+but this relief was utterly outweighed by the troubles
+that now fell upon him and fitly gave that year the name
+of &#8216;The Year of Mourning.&#8217; For soon after the revoking of
+the ban Aboo-&#7788;&aacute;lib died, and five weeks later Khadeejeh.
+In the first Mo&#7717;ammad lost his ancient protector, who,
+though he would never give up his old belief, had yet
+faithfully guarded the Prophet from his childhood upwards,
+and, with the true Arab sentiment of kinship, had
+subjected himself and his clan to years of persecution and
+poverty in order to defend his brother&#8217;s son from his
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_liii" id="Page_liii">[Pg&nbsp;liii]</a></span>
+enemies. The death of Khadeejeh was even a heavier
+calamity to Mo&#7717;ammad. She first had believed in him,
+and she had ever been his angel of hope and consolation.
+To his death he cherished a tender regret for her; and
+when his young bride &acute;&Aacute;&iuml;sheh, the favourite of his declining
+years, jealously abused &#8216;that toothless old woman,&#8217; he
+answered with indignation, &#8216;When I was poor, she enriched
+me; when they called me a liar, she alone believed in me;
+when all the world was against me, she alone remained
+true.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>Mo&#7717;ammad might well feel himself alone in the world.
+Most of his followers were in Abyssinia; only a few tried
+friends remained at Mekka. All the city was against
+him; his protector was dead, and his faithful wife. Dejected,
+almost hopeless, he would try a new field. If
+Mekka rejected him, might not Et-&#7788;&aacute;&iuml;f give him welcome?
+He set out on foot on his journey of seventy miles, taking
+only Zeyd with him; and he told the people of Et-&#7788;&aacute;&iuml;f
+his simple message. They stoned him out of the city for
+three miles. Bleeding and fainting, he paused to rest in
+an orchard, to recover strength before he went back to the
+insults of his own people. The owners of the place sent
+him some grapes; and he gathered up his strength once
+more, and bent his weary feet towards Mekka. On the
+way, as he slept, his fancy called up a strange dream: men
+had rejected him, and now he thought he saw the Jinn, the
+spirits of the air, falling down and worshipping the One
+God, and bearing witness to the truth of Isl&aacute;m. Heartened
+by the vision, he pushed on; and when Zeyd asked him if
+he did not fear to throw himself again into the hands of
+the &#7730;ureysh, he answered, &#8216;God will protect His religion
+and help His prophet.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>So this lonely man came back to dwell among his
+enemies. Though a brave Arab gentleman, compassionating
+his aloneness, gave him the Bedawee pledge of protection,
+yet he well knew that the power of his foes made
+such protection almost useless, and at any time he might
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_liv" id="Page_liv">[Pg&nbsp;liv]</a></span>
+be assassinated. But the &#7730;ureysh had not yet come to
+think of the last resource, and meanwhile a new prospect
+was opening out for Mo&#7717;ammad. That same year, as he
+was visiting the caravans of the pilgrims who had come
+from all parts of Arabia to worship at the Ka&#7841;beh, he
+found a group of men of Yethrib who were willing to
+listen to his words. He expounded to them the faith he
+was sent to preach, and he told them how his people had
+rejected him, and asked them whether Yethrib would
+receive him. The men were impressed with his words
+and professed Isl&aacute;m, and promised to bring news the next
+year; then they returned home and talked of this matter
+to their brethren. Now at Yethrib, besides two pagan
+tribes that had migrated upwards from the south, there
+were three clans of Jewish Arabs. Between the pagans
+and Jews, and then between the two pagan clans, there
+had been deadly wars; and now there were many parties
+in the city, and no one was master. The Jews, on the
+one hand, were expecting their Messiah; the pagans
+looked for a prophet. If Mo&#7717;ammad were not the Messiah,
+the Jews thought that he might at least be their
+tool to subdue their pagan rivals. &#8216;Whether he is a prophet
+or not,&#8217; said the pagans, &#8216;he is our kinsman by his
+mother, and will help us to overawe the Jews; and if he
+is the coming prophet, it is our policy to recognise him
+before those Jews who are always threatening us with
+their Messiah.&#8217; The teaching of Mo&#7717;ammad was so nearly
+Jewish, that a union of the two creeds might be hoped
+for; whilst to the pagan Arabs of Yethrib monotheism was
+no strange doctrine. All parties were therefore willing
+to receive Mo&#7717;ammad and at least try the experiment of
+his influence. As a peace-maker, prophet, or messiah, he
+would be equally welcome in a city torn asunder by party
+jealousies.</p>
+
+<p>When the time of pilgrimage again came round, Mo&#7717;ammad
+waited at the appointed place in a secluded glen,
+and there met him men from the two pagan tribes of
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lv" id="Page_lv">[Pg&nbsp;lv]</a></span>
+Yethrib&mdash;the clans of Khazraj and Aws&mdash;ten from one
+and two from the other. They told him of the willingness
+of their people to embrace Isl&aacute;m, and their hope to make
+ready the city for his welcome. They plighted their faith
+with him in these words: &#8216;We will not worship save one
+God; we will not steal, nor commit adultery, nor kill our
+children; we will in nowise slander, nor will we disobey
+the prophet in anything that is right.&#8217; This is the first
+pledge of the &acute;A&#7731;abeh.</p>
+
+<p>The twelve men of Yethrib went back and preached
+Isl&aacute;m to their people. &#8216;So prepared was the ground, so
+zealous the propagation, and so apt the method, that the new
+faith spread rapidly from house to house and from tribe to
+tribe. The Jews looked on in amazement at the people,
+whom they had in vain endeavoured for generations to
+convince of the errors of Polytheism and dissuade from
+the abominations of idolatry, suddenly and of their own
+accord casting away their idols and professing belief in
+God alone.&#8217; They asked Mo&#7717;ammad to send them a
+teacher versed in the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n, so anxious were they to
+know Isl&aacute;m truly; and Mu&#7779;&acute;ab was sent, and taught them
+and conducted their worship; so that Isl&aacute;m took deep root
+at Yethrib.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile Mo&#7717;ammad was still among the &#7730;ureysh at
+Mekka. His is now an attitude of waiting; he is listening
+for news from his distant converts. Resting his hopes upon
+them, and despairing of influencing the Mekkans, he does
+not preach so much as heretofore. He holds his peace
+mainly, and bides his time. One hears little of this
+interval of quietude. Isl&aacute;m seems stationary at Mekka,
+and its followers are silent and reserved. The &#7730;ureysh
+are joyful at the ceasing of those denunciations which
+terrified whilst they angered them, yet they are not quite
+satisfied. The Muslims have a waiting look, as though
+there were something at hand.</p>
+
+<p>It was during this year of expectation that the Prophet&#8217;s
+celebrated &#8216;Night Journey&#8217; took place. This Mi&acute;r&aacute;j has
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lvi" id="Page_lvi">[Pg&nbsp;lvi]</a></span>
+been the subject of extravagant embellishments on the
+part of the traditionists and commentators, and the cause
+of much obloquy to the Prophet from his religious opponents.
+Mo&#7717;ammad dreamed a dream, and referred to it
+briefly and obscurely in the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n. His followers persisted
+in believing it to have been a reality&mdash;an ascent to heaven
+in the body&mdash;till Mo&#7717;ammad was sick of repeating his
+simple assertion that it was a dream. The traditional form
+of this wonderful vision may be read in any life of Mo&#7717;ammad,
+and though it is doubtless very different from the
+story the Prophet himself gave, it is still a grand vision,
+full of glorious imagery, fraught with deep meaning.</p>
+
+<p>Again the time of pilgrimage came round, and again
+Mo&#7717;ammad repaired to the glen of the Mountain-road.
+Mu&#7779;&acute;ab had told him the good tidings of the spread of the
+faith at Yethrib, and he was met at the rendezvous by more
+than seventy men. They came by twos and threes secretly
+for fear of the &#7730;ureysh, &#8216;waking not the sleeper, nor tarrying
+for the absent.&#8217; Then Mo&#7717;ammad recited to them
+verses from the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n, and in answer to their invitation
+that he should come to them, and their profession that their
+lives were at his service, he asked them to pledge themselves
+to defend him as they would their own wives and children.
+And a murmur of eager assent rolled round about from
+the seventy, and an old man, one of their chiefs, stood
+forth and said, &#8216;Stretch out thy hand, O Mo&#7717;ammad.&#8217;
+And the chief struck his own hand into Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s
+palm in the frank Bedawee fashion, and thus pledged his
+fealty. Man after man the others followed, and struck
+their hands upon Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s. Then he chose twelve of
+them as leaders over the rest, saying, &#8216;Moses chose from
+among his people twelve leaders. Ye shall be the sureties
+for the rest, even as the apostles of Jesus were; and I am
+the surety for my people.&#8217; A voice of some stranger was
+heard near by, and the assembly hastily dispersed and
+stole back to their camp. This is the second pledge of
+the &acute;A&#7731;abeh.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lvii" id="Page_lvii">[Pg&nbsp;lvii]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The &#7730;ureysh knew that some meeting had taken place,
+and though they could not bring home the offence to any
+of the Yethrib pilgrims, they kept a stricter watch on the
+movements of Mo&#7717;ammad and his friends after the pilgrims
+had returned homeward. It was clear that Mekka was no
+longer a safe place for the Muslims, and a few days after
+the second pledge Mo&#7717;ammad told his followers to betake
+themselves secretly to Yethrib. For two months at the
+beginning of the eleventh year of the mission (622) the
+Muslims were leaving Mekka in small companies to make
+the journey of 250 miles to Yethrib. One hundred families
+had gone, and whole quarters of the city were deserted,
+left with empty houses and locked doors, &#8216;a prey to woe and
+wind.&#8217; There were but three believers now remaining in
+Mekka&mdash;these were Mo&#7717;ammad, Aboo-Bekr, and &acute;Alee.
+Like the captain of a sinking ship, the Prophet would not
+leave till all the crew were safe. But now they were all
+gone save his two early friends, and everything was ready for
+the journey; still the Prophet did not go. But the &#7730;ureysh,
+who had been too much taken by surprise to prevent the
+emigration, now prepared measures for a summary vengeance
+on the disturber of their peace and the emptier of
+their city. They set a watch on his house, and, it is said,
+commissioned a band of armed youths of different families
+to assassinate him together, that the blood recompense
+might not fall on one household alone. But Mo&#7717;ammad
+had warning of his danger, and leaving &acute;Alee to deceive
+the enemy, he was concealed with Aboo-Bekr in a narrow-mouthed
+cave on Mount Th&oacute;r, an hour-and-a-half&#8217;s journey
+from Mekka, before the &#7730;ureysh knew of his escape. For
+three days they remained hidden there, while their enemies
+were searching the country for them. Once they were
+very near, and Aboo-Bekr trembled:&mdash;&#8216;We are but two.&#8217;
+&#8216;Nay,&#8217; answered Mo&#7717;ammad, &#8216;we are three, for God is
+with us.&#8217; And a spider, they say, wove its web over the
+entrance of the cave, so that the &#7730;ureysh passed on, thinking
+that no man had entered there.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lviii" id="Page_lviii">[Pg&nbsp;lviii]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>On the third night the pursuit had been almost given
+over, and the two fugitives took up their journey again.
+Mounted on camels they journeyed to Yethrib. In eight
+days they reached the outskirts of the city (September
+622). Mo&#7717;ammad was received with acclamation, and
+took up his residence among his kindred. The seat of
+Isl&aacute;m was transferred from Mekka to Yethrib, henceforward
+to be known as Medina,&mdash;<i>Medeenet-en-Nebee</i>, &#8216;the
+City of the Prophet.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>This is the <i>Hijreh</i>, or Flight of the Prophet, from which
+the Muslims date their history. Their first year began
+on the 16th day of June of the Year of Grace 622.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>A great change now comes over the Prophet&#8217;s life. It
+is still the same man, but the surroundings are totally
+different; the work to be done is on a wider, rougher
+stage. Thus far we have seen a gentle, thoughtful boy
+tending the sheep round Mekka;&mdash;a young man of little
+note, of whom the people only knew that he was pure
+and upright and true;&mdash;then a man of forty whose solitary
+communion with his soul has pressed him to the
+last terrible questions that each man, if he will think at
+all, must some time ask himself&mdash;What is life? What
+does this world mean? What is reality, what is truth?
+Long months, years perhaps, we know not how long and
+weary, filled with the tortures of doubt and the despair of
+ever attaining to the truth, filled with the dreary thought
+of his aloneness in the relentless universe, and the longing
+to end it all, brought at last their fruits&mdash;sure conviction
+of the great secret of life, a firm belief in the Creator
+in whom all things live and move and have their being,
+whom to serve is man&#8217;s highest duty and privilege, the
+one thing to be done. And then ten years of struggling
+with careless, unthinking idolators; ten years of slow
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lix" id="Page_lix">[Pg&nbsp;lix]</a></span>
+results, the gaining over of a few close friends, the devoted
+attachment of some slaves and men of the meaner rank;
+finally, the conversion of half-a-dozen great citizen chiefs,
+ending in the flight of the whole brotherhood of believers
+from their native city and their welcome to a town of
+strangers, where the faith had forced itself home to the
+hearts of perhaps two hundred citizens. It was but
+little that was done; so many years of toil, of indomitable
+courage and perseverance and long-suffering, and only
+about three hundred converts at the end! But it was the
+seed of a great harvest. Mo&#7717;ammad had shown men what
+he was; the nobility of his character, his strong friendship,
+his endurance and courage, above all, his earnestness
+and fiery enthusiasm for the truth he came to preach,&mdash;these
+things had revealed the hero, the master whom it
+was alike impossible to disobey and impossible not to love.
+Henceforward it is only a question of time. As the men
+of Medina come to know Mo&#7717;ammad, they too will devote
+themselves to him body and soul; and the enthusiasm
+will catch fire and spread among the tribes till all Arabia
+is at the feet of the Prophet of the One God. &#8216;No emperor
+with his tiaras was obeyed as this man in a cloak of His
+own clouting.&#8217; He had the gift of influencing men, and
+he had the nobility only to influence them for good.</p>
+
+<p>We have now to see Mo&#7717;ammad as king. Though he
+came as a fugitive, rejected as an impostor by his own
+citizens, yet it was not long before his word was supreme
+in his adopted city. He had to rule over a mixed and
+divided people, and this must have helped him to the
+supreme voice. There were four distinct parties at Medina.
+First, the &#8216;Refugees&#8217; (Mu&#7717;&aacute;jiroon), who had fled from
+Mekka; on these Mo&#7717;ammad could always rely with implicit
+faith. But he attached equal importance to the early
+converts of Medina, who had invited him among them and
+given him a home when the future seemed very hopeless
+before him, and who were thenceforward known by the
+honourable title of the &#8216;Helpers&#8217; (An&#7779;&aacute;r). How devoted
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lx" id="Page_lx">[Pg&nbsp;lx]</a></span>
+was the affection of these men is shown by the well-known
+scene at El-Ji&acute;r&aacute;neh, when the Helpers were discontented
+with their share of the spoils, and Mo&#7717;ammad
+answered, &#8216;Why are ye disturbed in mind because of the
+things of this life wherewith I have sought to incline the
+hearts of these men of Mekka into Isl&aacute;m, whereas ye are
+already steadfast in the faith? Are ye not satisfied that
+others should obtain the flocks and the camels, while ye
+carry back the Prophet of the Lord unto your homes?
+Nay, I will not leave you for ever. If all mankind went
+one way, and the men of Medina went another way, verily
+I would go the way of the men of Medina. The Lord be
+favourable unto them, and bless them, and their sons, and
+their sons&#8217; sons, for ever!&#8217; And the &#8216;Helpers&#8217; wept upon
+their beards, and cried with one voice, &#8216;Yea, we are well
+satisfied, O Prophet, with our lot.&#8217; To retain the allegiance
+of the Refugees and the Helpers was never a trouble
+to Mo&#7717;ammad; the only difficulty was to rein in their
+zeal and hold them back from doing things of blood and
+vengeance on the enemies of Isl&aacute;m. To prevent the danger
+of jealousy between the Refugees and the Helpers,
+Mo&#7717;ammad assigned each Refugee to one of the An&#7779;&aacute;r
+to be his brother; and this tie of gossipry superseded
+all nearer ties, till Mo&#7717;ammad saw the time was over
+when it was needed. The third party in Medina was
+that of the &#8216;Disaffected,&#8217; or in the language of Isl&aacute;m
+the &#8216;Hypocrites&#8217; (Mun&aacute;fi&#7731;oon). This was composed of
+the large body of men who gave in their nominal allegiance
+to Mo&#7717;ammad and his religion when they saw they
+could not safely withstand his power, but who were always
+ready to turn about if they thought there was a chance of
+his overthrow. Mo&#7717;ammad treated these men and their
+leader &acute;Abdallah ibn Ubayy (who himself aspired to the
+sovranty of Medina) with patient courtesy and friendliness,
+and, though they actually deserted him more than
+once at vitally critical moments, he never retaliated, even
+when he was strong enough to crush them, but rather
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxi" id="Page_lxi">[Pg&nbsp;lxi]</a></span>
+sought to win them over heartily to his cause by treating
+them as though they were what he would have them be.
+The result was that this party gradually diminished and
+became absorbed in the general mass of earnest Muslims,
+and though up to its leader&#8217;s death it constantly called
+forth Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s powers of conciliation, after that it
+vanished from the history of parties.</p>
+
+<p>The fourth party was the real thorn in the Prophet&#8217;s
+side. It consisted of the Jews, of whom three tribes were
+settled in the suburbs of Medina. They had at first been
+well disposed to Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s coming. He could not
+indeed be the Messiah, because he was not of the lineage
+of David; but he would do very well to pass off upon
+their neighbours, the pagan Arabs, as, if not the Messiah,
+at least a great prophet; and by his influence the Jews
+might regain their old supremacy in Medina. Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s
+teaching was very nearly Jewish&mdash;they had taught
+him the fables of their Haggadah, and he believed in their
+prophets&mdash;why should he not be one of them and help
+them to the dominion? When Mo&#7717;ammad came, they
+found out their mistake; instead of a tool they had a
+master. He told the people, indeed, the stories of the
+Midrash, and he professed to revive the religion of Abraham:
+but he added to this several damning articles; he
+taught that Jesus <i>was</i> the Messiah, and that no other
+Messiah was to be looked for; and, moreover, whilst reverencing
+and inculcating the doctrine of the Hebrew prophets
+and of Christ, as he knew it, he yet insisted on his own
+mission as in nowise inferior to theirs&mdash;as, in fact, the seal
+of prophecy by which all that went before was confirmed
+or abrogated. The illusion was over; the Jews would
+have nothing to say to Isl&aacute;m: they set themselves instead
+to oppose it, ridicule it, and vex its Preacher in every way
+that their notorious ingenuity could devise.</p>
+
+<p>The step was false: the Jews missed their game, and
+they had to pay for it. Whether it was possible to form
+a coalition,&mdash;whether the Jews might have induced Mo&#7717;ammad
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxii" id="Page_lxii">[Pg&nbsp;lxii]</a></span>
+to waive certain minor points if they recognised
+his prophetic mission,&mdash;it is difficult to say. It seems most
+probable that Mo&#7717;ammad would not have yielded a jot to
+their demands, and would have accepted nothing short of
+unconditional surrender to his religion. And it is at least
+doubtful whether Isl&aacute;m would have gained anything by a
+further infusion of Judaism. It already contained all that
+it could assimilate of the Hebrew faith; the rest was too
+narrow for the universal scope of Isl&aacute;m. The religion of
+Mo&#7717;ammad lost little, we may be sure, by the standing
+aloof of the Arabian Jews; but the Jews themselves lost
+much. Mo&#7717;ammad, indeed, treated them kindly so long
+as kindness was possible. He made a treaty with them,
+whereby the rights of the Muslims and the Jews were
+defined. They were to practise their several religions unmolested;
+protection and security were promised to all the
+parties to the treaty, irrespective of creed; each was to
+help the other if attacked; no alliance was to be made
+with the &#7730;ureysh; war was to be made in common, and
+no war could be made without the consent of Mo&#7717;ammad:
+crime alone could do away with the protection of this
+treaty.</p>
+
+<p>But the Jews would not content themselves with standing
+aloof; they must needs act on the offensive. They
+began by asking Mo&#7717;ammad hard questions out of their
+law, and his answers they easily refuted from their books.
+They denied all knowledge of the Jewish stories in the
+&#7730;ur-&aacute;n&mdash;though they knew that they came from their own
+Haggadah, which was ever in their mouths in their own
+quarter,&mdash;and they showed him their Bible, where, of
+course, the Haggadistic legends were not to be found.
+Mo&#7717;ammad had but one course open to him&mdash;to say they
+had suppressed or changed their books; and he denounced
+them accordingly, and said that his was the true account
+of the patriarchs and prophets, revealed from heaven. Not
+satisfied with tormenting Mo&#7717;ammad with questions on
+that T&oacute;rah which they were always wrangling about themselves,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxiii" id="Page_lxiii">[Pg&nbsp;lxiii]</a></span>
+they took hold of the every day formulas of Isl&aacute;m,
+the daily prayers and ejaculations, and, &#8216;twisting their
+tongues,&#8217; mispronounced them so that they meant something
+absurd or blasphemous. When asked which they
+preferred, Isl&aacute;m or idolatry, they frankly avowed that they
+preferred idolatry. To lie about their own religion and
+to ridicule another religion that was doing a great and
+good work around them was not enough for these Jews;
+they must set their poets to work to lampoon the women
+of the believers in obscene verse, and such outrages upon
+common decency, not to say upon the code of Arab honour
+and chivalry, became a favourite occupation among the
+poets of the Jewish clans.</p>
+
+<p>These were offences against the religion and the persons
+of the Muslims. They also conspired against the state.
+Mo&#7717;ammad was not only the preacher of Isl&aacute;m, he was
+also the king of Medina, and was responsible for the safety
+and peace of the city. As a prophet, he could afford to
+ignore the jibes of the Jews, though they maddened him
+to fury; but as the chief of the city, the general in a time
+of almost continual warfare, when Medina was kept in
+a state of military defence and under a sort of military
+discipline, he could not overlook treachery. He was
+bound by his duty to his subjects to suppress a party
+that might (and nearly did) lead to the sack of the
+city by investing armies. The measures he took for this
+object have furnished his European biographers with a
+handle for attack. It is, I believe, solely on the ground
+of his treatment of the Jews that Mo&#7717;ammad has been
+called &#8216;a bloodthirsty tyrant:&#8217; it would certainly be difficult
+to support the epithet on other grounds.</p>
+
+<p>The bloodthirstiness consists in this: some half-dozen
+Jews, who had distinguished themselves by their virulence
+against the Muslims, or by their custom of carrying information
+to the common enemy of Medina, were executed;
+two of the three Jewish clans were sent into exile, just as
+they had previously come into exile, and the third was
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxiv" id="Page_lxiv">[Pg&nbsp;lxiv]</a></span>
+exterminated&mdash;the men killed, and the women and children
+made slaves. The execution of the half-dozen marked
+Jews is generally called assassination, because a Muslim
+was sent secretly to kill each of the criminals. The reason
+is almost too obvious to need explanation. There were
+no police or law-courts or even courts-martial at Medina;
+some one of the followers of Mo&#7717;ammad must therefore be
+the executor of the sentence of death, and it was better it
+should be done quietly, as the executing of a man openly
+before his clan would have caused a brawl and more bloodshed
+and retaliation, till the whole city had become mixed
+up in the quarrel. If secret assassination is the word for
+such deeds, secret assassination was a necessary part of the
+internal government of Medina. The men must be killed,
+and best in that way. In saying this I assume that Mo&#7717;ammad
+was cognisant of the deed, and that it was not
+merely a case of private vengeance; but in several instances
+the evidence that traces these executions to Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s
+order is either entirely wanting or is too doubtful to claim
+our credence.</p>
+
+<p>Of the sentences upon the three whole clans, that of
+exile, passed upon two of them, was clement enough.
+They were a turbulent set, always setting the people of
+Medina by the ears; and finally a brawl followed by an
+insurrection resulted in the expulsion of one tribe; and
+insubordination, alliance with enemies, and a suspicion of
+conspiracy against the Prophet&#8217;s life, ended similarly for
+the second. Both tribes had violated the original treaty,
+and had endeavoured in every way to bring Mo&#7717;ammad
+and his religion to ridicule and destruction. The only
+question is whether their punishment was not too light.
+Of the third clan a fearful example was made, not by
+Mo&#7717;ammad, but by an arbiter appointed by themselves.
+When the &#7730;ureysh and their allies were besieging Medina,
+and had well-nigh stormed the defences, this Jewish tribe
+entered into negotiations with the enemy, which were only
+circumvented by the diplomacy of the Prophet. When
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxv" id="Page_lxv">[Pg&nbsp;lxv]</a></span>
+the besiegers had retired, Mo&#7717;ammad naturally demanded
+an explanation of the Jews. They resisted in their dogged
+way, and were themselves besieged and compelled to surrender
+at discretion. Mo&#7717;ammad, however, consented to
+the appointing of a chief of a tribe allied to the Jews as
+the judge who should pronounce sentence upon them.
+The man in question was a fierce soldier, who had been
+wounded in the attack on the Jews, and indeed died from
+his wound the same day. This chief gave sentence that
+the men, in number some six hundred, should be killed,
+and the women and children enslaved; and the sentence
+was carried out. It was a harsh, bloody sentence, worthy
+of the episcopal generals of the army against the Albigenses,
+or of the deeds of the Augustan age of Puritanism;
+but it must be remembered that the crime of these men
+was high treason against the State, during time of siege;
+and those who have read how Wellington&#8217;s march could be
+traced by the bodies of deserters and pillagers hanging
+from the trees, need not be surprized at the summary
+execution of a traitorous clan.</p>
+
+<p>Whilst Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s supremacy was being established
+and maintained among the mixed population of Mekka, a
+vigorous warfare was being carried on outside with his old
+persecutors, the &#7730;ureysh. On the history of this war,
+consisting as it did mainly of small raids and attacks upon
+caravans, I need not dwell; its leading features were the two
+battles of Bedr and O&#7717;ud, in the first of which three hundred
+Muslims, though outnumbered at the odds of three to
+one, were completely victorious (<span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 624, <span class="smcap">a.h.</span> 2); whilst
+at O&#7717;ud, being outnumbered in the like proportion and
+deserted by the &#8216;Disaffected&#8217; party, they were almost as
+decisively defeated (<span class="smcap">a.h.</span> 3). Two years later the &#7730;ureysh,
+gathering together their allies, advanced upon Medina
+and besieged it for fifteen days; but the foresight of
+Mo&#7717;ammad in digging a trench, and the enthusiasm of the
+Muslims in defending it, resisted all assaults, and the coming
+of the heavy storms for which the climate of Medina is
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxvi" id="Page_lxvi">[Pg&nbsp;lxvi]</a></span>
+noted drove the enemy back to Mekka. The next year
+(<span class="smcap">a.h.</span> 6) a ten years&#8217; truce was concluded with the &#7730;ureysh,
+in pursuance of which a strange scene took place in the
+following spring. It was agreed that Mo&#7717;ammad and his
+people should perform the Lesser Pilgrimage, and that the
+&#7730;ureysh should for that purpose vacate Mekka for three
+days. Accordingly, in March 629, about two thousand
+Muslims, with Mo&#7717;ammad at their head on his famous
+camel El-&#7730;a&#7779;w&aacute;&mdash;the same on which he had fled from
+Mekka&mdash;trooped down the valley and performed the rites
+which every Muslim to this day observes.</p>
+
+<p>&#8216;It was surely a strange sight which at this time presented
+itself in the vale of Mekka,&mdash;a sight unique in the
+history of the world. The ancient city is for three days
+evacuated by all its inhabitants, high and low, every house
+deserted; and, as they retire, the exiled converts, many
+years banished from their birthplace, approach in a great
+body, accompanied by their allies, revisit the empty homes
+of their childhood, and within the short allotted space
+fulfil the rites of pilgrimage. The ousted inhabitants,
+climbing the heights around, take refuge under tents or
+other shelter among the hills and glens; and, clustering on
+the overhanging peak of Aboo-&#7730;ubeys, thence watch the
+movements of the visitors beneath, as with the Prophet at
+their head they make the circuit of the Ka&#7841;beh and the rapid
+procession between E&#7779;-&#7778;af&aacute; and Marwah; and anxiously
+scan every figure if perchance they may recognise among
+the worshippers some long-lost friend or relative. It was
+a scene rendered possible only by the throes which gave
+birth to Isl&aacute;m.&#8217;<a name="FNanchor_15" id="FNanchor_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">15</a></p>
+
+<p>When the three days were over, Mo&#7717;ammad and his
+party peaceably returned to Medina; and the Mekkans
+re-entered their homes. But this pilgrimage, and the self-restraint
+of the Muslims therein, advanced the cause of
+Isl&aacute;m among its enemies. Converts increased daily, and
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxvii" id="Page_lxvii">[Pg&nbsp;lxvii]</a></span>
+some leading men of the &#7730;ureysh now went over to Mo&#7717;ammad.
+The clans around were sending in their deputations
+of homage. But the final keystone was set in the
+eighth year of the flight (<span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 630), when a body of &#7730;ureysh
+broke the truce by attacking an ally of the Muslims; and
+Mo&#7717;ammad forthwith marched upon Mekka with ten
+thousand men, and the city, defence being hopeless, surrendered.
+Now was the time for the Prophet to show
+his bloodthirsty nature. His old persecutors are at his
+feet. Will he not trample on them, torture them, revenge
+himself after his own cruel manner? Now the man will
+come forward in his true colours: we may prepare our
+horror, and cry shame beforehand.</p>
+
+<p>But what is this? Is there no blood in the streets?
+Where are the bodies of the thousands that have been
+butchered? Facts are hard things; and it is a fact that
+the day of Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s greatest triumph over his enemies
+was also the day of his grandest victory over himself. He
+freely forgave the &#7730;ureysh all the years of sorrow and
+cruel scorn they had inflicted on him: he gave an
+amnesty to the whole population of Mekka. Four
+criminals, whom justice condemned, made up Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s
+proscription list when he entered as a conqueror
+the city of his bitterest enemies. The army followed
+his example, and entered quietly and peaceably; no
+house was robbed, no woman insulted. One thing alone
+suffered destruction. Going to the Ka&#7841;beh, Mo&#7717;ammad
+stood before each of the three hundred and sixty
+idols and pointed to it with his staff, saying, &#8216;Truth is
+come and lying is undone,&#8217; and at these words his
+attendants hewed it down; and all the idols and household
+gods of Mekka and round about were destroyed.</p>
+
+<p>It was thus that Mo&#7717;ammad entered again his native
+city. Through all the annals of conquest, there is no
+triumphant entry like unto this one.</p>
+
+<p>The taking of Mekka was soon followed by the adhesion
+of all Arabia. Every reader knows the story of the spread
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxviii" id="Page_lxviii">[Pg&nbsp;lxviii]</a></span>
+of Isl&aacute;m. The tribes of every part of the peninsula sent
+embassies to do homage to the Prophet. Arabia was not
+enough: the Prophet had written in his bold uncompromising
+way to the great kings of the East, to the Persian
+Khusru, and the Greek Emperor; and these little knew
+how soon his invitation to the faith would be repeated,
+and how quickly Isl&aacute;m would be knocking at their doors
+with no faltering hand.</p>
+
+<p>The Prophet&#8217;s career was near its end. In the tenth
+year of the Flight, twenty years after he had first felt
+the Spirit move him to preach to his people, he resolved
+once more to leave his adopted city and go to Mekka
+to perform a farewell pilgrimage. And when the rites
+were done in the valley of Min&aacute;, the Prophet spoke unto
+the multitude&mdash;the forty thousand pilgrims&mdash;with solemn
+last words.<a name="FNanchor_16" id="FNanchor_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">16</a></p>
+
+<p>&#8216;<span class="smcap">Ye People!</span> Hearken to my words; for I know not
+whether after this year I shall ever be amongst you here
+again.</p>
+
+<p>&#8216;Your Lives and your Property are sacred and inviolable
+amongst one another until the end of time.</p>
+
+<p>&#8216;The Lord hath ordained to every man the share of his
+inheritance: a Testament is not lawful to the prejudice of
+heirs.</p>
+
+<p>&#8216;The child belongeth to the Parent; and the violator
+of Wedlock shall be stoned.</p>
+
+<p>&#8216;Ye people! Ye have rights demandable of your Wives,
+and they have rights demandable of you. Treat your
+women well.</p>
+
+<p>&#8216;And your Slaves, see that you feed them with such
+food as ye eat yourselves, and clothe them with the stuff
+ye wear. And if they commit a fault which ye are not
+willing to forgive, then sell them, for they are the servants
+of the Lord, and are not to be tormented.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxix" id="Page_lxix">[Pg&nbsp;lxix]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&#8216;Ye people! Hearken unto my speech and comprehend
+it. Know that every Muslim is the brother of every
+other Muslim. All of you are on the same equality: ye
+are one Brotherhood.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>Then, looking up to heaven, he cried, &#8216;O Lord! I have
+delivered my message and fulfilled my mission.&#8217; And all
+the multitude answered, &#8216;Yea, verily hast thou&#8217;!&mdash;&#8216;O
+Lord! I beseech Thee, bear Thou witness to it&#8217;! and, like
+Moses, he lifted up his hands and blessed the people.<br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>Three months more and Mo&#7717;ammad was dead.</p>
+
+<p class="center">
+<span class="smcap">a.h.</span> 11. June, 632.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>It is a hard thing to form a calm estimate of the
+Dreamer of the Desert. There is something so tender and
+womanly, and withal so heroic, about the man, that one
+is in peril of finding the judgment unconsciously blinded
+by the feeling of reverence and well-nigh love that such a
+nature inspires. He who, standing alone, braved for years
+the hatred of his people, is the same who was never the
+first to withdraw his hand from another&#8217;s clasp, the beloved
+of children, who never passed a group of little ones
+without a smile from his wonderful eyes and a kind word
+for them, sounding all the kinder in that sweet-toned
+voice. The frank friendship, the noble generosity, the
+dauntless courage and hope of the man, all tend to melt
+criticism in admiration.</p>
+
+<p>In telling in brief outline the story of Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s life
+I have endeavoured to avoid controversial points. I have
+tried to convey in the simplest manner the view of that
+life which a study of the authorities must force upon
+every unbiassed mind. Many of the events of Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s
+life have been distorted and credited with ignoble
+motives by European biographers; but on the facts they
+mainly agree, and these I have narrated, without encumber
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxx" id="Page_lxx">[Pg&nbsp;lxx]</a></span>ing
+them with the ingenious adumbrations of their learned
+recorders. But there are some things in the Prophet&#8217;s life
+which have given rise to charges too weighty to be dismissed
+without discussion. He has been accused of
+cruelty, sensuality, and insincerity; he has been called a
+&#8216;bloodthirsty tyrant,&#8217; a voluptuary, and an impostor.</p>
+
+<p>The charge of cruelty scarcely deserves consideration.
+I have already spoken of the punishment of the Jews,
+which forms the ground of the accusation. One has but
+to refer to Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s conduct to the prisoners after
+the battle of Bedr, to his patient tolerance towards his
+enemies at Medina, his gentleness to his people, his love
+of children and the dumb creatures, and above all, his
+bloodless entry into Mekka, and the complete amnesty he
+gave to those who had been his bitter enemies during
+eighteen years of insult and persecution and finally open
+war, to show that cruelty was no part of Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s
+nature.</p>
+
+<p>To say that Mo&#7717;ammad, or any other Arab, was sensual
+in a higher degree than an ordinary European is simply to
+enounce a well-worn axiom: the passions of the men of
+the sunland are not as those of the chill north. But to
+say that Mo&#7717;ammad was a voluptuary is false. The
+simple austerity of his daily life, to the very last, his hard
+mat for sleeping on, his plain food, his self-imposed menial
+work, point him out as an ascetic rather than a voluptuary
+in most senses of the word. Two things he loved, perfumes
+and women; the first was harmless enough, and the special
+case of his wives has its special answer. A great deal too
+much has been said about these wives. It is a melancholy
+spectacle to see professedly Christian biographers
+gloating over the stories and fables of Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s domestic
+relations like the writers and readers of &#8216;society&#8217;
+journals. It is, of course, a fact that whilst the Prophet
+allowed his followers only four wives he took more than
+a dozen himself; but be it remembered that, with his unlimited
+power, he need not have restricted himself to a
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxxi" id="Page_lxxi">[Pg&nbsp;lxxi]</a></span>
+number insignificant compared with the &#7717;areems of some
+of his successors, that he never divorced one of his wives,
+that all of them save one were widows, and that one of
+these widows was endowed with so terrific a temper that
+Aboo-Bekr and &acute;Othm&aacute;n had already politely declined
+the honour of her alliance before the Prophet married her:
+the gratification of living with a vixen cannot surely be
+excessive. Several of these marriages must have been entered
+into from the feeling that those women whose husbands
+had fallen in battle for the faith, and who had thus
+been left unprotected, had a claim upon the generosity of
+him who prompted the fight. Other marriages were contracted
+from motives of policy, in order to conciliate the
+heads of rival factions. It was not a high motive, but one
+does not look for very romantic ideas about love-matches
+from a man who regarded women as &#8216;crooked ribs,&#8217; and
+whose system certainly does its best to make marriage
+from love impossible; yet, on the other hand, it was not a
+sensual motive. Perhaps the strongest reason&mdash;one of
+which it is impossible to over-estimate the force&mdash;that
+impelled Mo&#7717;ammad to take wife after wife was his desire
+for male offspring. It was a natural wish that he should
+have a son who should follow in his steps and carry on
+his work; but the wish was never gratified, Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s
+sons died young. After all, the overwhelming argument
+is his fidelity to his first wife. When he was little more
+than a boy he married Khadeejeh, who was fifteen years
+older than himself, with all the added age that women
+gain so quickly in the East. For five-and-twenty years
+Mo&#7717;ammad remained faithful to his elderly wife, and when
+she was sixty-five, and they might have celebrated their
+&#8216;silver wedding,&#8217; he was as devoted to her as when first he
+married her. During all those years there was never a
+breath of scandal. Thus far Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s life will bear
+microscopic scrutiny. Then Khadeejeh died; and though
+he married many women afterwards, some of them rich in
+youth and beauty, he never forgot his old wife, and loved
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxxii" id="Page_lxxii">[Pg&nbsp;lxxii]</a></span>
+her best to the end: &#8216;when I was poor she enriched me,
+when they called me a liar she alone believed in me, when
+all the world was against me she alone remained true.&#8217;
+This loving, tender memory of an old wife laid in the
+grave belongs only to a noble nature; it is not to be
+looked for in a voluptuary.<a name="FNanchor_17" id="FNanchor_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">17</a></p>
+
+<p>When, however, all has been said, when it has been
+shown that Mo&#7717;ammad was not the rapacious voluptuary
+some have taken him for, and that his violation of his own
+marriage-law may be due to motives reasonable and just
+from his point of view rather than to common sensuality,
+there remains the fact that some of the soorahs of the
+&#7730;ur-&aacute;n bear unmistakable marks of self-accommodation
+and personal convenience; that Mo&#7717;ammad justified his
+domestic excesses by words which he gave as from God.
+And hence the third and gravest charge, the charge of
+imposture. We must clearly understand what is meant
+by this accusation. It is meant that the Prophet <i>consciously</i>
+fabricated speeches, and palmed them off upon the
+people as the very word of God. The question, it will at
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxxiii" id="Page_lxxiii">[Pg&nbsp;lxxiii]</a></span>
+once be perceived, has nothing whatever to do with the
+truth or untruth of the revelations. Many an earnest
+enthusiast has uttered prophecies and exhortations which
+he firmly believed to be the promptings of the Spirit, and
+no man can charge such an one with imposture. He thoroughly
+believes what he says, and the fault is in the
+judgment, not the conscience. The question is clearly
+narrowed to this: Did Mo&#7717;ammad believe he was speaking
+the words of God equally when he declared that permission
+was given him to take unto him more wives, as when
+he proclaimed &#8216;There is no god but God&#8217;? It is a question
+that concerns the conscience of man; and each must
+answer it for himself. How far a man may be deluded
+into believing everything he says is inspired it is impossible
+to define. There are men to-day who would seem to
+claim infallibility; and in Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s time it was so
+much easier to believe in one&#8217;s self. Now, one never wants
+a friend to remind him of his weakness; then, there were
+hundreds who would fain have made the man think himself
+God. It is wonderful, with his temptations, how
+great a humility was ever his, how little he assumed
+of all the god-like attributes men forced upon him.
+His whole life is one long argument for his loyalty to
+truth. He had but one answer for his worshippers,
+&#8216;I am no more than a man, I am only human.&#8217; &#8216;Do
+none enter Paradise save by the mercy of God?&#8217; asked
+&acute;&Aacute;&iuml;sheh. &#8216;None, none, none,&#8217; he answered. &#8216;Not even
+thou by thy own merits?&#8217; &#8216;Neither shall I enter
+Paradise unless God cover me with His mercy.&#8217; He
+was a man like unto his brethren in all things save one,
+and that one difference served only to increase his
+humbleness, and render him the more sensitive to his
+shortcomings. He was sublimely confident of this single
+attribute, that he was the messenger of the Lord of the
+Daybreak, and that the words he spake came verily from
+Him. He was fully persuaded&mdash;and no man dare dispute
+his right to the belief&mdash;that God had sent him to do a
+
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxxiv" id="Page_lxxiv">[Pg&nbsp;lxxiv]</a></span>
+great work among his people in Arabia. Nervous to the
+verge of madness, subject to hysteria, given to wild
+dreamings in solitary places, his was a temperament that
+easily leads itself to religious enthusiasm. He felt a
+subtle influence within him which he believed to be the
+movings of the Spirit: he thought he heard a voice; it
+became real and audible to him, awed and terrified him,
+so that he fell into frantic fits. Then he would arise and
+utter some noble saying; and what wonder if he thought
+it came straight from highest heaven? It was not without
+a sore struggle that he convinced himself of his own
+inspiration; but once admitted, the conviction grew with
+his years and his widening influence for good, and nothing
+then could shake his belief that he was the literal mouthpiece
+of the All-Merciful. When a man has come to this
+point, he cannot be expected to discriminate between this
+saying and that. As the instrument of God he has lost
+his individuality; he believes God is ever speaking through
+his lips; he dare not question the inspiration of the
+speech lest he should seem to doubt the Giver.</p>
+
+<p>Yet there must surely be a limit to this delusion. There
+are some passages in the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n which it is difficult to
+think Mo&#7717;ammad truly believed to be the voice of the
+Lord of the Worlds. Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s was a sensitive conscience
+in the early years of his teaching, and it is hard
+to think that it could have been so obscured in later
+times that he could really believe in the inspired source
+of some of his revelations. He may have thought the
+commands they conveyed necessary, but he could hardly
+have deemed them divine. In some cases he could scarcely
+fail to be aware that the object of the &#8216;revelation&#8217; was his
+own comfort or pleasure or reputation, and not the <i>major
+Dei gloria</i>, nor the good of the people.</p>
+
+<p>The truth would seem to be that in the latter part of
+his life Mo&#7717;ammad was forced to enlarge the limits of his
+revelations as the sphere of his influence increased. From
+a private citizen of Mekka he had become the Emeer, the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxxv" id="Page_lxxv">[Pg&nbsp;lxxv]</a></span>
+chief of the Arabs, the ruler of a factious, jealous, turbulent
+people; and the change must have had its effect upon his
+character. The man who from addressing a few devout
+followers in a tent in the desert finds himself the head of
+a nation of many tribes, king of a country twice the
+size of France, will find many things difficult that before
+seemed easy. As a statesman Mo&#7717;ammad was as great as
+he was as a preacher of righteousness; but as his field of
+work enlarged, his mind had to accommodate itself to the
+needs of commoner minds. He learnt to see the expedient
+where before he knew only the right. His revelations
+now deal with the things of earth, when before they looked
+only towards the things of heaven; and petty social rules,
+&#8216;general orders,&#8217; selfish permissions, are promulgated with
+the same authority and as from the same divine source as
+the command to worship one God alone. He governed
+the nation as a prophet and not as a king, and as a prophet
+his ordinances must be endorsed with the divine
+afflatus. He found he must regulate the meanest details
+of the people&#8217;s life, and he believed he could only do this
+by using God&#8217;s name for his decrees. He doubtless argued
+himself into the belief that even these petty, and to us
+sometimes immoral, regulations, being for the good of the
+people, as he conceived the good, were really God&#8217;s ordinances;
+but even thus he had lowered the standard of his
+teaching, and alloyed with base metal the pure gold of his
+early ideal. It was a temptation that few men have
+withstood, but it was, nevertheless, a falling-off from the
+Mo&#7717;ammad we loved at Mekka, the simple truth-loving
+bearer of good tidings to the Arabs.</p>
+
+<p>Yet behind this engrafted character, formed by the
+difficulties of his position, by the invincible jealousy and
+treachery of the tribes he governed, the old nature still
+lived, and ever and anon broke forth in fervid words of
+faith and hope in the cause and the promises that had
+been the light and support of his early years of trial.
+In the late chapters of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n, among complicated
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxxvi" id="Page_lxxvi">[Pg&nbsp;lxxvi]</a></span>
+directions for the Muslim&#8217;s guidance in all the circumstances
+of life, we suddenly hear an echo of the old fiery
+eloquence and the expression of the strong faith which
+never deserted him.</p>
+
+<p>Surely the character of Mo&#7717;ammad has been misjudged.
+He was not the ambitious schemer some would have him,
+still less the hypocrite and sham prophet others have imagined.
+He was an enthusiast in that noblest sense when
+enthusiasm becomes the salt of the earth, the one thing
+that keeps men from rotting whilst they live. Enthusiasm
+is often used despitefully, because it is joined
+to an unworthy cause, or falls upon barren ground and
+bears no fruit. So was it not with Mo&#7717;ammad. He
+was an enthusiast when enthusiasm was the one thing
+needed to set the world aflame, and his enthusiasm was
+noble for a noble cause. He was one of those happy few
+who have attained the supreme joy of making one great
+truth their very life-spring. He was the messenger of the
+One God, and never to his life&#8217;s end did he forget who he
+was, or the message which was the marrow of his being.
+He brought his tidings to his people with a grand dignity,
+sprung from the consciousness of his high office, together
+with a most sweet humility, whose roots lay in the knowledge
+of his own weakness. Well did Carlyle choose him
+for his prophet-hero! There have been purer lives and
+higher aspirations than Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s; but no man was
+ever more thoroughly filled with the sense of his mission
+or carried out that mission more heroically.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxxvii" id="Page_lxxvii">[Pg&nbsp;lxxvii]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3>III.&mdash;ISLAM.</h3>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8216;Your turning your faces in prayer towards the east and the west is not piety;
+but the pious is he who believeth in God and the Last Day, and in the Angels, and
+the Scripture, and who giveth money, notwithstanding his love thereof, to relations
+and orphans, and to the needy and the son of the road, and to the askers, and for
+the freeing of slaves, and who performeth prayer and giveth the appointed alms; and
+those who perform their covenant when they covenant, and the patient in adversity
+and affliction and in the time of violence. These are they who have been true: and
+these are they who fear God.&#8217;&mdash;<i>&#7730;ur-&aacute;n</i>, ii. 172.</p></div>
+
+<p>When it was noised abroad that the Prophet was dead,
+&acute;Omar, the fiery-hearted, the Simon Peter of Isl&aacute;m, rushed
+among the people, and fiercely told them they lied, it could
+not be true, Mo&#7717;ammad was not dead. And Aboo-Bekr
+came and said, &#8216;Ye people! he that hath worshipped
+Mo&#7717;ammad, let him know that Mo&#7717;ammad is dead; but
+he that hath worshipped God,&mdash;that the Lord liveth, and
+doth not die.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>Many have sought to answer the questions&mdash;Why was
+the triumph of Isl&aacute;m so speedy and so complete? Why
+have so many millions embraced the religion of Mo&#7717;ammad,
+and scarcely a hundred ever recanted? Why do a
+thousand Christians become Muslims to one Muslim who
+adopts Christianity? Why do a hundred and fifty millions
+of human beings still cling to the faith of Isl&aacute;m?
+Some have attempted to explain the first overwhelming
+success of the Mo&#7717;ammadan religion by the argument of
+the sword. They forget Carlyle&#8217;s laconic reply, &#8216;First get
+your sword.&#8217; You must win men&#8217;s hearts before you can
+induce them to peril their lives for you, and the first conquerors
+of Isl&aacute;m must have been made Muslims before
+they were made &#8216;fighters on the path of God.&#8217; Others
+allege the low morality of the religion and the sensual
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxxviii" id="Page_lxxviii">[Pg&nbsp;lxxviii]</a></span>
+paradise it promises as a sufficient cause for the zeal of its
+followers; but even were these admitted to the full, to say
+that such reasons could win the hearts of millions of men
+who have the same hopes and longings after the right and
+the noble as we, is to libel mankind. No religion has ever
+gained a lasting hold upon the souls of men by the force
+of its sensual permissions and fleshly promises. It is
+urged, again, that Isl&aacute;m met no fair foe, that the worn-out
+forms of Christianity and Judaism it encountered were
+no test of its power as a quickening faith, and that it prevailed
+simply because there was nothing to prevent it;
+and this was undoubtedly a help to the progress of the
+new creed, but it could not have been the cause of its
+victory.</p>
+
+<p>In all these reasons the religion itself is left out of the
+question. Decidedly Isl&aacute;m itself was the main cause of
+its triumph. By some strange intuition Mo&#7717;ammad succeeded
+in finding the one form of Monotheism that has
+ever commended itself to any wide section of the Eastern
+world. It was only a remnant of the Jews that learned
+to worship the one God of the prophets after the hard
+lessons of the Captivity. Christianity has never gained a
+hold upon the East. Isl&aacute;m not only was at once accepted
+(partly in earnest, partly in name, but accepted) by Arabia,
+Syria, Persia, Egypt, Northern Africa, and Southern Spain
+at its first outburst, but, with the exception of Spain, it
+has never lost its vantage-ground; it has seen no country
+that has once embraced its doctrine turn to another faith;
+it has added great multitudes in India and China and
+Turkestan to its subjects; and in quite recent times it has
+been spreading in wide and swiftly&mdash;following waves over
+Africa, and has left but a small part of that vast continent
+unconverted to its creed. Admitting the mixed causes
+that contributed to the rapidity of the first torrent of
+Mo&#7717;ammadan conquest, they do not account for the
+duration of Isl&aacute;m. There must be something in the religion
+itself to explain its persistence and increase, and to
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxxix" id="Page_lxxix">[Pg&nbsp;lxxix]</a></span>
+account for its present hold over so large a proportion of
+the dwellers on the earth.</p>
+
+<p>Men trained in European ideas of religion have always
+found a difficulty in understanding the fascination which
+the Muslim faith has for so many minds in the East.
+&#8216;There is no god but God, and Mo&#7717;ammad is His Prophet.&#8217;
+There is nothing in this, they say, to move the heart. Yet
+this creed has stirred an enthusiasm that has never been
+surpassed. Isl&aacute;m has had its martyrs, its self-tormentors,
+its recluses, who have renounced all that life offered and
+have accepted death with a smile for the sake of the faith
+that was in them. It is idle to say the eternity of happiness
+will explain this. The truest martyrs of Isl&aacute;m, as
+well as of Christianity, did not die to gain paradise. And
+if they did, the belief in the promises of the creed must
+follow the hearty belief in the creed. Isl&aacute;m must have
+possessed a power of seizing men&#8217;s belief before it could
+have inspired them with such a love of its paradise.</p>
+
+<p>Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s conception of God has, I think, been misunderstood,
+and its effect upon the people consequently
+under-estimated. The God of Isl&aacute;m is commonly represented
+as a pitiless tyrant, who plays with humanity as
+on a chessboard, and works out his game without regard
+to the sacrifice of the pieces; and there is a certain truth
+in the figure. There is more in Isl&aacute;m of the potter who
+shapes the clay than of the father pitying his children.
+Mo&#7717;ammad conceived of God as the Semitic mind has
+always preferred to think of Him: his God is the All-Mighty,
+the All-Knowing, the All-Just. Irresistible
+Power is the first attribute he thinks of: the Lord of the
+Worlds, the Author of the Heavens and the Earth, who
+hath created Life and Death, in whose hand is Dominion,
+who maketh the Dawn to appear and causeth the Night
+to cover the Day, the Great, All-Powerful Lord of the
+glorious Throne; the Thunder proclaimeth His perfection,
+the whole earth is His handful, and the Heavens shall be
+folded together in His right hand. And with the Power
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxxx" id="Page_lxxx">[Pg&nbsp;lxxx]</a></span>
+He conceives the Knowledge that directs it to right ends.
+God is the Wise, the Just, the True, the Swift in reckoning,
+who knoweth every ant&#8217;s weight of good and of ill
+that each man hath done, and who suffereth not the reward
+of the faithful to perish.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8216;God! There is no God but He, the Ever-Living, the Ever-Subsisting.
+Slumber seizeth Him not nor sleep. To Him belongeth
+whatsoever is in the Heavens and whatsoever is in the Earth. Who
+is he that shall intercede with Him, save by His permission? He
+knoweth the things that have gone before and the things that follow
+after, and men shall not compass aught of His knowledge, save what
+He willeth. His Throne comprehendeth the Heavens and the Earth,
+and the care of them burdeneth Him not. And He is the High, the
+Great.&#8217;&mdash;<i>&#7730;ur-&aacute;n</i>, ii. 256.</p></div>
+
+<p>But with this Power there is also the gentleness that
+belongs only to great strength. God is the Guardian over
+His servants, the Shelterer of the orphan, the Guider of the
+erring, the Deliverer from every affliction; in His hand is
+Good, and He is the Generous Lord, the Gracious, the
+Hearer, the Near-at-Hand. Every soorah of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n
+begins with the words, &#8216;In the Name of God, the Compassionate,
+the Merciful,&#8217; and Mo&#7717;ammad was never tired
+of telling the people how God was Very-Forgiving, that
+His love for man was more tender than the mother-bird
+for her young.</p>
+
+<p>It is too often forgotten how much there is in the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n
+of the loving-kindness of God, but it must be allowed
+that these are not the main thoughts in Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s
+teaching. It is the doctrine of the Might of God that
+most held his imagination, and that has impressed itself
+most strongly upon Muslims of all ages. The fear rather
+than the love of God is the spur of Isl&aacute;m. There can be
+no question which is the higher incentive to good; but
+it is nearly certain that the love of God is an idea absolutely
+foreign to most of the races that have accepted
+Isl&aacute;m, and to preach such a doctrine would have been to
+mistake the leaning of the Semitic mind.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxxxi" id="Page_lxxxi">[Pg&nbsp;lxxxi]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The leading doctrine of Mo&#7717;ammad, then, is the belief
+in One All-Powerful God. Isl&aacute;m is the self-surrender of
+every man to the will of God. Its danger lies in the
+stress laid on the power of God, which has brought about
+the stifling effects of fatalism. Mo&#7717;ammad taught the
+foreknowledge of God, but he did not lay down precisely
+the doctrine of Predestination. He found it, as all have
+found it, a stumbling-block in the way of man&#8217;s progress.
+It perplexed him, and he spoke of it, but often contradicted
+himself; and he would become angry if the subject
+were mooted in his presence: &#8216;Sit not with a disputer
+about fate,&#8217; he said, &#8216;nor begin a conversation with him.&#8217;
+Mo&#7717;ammad vaguely recognised that little margin of Free
+Will which makes life not wholly mechanical.</p>
+
+<p>This doctrine of one Supreme God, to whose will it is
+the duty of every man to surrender himself, is the kernel
+of Isl&aacute;m, the truth for which Mo&#7717;ammad lived and suffered
+and triumphed. But it was no new teaching, as he
+himself was constantly saying. His was only the last
+of revelations. Many prophets&mdash;Abraham, Moses, and
+Christ&mdash;had taught the same faith before; but people
+had hearkened little to their words. So Mo&#7717;ammad was
+sent, not different from them, only a messenger, yet the
+last and greatest of them, the &#8216;seal of prophecy,&#8217; the &#8216;most
+excellent of the creation of God.&#8217; This is the second
+dogma of Isl&aacute;m: Mo&#7717;ammad is the apostle of God. It
+is well worthy of notice that it is not said, &#8216;Mo&#7717;ammad is
+the only apostle of God.&#8217; Isl&aacute;m is more tolerant in this
+matter than other religions. Its prophet is not the sole
+commissioner of the Most High, nor is his teaching
+the only true teaching the world has ever received.
+Many other messengers had been sent by God to guide
+men to the right, and these taught the same religion
+that was in the mouth of the preacher of Isl&aacute;m.
+Hence Muslims reverence Moses and Christ only next
+to Mo&#7717;ammad. All they claim for their founder is that
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxxxii" id="Page_lxxxii">[Pg&nbsp;lxxxii]</a></span>
+he was the last and best of the messengers of the one
+God.<a name="FNanchor_18" id="FNanchor_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">18</a></p>
+
+<p>After the belief in God and his prophets and scriptures,
+the Muslim must believe in angels, good and evil genii,
+in the resurrection and the judgment, and in future
+rewards and punishments. What the teaching of the
+&#7730;ur-&aacute;n is upon these points may be seen in the First Part
+of the &#8216;Selections.&#8217; They form a very common weapon of
+attack on the ground of their superstition, their anthropomorphism,
+and their sensuality. Yet these minor
+beliefs have their place in all religions, and they are conceived
+in scarcely more absurdly realistic a manner in
+Isl&aacute;m than in any other creed. Every religion seems to
+need an improbable, almost a ludicrous, side, in order to
+provide material for the faith of the masses. Mo&#7717;ammad
+himself was what is called a superstitious man, and the
+improbable side thus found its way easily into his creed.
+With all the fancies floating in Arabia in his time, it
+would have been strange if he had introduced nothing of
+the superstitious into Isl&aacute;m. The Jinn, the Afreets, and
+the other beings of the air and water, have not done
+much harm to the Mohammadan mind; and they have
+given so many a delightful fable to the West, that we
+must feel a certain grateful respect for them. The realistic
+pictures of paradise and hell have exercised a more serious
+influence. The minute details of these infernal and celestial
+pictures must move alternately the disgust and the
+contemptuous amusement of a Western reader; yet these
+same things were very real facts to Mo&#7717;ammad, and have
+been of the utmost importance to generation after generation
+of Muslims. In the present day there are cultured
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxxxiii" id="Page_lxxxiii">[Pg&nbsp;lxxxiii]</a></span>
+men who receive these descriptions in the same allegorical
+sense as some Christians accept the Revelation of S. John&mdash;which,
+indeed, in some respects offers a close parallel to
+the pictorial parts of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n; but the vast majority of
+believers (like many Christians in the parallel case) take
+the descriptions literally, and there can be no doubt that
+the belief founded on such pictures, accepted literally, must
+work an ill effect on the professors of the faith of which
+these doctrines form a minor, but a too prominent, part;
+and it is the aim of rational Muslims to sweep away such
+cobwebs from their sky.</p>
+
+<p>Isl&aacute;m lies more in doing than in believing. That &#8216;faith
+without works is dead&#8217; is a doctrine which every day&#8217;s
+routine must bring home to the mind of the devout Muslim.
+The practical duties of the Mohammadan religion,
+beyond the actual profession of faith, are the performance
+of prayer, the giving of alms, the keeping of the fasts,
+and the accomplishing the pilgrimage. Mr. Lane has so
+minutely described the regular prayers used over all the
+Mohammadan East, that it is only necessary here to refer
+to his account of them in the &#8216;Modern Egyptians.&#8217; There
+it will be seen that they form no light part of the religious
+duties of the Muslim, especially since they involve
+careful preparatory ablutions; for Mo&#7717;ammad impressed
+upon his followers the salutary doctrine that cleanliness is
+an essential part of godliness, and the scrupulous cleanliness
+of the Mohammadan, which contrasts so favourably
+with the unsavoury state of Easterns of other creeds, is an
+excellent feature in the practical influence of Isl&aacute;m. The
+charge which missionaries and the like are fond of bringing
+against the Muslim prayers, that they are merely
+lifeless forms and vain repetitions, is an exaggeration.
+There is a vast deal of repetition in the Mohammadan
+ritual, just as the paternoster is repeated again and again
+in the principal Christian liturgies; but iteration does not
+necessarily kill devotion. There is plenty of real fervour
+in the prayers of the Mosque, and they are joined-in by
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxxxiv" id="Page_lxxxiv">[Pg&nbsp;lxxxiv]</a></span>
+the worshippers with an earnest attention which shames
+the listless sleepy bearing of most congregations in England.
+It is true the greater part of the prayers are laid
+down in prescribed forms; but there is an interval set
+apart for private supplication, and the original congregations
+in the mosques availed themselves of this permission
+more generally than is now the case, when the old fervour
+has become comparatively cool; and Mo&#7717;ammad frequently
+enjoins private prayer at home, and specially praises him
+who &#8216;passeth his night worshipping God.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>Almsgiving was originally compulsory, and the tax was
+collected by the officers of the Khalif; but now the Muslim
+is merely expected to give voluntarily about a fortieth
+part of his income in charity each year. The great fast of
+Rama&#7693;&aacute;n is too well known to need more than a passing
+mention here; but it is not so well known that Mo&#7717;ammad,
+ascetic as he was himself in this as in many other
+matters, whilst he ordained the month of fasting for the
+chastening of his able-bodied followers, was a determined
+enemy to useless mortification of the flesh, and boldly
+affirmed that God took no pleasure in a man&#8217;s wantonly
+injuring himself; and so if one that was weakly and sick
+could not keep the fast without bodily detriment he was
+to omit it. And the same wise leniency was shown by
+the Arab prophet in respect of prayer,&mdash;which may be
+curtailed or omitted in certain cases,&mdash;and with regard to
+the pilgrimage, which no one was to perform to his hurt.
+This same pilgrimage is often urged as a sign of Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s
+tendency to superstition and even idolatry. It is
+asked how the destroyer of idols could have reconciled his
+conscience to the circuits of the Ka&#7841;beh and the veneration
+of the black stone covered with adoring kisses.
+The rites of the pilgrimage cannot certainly be defended
+against the charge of superstition; but it is easy to see
+why Mo&#7717;ammad enjoined them. They were hallowed to
+him by the memories of his ancestors, who had been the
+guardians of the sacred temple, and by the traditional
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxxxv" id="Page_lxxxv">[Pg&nbsp;lxxxv]</a></span>
+reverence of all his people; and besides this tie of association,
+which in itself was enough to make it impossible for
+him to do away with the rites, Mo&#7717;ammad perceived
+that the worship in the Ka&#7841;beh would prove of real
+value to his religion. He swept away the more idolatrous
+and immoral part of the ceremonies, but he retained the
+pilgrimage to Mekka and the old veneration of the temple
+for reasons of which it is impossible to dispute the wisdom.
+He well knew the consolidating effect of forming a centre
+to which his followers should gather; and hence he reasserted
+the sanctity of the black stone that &#8216;came down
+from Heaven;&#8217; he ordained that everywhere throughout
+the world the Muslim should pray looking towards the
+Ka&#7841;beh, and he enjoined him to make the pilgrimage
+thither. Mekka is to the Muslim what Jerusalem is to
+the Jew. It bears with it all the influence of centuries
+of associations. It carries the Muslim back to the cradle
+of his faith, the childhood of his prophet; it reminds him
+of the struggle between the old faith and the new, of the
+overthrow of the idols, and the establishment of the
+worship of the One God. And, most of all, it bids him
+remember that all his brother Muslims are worshipping
+towards the same sacred spot; that he is one of a great
+company of believers, united by one faith, filled with the
+same hopes, reverencing the same things, worshipping the
+same God. Mo&#7717;ammad showed his knowledge of the
+religious emotions in man when he preserved the sanctity
+of the temple of Isl&aacute;m.</p>
+
+<p>It would take too much space to look closely into the
+lesser duties of Isl&aacute;m, many of which suggest exceedingly
+wholesome lessons to Western civilisation. But we must
+not pass over one of these minor duties, for it reflects
+the highest credit upon the founder and the professors
+of Mohammadanism&mdash;I mean the humane treatment of
+animals.</p>
+
+<p>&#8216;There is no religion which has taken a higher view
+in its authoritative documents of animal life, and none
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxxxvi" id="Page_lxxxvi">[Pg&nbsp;lxxxvi]</a></span>
+wherein the precept has been so much honoured by its
+practical observance. &#8216;There is no beast on earth,&#8217; says
+the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n, &#8216;nor bird which flieth with its wings, but the
+same is a people like unto you&mdash;unto the Lord shall they
+return;&#8217; and it is the current belief that animals will share
+with men the general resurrection, and be judged according
+to their works. At the slaughter of an animal, the
+Prophet ordered that the name of God should always be
+named; but the words, &#8216;the Compassionate, the Merciful,&#8217;
+were to be omitted; for, on the one hand, such an expression
+seemed a mockery to the sufferer, and, on the other,
+he could not bring himself to believe that the destruction
+of any life, however necessary, could be altogether pleasing
+to the All-Merciful. &#8216;In the name of God,&#8217; says a pious
+Musalman before he strikes the fatal blow; &#8216;God is most
+great; God give thee patience to endure the affliction
+which He hath allotted thee!&#8217; In the East there has
+been no moralist like Bentham to insist in noble words on
+the extension of the sphere of morality to all sentient
+beings, and to be ridiculed for it by people who call themselves
+religious; there has been no naturalist like Darwin,
+to demonstrate by his marvellous powers of observation
+how large a part of the mental and moral faculties which
+we usually claim for ourselves alone we share with other
+beings; there has been no Oriental &#8216;Society for the Prevention
+of Cruelty to Animals.&#8217; But one reason of this
+is not far to seek. What the legislation of the last few
+years has at length attempted to do, and, from the mere
+fact that it is legislation, must do ineffectually, has been
+long effected in the East by the moral and religious sentiment
+which, like almost everything that is good in that part
+of the world, can be traced back, in part at least, to the great
+Prophet of Arabia. In the East, so far as it has not been hardened
+by the West, there is a real sympathy between man
+and the domestic animals; they understand one another;
+and the cruelties which the most humane of our countrymen
+unconsciously effect in the habitual use, for instance,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxxxvii" id="Page_lxxxvii">[Pg&nbsp;lxxxvii]</a></span>
+of the muzzle or the bearing-rein on the most docile, the
+most patient, the most faithful, and the most intelligent
+of their companions, are impossible in the East. An Arab
+<i>cannot</i> ill-treat his horse; and Mr. Lane bears emphatic
+testimony to the fact that in his long residence in Egypt
+he never saw an ass or a dog (though the latter is there
+looked upon as an unclean animal) treated with cruelty,
+except in those cities which were overrun by Europeans.&#8217;<a name="FNanchor_19" id="FNanchor_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">19</a></p>
+
+<p>There are some very beautiful traditions of the Prophet,
+showing the tenderness with which he always treated animals
+and which he ever enjoined on his people. A man
+once came to him with a carpet and said, &#8216;O Prophet, I
+passed through a wood and heard the voices of the young of
+birds, and I took and put them into my carpet, and their
+mother came fluttering round my head.&#8217; And the Prophet
+said, &#8216;Put them down;&#8217; and when he had put them down
+the mother joined the young. And the Prophet said, &#8216;Do
+you wonder at the affection of the mother towards her
+young? I swear by Him who has sent me, Verily God is
+more loving to his servants than the mother to these
+young birds. Return them to the place from which ye
+took them, and let their mother be with them.&#8217; &#8216;Fear
+God with regard to animals,&#8217; said Mo&#7717;ammad; &#8216;ride them
+when they are fit to be ridden, and get off when they are
+tired. Verily there are rewards for our doing good to
+dumb animals, and giving them water to drink.&#8217;<br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>Such, in brief outline, is the religion of Mo&#7717;ammad.
+It is a form of pure theism, simpler and more austere
+than the theism of most forms of modern Christianity,
+lofty in its conception of the relation of man to God, and
+noble in its doctrine of the duty of man to man, and of
+man to the lower creation. There is little in it of superstition,
+less of complexity of dogmas; it is an exacting
+religion, without the repulsiveness of asceticism; severe,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxxxviii" id="Page_lxxxviii">[Pg&nbsp;lxxxviii]</a></span>
+but not merciless. On the other hand, it is over-rigid
+and formal; it leaves too little to the believer and too
+much to his ritual; it places a prophet and a book between
+man and God, and practically discourages the desire
+for a direct relation between the Deity and his servant;
+it draws the picture of that God in too harsh outlines,
+and leaves out too much of the tenderness and loving-kindness
+of the God of Christ&#8217;s teaching, and hence it has
+been the source of more intolerance and fanatical hatred
+than most creeds.</p>
+
+<p>This religion is Isl&aacute;m as understood and taught by its
+Prophet, so far as we can gather it from the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n, aided
+by those traditions which seem to have the stamp of
+authenticity. It need hardly be said that it is not identical
+with the Isl&aacute;m with which the philosophers of Baghd&aacute;d
+amused themselves, nor with the fantastic creed
+which the F&aacute;&#7789;imee Khalifs of Egypt represented, and
+brought in the person of El-&#7716;&aacute;kim to its limit of extravagance;
+nor is it the Isl&aacute;m with which as much as with
+their ferocity the Karma&#7789;ees aroused the fear and abhorrence
+of all good Muslims. Neither the Soofism of
+Persia nor the dervish sensation-religion of Turkey conform
+to this ancient Isl&aacute;m, to which perhaps a modification
+of the Wa&#7717;&#7717;&aacute;bee puritanism would be the nearest
+approach. The original faith of Mo&#7717;ammad has not gained
+by its development in foreign lands and alien minds, and
+perhaps the best we can hope for modern Isl&aacute;m is that
+it may try the experiment of retrogression, or rather seek
+to regain the simplicity of the old form without losing the
+advantages (if there be any) which it has acquired from
+contact with Western civilisation.<br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>Isl&aacute;m is unfortunately a social system as well as a
+religion; and herein lies the great difficulty of fairly estimating
+its good and its bad influence on the world. It is
+but in the nature of things that the teacher who lays down
+the law of the relation of man to God should also endeavour
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxxxix" id="Page_lxxxix">[Pg&nbsp;lxxxix]</a></span>
+to appoint the proper relation between man and his
+neighbour. Christianity was undoubtedly a social even
+more than a religious reform, but the social regulations
+were too indefinite, or at all events too impracticable, for
+any wide acceptance among the professors of the religion.
+Isl&aacute;m was less fortunate. Mo&#7717;ammad not only
+promulgated a religion; he laid down a complete social
+system, containing minute regulations for a man&#8217;s conduct
+in all circumstances of life, with due rewards or penalties
+according to his fulfilment of these rules. As a religion
+Isl&aacute;m is great: it has taught men to worship one God
+with a pure worship who formerly worshipped many gods
+impurely. As a social system Isl&aacute;m is a complete failure:
+it has misunderstood the relations of the sexes, upon
+which the whole character of a nation&#8217;s life hangs, and,
+by degrading women, has degraded each successive generation
+of their children down an increasing scale of infamy
+and corruption, until it seems almost impossible to reach
+a lower level of vice.</p>
+
+<p>The fatal spot in Isl&aacute;m is the degradation of women.
+The true test of a nation&#8217;s place in the ranks of civilisation
+is the position of its women. When they are held
+in reverence, when it is considered the most infamous of
+crimes to subject a woman to dishonour, and the highest
+distinction to protect her from wrong; when the family
+life is real and strong, of which the mother-wife is the
+heart; when each man&#8217;s pulse beats loyal to womanhood,
+then is a nation great. When women are treated
+as playthings, toys, drudges, worth anything only if
+they have beauty to be enjoyed or strength to labour;
+when sex is considered the chief thing in a woman, and
+heart and mind are forgotten; when a man buys women
+for his pleasure and dismisses them when his appetite is
+glutted, then is a nation despicable.</p>
+
+<p>And so is it in the East. Yet it would be hard to lay
+the blame altogether on Mo&#7717;ammad. The real roots of the
+degradation of women lie much deeper. When Isl&aacute;m was
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xc" id="Page_xc">[Pg&nbsp;xc]</a></span>
+instituted, polygamy was almost necessitated by the number
+of women and their need of support; and the facility
+of divorce was quite necessitated by the separation of the
+sexes, and the consequence that a man could not know or
+even see the woman he was about to marry before the marriage
+ceremony was accomplished. It is not Mo&#7717;ammad
+whom we must blame for these great evils, polygamy and
+divorce; it is the state of society which demanded the
+separation of the sexes, and in which it was not safe to
+allow men and women freely to associate; in other words,
+it was the sensual constitution of the Arab that lay at the
+root of the matter. Mo&#7717;ammad might have done better.
+He might boldly have swept away the traditions of Arab
+society, unveiled the women, intermingled the sexes, and
+punished by the most severe measures any license which
+such association might at first encourage. With his boundless
+influence, it is possible that he might have done this,
+and, the new system once fairly settled, and the people
+accustomed to it, the good effects of the change would have
+begun to show themselves. But such an idea could never
+have occurred to him. We must always remember that
+we are dealing with a social system of the seventh century,
+not of the nineteenth. Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s ideas about women
+were like those of the rest of his contemporaries. He
+looked upon them as charming snares to the believer,
+ornamental articles of furniture difficult to keep in order,
+pretty playthings; but that a woman should be the counsellor
+and companion of a man does not seem to have occurred
+to him. It is to be wondered that the feeling of respect he
+always entertained for his first wife, Khadeejeh, (which,
+however, is partly accounted for by the fact that she was
+old enough to have been his mother,) found no counterpart
+in his general opinion of womankind: &#8216;Woman was made
+from a crooked rib, and if you try to bend it straight, it
+will break; therefore treat your wives kindly.&#8217; Mo&#7717;ammad
+was not the man to make a social reform affecting women,
+nor was Arabia the country in which such a change should
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xci" id="Page_xci">[Pg&nbsp;xci]</a></span>
+be made, nor Arab ladies perhaps the best subjects for the
+experiment. Still he did something towards bettering the
+condition of women: he limited the number of wives to
+four; laid his hand with the utmost severity on the incestuous
+marriages that were then rife in Arabia; compelled
+husbands to support their divorced wives during
+their four months of probation; made irrevocable divorce
+less common by adding the rough, but deterring, condition
+that a woman triply divorced could not return
+to her husband without first being married to some one
+else&mdash;a condition exceedingly disagreeable to the first husband;
+and required four witnesses to prove a charge of
+adultery against a wife&mdash;a merciful provision, difficult to
+be fulfilled. The evil permitted by Mo&#7717;ammad in leaving
+the number of wives four instead of insisting on monogamy
+was not great. Without considering the sacrifice of family
+peace which the possession of a large harem entails, the
+expense of keeping several wives, each of whom must have
+a separate suite of apartments or a separate house, is so
+great that not more than one in twenty can afford it. It
+is not so much in the matter of wives as in that of concubines
+that Mo&#7717;ammad made an irretrievable mistake.
+The condition of the female slave in the East is indeed
+deplorable. She is at the entire mercy of her master, who
+can do what he pleases with her and her companions; for
+the Muslim is not restricted in the number of his concubines,
+as he is in that of his wives. The female white slave
+is kept solely for the master&#8217;s sensual gratification, and is
+sold when he is tired of her, and so she passes from master
+to master, a very wreck of womanhood. Her condition is
+a little improved if she bear a son to her tyrant; but even
+then he is at liberty to refuse to acknowledge the child as
+his own, though it must be owned he seldom does this.
+Kind as the Prophet was himself towards bondswomen,
+one cannot forget the unutterable brutalities which he
+suffered his followers to inflict upon conquered nations in
+the taking of slaves. The Muslim soldier was allowed to
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xcii" id="Page_xcii">[Pg&nbsp;xcii]</a></span>
+do as he pleased with any &#8216;infidel&#8217; woman he might
+meet with on his victorious march. When one thinks of
+the thousands of women, mothers and daughters, who
+must have suffered untold shame and dishonour by this
+license, he cannot find words to express his horror. And
+this cruel indulgence has left its mark on the Muslim
+character, nay, on the whole character of Eastern life.
+Now, as at the first, young Christian girls are dragged
+away from their homes and given over to the unhallowed
+lusts of a Turkish voluptuary; and not only to Turks, but
+to Englishmen; for the contagion has spread, and Englishmen,
+even those who by their sacred order should know
+better, instead of uttering their protest, as men of honour
+and Christians, against the degradation, have followed the
+example of the Turk, and helped in the ruin of women.
+Concubinage is the black stain in Isl&aacute;m. With Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s
+views of women, we could hardly expect him to do
+better; but, on the other hand, he could scarcely have
+done worse. There are, however, one or two alleviating
+circumstances. One is the fact that the canker has not
+eaten into the whole of Eastern society; it is chiefly
+among the rich that the evil effects of the system are felt.
+And another fact which shows that the Mohammadan
+system, bad as it is, is free from a defect which social
+systems better in other respects than Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s are
+subject to is the extreme rarity of prostitution in Muslim
+towns. The courtesan forms a very small item in the
+census of a Mohammadan city, and is retained more for
+strangers from Europe than for the Muslim inhabitants.
+Instances are frequently occurring in the Indian law courts
+which show the strong feeling that exists on the subject
+among the Mohammadans of India. They consider it
+quite inconceivable that a Muslim should have illicit
+intercourse with a free Muslimeh woman, and this inconceivableness
+of the action is urged as evidence in trials
+of the legitimacy of children. But whilst admitting the
+importance of this remarkable feature in Isl&aacute;m, it must
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xciii" id="Page_xciii">[Pg&nbsp;xciii]</a></span>
+not be forgotten that the liberty allowed by their law
+to Muslims in the matter of concubines does not very
+materially differ from prostitution, and whilst the latter
+is directly forbidden by the dominant religion of Europe,
+concubinage is as directly permitted by Isl&aacute;m.</p>
+
+<p>One would think that long intercourse with Europeans
+might have somewhat raised the estimation of women in
+the East; but either because travellers in the East are not
+always the best specimens of Western morality, or because
+the Eastern mind has an unequalled aptitude for assimilating
+the bad and rejecting the good in any system it meets,
+it is certain that women are no better off now than they
+were in the East. A well-known correspondent of a leading
+daily print writes thus of Turkish home life:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8216;It is obvious that the home life of any people will depend almost
+entirely on the position which is assigned to women. It is not
+necessary to inquire what this position is according to the teaching
+of the sacred books of a race. Between Christianity and Isl&aacute;m it
+is enough to notice that there is apparently no country where the
+first is the prevailing religion in which woman is hindered by
+religion from obtaining a position almost, if not quite, on an equality
+with man, and similarly, no country where the second prevails
+where woman is not in a degraded position.... Under Christianity
+she is everywhere free. Under Isl&aacute;m she is everywhere a slave.
+The pious Mohammadan, like the pious Jew, thanks God that he
+has not been made a woman. The pious Mohammadan woman,
+like the pious Jewess, thanks God that she has been made according
+to the Creator&#8217;s will. Man and woman alike recognise that to
+be a woman is to be in an inferior condition. This feeling of the
+degradation of woman so pervades Turkey that the poorer classes of
+Christians have even become infected by it. When a son is born
+there is nothing but congratulations. When a daughter, nothing
+but condolences. A polite Turk, if he has occasion to mention his
+wife, will do so with an apology.... He regards it as a piece of
+rudeness to mention the fact to you, and it would be equally rude
+for him to inquire after your wife, or to hint that he knew you were
+guilty of anything so unmentionable as to have one. Charles the
+Twelfth told his queen that she had been chosen to give children,
+and not advice. The Turk regards woman as destined solely for the
+same purpose and for his pleasure. Probably polygamy is of itself
+sufficient to account for the way in which Mohammadans regard
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xciv" id="Page_xciv">[Pg&nbsp;xciv]</a></span>
+woman. But whether this is so or not, there is one influence which
+polygamy asserts which accounts for the low ideal of woman prevalent
+in all Muslim countries. When a man has a number of wives
+it is impossible that they can all become his companions and his
+confidantes, or that one of them can become his companion or confidante
+to the same extent as if the man had only one wife. Hence
+a man who is limited to one will not be contented with beauty
+alone. He must have a certain amount of intelligence and education.
+The Turk, on the other hand, has no reason whatever to think of
+anything except beauty. As he never means to see much of his
+wife, intelligence or education is a matter of small account. If he
+can afford it he will have a Circassian wife, a woman who has been
+reared with the intention of being sold, who has not an idea in her
+head, who has seen nothing, and knows nothing. Such a woman
+would be as objectionable as a wife to the great majority of Europeans
+as a South Sea Island beauty. But she satisfies the ideal of
+the Turk. She is beautiful, and beauty is all that he requires.&#8217;</p></div>
+
+<p>It is this sensual and degraded view of woman that
+destroys to so great an extent the good influence which
+the better part of the teaching of Isl&aacute;m might exert in the
+East. So long as women are held in so light an esteem,
+they will remain ignorant, and bigoted, and sensual; and
+so long as mothers are what most Muslim mothers are now,
+their children will be ignorant and fanatical and vicious.
+In Turkey there are other influences at work besides the
+Mohammadan social system; but Turkish women may
+serve as an instance of the state of things which that
+system encourages. &#8216;In those early years spent at home,
+when the child ought to have instilled into him some
+germ of those principles of conduct by which men must
+walk in the world if they are to hold up their heads
+among civilised nations, the Turkish child is only taught
+the first steps towards those vicious habits of mind and
+body which have made his race what it is. The root of
+the evil is partly found in the harem system. So long as
+that system keeps Turkish women in their present depressed
+state, so long will Turkish boys and girls be vicious
+and ignorant.&#8217; As I have said elsewhere,<a name="FNanchor_20" id="FNanchor_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">20</a> &#8216;It is quite
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xcv" id="Page_xcv">[Pg&nbsp;xcv]</a></span>
+certain that there is no hope for the Turks so long as
+Turkish women remain what they are, and home-training
+is the initiation of vice.&#8217; If the mother is ignorant and
+vicious, the son cannot form a high ideal of womanhood,
+and thus is barred off from the chivalrous spirit wherewith
+alone a man may reach to the highest love:&mdash;that</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line i4">&#8216;Subtle master under heaven,</div>
+<div class="line">Not only to keep down the base in man,</div>
+<div class="line">But teach high thought, and amiable words,</div>
+<div class="line">And courtliness, and the desire of fame,</div>
+<div class="line">And love of truth, and all that makes a man.&#8217;</div>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p>The Muslin has no ideal of chivalry like this to make
+his life pure and honourable: his religion encourages an
+opposite view, and the women among whom he is brought
+up only confirm it.</p>
+
+<p>If Isl&aacute;m is to be a power for good in the future, it is
+imperatively necessary to cut off the social system from
+the religion. At the beginning, among a people who had
+advanced but a little way on the road of civilisation, the
+defects of the social system were not so apparent; but
+now, when Easterns are endeavouring to mix on equal
+terms with Europeans, and are trying to adopt the manners
+and customs of the West, it is clear that the condition of
+their women must be radically changed if any good is to
+come of the Europeanising tendency. The difficulty lies
+in the close connection between the religious and social
+ordinances in the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n: the two are so intermingled that
+it is hard to see how they can be disentangled without
+destroying both. The theory of revelation would have
+to be modified. Muslims would have to give up their
+doctrine of the syllabic inspiration of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n and exercise
+their moral sense in distinguishing between the particular
+and the general, the temporary and the permanent:
+they would have to recognise that there was much in
+Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s teaching which, though useful at the time, is
+inapplicable to the present conditions of life; that his
+knowledge was often partial, and his judgment sometimes
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xcvi" id="Page_xcvi">[Pg&nbsp;xcvi]</a></span>
+at fault; that the moral sense is capable of education as
+much as the intellect, and, therefore, that what was apparently
+moral and wise in the seventh century may quite
+possibly be immoral and suicidal in a society of the nineteenth
+century. Mo&#7717;ammad himself said, according to
+tradition, &#8216;I am no more than a man: when I order you
+anything respecting religion, receive it; and when I order
+you about the affairs of the world, then I am nothing more
+than man.&#8217; And he seemed to foresee that the time
+would come when his minor regulations would call for
+revision: &#8216;Ye are in an age,&#8217; he said, &#8216;in which, if ye
+abandon one-tenth of what is ordered, ye will be ruined.
+After this, a time will come when he who shall observe
+one-tenth of what is now ordered will be redeemed.&#8217;<a name="FNanchor_21" id="FNanchor_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">21</a></p>
+
+<p>If Muslims would take these warnings of their prophet
+to heart, there would be some hope for Isl&aacute;m. Some few
+of the higher intellects among them have already admitted
+the principle of moral criticism applied to the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n;
+but it is very doubtful whether &#8216;rational Isl&aacute;m&#8217; will ever
+gain a wide following, any more than &#8216;rational Christianity.&#8217;
+People in general do not care to think for themselves
+in matters religious. They like their creed served
+up to them as cooked meat, not raw flesh. They must
+have definite texts and hard-and-fast commandments to
+appeal to. They will not believe in the spirit, but prefer
+the letter. They will have nothing to say to tendencies,
+but must have facts. It is of no avail to speak to them
+of the spirit of a life or of a whole book; they must hang
+their doctrine on a solitary sentence. They will either
+believe every letter of their scripture, or they will believe
+nothing.</p>
+
+<p>Such people make up the majority of the professors of
+Isl&aacute;m; and with them no reform, within Isl&aacute;m, seems
+possible. Among the upper (I will not call them the
+higher) classes, they are either fanatics or concealed infidels;
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xcvii" id="Page_xcvii">[Pg&nbsp;xcvii]</a></span>
+and their lives are a proof of the incompatibility of
+ordinary Mohammadanism, real or nominal, with a high
+social and national life. Among the poorer classes, the
+social system has a more restricted field of operation, for
+the poor are naturally less able to avail themselves of the
+permissions of their Prophet. In a poor community Isl&aacute;m
+exerts an eminently salutary influence, as the condition of
+the Mohammadan converts in Western Africa conclusively
+proves. An able observer,<a name="FNanchor_22" id="FNanchor_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">22</a> whose African birth and training
+qualify him in a high degree for properly understanding
+the true state of his countrymen, whilst his
+Christian profession serves as a guarantee against excessive
+prejudice in favour of Isl&aacute;m, has recorded his experience
+of the work of Mohammadan missionaries in Liberia
+and the neighbouring parts of Africa. &#8216;All careful and
+candid observers,&#8217; he remarks, &#8216;agree that the influence
+of Isl&aacute;m in Central and West Africa has been, upon the
+whole, of a most salutary character.... As an eliminatory
+and subversive agency it has displaced or unsettled
+nothing as good as itself.&#8217; It has inculcated habits of
+moderation and soberness over the whole of the vast region
+covered by its emissaries; and so great is the influence of
+its teaching, that where there are Muslim inhabitants, even
+in pagan towns, it is a very rare thing to see a person
+intoxicated. The Mohammadan converts drink nothing
+but water. &#8216;From Senegal to Lagos, over two thousand
+miles, there is scarcely an important town on the seaboard
+where there is not at least one mosque and active representatives
+of Isl&aacute;m, side by side with the Christian teacher.
+And as soon as a pagan, however obscure or degraded,
+embraces the Muslim faith, he is at once admitted as an
+equal to the society.... The pagan village possessing a
+Muslim teacher is always found to be in advance of its
+neighbours in all the elements of civilisation.... The introduction
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xcviii" id="Page_xcviii">[Pg&nbsp;xcviii]</a></span>
+of Isl&aacute;m into Central and West Africa has been
+the most important, if not the sole, preservative against the
+desolations of the slave trade. Mohammadanism furnished
+a protection to the tribes who embraced it, by effectually
+binding them together in one strong religious fraternity,
+and enabling them by their united efforts to baffle the
+attempts of powerful slave-hunters. Enjoying this comparative
+immunity from sudden hostile incursion, industry
+was stimulated among them; industry diminished their
+poverty; and as they increased in worldly substance, they
+also increased in desire for knowledge. Receiving a desire
+of letters by a study of the Arabic language, they acquired
+loftier views, wider tastes, and those energetic habits which
+so pleasingly distinguish them from their pagan neighbours.&#8217;
+Students often travel on foot from the west coast
+right across Africa to study at the great mosque of the
+Azhar in Cairo. It must be remembered that these results
+were observed in the very centre of African Christianity,
+in Sierra Leone and other coast settlements. It is said that
+in Sierra Leone three-fourths of the Muslim population
+were not born Muslims, but were converted from Christianity
+or paganism; and this, although &#8216;all liberated
+Africans are always handed over to Christian missionaries
+for instruction, and their children are baptized and brought
+up at the public expense in Christian schools, and are thus,
+in a sense, ready-made Christians.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>These facts show that, even in the present day, and with
+the competition of Christian missionary societies, Isl&aacute;m
+may be a power for good in poor communities&mdash;that it can
+not only give them a pure instead of a degraded faith, but
+can raise them socially and intellectually. The effects of
+a simple form of Isl&aacute;m on these African converts may
+give one some notion of its influence on its hearers in the
+early days, before the theologians had corrupted it.</p>
+
+<p>But this good influence is very partial and limited, even
+among the poorer classes. In communities where all are
+poor, Isl&aacute;m is an excellent agent for improvement; but in
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xcix" id="Page_xcix">[Pg&nbsp;xcix]</a></span>
+countries where there are many grades of wealth and rank,
+the poor only ape in a humble manner the vices of those
+whom they are taught to regard as their &#8216;betters.&#8217; In all
+civilised and wealthy countries the social system of Isl&aacute;m
+exerts a ruinous influence on all classes, and if there is to
+be any great future for the Mohammadan world, that system
+of society must be done away.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line"><span class="smcap">The woman&#8217;s cause is man&#8217;s; they rise or sink</span></div>
+<div class="line"><span class="smcap">Together, dwarfed or godlike, bond or free.</span></div>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_c" id="Page_c">[Pg&nbsp;c]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3>IV.&mdash;<i>THE &#7730;UR-&Aacute;N.</i></h3>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>The Muslim who reads the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n is like the orange-fruit, whose smell and taste
+are sweet; and the Muslim who reads not the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n is like the date, which hath no
+smell, but its taste is sweet; and the Hypocrite who reads not the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n is like the
+colocynth, without a smell, and with a bitter taste; and the Hypocrite who reads it
+is like the sweet bazil, whose smell is sweet, but its taste bitter.&mdash;<i>Tradition.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>It is an immense merit in the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n that there is no
+doubt as to its genuineness. The &#8216;Word of the Lord&#8217;
+came to Mo&#7717;ammad, and he uttered it, and the people
+wrote it down or committed it to memory; and that very
+word we can now read with full confidence that it has
+remained unchanged through nearly thirteen hundred
+years.</p>
+
+<p>The revelations came to Mo&#7717;ammad in many ways and
+at all times, but never &#8216;in visions bright, transcendant,
+exalted. They came ghastly, weird, most horrible. After
+long solitary broodings, a something used to move Mo&#7717;ammad,
+all of a sudden, with frightful vehemence. He
+&#8220;roared like a camel,&#8221; his eyes rolled and glowed like red
+coals, and on the coldest day terrible perspirations would
+break out all over his body. When the terror ceased, it
+seemed to him as if he had heard bells ringing, &#8220;the sound
+whereof seemed to rend him to pieces&#8221;&mdash;as if he had heard
+the voice of a man&mdash;as if he had seen Gabriel&mdash;or as if
+words <i>had been written in his heart</i>. Such was the agony
+he endured, that some of the verses revealed to him well-nigh
+made his hair turn white.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>No collection of these revelations was made during
+Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s lifetime; at his death, the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n existed
+only as scattered chaotically among the believers. But
+about a year later, the death in battle of some of the men
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ci" id="Page_ci">[Pg&nbsp;ci]</a></span>
+who had specially committed passages of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n to
+memory, and the dread that the whole of Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s
+teaching might vanish at the end of a generation or two,
+induced Aboo-Bekr to make the innovation from which
+every one shrank, and he gave orders to the Prophet&#8217;s
+secretary, Zeyd ibn Th&aacute;bit, to collect the fragments of the
+&#7730;ur-&aacute;n in one book. So Zeyd gathered the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n from
+palm-leaves, skins, shoulder-blades, stones, and the hearts
+of men, arranged the chapters in a certain order, and presented
+Aboo-Bekr with a &#7730;ur-&aacute;n which probably differed
+in no essential particular from the book we have now.
+All scholars are agreed that Zeyd did his work faithfully,
+and neither inserted nor omitted anything from party
+motives. But he seems to have occasionally mixed up
+fragments of very different date in one chapter&mdash;Mo&#7717;ammad
+himself countenanced this&mdash;and may possibly have
+omitted some portions that were not found till afterwards.</p>
+
+<p>Some twenty years later a second recension was ordered
+by the Khalif &acute;Othm&aacute;n. Slight varieties of reading,
+mainly dialectal, had arisen; swords were near being
+drawn over them; and it was evident that a serious schism
+would come about if a uniform authorised text of the
+&#7730;ur-&aacute;n were not provided. These slight dialectal differences
+were not sufficiently settled, it would seem, in Aboo-Bekr&#8217;s
+edition, so this new recension was made by Zeyd and
+three men of the &#7730;ureysh, for they would best know the
+original dialect of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n. The new edition followed
+the first one, apparently, both in order and in matter;
+definitely fixing, however, the true text in the dialect of
+the &#7730;ureysh, and possibly adding any verses that might
+have been discovered since Zeyd&#8217;s first edition. This
+second recension was conducted with the same careful
+fidelity and scrupulous impartiality as the first; and it
+was accepted by all the different parties that were then
+disputing the supremacy. Copies of this edition were
+then distributed to the principal cities of the empire, and
+the old copies and fragments were called-in and burned.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_cii" id="Page_cii">[Pg&nbsp;cii]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>This edition of &acute;Othm&aacute;n, made about <span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 660, is the one
+that has ever since been the authorised and only version
+of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n throughout the Muslim world and in the
+studies of European linguists. The only differences that
+have since crept into the text are certain unimportant
+varieties in vocalisation and orthography and in the division
+of verses.</p>
+
+<p>It was a singular system these early revisers went upon.
+They seem, indeed, to have established the authenticity of
+each saying satisfactorily; but in the arrangement of them
+they showed an extraordinary dulness. The tradition
+of the year when each revelation was spoken appears to
+have been lost even in the short time that had elapsed
+since it had been spoken. People remembered the words,
+but seldom the occasion of the words. Hence the revisers
+had to devise an artificial order; not according to subject,
+nor after the development of the style, but simply in order
+of length! They put the longest chapters first and the
+shortest last; that is to say, they inverted, roughly speaking,
+the true order, for the early soorahs were short and
+the later ones long.</p>
+
+<p>Read in this order, the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n is an unintelligible
+jumble. Carlyle may well say that &#8216;nothing but a sense
+of duty could carry any European through the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n.&#8217;
+You can trace no development of mind or doctrine in the
+present arrangement; it is indeed a confused mass of
+&#8216;endless iterations, long-windedness, entanglement, most
+crude, incondite.&#8217; But scholars have long discovered
+certain signs of a true order&mdash;several kinds of evidence by
+which a chronological arrangement of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n may
+be attempted. These are&mdash;(1.) The <i>references to historical
+events</i> in the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n, as identified by tradition. These,
+however, are but few, and occur chiefly in quite the latest
+soorahs; and tradition is apt to identify any reference with
+any event it chooses. A much more important test is (2.)
+the <i>style</i>; for a distinct development can be traced in the
+rime, in the length of verses, and in the words employed.
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ciii" id="Page_ciii">[Pg&nbsp;ciii]</a></span>
+And then there is (3.) the <i>matter</i> test, based on what we
+know of Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s life, from which we can argue a certain
+change in his preaching at Mekka, and still more when,
+from addressing idolaters in his birthplace, he came to
+preach to Jews and Christians at Medina. The danger of
+this last test is that each man forms his own theory of
+Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s mental and religious growth, and may arrange
+the soorahs in accordance with that theory. Even
+with these three tests, used by the most accomplished
+critics, it is impossible to arrive at an exact order, and to
+determine the precise chronological position of each soorah.
+But whilst it is admitted that an exact chronological
+arrangement of each individual chapter of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n is
+impossible, it is yet no less certain that the soorahs may
+be roughly grouped together, and that these groups can be
+definitely assigned to certain periods of Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s career.</p>
+
+<p>Professor Th. N&ouml;ldeke&#8217;s <i>Geschichte des Qor&acirc;ns</i> has established
+his right to the first place in this science of &#7730;ur-&aacute;n
+arrangement, and his order of soorahs may fairly be
+accepted as authoritative. Of this order Mr. Rodwell&#8217;s
+English version of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n is an example, except that a
+few of the earliest soorahs are transposed. N&ouml;ldeke has two
+great divisions of the soorahs: those revealed at Mekka,
+and those revealed during the Medina period. Further,
+he divides the Mekkan division into three groups.<a name="FNanchor_23" id="FNanchor_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor">23</a></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_civ" id="Page_civ">[Pg&nbsp;civ]</a></span></p>
+
+<table style="font-size: .9em;" summary="meccan division" border="0">
+<tr>
+<td class="left" rowspan="3">Mekka</td>
+<td class="left" rowspan="3"><img src="images/curly100.png" width="10" height="100" style="vertical-align: middle;" alt="|" /></td>
+<td class="right vertt">I.</td>
+<td class="left vertt"><p class="indent"><span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 612-617 (Rodwell, pp. 1-64)&mdash;To the Abyssinian exile (fifth year).</p></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">II.</td>
+<td class="left vertt"><p class="indent"><span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 617-619 (Rodwell, pp. 64-192)&mdash;Fifth and sixth Mekka years of Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s mission.</p></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right vertt">III.</td>
+<td class="left vertt"><p class="indent"><span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 619-622 (Rodwell, pp. 193-366)&mdash;From the  seventh year to the Flight.</p></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="left">Medina</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="left vertt"><span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 622-633 (Rodwell, pp. 366-555)&mdash;At Medina.</td>
+</tr></table>
+
+<p>Read in this order the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n becomes intelligible. It
+is still confused in its progression and strangely mixed in
+its contents; but the development of Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s faith
+can be traced in it, and we can see dimly into the workings
+of his mind, as it struggles with the deep things of
+God, wrestles with the doubts which echoed the cavils of
+the unbelievers, soars upwards on the wings of ecstatic
+faith, till at last it gains the repose of fruition. Studied
+thus, the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n is no longer dull reading to one who cares
+to look upon the working of a passionate troubled human
+soul, and who can enter into its trials and share in the
+joy of its triumphs.</p>
+
+<p>In the soorahs revealed at Mekka, Mo&#7717;ammad has but
+one theme&mdash;God; and one object&mdash;to draw his people
+away from their idols and bring them to the feet of that
+God. He tells them of Him in glowing language, that
+comes from the heart&#8217;s white heat. He points to the
+glories of nature, and tells them these are God&#8217;s works.
+With all the brilliant imagery of the Arab, he tries to
+show them what God is, to convince them of His power
+and His wisdom and His justice. The soorahs of this
+period are short, for they are pitched in too high a key
+to be long sustained. The language has the ring of poetry,
+though no part of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n complies with the demands of
+Arab metre. The sentences are short and full of half-restrained
+energy, yet with a musical cadence. The
+thought is often only half expressed; one feels the speaker
+has essayed a thing beyond words, and has suddenly discovered
+the impotence of language, and broken off with
+the sentence unfinished. There is the fascination of true
+poetry about these earliest soorahs; as we read them we
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_cv" id="Page_cv">[Pg&nbsp;cv]</a></span>
+understand the enthusiasm of the Prophet&#8217;s followers,
+though we cannot fully realise the beauty and the power,
+inasmuch as we cannot hear them hurled forth with
+Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s fiery eloquence. From first to last the
+&#7730;ur-&aacute;n is essentially a book to be heard, not read, but this
+is especially the case with the earliest chapters.</p>
+
+<p>In the soorahs of the second period of Mekka we begin
+to trace the decline of the Prophet&#8217;s eloquence. There
+are still the same earnest appeals to the people, the same
+gorgeous pictures of the Last Day and the world to come;
+but the language begins to approach the quiet of prose,
+the sentences become longer, the same words and phrases
+are frequently repeated, and the wearisome stories of the
+Jewish prophets and patriarchs, which fill so large a place
+in the later portion of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n, now make their appearance.
+The fierce passion of the earliest soorahs, that could
+not out save in short burning verses, gives place to a calmer
+more argumentative style. Mo&#7717;ammad appeals less to
+the works of God as proofs of his teaching, and more to
+the history of former teachers, and the punishments of
+the people who would not hear them. And the characteristic
+oaths of the first period, when Mo&#7717;ammad swears
+by all the varied sights of nature as they mirrored themselves
+in his imagination, have gone, and in their place we
+find only the weaker oath &#8216;by the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n.&#8217; And this
+declension is carried still further in the last group of the
+soorahs revealed at Mekka. The style becomes more
+involved and the sentences longer, and though the old
+enthusiasm bursts forth ever and anon, it is rather an echo
+of former things than a new and present intoxication
+of faith. The fables and repetitions become more and
+more dreary, and but for the rich eloquence of the old
+Arabic tongue, which gives some charm even to inextricable
+sentences and dull stories, the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n at this
+period would be unreadable. As it is, we feel we have
+fallen the whole depth from poetry to prose, and the
+matter of the prose is not so superlative as to give us
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_cvi" id="Page_cvi">[Pg&nbsp;cvi]</a></span>
+amends for the loss of the poetic thought of the earlier
+time and the musical fall of the sentences.</p>
+
+<p>In the soorahs of the Medina period these faults reach
+their climax. We read a singularly varied collection of
+criminal laws, social regulations, orders for battle, harangues
+to the Jews, first conciliatory, then denunciatory,
+and exhortations to spread the faith, and such-like heterogeneous
+matters. Happily the Jewish stories disappear in
+the latest soorahs, but their place is filled by scarcely more
+palatable materials. The chapters of this period are interesting
+chiefly as containing the laws which have guided
+every Muslim state, regulated every Muslim society, and
+directed in their smallest acts every Mohammadan man
+and woman in all parts of the world from the Prophet&#8217;s
+time till now. The Medina part of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n is the most
+important part for Isl&aacute;m, considered as a scheme of ritual
+and a system of manners; the earliest Mekka revelations
+are those which contain what is highest in a great religion
+and what was purest in a great man.</p>
+
+<p>The word <i>&#7730;ur-&aacute;n</i> means the <i>crying</i>, <i>reciting</i>, <i>reading</i>,
+and is applied not only to the whole book, but to any
+chapter or section of it. The &#7730;ur-&aacute;n is also called El-Fur&#7731;&aacute;n,
+&#8216;the Distinguisher,&#8217; and El-Mu&#7779;&#7717;af, &#8216;the Volume,&#8217;
+and El-Kit&aacute;b, &#8216;the Book,&#8217; and Edh-Dhikr, &#8216;the Admonition.&#8217;
+The &#7730;ur-&aacute;n contains, in its ordinary form, 114
+chapters (<i>soorahs</i>), 6616 verses (<i>&aacute;y&aacute;t</i>, literally &#8216;signs&#8217; or
+&#8216;wonders&#8217;), 77,934 words, and 323,671 letters, according
+to the estimates of laborious Muslim divines, which differ,
+however, in a slight manner in consequence of the various
+divisions of verses. After the first chapter, which is a short
+prayer (the F&aacute;ti&#7717;ah), the soorahs gradually decrease in
+length from 289 verses in the second to from three to six
+in the ten concluding chapters. Each chapter is headed
+by a title, taken from same prominent word in it (as the
+&#8216;Chapter of the Striking,&#8217; &#8216;of the Cow,&#8217; &amp;c.); beneath
+which is noted whether it was promulgated (according to
+tradition) at Mekka or Medina, and the number of its
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_cvii" id="Page_cvii">[Pg&nbsp;cvii]</a></span>
+verses. Then follow the words:&mdash;&#8216;In the Name of God,
+the Compassionate, the Merciful;&#8217; after which the chapter
+begins. To twenty-nine chapters are prefixed certain letters
+(<i>e.g.</i>, ch. ii. on p. 4), or a single letter, which have never
+been successfully interpreted. The Muslims believe them
+to conceal profound mysteries. In Soorah 55 a refrain is
+found, and traces of a like imitation in Soorahs 54 and 17.
+It is probable that the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n was originally <i>chanted</i> in
+somewhat the same manner as it is in the present day.</p>
+
+<p>The &#7730;ur-&aacute;n is also divided in thirty sections, and these
+are again subdivided; and from this division rather than
+from chapter and verse do the Muslims generally quote.</p>
+
+<p>&#8216;The Muslims absolutely deny that the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n was composed
+by their Prophet himself, or by 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&#8217;s throne,
+written on a tablet of vast size, called the Preserved Tablet,
+in which are also recorded the divine decrees, past and
+future; that a copy from this tablet, in one volume on
+paper, was, by the ministry of the angel Gabriel, sent
+down to the lowest heaven, in the month of Rama&#7693;&aacute;n, on
+the Night of Power;<a name="FNanchor_24" id="FNanchor_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor">24</a> whence Gabriel revealed it to
+Mo&#7717;ammad by parcels, some at Mekka, and some at
+Medina, at different times during the space of twenty-three
+years, as the exigency of affairs required; giving
+him, however, the consolation to show him the whole
+(which they tell us was bound in silk, and adorned with
+gold and precious 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&#8217;s amanuensis, in such or such
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_cviii" id="Page_cviii">[Pg&nbsp;cviii]</a></span>
+a part of such or such a chapter, till they were completed,
+according to the directions of the angel. The first parcel
+that was revealed is generally agreed to have been the first
+five verses of the ninety-sixth chapter. After the new
+revealed passages had been from the Prophet&#8217;s mouth taken
+down in writing by his scribe, they were published to his
+followers, several of whom took copies for their private
+use; but the far greater number got them by heart. The
+originals, when returned, were put promiscuously into a
+chest, without regard to any order of time, for which reason
+it is uncertain when many passages were revealed.</p>
+
+<p>&#8216;The &#7730;ur-&aacute;n being the Muslims&#8217; rule 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.</p>
+
+<p>&#8216;One of the most learned commentators distinguishes
+the contents of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n into allegorical and literal. The
+former comprehends the more obscure, 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.</p>
+
+<p>&#8216;To explain these severally in a right manner, it is necessary,
+from tradition and study, to know the time when
+each passage was revealed, its circumstances, state, and
+history, and the reasons or particular emergencies for the
+sake of which it was revealed. Or, more explicitly, whether
+the passage was revealed at Mekka 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
+depend thereon; whether it be particular or general; and
+lastly, whether it be implicit by intention, or explicit in
+words.</p>
+
+<p>&#8216;By what has been said, the reader may easily believe
+that this book is held by the Muslims in the greatest
+reverence and esteem. The more strict among them dare
+not touch it without being first washed or legally purified;
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_cix" id="Page_cix">[Pg&nbsp;cix]</a></span>
+which lest they should do by inadvertence, they sometimes
+write these words of the book itself on the cover or label,
+&#8220;None shall touch it but they who are purified.&#8221; 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, inscribe sentences
+from it on their banners, sometimes adorn it with gold
+and precious stones, and knowingly suffer it not to be in
+the possession of any person of a different persuasion. It
+is the foundation of their education; and the children in
+the schools are taught to chant it, and commit the whole
+of it to memory.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_cxi" id="Page_cxi">[Pg&nbsp;cx]<br />[Pg&nbsp;cxi]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3>BOOKS,</h3>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">In</span> reading a large number of works bearing upon the subjects of
+this Introduction, I have remarked a curious freedom of quotation
+in most of the writers. I find the same sentence, or at least the
+same thought, repeated in several books without any reference to
+the author who first put it forth. Each writer seems to have studied
+his predecessors with such minuteness that he can quote their very
+words, but he does not appear to remember whence the words
+came. When a thought has once been perfectly expressed, it were
+a ridiculous vanity to seek to frame it in different words, and so far
+it is undoubtedly wise to make use of the best of what has preceded
+us; nevertheless, it is well to acknowledge our debt. Yet thoughts,
+and even phrases, impress themselves on the memory till one unconsciously
+comes to appropriate them as his own; and this, I
+doubt not, is the cause of much of the plagiarism I have noticed.
+It is extremely probable that I have been guilty of the same sin. I
+have crowded my pages with marks of quotation, sometimes with
+foot references, sometimes without (for the student of the subject
+will know where to look for them), but it is quite likely that I have
+often unconsciously used another&#8217;s phrase or metaphor without
+rendering thanks. So I now append a list of the principal European
+books I have used, and beg once and for all to record my indebtedness
+to their writers. The original Arabic authorities will dispense
+with my acknowledgments, and the catalogue of them would not
+assist the English reader who wishes to proceed further in the study
+of the subject, for whom this list may prove useful.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="indent2"><span class="smcap">Burckhardt, J. L.</span> <i>Notes on the Bedouins and Wah&aacute;bys.</i> 2 vols.
+1831.</p>
+
+<p class="indent2"><span class="smcap">Deutsch, Emanuel.</span> <i>Literary Remains.</i> 1874.</p>
+
+<p class="indent2"><span class="smcap">Dozy, R.</span> <i>Essai sur l&acute;Histoire de l&acute;Islamisme</i>, trad. par V. Chauvin.
+1879.</p>
+
+<p class="indent2"><span class="smcap">Fresnel, F.</span> <i>Lettres sur l&acute;Histoire des Arabes avant l&acute;Islamisme.</i>
+1836-38.</p>
+
+<p class="indent2"><span class="smcap">Hughes, Rev. T. P.</span> <i>Notes on Muhammadanism.</i> 2d ed. 1877.</p></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_cxii" id="Page_cxii">[Pg&nbsp;cxii]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="indent2"><span class="smcap">Kremer, A. von.</span> <i>Geschichte der herrschenden Ideen des Isl&aacute;ms.</i> 1868.</p>
+
+<p class="indent2">&mdash;&mdash; <i>Culturgeschichte des Orients unter den Chalifen.</i> 2 vols.
+1876, 1877.</p>
+
+<p class="indent2"><span class="smcap">Lane, E. W.</span> <i>The Modern Egyptians.</i> 5th ed. 1 vol. 1860.</p>
+
+<p class="indent2">&mdash;&mdash; <i>The Thousand and One Nights</i> (notes). 2d ed. 3 vols.
+1859, 1860.</p>
+
+<p class="indent2">&mdash;&mdash; <i>Selections from the Kur-&aacute;n.</i> 1st ed. 1843.</p>
+
+<p class="indent2">&mdash;&mdash; <i>Arabic-English Lexicon</i>, Preface, &amp;c. 1863.</p>
+
+<p class="indent2"><span class="smcap">Lyall, C. J.</span> <i>Translations from the Ham&acirc;seh and the Agh&acirc;n&icirc;; The
+Mo&acute;allaqah of Zuheyr.</i> (Journal As. Soc. of Bengal, 1878.)</p>
+
+<p class="indent2"><span class="smcap">Muir, Sir W.</span> <i>The Life of Mahomet.</i> 4 vols. New edition.<a name="FNanchor_25" id="FNanchor_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor">25</a> 1867.</p>
+
+<p class="indent2"><span class="smcap">N&ouml;ldeke, Th.</span> <i>Geschichte des Qor&acirc;ns.</i> 1860.</p>
+
+<p class="indent2">&mdash;&mdash; <i>Beitr&auml;ge zur Kenntniss der Poesie der alten Araber.</i>
+1864.</p>
+
+<p class="indent2"><span class="smcap">Palgrave, W. Gifford.</span> <i>Central and Eastern Arabia.</i> 6th ed.
+1871.</p>
+
+<p class="indent2"><span class="smcap">Perceval, A.-P. Caussin de.</span> <i>Essai sur l&acute;Histoire des Arabes avant
+l&acute;Islamisme.</i> 3 vols. 1847, 1848.</p>
+
+<p class="indent2"><span class="smcap">Poole, R. Stuart</span>. <i>Pagan and Muslim Arabs.</i> (Fortnightly
+Review, October 15, 1865.)</p>
+
+<p class="indent2"><span class="smcap">Rodwell, J. M.</span> <i>El-Kor&acirc;n.</i> 2d ed. 1876.</p>
+
+<p class="indent2"><span class="smcap">Sale, G.</span> <i>The Koran.</i> 1836.</p>
+
+<p class="indent2"><span class="smcap">S&eacute;dillot, L.-A.</span> <i>Histoire G&eacute;n&eacute;rale des Arabes.</i> 2d ed. 2 vols. 1877.</p>
+
+<p class="indent2"><span class="smcap">Smith, R. Bosworth.</span> <i>Mohammed and Mohammedanism.</i> 2d ed.
+1876.</p>
+
+<p class="indent2"><span class="smcap">Sprenger, A.</span> <i>Das Leben und die Lehre des Mohammad.</i> 2d ed.
+3 vols. 1869.</p>
+
+<p class="indent2"><span class="smcap">St. Hilaire, T.-Barth&eacute;lemy.</span> <i>Mahomet et le Coran.</i> 2d ed. 1865.</p>
+
+<p class="indent2"><span class="smcap">Tiele, C. P.</span> <i>Outlines of the History of Religion</i>, translated by J. E.
+Carpenter. (Tr&uuml;bner&#8217;s Philosophical Library. Vol. vii. 1877.)</p>
+
+<p class="indent2"><span class="smcap">Weil, G.</span> <i>Das Leben Mohammed&#8217;s nach Ibn Ishak</i> bearbeitet von
+Ibn Hischam. 2 vols. 1864.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg&nbsp;1]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center f12">SELECTIONS FROM THE &#7730;UR-&Aacute;N.</p>
+<hr class="short" />
+<h2><i>PART THE FIRST.</i></h2>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg&nbsp;2]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center">NOTE.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>The following extracts were all translated by Mr. Lane, with the exception
+of those to which an obelus (&#8224;) is prefixed, for which I alone am responsible.
+In the text, the words in italics are inserted from the commentary of the
+Jel&aacute;leyn; words in square brackets [] are Mr. Lane&#8217;s additions, inserted
+where the difference between the Arabic and English idioms required them.</p>
+
+<p>In the foot-notes, words in italics are from the commentary of the Jel&aacute;leyn;
+notes followed by the initial S., from Sale&#8217;s <i>Koran</i>; the letters B., Z.,
+and A. F., following S. in parenthesis, point to the authorities from which
+Sale&#8217;s note was derived, the great commentaries of El-Beyd&aacute;wee and Ez-Zamakhsharee,
+and Abu-l-Fid&aacute;&#8217;s Life of Mo&#7717;ammad, respectively. The other
+notes are Mr. Lane&#8217;s, either from the original edition or extracted from his
+<i>Modern Egyptians</i> (5th 1 vol. ed. 1860), or his notes to the <i>Thousand and
+One Nights</i> (2d ed. 1859); except those enclosed in square brackets, which
+are due to myself.</p>
+
+<p>The numbers at the end of each extract refer to the chapter (soorah) and
+verse in Fl&uuml;gel&#8217;s text of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n (Lipsi&aelig;, 1869).</p>
+
+<p class="name">S. L. P.</p></div>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg&nbsp;3]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center f12"><i>PART THE FIRST.</i></p>
+
+<hr class="short" />
+
+<h3><i>THE OPENING PRAYER.</i><a name="FNanchor_26" id="FNanchor_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor">26</a></h3>
+
+<p class="center"><i>EL-F&Aacute;TI&#7716;AH.</i></p>
+
+<p class="center">I.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.</div>
+<div class="line">&nbsp;</div>
+<div class="line">Praise be to God, the Lord of the Worlds,<a name="FNanchor_27" id="FNanchor_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27" class="fnanchor">27</a></div>
+<div class="line">The Compassionate, the Merciful,</div>
+<div class="line">The King of the day of judgment.</div>
+<div class="line">Thee do we worship, and of Thee seek we help.<a name="FNanchor_28" id="FNanchor_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor">28</a></div>
+<div class="line">Guide us in the right way,</div>
+<div class="line">The way of those to whom Thou hast been gracious,</div>
+<div class="line">Not of those with whom Thou art wroth, nor of the erring.</div>
+<div class="right padt1">(i.)</div>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg&nbsp;4]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>PREMONITION.</i></h3>
+
+<p class="center">II.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">A.L.M.</span><a name="FNanchor_29" id="FNanchor_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29" class="fnanchor">29</a> Respecting this Book there is no doubt;<a name="FNanchor_30" id="FNanchor_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30" class="fnanchor">30</a> <i>it is</i> a
+guidance for them that fear Him,</p>
+
+<p>Who believe in the unseen,<a name="FNanchor_31" id="FNanchor_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31" class="fnanchor">31</a> and perform the prayer, and
+of what We have bestowed on them expend,</p>
+
+<p>And who believe in that which hath been sent down
+to thee,<a name="FNanchor_32" id="FNanchor_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32" class="fnanchor">32</a> and what hath been sent down before thee,<a name="FNanchor_33" id="FNanchor_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33" class="fnanchor">33</a> and
+have firm assurance of the life to come.</p>
+
+<p>Those follow a right direction from their Lord, and those
+are they who shall prosper.</p>
+
+<p>As for those who have disbelieved, it will be equal to
+them whether thou admonish them or admonish them not:
+they will not believe.</p>
+
+<p>God hath sealed their hearts and their ears, and over
+their eyes is a covering, and for them is [ordained] a great
+punishment.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 1-6.)</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg&nbsp;5]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>GOD.</i></h3>
+
+<p class="center">III.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line"><span class="smcap">Say</span>, He is God, One [God];</div>
+<div class="line">God, the Eternal.</div>
+<div class="line">He begetteth not nor is begotten,</div>
+<div class="line">And there is none equal unto Him.</div>
+<div class="right">(cxii.)<a name="FNanchor_34" id="FNanchor_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34" class="fnanchor">34</a></div>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p class="center">IV.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>The Throne-Verse.</i><a name="FNanchor_35" id="FNanchor_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35" class="fnanchor">35</a></p>
+
+<p>God! There is no God but He, the <i>Ever</i>-Living, the
+Ever-Subsisting. Slumber seizeth Him not, nor sleep. To
+Him belongeth whatsoever is in the Heavens and whatsoever
+is in the Earth. Who is he that shall intercede with
+Him, unless by His permission? He knoweth what [hath
+been] before them and what [shall be] after them, and they
+shall not compass aught of His knowledge save what He
+willeth. His Throne comprehendeth the Heavens and the
+Earth,<a name="FNanchor_36" id="FNanchor_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36" class="fnanchor">36</a> and the care of them burdeneth Him not. And
+He is the High, the Great.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 256.)</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg&nbsp;6]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center">V.</p>
+
+<p>&#8224;<span class="smcap">Say</span>, O God, to whom belongeth dominion, Thou givest
+dominion to whom Thou wilt, and from whom Thou wilt
+Thou takest it away; Thou exaltest whom Thou wilt, and
+whom Thou wilt Thou humblest. In Thy hand is good.
+Verily Thou art all-powerful.</p>
+
+<p>Thou causest the night to pass into the day, and Thou
+causest the day to pass into the night; and Thou bringest
+forth the living from the dead, and Thou bringest forth
+the dead from the living; and thou givest sustenance to
+whom Thou wilt without measure.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(iii. 25, 26.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">VI.</p>
+
+<p>Blessed be He in whose hand is the dominion and who
+is all-powerful;<a name="FNanchor_37" id="FNanchor_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37" class="fnanchor">37</a></p>
+
+<p>Who hath created death and life, that He may prove
+you, which of you [will be] best in works: and He is the
+Mighty, the Very-Forgiving:</p>
+
+<p>Who hath created seven heavens, one above another.
+Thou seest not any fault in the creation of the Compassionate.
+But lift up the eyes again <i>to heaven</i>. Dost thou
+see any fissures?</p>
+
+<p>Then lift up the eyes again twice; the sight shall return
+unto thee dull and dim.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(lxvii. 1-4.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">VII.</p>
+
+<p>Verily your Lord is God, who created the heavens and
+the earth in six days: then He ascended the throne. He
+causeth the night to cover the day; it followeth it swiftly:
+and <i>He created</i> the sun and the moon and the stars, made
+subject utterly to His command. Do not the <i>whole</i> creation
+and command belong to Him? Blessed be God, the
+Lord of the Worlds.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(vii. 52.)</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg&nbsp;7]</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">VIII.</p>
+
+<p>We have placed in heaven <i>the twelve</i> signs <i>of the Zodiac</i>,
+and adorned them for the beholders <i>with the constellations</i>;</p>
+
+<p>And We have guarded them (<i>by means of shooting stars</i>)
+from every accursed devil,<a name="FNanchor_38" id="FNanchor_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38" class="fnanchor">38</a></p>
+
+<p>Excepting him who listeneth by stealth, whom a manifest
+shooting star pursueth.</p>
+
+<p>We have also spread forth the earth, and thrown thereon
+firm <i>mountains</i>,<a name="FNanchor_39" id="FNanchor_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39" class="fnanchor">39</a> and We have caused to spring forth in it
+every kind [of green thing] weighed.<a name="FNanchor_40" id="FNanchor_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40" class="fnanchor">40</a></p>
+
+<p>And We have provided for you therein necessaries of
+life, and <i>for</i> him whom ye do not sustain;<a name="FNanchor_41" id="FNanchor_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41" class="fnanchor">41</a></p>
+
+<p>And there is not a thing but the storehouses thereof are with
+Us, and We send it not down save in determined quantities.</p>
+
+<p>We also send the fertilizing winds,<a name="FNanchor_42" id="FNanchor_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_42" class="fnanchor">42</a> and We send down
+water from heaven, and give you to drink thereof; and
+ye are not the storers of it.</p>
+
+<p>And verily We give life and death, and We are the heirs
+<i>of all the creation</i>.</p>
+
+<p>We also know those who have gone before you, and We
+know those who follow after [you].</p>
+
+<p>And verily thy Lord will assemble them together: for
+He is Wise, Knowing.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xv. 16-25.)</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg&nbsp;8]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center">IX.</p>
+
+<p>And your God is One God: there is no god but He, the
+Compassionate, the Merciful.</p>
+
+<p>Verily in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and
+the varying of night and day, and the ships that course
+upon the sea <i>laden</i> with what is profitable to mankind,
+and the water that God hath sent down from heaven, quickening
+the earth thereby after its death, and scattering about
+it all kinds of beasts; and in the changing of the winds,
+and the clouds that are compelled to do service between
+heaven and earth, are signs unto a people who understand.</p>
+
+<p>Yet among men are those who take to themselves, beside
+God, idols, which they love as <i>with</i> the love for God:
+but those who have believed are more loving towards God
+<i>than these towards their idols</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 158-160.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">X.</p>
+
+<p>Verily God causeth the grain to come forth, and the
+date-stone: He bringeth forth the living from the dead,<a name="FNanchor_43" id="FNanchor_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_43" class="fnanchor">43</a>
+and He bringeth forth the dead from the living:<a name="FNanchor_44" id="FNanchor_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_44" class="fnanchor">44</a> This is
+God; then wherefore are ye turned away?</p>
+
+<p>He causeth the dawn to appear, and hath ordained the
+night for rest, and the sun and the moon for reckoning
+<i>time</i>: this is the appointment of the Mighty, the Wise.</p>
+
+<p>And it is He who hath ordained for you the stars, that
+ye may be guided by them in the darknesses of the land
+and of the sea: We have clearly shown the signs <i>of Our
+power</i> unto the people who know.<a name="FNanchor_45" id="FNanchor_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_45" class="fnanchor">45</a></p>
+
+<p>And it is He who hath produced you from one soul,
+and <i>there is</i> a place of rest and of storing:<a name="FNanchor_46" id="FNanchor_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_46" class="fnanchor">46</a> We have
+clearly shown the signs to the people who understand.</p>
+
+<p>And it is He who hath sent down water from heaven,
+and We have produced thereby the germs of everything,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg&nbsp;9]</a></span>
+and We have caused the green thing to come forth therefrom,
+from which We draw forth grains massed; and
+from the palm-tree, from its fruit-branch, clusters of dates
+heaped together:<a name="FNanchor_47" id="FNanchor_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_47" class="fnanchor">47</a> and gardens of grapes, and the olive
+and the pomegranate, like one another<a name="FNanchor_48" id="FNanchor_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_48" class="fnanchor">48</a> and not like.<a name="FNanchor_49" id="FNanchor_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_49" class="fnanchor">49</a> Look
+ye at their fruits when they bear fruit, and their ripening.
+Verily therein are signs unto the people who believe.</p>
+
+<p>Yet they have set up the Jinn<a name="FNanchor_50" id="FNanchor_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_50" class="fnanchor">50</a> as partners of God,
+though He hath created them, and without knowledge
+have they falsely attributed to Him sons and daughters.
+Extolled be His purity, and high be He exalted above that
+which they attribute [to Him]!</p>
+
+<p><i>He is</i> the Author of the heavens and the earth. How
+then should He have offspring, when He hath no consort,
+and hath created everything and knoweth everything?</p>
+
+<p>This is God your Lord. There is no God but He, the
+Creator of everything: therefore worship ye Him;<a name="FNanchor_51" id="FNanchor_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_51" class="fnanchor">51</a> and He
+is guardian over everything.</p>
+
+<p>The eyes see Him not, but He seeth the eyes: and He
+is the Gracious, the Knowing.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(vi. 95-103.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">XI.</p>
+
+<p>It is He who maketh the lightning to appear unto you,
+[causing] fear and hope <i>of rain</i>, and formeth the pregnant
+clouds.</p>
+
+<p>And the thunder proclaimeth His perfection with His
+praise; and [likewise] the angels, in fear of Him. And
+He sendeth the thunderbolts, and striketh with them
+whom He pleaseth, whilst they dispute concerning God;
+for He is mighty in power.<a name="FNanchor_52" id="FNanchor_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_52" class="fnanchor">52</a></p>
+
+<p class="name">(xiii. 13, 14.)</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg&nbsp;10]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center">XII.</p>
+
+<p>With Him are the keys of the hidden things: none
+knoweth them but He: and He knoweth whatsoever is on
+the land and in the sea, and there falleth not a leaf but
+He knoweth it, nor a grain in the dark parts of the earth,
+nor a moist thing nor a dry thing, but [it is noted] in a
+distinct writing.<a name="FNanchor_53" id="FNanchor_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_53" class="fnanchor">53</a></p>
+
+<p>And it is He who taketh your souls at night, and knoweth
+what ye have gained in the day; then He reviveth
+you therein,<a name="FNanchor_54" id="FNanchor_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_54" class="fnanchor">54</a> that an appointed time<a name="FNanchor_55" id="FNanchor_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_55" class="fnanchor">55</a> may be fulfilled.
+Then unto Him shall ye return: then will He declare
+unto you what ye have done.</p>
+
+<p>And He is the Supreme<a name="FNanchor_56" id="FNanchor_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_56" class="fnanchor">56</a> over His servants, and He
+sendeth watchers over you,<a name="FNanchor_57" id="FNanchor_57"></a><a href="#Footnote_57" class="fnanchor">57</a> until when death cometh
+unto any one of you, Our messengers take his soul, and
+they fail not.</p>
+
+<p>Then are they<a name="FNanchor_58" id="FNanchor_58"></a><a href="#Footnote_58" class="fnanchor">58</a> returned unto God their Lord, the
+True.<a name="FNanchor_59" id="FNanchor_59"></a><a href="#Footnote_59" class="fnanchor">59</a> Doth not judgment belong to Him? And He is
+the most quick of reckoners.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Say</span>,<a name="FNanchor_60" id="FNanchor_60"></a><a href="#Footnote_60" class="fnanchor">60</a> Who delivereth you from the darknesses of the
+land and of the sea, <i>when</i> ye supplicate Him humbly and
+in secret, <i>saying</i>, &#8216;If Thou deliver us from these <i>dangers</i>,
+we will assuredly be of [the number of] the thankful&#8217;?</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Say</span>, God delivereth you from them and from every
+affliction.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(vi. 59-64.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">XIII.</p>
+
+<p>Verily God will not forgive the associating with Him
+[any other being as a god], but will forgive other <i>sins</i> unto
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg&nbsp;11]</a></span>
+whom He pleaseth; and whoso associateth [another] with
+God hath wrought a great wickedness.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(iv. 51.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">XIV.</p>
+
+<p>They<a name="FNanchor_61" id="FNanchor_61"></a><a href="#Footnote_61" class="fnanchor">61</a> say, &#8216;The Compassionate hath gotten offspring:&#8217;
+Ye have done an impious thing.</p>
+
+<p>It wanteth little but that the heavens be rent thereat,
+and that the earth cleave asunder, and that the mountains
+fall down in pieces.<a name="FNanchor_62" id="FNanchor_62"></a><a href="#Footnote_62" class="fnanchor">62</a></p>
+
+<p><i>For</i> that they have attributed offspring to the Compassionate,
+when it beseemeth not the Compassionate to get
+offspring.</p>
+
+<p>There is none of all that are in the heavens and the
+earth but he shall come unto the Compassionate as a servant.<a name="FNanchor_63" id="FNanchor_63"></a><a href="#Footnote_63" class="fnanchor">63</a>
+He hath known them and numbered them with an
+<i>exact</i> numbering.</p>
+
+<p>And each of them shall come unto Him on the day of
+resurrection, alone.<a name="FNanchor_64" id="FNanchor_64"></a><a href="#Footnote_64" class="fnanchor">64</a></p>
+
+<p>&#8224;Verily those who have believed and have done the
+things that are right, on them the Compassionate will
+bestow [His] love.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xix. 91-96.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">XV.</p>
+
+<p>O men <i>of Mekkeh</i>, a parable is propounded, wherefore
+hearken unto it. Verily, those <i>idols</i> which ye invoke beside
+God can never create a fly, although they assembled
+for it: and if the fly carry off from them aught,<a name="FNanchor_65" id="FNanchor_65"></a><a href="#Footnote_65" class="fnanchor">65</a> they cannot
+recover the same from it. Weak are the seeker and
+the sought!</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xxii. 72.)</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg&nbsp;12]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center">XVI.</p>
+
+<p>The likeness of those who take to themselves Tutelars<a name="FNanchor_66" id="FNanchor_66"></a><a href="#Footnote_66" class="fnanchor">66</a>
+instead of God is as the likeness of the spider, which
+maketh for herself a dwelling; and the frailest of dwellings
+surely is the dwelling of the spider! If they knew<a name="FNanchor_67" id="FNanchor_67"></a><a href="#Footnote_67" class="fnanchor">67</a>&mdash;&mdash;!</p>
+
+<p>Verily God knoweth whatever thing they invoke in
+His stead; and He is the Mighty, the Wise.</p>
+
+<p>And these parables<a name="FNanchor_68" id="FNanchor_68"></a><a href="#Footnote_68" class="fnanchor">68</a> we propound unto men; but none
+understand them except the wise.</p>
+
+<p>God hath created the heavens and the earth in truth:
+verily therein is a sign unto the believers.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xxix. 40-43.)</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg&nbsp;13]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>MO&#7716;AMMAD AND THE &#7730;UR-&Aacute;N.</i></h3>
+
+<p class="center">XVII.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">&#8224;O thou enwrapped <i>in thy mantle</i>,<a name="FNanchor_69" id="FNanchor_69"></a><a href="#Footnote_69" class="fnanchor">69</a></div>
+<div class="line">Arise and warn!</div>
+<div class="line">And thy Lord&mdash;magnify Him!</div>
+<div class="line">And thy raiment&mdash;purify it!</div>
+<div class="line">And the abomination<a name="FNanchor_70" id="FNanchor_70"></a><a href="#Footnote_70" class="fnanchor">70</a>&mdash;flee it!</div>
+<div class="line">And bestow not favours that thou mayest receive again with increase.</div>
+<div class="line">And for thy Lord wait thou patiently.<a name="FNanchor_71" id="FNanchor_71"></a><a href="#Footnote_71" class="fnanchor">71</a></div>
+<div class="right">(lxxiv. 1-7.)</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">XVIII.</p>
+
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">&#8224;By the morning-brightness,</div>
+<div class="line">And by the still of night,<a name="FNanchor_72" id="FNanchor_72"></a><a href="#Footnote_72" class="fnanchor">72</a></div>
+<div class="line">Thy Lord hath not forsaken thee, neither hath He hated thee.</div>
+<div class="line">And surely the Future will be better for thee than the Present,</div>
+<div class="line">And thy Lord will give to thee, and thou wilt be well-pleased.</div>
+<div class="line">Did He not find thee an orphan, and sheltered thee?</div>
+<div class="line">And He found thee erring, and guided thee,</div>
+<div class="line">And found thee needy, and enriched thee.</div>
+<div class="line">Then, as to the orphan, oppress him not;</div>
+<div class="line">And as to him that asketh of thee, chide him not away;</div>
+<div class="line">And as for the bounty of thy Lord, tell it then [abroad].</div>
+<div class="line">And as for the bounty of thy Lord, tell it then [abroad].</div>
+</div></div></div>
+<p class="name">(xciii.)</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg&nbsp;14]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center">XIX.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Say</span>, I do not say unto you, &#8216;With me<a name="FNanchor_73" id="FNanchor_73"></a><a href="#Footnote_73" class="fnanchor">73</a> are the treasures
+of God,&#8217; nor, &#8216;I know what is unseen,&#8217; nor do I say unto
+you, &#8216;Verily I am an angel.&#8217; I follow not [aught] but
+what is revealed unto me.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(vi. 50.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">XX.</p>
+
+<p>&#8224;<span class="smcap">Say</span>, I am only a man like unto you. It is only revealed
+unto me that your God is One God. He then that
+hopeth to meet his Lord, let him work a righteous work,
+and in the worship of his Lord let him not associate any
+[other god].</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xviii. 110.).</p>
+
+<p class="center">XXI.</p>
+
+<p>&#8224;<span class="smcap">Say</span>, If I err, only against myself shall I err, but if I
+am rightly-guided, it [is] of what my Lord hath revealed
+to me. Verily, He is the Hearer, the Near-at-hand!</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xxxiv. 49.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">XXII.</p>
+
+<p>Mo&#7717;ammad is nought but a Messenger.<a name="FNanchor_74" id="FNanchor_74"></a><a href="#Footnote_74" class="fnanchor">74</a> The Messengers
+have passed away before him. If then he die or be slain,
+will ye turn round upon your heels?<a name="FNanchor_75" id="FNanchor_75"></a><a href="#Footnote_75" class="fnanchor">75</a> But he who turneth
+round upon his heels will not injure God a whit;<a name="FNanchor_76" id="FNanchor_76"></a><a href="#Footnote_76" class="fnanchor">76</a> and
+God will reward the thankful.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(iii. 138.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">XXIII.</p>
+
+<p>Verily We have revealed unto thee as we revealed unto
+Noah and the prophets after him, and <i>as</i> We revealed
+unto Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the
+tribes, and Jesus, and Job, and Jonah, and Aaron, and Solomon;
+and We gave unto David the Psalms.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(iv. 161.)</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg&nbsp;15]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>XXIV.
+<a name="FNanchor_77" id="FNanchor_77"></a><a href="#Footnote_77" class="fnanchor">77</a>
+<span class="smcap">Say</span> <i>unto them</i>, Do ye argue with us concerning God,
+when He is our Lord and your Lord,<a name="FNanchor_78" id="FNanchor_78"></a><a href="#Footnote_78" class="fnanchor">78</a> and when we have
+our works and ye have your works, and when we are
+sincere towards Him?</p>
+
+<p>Nay, do ye say that Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac
+and Jacob and the tribes were Jews or Christians? <span class="smcap">Say</span>
+<i>unto them</i>, Are ye the more knowing, or is God?<a name="FNanchor_79" id="FNanchor_79"></a><a href="#Footnote_79" class="fnanchor">79</a> And
+who is more unrighteous than they who conceal a testimony
+that they have from God?<a name="FNanchor_80" id="FNanchor_80"></a><a href="#Footnote_80" class="fnanchor">80</a> But God is not heedless
+of that which ye do.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 133, 134.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">XXV.</p>
+
+<p><i>Remember</i>, when Jesus the son of Mary said, &#8216;O children
+of Israel, Verily I am the Messenger of God unto you,
+confirming the Law which [was] before me, and giving
+good tidings of a Messenger who shall come after me,
+whose name [shall be] A&#7717;mad.&#8217;<a name="FNanchor_81" id="FNanchor_81"></a><a href="#Footnote_81" class="fnanchor">81</a> But when he (<i>A&#7717;mad</i>)
+came unto them with evident proofs, they said, &#8216;This is
+manifest magic!&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>And who is more unrighteous than he who forgeth falsehood
+against God, when he is invited unto El-Isl&aacute;m? And
+God directeth not the unrighteous people.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg&nbsp;16]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>They desire to put out the light of God with their
+mouths: but God will perfect His light, though the unbelievers
+be loth <i>thereto</i>.</p>
+
+<p>It is He who hath sent His messenger with the direction
+and the religion of truth, that He may exalt above
+every religion, though the polytheists be loth <i>thereto</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(lxi. 6-9.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">XXVI.</p>
+
+<p>Those to whom We have given the Scripture know him
+(<i>Mo&#7717;ammad</i>) as they know their children.<a name="FNanchor_82" id="FNanchor_82"></a><a href="#Footnote_82" class="fnanchor">82</a> But a party
+of them do conceal the truth<a name="FNanchor_83" id="FNanchor_83"></a><a href="#Footnote_83" class="fnanchor">83</a> while they know.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 141.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">XXVII.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Jews said unto Mo&#7717;ammad</i>, &#8216;Verily God hath enjoined
+us<a name="FNanchor_84" id="FNanchor_84"></a><a href="#Footnote_84" class="fnanchor">84</a> that we should not believe an apostle until he
+bring us a sacrifice which fire shall devour.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Say</span>, Apostles have come unto you before me with
+manifest proofs,<a name="FNanchor_85" id="FNanchor_85"></a><a href="#Footnote_85" class="fnanchor">85</a> and with that ye have mentioned:<a name="FNanchor_86" id="FNanchor_86"></a><a href="#Footnote_86" class="fnanchor">86</a>
+then wherefore did ye slay them, if ye be speakers of truth?</p>
+
+<p class="name">(iii. 179, 180.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">XXVIII.</p>
+
+<p><i>The unbelievers of Mekkeh</i> have sworn by God, with the
+mightiest of their oaths, that if a sign come unto them
+they will assuredly believe therein. <span class="smcap">Say</span>, Signs are only
+with God. And what will make you to know?<a name="FNanchor_87" id="FNanchor_87"></a><a href="#Footnote_87" class="fnanchor">87</a> Verily
+if they come they will not believe.</p>
+
+<p>And We will turn away their hearts and their eyes,<a name="FNanchor_88" id="FNanchor_88"></a><a href="#Footnote_88" class="fnanchor">88</a> as
+they believed not therein the first time; and We will leave
+them in their transgression, wandering about in perplexity.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg&nbsp;17]</a></span></p><p>And though We had sent down unto them the angels,
+and the dead had spoken unto them, and We had gathered
+together about them everything in tribes, they had not
+believed unless God had pleased; but the greater number
+of them know not.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(vi. 109-111.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">XXIX.</p>
+
+<p>And they have said, &#8216;O thou unto whom the Admonition<a name="FNanchor_89" id="FNanchor_89"></a><a href="#Footnote_89" class="fnanchor">89</a>
+hath been sent down, thou art certainly possessed
+by a Jinnee.<a name="FNanchor_90" id="FNanchor_90"></a><a href="#Footnote_90" class="fnanchor">90</a></p>
+
+<p>Why dost thou not come unto us with the angels, if thou
+be of those that speak truth?&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>We send not down the angels save with justice,<a name="FNanchor_91" id="FNanchor_91"></a><a href="#Footnote_91" class="fnanchor">91</a> nor
+would they then be respited.</p>
+
+<p>Verily, We have sent down the Admonition, and We
+will surely preserve it.</p>
+
+<p>And We have sent <i>Messengers</i> before thee among the
+sects of the former generations;</p>
+
+<p>And there came not unto them any Messenger but they
+had him in derision:</p>
+
+<p>In like manner will We put it into the hearts of the
+sinners <i>of Mekkeh to do so</i>;</p>
+
+<p>They shall not believe in him, and the punishment of
+the former generations hath passed.</p>
+
+<p>And if We should open above them a gate in heaven,
+and they should pass the day mounting up to it,</p>
+
+<p>They would say, &#8216;Our eyes are only intoxicated, or
+rather we are a people enchanted.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xv. 6-15.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">XXX.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">&#8224;Verily, it is the excellent &#7730;ur-&aacute;n,</div>
+<div class="line">Written in the Preserved Book.<a name="FNanchor_92" id="FNanchor_92"></a><a href="#Footnote_92" class="fnanchor">92</a></div>
+<div class="line">None shall touch it but they who are purified.<a name="FNanchor_93" id="FNanchor_93"></a><a href="#Footnote_93" class="fnanchor">93</a></div>
+<div class="line">It is a revelation from the Lord of the Worlds.</div>
+<div class="right padt1">(lvi. 76-79.)</div>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg&nbsp;18]</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">XXXI.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Say</span>, Verily if mankind and the Jinn assembled together
+for the purpose of producing the like of this &#7730;ur-&aacute;n,<a name="FNanchor_94" id="FNanchor_94"></a><a href="#Footnote_94" class="fnanchor">94</a>
+they could not produce the like thereof, although they
+helped one another.<a name="FNanchor_95" id="FNanchor_95"></a><a href="#Footnote_95" class="fnanchor">95</a></p>
+
+<p>And We have explained unto men in this &#7730;ur-&aacute;n every
+<i>kind of</i> parable,<a name="FNanchor_96" id="FNanchor_96"></a><a href="#Footnote_96" class="fnanchor">96</a> but the greater number of men have refused
+[all else] save unbelief,</p>
+
+<p>And have said, &#8216;We will by no means believe in thee
+until thou cause a fountain to gush forth for us from the
+earth,</p>
+
+<p><i>Or</i> thou have a garden of palm-trees and grapes, and
+thou cause rivers to spring forth in the midst thereof in
+abundance,</p>
+
+<p><i>Or</i> thou cause heaven to fall down upon us, as thou hast
+pretended, in pieces, or thou bring God and the angels
+before <i>us</i>,</p>
+
+<p><i>Or</i> thou have a house of gold, or thou ascend into
+heaven, and we will not believe thy ascending until thou
+cause a book to descend unto us which we may read.&#8217;
+<span class="smcap">Say</span>, Extolled be the perfection of my Lord! Am I
+[aught] save a man, [sent] as a Messenger?</p>
+
+<p>And nothing hath hindered men from believing when
+the direction hath come unto them, but their saying,
+&#8216;Hath God sent a man as a Messenger?&#8217;<a name="FNanchor_97" id="FNanchor_97"></a><a href="#Footnote_97" class="fnanchor">97</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Say</span>, If there were upon the earth angels walking at
+ease,<a name="FNanchor_98" id="FNanchor_98"></a><a href="#Footnote_98" class="fnanchor">98</a> We had sent down unto them from heaven an angel
+as a Messenger.<a name="FNanchor_99" id="FNanchor_99"></a><a href="#Footnote_99" class="fnanchor">99</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Say</span>, God is a sufficient witness between me and you:
+for He knoweth and seeth His servants.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xvii. 90-98.)</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg&nbsp;19]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center">XXXII.</p>
+
+<p>And this &#7730;ur-&aacute;n is not an invention<a name="FNanchor_100" id="FNanchor_100"></a><a href="#Footnote_100" class="fnanchor">100</a> of one who is not
+God, but <i>it hath been sent down</i> as a confirmation of those <i>books
+which have been</i> before it, and an explanation of the Scripture&mdash;there
+is no doubt thereof&mdash;from the Lord of the Worlds.</p>
+
+<p>Do they say, &#8216;He<a name="FNanchor_101" id="FNanchor_101"></a><a href="#Footnote_101" class="fnanchor">101</a> hath forged it?&#8217; <span class="smcap">Say</span>, Then bring
+ye a Soorah<a name="FNanchor_102" id="FNanchor_102"></a><a href="#Footnote_102" class="fnanchor">102</a> like unto it and call whom ye can,<a name="FNanchor_103" id="FNanchor_103"></a><a href="#Footnote_103" class="fnanchor">103</a> other
+than God, if ye speak truth.</p>
+
+<p>Nay they have charged with falsehood that which they
+comprehend not, and the explanation thereof<a name="FNanchor_104" id="FNanchor_104"></a><a href="#Footnote_104" class="fnanchor">104</a> hath not
+yet come unto them. In like manner did those who were
+before them charge <i>their Messengers</i> with falsehood; but see
+how was the end of the offenders!</p>
+
+<p class="name">(x. 38-40.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">XXXIII.</p>
+
+<p>If ye be in doubt concerning that which We have sent
+down unto Our servant <i>Mo&#7717;ammad</i>,<a name="FNanchor_105" id="FNanchor_105"></a><a href="#Footnote_105" class="fnanchor">105</a> bring ye a Soorah
+like unto it,<a name="FNanchor_106" id="FNanchor_106"></a><a href="#Footnote_106" class="fnanchor">106</a> and invoke your witnesses,<a name="FNanchor_107" id="FNanchor_107"></a><a href="#Footnote_107" class="fnanchor">107</a> other than God,
+if ye be speakers of truth.</p>
+
+<p>But if ye do <i>it</i> not (and do <i>it</i> ye shall not), fear the
+fire whose fuel is men and stones: it is prepared for the
+unbelievers.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 21, 22.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">XXXIV.</p>
+
+<p>Whatsoever<a name="FNanchor_108" id="FNanchor_108"></a><a href="#Footnote_108" class="fnanchor">108</a> verse We abrogate or cause <i>thee</i> to forget,
+We will produce one better than it or like unto it. Dost
+thou not know that God is all-powerful?</p>
+
+<p>Dost thou not know that to God <i>belongeth</i> the dominion
+of the heavens and the earth, and that beside God ye
+have no protector or defender?</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 100, 101.)</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg&nbsp;20]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center">XXXV.</p>
+
+<p>When We substitute a verse in the stead of a verse
+(and God best knoweth what He revealeth), they say,
+&#8216;Thou art but a forger!&#8217;&mdash;but the greater number of them
+know not!</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Say</span>, The Holy Spirit <i>Gabriel</i> hath brought it down
+from thy Lord with truth, to stablish those who have
+believed, and as a direction and good tidings unto the
+Muslims.</p>
+
+<p>And We well know that they say, &#8216;Only a man<a name="FNanchor_109" id="FNanchor_109"></a><a href="#Footnote_109" class="fnanchor">109</a> teacheth
+him.&#8217; The tongue of him to whom they incline is
+foreign, and this <i>is the</i> perspicuous Arabic tongue.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xvi. 103-105).</p>
+
+<p class="center">XXXVI.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Say</span>, If the sea were ink, for <i>writing</i> the words of my
+Lord, the sea would be dried up or ever the words of my
+Lord were exhausted; and [so] if we brought its like in
+aid.<a name="FNanchor_110" id="FNanchor_110"></a><a href="#Footnote_110" class="fnanchor">110</a></p>
+
+<p class="name">(xviii. 109).</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg&nbsp;21]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>THE RESURRECTION, PARADISE, AND HELL.</i></h3>
+
+<p class="center">XXXVII.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">&#8224;The Striking! what is the Striking?</div>
+<div class="line">And what shall teach thee what the Striking is?</div>
+<div class="line"><i>It is</i> a day when men shall be like scattered moths,</div>
+<div class="line">And the mountains like carded wool!</div>
+<div class="line">Then as for him whose balances are heavy, his shall be a life well-pleasing.</div>
+<div class="line">As for him whose balances are light, his abode shall be the Pit.</div>
+<div class="line">And what shall teach thee what that is?</div>
+<div class="line">A raging fire!</div>
+</div>
+<p class="name">(ci.)</p>
+<p class="center">XXXVIII.</p>
+
+
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">&#8224;When the earth is shaken with her shaking,</div>
+<div class="line">And the earth hath cast forth her dead,<a name="FNanchor_111" id="FNanchor_111"></a><a href="#Footnote_111" class="fnanchor">111</a></div>
+<div class="line">And man shall say, &#8216;What aileth her?&#8217;</div>
+<div class="line">On that day shall she tell out her tidings,</div>
+<div class="line">Because thy Lord hath inspired her.</div>
+<div class="line">On that day shall men come one by one to behold their works,</div>
+<div class="line">And whosoever shall have wrought an ant&#8217;s weight of good shall behold it,</div>
+<div class="line">And whosoever shall have wrought an ant&#8217;s weight of ill shall behold it.</div>
+</div>
+<p class="name">(xcix.)</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg&nbsp;22]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center">XXXIX.</p>
+
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">&#8224;When the heaven shall be cloven asunder,</div>
+<div class="line">And when the stars shall be scattered,</div>
+<div class="line">And when the seas shall be let loose,</div>
+<div class="line">And when the graves shall be turned upside-down,</div>
+<div class="line"><i>Every</i> soul shall know what it hath done and left undone.</div>
+<div class="line">O man! what hath seduced thee from thy generous Lord,</div>
+<div class="line">Who created thee and fashioned thee and disposed thee aright?</div>
+<div class="line">In the form which pleased Him hath He fashioned thee.</div>
+<div class="line">Nay, but ye treat the Judgment as a lie.</div>
+<div class="line">Verily there are watchers over you,</div>
+<div class="line">Worthy recorders,</div>
+<div class="line">Knowing what ye do.</div>
+<div class="line">Verily in delight shall the righteous dwell;</div>
+<div class="line">And verily the wicked in Hell[-Fire];</div>
+<div class="line">They shall be burnt at it on the day of doom,</div>
+<div class="line">And they shall not be hidden from it.</div>
+<div class="line">And what shall teach thee what the Day of Judgment is?</div>
+<div class="line">Again: What shall teach thee what is the Day of Judgment?</div>
+<div class="line"><i>It is</i> a day when one soul shall be powerless for another soul; and all on that day shall be in the hands of God.</div>
+</div>
+<p class="name">(lxxxii.)</p>
+<p class="center">XL.</p>
+
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">When the sun shall be wrapped up,</div>
+<div class="line">And when the stars shall fall down,</div>
+<div class="line">And when the mountains shall be made to pass away,</div>
+<div class="line">And when the camels ten months gone with young<a name="FNanchor_112" id="FNanchor_112"></a><a href="#Footnote_112" class="fnanchor">112</a> shall be neglected,</div>
+<div class="line">And when the wild beasts shall be gathered together,</div>
+<div class="line">And when the seas shall overflow,<a name="FNanchor_113" id="FNanchor_113"></a><a href="#Footnote_113" class="fnanchor">113</a></div>
+<div class="line">And when the souls shall be joined <i>to their bodies</i>,</div>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg&nbsp;23]</a></span>
+<div class="line">And when the child<a name="FNanchor_114" id="FNanchor_114"></a><a href="#Footnote_114" class="fnanchor">114</a> that hath been buried alive shall be asked</div>
+<div class="line">For what crime she was put to death,</div>
+<div class="line">And when the books<a name="FNanchor_115" id="FNanchor_115"></a><a href="#Footnote_115" class="fnanchor">115</a> shall be laid open,</div>
+<div class="line">And when the heaven shall be removed,<a name="FNanchor_116" id="FNanchor_116"></a><a href="#Footnote_116" class="fnanchor">116</a></div>
+<div class="line">And when Hell shall be made to burn,</div>
+<div class="line">And when Paradise shall be brought near,&mdash;</div>
+<div class="line"><i>Then every</i> soul shall know what it hath done.</div>
+</div>
+<p class="name">(lxxxi. 1-14.)</p>
+<p class="center">XLI.</p>
+
+
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">Hath the news of the Overwhelming reached thee?</div>
+<div class="line">Countenances on that day [shall be] abased,</div>
+<div class="line">Labouring, toiling:</div>
+<div class="line">They shall feel the heat of scorching fire,</div>
+<div class="line">They shall be given to drink from a fountain fiercely boiling,</div>
+<div class="line">There shall be no food for them but of daree&#8217;,<a name="FNanchor_117" id="FNanchor_117"></a><a href="#Footnote_117" class="fnanchor">117</a>&mdash;</div>
+<div class="line">It shall not fatten nor satisfy hunger.</div>
+</div>
+<p class="name">(lxxxviii. 1-7.)</p>
+<p class="center">XLII.</p>
+
+
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">When one blast shall be blown on the trumpet,</div>
+<div class="line">And the earth shall be raised and the mountains, and be broken to dust with one breaking,</div>
+<div class="line">On that day the Calamity shall come to pass:</div>
+<div class="line">And the heaven shall cleave asunder, being frail on that day,</div>
+<div class="line">And the angels on the sides thereof; and over them on that day eight <i>of the angels</i><a name="FNanchor_118" id="FNanchor_118"></a><a href="#Footnote_118" class="fnanchor">118</a> shall bear the throne of thy Lord.</div>
+<div class="line">On that day ye shall be presented <i>for the reckoning</i>; none of your secrets shall be hidden.</div>
+<div class="line">And as to him who shall have his book given to him in his right hand, he shall say,<a name="FNanchor_119" id="FNanchor_119"></a><a href="#Footnote_119" class="fnanchor">119</a> &#8216;Take ye, read my book;</div>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg&nbsp;24]</a></span>
+<div class="line">Verily I was sure I should come to my reckoning.</div>
+<div class="line">And his [shall be] a pleasant life</div>
+<div class="line">In a lofty garden,</div>
+<div class="line">Whose clusters [shall be] near at hand.</div>
+<div class="line"><a name="FNanchor_120" id="FNanchor_120"></a><a href="#Footnote_120" class="fnanchor">120</a>&#8216;Eat ye and drink with benefit on account of that which ye paid beforehand in the past days.&#8217;</div>
+<div class="line">&nbsp;</div>
+<div class="line">But as to him who shall have his book given to him in his left hand, he shall say, &#8216;O would that I had not had my book given to me,</div>
+<div class="line">Nor known what [was] my reckoning!</div>
+<div class="line">O would that <i>my death</i> had been the ending <i>of me</i>!</div>
+<div class="line">My wealth hath not profited me!</div>
+<div class="line">My power is passed away from me!&#8217;</div>
+<div class="line">&#8216;<a name="FNanchor_121" id="FNanchor_121"></a><a href="#Footnote_121" class="fnanchor">121</a>Take him and chain him,</div>
+<div class="line">Then cast him into hell to be burnt,</div>
+<div class="line">Then in a chain of seventy cubits bind him:</div>
+<div class="line">For he believed not in God, the Great,</div>
+<div class="line">Nor urged to feed the poor;</div>
+<div class="line">Therefore he shall not have here this day a friend,</div>
+<div class="line">Nor any food save filth</div>
+<div class="line">Which none but the sinners shall eat.&#8217;</div>
+</div>
+<p class="name">(lxix. 13-37.)</p>
+<p class="center">XLIII.</p>
+
+
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">
+When the Calamity shall come to pass</div>
+<div class="line">There shall not be <i>a soul</i> that will deny its happening,<a name="FNanchor_122" id="FNanchor_122"></a><a href="#Footnote_122" class="fnanchor">122</a></div>
+<div class="line">[It will be] an abaser <i>of some</i>, an exalter <i>of others</i>;</div>
+<div class="line">When the earth shall be shaken with a <i>violent</i> shaking,</div>
+<div class="line">And the mountains shall be crumbled with a [violent] crumbling,</div>
+<div class="line">And shall become fine dust scattered abroad;</div>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg&nbsp;25]</a></span>
+<div class="line">And ye shall be three classes.</div>
+<div class="line">And the people of the right hand,<a name="FNanchor_123" id="FNanchor_123"></a><a href="#Footnote_123" class="fnanchor">123</a> what [shall be] the people of the right hand!<a name="FNanchor_124" id="FNanchor_124"></a><a href="#Footnote_124" class="fnanchor">124</a></div>
+<div class="line">And the people of the left hand, what the people of the left hand!<a name="FNanchor_125" id="FNanchor_125"></a><a href="#Footnote_125" class="fnanchor">125</a></div>
+<div class="line">And the Preceders,<a name="FNanchor_126" id="FNanchor_126"></a><a href="#Footnote_126" class="fnanchor">126</a> the Preceders!</div>
+<div class="line">These [shall be] the brought-nigh [unto God]</div>
+<div class="line">In the gardens of delight,&mdash;</div>
+<div class="line">A crowd of the former generations,</div>
+<div class="line">And a few of the latter generations,</div>
+<div class="line">Upon inwrought couches</div>
+<div class="line">Reclining thereon, face to face.</div>
+<div class="line">Youths ever-young<a name="FNanchor_127" id="FNanchor_127"></a><a href="#Footnote_127" class="fnanchor">127</a> shall go unto them round about</div>
+<div class="line">With goblets and ewers and a cup of flowing wine,</div>
+<div class="line">Their [heads] shall ache not with it neither shall they be drunken;</div>
+<div class="line">And with fruits of the [sorts] which they shall choose,</div>
+<div class="line">And the flesh of birds of the [kinds] which they shall desire.</div>
+<div class="line">And damsels<a name="FNanchor_128" id="FNanchor_128"></a><a href="#Footnote_128" class="fnanchor">128</a> with eyes<a name="FNanchor_129" id="FNanchor_129"></a><a href="#Footnote_129" class="fnanchor">129</a> like pearls laid up</div>
+<div class="line"><i>We will give them</i> as a reward for that which they have done.</div>
+<div class="line">Therein shall they hear no vain discourse nor accusation of sin,</div>
+<div class="line">But [only] the saying, &#8216;Peace! Peace!&#8217;</div>
+<div class="line">&nbsp;</div>
+<div class="line">And the people of the right hand&mdash;what [shall be] the people of the right hand!</div>
+<div class="line">[They shall dwell] among lote-trees without thorns</div>
+<div class="line">And bananas loaded with fruit,<a name="FNanchor_130" id="FNanchor_130"></a><a href="#Footnote_130" class="fnanchor">130</a></div>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg&nbsp;26]</a></span>
+<div class="line">And a shade <i>ever</i>-spread,</div>
+<div class="line">And water <i>ever</i>-flowing,</div>
+<div class="line">And fruits abundant</div>
+<div class="line">Unstayed and unforbidden,</div>
+<div class="line">And couches raised.</div>
+<div class="line">Verily we have created them<a name="FNanchor_131" id="FNanchor_131"></a><a href="#Footnote_131" class="fnanchor">131</a> by a [peculiar] creation,</div>
+<div class="line">And have made them virgins,</div>
+<div class="line">Beloved of their husbands, of equal age [with them],</div>
+<div class="line">For the people of the right hand,</div>
+<div class="line">A crowd of the former generations</div>
+<div class="line">And a crowd of the latter generations.</div>
+<div class="line">&nbsp;</div>
+<div class="line">And the people of the left hand&mdash;what [shall be] the people of the left hand!</div>
+<div class="line">[They shall dwell] amidst burning wind and scalding water,</div>
+<div class="line">And a shade of blackest smoke,</div>
+<div class="line">Not cool and not grateful.</div>
+<div class="line">For before this they were blest with worldly goods,</div>
+<div class="line">And they persisted in heinous sin,<a name="FNanchor_132" id="FNanchor_132"></a><a href="#Footnote_132" class="fnanchor">132</a></div>
+<div class="line">And said, &#8216;When we shall have died and become dust and bones, shall we indeed be raised to life,</div>
+<div class="line">And our fathers the former generations?&#8217;</div>
+<div class="line"><span class="smcap">Say</span>, Verily the former and the latter generations</div>
+<div class="line">Shall be gathered together for the appointed time of a known day.</div>
+<div class="line">Then ye, O ye erring, belying [people],</div>
+<div class="line">Shall surely eat of the tree of Ez-Za&#7731;&#7731;oom,</div>
+<div class="line">And fill therewith [your] bellies,</div>
+<div class="line">And drink thereon boiling water,</div>
+<div class="line">And ye shall drink as thirsty camels drink.&mdash;</div>
+<div class="line">This [shall be] their entertainment on the day of retribution.</div>
+</div></div></div>
+<p class="name">(lvi. 1-56.)</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg&nbsp;27]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center">XLIV.</p>
+
+<p>Verily We have prepared for the offenders fire, the smoke
+of which shall encompass them; and if they ask relief,
+they shall be relieved with water like the dregs of oil,
+which shall scald <i>their</i> faces. Miserable shall be the
+drink, and evil shall be the couch.</p>
+
+<p>As for those who have believed and done the things that
+are right, verily We will not suffer the reward of him that
+hath done well to perish:</p>
+
+<p>For these are gardens of perpetual abode, beneath them<a name="FNanchor_133" id="FNanchor_133"></a><a href="#Footnote_133" class="fnanchor">133</a>
+shall rivers run; they shall be adorned therein with bracelets
+of gold, and shall wear green garments of fine brocade
+and of thick brocade, reclining therein on the thrones.
+Excellent shall be the reward, and pleasant shall be the
+couch.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xviii. 28-30.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">XLV.</p>
+
+<p><i>Call to mind</i> the day when We will cause the mountains
+to pass away and thou shalt see the earth plain; and
+We will assemble them<a name="FNanchor_134" id="FNanchor_134"></a><a href="#Footnote_134" class="fnanchor">134</a> and not leave of them any one.</p>
+
+<p>And they shall be set before thy Lord in ranks: &#8216;Now
+are ye come unto Us as We created you the first time.<a name="FNanchor_135" id="FNanchor_135"></a><a href="#Footnote_135" class="fnanchor">135</a>
+Nay, ye thought that We would not perform [Our] promise
+to you.&#8217;<a name="FNanchor_136" id="FNanchor_136"></a><a href="#Footnote_136" class="fnanchor">136</a></p>
+
+<p>And the book shall be put [in every man&#8217;s hand], and
+thou shalt see the sinners fearful because of that which
+is [written] therein, and they shall say, &#8216;O woe is us!
+what meaneth this book? It leaveth neither a small <i>sin</i>
+nor a great <i>sin</i>, but it enumerateth it!&#8217; And they shall find
+that which they shall have wrought present;<a name="FNanchor_137" id="FNanchor_137"></a><a href="#Footnote_137" class="fnanchor">137</a> and thy
+Lord will not deal unjustly with any one.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xviii. 45-47.)</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg&nbsp;28]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center">XLVI.</p>
+
+<p>They have not esteemed God with the estimation due
+unto Him, since the whole earth [shall be] His handful on
+the day of resurrection, and the heavens [shall be] folded
+together by His right hand. Extolled be His perfection
+and high be He exalted above the [things] they associate
+<i>with Him</i>!</p>
+
+<p>And the trumpet shall be blown, and they that are in
+the heavens and they that are in the earth shall die, except
+those whom God shall please. Then it shall be blown
+another time; and lo, they shall arise, waiting.</p>
+
+<p>And the earth shall shine with the light of its Lord. And
+the book shall be placed, and the prophets shall be brought
+and the witnesses, and judgment shall be given between
+them with truth, and they shall not be treated unjustly.</p>
+
+<p>And every soul shall be fully paid <i>the reward</i> of what
+it hath done, and He well knoweth what they do.</p>
+
+<p>And those who have disbelieved shall be driven in
+troops unto hell, until when they come to it, its gates shall
+be opened, and its guardians shall say unto them, &#8216;Did
+not Messengers from among you come unto you rehearsing
+the signs of your Lord, and warning you of the meeting of
+this your day?&#8217; They shall answer, &#8216;Yea:&#8217; (But the sentence
+of punishment<a name="FNanchor_138" id="FNanchor_138"></a><a href="#Footnote_138" class="fnanchor">138</a> hath been justly pronounced against
+the unbelievers:)</p>
+
+<p>It shall be said, &#8216;Enter ye the gates of hell to remain
+therein for ever:&#8217; and evil shall be the abode of the proud.<br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>And those who have feared their Lord shall be urged on
+in troops unto paradise, until when they come unto it, its
+gates are already opened, and its guardians say unto them:
+&#8216;Peace be on you! Ye have been good: therefore enter it
+to abide <i>therein</i> for ever.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>And they shall say, &#8216;Praise be to God, who hath performed
+unto us His promise, and hath made us to inherit
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg&nbsp;29]</a></span>
+the land, that we may dwell in Paradise wheresoever we
+please; and how excellent is the reward of the workers!&#8217;<a name="FNanchor_139" id="FNanchor_139"></a><a href="#Footnote_139" class="fnanchor">139</a></p>
+
+<p>And thou shalt see the angels encompassing the throne,
+extolling the perfection with the praise of their Lord. And
+judgment shall be given between them<a name="FNanchor_140" id="FNanchor_140"></a><a href="#Footnote_140" class="fnanchor">140</a> with truth: and it
+shall be said,&#8216;Praise be to God, the Lord of the Worlds!&#8217;</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xxxix. 67-75.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">XLVII.</p>
+
+<p>Paradise shall be brought near unto the pious, <i>to a place</i>
+not distant <i>from them, so that they shall see it</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>And it shall be said unto them</i>, &#8216;This is what ye have
+been promised, unto every one who hath earnestly turned
+himself unto God and kept <i>His laws</i>,</p>
+
+<p>Who hath feared the Compassionate in secret, and come
+with a penitent heart:</p>
+
+<p>Enter it in peace: this is the Day of Eternity.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p class="name">(l. 30-33.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">XLVIII.</p>
+
+<p>&#8224;Fairseeming to men is the love of pleasures from
+women and children, and hoarded riches of gold and silver,
+and pastured<a name="FNanchor_141" id="FNanchor_141"></a><a href="#Footnote_141" class="fnanchor">141</a> horses, and flocks, and corn-fields. Such is
+the enjoyment of this world&#8217;s life! But God, goodly is
+the home with Him!</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Say</span>, Shall I tell you of better things than these prepared
+in the presence of their Lord for those that fear
+[God]? Theirs shall be gardens beneath which rivers run,
+and in which they shall abide for ever, and stainless wives,
+and acceptance with God: for God regardeth His servants,</p>
+
+<p>&mdash;Who say, &#8216;O our Lord, verily we have believed; forgive
+us then our sins, and keep us from the torment of
+the fire,&#8217;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>The patient, and the truthful, and the lowly, and the
+charitable, and they who seek pardon at each daybreak.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(iii. 12-15.)</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg&nbsp;30]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center">XLIX.</p>
+
+<p>&#8224;And repute not those slain in God&#8217;s cause<a name="FNanchor_142" id="FNanchor_142"></a><a href="#Footnote_142" class="fnanchor">142</a> to be dead:
+nay, alive with their Lord, they are provided for;</p>
+
+<p>Joyful in what God of His bounty hath vouchsafed
+them, and rejoicing for those that follow after them, but
+have not yet overtaken them, that on them no fear shall
+come, neither shall they grieve;</p>
+
+<p>Rejoicing at the favour of God and His bounty, and that
+God suffereth not the reward of the faithful to perish.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(iii. 163-165.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">L.</p>
+
+<p>Whosoever doeth the things that are right, whether male
+or female, being a believer,&mdash;these shall enter paradise, and
+shall not be wronged in the least degree.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(iv. 123.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LI.</p>
+
+<p>For those who have disbelieved in their Lord [is prepared]
+the punishment of hell; and evil [shall be] the journey.<a name="FNanchor_143" id="FNanchor_143"></a><a href="#Footnote_143" class="fnanchor">143</a></p>
+
+<p>When they shall be cast into it they shall hear it braying,<a name="FNanchor_144" id="FNanchor_144"></a><a href="#Footnote_144" class="fnanchor">144</a>
+while it boileth, well-nigh bursting with fury.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(lxvii. 6-8.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LII.</p>
+
+<p>If thou shouldst see<a name="FNanchor_145" id="FNanchor_145"></a><a href="#Footnote_145" class="fnanchor">145</a> those who have offended<a name="FNanchor_146" id="FNanchor_146"></a><a href="#Footnote_146" class="fnanchor">146</a> when
+they see the punishment!<a name="FNanchor_147" id="FNanchor_147"></a><a href="#Footnote_147" class="fnanchor">147</a>&mdash;for power belongeth altogether
+unto God, and God is severe in punishing:</p>
+
+<p>When those who have been followed will declare themselves
+clear of those who have followed [them],<a name="FNanchor_148" id="FNanchor_148"></a><a href="#Footnote_148" class="fnanchor">148</a> when
+they have seen the punishment, and the ties [that bound
+them together] shall be severed from them:</p>
+
+<p>And those who have followed shall say, &#8216;O that there
+were for us a return <i>to the world</i>! then would we declare
+ourselves clear of them, like as they have <i>now</i> declared
+themselves clear of us!&#8217; After this manner will God show
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg&nbsp;31]</a></span>
+them their <i>evil</i> works, for which [they shall pour forth]
+lamentations; and they shall not come forth from the
+fire.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 160-162.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LIII.</p>
+
+<p>And the Devil<a name="FNanchor_149" id="FNanchor_149"></a><a href="#Footnote_149" class="fnanchor">149</a> shall say, when the matter shall have
+been determined,<a name="FNanchor_150" id="FNanchor_150"></a><a href="#Footnote_150" class="fnanchor">150</a> &#8216;Verily God promised you the promise
+of truth;<a name="FNanchor_151" id="FNanchor_151"></a><a href="#Footnote_151" class="fnanchor">151</a> and I promised you,<a name="FNanchor_152" id="FNanchor_152"></a><a href="#Footnote_152" class="fnanchor">152</a> but I deceived you: yet
+had I no power over you;</p>
+
+<p>But I only called you and ye answered me. Therefore
+blame not me, but blame your own selves. I am not a
+helper of you, neither are ye helpers of me. Verily I
+renounce your having associated me <i>with God</i> heretofore.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xiv. 26, 27).</p>
+
+<p class="center">LIV.</p>
+
+<p>Verily the hypocrites shall be in the lowest abyss of the
+fire, and thou shalt not find for them any defender.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(iv. 144.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LV.</p>
+
+<p>They<a name="FNanchor_153" id="FNanchor_153"></a><a href="#Footnote_153" class="fnanchor">153</a> will ask thee respecting the Hour,<a name="FNanchor_154" id="FNanchor_154"></a><a href="#Footnote_154" class="fnanchor">154</a> at what time
+is its coming fixed. <span class="smcap">Say</span>, The knowledge of it is only with
+my Lord: none shall manifest it in its time but He. It
+is grievous in the heavens and in the earth. It shall not
+come upon you otherwise than suddenly.</p>
+
+<p>They will ask thee as though thou wert well acquainted
+therewith. <span class="smcap">Say</span>, The knowledge of it is only with God:
+but the greater number of men know not!</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Say</span>, I possess not for myself <i>power to procure</i> advantage
+nor <i>to avert</i> mischief, save as God pleaseth: and if I
+knew things unseen, I should obtain abundance of good, and
+evil should not happen unto me. I am only a denouncer
+of threats <i>unto the unbelievers</i>, and an announcer of good
+tidings unto the people who believe.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(vii. 186-188.)</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg&nbsp;32]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>PREDESTINATION.</i></h3>
+
+<p class="center">LVI.</p>
+
+<p>A soul cannot die unless by permission of God, according
+to a writing <i>of God</i>, definite <i>as to time</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(iii. 139.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LVII.</p>
+
+<p>They say [whose companions were slain at the battle of
+O&#7717;od], &#8216;If aught of the affair had been <i>submitted</i> to us we
+had not been slain here.&#8217;<a name="FNanchor_155" id="FNanchor_155"></a><a href="#Footnote_155" class="fnanchor">155</a> <span class="smcap">Say</span>, Had ye been in your
+houses, those <i>of you</i> who were decreed to be slain had gone
+forth to the places where they lie.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(iii. 148.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LVIII.</p>
+
+<p>Wheresoever ye be, death will overtake you, although
+you be in lofty towers. If good fortune betide them,<a name="FNanchor_156" id="FNanchor_156"></a><a href="#Footnote_156" class="fnanchor">156</a> they
+say, &#8216;This is from God!&#8217; But if evil betide them, they
+say, &#8216;This is from thee, <i>O Mo&#7717;ammad</i>!&#8217; <span class="smcap">Say</span>, All is from
+God. And what aileth this people that they are not near
+to understanding what is said <i>unto them</i>?</p>
+
+<p>Whatsoever good betideth thee, <i>O man, it is</i> from God;
+and whatsoever evil betideth thee, from thyself <i>is it</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(iv. 80, 81.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LIX.</p>
+
+<p>&#8224;No soul can believe but by the permission of God.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(x. 100.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LX.</p>
+
+<p>&#8224;And whoso willeth taketh the way to his Lord: But
+ye shall not will it, unless God will it.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(lxxvi. 29, 30.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LXI.</p>
+
+<p>&#8224;Expend in the way of God, and throw not yourselves
+into destruction.<a name="FNanchor_157" id="FNanchor_157"></a><a href="#Footnote_157" class="fnanchor">157</a></p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 191.)</p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg&nbsp;33]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>ANGELS AND JINN.</i><a name="FNanchor_158" id="FNanchor_158"></a><a href="#Footnote_158" class="fnanchor">158</a></h3>
+
+<p class="center">LXII.</p>
+
+<p>They say, &#8216;The Compassionate hath gotten offspring.&#8217;<a name="FNanchor_159" id="FNanchor_159"></a><a href="#Footnote_159" class="fnanchor">159</a>
+Extolled be His purity! Nay, <i>they are</i> honoured servants.</p>
+
+<p>They prevent Him not in speech,<a name="FNanchor_160" id="FNanchor_160"></a><a href="#Footnote_160" class="fnanchor">160</a> and according to His
+command they act.</p>
+
+<p>He knoweth what is before them and what is behind
+them, and they shall not intercede</p>
+
+<p>Save for whom He shall please, and they fear in dread
+of Him.</p>
+
+<p>And him<a name="FNanchor_161" id="FNanchor_161"></a><a href="#Footnote_161" class="fnanchor">161</a> among them who saith, &#8216;I am a god beside Him,&#8217;
+that [angel] We will recompense with Hell.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xxi. 26-30.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LXIII.</p>
+
+<p>&#8224;<span class="smcap">Say</span>, It hath been revealed to me that a company of
+the Jinn listened [to me] and said, &#8216;Verily we have heard
+a wonderful discourse<a name="FNanchor_162" id="FNanchor_162"></a><a href="#Footnote_162" class="fnanchor">162</a></p>
+
+<p>Which guideth unto right: wherefore we believed in it, and
+we will by no means associate any one with our Lord....</p>
+
+<p>We tried the heaven, but we found it filled with a
+mighty garrison and darting flames;</p>
+
+<p>We sat on some of its seats to listen, but whosoever
+listeneth now findeth a darting flame in ambush for him.</p>
+
+<p>We know not whether evil be meant for them that are
+on the earth, or whether their Lord intendeth for them a
+right guidance.</p>
+
+<p>There are among us the good, and among us <i>those who
+are</i> not so,&mdash;we are of various ways.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(lxxii. 1, 2, 8-11.)</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg&nbsp;34]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>TRUE RELIGION AND FALSE.</i></h3>
+
+<p class="center">LXIV.</p>
+
+<p>Verily God commandeth justice and the doing of good
+and the giving unto the relation: and He forbiddeth wickedness
+and iniquity and oppression. He admonisheth you
+that ye may reflect.</p>
+
+<p class="name">
+(xvi. 92.)<a name="FNanchor_163" id="FNanchor_163"></a><a href="#Footnote_163" class="fnanchor">163</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="center">LXV.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">&#8224;By the Night when she spreadeth her veil,</div>
+<div class="line">By the Day when it appeareth in glory,</div>
+<div class="line">By Him who made male and female;</div>
+<div class="line">Verily your aims are indeed different!</div>
+<div class="line">As then for him who giveth [alms] and feareth [God],</div>
+<div class="line">And yieldeth assent to the Good,</div>
+<div class="line">To him will We therefore make easy the path to happiness.</div>
+<div class="line">But as to him who is covetous and bent on riches,</div>
+<div class="line">And calleth the Good a lie,</div>
+<div class="line">To him will We make easy the path to distress;</div>
+<div class="line">And what shall his wealth avail him when he goeth down headlong?</div>
+<div class="line">Truly man&#8217;s guidance is with Us,</div>
+<div class="line">And Ours the next Life and this life Present.</div>
+<div class="line">I warn you therefore of the flaming fire;</div>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg&nbsp;35]</a></span>
+<div class="line">None shall be burned at it but the most wretched,&mdash;</div>
+<div class="line">Who hath called the truth a lie and turned his back.</div>
+<div class="line">But the greatly God-fearing shall escape it,&mdash;</div>
+<div class="line">Who giveth away his substance that he may become pure,</div>
+<div class="line">And who [offereth] not favours to any one for the sake of recompense,</div>
+<div class="line">But only as seeking the face of his Lord the Most High.</div>
+<div class="line">And assuredly in the end he shall be well content.<a name="FNanchor_1" id="FNanchor_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">1</a></div>
+<div class="right">(xcii.)</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">LXVI.</p>
+
+
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">&#8224;What thinkest thou of him who treateth the day of judgment as a lie?</div>
+<div class="line">It is he who thrusteth away the orphan,</div>
+<div class="line">And stirreth not [others] up to feed the poor.</div>
+<div class="line">Woe, then, to those who pray,</div>
+<div class="line">Who in their prayer are careless,</div>
+<div class="line">Who make a show [of devotion],</div>
+<div class="line">But refuse help [to the needy].<a name="FNanchor_164" id="FNanchor_164"></a><a href="#Footnote_164" class="fnanchor">164</a></div>
+<div class="right">(cvii.)</div>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p class="center">LXVII.</p>
+
+<p>Your turning your faces <i>in prayer</i> towards the east and
+the west is not piety: but the pious is he who believeth in
+God and the Last Day, and in the angels, and the Scripture,
+and the prophets, and who giveth money, notwithstanding
+his love <i>of it</i>, to relations and orphans, and to the needy
+and the son of the road,<a name="FNanchor_165" id="FNanchor_165"></a><a href="#Footnote_165" class="fnanchor">165</a> and to the askers and for <i>the
+freeing</i> of slaves, and who performeth prayer and giveth
+the [appointed] alms, and those who perform their covenant
+when they covenant, and the patient in adversity and
+affliction and in the time of violence. These are they
+who have been true: and these are they who fear God.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 172.)</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg&nbsp;36]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center">LXVIII.</p>
+
+<p>&#8224;He only shall visit the temples of God who believeth
+in God and the Last Day, and observeth prayer, and payeth
+the [appointed] alms, and dreadeth none but God: for
+these are among the rightly-guided.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ix. 18.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LXIX.</p>
+
+<p>O ye who have believed, make not your alms of no effect
+by reproach and harm, like him who expendeth his wealth
+to make a vain show unto men, and believeth not in God
+and the Last Day. For his likeness is as the likeness of a
+smooth stone upon which was earth, and a violent rain hath
+fallen upon it, and left it smooth and hard. [Such] cannot
+have aught that they have gained, and God directeth
+not the unbelieving people.</p>
+
+<p>And the likeness of those who expend their wealth
+from a desire of God&#8217;s being pleased, and from assurance
+on their part,<a name="FNanchor_166" id="FNanchor_166"></a><a href="#Footnote_166" class="fnanchor">166</a> is as the likeness of a garden upon a hill,
+on which a violent rain hath fallen, and it hath produced
+its fruit twofold: and if a violent rain fall not upon it, a
+gentle rain <i>falleth</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 266, 267.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LXX.</p>
+
+<p>If ye manifest alms, good will it be: but if ye conceal
+them and give them to the poor, it will be better for you;
+and it will expiate <i>some</i> of your sins.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 273.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LXXI.</p>
+
+<p>A kind speech and forgiveness are better than alms
+which hurt<a name="FNanchor_167" id="FNanchor_167"></a><a href="#Footnote_167" class="fnanchor">167</a> followeth.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 265.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LXXII.</p>
+
+<p>Revile not what they invoke in preference to God,<a name="FNanchor_168" id="FNanchor_168"></a><a href="#Footnote_168" class="fnanchor">168</a> lest
+they revile God evilly without knowledge.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(vi. 108.)</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg&nbsp;37]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center">LXXIII.</p>
+
+<p>Turn away <i>evil</i> by that which is better: and lo, he between
+whom and thyself [was] enmity [shall become] as
+though he were a warm friend:</p>
+
+<p>But none is endowed with this<a name="FNanchor_169" id="FNanchor_169"></a><a href="#Footnote_169" class="fnanchor">169</a> except those who have
+been patient, and none is endowed with it except he who
+is greatly favoured.<a name="FNanchor_170" id="FNanchor_170"></a><a href="#Footnote_170" class="fnanchor">170</a></p>
+
+<p class="name">(xli. 34, 35.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LXXIV.</p>
+
+<p>&#8224;If ye are greeted with a greeting, then greet ye with a
+better greeting, or at least return it: verily God taketh
+count of all things.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(iv. 88.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LXXV.</p>
+
+<p>&#8224;If there be any [debtor] under a difficulty [of paying
+his debt], let [his creditor] wait until it be easy: but if ye
+remit it as alms, it will be better for you.</p>
+
+<p class="name">
+(ii. 280.)<a name="FNanchor_171" id="FNanchor_171"></a><a href="#Footnote_171" class="fnanchor">171</a>
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg&nbsp;38]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS.</i></h3>
+
+<p class="center">LXXVI.</p>
+
+<p>&#8224;Dispute not with the people of the Scripture<a name="FNanchor_172" id="FNanchor_172"></a><a href="#Footnote_172" class="fnanchor">172</a> unless in
+the kindliest<a name="FNanchor_173" id="FNanchor_173"></a><a href="#Footnote_173" class="fnanchor">173</a> manner, except against such of them as deal
+evilly [with you]; and say [unto them], We believe in
+that which hath been sent down unto us and [that which]
+hath been sent down unto you, and our God and your God
+is one, and to Him are we self-surrendered.<a name="FNanchor_174" id="FNanchor_174"></a><a href="#Footnote_174" class="fnanchor">174</a></p>
+
+<p class="name">(xxix. 45.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LXXVII.</p>
+
+<p>Verily those who have believed,<a name="FNanchor_175" id="FNanchor_175"></a><a href="#Footnote_175" class="fnanchor">175</a> and those who have
+become Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians, whosoever
+hath believed in God and the Last Day, and hath
+done that which is right,&mdash;they shall have their reward with
+their Lord, and <i>there shall come</i> no fear upon them, neither
+shall they grieve.</p>
+
+<p class="name">
+(ii. 59.)<a name="FNanchor_176" id="FNanchor_176"></a><a href="#Footnote_176" class="fnanchor">176</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="center">LXVIII.</p>
+
+<p>Whoso desireth any other religion than El-Isl&aacute;m, it shall
+not be accepted of him, and in the world to come he [shall
+be] of those that perish.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(iii. 79.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LXXIX.</p>
+
+<p>The likeness of those who have disbelieved<a name="FNanchor_177" id="FNanchor_177"></a><a href="#Footnote_177" class="fnanchor">177</a> is as the
+likeness of him who crieth out to that which heareth not
+[aught] save a calling and a voice. <i>They are</i> deaf, dumb,
+blind: therefore they do not understand.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 166.)</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg&nbsp;39]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center">LXXX.</p>
+
+<p>[As to] the unbelievers, their works are like a vapour<a name="FNanchor_178" id="FNanchor_178"></a><a href="#Footnote_178" class="fnanchor">178</a>
+in a plain, which the thirsty imagineth to be water, until
+when he cometh to it he findeth it not aught:<a name="FNanchor_179" id="FNanchor_179"></a><a href="#Footnote_179" class="fnanchor">179</a> (but he
+findeth God there, and He fully payeth him his account:
+and God is swift in reckoning:)</p>
+
+<p>Or, like darknesses in a deep sea, covered by waves over
+waves,&mdash;over them clouds,&mdash;darknesses one over another:
+when [one] putteth forth his hand he is not nearly able to
+see it. And unto whomsoever God giveth not light, he
+hath no light.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xxiv. 39, 40.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LXXXI.</p>
+
+<p>Propound unto them as a parable two men, on one of
+whom<a name="FNanchor_180" id="FNanchor_180"></a><a href="#Footnote_180" class="fnanchor">180</a> We bestowed two gardens of grape-vines, and We
+surrounded them with palm-trees, and put corn between
+them; each of the gardens brought forth its fruit, and
+failed not thereof at all;</p>
+
+<p>And We caused a river to flow between them; and he
+had abundance. And he said unto his companion, disputing
+with him, &#8216;I am greater than thou in wealth and more
+mighty in family.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>And he entered his garden, being unjust to his own
+soul.<a name="FNanchor_181" id="FNanchor_181"></a><a href="#Footnote_181" class="fnanchor">181</a> He said, &#8216;I do not think that this will ever perish,</p>
+
+<p>And I do not think that the [Last] Hour will come;
+and if I should be taken back unto my Lord, I shall
+assuredly find a better [garden] than it in return.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>His companion said unto him, disputing with him, &#8216;Dost
+thou disbelieve in Him who created thee of dust, then
+completely fashioned thee into a man?</p>
+
+<p>God is my Lord, and I will not associate any one with
+my Lord.</p>
+
+<p>And why when thou enteredst thy garden didst thou
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg&nbsp;40]</a></span>
+not say, &#8216;What God willeth<a name="FNanchor_182" id="FNanchor_182"></a><a href="#Footnote_182" class="fnanchor">182</a> [cometh to pass]: there is no
+power but in God?&#8217; If thou seest me to be inferior to
+thee in amount of wealth and in number of children,</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps my Lord may give me [what will be] better
+than thy garden; and may send upon [thine] thunderbolts
+from heaven, so that it shall become a smooth and slippery
+ground;</p>
+
+<p>Or its water may become deep-sunk [in the earth], so
+that thou shalt not be able to draw it.&#8217;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>And his possessions were encompassed <i>with destruction</i>,
+and he began to turn down the palms of his hands for
+that which he had expended thereon; for it[s vines
+were] falling down upon its trellises; and he said, &#8216;O
+would that I had not associated any one with my Lord!&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>And there was no party for him to assist him instead of
+God, nor was he able to defend himself.</p>
+
+<p>In that case<a name="FNanchor_183" id="FNanchor_183"></a><a href="#Footnote_183" class="fnanchor">183</a> protection [belongeth] unto God, the True;
+He is the best rewarder and the best giver of success.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xviii. 31-42.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LXXXII.</p>
+
+<p>Thou shalt certainly find<a name="FNanchor_184" id="FNanchor_184"></a><a href="#Footnote_184" class="fnanchor">184</a> the Jews and those who have
+attributed partners to God<a name="FNanchor_185" id="FNanchor_185"></a><a href="#Footnote_185" class="fnanchor">185</a> the most violent of men in
+hatred of those who have believed; and thou shalt certainly
+find the nearest of them to friendship to those
+who have believed those who say, &#8216;We are Christians.&#8217;
+This is because there are among them priests and monks,
+and because they are not proud.<a name="FNanchor_186" id="FNanchor_186"></a><a href="#Footnote_186" class="fnanchor">186</a></p>
+
+<p>And when they hear that which hath been sent down
+unto the Apostle, thou seest their eyes overflow with tears
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg&nbsp;41]</a></span>
+because of the truth that they know: they say, &#8216;O our
+Lord, we believe, therefore write us down among those
+who bear witness.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p class="name">(v. 85, 86.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LXXXIII.</p>
+
+<p>The likeness of those who were charged to bear in mind
+the Law [of Moses], then bore it not in mind,<a name="FNanchor_187" id="FNanchor_187"></a><a href="#Footnote_187" class="fnanchor">187</a> is as the
+likeness of the ass that beareth books. Evil is the likeness
+of the people who have charged the signs of God with
+falsehood: and God directeth not the unjust people.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(lxii. 5.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LXXXIV.</p>
+
+<p><a name="FNanchor_188" id="FNanchor_188"></a><a href="#Footnote_188" class="fnanchor">188</a>Among men are those who say, We believe in God and
+in the Last Day: but they are not believers.</p>
+
+<p>They try to deceive God and those who have believed;
+but they deceive not any except themselves, and they
+know [it] not.</p>
+
+<p>In their hearts is a disease, and God hath increased
+their disease, and for them [is ordained] a painful punishment,
+because they have charged with falsehood <i>the prophet
+of God</i>.</p>
+
+<p>And when it is said unto them, Corrupt not in the earth,
+they reply, &#8216;We are only rectifiers.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>Assuredly they are the corrupters; but they know [it]
+not.</p>
+
+<p>And when it is said unto them, Believe ye as <i>other</i> men
+have believed, they say, &#8216;Shall we believe as the fools have
+believed?&#8217; Assuredly they are the fools; but they know
+it not.</p>
+
+<p>And when they meet those who have believed, they say,
+&#8216;We believe:&#8217; but when they retire privately to their
+devils,<a name="FNanchor_189" id="FNanchor_189"></a><a href="#Footnote_189" class="fnanchor">189</a> they say, &#8216;We <i>hold</i> with you: we only mock <i>at
+them</i>.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg&nbsp;42]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>God will mock at them, and keep them in their exceeding
+wickedness, wandering about in perplexity.</p>
+
+<p>These are they who have purchased error in exchange
+for right guidance: but their traffic hath not been profitable;
+and they have not been rightly guided.</p>
+
+<p>Their likeness is as the likeness of those who have kindled
+a fire <i>in the dark</i>, and when it hath enlightened what
+is around them, God taketh away their light and leaveth
+them in darkness, seeing not.</p>
+
+<p><i>They are</i> deaf, dumb, blind: therefore they will not turn
+back.</p>
+
+<p>Or <i>they are</i> like <i>people in</i> a storm of rain from heaven,
+wherein are darkness and thunder and lightning: they put
+their fingers in their ears because of the vehement sounds
+of the thunder, for fear of death. And God encompasseth
+the unbelievers.</p>
+
+<p>The lightning almost snatcheth away their eyes: whenever
+it shineth on them they walk in <i>the light of</i> it, but
+when darkness cometh on them they stand still. And if
+God pleased He would certainly take away their ears and
+eyes: for God is all-powerful.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 7-19.)</p>
+
+<p class="center">LXXXV.</p>
+
+<p>O ye who have believed, take not the Jews and Christians
+as friends. They are friends one to another; and
+whosoever of you taketh them as his friends, verily he is
+<i>of the number</i> of them.</p>
+
+<p>O ye who have believed, take not as friends those who
+have made your religion a laughing-stock and a jest, of
+those who have received the Scripture before you, and the
+unbelievers: (But fear God if ye be believers:)</p>
+
+<p>And <i>those who</i> when ye call to prayer make it a laughing-stock
+and a jest. This <i>they do</i> because they are a
+people who do not understand.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(v. 56, 62, 63.)</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg&nbsp;43]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center">LXXXVI.</p>
+
+<p>&#8224;The servants of the Merciful are they that walk upon
+the earth softly; and when the ignorant speak unto them,
+they reply &#8216;Peace!&#8217;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>And they that pass the night worshipping their Lord,
+prostrate and standing;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>And that say, &#8216;O our Lord, turn away from us the torment
+of Hell: verily its torment is endless; verily it is an
+ill abode and resting-place!&#8217;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>And those who when they spend are neither lavish nor
+niggard, but keep the mean;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>And those who call on no other gods with God, nor slay
+whom God hath forbidden to be slain, except for a just
+cause; nor are unchaste;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>And they who bear not witness to a lie, and when they
+pass by vain discourse pass it by with dignity;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>These shall be rewarded with the highest Heaven, for
+that they persevered, and they shall be accosted therein
+with &#8216;Welcome and Peace,&#8217; to live therein for ever&mdash;a fair
+abode and resting-place!</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xxv. 64-75.)</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg&nbsp;44]<br />[Pg&nbsp;45]<br />[Pg&nbsp;46]<br />[Pg&nbsp;47]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><i>PART THE SECOND.</i></h2>
+
+<hr class="short" />
+
+<h3><i>PROPHETS, APOSTLES, AND DIVINE BOOKS.</i><a name="FNanchor_190" id="FNanchor_190"></a><a href="#Footnote_190" class="fnanchor">190</a></h3>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Say ye</span>, We believe in God, and in that which hath been
+sent down unto us (<i>namely, the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n</i>), and what hath been
+sent down unto Abraham (<i>the ten books</i>), and Ishmael, and
+Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, <i>his children</i>, and what
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg&nbsp;48]</a></span>
+Moses received (<i>namely, the Pentateuch</i>), and Jesus (<i>namely,
+the Gospel</i>), and what the prophets received from their Lord
+(<i>namely, books and signs</i>): we make no separation of any of
+them, <i>believing in some, and disbelieving in some, like the
+Jews and the Christians</i>; and we resign ourselves unto
+Him.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 130.)</p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg&nbsp;49]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>ADAM AND EVE.</i></h3>
+
+<p><i>Remember, O Mo&#7717;ammad</i>, when thy Lord said unto the
+angels, I am about to place in the earth a vicegerent <i>to act
+for me in the execution of my ordinances therein, namely,
+Adam</i>,&mdash;they said, Wilt Thou place in it one who will
+corrupt in it <i>by disobediences</i>, and will shed blood (<i>as did
+the sons of El-J&aacute;nn,<a name="FNanchor_191" id="FNanchor_191"></a><a href="#Footnote_191" class="fnanchor">191</a> who were in it; wherefore, when they
+acted corruptly, God sent to them the angels, who drove them
+away to the islands and the mountains</i>), when we [on the
+contrary] celebrate the divine perfection, <i>occupying ourselves</i>
+with Thy praise, and extol Thy holiness? <i>Therefore we
+are more worthy of the vicegerency.</i>&mdash;<i>God</i> replied, Verily, I
+know that which ye know not, <i>as to the affair of appointing
+Adam vicegerent, and that among his posterity will be
+the obedient and the rebellious, and the just will be manifest
+among them. And He created Adam from the surface of
+the earth, taking a handful of every colour that it comprised,
+which was kneaded with various waters; and He completely
+formed it, and breathed into it the soul: so it became an animated
+sentient being.</i><a name="FNanchor_192" id="FNanchor_192"></a><a href="#Footnote_192" class="fnanchor">192</a> And He taught Adam the names of
+all things, <i>infusing the knowledge of them into his heart</i>.
+Then He showed them (<i>namely, the things</i>) to the angels,
+and said, Declare unto me the names of these <i>things</i>, if ye
+say truth <i>in your assertion that I will not create any more
+knowing than ye, and that ye are more worthy of the vicegerency</i>.
+They replied, [<i>We extol</i>] Thy perfection! We have
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg&nbsp;50]</a></span>
+no knowledge excepting what Thou hast taught us; for
+Thou art the Knowing, the Wise.&mdash;<i>God</i> said, O Adam, tell
+them their names. And when he had told them their
+names, <i>God</i> said, Did I not say unto you that I know the
+secrets of the heavens and the earth, and know what ye
+reveal <i>of your words, saying, Wilt thou place in it</i>, etc., and
+what ye did conceal <i>of your words, saying, He will not
+create any more generous towards Him than we, nor any
+more knowing</i>?</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 28-31.)</p>
+
+<p>We created you; <i>that is, your father Adam</i>: then we
+formed you; <i>we formed him, and you in him</i>: then We said
+unto the angels, Prostrate yourselves unto Adam, <i>by way
+of salutation</i>; whereupon they prostrated themselves, except
+Iblees, <i>the father of the jinn, who was amid the angels</i>:
+he was not of those who prostrated themselves. <i>God</i> said,
+What hath hindered thee from prostrating thyself, when
+I commanded thee? He answered, I am better than he:
+Thou hast created me of fire, and Thou hast created him
+of earth. [God] said, Then descend thou from it; <i>that is,
+from Paradise; or, as some say, from the heavens</i>; for it is
+not fit for thee that thou behave thyself proudly therein:
+so go thou forth: verily thou [shalt be] of the contemptible.
+He replied, Grant me respite until the day
+when they (<i>that is, mankind</i>) shall be raised from the dead.
+He said, Thou shalt be of those [who are] respited: <i>and,
+in another verse</i> [in xv. 38, it is said], <i>until the day of the
+known period; that is, until the period of the first blast</i> [of
+the trumpet]. [And the devil] said, Now, as Thou hast
+led me into error, I will surely lay wait for them (<i>that is,
+for the sons of Adam</i>) in Thy right way, <i>the way that
+leadeth to Thee</i>: then I will surely come upon them, from
+before them, and from behind them, and from their right
+hands, and from their left, <i>and hinder them from pursuing
+the way</i> (<i>but, saith Ibn-&acute;Abb&aacute;s, he cannot come upon them
+above, lest he should intervene between the servant and God&#8217;s
+mercy</i>), and Thou shalt not find the greater number of them
+grateful, <i>or believing</i>. [God] said, Go forth from it, despised
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg&nbsp;51]</a></span>
+and driven away <i>from mercy</i>. Whosoever of them
+(<i>that is, of mankind</i>) shall follow thee, I will surely fill
+hell with you all; <i>with thee, and thy offspring, and with
+men</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(vii. 10-17.)</p>
+
+<p>And we said, O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife (<i>Howw&aacute;</i>
+[or Eve], <i>whom God created from a rib of his left side</i>) in
+the garden, and eat ye therefrom plentifully, wherever ye
+will; but approach ye not this tree, <i>to eat thereof</i>; (<i>and it
+was wheat, or the grape-vine, or some other tree</i>;) for <i>if ye
+do so</i>, ye will be of <i>the number of</i> the offenders. But the
+devil, <i>Iblees</i>, caused them to slip from it, <i>that is, from the
+garden, by his saying unto them, Shall I show you the way to
+the tree of eternity? And he swore to them by God that he
+was one of the faithful advisers to them: so they ate of it</i>,
+and He ejected them from that <i>state of delight</i> in which
+they were. And We said, Descend ye<a name="FNanchor_193" id="FNanchor_193"></a><a href="#Footnote_193" class="fnanchor">193</a> <i>to the earth, ye two
+with the offspring that ye comprise</i> [yet unborn], one of you
+(<i>that is, of your offspring</i>) an enemy to another; and there
+shall be for you, in the earth, a place of abode, and a provision,
+<i>of its vegetable produce</i>, for a time, <i>until the period
+of the expiration of your terms of life</i>. And Adam learned,
+from his Lord, words, <i>which were these</i>:&mdash;<i>O Lord, we have
+acted unjustly to our own souls, and if Thou do not forgive
+us, and be merciful unto us, we shall surely be of those who
+suffer loss</i>.<a name="FNanchor_194" id="FNanchor_194"></a><a href="#Footnote_194" class="fnanchor">194</a> <i>And he prayed in these words</i>; and He became
+propitious towards him, <i>accepting his repentance</i>; for He is
+the Very Propitious, the Merciful. We said, Descend ye
+from it (<i>from the garden</i>) altogether; and if there come
+unto you from Me a direction (<i>a book and an apostle</i>), those
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg&nbsp;52]</a></span>
+who follow my direction, <i>there shall come</i> no fear on them,
+nor shall they grieve <i>in the world to come; for they shall
+enter paradise</i>: but they who disbelieve and accuse our
+signs<a name="FNanchor_195" id="FNanchor_195"></a><a href="#Footnote_195" class="fnanchor">195</a> of falsehood, these shall be the companions of the
+fire: they shall remain therein for ever.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 33-37.)</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg&nbsp;53]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>ABEL AND CAIN.</i></h3>
+
+<p>Recite, <i>O Mo&#7717;ammad</i>, unto them (<i>that is, to thy people</i>) the
+history of the two sons of Adam, <i>namely, Abel and Cain</i>,<a name="FNanchor_196" id="FNanchor_196"></a><a href="#Footnote_196" class="fnanchor">196</a>
+with truth. When they offered [their] offering <i>to God</i><a name="FNanchor_197" id="FNanchor_197"></a><a href="#Footnote_197" class="fnanchor">197</a>
+(<i>Abel&#8217;s being a ram, and Cain&#8217;s being produce of the earth</i>),
+and it was accepted from one of them (<i>that is, from Abel;
+for fire descended from heaven, and devoured his offering</i>),
+and it was not accepted from the other, <i>Cain was enraged;
+but he concealed his envy until Adam performed a pilgrimage,
+when</i> he said <i>unto his brother</i>, I will assuredly slay
+thee. <i>Abel said, Wherefore? Cain answered, Because of
+the acceptance of thine offering to the exclusion of mine.</i>
+<i>Abel</i> replied, God only accepteth from the pious. If thou
+stretch forth to me thy hand to slay me, I will not stretch
+forth to thee my hand to slay thee; for I fear God, the
+Lord of the worlds. I desire that thou shouldst bear the
+sin [which thou intendest to commit] against me, <i>by slaying
+me</i>, and thy sin <i>which thou hast committed before</i>, and
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg&nbsp;54]</a></span>
+thou wilt be of the companions of the fire.&mdash;And that
+is the recompense of the offenders.&mdash;But his soul suffered
+him to slay his brother: so he slew him; and he became
+of [the number of] those who suffer loss. <i>And he knew not
+what to do with him; for he was the first dead person upon
+the face of the earth of the sons of Adam. So he carried
+him upon his back.</i> And God sent a raven, which scratched
+up the earth <i>with its bill and its talons and raised it over a
+dead raven that was with it until it hid it</i>, to show him
+how he should hide the corpse of his brother. He said,
+O my disgrace! Am I unable to be like this raven,
+and to hide the corpse of my brother?&mdash;And he became of
+[the number of] the repentant. <i>And he digged</i> [a grave]
+<i>for him, and hid him</i>.&mdash;On account of this <i>which Cain did</i>
+We commanded the children of Israel that he who should
+slay a soul (not for <i>the latter&#8217;s having slain</i> a soul or
+<i>committed</i> wickedness in the earth, <i>such as infidelity, or
+adultery, or intercepting the way, and the like</i>) [should be
+regarded] as though he had slain all mankind; and he
+who saveth it alive, <i>by abstaining from slaying it</i>, as though
+he had saved alive all mankind.</p>
+
+<p class="name">v. 30-35.</p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg&nbsp;55]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>NOAH AND THE FLOOD.</i></h3>
+
+<p>We formerly sent Noah [Noo&#7717;] unto his people, <i>saying</i>,
+Verily I am unto you a plain admonisher that ye worship
+not [any] but God. Verily I fear for you, <i>if ye worship
+any other</i>, the punishment of an afflictive day <i>in this world
+and in the world to come</i>.&mdash;But the chiefs who disbelieved
+among his people replied, We see thee not to be other than
+a man, like unto us; and we see not any to have followed
+thee except the meanest of us, <i>as the weavers and the
+cobblers</i>, at first thought (<i>or rashly</i>), nor do we see you to
+have any excellence above us: nay, we imagine you to be
+liars <i>in your claim to the apostolic commission</i>. He said,
+O my people, tell me, if I have an evident proof from my
+Lord and He hath bestowed on me mercy (<i>the gift of
+prophecy</i>) from Himself which is hidden from you, shall
+we compel you to <i>receive</i> it when ye are averse thereto?
+<i>We cannot do so.</i> And, O my people, I ask not of you
+any riches for it; <i>namely, for delivering my message</i>. My
+reward is not due from any but God; and I will not drive
+away those who have believed <i>as ye have commanded me</i>
+[because they are poor people]. Verily they shall meet
+their Lord <i>at the resurrection, and He will recompense them,
+and will exact for them</i> [reparation] <i>from those who have
+treated them with injustice, and driven them away</i>. But I
+see you [to be] a people who are ignorant <i>of the end of your
+case</i>. And, O my people, who will defend me against God
+if I drive them away? Will ye not then consider? And
+I do not say unto you, I have the treasures of God; nor
+[do I say], I know the things unseen; nor do I say, Verily
+I am an angel; nor do I say, of those whom your eyes
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg&nbsp;56]</a></span>
+contemn, God will by no means bestow on them good:
+(God best knoweth what is in their minds:) verily I
+should in that case be [one] of the offenders.&mdash;They replied,
+O Noah, thou hast disputed with us and multiplied
+disputes with us: now bring upon us that <i>punishment</i>
+wherewith thou threatenest us, if thou be of those
+that speak truth. He said, Only God will bring it upon
+you, if He please <i>to hasten it unto you; for it is His affair,
+not mine</i>; and ye shall not escape <i>God</i>: nor will my counsel
+profit you, if I desire to counsel you, if God desire to
+lead you into error. He is your Lord; and unto Him shall
+ye be brought back.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xi. 27-36.)</p>
+
+<p>And it was said by revelation unto Noah, Verily there
+shalt not believe of thy people [any] but they who have
+already believed; therefore be not grieved for that which
+they have done.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xi. 38.)</p>
+
+<p><i>And he uttered an imprecation upon them, saying</i>, O my
+Lord, leave not upon the earth any one of the unbelievers;
+for if Thou leave them, they will lead Thy servants into
+error, and will not beget [any] but a wicked, ungrateful
+[offspring]. O my Lord, forgive me and my parents (<i>for
+they were believers</i>), and whomsoever entereth my house
+(<i>my abode, or my place of worship</i>), being a believer, and
+the believing men, and the believing women, (<i>to the day of
+resurrection</i>), and add not to the offenders [aught] save
+destruction.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(lxxi. 27-29.)</p>
+
+<p><i>And God answered his prayer, and said</i>, Construct the
+ark in our sight and according to our revelation, and speak
+not unto Me concerning those who have offended, <i>to beg Me
+not to destroy them</i>; for they [shall be] drowned. And he
+constructed the ark; and whenever a company of his
+people passed by him, they derided him. He said, If ye
+deride us, we will deride you, like as ye deride, <i>when we
+are saved and ye are drowned</i>, and ye shall know on whom
+shall come a punishment which shall render him vile, and
+whom shall befall a lasting punishment. [Thus he was
+employed] until when Our decree <i>for their destruction</i> came
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg&nbsp;57]</a></span>
+to pass, and the <i>baker&#8217;s</i> oven overflowed <i>with water</i><a name="FNanchor_198" id="FNanchor_198"></a><a href="#Footnote_198" class="fnanchor">198</a> (<i>for
+this was a signal unto Noah</i>), We said, Carry into it (<i>that
+is, into the ark</i>) of every pair, <i>male and female, of each of
+these descriptions</i>, two (<i>and it is related that God assembled
+for Noah the wild beasts and the birds and other creatures,
+and he proceeded to put his hands upon each kind, and his
+right hand fell always upon the male, and his left upon the
+female, and he carried them into the ark</i>), and thy family
+(excepting him upon whom the sentence <i>of destruction</i> hath
+already been pronounced, <i>namely, Noah&#8217;s wife, and his son
+Canaan: but Shem and Ham and Japheth and their three
+wives he took</i>), and those who have believed; but there
+believed not with him save a few: <i>they were six men and
+their wives: and it is said that all who were in the ark were
+eighty, half of whom were men and half women</i>. And <i>Noah</i>
+said, Embark ye therein. In the name of God [be] its
+course and its mooring.<a name="FNanchor_199" id="FNanchor_199"></a><a href="#Footnote_199" class="fnanchor">199</a> Verily my Lord is very forgiving
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg&nbsp;58]</a></span>
+[and] merciful.&mdash;And it moved along with them amid
+waves like mountains; and Noah called unto his son,
+<i>Canaan</i>, who was apart <i>from the ark</i>, O my child, embark
+with us, and be not with the unbelievers! He replied, I
+will betake me to a mountain which will secure me from
+the water. [Noah] said, There is nought that will secure
+to-day from the decree of God [any] but him on whom
+He hath mercy. And the waves intervened between them;
+so he became [one] of the drowned. And it was said, O
+earth, swallow up thy water (<i>whereupon it drank it up,
+except what had descended from heaven, which became rivers
+and seas</i>), and, O heaven, cease <i>from raining</i>;&mdash;and the
+water abated, and the decree was fulfilled, and it (<i>namely,
+the ark</i>) rested on El-Joodee (<i>a mountain of El-Jezeereh,
+near El-M&oacute;sil</i>); and it was said, Perdition to the offending
+people!<a name="FNanchor_200" id="FNanchor_200"></a><a href="#Footnote_200" class="fnanchor">200</a></p>
+
+<p class="name">(xi. 38-46.)</p>
+
+<p>And Noah called upon his Lord, and said, O my Lord,
+verily my son is of my family, <i>and Thou hast promised me
+to save them</i>, and verily Thy promise is true, and Thou art
+the most just of those who exercise judgment. <i>God</i> replied,
+O Noah, verily he is not of thy family <i>who should
+be saved, or of the people of thy religion</i>. Verily it (<i>namely,
+thine asking me to save him</i>) is not a righteous act; <i>for he
+was an unbeliever, and there is no safety for the unbelievers</i>;
+therefore ask not of me that wherein thou hast no knowledge.
+I admonish thee, lest thou become [one] of the
+ignorant.&mdash;<i>Noah</i> said, O my Lord, I beg Thee to preserve
+me from asking Thee that wherein I have no knowledge;
+and if Thou do not forgive me and have mercy upon me, I
+shall be of those who suffer loss.&mdash;It was said, O Noah,
+descend <i>from the ark</i>,<a name="FNanchor_201" id="FNanchor_201"></a><a href="#Footnote_201" class="fnanchor">201</a> with peace from Us, and blessings,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg&nbsp;59]</a></span>
+upon thee and upon peoples [that shall proceed] from
+those who are with thee <i>in the ark</i> (<i>that is, their believing
+posterity</i>); but peoples [that shall proceed] <i>from those who
+are with thee</i> We will permit to enjoy <i>the provisions of this
+world</i>; then a painful punishment shall befall them from
+Us, <i>in the world to come; they being unbelievers</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="name">xi. 47-50.</p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg&nbsp;60]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>&acute;AD AND THAMOOD.</i></h3>
+
+<p>And <i>we sent</i> unto <i>the former</i> [tribe of] &acute;&Aacute;d<a name="FNanchor_202" id="FNanchor_202"></a><a href="#Footnote_202" class="fnanchor">202</a> their brother
+Hood.<a name="FNanchor_203" id="FNanchor_203"></a><a href="#Footnote_203" class="fnanchor">203</a> He said, O my people, worship God: <i>assert His
+unity</i>. Ye have no other deity than Him. Will ye not
+then fear <i>Him, and believe</i>?&mdash;The chiefs who disbelieved
+among his people answered, Verily we see thee to be in a
+foolish way, and verily we esteem thee one of the liars
+<i>with respect to the apostolic commission</i>. He replied, O my
+people, there is no folly in me; but I am an apostle from
+the Lord of the worlds. I bring unto you the messages of
+my Lord, and I am unto you a counsellor, intrusted <i>with
+the apostolic office</i>. Do ye wonder that an admonition hath
+come unto you from your Lord by <i>the tongue of</i> a man from
+among you, that he may warn you? And remember how
+He hath appointed you vicegerents <i>in the earth</i> after the
+people of Noah, and increased you in tallness of stature.
+(<i>For the tall among them was a hundred cubits, and the short
+among them sixty.</i>) Remember, then, the benefits of God,
+that ye may prosper. They said, Art thou come unto
+us that we may worship God alone, and relinquish what
+our fathers worshipped? Then bring upon us that <i>punishment</i>
+with which thou threatenest us, if thou be of those
+who speak truth.&mdash;He replied, Punishment and indignation
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg&nbsp;61]</a></span>
+from your Lord have become necessary for you. Do
+ye dispute with me concerning names which ye and your
+fathers have given <i>to idols which ye worship</i>, concerning
+which (<i>that is, the worship of which</i>) God hath not set down
+any convincing proof? Then await ye <i>the punishment</i>. I
+am with you, of those who await <i>that, for your accusing me
+of falsehood. And the unprofitable wind was sent upon them.</i>
+But We delivered him (<i>namely, Hood</i>) and them who were
+with him (<i>of the believers</i>) by Our mercy; and We cut off
+the uppermost part of those who charged Our signs with
+falsehood and who were not believers.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(vii. 63-70.)</p>
+
+<p>And <i>We sent</i> unto <i>the tribe of</i> Thamood<a name="FNanchor_204" id="FNanchor_204"></a><a href="#Footnote_204" class="fnanchor">204</a> their brother
+&#7778;&aacute;li&#7717;. He said, O my people, worship God. Ye have no
+other deity than Him. A <i>miraculous</i> proof <i>of my veracity</i>
+hath come unto you from your Lord, this she-camel of God
+being a sign unto you. [He had caused her, at their demand,
+to come forth from the heart of a rock.] Therefore
+let her feed in God&#8217;s earth, and do her no harm, lest a
+painful punishment seize you. And remember how He
+hath appointed you vicegerents <i>in the earth</i> after [the tribe
+of] &acute;&Aacute;d, and given you a habitation in the earth: ye make
+yourselves, on its plains, pavilions <i>wherein ye dwell in summer</i>,
+and cut the mountains into houses <i>wherein ye dwell in
+winter</i>. Remember then the benefits of God, and do not
+evil in the earth, acting corruptly.&mdash;The chiefs who were
+elated with pride, among his people, said unto those who
+were esteemed weak, <i>namely</i>, to those who had believed
+among them, Do ye know that &#7778;&aacute;li&#7717; hath been sent <i>unto
+you</i> from his Lord? They answered, <i>Yea</i>: verily we believe
+in that wherewith he hath been sent. Those who
+were elated with pride replied, Verily we disbelieve in that
+wherein ye have believed.&mdash;<i>And the she-camel had a day
+to water; and they had a day; and they became weary of</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg&nbsp;62]</a></span>
+<i>this.</i> And they hamstrung the she-camel (<i>&#7730;ud&aacute;r</i> [the son
+of S&aacute;lif] <i>doing so by their order and slaying her with the
+sword</i>);<a name="FNanchor_205" id="FNanchor_205"></a><a href="#Footnote_205" class="fnanchor">205</a> and they impiously transgressed the command of
+their Lord,<a name="FNanchor_206" id="FNanchor_206"></a><a href="#Footnote_206" class="fnanchor">206</a> and said, O &#7778;&aacute;li&#7717;, bring upon us that <i>punishment</i>
+with which thou threatenest us <i>for killing her</i>, if thou
+be [one] of the apostles. And the violent convulsion (<i>a
+great earthquake, and a cry from heaven</i><a name="FNanchor_207" id="FNanchor_207"></a><a href="#Footnote_207" class="fnanchor">207</a>) assailed them,
+and in the morning they were in their dwellings prostrate
+<i>and dead</i>. So he turned away from them, and said, O my
+people, I have brought unto you the message of my Lord
+and given you faithful counsel; but ye loved not faithful
+counsellors.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(vii. 71-77.)</p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg&nbsp;63]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>DHU-L-&#7730;ARNEYN.</i></h3>
+
+<p>They (<i>namely, the Jews</i>) will ask thee concerning Dhu-l-&#7730;arneyn.<a name="FNanchor_208" id="FNanchor_208"></a><a href="#Footnote_208" class="fnanchor">208</a>
+(<i>His name was El-Iskender, and he was not a
+prophet.</i>) Answer, I will recite unto you an account of
+him. We gave him ability in the earth, <i>by facilitating his
+journeying therein</i>, and gave him a way to <i>attain</i> everything
+<i>that he required</i>. And he followed a way <i>towards a
+place where the sun setteth</i>, until, when he came to the place
+where the sun setteth, he found that it set in a spring of
+black mud, <i>as it appeared to the eye; but really that spring was
+greater than the world</i>; and he found near it a people <i>who
+were unbelievers</i>.<a name="FNanchor_209" id="FNanchor_209"></a><a href="#Footnote_209" class="fnanchor">209</a> We said, <i>by inspiration</i>, O Dhu-l-&#7730;arneyn,
+either punish <i>the people by slaughter</i>, or proceed against
+them gently, <i>taking them captive</i>. He said, As to him
+who offendeth <i>by polytheism</i>, we will punish him <i>by
+slaughter</i>: then he shall be taken back to his Lord, and He
+will punish him with a severe punishment, <i>in the fire of</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg&nbsp;64]</a></span>
+<i>hell</i>. But as to him who believeth, and doeth that which
+is right, he shall have as a reward paradise, and We will
+say unto him, in Our command, <i>that which will be</i> easy <i>unto
+him</i>.&mdash;Then he followed a way <i>towards the place where the
+sun riseth</i>, until, when he came to the place where the sun
+riseth, he found that it rose upon a people (<i>namely, the Zenj</i>)
+unto whom We had not given anything wherewith to
+shelter themselves therefrom, <i>neither clothing nor roof; for
+their land bore no building; but they had subterranean
+dwellings, into which they retired at sunrise, and they came
+forth when the sun was high</i>. Thus <i>was the case</i>; and We
+comprehended with Our knowledge what were with him
+(<i>namely, Dhu-l-&#7730;arneyn</i>), <i>of weapons and forces and other
+things</i>.&mdash;Then he followed a way until, when he came
+between the two barriers (<i>or mountains, at the confines of
+the country of the Turks, between which is the barrier of El-Iskender,
+as will be related presently</i>), he found before them
+a people who could scarce understand speech. They said,
+O Dhu-l-&#7730;arneyn, verily Y&aacute;jooj and M&aacute;jooj [Gog and Magog<a name="FNanchor_210" id="FNanchor_210"></a><a href="#Footnote_210" class="fnanchor">210</a>]
+are corrupting in the earth, <i>by plunder and tyranny,
+when they came forth unto us</i>. Shall we therefore pay thee
+tribute, on the condition that thou make a barrier between
+us and them?&mdash;He answered, The ability which my Lord
+hath given me, <i>by wealth and other things</i>, is better <i>than
+your tribute, which I need not. I will make the barrier for
+you gratuitously</i>: but assist me strenuously <i>by doing that
+which I desire</i>: I will make between you and them a strong
+barrier. Bring me pieces of iron <i>of the size of the blocks of
+stone used in building.&mdash;And he built with them, and placed
+amid them firewood and charcoal</i>, until, when it [the mass]
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg&nbsp;65]</a></span>
+filled up the space between the upper parts of the two
+mountains, <i>and he had put the bellows and fire around that
+mass</i>, he said, Blow ye [with the bellows]. <i>So they blew</i>
+until, when he had made it (<i>that is, the iron</i>) <i>like</i> fire, he
+said, Bring me molten brass, that I may pour upon it.
+<i>And he poured the molten brass upon the heated iron, so that
+it entered between its pieces and the whole became one mass.</i>
+And they (<i>namely, Y&aacute;jooj and M&aacute;jooj</i>) were not able to
+ascend to its top <i>by reason of its height and smoothness</i>;
+nor were they able to perforate it <i>by reason of its hardness
+and thickness</i>. <i>Dhu-l-&#7730;arneyn</i> said, This (<i>namely, the
+barrier, or the gift of the ability to construct it</i>) is a mercy
+from my Lord: but when the promise of my Lord, <i>as to the
+eruption of Y&aacute;jooj and M&aacute;jooj shortly before the resurrection</i>,
+shall come <i>to be fulfilled</i>, He will reduce it (<i>namely, the
+barrier</i>) to dust; and the promise of my Lord concerning
+<i>their eruption and other events</i> is true. And We will suffer
+some of them, on that day (<i>the day of their eruption</i>), to
+pour tumultuously among others: and the trumpet shall be
+blown <i>for the resurrection</i>, and We will gather them (<i>namely,
+all creatures</i>) together in a body, <i>in one place</i>. And We
+will set hell, on that day, <i>near</i> before the unbelievers,
+whose eyes have been veiled from my admonition (<i>the
+&#7730;ur-&aacute;n</i>), <i>and who, being blind, have not been directed by it</i>,
+and who could not hear <i>what the prophet recited unto them,
+by reason of their hatred of him; wherefore they believed not
+in him</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="name">xviii. 82-101.</p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg&nbsp;66]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>ABRAHAM, ISHMAEL, ISAAC.</i></h3>
+
+<p><i>Remember</i> when Abraham [Ibr&aacute;heem] said to his father
+A&acute;zar (<i>this was the surname of Terah</i>), Dost thou take
+images as deities?<a name="FNanchor_211" id="FNanchor_211"></a><a href="#Footnote_211" class="fnanchor">211</a> Verily I see thee and thy people to
+be in a manifest error.&mdash;(And thus, <i>as We showed him the
+error of his father and his people</i>, did We show Abraham
+the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and [We did so]
+that he might be of [the number of] those who firmly
+believe.) And when the night overshadowed him, he saw
+a star (<i>it is said that it was Venus</i>), [and] he said <i>unto his
+people, who were astrologers</i>, This is my Lord, <i>according to
+your assertion</i>.&mdash;But when it set, he said, I like not those
+that set, <i>to take them as Lords, since it is not meet for a Lord
+to experience alteration and change of place, as they are of
+the nature of accidents</i>. <i>Yet this had no effect upon them.</i>
+And when he saw the moon rising, he said <i>unto them</i>, This
+is my Lord.&mdash;But when it set, he said, Verily if my Lord
+direct me not (<i>if He confirm me not in the right way</i>), I
+shall assuredly be of the erring people.&mdash;<i>This was a
+hint to his people that they were in error; but it had no
+effect upon them.</i> And when he saw the sun rising, he said,
+This is my Lord. This is greater <i>than the star and the
+moon</i>.&mdash;But when it set, <i>and the proof had been rendered
+more strong to them, yet they desisted not</i>, he said, O my
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg&nbsp;67]</a></span>
+people, verily I am clear of the [things] which ye associate
+<i>with God; namely, the images and the heavenly bodies</i>. <i>So
+they said unto him, What dost thou worship?</i> <i>He answered</i>,
+Verily I direct my face unto Him who hath created the
+heavens and the earth, following the right religion, and I
+am not of the polytheists.&mdash;And his people argued with
+him; [but] he said, Do ye argue with me respecting God,
+when He hath directed me, and I fear not what ye
+associate with Him, unless my Lord will <i>that</i> aught <i>displeasing
+should befall me</i>? My Lord comprehendeth everything
+by <i>His</i> knowledge. Will ye not therefore consider?
+And wherefore should I fear what ye have associated <i>with
+God</i>, when ye fear not for your having associated with God
+that of which He hath not sent down unto you a proof?
+Then which of the two parties is the more worthy of
+safety? <i>Are we, or you?</i> If ye know <i>who is the more
+worthy of it, follow him</i>.&mdash;<i>God saith</i>, They who have
+believed, and not mixed their belief with injustice (<i>that is,
+polytheism</i>), for these shall be safety <i>from punishment</i>, and
+they are rightly directed.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(vi. 74-82.)</p>
+
+<p>Relate <i>unto them</i>, in the book (<i>that is, the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n</i>), <i>the
+history of</i> Abraham. Verily he was a person of great
+veracity, a prophet. When he said unto his father <i>A&acute;zar,
+who worshipped idols</i>, O my father, wherefore dost thou
+worship that which heareth not, nor seeth, nor averteth
+from thee aught, <i>whether of advantage or of injury</i>? O
+my father, verily [a degree] of knowledge hath come unto
+me, that hath not come unto thee: therefore follow me:
+I will direct thee into a right way. O my father, serve not
+the devil, <i>by obeying him in serving idols</i>; for the devil is
+very rebellious unto the Compassionate. O my father,
+verily I fear that a punishment will betide thee from the
+Compassionate, <i>if thou repent not</i>, and that thou wilt be
+unto the devil an aider, <i>and a companion in hell-fire</i>.&mdash;He
+replied, Art thou a rejector of my Gods, O Abraham, <i>and
+dost thou revile them</i>? If thou abstain not, I will assuredly
+assail thee <i>with stones or with ill words; therefore beware of</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg&nbsp;68]</a></span>
+<i>me</i>, and leave me for a long time.&mdash;<i>Abraham</i> said, Peace
+<i>from me</i> be on thee! I will ask pardon for thee of my
+Lord; for He is gracious unto me: and I will separate
+myself from you and from what ye invoke instead of God;
+and I will call upon my Lord: perhaps I shall not be unsuccessful
+in calling upon my Lord, <i>as ye are in calling
+upon idols</i>.&mdash;And when he had separated himself from
+them, and from what they worshipped instead of God, <i>by
+going to the Holy Land</i>, We gave him <i>two sons, that he might
+cheer himself thereby, namely</i>, Isaac and Jacob; and each [of
+them] We made a prophet; and We bestowed upon them
+(<i>namely, the three</i>), of our mercy, <i>wealth and children</i>; and
+We caused them to receive high commendation.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xix. 42-51.)</p>
+
+<p>We gave unto Abraham his direction formerly, <i>before he
+had attained to manhood</i>; and We knew him <i>to be worthy
+of it</i>. When he said unto his father and his people, What
+are these images, to <i>the worship of</i> which ye are devoted?&mdash;they
+answered, We found our fathers worshipping them,
+<i>and we have followed their example</i>. He said <i>unto them</i>,
+Verily ye and your fathers have been in a manifest error.
+They said, Hast thou come unto us with truth <i>in saying
+this</i>, or art thou of those who jest? He answered,
+Nay, your Lord (<i>the being who deserveth to be worshipped</i>)
+is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, who created
+them, <i>not after the similitude of anything pre-existing</i>; and
+I am of those who bear witness thereof. And, by God,
+I will assuredly devise a plot against your idols after
+ye shall have retired, turning your backs.&mdash;So, <i>after they
+had gone to their place of assembly, on a day when they held
+a festival</i>, he brake them in pieces <i>with an axe</i>, except the
+chief of them, <i>upon whose neck he hung the axe</i>; that they
+might return unto it (<i>namely, the chief</i>) <i>and see what he
+had done with the others</i>. They said, <i>after they had
+returned and seen what he had done</i>, Who hath done this
+unto our gods? Verily he is of the unjust.&mdash;<i>And
+some of them</i> said, We heard a young man mention them
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg&nbsp;69]</a></span>
+<i>reproachfully</i>: he is called Abraham. They said, Then
+bring him before the eyes of the people, that they may
+bear witness <i>against him of his having done it</i>. They said
+<i>unto him, when he had been brought</i>, Hast thou done this
+unto our gods, O Abraham? He answered, Nay, this
+their chief did it: and ask ye them, if they [can] speak.
+And they returned unto themselves, <i>upon reflection</i>, and
+said <i>unto themselves</i>, Verily ye are the unjust, <i>in worshipping
+that which speaketh not</i>. Then they reverted to their
+obstinacy, <i>and said</i>, Verily thou knowest that these speak
+not: <i>then wherefore dost thou order us to ask them?</i> He
+said, Do ye then worship, instead of God, that which doth
+not profit you at all, nor injure you <i>if ye worship it not</i>?
+Fy on you, and on that which ye worship instead of God!
+Do ye not then understand?&mdash;They said, Burn ye him,
+and avenge your gods, if ye will do <i>so</i>. <i>So they collected
+abundance of firewood for him, and set fire to it; and they
+bound Abraham, and put him into an engine, and cast him
+into the fire.</i> <i>But, saith God</i>, We said, O fire, be thou cold,
+and a security unto Abraham! <i>So nought of him was
+burned save his bonds: the heat of the fire ceased, but its
+light remained; and by God&#8217;s saying, Security,&mdash;Abraham
+was saved from dying, by reason of its cold.</i> And they
+intended against him a plot; but he caused them to be
+the sufferers.<a name="FNanchor_212" id="FNanchor_212"></a><a href="#Footnote_212" class="fnanchor">212</a> And We delivered him and Lot, <i>the son of</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg&nbsp;70]</a></span>
+<i>his brother Haran, from El-&acute;Er&aacute;&#7731;</i>, [bringing them] unto
+the land which we blessed for the peoples, <i>by the abundance
+of its rivers and trees, namely, Syria. Abraham took
+up his abode in Palestine, and Lot in El-Mu-tekifeh, between
+which is a day&#8217;s journey.</i> And <i>when Abraham had asked a
+son</i>, We gave unto him Isaac, and Jacob as an additional
+gift, <i>beyond what he had asked, being a son&#8217;s son</i>; and all of
+them We made righteous persons <i>and prophets</i>. And We
+made them models of religion who directed <i>men</i> by Our
+command <i>unto Our religion</i>; and We commanded them
+by inspiration to do good works and to perform prayer
+and to give the appointed alms; and they served Us. And
+unto Lot We gave judgment and knowledge; and We delivered
+him from the city which committed filthy actions;
+for they were a people of evil, shameful doers; and We
+admitted him into our mercy; for he was [one] of the
+righteous.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xxi. 52-75.)</p>
+
+<p>Hast thou not considered him who disputed with Abraham
+concerning his Lord, because God had given him the
+kingdom? <i>And he was Nimrod.</i> When Abraham said,
+(<i>upon his saying unto him, Who is thy Lord, unto whom
+thou invitest us?</i>), My Lord is He who giveth life and
+causeth to die,&mdash;he replied, I give life and cause to die.&mdash;<i>And
+he summoned two men, and slew one of them, and
+left the other. So when he saw that he understood not</i>,
+Abraham said, And verily God bringeth the sun from the
+east: now do thou bring it from the west.&mdash;And he who
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg&nbsp;71]</a></span>
+disbelieved was confounded; and God directeth not the
+offending people.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 260.)</p>
+
+<p>And Our messengers came formerly unto Abraham with
+good tidings <i>of Isaac and Jacob, who should be after him</i>.
+They said, Peace. He replied, <i>Peace be on you</i>. And he
+tarried not, but brought a roasted calf. And when he saw
+that their hands touched it not, he disliked them and
+conceived a fear of them. They said, Fear not: for we
+are sent unto the people of Lot, <i>that we may destroy them</i>.
+And his wife <i>Sarah</i> was standing <i>serving them</i>, and she
+laughed, <i>rejoicing at the tidings of their destruction</i>. And
+we gave her good tidings of Isaac [Is&#7717;&aacute;&#7731;]; and after
+Isaac, Jacob [Ya&#7841;&#7731;oob]. She said, Alas! shall I bear a
+child when I am an old woman, <i>of nine and ninety years</i>,
+and when this my husband is an old man, <i>of a hundred
+or a hundred and twenty years</i>? Verily this [would be]
+a wonderful thing.&mdash;They said, Dost thou wonder at the
+command of God? The mercy of God and His blessings
+be on you, O people of the house (<i>of Abraham</i>)!
+for He is praiseworthy, glorious.&mdash;And when the terror
+had departed from Abraham, and the good tidings had
+come unto him, he disputed with Us (<i>that is, with Our
+messengers</i>) respecting the people of Lot; for Abraham
+was gentle, compassionate, repentant. <i>And he said unto
+them, Will ye destroy a city wherein are three hundred
+believers? They answered, No. He said, And will ye destroy
+a city wherein are two hundred believers? They
+answered, No. He said, And will ye destroy a city wherein
+are forty believers? They answered, No. He said, And
+will ye destroy a city wherein are fourteen believers? They
+answered, No. He said, And tell me, if there be in it one
+believer? They answered, No. He said, Verily in it is Lot.
+They replied, We know best who is in it. And when their
+dispute had become tedious, they said</i>, O Abraham, abstain
+from this <i>disputation</i>; for the command of thy Lord hath
+come <i>for their destruction</i>, and a punishment not [to be]
+averted is coming upon them.</p>
+
+<p class="name">xi. 72-78.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg&nbsp;72]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And when Our decree for <i>the destruction of the people of
+Lot</i> came [to be executed], We turned them (<i>that is, their
+cities</i>) upside-down; <i>for Gabriel raised them to heaven, and
+let them fall upside-down to the earth</i>;<a name="FNanchor_213" id="FNanchor_213"></a><a href="#Footnote_213" class="fnanchor">213</a> and We rained
+upon them stones of baked clay, sent one after another,
+marked with thy Lord, <i>each with the name of him upon
+whom it should be cast</i>: and they [are] not far distant from
+the offenders; <i>that is, the stones are not, or the cities of the
+people of Lot were not, far distant from the people of
+Mekkeh</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xi. 84.)</p>
+
+<p>And [Abraham] said [after his escape from Nimrod],
+Verily I am going unto my Lord, who will direct me <i>unto
+the place whither He hath commanded me to go, namely, Syria.
+And when he had arrived at the Holy Land, he said</i>, O my
+Lord, give me <i>a son</i> [who shall be one] of the righteous.
+Whereupon We gave him the glad tidings of a mild youth.
+And when he had attained to the age when he could work
+with him (<i>as some say, seven years; and some, thirteen</i>), he
+said, O my child, verily I have seen in a dream that I should
+sacrifice thee (<i>and the dreams of prophets are true; and
+their actions, by the command of God</i>); therefore consider
+what thou seest advisable <i>for me to do</i>. He replied, O my
+father, do what thou art commanded: thou shalt find me, if
+God please, [of the number] of the patient. And when
+they had resigned themselves, and he had laid him down
+on his temple, <i>in</i> [the valley of] <i>Mind, and had drawn the
+knife across his throat</i> (<i>but it produced no effect, by reason of
+an obstacle interposed by the divine power</i>), We called unto
+him, O Abraham, thou hast verified the vision. Verily
+thus do We reward the well-doers. Verily this was the
+manifest trial. And We ransomed him <i>whom he had been
+commanded to sacrifice</i> (<i>and he was Ishm&#551;el</i> [Ism&aacute;&acute;eel] <i>or
+Isaac; for there are two opinions</i>)<a name="FNanchor_214" id="FNanchor_214"></a><a href="#Footnote_214" class="fnanchor">214</a> with an excellent victim,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg&nbsp;73]</a></span>
+<i>a ram from Paradise, the same that Abel had offered:
+Gabriel</i> (<i>on whom be peace!</i>) <i>brought it, and the lord Abraham
+sacrificed it, saying, God is most great!</i> And We left
+<i>this salutation</i> [to be bestowed] on him by the latter
+generations, Peace [be] on Abraham! Thus do We reward
+the well-doers: for he was of our believing servants.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xxxvii. 97-111.)</p>
+
+<p><i>Remember</i> when Abraham said, O my Lord, show me
+how Thou will raise to life the dead.<a name="FNanchor_215" id="FNanchor_215"></a><a href="#Footnote_215" class="fnanchor">215</a>&mdash;He said, Hast thou
+not believed? He answered, Yea: but <i>I have asked Thee</i>
+that my heart may be at ease. He replied, Then take
+four birds and draw them towards thee, <i>and cut them in
+pieces and mingle together their flesh and their feathers</i>;
+then place upon each mountain <i>of thy land</i> a portion of
+them, then call them <i>unto thee</i>: they shall come unto
+thee quickly: and know thou that God is mighty [and]
+wise.&mdash;<i>And he took a peacock and a vulture and a raven
+and a cock, and did with them as hath been described, and
+kept their heads with him, and called them; whereupon the
+portions flew about, one to another, until they became complete:
+then they came to their heads.</i></p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 262.)</p>
+
+<p><i>Remember</i> when his Lord had tried Abraham by
+[certain] words, <i>commands and prohibitions</i>, and he fulfilled
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg&nbsp;74]</a></span>
+them, <i>God</i> said <i>unto him</i>, I constitute thee a model
+of religion unto men.<a name="FNanchor_216" id="FNanchor_216"></a><a href="#Footnote_216" class="fnanchor">216</a> He replied, And of my offspring
+<i>constitute models of religion</i>. [God] said, My covenant
+doth not apply to the offenders, <i>the unbelievers among them</i>.&mdash;And
+when We appointed the house (<i>that is, the Ka&#7841;beh</i>)
+to be a place for the resort of men, and a place of security
+(<i>a man would meet the slayer of his father there and he
+would not provoke him</i> [to revenge],) and [said], Take, <i>O
+men</i>, the station of Abraham (<i>the stone upon which he stood
+at the time of building the House</i>) as a place of prayer,
+<i>that ye may perform behind it the prayers of the two rek&acute;ahs</i><a name="FNanchor_217" id="FNanchor_217"></a><a href="#Footnote_217" class="fnanchor">217</a>
+[which are ordained to be performed after the ceremony]
+<i>of the circuiting</i> [of the Ka&#7841;beh].&mdash;And We commanded
+Abraham and Ishmael, [saying], Purify my House (<i>rid it of
+the idols</i>) for those who shall compass [it], and those who
+shall abide <i>there</i>, and those who shall bow down and prostrate
+themselves.&mdash;And when Abraham said, O my Lord,
+make this <i>place</i> a secure territory (<i>and God hath answered
+his prayer, and made it a sacred place, wherein the blood of
+man is not shed, nor is any one oppressed in it, nor is its
+game hunted</i> [or shot], <i>nor are its plants cut or pulled up</i>),
+and supply its inhabitants with fruits <i>which hath been
+done by the transporting of E&#7789;-&#7788;&aacute;&iuml;f from Syria thither, when
+it</i> [that is, the territory of Mekkeh] <i>was desert, without sown
+land or water</i>,<a name="FNanchor_218" id="FNanchor_218"></a><a href="#Footnote_218" class="fnanchor">218</a> such of them as shall believe in God and
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg&nbsp;75]</a></span>
+the last day.&mdash;<i>He mentioned them peculiarly in the prayer
+agreeably with the saying of God, My covenant doth not
+apply to the offenders.</i>&mdash;<i>God</i> replied, And <i>I will supply</i> him
+who disbelieveth: I will make him to enjoy <i>a supply of
+food in this world</i>, a little <i>while</i>: then I will force him, <i>in
+the world to come</i>, to the punishment of the fire; and evil
+shall be the transit.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 118-120.)</p>
+
+<p>And <i>remember</i> when Abraham was raising the foundations
+of the House<a name="FNanchor_219" id="FNanchor_219"></a><a href="#Footnote_219" class="fnanchor">219</a> (<i>that is, building it</i>), together with
+Ishmael, <i>and they said</i>, O our Lord, accept of us <i>our building</i>;
+for Thou art the Hearer <i>of what is said</i>, the Knower
+<i>of what is done</i>. O our Lord, also make us resigned<a name="FNanchor_220" id="FNanchor_220"></a><a href="#Footnote_220" class="fnanchor">220</a> unto
+Thee, and <i>make</i> from among our offspring a people resigned
+unto Thee, and show us our rites (<i>the ordinances of our
+worship, or our pilgrimage</i>), and be propitious towards
+us; for Thou art the Very Propitious, the Merciful.
+(<i>They begged Him to be propitious to them, notwithstanding
+their honesty, from a motive of humility, and by
+way of instruction to their offspring.</i>) O our Lord, also send
+unto them (<i>that is, the people of the House</i>) an apostle from
+among them (<i>and God hath answered their prayer by sending
+Mo&#7717;ammad</i>), who shall recite unto them Thy signs (the
+&#7730;ur-&aacute;n), and shall teach them the book (<i>the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n</i>), and
+the knowledge <i>that it containeth</i>, and shall purify them
+<i>from polytheism</i>; for Thou art the Mighty, the Wise.&mdash;And
+who will be averse from the religion of Abraham but
+he who maketh his soul foolish, <i>who is ignorant that it is
+God&#8217;s creation, and that the worship of Him is incumbent on
+it; or who lightly esteemeth it and applieth it to vile purposes</i>;
+when We have chosen him in this world <i>as an
+apostle and a friend</i>, and he shall be in the world to come
+one of the righteous <i>for whom are high ranks?&mdash;And</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg&nbsp;76]</a></span>
+<i>remember</i> when his lord said unto him, Resign thyself:&mdash;he
+replied, I resign myself unto the Lord of the worlds.&mdash;And
+Abraham commanded his children to follow it (<i>namely,
+the religion</i>); and Jacob,<i> his children; saying</i>, O my
+children, verily God hath chosen for you the religion <i>of
+El-Isl&aacute;m</i>;<a name="FNanchor_221" id="FNanchor_221"></a><a href="#Footnote_221" class="fnanchor">221</a> therefore die not without your being Muslims.&mdash;<i>It
+was a prohibition from abandoning El-Isl&aacute;m and a
+command to persevere therein unto death.</i></p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 121-126.)</p>
+
+<p><i>When the Jews said, Abraham was a Jew, and we are of
+his religion,&mdash;and the Christians said the like</i>, [the following]
+<i>was revealed</i>:&mdash;O people of the Scripture, wherefore
+do ye argue respecting Abraham, <i>asserting that he was of
+your religion</i>, when the Pentateuch and the Gospel were
+not sent down but after him <i>a long time</i>? Do ye not then
+understand the <i>falsity of your saying</i>? So ye, O people,
+have argued respecting that of which ye have knowledge,
+<i>concerning Moses and Jesus, and have asserted that ye are of
+their religion</i>: then wherefore do ye argue respecting that
+of which ye have no knowledge, <i>concerning Abraham</i>?
+But God knoweth <i>his case</i>, and ye know <i>it</i> not. Abraham
+was not a Jew nor a Christian: but he was orthodox, a
+Muslim [or one resigned], <i>a unitarian</i>, and he was not of
+the polytheists.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(iii. 58-60.)</p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg&nbsp;77]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>JACOB, JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN.</i></h3>
+
+<p><i>Remember</i>, when Joseph [Yoosuf] said unto his father,
+O my father, verily I saw <i>in sleep</i> eleven stars and the
+sun and the moon: I saw them making obeisance unto me.
+He replied, O my child, relate not thy vision to thy
+brethren, lest they contrive a plot against thee, <i>knowing
+its interpretation to be that they are the stars and that the
+sun is thy mother and the moon thy father</i>; for the devil is
+unto man a manifest enemy. And thus, <i>as thou sawest</i>, thy
+Lord will choose thee, and teach thee the interpretation of
+events, <i>or dreams</i>, and will accomplish his favour upon
+thee <i>by the gift of prophecy</i>, and upon the family of Jacob,
+as He accomplished it upon thy fathers before, Abraham
+and Isaac; for thy Lord is knowing [and] wise.&mdash;Verily in
+<i>the history of</i> Joseph and his brethren are signs to the
+inquirers.&mdash;When they (<i>the brethren of Joseph</i>) said, <i>one to
+another</i>, Verily Joseph and his brother <i>Benjamin</i> are dearer
+unto our father than we, and we are a number of men;
+verily our father is in a manifest error; slay ye Joseph, or
+drive him away into a <i>distant</i> land; so the face of your
+father shall be directed alone unto you, <i>regarding no other</i>,
+and ye shall be after it a just people:&mdash;a speaker among
+them, <i>namely, Judah</i>, said, Slay not Joseph, but throw
+him to the bottom of the well; then some of the travellers
+may light upon him, if ye do <i>this</i>. <i>And they were satisfied
+therewith</i>. They said, O our father, wherefore dost thou
+not intrust us with Joseph, when verily we are faithful
+unto him? Send him with us tomorrow <i>into the plain</i>,
+that he may divert himself and sport; and we will surely
+take care of him.&mdash;He replied, Verily your taking him
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg&nbsp;78]</a></span>
+away will grieve me, and I fear lest the wolf devour him
+while ye are heedless of him. They said, Surely if the
+wolf devour him, when we are a number of men, we shall
+in that case be indeed weak. <i>So he sent him with them.</i>
+And when they went away with him, and agreed to put
+him at the bottom of the well, <i>they did so</i>.<a name="FNanchor_222" id="FNanchor_222"></a><a href="#Footnote_222" class="fnanchor">222</a> <i>They pulled
+off his shirt, after they had beaten him and had treated him
+with contempt and had desired to slay him; and they let
+him down; and when he had arrived half-way down the well
+they let him fall, that he might die; and he fell into the water.
+He then betook himself to a mass of rock; and they called to
+him; so he answered them, imagining that they would have
+mercy upon him. They however desired to crush him with a
+piece of rock; but Judah prevented them.</i> And We said
+unto him by revelation, <i>while he was in the well (and he
+was seventeen years of age, or less), to quiet his heart</i>, Thou
+shalt assuredly declare unto them this their action, and
+they shall not know <i>thee at the time</i>.<a name="FNanchor_223" id="FNanchor_223"></a><a href="#Footnote_223" class="fnanchor">223</a> And they came
+to their father at nightfall weeping. They said, O our
+father, we went to run races,<a name="FNanchor_224" id="FNanchor_224"></a><a href="#Footnote_224" class="fnanchor">224</a> and left Joseph with our
+clothes, and the wolf devoured him; and thou wilt not
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg&nbsp;79]</a></span>
+believe us, though we speak truth. And they brought
+false blood upon his shirt. <i>Jacob</i> said <i>unto them</i>, Nay, your
+minds have made a thing seem pleasant unto you, <i>and ye
+have done it</i>;<a name="FNanchor_225" id="FNanchor_225"></a><a href="#Footnote_225" class="fnanchor">225</a> but patience is seemly, and God&#8217;s assistance
+is implored with respect to that which ye relate.</p>
+
+<p>And travellers came <i>on their way from Midian (Medyen)
+to Egypt, and alighted near the well</i>;<a name="FNanchor_226" id="FNanchor_226"></a><a href="#Footnote_226" class="fnanchor">226</a> and they sent their
+drawer of water,<a name="FNanchor_227" id="FNanchor_227"></a><a href="#Footnote_227" class="fnanchor">227</a> and he let down his bucket <i>into the well:
+so Joseph caught hold upon it, and the man drew him forth;
+and when he saw him</i>, he said, O good news! This is a
+young man!&mdash;<i>And his brethren thereupon knew his case;
+wherefore they came unto him</i>, and they<a name="FNanchor_228" id="FNanchor_228"></a><a href="#Footnote_228" class="fnanchor">228</a> concealed his case,
+<i>making him</i> as a piece of merchandise; <i>for they said, He is
+our slave who hath absconded. And Joseph was silent, fearing
+lest they should slay him.</i> And God knew that which
+they did. And they sold him for a mean price, [for] some
+dirhems counted down, <i>twenty, or two-and-twenty</i>; and
+they were indifferent to him. <i>The travellers then brought
+him to Egypt, and he who had bought him sold him for twenty
+deen&aacute;rs and a pair of shoes and two garments.</i> And the
+Egyptian who bought him, <i>namely, &#7730;i&#7789;feer</i>,<a name="FNanchor_229" id="FNanchor_229"></a><a href="#Footnote_229" class="fnanchor">229</a> said unto his
+wife <i>Zeleekha</i>, Treat him hospitably; peradventure he may
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg&nbsp;80]</a></span>
+be advantageous to us, or we may adopt him as a son.
+<i>For he was childless.</i> And thus We prepared an establishment
+for Joseph in the land <i>of Egypt</i>, to teach him the
+interpretation of events, <i>or dreams</i>; for God is well able
+to effect His purpose; but the greater number of men,
+<i>namely, the unbelievers</i>, know not <i>this</i>. And when he had
+attained his age of strength (<i>thirty years, or three-and-thirty</i>),
+We bestowed on him wisdom and knowledge <i>in
+matters of religion, before he was sent as a prophet</i>; for thus
+do We recompense the well-doers. (xii. 4-22.&mdash;<i>Then follows
+an account of his temptation by his mistress, Zeleekha.</i>)
+</p>
+
+<p>Then it seemed good unto them,<a name="FNanchor_230" id="FNanchor_230"></a><a href="#Footnote_230" class="fnanchor">230</a> after they had seen
+the signs of <i>his innocence, to imprison him</i>. They will
+assuredly imprison him for a time, <i>until the talk of the people
+respecting him cease</i>. <i>So they imprisoned him.</i> And there
+entered with him into the prison two young men, <i>servants
+of the king, one of whom was his cup-bearer and the other
+was his victualler</i>. <i>And they found that he interpreted
+dreams; wherefore</i> one of them, <i>namely, the cup-bearer</i>, said,
+I dreamed that I was pressing grapes: and the other said,
+I dreamed that I was carrying upon my head some bread,
+whereof the birds did eat: acquaint us with the interpretation
+thereof; for we see thee to be [one] of the beneficent.&mdash;He
+replied, There shall not come unto you any food
+wherewith ye shall be fed <i>in a dream</i>, but I will acquaint
+you with the interpretation thereof <i>when ye are awake</i>,
+before <i>the interpretation of</i> it come unto you. This is <i>a part</i>
+of that which my Lord hath taught me. Verily I have
+abandoned the religion of a people who believe not in God
+and who disbelieve in the world to come; and I follow
+the religion of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.
+It is not <i>fit</i> for us to associate anything with God. This
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg&nbsp;81]</a></span>
+<i>knowledge of the unity</i> [hath been given us] of the bounty
+of God towards us and towards mankind; but the greater
+number of men are not thankful. O ye two companions
+(<i>or inmates</i>) of the prison, are sundry lords better, or is
+God, the One, the Almighty? Ye worship not, beside
+Him, [aught] save names which ye and your fathers have
+given <i>to idols</i>, concerning which God hath not sent down
+any convincing proof. Judgment belongeth not [unto any]
+save unto God <i>alone</i>. He hath commanded that ye worship
+not [any] but Him. This is the right religion; but
+the greater number of men know not. O ye two companions
+of the prison, as to one of you, <i>namely, the cup-bearer</i>,
+he will serve wine unto his lord <i>as formerly</i>; and
+as to the other, he will be crucified, and the birds will eat
+from off his head.&mdash;<i>Upon this they said, We dreamed not
+aught.</i> <i>He replied</i>, The thing is decreed concerning which
+ye [did] ask a determination, <i>whether ye have spoken truth
+or have lied</i>. And he said unto him whom he judged to be
+the person who should escape of them two, <i>namely the cup-bearer</i>,
+Mention me unto thy Lord, <i>and say unto him, In
+the prison is a young man imprisoned unjustly.&mdash;And he went
+forth.</i> But the devil caused him to forget to mention
+<i>Joseph</i> unto his lord:<a name="FNanchor_231" id="FNanchor_231"></a><a href="#Footnote_231" class="fnanchor">231</a> so he remained in the prison some
+years: <i>it is said, seven; and it is said, twelve.</i></p>
+
+<p>And the king of <i>Egypt,<a name="FNanchor_232" id="FNanchor_232"></a><a href="#Footnote_232" class="fnanchor">232</a> Er-Reiy&aacute;n the son of El-Weleed</i>
+said, Verily I saw [in a dream] seven fat kine which seven
+lean <i>kine</i> devoured, and seven green ears of corn and <i>seven</i>
+other <i>ears</i> dried up. O ye nobles, explain unto me my
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg&nbsp;82]</a></span>
+dream, if ye interpret a dream.&mdash;They replied, <i>These are</i>
+confused dreams, and we know not the interpretation of
+dreams. And he who had escaped, of the two <i>young men,
+namely the cup-bearer</i>, said (for he remembered after a
+time <i>the condition of Joseph</i>), I will acquaint you with the
+interpretation thereof; wherefore send me. <i>So they sent
+him; and he came unto Joseph, and said</i>, O Joseph, O thou
+of great veracity, give us an explanation respecting seven
+fat kine which seven lean [kine] devoured, and seven green
+ears of corn and other [seven] dried up, that I may return
+unto the men (<i>the king and his companions</i>), that they
+may know <i>the interpretation thereof</i>. He replied, Ye shall
+sow seven years as usual: (<i>this is the interpretation of the
+seven fat kine</i>:) and what ye reap do ye leave in its ear,
+<i>lest it spoil</i>; except a little, whereof ye shall eat. Then
+there shall come, after that, seven grievous [years]: (<i>this is
+the interpretation of the seven lean kine</i>:) they shall consume
+what ye shall have provided for them, <i>of the grain
+sown in the seven years of plenty</i>, except a little which ye
+shall have kept. Then there shall come, after that, a year
+wherein men shall be aided <i>with rain</i>, and wherein they
+shall press <i>grapes and other fruits</i>.&mdash;And the king said,
+<i>when the messenger came unto him and acquainted him with
+the interpretation of the dream</i>, Bring unto me him <i>who
+hath interpreted it</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xii. 35-50.)</p>
+
+<p>And when he had spoken unto him,<a name="FNanchor_233" id="FNanchor_233"></a><a href="#Footnote_233" class="fnanchor">233</a> he said <i>unto him</i>,
+Thou art this day firmly established with us, and intrusted
+<i>with our affairs</i>. <i>What then seest thou fit for us to do?&mdash;He
+answered, Collect provision, and sow abundant seed in</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg&nbsp;83]</a></span>
+<i>these plentiful years, and store up the grain in its ear: then
+the people will come unto thee that they may obtain provision
+from thee.</i> <i>The king said, And who will act for me in this
+affair?</i> <i>Joseph</i> said, Set me over the granaries of the
+land; for I am careful [and] knowing.&mdash;Thus did We
+prepare an establishment for Joseph in the land, that he
+might take for himself a dwelling therein wherever he
+pleased.&mdash;<i>And it is related that the king crowned him, and
+put a ring on his finger, and instated him in the place of
+&#7730;i&#7789;feer, whom he dismissed from his office; after which,
+&#7730;i&#7789;feer died, and thereupon the king married him to his
+wife Zeleekha, and she bore him two sons.</i><a name="FNanchor_234" id="FNanchor_234"></a><a href="#Footnote_234" class="fnanchor">234</a> We bestow Our
+mercy on whom We please, and We cause not the reward
+of the well-doers to perish: and certainly the reward of
+the world to come is better for those who have believed
+and have feared.</p>
+
+<p><i>And the years of scarcity began, and afflicted the land
+of Canaan and Syria</i>, and the brethren of Joseph came,
+<i>except Benjamin, to procure provision, having heard that the
+governor of Egypt gave food for its price</i>.<a name="FNanchor_235" id="FNanchor_235"></a><a href="#Footnote_235" class="fnanchor">235</a> And they went
+in unto him, and he knew them; but they knew him not;
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg&nbsp;84]</a></span>
+<i>and they spake unto him in the Hebrew language; whereupon
+he said, as one who distrusted them, What hath brought
+you to my country? So they answered, For corn. But he
+said, Perhaps ye are spies. They replied, God preserve us</i>
+[<i>from being spies</i>]! <i>He said, Then whence are ye? They
+answered, From the land of Canaan, and our father is Jacob,
+the prophet of God. He said, And hath he sons beside you?
+They answered, Yea: we were twelve; but the youngest of
+us went away, and perished in the desert, and he was the
+dearest of us unto him; and his uterine brother remained,
+and he retained him that he might console himself thereby for
+the loss of the other.</i><a name="FNanchor_236" id="FNanchor_236"></a><a href="#Footnote_236" class="fnanchor">236</a> <i>And Joseph gave orders to lodge
+them, and to treat them generously.</i> And when he had
+furnished them with their provision, <i>and given them their
+full measure</i>, he said, Bring me your brother from your
+father, <i>namely, Benjamin, that I may know your veracity
+in that ye have said</i>. Do ye not see that I give full measure,
+and that I am the most hospitable of the receivers of guests?
+But if ye bring him not, there shall be no measuring
+<i>of corn</i> for you from me, nor shall ye approach me.&mdash;They
+replied, We will solicit his father for him, and we
+will surely perform <i>that</i>. And he said unto his young
+men, Put their money,<a name="FNanchor_237" id="FNanchor_237"></a><a href="#Footnote_237" class="fnanchor">237</a> <i>which they brought as the price of
+the corn</i>, in their sacks, that they may know it when they
+have returned to their family: peradventure they will
+return <i>to us; for they will not deem it lawful to keep it</i>.&mdash;And
+when they returned to their father, they said, O our
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg&nbsp;85]</a></span>
+father, the measuring [of corn] is denied us <i>if thou send
+not our brother unto him</i>; therefore send with us our
+brother, that we may obtain measure; and we will surely
+take care of him. He said, Shall I intrust you with him
+otherwise than as I intrusted you with his brother
+<i>Joseph</i> before? But God is the best guardian, and He is
+the most merciful of those who show mercy.&mdash;And when
+they opened their goods, they found their money had
+been returned unto them. They said, O our father, what
+desire we <i>of the, generosity of the king greater than this?</i>
+This our money hath been returned unto us; and we
+will provide corn for our family, and will take care of
+our brother, and shall receive a camel-load more, <i>for
+our brother</i>. This is a quantity easy <i>unto the king,
+by reason of his munificence</i>.&mdash;He said, I will by no
+means send him with you until ye give me a solemn
+promise by God that ye will assuredly bring him back
+unto me unless <i>an inevitable and insuperable impediment</i>
+encompass you. <i>And they complied with this his desire.</i>
+And when they had given him their solemn promise, he
+said, God is witness of what we say. <i>And he sent him with
+them</i>; and he said, O my sons, enter not <i>the city of Mi&#7779;r</i> by
+one gate; but enter by different gates; <i>lest the</i> [evil] <i>eye
+fall upon you</i>.<a name="FNanchor_238" id="FNanchor_238"></a><a href="#Footnote_238" class="fnanchor">238</a> But I shall not avert from you, <i>by my
+saying this</i>, anything <i>decreed to befall you</i> from God: <i>I
+only say this from a feeling of compassion.</i> Judgment
+belongeth not [unto any] save unto God <i>alone</i>. On Him
+do I rely, and on Him let those rely who rely.</p>
+
+<p>And when they entered as their father had commanded
+them, <i>separately</i>, it did not avert from them anything
+<i>decreed to befall them</i> from God, but [only satisfied] a desire
+in the soul of Jacob, which he accomplished; <i>that is, the</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg&nbsp;86]</a></span>
+<i>desire of averting the</i> [evil] <i>eye, arising from a feeling of
+compassion:</i> and he was endowed with knowledge, because
+We had taught him: but the greater number of men,
+<i>namely the unbelievers</i>, know not <i>God&#8217;s inspiration of His
+saints</i>. And when they went in unto Joseph, he received
+unto him (<i>or pressed unto him</i>) his brother. He said,
+Verily I am thy brother;<a name="FNanchor_239" id="FNanchor_239"></a><a href="#Footnote_239" class="fnanchor">239</a> therefore be not sorrowful for
+that which they did <i>from envy to us</i>. <i>And he commanded
+him that he should not inform them, and agree with him
+that he should employ a stratagem to retain him with him.</i>
+And when he had furnished them with their provision, he
+put the cup, <i>which was a measure made of gold set with
+jewels</i>,<a name="FNanchor_240" id="FNanchor_240"></a><a href="#Footnote_240" class="fnanchor">240</a> in the sack of his brother <i>Benjamin</i>. Then a crier
+cried, <i>after they had gone forth from the chamber of Joseph</i>,
+O company of travellers, ye are surely thieves. They
+said (and turned unto them), What is it that ye miss?
+They answered, We miss the king&#8217;s measure; and to him
+who shall bring it [shall be given] a camel-load <i>of corn</i>,
+and I am surety for it, <i>namely the load</i>. They replied, By
+God! ye well know that we have not come to act
+corruptly in the land, and we have not been thieves.
+<i>The crier and his companions said</i>, Then what shall be the
+recompense of him <i>who hath stolen it</i>, if ye be liars <i>in your
+saying, We have not been thieves,&mdash;and it be found among
+you?</i> They answered, His recompense [shall be that] he
+in whose sack it shall be found <i>shall be made a slave:</i> he,
+<i>the thief</i>, shall be compensation for it; <i>namely, for the</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg&nbsp;87]</a></span>
+<i>thing stolen. Such was the usage of the family of Jacob.</i>
+Thus do We recompense the offenders <i>who are guilty of
+theft.&mdash;So they turned towards Joseph, that he might search
+their sacks.</i> And he began with their sacks, <i>and searched
+them</i> before the sack of his brother [Benjamin], <i>lest he
+should be suspected</i>. Then he took it forth (<i>namely, the
+measure</i>) from the sack of his brother. Thus, <i>saith God</i>,
+did We contrive a stratagem for Joseph. It was not [lawful]
+for him to take his brother <i>as a slave for theft</i> by the
+law of the king of <i>Egypt</i> (<i>for his recompense by his law
+was beating, and a fine of twice the value of the thing stolen;
+not the being made a slave</i>), unless God had pleased, <i>by
+inspiring him to inquire of his brethren and inspiring them
+to reply according to their usage</i>. We exalt unto degrees
+[of knowledge and honour] whom We please, <i>as Joseph</i>;
+and [there is who is] knowing above every one [else]
+endowed with knowledge.&mdash;They said, If he steal, a
+brother of his hath stolen before; <i>namely, Joseph;<a name="FNanchor_241" id="FNanchor_241"></a><a href="#Footnote_241" class="fnanchor">241</a> for he
+stole an idol of gold belonging to the father of his mother,
+and broke it, that he might not worship it.</i> And Joseph
+concealed it in his mind, and did not discover it to them.
+He said <i>within himself</i>, Ye are in a worse condition <i>than
+Joseph and his brother, by reason of your having stolen your
+brother from your father and your having treated him
+unjustly</i>; and God well knoweth what ye state <i>concerning
+him</i>.&mdash;They said, O prince, verily he hath a father, a very
+old man, <i>who loveth him more than us, and consoleth himself
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg&nbsp;88]</a></span>
+by him for the loss of his son who hath perished, and
+the separation of him grieveth him</i>; therefore take one of
+us <i>as a slave</i> in his stead; for we see thee [to be one] of
+the beneficent. He replied, God preserve us from taking
+[any] save him in whose possession we found our property;
+for then (<i>if we took another</i>), we [should be]
+unjust.</p>
+
+<p>And when they despaired of [obtaining] him, they
+retired to confer privately together. The chief of them
+<i>in age</i> (<i>namely, Reuben, or in judgment, namely, Judah</i>),
+said, Do ye not know that your father hath obtained of
+you a solemn promise in the name of God, <i>with respect of
+your brother</i>, and how ye formerly failed of your duty
+with respect to Joseph? Therefore I will by no means
+depart from the land <i>of Egypt</i> until my father give me
+permission <i>to return to him</i>, or God decide for me <i>by the
+delivery of my brother</i>; and He is the best, <i>the most just</i>,
+of those who decide. Return ye to your father, and say,
+O our father, verily thy son hath committed theft, and
+we bore not testimony <i>against him</i> save according to that
+which we knew <i>of a certainty, by our seeing the cup in his
+sack</i>; and we were not acquainted with what was unseen
+<i>by us when we gave the solemn promise: had we known
+that he would commit theft, we had not taken him. And
+send thou</i>, and ask <i>the people of</i> the city in which we have
+been (<i>namely, Mi&#7779;r</i>)<a name="FNanchor_242" id="FNanchor_242"></a><a href="#Footnote_242" class="fnanchor">242</a> and the company of travellers with
+whom we have arrived (<i>who were a people of Canaan</i>):
+and we are surely speakers of truth.&mdash;<i>So they returned to
+him, and said unto him those words</i>. He replied, Nay,
+your minds have made a thing seem pleasant unto you,
+<i>and ye have done it</i> (<i>he suspected them, on account of their
+former conduct in the case of Joseph</i>); but patience is
+seemly: peradventure God will bring them back (<i>namely,
+Joseph and his brother</i>) unto me, together; for He is
+the Knowing <i>with respect to my case</i>, the Wise <i>in His</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg&nbsp;89]</a></span>
+<i>acts</i>. And he turned from them, and said, O! my sorrow
+for Joseph! And his eyes became white in consequence
+of mourning, and he was oppressed with silent grief.
+They said, By God, thou wilt not cease to think upon
+Joseph until thou be at the point of death, or be of [the
+number of] the dead. He replied, I only complain of my
+great and unconcealable grief and my sorrow unto God;
+<i>not unto any beside Him; for He it is unto whom complaint
+is made with advantage</i>; and I know [by revelation] from
+God what ye know not; <i>namely, that the dream of Joseph
+was true, and that he is living</i>. <i>Then he said</i>, O my sons,
+go and seek news of Joseph and his brother; and despair
+not of the mercy of God; for none despaireth of the
+mercy of God except the unbelieving people.</p>
+
+<p><i>So they departed towards Egypt, unto Joseph</i>; and when
+they went in unto him, they said, O Prince, distress (<i>that
+is, hunger</i>) hath affected us and our family, and we have
+come with paltry money (<i>it was base money, or some other
+sort</i>): yet give us full measure, and be charitable to us, <i>by
+excusing the badness of our money</i>; for God recompenseth
+those who act charitably. <i>And he had pity upon them,
+and compassion affected him, and he lifted up the curtain
+that was between him and them: then</i> he said <i>unto them in
+reproach</i>, Do ye know what ye did unto Joseph, <i>in beating
+and selling and other actions</i>, and his brother, <i>by your
+injurious conduct to him after the separation of his brother</i>,
+when ye were ignorant <i>of what would be the result of the
+case of Joseph?</i><a name="FNanchor_243" id="FNanchor_243"></a><a href="#Footnote_243" class="fnanchor">243</a> They replied, <i>after they had recognised
+him (desiring confirmation)</i>, Art thou indeed Joseph? He
+answered, I am Joseph, and this is my brother. God hath
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg&nbsp;90]</a></span>
+been gracious unto us, <i>by bringing us together</i>; for whosoever
+feareth <i>God</i> and is patient [will be rewarded]: God
+will not suffer the reward of the well-doers to perish.
+They replied, By God, verily God hath preferred thee
+above us, and we have been indeed sinners. He said,
+[There shall be] no reproach [cast] on you this day: God
+forgive you; for He is the most merciful of those that
+show mercy. <i>And he asked them respecting his father: so
+they answered, His eyes are gone.</i> <i>And he said</i>, Go ye with
+this my shirt (<i>it was the shirt of Abraham, which he wore
+when he was cast into the fire: it was on his</i> [that is,
+Joseph&#8217;s] <i>neck</i> [appended as an amulet] <i>in the well; and
+it was from paradise: Gabriel commanded him to send it,
+and said, In it is its odour</i> [that is, the odour of paradise],
+<i>and it shall not be cast upon any one afflicted</i> [with a
+disease] <i>but he shall be restored to health</i>), and cast it [said
+Joseph] upon the face of my father: he shall recover his
+sight; and bring unto me all your family.&mdash;And when
+the company of travellers had gone forth <i>from El-&acute;Areesh<a name="FNanchor_244" id="FNanchor_244"></a><a href="#Footnote_244" class="fnanchor">244</a> of
+Egypt</i>, their father said, <i>unto those who were present of his
+offspring</i>, Verily I perceive the smell of Joseph (<i>for the
+zephyr had conveyed it to him, by permission of Him whose
+name be exalted, from the distance of three days&#8217; journey, or
+eight, or more</i>): were it not that ye think I dote, <i>ye would
+believe me.</i> They replied, By God, thou art surely in
+thine old error. And when the messenger of good tidings
+(<i>namely, Judah</i>) came <i>with the shirt</i> (<i>and he had borne the
+bloody shirt; wherefore he desired to rejoice him, as he
+had grieved him</i>), he cast it upon his face, and he recovered
+his sight. [Thereupon Jacob] said, Did I not say unto
+you, I know, from God, what ye know not? They said,
+O our father, ask pardon of our crimes for us; for we have
+been sinners. He replied, I will ask pardon for you of
+my Lord; for He is the Very forgiving, the Merciful.&mdash;<i>He
+delayed doing so until the first appearance of the dawn</i>,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg&nbsp;91]</a></span>
+<i>that the prayer might be more likely to be answered; or, as
+some say, until the night of</i> [that is, preceding] <i>Friday</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>They then repaired to Egypt, and Joseph and the great
+men came forth to meet them</i>; and when they went in unto
+Joseph, <i>in his pavilion or tent</i>, he received unto him (<i>or
+pressed unto him</i>) his parents (<i>his father and his mother
+and his maternal aunt</i>), and said unto <i>them</i>, Enter ye Mi&#7779;r,
+if God please, in safety.<a name="FNanchor_245" id="FNanchor_245"></a><a href="#Footnote_245" class="fnanchor">245</a> <i>So they entered; and Joseph
+seated himself upon his couch</i>, and he caused his parents to
+ascend upon the seat of state, and they (<i>that is, his parents
+and his brethren</i>) fell down, bowing themselves unto him<a name="FNanchor_246" id="FNanchor_246"></a><a href="#Footnote_246" class="fnanchor">246</a>
+(<i>bending, but not putting the forehead</i>) [upon the ground]:
+<i>such being their mode of obeisance in that time</i>. And he
+said, O my father, this is the interpretation of my dream
+of former times: my Lord hath made it true; and He hath
+shown favour unto me, since He took me forth from the
+prison (<i>he said not, from the well,&mdash;from a motive of generosity,
+that his brethren might not be abashed</i>), and hath
+brought you from the desert, after that the devil had
+excited discord between me and my brethren; for my
+Lord is gracious unto whom He pleaseth; for He is the
+Knowing, the Wise.&mdash;<i>And his father resided with him four
+and twenty years, or seventeen; and the period of his separation
+was eighteen, or forty, or eighty years. And death
+came unto him; and thereupon he charged Joseph that he
+should carry him and bury him by his fathers. So he went
+himself and buried him. Then he returned to Egypt and
+remained after him three and twenty years; and when his
+case was ended, and he knew that he should not last</i> [upon
+earth], <i>and his soul desired the lasting possession, he said</i>, O
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg&nbsp;92]</a></span>
+my Lord, Thou hast given me dominion, and taught me
+the interpretation of events (<i>or dreams</i>): Creator of the
+heavens and the earth, Thou art my guardian in this
+world and in the world to come. Make me to die a
+Muslim, and join me with the righteous <i>among my forefathers.
+And he lived after that a week, or more, and died
+a hundred and twenty years old. And the Egyptians disputed
+concerning his burial: so they put him in a chest of
+marble, and buried him in the upper part of the Nile, that
+the blessing</i> [resulting from him] <i>might be general to the
+tracts on each side of it.<a name="FNanchor_247" id="FNanchor_247"></a><a href="#Footnote_247" class="fnanchor">247</a> Extolled be the perfection of Him
+to whose dominion there is no end!</i></p>
+
+<p class="name">(xii. 54-102).</p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg&nbsp;93]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>JOB.</i></h3>
+
+<p>And remember Our servant Job [Eiyoob<a name="FNanchor_248" id="FNanchor_248"></a><a href="#Footnote_248" class="fnanchor">248</a>] when he
+called unto his Lord, Verily the devil hath afflicted me
+with calamity and pain. (<i>The affliction is attributed to the
+devil, though all was from God.</i>) <i>And it was said unto
+him</i>, Strike <i>the earth</i> with thy foot. <i>And he did so;
+whereupon a fountain of water sprang forth.<a name="FNanchor_249" id="FNanchor_249"></a><a href="#Footnote_249" class="fnanchor">249</a> And it was
+said</i>, This <i>is</i> cool <i>water for thee</i> to wash with, and to drink.
+<i>So he washed himself and drank; and every disease that he
+had, external and internal, quitted him.</i> And We gave
+unto him his family, and as many more with them (<i>that is,
+God raised to life for him those of his children who had
+died, and blest him with as many more</i>),<a name="FNanchor_250" id="FNanchor_250"></a><a href="#Footnote_250" class="fnanchor">250</a> in Our mercy and as
+an admonition unto those who are endowed with faculties
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg&nbsp;94]</a></span>
+of understanding. [And We said unto him,] Take in thy
+hand a handful <i>of dry grass, or of twigs</i>,<a name="FNanchor_251" id="FNanchor_251"></a><a href="#Footnote_251" class="fnanchor">251</a> and strike with
+it <i>thy wife</i> (<i>for he had sworn that he would inflict upon her
+a hundred blows, because she had staid away from him too
+long one day</i><a name="FNanchor_252" id="FNanchor_252"></a><a href="#Footnote_252" class="fnanchor">252</a>) and break not thine oath <i>by abstaining from
+striking her.</i>&mdash;<i>So he took a hundred stalks of schoemanthus,
+or some other plant, and gave her one blow with them.</i>
+Verily We found him a patient person. How excellent
+a servant <i>was he</i>! For he was one who earnestly turned
+himself unto God.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xxxviii. 40-44.)</p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg&nbsp;95]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>SHO&acute;EYB.</i></h3>
+
+<p>And <i>we sent</i> unto Midian [Medyen] their brother
+Sho&acute;eyb.<a name="FNanchor_253" id="FNanchor_253"></a><a href="#Footnote_253" class="fnanchor">253</a> He said, O my people, worship God; <i>assert
+His unity</i>. Ye have no other deity but Him. And give
+not short measure and weight. Verily I see you [to be]
+in a state of prosperity <i>that placeth you above the need of
+doing so</i>; and verily I fear for you, <i>if ye believe not</i>, the
+punishment of a day that will encompass <i>you with destruction</i>.
+And, O my people, give full measure and weight
+with equity; and diminish not unto men <i>aught</i> of their
+things nor commit injustice in the earth, acting corruptly,
+<i>by murder or other offences</i>. The residue of God (<i>His supply
+that remaineth to you after the completion of the measure</i>)
+will be better for you <i>than diminution</i>, if ye be believers.
+And I am not a guardian over you, <i>to recompense you for
+your actions: I have only been sent as an admonisher</i>.&mdash;They
+replied, <i>in mockery</i>, O Sho&acute;eyb, do thy prayers command
+thee that we are to leave what our fathers worshipped,
+or <i>cease</i> to do with our riches what we please?
+Verily thou art the mild, the right director. <i>This they
+said in mockery.</i>&mdash;He said, O my people, tell me, if I act
+according to an evident proof from my Lord, and He hath
+supplied me with a good <i>lawful</i> provision, shall I mix it
+up with what is forbidden, and shall I not desire to
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg&nbsp;96]</a></span>
+oppose you, <i>and shall I betake myself</i> to that which I forbid
+you? I desire not [aught] but <i>your</i> reformation, as
+far as I am able [to effect it], and my help is not [in any]
+but in God: on Him do I rely, and unto Him do I turn
+me. And, O my people, let not the opposition of me procure
+for you the befalling you of the like of that which
+befell the people of Noah or the people of Hood or the
+people of &#7778;&aacute;li&#7717;. And <i>the abodes of the</i> people of Lot [are]
+not distant from you: (<i>or the time of their destruction was
+not long ago:</i>) <i>therefore be admonished</i>. And ask ye forgiveness
+of your Lord, and turn unto Him with repentance;
+for my Lord is merciful <i>to the believers</i>, loving <i>to them</i>.
+They replied, O Sho&acute;eyb, we understand not much of what
+thou sayest, and verily we see thee to be weak<a name="FNanchor_254" id="FNanchor_254"></a><a href="#Footnote_254" class="fnanchor">254</a> among
+us; and were it not for thy family, we had stoned thee;
+for thou art not, in our estimation, an honourable person:
+<i>thy family only are the honourable</i>. He said, O my people,
+are my family more honourable in your estimation than
+God, <i>and do ye abstain from slaying me for their sake, and
+not preserve me for God</i>, and have ye cast Him behind you
+as a thing neglected? Verily my Lord comprehendeth
+that which ye do, <i>and He will recompense you</i>. And, O
+my people, act ye according to your condition: verily I
+will act <i>according to mine</i>. Ye shall know on whom shall
+come a punishment that shall render him vile, and who is
+a liar: and await ye <i>the issue of your case</i>: verily I await
+with you.&mdash;And when Our degree <i>for their destruction</i>
+came [to be executed], we delivered Sho&acute;eyb and those
+who believed with him, in our mercy, and the cry <i>of
+Gabriel</i> assailed those who had offended, so that in the
+morning they were in their abodes prostrate <i>and dead</i>, as
+though they had not dwelt therein. Was not Midian
+removed as Thamood had been removed?</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xi. 85-98.)</p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg&nbsp;97]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>MOSES AND HIS PEOPLE.</i></h3>
+
+<p>We will rehearse unto thee, [O Mo&#7717;ammad, somewhat]
+of the history of Moses [Moos&aacute;] and Pharaoh [Fir&acute;own
+or Far&acute;oon],<a name="FNanchor_255" id="FNanchor_255"></a><a href="#Footnote_255" class="fnanchor">255</a> with truth, for <i>the sake of</i> people who believe.
+Verily Pharaoh exalted himself in the land <i>of
+Egypt</i>, and divided its inhabitants into parties <i>to serve
+him</i>. He rendered weak one class of them, <i>namely the
+children of Israel</i>, slaughtering their male children, and
+preserving alive their females, <i>because one of the diviners
+said unto him, A child will be born among the children
+of Israel, who will be the means of the loss of thy kingdom;</i>&mdash;for
+he was [one] of the corrupt doers. And We
+desired to be gracious unto those who had been deemed
+weak in the land, and to make them models of religion,
+and to make them the heirs <i>of the possessions of Pharaoh</i>,
+and to establish them in the land <i>of Egypt, and in Syria</i>,
+and to show Pharaoh and H&aacute;m&aacute;n<a name="FNanchor_256" id="FNanchor_256"></a><a href="#Footnote_256" class="fnanchor">256</a> and their forces what
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg&nbsp;98]</a></span>
+they feared from them. And We said, by revelation, unto
+the mother of Moses, <i>the child above-mentioned, of whose
+birth none knew save his sister</i>, Suckle him; and when thou
+fearest for him cast him in the river <i>Nile</i>, and fear not <i>his
+being drowned</i>, nor mourn <i>for his separation</i>; for We will
+restore him unto thee, and will make him [one] of the
+apostles.<a name="FNanchor_257" id="FNanchor_257"></a><a href="#Footnote_257" class="fnanchor">257</a> <i>So she suckled him three months, during which
+he wept not; and then she feared for him, wherefore she put
+him into an ark pitched within and furnished with a bed
+for him, and she closed it and cast it in the river Nile by
+night.</i> And the family (<i>or servants</i>) of Pharaoh lighted
+upon him <i>in the ark on the morrow of that night</i>;<a name="FNanchor_258" id="FNanchor_258"></a><a href="#Footnote_258" class="fnanchor">258</a> <i>so they
+put it before him, and it was opened, and Moses was taken
+forth from it, sucking milk from his thumb:</i> [this happened]
+that he might be unto them <i>eventually</i> an enemy (<i>slaying
+their men</i>) and an affliction (<i>making slaves of their women</i>);
+for Pharaoh and H&aacute;m&aacute;n (<i>his Wezeer</i>) and their forces were
+sinners; <i>wherefore they were punished by his hand</i>. And the
+wife of Pharaoh said, <i>when he and his servants had proposed
+to kill him</i>, He <i>is</i> delight of the eye unto me and unto
+thee: do not ye kill him: peradventure he may be serviceable
+unto us, or we may adopt him as a son. <i>And</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg&nbsp;99]</a></span><i>
+they complied with her desire</i>; and they knew not <i>the consequence</i>.</p>
+
+<p>And the heart of the mother of Moses, <i>when she knew of
+his having been lighted upon</i>, became disquieted; and she
+had almost made him known <i>to be her son</i>, had We not
+fortified her heart with patience, that she might be [one]
+of the believers <i>in Our promise</i>. And she said unto his
+sister <i>Maryam</i> [or Mary], Trace him, <i>that thou mayest
+know his case</i>. And she watched him from a distance,
+while they knew not <i>that she was his sister and that she was
+watching him</i>. And We forbade him the breasts, <i>preventing
+him from taking the breast of any nurse except his mother</i>,
+before <i>his restoration to her</i>: so <i>his sister</i> said, Shall I
+direct you unto the people of a house who will nurse him
+for you, and who will be faithful unto him? <i>And her
+offer was accepted; therefore she brought his mother, and he
+took her breast: so she returned with him to her house, as
+God hath said</i>,&mdash;And We restored him to his mother, that
+her eye might be cheerful and that she might not grieve,
+and that she might know that the promise of God <i>to restore
+him unto her</i> was true: but the greater number of them (<i>that
+is, of mankind</i>) know not <i>this</i>. <i>And it appeared not that
+this was his sister and this his mother; and he remained
+with her until she had weaned him; and her hire was paid
+her, for every day a deen&aacute;r, which she took</i> [without
+scruple] <i>because it was the wealth of a hostile person. She
+then brought him unto Pharaoh, and he was brought up in
+his abode, as God hath related of him in the Chapter of the
+Poets,</i><a name="FNanchor_259" id="FNanchor_259"></a><a href="#Footnote_259" class="fnanchor">259</a> [where Pharaoh said unto Moses,] <i>Have we not
+brought thee up among us a child, and hast thou not dwelt
+among us</i> [thirty] <i>years of thy life?</i></p>
+
+<p>And when he had attained his age of strength (<i>thirty
+years or thirty and three</i>), and had become of full age
+(<i>forty years</i>), We bestowed on him wisdom and knowledge
+<i>in religion, before he was sent as a prophet</i>; and thus do
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg&nbsp;100]</a></span>
+We reward the well-doers. And he entered the city <i>of
+Pharaoh, which was Munf</i> [or Memphis], <i>after he had
+been absent from him a while</i>, at a time when its inhabitants
+were inadvertent, <i>at the hour of the noon-sleep</i>, and
+he found therein two men fighting; this [being] of his
+party (<i>namely an Israelite</i>), and this of his enemies (<i>an
+Egyptian</i>), <i>who was compelling the Israelite to carry firewood
+to the kitchen of Pharaoh without pay</i>: and he who
+was of his party begged him to aid him against him who
+was of his enemies. <i>So Moses said unto the latter, Let him
+go. And it is said that he replied to Moses, I have a mind
+to put the burden upon thee.</i> And Moses struck him with
+his fist, and killed him. <i>But he intended not to kill him;
+and he buried him in the sand.</i> He said, This is of the work
+of the devil, <i>who hath excited my anger</i>; for he is an
+enemy <i>unto the son of Adam</i>, a manifest misleader <i>of him</i>.
+He said, <i>in repentance</i>, O my Lord, verily I have acted
+injuriously unto mine own soul, <i>by killing him</i>; therefore
+forgive me. So He forgave him: for He is the Very
+Forgiving, the Merciful.&mdash;He said, O my Lord, by the
+favours with which Thou hast favoured me, <i>defend me</i>, and
+I will by no means be an assistant to the sinners <i>after
+this</i>.&mdash;And the next morning he was afraid in the city,
+watching <i>for what might happen unto him on account of
+the slain man</i>; and lo, he who had begged his assistance
+the day before was crying out to him for aid <i>against
+another Egyptian</i>. Moses said unto him, Verily thou art
+a person manifestly in error, <i>because of that which thou
+hast done yesterday and to-day</i>. But when he was about
+to lay violent hands upon him who was an enemy unto
+them both, (<i>namely unto Moses and him who begged his aid</i>,)
+<i>the latter</i> said, <i>imagining that he would lay violent hands
+upon him, because of that which he had said unto him</i>, O
+Moses, dost thou desire to kill me, as thou killedst a soul
+yesterday? Thou desirest not [aught] but to be an
+oppressor in the land, and thou desirest not to be [one]
+of the reconcilers.&mdash;<i>And the Egyptian heard that: so he</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg&nbsp;101]</a></span>
+<i>knew that the killer was Moses; wherefore he departed unto
+Pharaoh and acquainted him therewith, and Pharaoh
+commanded the executioners to slay Moses, and they betook
+themselves to seek him.</i> But a man <i>who was a believer of
+the family of Pharaoh</i><a name="FNanchor_260" id="FNanchor_260"></a><a href="#Footnote_260" class="fnanchor">260</a> came from the furthest part of the
+city, running <i>by a way that was nearer than the way by
+which they had come</i>: he said, O Moses, verily the chiefs
+<i>of the people of Pharaoh</i> are consulting respecting thee, to
+slay thee; therefore go forth <i>from the city</i>: verily I am
+unto thee [one] of the admonishers. So he went forth
+from it in fear, watching <i>in fear of pursuer, or for the aid
+of God</i>. He said, O my Lord, deliver me from the unjust
+people <i>of Pharaoh</i>!<a name="FNanchor_261" id="FNanchor_261"></a><a href="#Footnote_261" class="fnanchor">261</a></p>
+
+<p>And when he was journeying towards Medyen, <i>which
+was the city of Sho&acute;eyb, eight days&#8217; journey from Mi&#7779;r (named
+after Medyen the son of Abraham), and he knew not the way
+unto it</i>, he said, Peradventure my Lord will direct me unto
+the right way, <i>or the middle way. And God sent unto him
+an angel, having in his hand a short spear; and he went
+with him thither.</i><a name="FNanchor_262" id="FNanchor_262"></a><a href="#Footnote_262" class="fnanchor">262</a> And when he came unto the water
+(<i>or well</i>) of Medyen, he found at it a company of men
+watering <i>their animals</i>; and he found besides them two
+women keeping away <i>their sheep from the water</i>. He said
+<i>unto them</i> (<i>namely the two women</i>), What is the matter
+with you <i>that ye water not</i>? They answered, We shall
+not water until the pastors shall have driven away <i>their
+animals</i>; and our father is a very old man, <i>who cannot
+water the sheep</i>. And he watered for them <i>from another
+well near unto them, from which he lifted a stone that none</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg&nbsp;102]</a></span>
+<i>could lift but ten persons.</i> Then he retired to the shade
+<i>of an Egyptian thorn-tree on account of the violence of the
+heat of the sun; and he was hungry</i>, and he said, O my
+Lord, verily I am in need of the good <i>provision</i> which Thou
+shalt send down unto me. <i>And the two women returned
+unto their father in less time than they were accustomed to
+do: so he asked them the reason thereof; and they informed
+him of the person who had watered for them; whereupon he
+said unto one of them, Call him unto me.</i></p>
+
+<p>And one of them<a name="FNanchor_263" id="FNanchor_263"></a><a href="#Footnote_263" class="fnanchor">263</a> came unto him, walking bashfully,
+<i>with the sleeve of her shift over her face, by reason of her
+abashment at him</i>: she said, My father calleth thee, that
+he may recompense thee with the reward of thy having
+watered for us. <i>And he assented to her call, disliking in
+his mind the receiving of the reward: but it seemeth that she
+intended the compensation if he were of such as desired it.
+And she walked before him; and the wind blew her garment,
+and her legs were discovered: so he said unto her, Walk
+behind me and direct me in the way. And she did so, until
+she came unto her father, who was Sho&acute;eyb, on whom be peace!
+and with him was</i> [prepared] <i>a supper. He said unto him,
+Sit and sup. But he replied, I fear lest it be a compensation
+for my having watered for them, and we are a family who
+seek not a compensation for doing good. He said, Nay, it is
+my custom and hath been the custom of my fathers to entertain
+the guest and to give food. So he ate; and acquainted,
+him with his case.</i> And when he had come unto him, and
+had related to him the story <i>of his having killed the
+Egyptian and their intention to kill him and his fear of
+Pharaoh</i>, he replied, Fear not: thou hast escaped from
+the unjust people. (<i>For Pharaoh had no dominion over
+Medyen.</i>) One of them [namely of the women] said
+(<i>and she was the one who had been sent</i>), O my father, hire
+him <i>to tend our sheep in our stead</i>; for the best whom
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg&nbsp;103]</a></span>
+thou canst hire is the strong, the trustworthy. <i>So he
+asked her respecting him, and she acquainted him with what
+hath been above related, his lifting up the stone of the well,
+and his saying unto her, Walk behind me;&mdash;and moreover,
+that when she had come unto him, and he knew of her presence,
+he hung down his head and raised it not.</i> He <i>therefore</i>
+said, Verily I desire to marry thee unto one of these
+my two daughters, on the condition that thou shalt be a
+hired servant to me, <i>to tend my sheep</i>, eight years; and if
+thou fulfil ten <i>years</i>, it shall be of thine own will; and I
+desire not to lay a difficulty upon thee <i>by imposing as a
+condition the ten years</i>: thou shalt find me, if God please,
+[one] of the just, <i>who are faithful to their covenants</i>. He
+replied, This [be the covenant] between me and thee:
+whichever of the two terms I fulfil, there shall be no
+injustice against me <i>by demanding an addition thereto</i>;
+and God is witness of what we say. <i>And the marriage-contract
+was concluded according to this; and Sho&acute;eyb
+ordered his daughter to give unto Moses a rod wherewith to
+drive away the wild beasts from his sheep: and the rods of
+the prophets were in his possession; and the rod of Adam, of
+the myrtle of paradise, fell into her hand; and Moses took
+it, with the knowledge of Sho&acute;eyb.</i></p>
+
+<p class="name">(xxviii. 21-28.)</p>
+
+<p>Hath the history of Moses been related to thee? when
+he saw fire,<a name="FNanchor_264" id="FNanchor_264"></a><a href="#Footnote_264" class="fnanchor">264</a> <i>during his journey from Medyen, on his way
+to Egypt</i>, and said unto his family, <i>or his wife</i>, Tarry ye
+<i>here</i>; for I have seen fire: perhaps I may bring you a
+brand from it, or find at the fire a guide <i>to direct me in the
+way. For he had missed the way in consequence of the
+darkness of the night.</i> And when he came unto it (<i>and it</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg&nbsp;104]</a></span>
+<i>was a bramble-bush</i>), he was called to [by a voice saying],
+O Moses, verily I am thy Lord; therefore pull off thy
+shoes;<a name="FNanchor_265" id="FNanchor_265"></a><a href="#Footnote_265" class="fnanchor">265</a> for thou art in the holy valley of &#7788;uwa. And I
+have chosen thee <i>from among thy people</i>; wherefore
+hearken attentively unto that which is revealed <i>unto thee
+by Me</i>. Verily I am God: there is no Deity except Me;
+therefore worship Me, and perform prayer in remembrance
+of Me. Verily the hour is coming: I will manifest it <i>unto
+mankind, and its nearness shall appear unto them by its
+signs</i>, that every soul may be recompensed <i>therein</i> for its
+good and evil work: therefore let not him who believeth
+not in it, and followeth his lust, hinder thee from <i>believing
+in</i> it, lest thou perish. And what is that in thy right
+hand, O Moses?&mdash;He answered, It is my rod, whereon I
+lean and wherewith I beat down leaves for my sheep <i>that
+they may eat them</i>; and I have other uses for it, <i>as the carrying
+of provision and the water-skin, and the driving away of
+reptiles</i>. He said, Cast it down, O Moses. So he cast it
+down; and lo, it was a serpent,<a name="FNanchor_266" id="FNanchor_266"></a><a href="#Footnote_266" class="fnanchor">266</a> running along. <i>God</i>
+said, Take it, and fear <i>it</i> not:<a name="FNanchor_267" id="FNanchor_267"></a><a href="#Footnote_267" class="fnanchor">267</a> we will restore it to its
+former state. <i>And he put his hand into its mouth; whereupon
+it became again a rod.</i> [And God said,] And put thy
+<i>right</i> hand to thy <i>left</i> arm-pit, <i>and take it forth</i>: it shall
+come forth white, without evil, (<i>that is, without leprosy;
+shining like the rays of the sun, dazzling the sight,</i>) as
+another sign, that We may show thee the greatest of our
+signs <i>of thine apostleship</i>. (<i>And when he desired to restore
+his hand to its first state, he put it as before described, and
+drew it forth.</i>) Go <i>as an apostle</i> unto Pharaoh <i>and those</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg&nbsp;105]</a></span>
+<i>who are with him</i>; for he hath acted with exceeding
+impiety <i>by arrogating to himself divinity</i>.&mdash;<i>Moses</i> said,
+O my Lord, dilate my bosom, <i>that it may hear the message</i>,
+and make my affair easy unto me, and loose the knot of
+my tongue (<i>this had arisen from his having been burned in
+his mouth by a live coal when he was a child</i>),<a name="FNanchor_268" id="FNanchor_268"></a><a href="#Footnote_268" class="fnanchor">268</a> that they
+may understand my speech <i>when I deliver the message</i>.
+And appoint unto me a Wezeer of my family, <i>namely</i>
+Aaron [H&aacute;roon] my brother. Strengthen my back by
+him, and make him a colleague in my affair, that we may
+glorify Thee much, and remember Thee much; for Thou
+knowest us.</p>
+
+<p>God replied, Thou hast obtained thy petition, O Moses,
+and We have been gracious unto thee another time:
+forasmuch as We revealed unto thy mother what was
+revealed, <i>when she gave birth to thee and feared that
+Pharaoh would kill thee among the others that were born</i>,
+[saying,] Cast him into the ark, and then cast him, <i>in the
+ark</i>, into the river <i>Nile</i>, and the river shall throw him on
+the shore; then an enemy unto Me and an enemy unto
+him (<i>namely Pharaoh</i>) shall take him. And I bestowed
+on thee, <i>after he had taken thee</i>, love from Me, <i>that thou
+mightest be loved by men, so that Pharaoh and all that saw
+thee loved thee</i>; and that thou mightest be bred up in
+Mine eye. [Also] forasmuch as thy sister <i>Maryam</i> went
+<i>that she might learn what became of thee, after they had
+brought nurses and thou hadst refused to take the breast
+of any one of them</i>, and she said, Shall I direct you unto
+one who will nurse him? (<i>whereupon her proposal was</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg&nbsp;106]</a></span>
+<i>accepted, and she brought his mother</i>): so We restored thee
+to thy mother, that her eye might become cheerful and that
+she might not grieve. And thou slewest a soul, <i>namely
+the Copt in Egypt, and wast sorry for his slaughter, on
+account of Pharaoh</i>, and We delivered thee from sorrow;
+and We tried thee with <i>other</i> trial, <i>and delivered thee from
+it</i>.<a name="FNanchor_269" id="FNanchor_269"></a><a href="#Footnote_269" class="fnanchor">269</a> And thou stayedst <i>ten</i> years among the people of
+Medyen, <i>after thou hadst come thither from Egypt, at the
+abode of Sho&acute;eyb the prophet, and he married thee to his
+daughter.</i> Then thou camest according to <i>My</i> decree, <i>as
+to the time of thy mission, when thou hadst attained the age
+of forty years</i>, O Moses; and I have chosen thee for
+Myself. Go thou and thy brother<a name="FNanchor_270" id="FNanchor_270"></a><a href="#Footnote_270" class="fnanchor">270</a> <i>unto the people</i>, with
+My <i>nine</i> signs, and cease ye not to remember Me. Go ye
+unto Pharaoh; for he hath acted with exceeding impiety,
+<i>by arrogating to himself divinity</i>, and speak unto him with
+gentle speech, <i>exhorting him to relinquish that conduct</i>:
+peradventure he will consider, or will fear <i>God, and repent</i>.
+(<i>The</i> [mere] <i>hope with respect to the two</i> [results is
+expressed] <i>because of God&#8217;s knowledge that he would not
+repent.</i>)&mdash;They replied, O our Lord, verily we fear that he
+may be precipitately violent against us, <i>hastening to
+punish us</i>, or that he may act with exceeding injustice
+<i>towards us</i>. He said, Fear ye not; for I am with you: I
+will hear and will see. Therefore go ye unto him, and
+say, Verily we are the apostles of thy Lord: therefore
+send with us the children of Israel <i>unto Syria</i>, and do not
+afflict them, <i>but cease to employ them in thy difficult works,
+such as digging and building and carrying the heavy
+burden</i>. We have come unto thee with a sign from thy
+Lord, <i>attesting our veracity in asserting ourselves apostles</i>:
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg&nbsp;107]</a></span>
+and peace be on him who followeth the right direction:&mdash;<i>that
+is, he shall be secure from punishment</i>. Verily it hath
+been revealed unto us that punishment [shall be inflicted]
+upon him who chargeth with falsehood <i>that wherewith we
+have come</i>, and turneth away <i>from it</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xx. 8-50.)</p>
+
+<p>Then We sent after them, <i>namely the apostles before
+mentioned</i> [who were Sho&acute;eyb and his predecessors],
+Moses, with Our signs unto Pharaoh and his nobles, and
+they acted unjustly with respect to them, <i>disbelieving in
+the signs</i>: but see what was the end of the corrupt doers.
+And Moses said, O Pharaoh, verily I am an apostle from
+the Lord of the worlds <i>unto thee</i>. <i>But he charged him with
+falsehood: so he said, I am</i> right not to say of God aught
+but the truth. I have come unto you with a proof from
+your Lord: therefore send with me <i>to Syria</i> the children
+of Israel.&mdash;<i>Pharaoh</i> said <i>unto him</i>, If thou hast come with
+a sign <i>confirmatory of thy pretension</i>, produce it, if thou be
+of those who speak truth, So he cast down his rod;
+and lo, it was a manifest serpent.<a name="FNanchor_271" id="FNanchor_271"></a><a href="#Footnote_271" class="fnanchor">271</a> And he drew forth
+his hand <i>from his bosom</i>; and lo, it was white <i>and radiant</i>
+unto the beholders.<a name="FNanchor_272" id="FNanchor_272"></a><a href="#Footnote_272" class="fnanchor">272</a> The nobles of the people of Pharaoh
+said, Verily this is a knowing enchanter: he desireth to
+expel you from your land. What then do ye command?&mdash;They
+answered, Put off for a time him and his brother,
+and send unto the cities collectors [of the inhabitants],
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg&nbsp;108]</a></span>
+that they may bring unto thee every knowing enchanter.
+And the enchanters came unto Pharaoh. They said,
+Shall we surely have a reward if we be the party who
+overcome? He answered, Yea; and verily ye shall be of
+those who are admitted near [unto my person]. They
+said, O Moses, either do thou cast down <i>thy rod</i>, or we
+will cast down <i>what we have with us</i>. He replied, Cast ye.
+And when they cast down <i>their cords and their rods</i>, they
+enchanted the eyes of the men, <i>diverting them from the
+true perception of them</i>; and they terrified them; <i>for they
+imagined them to be serpents running</i>; and they performed
+a great enchantment.<a name="FNanchor_273" id="FNanchor_273"></a><a href="#Footnote_273" class="fnanchor">273</a> And We spake by revelation unto
+Moses, [saying,] Cast down thy rod. And lo, it swallowed
+up what they had caused to appear changed.<a name="FNanchor_274" id="FNanchor_274"></a><a href="#Footnote_274" class="fnanchor">274</a> So the
+truth was confirmed, and that which they had wrought
+became vain; and they were overcome there, and were
+rendered contemptible. And the enchanters cast themselves
+down prostrate:<a name="FNanchor_275" id="FNanchor_275"></a><a href="#Footnote_275" class="fnanchor">275</a> they said, We believe in the Lord of
+the worlds, the Lord of Moses and Aaron. Pharaoh said,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg&nbsp;109]</a></span>
+Have ye believed in Him before I have given you
+permission? Verily this is a plot that ye have contrived
+in the city, that ye may cause its inhabitants to go forth
+from it. But ye shall know <i>what shall happen unto you at
+my hand</i>. I will assuredly cut off your hands and your
+feet on the opposite sides&mdash;<i>the right hand of each and
+his left foot</i>: then I will crucify you all.&mdash;They replied.
+Verily unto our Lord shall we return, <i>after our death, of
+whatever kind it be</i>; and thou dost not take vengeance on
+us but because we believed in the signs of our Lord when
+they came unto us. O our Lord, pour upon us patience,
+and cause us to die Muslims!<a name="FNanchor_276" id="FNanchor_276"></a><a href="#Footnote_276" class="fnanchor">276</a></p>
+
+<p class="name">(vii. 101-123.)</p>
+
+<p>And Pharaoh said, Let me alone, that I may kill Moses,
+(<i>for they had diverted him from killing him</i>,) and let him
+call upon his Lord <i>to defend him from me</i>. Verily I fear
+lest he change your religion, <i>and prevent your worshipping
+me</i>, or that he may cause corruption to appear in the earth
+(<i>that is, slaughter, and other offences</i>).&mdash;And Moses said
+<i>unto his people, having heard this</i>, Verily I have recourse
+for defence unto my Lord and your Lord from every
+proud person who believeth not in the day of account.
+And a man [who was] a believer, of the family of
+Pharaoh (<i>it is said that he was the son of his paternal
+uncle</i>,)<a name="FNanchor_277" id="FNanchor_277"></a><a href="#Footnote_277" class="fnanchor">277</a> who concealed his faith, said, Will ye kill a man
+because he saith, My Lord is God,&mdash;when he hath come
+unto you with evident proofs from your Lord? And if
+he be a liar, on him [will be] <i>the evil consequence of</i> his
+lie; but if he be a speaker of truth, somewhat of that
+<i>punishment with</i> which he threateneth you will befall you
+<i>speedily</i>. Verily God directeth not him who is a transgressor,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg&nbsp;110]</a></span>
+<i>or polytheist</i>, [and] a liar. O my people, ye have
+the dominion to-day, being overcomers in the land <i>of
+Egypt</i>; but who will defend us from the punishment of
+God <i>if ye kill his favourite servants</i>, if it come unto us?<a name="FNanchor_278" id="FNanchor_278"></a><a href="#Footnote_278" class="fnanchor">278</a>&mdash;Pharaoh
+said, I will not advise you to do [aught] save
+what I see to be advisable, <i>which is, to kill Moses</i>; and I
+will not direct you save into the right way. And he who
+had believed said, O my people, verily I fear for you the
+like of the day of the confederates,<a name="FNanchor_279" id="FNanchor_279"></a><a href="#Footnote_279" class="fnanchor">279</a> the like of the condition
+of the people of Noah and &acute;&Aacute;d and Thamood and
+those who [have lived] after them: and God willeth not
+injustice unto [His] servants. And, O my people, verily I
+fear for you the day of calling (<i>that is, the day of resurrection,
+when the people of Paradise and those of Hell shall
+often call one to another</i>). On the day when ye shall turn
+back <i>from the place of reckoning unto hell</i>, ye shall have no
+protector against God. And he whom God shall cause to
+err shall have no director. Moreover, Joseph (<i>who was
+Joseph the son of Jacob according to one opinion, and who
+lived unto the time of Moses; and Joseph the son of
+Abraham the son of Joseph the son of Jacob, according to
+another opinion</i>) came unto you before <i>Moses</i>, with evident
+<i>miraculous</i> proofs; but ye ceased not to be in doubt respecting
+that wherewith he came unto you, until, when
+he died, ye said <i>without proof</i> God will by no means
+send an apostle after him. Thus God causeth to err him
+who is a transgressor, <i>or polytheist</i>, [and] a sceptic. They
+who dispute respecting the signs of God, without any
+convincing proof having come unto them, <i>their disputing</i>
+is very hateful with God and with those who have believed.
+Thus God sealeth every heart (<i>or the whole heart</i>)
+of a proud contumacious person.</p>
+
+<p>And Pharaoh said, O H&aacute;m&aacute;n, build for me a tower,
+that I may reach the avenues, the avenues of the heavens,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg&nbsp;111]</a></span>
+and ascend unto the God of Moses;<a name="FNanchor_280" id="FNanchor_280"></a><a href="#Footnote_280" class="fnanchor">280</a> but verily I think
+him, <i>namely Moses</i>, a liar <i>in his assertion that he hath any
+god but myself</i>. And thus the wickedness of his deed was
+made to seem comely unto Pharaoh, and he was turned
+away from the path <i>of rectitude</i>; and the artifice of
+Pharaoh [ended] not save in loss. And he who had
+believed said, O my people, follow me: I will direct you
+into the right way. O my people, this present life is only
+a temporary enjoyment; but the world to come is the
+mansion of firm continuance. Whosoever doeth evil, he
+shall not be recompensed save with the like of it; and
+whosoever doeth good, whether male or female, and is a
+believer, these shall enter Paradise; they shall be provided
+for therein without reckoning. And, O my people,
+how is it that I invite you unto salvation, and ye invite
+me unto the Fire? Ye invite me to deny God, and to
+associate with Him that of which I have no knowledge;
+but I invite you unto the Mighty, the Very Forgiving.
+[There is] no doubt but that the [false gods] <i>to the worship
+of</i> which ye invite me are not to be invoked in this world,
+nor in the world to come, and that our return [shall be]
+unto God, and that the transgressors [shall be] the companions
+of the Fire. And ye shall remember, <i>when ye see
+the punishment</i>, what I say unto you; and I commit my
+case unto God; for God seeth [His] servants.&mdash;<i>This he said
+when they threatened him for his opposing their religion.</i>
+Therefore God preserved him from the evils which they
+had artfully devised (<i>namely slaughter</i>), and a most evil
+punishment encompassed the people of Pharaoh,<a name="FNanchor_281" id="FNanchor_281"></a><a href="#Footnote_281" class="fnanchor">281</a> <i>with</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg&nbsp;112]</a></span>
+<i>Pharaoh himself (namely the drowning); then</i> they shall
+be exposed to the Fire morning and evening;<a name="FNanchor_282" id="FNanchor_282"></a><a href="#Footnote_282" class="fnanchor">282</a> and on the
+day when the hour [of judgment] shall come, <i>it shall be
+said unto the angels</i>, Introduce the people of Pharaoh into
+the most severe punishment.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xl. 27-49.)</p>
+
+<p>And the nobles of the people of Pharaoh said <i>unto him</i>,
+Wilt thou let Moses and his people go that they may act
+corruptly in the earth, <i>by inviting to disobey thee</i>, and
+leave thee and thy gods? (<i>For he had made for them little
+idols for them to worship, and he said, I am your Lord and
+their Lord;&mdash;and therefore he said, I am your Lord the
+Most High.</i>) He answered, We will slaughter their male
+children and will suffer their females to live: and verily
+we shall prevail over them. <i>And thus they did unto
+them; wherefore the children of Israel complained, and</i>
+Moses said unto his people, Seek aid of God, and be
+patient; for the earth belongeth unto God: He causeth
+whomsoever He will of His servants to inherit it; and
+the <i>prosperous</i> end is for those who fear <i>God</i>. They replied,
+We have been afflicted before thou camest unto us
+and since thou hast come unto us. He said, Perhaps
+your Lord will destroy your enemy and cause you to
+succeed [him] in the earth, and He will see how ye will
+act <i>therein</i>.&mdash;And We had punished the family of Pharaoh
+with dearth and with scarcity of fruits, that they might
+be admonished <i>and might believe</i>. But when good betided
+them, they said, This is ours:&mdash;<i>that is, we deserve it;&mdash;and
+they were not grateful for it</i>; and if evil befell them,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg&nbsp;113]</a></span>
+they ascribed it to the ill luck of Moses and those <i>believers</i>
+who were with him. Nay, their ill luck was only with
+God: <i>He brought it upon them</i>: but the greater number of
+them know not <i>this</i>. And they said <i>unto Moses</i>, Whatsoever
+sign thou bring unto us, to enchant us therewith,
+we will not believe in thee. <i>So he uttered an imprecation
+upon them</i>, and We sent upon them the flood, <i>which
+entered their houses and reached to the throats of the persons
+sitting, seven days</i>,<a name="FNanchor_283" id="FNanchor_283"></a><a href="#Footnote_283" class="fnanchor">283</a> and the locusts, <i>which ate their corn and
+their fruits</i>, and the &#7731;ummal, <i>or grubs, or a kind of tick,
+which sought after what the locusts had left</i>, and the frogs,
+<i>which filled their houses and their food</i>, and the blood <i>in
+their waters</i>; distinct signs: but they were proud, <i>refusing
+to believe in them</i>, and were a wicked people. And when
+the punishment fell upon them, they said, O Moses, supplicate
+for us thy Lord, according to that which He hath
+covenanted with thee, <i>namely that He will withdraw from
+us the punishment if we believe</i>: verily, if thou remove
+from us the punishment, we will assuredly believe thee,
+and we will assuredly send with thee the children of
+Israel. But when We removed from them the punishment
+until a period at which they should arrive, lo, they brake
+their promise. Wherefore We took vengeance on them,
+and drowned them in the sea, because they charged our
+signs with falsehood and were heedless of them. And We
+caused the people who had been rendered weak, <i>by being
+enslaved</i>, to inherit the eastern parts of the earth and its
+western parts,<a name="FNanchor_284" id="FNanchor_284"></a><a href="#Footnote_284" class="fnanchor">284</a> which we blessed <i>with water and trees,
+(namely Syria)</i>; and the gracious word of thy Lord was
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg&nbsp;114]</a></span>
+fulfilled on the children of Israel, because they had
+been patient; and We destroyed the <i>structures</i> which
+Pharaoh and his people had built and what they had
+erected.<a name="FNanchor_285" id="FNanchor_285"></a><a href="#Footnote_285" class="fnanchor">285</a></p>
+
+<p class="name">(vii. 124-133.)</p>
+
+<p>We brought the children of Israel across the sea, and
+Pharaoh and his troops pursued them with violence and
+hostility, until, when drowning overtook him, he said, I
+believe that there is no deity but He in whom the children
+of Israel believe, and I am [one] of the Muslims.
+<i>But Gabriel thrust into his mouth some of the mire of the
+sea, lest mercy should be granted him, and said</i>, Now <i>thou
+believest</i>, and thou hast been rebellious hitherto, and wast
+[one] of the corrupters. But to-day we will raise thee
+with thy lifeless body <i>from the sea</i>, that thou mayest be a
+sign unto those [who shall come] after thee. (<i>It is related,
+on the authority of Ibn-&acute;Abb&aacute;s, that some of the children of
+Israel doubted his death; wherefore he was brought forth to
+them that they might see him.</i>)<a name="FNanchor_286" id="FNanchor_286"></a><a href="#Footnote_286" class="fnanchor">286</a> But verily many men are
+heedless of Our signs.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(x. 90-92.)</p>
+
+<p>And We brought the children of Israel across the sea;
+and they came unto a people who gave themselves up to
+<i>the worship of</i> idols belonging to them;<a name="FNanchor_287" id="FNanchor_287"></a><a href="#Footnote_287" class="fnanchor">287</a> [whereupon] they
+said, O Moses, make for us a god (<i>an idol for us to worship</i>),
+like as they have gods. He replied, Verily ye are
+a people who are ignorant, <i>since ye have requited God&#8217;s
+favour towards you with that which ye have said</i>; for that
+[religion] in which these are [occupied shall be] destroyed,
+and vain is that which they do. He said, Shall I seek for
+you any other deity than God, when He hath preferred
+you above the peoples <i>of your time</i>?</p>
+
+<p class="name">(vii. 134-136.)</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg&nbsp;115]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And We caused the thin clouds to shade you <i>from the
+heat of the sun in the desert</i>, and caused the manna and the
+quails<a name="FNanchor_288" id="FNanchor_288"></a><a href="#Footnote_288" class="fnanchor">288</a> to descend upon you, <i>and said</i>, Eat of the good
+things which We have given you for food, <i>and store not
+up.&mdash;But they were ungrateful for the benefit, and stored
+up; wherefore it was cut off from them</i>. And they injured
+not Us <i>thereby</i>; but they did injure their own
+souls.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 54.)</p>
+
+<p>[Remember, O children of Israel,] when ye said, O
+Moses, we will not bear patiently the having one <i>kind of</i>
+food, <i>the manna and the quails</i>; therefore supplicate for
+us thy Lord, that He may produce for us <i>somewhat</i> of that
+which the earth bringeth forth, of its herbs and its cucumbers
+and its wheat and its lentils and its onions:&mdash;he
+said <i>unto them</i>, Will ye take in exchange that which is
+worse for that which is better?&mdash;<i>But they refused to
+recede; therefore he supplicated God, and He said</i>, Get ye
+down into a great city;<a name="FNanchor_289" id="FNanchor_289"></a><a href="#Footnote_289" class="fnanchor">289</a> for ye shall have <i>therein</i> what
+ye have asked.&mdash;And the <i>marks of</i> abjection and poverty
+were stamped upon them: <i>so these characteristics necessarily
+belong to them, even if they are rich, as necessarily as the
+stamped coin belongeth to its die</i>; and they returned with
+indignation from God. This was because they did disbelieve
+in the signs of God, and slay the prophets (<i>as
+Zechariah and John</i>) unjustly: this was because they
+rebelled and did transgress.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 58.)</p>
+
+<p>And <i>remember</i> when Moses asked drink for his people,
+<i>who had become thirsty in the desert</i>, and We said, Strike
+with thy rod the stone. (<i>It was the stone that fled away</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg&nbsp;116]</a></span>
+<i>with his garment:<a name="FNanchor_290" id="FNanchor_290"></a><a href="#Footnote_290" class="fnanchor">290</a> it was light, square, like the head of a
+man, marble or kedhdh&aacute;n.</i><a name="FNanchor_291" id="FNanchor_291"></a><a href="#Footnote_291" class="fnanchor">291</a>) <i>Accordingly he struck it</i>; and
+there gushed out from it twelve fountains, <i>according to the
+number of the tribes</i>, all men (<i>each tribe of them</i>) knowing
+their drinking-place. <i>And We said unto them</i>, Eat ye and
+drink of the supply of God, and commit not evil in the
+earth, acting corruptly.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 57.)</p>
+
+<p><i>Remember</i> also when We obtained your bond <i>that ye
+would do according to that which is contained in the Law</i>,
+and <i>had</i> lifted up over you the mountain [namely Mount
+Sinai], <i>pulled it up by the roots and raised it over you when
+ye had refused to accept the Law, and We said</i>, Receive that
+which We have given you, with resolution, and remember
+that which is contained in it, <i>to do according thereto</i>: peradventure
+ye will fear <i>the Fire, or acts of disobedience</i>.&mdash;Then
+ye turned back after that; and had it not been for
+the grace of God towards you and His mercy, ye had
+certainly been of those who perish. And ye know those
+of you who transgressed on the Sabbath, <i>by catching fish,
+when We had forbidden them to do so</i> (<i>and they were the
+people of Eyleh</i><a name="FNanchor_292" id="FNanchor_292"></a><a href="#Footnote_292" class="fnanchor">292</a>,) and We said unto them, Be ye apes,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg&nbsp;117]</a></span>
+driven away from the society of men.&mdash;<i>Thereupon they
+became such, and they perished after three days.</i>&mdash;And We
+made it (<i>namely that punishment</i>) an example unto those
+who were contemporary with them and those who came
+after them, and a warning to the pious.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 60-62.)</p>
+
+<p>And We appointed unto Moses thirty nights, <i>at the expiration
+of which We would speak to him, on the condition of
+his fasting during them; and they were</i> [the nights of the
+month of] <i>Dhu-l-&#7730;a&#7841;deh; and he fasted during them: but,
+when they were ended, he disliked the smell of his breath;
+so he used a tooth-stick; whereupon God commanded him to
+fast ten other nights, that He might speak to Him with the
+odour of his breath,<a name="FNanchor_293" id="FNanchor_293"></a><a href="#Footnote_293" class="fnanchor">293</a> as He whose name be exalted hath said</i>,&mdash;and
+We completed them by [adding] ten <i>nights of Dhu-l-&#7716;ijjeh</i>:
+so the stated time of his Lord was completed,
+forty nights. And Moses said unto his brother Aaron, <i>at
+his departure to the mountain for the private collocution</i>, Be
+thou my deputy among my people, and act rightly, and
+follow not the way of the corrupt doers <i>by agreeing with
+them in acts of disobedience</i>. And when Moses came at
+Our appointed time, and his Lord spake unto him <i>without
+an intermediary</i>, he said, O my Lord, show me <i>Thyself</i>,
+that I may see Thee. He replied, Thou shalt not see Me:
+but look at the mountain, <i>which is stronger than thou</i>; and
+if it remain firm in its place, then shalt thou see Me.
+And when his Lord displayed Himself to the mountain
+(<i>that is, when there appeared, of His light, half of the tip of
+His little finger, as related in a tradition which El-&#7716;&aacute;kim
+hath verified</i>), He reduced it to powder, <i>levelling it even
+with the ground around it</i>; and Moses fell down in a
+swoon. And when he recovered, he said, Extolled be Thy
+perfection! I turn unto Thee repenting, and I am the
+first of the believers <i>in my time</i>.&mdash;<i>God</i> said <i>unto him</i>, O
+Moses, I have chosen thee above the people <i>of thy time</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg&nbsp;118]</a></span>
+[by honouring thee] by My commissions and by My
+speaking <i>unto thee</i>: therefore receive what I have given
+thee, and be of those who are grateful. And We wrote for
+him upon the tables of <i>the Law</i><a name="FNanchor_294" id="FNanchor_294"></a><a href="#Footnote_294" class="fnanchor">294</a> (<i>which were of the lote-tree
+of Paradise, or of chrysolite, or of emerald; in number
+seven, or ten</i>) an admonition concerning every <i>requisite</i>
+matter <i>of religion</i>, and a distinct explanation of everything;
+<i>and said</i>, Therefore receive it with resolution, and
+command thy people to act according to the most excellent
+[precepts] thereof.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(vii. 138-142.)</p>
+
+<p>And the people of Moses, after it (<i>that is, after his
+departure for the private collocution</i>), made, of their ornaments
+(<i>which they had borrowed of the people of Pharaoh</i>),
+a corporeal calf<a name="FNanchor_295" id="FNanchor_295"></a><a href="#Footnote_295" class="fnanchor">295</a> <i>which Es-S&aacute;miree cast for them,</i><a name="FNanchor_296" id="FNanchor_296"></a><a href="#Footnote_296" class="fnanchor">296</a> <i>and</i>
+which lowed; <i>for he had the faculty of doing so in consequence
+of their having put into its mouth some dust taken
+from</i> [beneath] <i>the hoof of the horse of Gabriel; and they
+took it as a god</i>. Did they not see that it spake not to
+them, nor directed them in the way? They took it <i>as a
+god</i>, and were offenders. But when they repented, and
+saw that they had erred, <i>which was after the return of
+Moses</i>, they said, Verily if our Lord do not have mercy
+upon us and forgive us, we shall assuredly be of those
+who perish.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(vii. 146-148.)</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg&nbsp;119]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And Moses returned unto his people<a name="FNanchor_297" id="FNanchor_297"></a><a href="#Footnote_297" class="fnanchor">297</a> enraged <i>against
+them</i>, exceedingly sorrowful. He said, O my people, did
+not your Lord promise you a good <i>true</i> promise, <i>that He
+would give you the Law?</i> But did the time of <i>my absence</i>
+seem tedious to you, or did ye desire that indignation from
+your Lord should befall you, and therefore did ye break
+your promise to me, <i>and abstain from coming after one?</i>&mdash;They
+answered, We did not break our promise to thee of
+our own authority; but we were made to carry loads of
+the ornaments of the people <i>of Pharaoh</i> (<i>which the children
+of Israel had borrowed of them under pretence of</i> [requiring
+them for] <i>a wedding, and which remained in their possession</i>),
+and we cast them <i>into the fire, by order of Es-S&aacute;miree</i>.
+And in like manner also Es-S&aacute;miree cast <i>their ornaments
+which he had, and some of the dust which he had taken from
+the traces of the hoofs of the horse of Gabriel;</i> and he produced
+unto them a corporeal calf, <i>of flesh and blood</i>, which
+lowed, <i>by reason of the dust, the property of which is to give
+life to that into which it is put; and he had put it, after he
+had moulded the calf, into its mouth</i>. And they (<i>namely,
+Es-S&aacute;miree and his followers</i>) said, This is your god, and
+the god of Moses; but he hath forgotten <i>his lord here, and
+gone to seek him. God saith</i>, But did they not see that it
+returned them not an answer, nor was able to cause them
+hurt or profit? And Aaron had said unto them, before
+<i>the return of Moses</i>, O my people, ye are only tried by it;
+and verily your Lord is the Compassionate; therefore
+follow me, <i>by worshipping Him</i>, and obey my command.
+They replied, We will by no means cease to be devoted to
+<i>the worship of</i> it until Moses return unto us. <i>Moses</i> said
+<i>after his return</i>, O Aaron, what hindered thee, when thou
+sawest that they had gone astray, from following me?
+Hast thou then been disobedient to my command, <i>by
+remaining among them who worshipped another than God</i>?
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg&nbsp;120]</a></span>
+&mdash;He answered, O son of my mother, seize me not by my
+beard (<i>for he had taken hold of his beard with his left hand</i>),
+nor by [the hair of] my head (<i>for he had taken hold of his
+hair with his right hand, in anger</i>). Verily I feared lest
+<i>if I followed thee (for a company of those who worshipped
+the calf would inevitably have followed me)</i> thou shouldst
+say, Thou hast made a division among the children of
+Israel, and hast not waited for my sentence. <i>Moses</i> said,
+And what was thy motive <i>for doing as thou hast</i>, O
+S&aacute;miree? He answered, I saw that which they saw not;<a name="FNanchor_298" id="FNanchor_298"></a><a href="#Footnote_298" class="fnanchor">298</a>
+therefore I took a handful <i>of dust</i> from the foot-marks <i>of
+the horse</i> of the apostle <i>Gabriel</i>, and cast it <i>into the molten
+calf</i>; and thus my soul allured me <i>to take a handful of the
+dust above-mentioned, and to cast it upon that which had no
+life, that it might have life; and I saw that thy people had
+demanded of thee that thou wouldst make them a god; so
+my soul suggested to me that this calf should be their god.</i>
+<i>Moses</i> said <i>unto him</i>, Then get thee gone <i>from among us</i>,
+and [the punishment] for thee during <i>the period of thy</i>
+life [shall be], that thou shalt say <i>unto whomsoever thou
+shalt see</i>, Touch <i>me</i> not:&mdash;(<i>so he used to wander about the
+desert, and when he touched any one, or any one touched him,
+they both became affected with a burning fever:</i>) and verily
+for thee is a threat which thou shalt by no means find to
+be false. And look at thy god, to <i>the worship of</i> which
+thou hast continued devoted. We will assuredly burn it:
+then we will assuredly reduce it to powder and scatter it
+in the sea. (<i>And Moses, after he had slaughtered it, did
+this.</i>) Your deity is God only, except whom there is no
+deity. He comprehendeth all things by <i>His</i> knowledge.&mdash;Thus,
+<i>O Mo&#7717;ammad</i>, do We relate unto thee accounts of
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg&nbsp;121]</a></span>
+what hath happened heretofore; and We have given thee,
+from Us, an admonition; <i>namely the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xx. 88-99.)</p>
+
+<p>And they were made to drink down the calf into their
+hearts,<a name="FNanchor_299" id="FNanchor_299"></a><a href="#Footnote_299" class="fnanchor">299</a> (<i>that is, the love of it mingled with their hearts as
+drink mingleth</i>,) because of their unbelief.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 87.)</p>
+
+<p>[Remember, O children of Israel,] when Moses said unto
+his people <i>who worshipped the calf</i>, O my people, verily ye
+have injured your own souls by your taking to yourselves
+the calf <i>as a god</i>; therefore turn with repentance unto
+your Creator <i>from the worship of it</i>, and slay one another:
+(<i>that is, let the innocent among you slay the criminal</i>:) this
+will be best for you in the estimation of your Creator.
+<i>And He aided you to do that, sending upon you a black
+cloud, lest one of you should see another and have compassion
+on him, until there were slain of you about seventy thousand.</i>
+And <i>thereupon</i> He became propitious towards you, <i>accepting
+your repentance</i>; for He is the Very Propitious, the
+Merciful.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 51.)</p>
+
+<p>[Remember also, O children of Israel,] when ye said,
+<i>having gone forth with Moses to beg pardon of God for your
+worship of the calf, and having heard his words</i>, O Moses,
+we will not believe thee until we see God manifestly:&mdash;whereupon
+the vehement sound assailed you, <i>and ye died</i>,
+while ye beheld <i>what happened to you</i>. Then We raised
+you to life after ye had been dead, that peradventure ye
+might give thanks.<a name="FNanchor_300" id="FNanchor_300"></a><a href="#Footnote_300" class="fnanchor">300</a></p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 52, 53.)</p>
+
+<p>And Moses chose <i>from</i> his people seventy men, <i>of those
+who had not worshipped the calf, by the command of God</i>, at
+the time appointed by Us <i>for their coming to ask pardon</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg&nbsp;122]</a></span>
+<i>for their companions&#8217; worship of the calf; and he went forth
+with them</i>; and when the convulsion (<i>the violent earthquake</i>)
+took them away (<i>because, saith Ibn-&acute;Abb&aacute;s, they
+did not separate themselves from their people when the
+latter worshipped the calf</i>), <i>Moses</i> said, O my Lord, if Thou
+hadst pleased, Thou hadst destroyed them before <i>my going
+forth with them, that the children of Israel might have
+beheld it and might not suspect me</i>; and me [also]. Wilt
+Thou destroy us for that which the foolish among us have
+done? It is naught but Thy trial: Thou wilt cause to
+err thereby whom Thou pleasest, and Thou wilt rightly
+guide whom Thou pleasest. Thou art our guardian; and
+do Thou forgive us and have mercy upon us; for Thou
+art the best of those who forgive: and appoint for us in
+this world what is good, and in the world to come; for
+unto Thee have we turned with repentance.&mdash;<i>God</i> replied,
+I will afflict with My punishment whom I please, and My
+mercy extendeth over everything <i>in the world</i>; and I will
+appoint it, <i>in the world to come</i>, for those who fear and
+give the legal alms, and those who believe on Our signs,
+who shall follow the apostle, the illiterate [or Gentile, <i>i.e.</i>, Arab] prophet,
+<i>Mo&#7717;ammad</i>, whom they shall find written down with
+them in the Pentateuch and the Gospel, <i>by his name and
+his description</i>. He will command them that which is
+right, and forbid them that which is evil; and will allow
+them as lawful the good things <i>among those forbidden in
+their law</i>, and prohibit them the impure, <i>as carrion and
+other things</i>, and will take off from them their burden and
+the yokes that were upon them, <i>as the slaying of a soul</i>
+[for an atonement] <i>in repentance, and the cutting off of the
+mark left by impurity</i>. And those who shall believe in
+him and honour him and assist him and follow the light
+which shall be sent down with him, <i>namely the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n</i>,
+these shall be the prosperous.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(vii. 154-156).</p>
+
+<p>And <i>remember</i> when Moses said unto his people, O my
+people, remember the favour of God towards you, since
+He hath appointed prophets from among you, and made
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg&nbsp;123]</a></span>
+you princes (<i>masters of servants and other attendants</i>), and
+given you what He hath not given any [other] of the
+peoples (<i>as the manna and the quails and other things</i>).
+O my people, enter the Holy Land which God hath
+decreed for you (<i>namely Syria</i>), and turn not back, lest
+ye turn losers.&mdash;They replied, O Moses, verily there is in
+it a gigantic people, <i>of the remains of the tribe of &acute;&Aacute;d</i>, and
+we will not enter it until they go forth from it; but if
+they go forth from it, then we will enter.&mdash;[Thereupon]
+two men, of those who feared <i>to disobey God, namely
+Joshua and Caleb, of the chiefs whom Moses sent to discover
+the circumstances of the giants, and</i> upon whom God had
+conferred favour, <i>and who had concealed what they had seen
+of the state of the giants, excepting from Moses, wherefore the
+other chiefs became cowardly</i>, said <i>unto them</i>, Enter ye upon
+them through the gate <i>of the city, and fear them not; for
+they are bodies without hearts</i>; and when ye enter it, ye
+overcome; and upon God place your dependence, if ye be
+believers.&mdash;[But] they said, O Moses, we will never enter
+it while they remain therein. Therefore go thou and thy
+Lord, and fight: for we remain here.&mdash;<i>Then Moses</i> said, O
+my Lord, verily I am not master of any but myself and
+my brother: therefore distinguish between us and the
+unrighteous people.&mdash;<i>God</i> replied, Verily it (<i>namely the
+Holy Land</i>) shall be forbidden them forty years; they
+shall wander in perplexity in the land: and be not thou
+solicitous for the unrighteous people.&mdash;<i>The land</i> [through
+which they wandered] <i>was</i> [only] <i>nine leagues</i> [in extent].
+<i>They used to journey during the night with diligence; but
+in the morning they found themselves in the place whence
+they had set forth; and they journeyed during the day in
+like manner. Thus they did until all of them had become
+extinct, excepting those who had not attained the age of
+twenty years; and it is said that they were six hundred
+thousand. Aaron and Moses died in the desert; and mercy
+was their lot: but punishment was the lot of those. And
+Moses begged his Lord, when he was about to die, that He</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg&nbsp;124]</a></span>
+<i>would bring him as near as a stone&#8217;s throw to the Holy
+Land: wherefore He did so. And Joshua was made a
+prophet after the forty [years], and he gave orders to fight
+against the giants. So he went with those who were with
+him, and fought against them: and it was Friday; and
+the sun stood still for him awhile, until he had made an
+end of fighting against them.</i></p>
+
+<p class="name">(v. 23-29).</p>
+
+<p>&#7730;&aacute;roon<a name="FNanchor_301" id="FNanchor_301"></a><a href="#Footnote_301" class="fnanchor">301</a> [or Korah] was of the people of Moses (<i>he was
+the son of his paternal uncle, and the son of his maternal
+aunt, and he believed in him</i>); but he behaved insolently
+towards them; for We had bestowed upon him such
+treasures that their keys were heavy burdens for a company
+of men endowed with strength, <i>in number, as some
+say, seventy; and some, forty; and some, ten; and some,
+another number. Remember when his people (the believers
+among the children of Israel)</i> said unto him, Rejoice not
+<i>exultingly in the abundance of thy wealth</i>; for God loveth
+not those who <i>so</i> rejoice; but seek to attain, by means of
+the <i>wealth</i> which God hath given thee, the latter abode
+[of Paradise], <i>by expending thy wealth in the service of
+God</i>; and neglect not thy part in this world, <i>to work
+therein for the world to come</i>; but be beneficent <i>unto
+mankind, by bestowing alms</i>, as God hath been beneficent
+unto thee; and seek not to act corruptly in the earth; for
+God loveth not the corrupt doers. He replied, I have only
+been given it on account of the knowledge that I possess.
+<i>For he was the most learned of the children of Israel in the
+Law, after Moses and Aaron. God saith</i>, Did he not know
+that God had destroyed before him, of the generations,
+those that were mightier than he in strength and who
+had amassed more abundance <i>of wealth</i>? And the wicked
+shall not be asked respecting their sins, <i>because God
+knoweth them: therefore they shall be sent into the Fire without
+a reckoning</i>. And <i>&#7730;&aacute;roon</i> went forth unto his people
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg&nbsp;125]</a></span>
+in his pomp, <i>with his many dependants mounted, adorned
+with garments of gold and silk, upon decked horses and mules</i>.
+Those who desired the present life said, O would that
+we had the like of that which hath been bestowed on
+&#7730;&aacute;roon <i>in this world</i>! Verily he is possessed of great
+good fortune!&mdash;But those unto whom knowledge <i>of what
+God hath promised in the world to come</i> had been given,
+said <i>unto them</i>, Woe to you! The reward of God <i>in the
+world to come</i> (<i>which is Paradise</i>) is better for him who
+believeth and worketh righteousness <i>than that which hath
+been bestowed on &#7730;&aacute;roon in the present world</i>; and none
+shall receive it but the patient <i>in the service of God</i>. And
+We caused the earth to cleave asunder and swallow up
+him and his mansion,<a name="FNanchor_302" id="FNanchor_302"></a><a href="#Footnote_302" class="fnanchor">302</a> and he had no forces to defend
+him, in the place of God, nor was he of the [number of
+the] saved. And the next morning, those who had wished
+for his place the day before said, Aha! God enlargeth
+provision unto whom He pleaseth of His servants, and is
+sparing <i>of it unto whom He pleaseth!</i> Had not God been
+gracious unto us, He had caused [the earth] to cleave
+asunder and swallow up us! Aha! the ungrateful <i>for
+His benefits</i> do not prosper!</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xxviii. 76-82.)</p>
+
+<p><i>Remember</i>, [O children of Israel,] when Moses said unto
+his people (<i>when one of them had been slain, whose murderer
+was not known, and they asked him to beg God that He would
+discover him to them, wherefore he supplicated Him</i>), Verily
+God commandeth you to sacrifice a cow. They said, Dost
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg&nbsp;126]</a></span>
+thou make a jest of us? He said, I beg God to preserve
+me from being <i>one</i> of the foolish. <i>So when they knew that
+he decidedly intended</i> [what he had ordered], they said,
+Supplicate for us thy Lord, that He may manifest to us
+what she is; <i>that is, what is her age</i>. <i>Moses</i> replied, He
+saith, She is a cow neither old nor young; <i>but</i> of a middle
+age, between those <i>two</i>: therefore do as ye are commanded.
+They said, Supplicate for us thy Lord, that He may manifest
+to us what is her colour. He replied, He saith, She
+is a red<a name="FNanchor_303" id="FNanchor_303"></a><a href="#Footnote_303" class="fnanchor">303</a> cow: her colour is very bright: she rejoiceth the
+beholders. They said, Supplicate for us thy Lord, that He
+may manifest to us what she is, <i>whether she be a pasturing
+or a working cow</i>; for cows <i>of the description mentioned</i>
+are to us like one another; and we, if God please, shall
+indeed be rightly directed <i>to her</i>. (<i>In a tradition it is said,
+Had they not said, &#8216;If God please,&#8217;&mdash;she had not ever been
+manifested to them.</i>) He replied, He saith, She is a cow
+not subdued <i>by work</i> that plougheth the ground, nor doth
+she water the field: [she is] free <i>from defects and the
+marks of work</i>; there is no colour in her different from the
+rest of her colour. They said, Now thou hast brought the
+truth. <i>And they sought her, and found her in the possession
+of the young man who acted piously towards his mother, and
+they bought her for as much gold as her hide would contain.</i><a name="FNanchor_304" id="FNanchor_304"></a><a href="#Footnote_304" class="fnanchor">304</a>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg&nbsp;127]</a></span>
+Then they sacrificed her; but they were near to leaving it
+undone, on <i>account of the greatness of her price</i>. (<i>And in a
+tradition it is said, Had they sacrificed any cow whatever,
+He had satisfied them: but they acted hardly towards themselves;
+so God acted hardly towards them.</i>) And when ye
+slew a soul, and contended together respecting it, (and God
+brought forth [to light] that which ye did conceal&mdash;<i>this is
+the beginning of the story</i> [and was the occasion of the
+order to sacrifice this particular cow,]) We said, Strike him
+(<i>that is, the slain person</i>) with part of her. <i>So he was struck
+with her tongue, or the root of her tail, or, as some say, with
+her right thigh; whereupon he came to life, and said, Such-a-one
+and such-a-one slew me,&mdash;to the two sons of his uncle.
+And he died. They two</i> [the murderers] <i>were therefore deprived
+of the inheritance, and were slain.</i><a name="FNanchor_305" id="FNanchor_305"></a><a href="#Footnote_305" class="fnanchor">305</a> Thus God
+raiseth to life the dead, and showeth you His signs (<i>the
+proof of His power</i>), that peradventure ye may understand,
+<i>and know that He who is able to raise to life one soul is able
+to raise to life many souls.</i> Then your hearts became hard,
+<i>O ye Jews, so as not to accept the truth</i>, after that, and they
+[were] as stones, or more hard: for of stones there are
+indeed some from which rivers gush forth; and of them
+there are indeed some that cleave asunder and water
+issueth from them; and of them there are indeed some
+that fall down through fear of God; <i>whereas your hearts
+are not impressed, nor do they grow soft, nor do they become
+humble.</i> But God is not heedless of that which ye do: <i>He
+only reserveth you unto your time.</i></p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 63-69.)</p>
+
+<p><i>Remember</i> when Moses said to his young man <i>Joshua the
+son of Nun, who served him and acquired knowledge from
+him</i>, I will not cease <i>to go forward</i> until I reach the place
+where the two seas (<i>the Sea of Greece and the Sea of Persia</i>)
+meet, or travel for a long space of time. And when they
+reached the place where they (<i>the two seas</i>) met they forgot
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg&nbsp;128]</a></span>
+their fish: <i>Joshua forgot to take it up, on their departure;
+and Moses forgot to remind him</i>; and it made its
+way in the sea by a hollow passage, <i>God withholding the
+water from it</i>. And when they had passed beyond <i>that
+place, and proceeded until the time of the morning-meal on
+the following day</i>, [Moses] said unto his young man, Bring
+us our morning-meal: we have experienced fatigue from
+this our journey. He replied, What thinkest thou?
+When we repaired to the rock to rest <i>at that place</i>, I forgot
+the fish, and none made me forget to mention it but the
+devil; and it made its way in the sea in a wonderful
+manner.&mdash;<i>Moses</i> said, That (<i>namely our loss of the fish</i>) is
+what we were desiring; <i>for it is a sign unto us of our finding
+him whom we seek</i>. And they returned by the way
+that they had come, following the footsteps, <i>and came to
+the rock</i>. And they found one of Our servants (<i>namely El-Khi&#7693;r</i><a name="FNanchor_306" id="FNanchor_306"></a><a href="#Footnote_306" class="fnanchor">306</a>)
+unto whom We had granted mercy from Us (<i>that is
+the gift of prophecy in the opinion of some, and the rank of
+a saint according to another opinion which most of the
+learned hold</i>), and whom We had taught knowledge from Us
+respecting things unseen.&mdash;<i>El-Bukh&aacute;ree hath related a tradition
+stating that Moses performed the office of a preacher
+among the children of Israel, and was asked who was the
+most knowing of men; to which he answered, I:&mdash;whereupon
+God blamed him for this, because he did not refer the</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg&nbsp;129]</a></span>
+<i>knowledge thereof to Him. And God said unto him by revelation,
+Verily I have a servant at the place where the two seas
+meet, and he is more knowing than thou. Moses said, O my
+Lord, and how shall I meet with him? He answered, Thou
+shalt take with thee a fish, and put it into a measuring-vessel,
+and where thou shalt lose the fish, there is he. So he
+took a fish, and put it into a vessel. Then he departed, and
+Joshua the son of Nun departed with him, until they came
+to the rock, where they laid down their heads and slept.
+And the fish became agitated in the vessel, and escaped from
+it, and fell into the sea, and it made its way in the sea by a
+hollow passage, God withholding the water from the fish so
+that it became like a vault over it: and when Moses&#8217; companion
+awoke, he forgot to inform him of the fish.</i></p>
+
+<p>Moses said unto him [namely El-Khi&#7693;r], Shall I follow
+thee, that thou mayest teach me [part] of that which thou
+hast been taught, for a direction <i>unto me</i>? He answered,
+Verily thou canst not have patience with me. For how
+canst thou be patient with respect to that whereof thou
+comprehendest not the knowledge?&mdash;He replied, Thou
+shalt find me, if God please, patient; and I will not
+disobey any command of thine. He said, Then if thou
+follow me, ask me not respecting anything: <i>but be patient</i>
+until I give thee an account thereof. <i>And Moses assented
+to his condition.</i> And they departed, <i>walking along the
+shore of the sea</i>, until, when they embarked in the ship
+<i>that passed by them</i>, he (El-Khi&#7693;r) made a hole in it, <i>by
+pulling out a plank or two planks from it on the outside by
+means of an axe when it reached the middle of the sea.
+Moses</i> said <i>unto him</i>, Hast thou made a hole in it that
+thou mayest drown its people? Thou hast done a
+grievous thing.&mdash;(<i>But it is related that the water entered
+not the hole.</i>) He replied, Did I not say that thou couldst
+not have patience with me? [Moses] said, Chastise me
+not for my forgetfulness, nor impose on me a difficulty in
+my case.&mdash;And they departed, <i>after they had gone forth
+from the vessel</i>, <i>walking on</i>, until, when they found a boy <i>who</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg&nbsp;130]</a></span>
+<i>had not attained the age of knowing right and wrong, playing
+with other children, and he was the most beautiful of them
+in countenance</i>, and he (<i>El-Khi&#7693;r</i>) slew him, <i>Moses</i> said
+<i>unto him</i>, Hast thou slain an innocent soul, without <i>his
+having slain</i> a soul? Thou hast done an iniquitous thing.&mdash;He
+replied, Did I not say that thou couldst not have
+patience with me? [Moses] said, If I ask thee concerning
+anything after this <i>time</i>, suffer me not to accompany thee.
+Now hast thou received from me an excuse <i>for thy
+separating thyself from me</i>.&mdash;And they departed [and
+proceeded] until, when they came to the people of a city
+(<i>which was Antioch<a name="FNanchor_307" id="FNanchor_307"></a><a href="#Footnote_307" class="fnanchor">307</a></i>), they asked food of its people; but
+they refused to entertain them: and they found therein
+a wall, <i>the height whereof was a hundred cubits</i>, which
+was about to fall down; whereupon he (<i>El-Khi&#7693;r</i>) set it
+upright <i>with his hand</i>. <i>Moses</i> said <i>unto him</i>, If thou
+wouldst, thou mightest have obtained pay for it, <i>since they
+did not entertain us, notwithstanding our want of food</i>.
+<i>El-Khi&#7693;r</i> said <i>unto him</i>, This shall be a separation
+between me and thee; <i>but before my separation from thee</i>,
+I will declare unto thee the interpretation of that which
+thou couldst not bear with patience.</p>
+
+<p>As to the vessel, it belonged to <i>ten</i> poor men,<a name="FNanchor_308" id="FNanchor_308"></a><a href="#Footnote_308" class="fnanchor">308</a> who
+pursued their business on the sea; and I desired to render
+it unsound; for there was behind them a king, <i>an
+unbeliever</i>, who took every <i>sound</i> vessel by force. And as
+to the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared that
+he would transgress against them rebelliously and impiously:
+<i>for, according to a tradition related by Muslim, he
+was constituted by nature an unbeliever, and had he lived
+he had so acted</i>; wherefore we desired that their Lord should
+create for them a better than he in virtue, and [one] more
+disposed than he to filial piety. <i>And God created for
+them a daughter, who married a prophet, and gave birth to</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg&nbsp;131]</a></span>
+<i>a prophet, by means of whom God directed a people to the
+right way</i>. And as to the wall, it belonged to two orphan
+youths in the city, and beneath it was a treasure <i>buried</i>,
+<i>of gold and silver</i>, belonging to them; and their father
+was a righteous man; and thy Lord desired that they
+should attain their age of strength and take forth their
+treasure through the mercy of thy Lord. And I did it
+not (<i>namely what hath been mentioned</i>) of mine own will,
+<i>but by direction of God</i>. This is the interpretation of that
+which thou couldst not bear with patience. (Chap. xviii. 59-81.)</p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg&nbsp;132]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>SAUL, DAVID, SOLOMON.</i></h3>
+
+<p>Hast thou not considered the assembly of the children
+of Israel after <i>the death of</i> Moses, when they said unto a
+prophet of theirs, <i>namely Samuel</i>, Set up for us a king,
+<i>under whom</i> we will fight in the way of God? He said
+<i>unto them</i>, If fighting be prescribed as incumbent on you,
+will ye, peradventure, abstain from fighting? They replied,
+And wherefore should we not fight in the way of
+God, since we have been expelled from our habitations
+and our children <i>by their having been taken prisoners and
+slain?</i>&mdash;<i>The people of Goliath</i> [J&aacute;loot] <i>had done thus unto
+them</i>.&mdash;But when fighting was commanded them, they
+turned back, excepting a few of them, <i>who crossed the river
+with Saul</i> [&#7788;&aacute;loot], <i>as will be related</i>. And God knoweth
+the offenders. <i>And the prophet begged his Lord to send a
+king; whereupon he consented to send Saul.</i> And their
+prophet said unto them, Verily God hath set up Saul as
+your king. They said, How shall he have the dominion
+over us, when we are more worthy of the dominion than
+he, (<i>for he was not of the royal lineage, nor of the prophetic,
+and he was a tanner, or a tender of flocks or herds,</i>) and he
+hath not been endowed with ample wealth? He replied,
+Verily God hath chosen him <i>as king</i> over you, and increased
+him in largeness of knowledge and of body, (<i>for
+he was the wisest of the children of Israel at that time, and
+the most comely of them, and the most perfect of them in
+make,</i>) and God giveth his kingdom unto whom He
+pleaseth; and God is ample <i>in His beneficence</i>, knowing
+<i>with respect to him who is worthy of the kingdom</i>.&mdash;And their
+prophet said unto them, <i>when they demanded of him a sign</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg&nbsp;133]</a></span>
+<i>in proof of his kingship</i>, Verily the sign of his kingship
+shall be that the ark shall come unto you (<i>in it were the
+images of the prophets: God sent it down unto Adam, and it
+passed into their possession; but the Amalekites took it from
+them by force: and they used to seek victory thereby over
+their enemy, and to advance it in the fight, and to trust in it,
+as He&mdash;whose name be exalted!&mdash;hath said</i>); therein [shall
+be] tranquillity from your Lord,<a name="FNanchor_309" id="FNanchor_309"></a><a href="#Footnote_309" class="fnanchor">309</a> and relics of what the
+family of Moses and the family of Aaron have left:
+<i>namely, the two shoes (or sandals) of Moses, and his rod, and
+the turban of Aaron, and a measure of the manna that used
+to descend upon them, and the fragments of the tables</i> [of the
+Law]: the angels shall bear it. Verily in this shall be a
+sign unto you <i>of his kingship</i>, if ye be believers. <i>Accordingly
+the angels bore it between heaven and earth, while they
+looked at it, until they placed it by Saul; whereupon they
+acknowledged his kingship, and hastened to the holy war;
+and he chose of their young men seventy thousand.</i></p>
+
+<p>And when Saul went forth with the troops <i>from Jerusalem,
+and it was violently hot weather, and they demanded
+of him water</i>, he said, Verily God will try you by a river,
+<i>that the obedient among you, and the disobedient, may appear</i>,
+(<i>and it was between the Jordan and Palestine</i>,) and whoso
+drinketh thereof, he is not of my party (but he who
+tasteth not thereof, he is of my party), excepting him who
+taketh forth a draught in his hand, <i>and is satisfied therewith,
+not adding to it; for he is of my party</i>;&mdash;then they
+drank thereof abundantly, excepting a few of them, <i>who
+were content only with the handful of water. It is related
+that it sufficed them for their own drinking and for their
+beasts, and they were three hundred, and somewhat more</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg&nbsp;134]</a></span>
+<i>than ten.</i> And when he had passed over it, he and those
+who believed with him, they (<i>that is, those who had drunk</i>
+[plentifully]) said, We have no power to-day <i>to contend</i>
+against Goliath and his troops. <i>And they were cowardly,
+and passed not over it.</i> They [however] who held it as
+certain that they should meet God <i>at the resurrection</i> (<i>and
+they were those who had passed over it</i>) said, How many a
+small body of men hath overcome a great body by the
+permission (<i>or will</i>) of God! And God is with the patient,
+<i>to defend and aid</i>.&mdash;And when they went forth to battle
+against Goliath and his troops, they said, O our Lord, pour
+upon us patience, and make firm our feet, <i>by strengthening
+our hearts for the holy war</i>, and help us against the unbelieving
+people!&mdash;And they routed them by the permission
+(<i>or will</i>) of God, and David [D&aacute;wood, vulg. D&aacute;ood],
+<i>who was in the army of Saul</i>, slew Goliath. And God
+gave him (<i>David</i>) the kingship <i>over the children of Israel</i>,
+and wisdom (<i>that is prophecy</i>), <i>after the death of Samuel
+and Saul, and they</i> [namely these two gifts] <i>had not
+been given together to any one before him</i>; and He taught
+him what He pleased,<a name="FNanchor_310" id="FNanchor_310"></a><a href="#Footnote_310" class="fnanchor">310</a> <i>as the art of making coats of mail,
+and the language of birds</i>. And were it not for God&#8217;s
+repelling men, one by another, surely the earth had become
+corrupt <i>by the predominance of the polytheists and the
+slaughter of the Muslims and the ruin of the places of
+worship</i>: but God is beneficent to the peoples, <i>and hath
+repelled some by others</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(ii. 247-252.)</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg&nbsp;135]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Hath the story of the two opposing parties come unto
+thee, <i>O Mo&#7717;ammad</i>, when they ascended over the walls
+of the oratory of <i>David, having been prevented going in
+unto him by the door, because of his being engaged in devotion?</i>
+When they went in unto David, and he was
+frightened at them, they said, Fear not: <i>we are</i> two
+opposing parties. <i>It is said that they were two parties of
+more than one each; and it is said that they were two
+individuals, angels, who came as two litigants, to admonish
+David, who had ninety-nine wives, and had desired the wife
+of a person who had none but her, and married her and
+taken her as his wife.</i><a name="FNanchor_311" id="FNanchor_311"></a><a href="#Footnote_311" class="fnanchor">311</a> [One of them said,] One of us
+hath wronged the other; therefore judge between us with
+truth, and be not unjust, but direct us into the right way.
+Verily this my brother <i>in religion</i> had nine-and-ninety
+ewes, and I had one ewe; and he said, Make me her
+keeper. And he overcame me in the dispute.&mdash;<i>And the
+other confessed him to have spoken truth.</i>&mdash;[David] said,
+Verily he hath wronged thee in demanding thy ewe <i>to
+add her</i> to his ewes; and verily many associates wrong
+one another, except those who believe and do righteous
+deeds: and few indeed are they.&mdash;<i>And the two angels said,
+ascending in their</i> [proper or assumed] <i>forms to heaven,
+The man hath passed sentence against himself. So David
+was admonished.</i> And David perceived that We had tried
+him <i>by his love of that woman</i>; wherefore he asked pardon
+of his Lord, and fell down bowing himself (<i>or prostrating
+himself</i>), and repented. So We forgave him that; and
+verily for him [was ordained] a high rank with Us (<i>that is,
+an increase of good fortune in this world</i>), and [there shall
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg&nbsp;136]</a></span>
+be for him] an excellent retreat <i>in the world to come</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xxxviii. 20-24.)</p>
+
+<p>We compelled the mountains to glorify Us, with David,
+and the birds <i>also, on his commanding them to do so, when
+he experienced languor</i>; and We did <i>this</i>. And We taught
+him the art of making coats of mail (<i>for before his time
+plates of metal were used</i>) for you <i>among mankind in
+general</i>, that they might defend you from your suffering
+<i>in warring with your enemies</i>.&mdash;Will ye then, <i>O people of
+Mekkeh</i>, be thankful <i>for My favours, believing the apostles</i>?&mdash;And
+<i>We subjected</i> unto Solomon [Suleym&aacute;n] the wind,
+blowing strongly, <i>and being light at his desire</i>, which ran
+at his command<a name="FNanchor_312" id="FNanchor_312"></a><a href="#Footnote_312" class="fnanchor">312</a> to the land that We blessed (<i>namely
+Syria</i>);<a name="FNanchor_313" id="FNanchor_313"></a><a href="#Footnote_313" class="fnanchor">313</a> and We knew all things (<i>knowing that what We
+gave him would stimulate him to be submissive to his Lord</i>).
+And <i>We subjected</i>, of the devils, those who should dive for
+him <i>in the sea and bring forth from it jewels for him</i>, and
+do other work besides that; <i>that is, building, and performing
+other services</i>; and We watched over them, <i>that they
+might not spoil what they executed; for they used, when they
+had finished a work before night, to spoil it, if they were
+not employed in something else</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xxi. 79-82.)</p>
+
+<p>We gave unto David Solomon <i>his son</i>. How excellent
+a servant <i>was he</i>! For he was one who earnestly turned
+himself unto God, <i>glorifying and praising Him at all
+times</i>. [Remember] when, in the latter part of the day,
+<i>after the commencement of the declining of the sun</i>, the
+<i>mares</i> standing on three feet and touching the ground
+with the edge of the fourth foot, swift in the course, were
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg&nbsp;137]</a></span>
+displayed before him. <i>They were a thousand mares, which
+were displayed before him after he had performed the noon-prayers,
+on the occasion of his desiring to make use of them
+in a holy war; and when nine hundred of them had been
+displayed, the sun set, and he had not performed the afternoon-prayers.
+So he was grieved</i>, and he said, Verily I
+have preferred the love of [earthly] goods above the
+remembrance of my Lord, (<i>that is, the performance of the
+afternoon-prayers</i>,) so that <i>the sun</i> is concealed by the
+veil. Bring them (<i>namely the horses</i>) back unto me.
+<i>Therefore they brought them back.</i> And he began to sever
+<i>with his sword</i> the legs and the necks, <i>slaughtering them,
+and</i> [then] <i>cutting off their legs, as a sacrifice unto God, and
+gave their flesh in alms; and God gave him in compensation
+what was better than they were and swifter, namely the
+wind, which travelled by his command whithersoever he desired.</i>&mdash;And
+We tried Solomon <i>by depriving him of his kingdom.
+This was because he married a woman of whom he became
+enamoured, and she used to worship an idol in his palace
+without his knowledge. His dominion was in his signet;
+and he pulled it off once and deposited it with his wife, who
+was named El-Emeeneh; and a jinnee came unto her in the
+form of Solomon, and took it from her.</i> And We placed
+upon his throne a [counterfeit] body; <i>namely that jinnee,
+who was &#7778;akhr, or another. He sat upon the throne of
+Solomon, and the birds and other creatures surrounded him;
+and Solomon went forth, with a changed appearance, and
+saw him upon his throne, and said unto the people, I am
+Solomon:&mdash;but they denied him.</i> Then he returned <i>unto
+his kingdom, after some days, having obtained the signet and
+put it on, and seated himself upon his throne.</i><a name="FNanchor_314" id="FNanchor_314"></a><a href="#Footnote_314" class="fnanchor">314</a> He said, O
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg&nbsp;138]</a></span>
+my Lord, forgive me, and give me a dominion that may
+not be to any one after me (<i>or beside me</i>); for Thou art
+the Liberal Giver. So We subjected unto him the wind,
+which ran gently at his command whithersoever he
+desired; and the devils [also], every builder <i>of wonderful
+structures</i>, and diver <i>that brought up pearls from the sea</i>, and
+others bound in chains <i>which connected their hands to their
+necks. And We said unto him</i>, This is Our gift, and bestow
+thou <i>thereof upon whomsoever thou wilt</i>, or refrain <i>from
+bestowing</i>, without <i>rendering</i> an account. And verily for
+him [was ordained] a high rank with Us, and an excellent
+retreat.</p>
+
+<p class="name">(xxxviii. 29-39.)</p>
+
+<p>We bestowed on David and Solomon knowledge <i>in
+judging men and in the language of the birds and other
+matters</i>; and they said, Praise be to God who hath made
+us to excel many of His believing servants, <i>by the gift of
+prophecy and by the subjection of the jinn and mankind
+and the devils</i>. And Solomon inherited from David <i>the
+gift of prophecy and knowledge</i>; and he said, O men, we
+have been taught the language of the birds,<a name="FNanchor_315" id="FNanchor_315"></a><a href="#Footnote_315" class="fnanchor">315</a> and have had
+bestowed on us of everything <i>wherewith prophets and kings
+are gifted</i>. Verily this is manifest excellence.&mdash;And his
+armies of jinn and men and birds were gathered together
+unto Solomon, and they were led on in order, until, when
+they came unto the valley of ants, (<i>which</i> [was] <i>at E&#7789;-&#7788;&aacute;&iuml;f
+or in Syria, the ants whereof</i> [were] <i>small or great</i>,) an ant
+(<i>the queen of the ants</i>), <i>having seen the troops of Solomon</i>,
+said, O ants, enter your habitations, lest Solomon and his
+troops crush you violently, while they perceive not. And
+<i>Solomon</i> smiled, <i>afterwards</i> laughing at her saying, <i>which
+he heard from the distance of three miles, the wind conveying
+it to him: so he withheld his forces when he came in sight
+of their valley, until the ants had entered their dwellings:
+and his troops were on horses and on foot in this expedition</i>.
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg&nbsp;139]</a></span>
+And he said, O my Lord, inspire me to be thankful for
+Thy favour which Thou hast bestowed upon me and upon
+my parents, and to do righteousness which Thou shalt
+approve, and admit me, in Thy mercy, among Thy servants,
+the righteous, <i>the prophets and the saints</i>.</p>
+
+<p>And he examined the birds,<a name="FNanchor_316" id="FNanchor_316"></a><a href="#Footnote_316" class="fnanchor">316</a> <i>that he might see the lapwing,
+that saw the water beneath the earth, and directed to it
+by pecking the earth, whereupon the devils used to draw it
+forth when Solomon wanted it</i> [to perform the ablution]
+<i>for prayer; but he saw it not</i>: and he said, Wherefore do
+I not see the lapwing? Is it [one] of the absent?&mdash;<i>And
+when he was certain of the case he said</i>, I will assuredly
+punish it with a severe punishment, <i>by plucking out its
+feathers and its tail and casting it in the sun so that it
+shall not be able to guard against excessive thirst</i>; or I will
+slaughter it; or it shall bring me a manifest convincing
+proof <i>showing its excuse</i>.&mdash;And it tarried not long <i>before it
+presented itself unto Solomon submissively, and raised its
+head and relaxed its tail and its wings: so he forgave it;
+and he asked it what it had met with during its absence</i>;
+and it said, I have become acquainted with that wherewith
+thou hast not become acquainted, and I have
+come unto thee from Seba (<i>a tribe of El-Yemen</i>) with a
+sure piece of news. I found a woman reigning over them,
+<i>named Bil&#7731;ees</i>, and she hath been gifted with everything
+<i>that princes require</i>, and hath a magnificent throne. <i>(Its
+length was eighty cubits; and its breadth, forty cubits; and
+its height, thirty cubits: it was composed of gold and silver
+set with fine pearls and with rubies and chrysolites, and its legs
+were of rubies and chrysolites and emeralds: upon it</i> [were
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg&nbsp;140]</a></span>
+closed] <i>seven doors: to each chamber</i> [through which one
+passed to it was] <i>a closed door</i>.) I found her and her people
+worshipping the sun instead of God, and the devil hath
+made their works to seem comely unto them, so that he
+hath hindered them from the <i>right</i> way, wherefore they
+are not rightly directed to the worship of God, who
+produceth what is hidden (<i>namely the rain and vegetables</i>)
+in the heavens and the earth, and knoweth what they
+[that is, mankind and others] conceal <i>in their hearts</i>, and
+what they reveal <i>with their tongues</i>. God: there is no
+deity but He, the Lord of the magnificent throne, <i>between
+which and the throne of Bil&#7731;ees is a vast difference</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Solomon</i> said <i>to the lapwing</i>, We will see whether thou
+hast spoken truth or whether thou art of the liars.
+<i>Then the lapwing guided them to the water, and it was
+drawn forth</i> [by the devils]; <i>and they quenched their thirst
+and performed the ablution and prayed. Then Solomon
+wrote a letter, the form whereof was this:&mdash;From the servant
+of God, Solomon the son of David, to Bil&#7731;ees the queen of
+Seba. In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
+Peace be on whomsoever followeth the right direction.
+After</i> [this salutation, I say], <i>Act ye not proudly towards
+me; but come unto me submitting.&mdash;He then sealed it with
+musk, and stamped it with his signet, and said unto the
+lapwing</i>, Go with this my letter and throw it down unto
+them (<i>namely Bil&#7731;ees and her people</i>): then turn away
+from them, <i>but stay near them</i>, and see what <i>reply</i> they
+will return. <i>So the lapwing took it, and came unto her,
+and around her were her forces; and he threw it down into
+her lap; and when she saw it, she trembled with fear.
+Then she considered what was in it, and</i> she said <i>unto the
+nobles of her people</i>, O nobles, an honourable (<i>sealed</i>) letter
+hath been thrown down unto me. It is from Solomon;
+and it is <i>this</i>:&mdash;In the name of God, the Compassionate,
+the Merciful. Act ye not proudly towards me: but come
+unto me submitting.&mdash;She said, O nobles, advise me in
+mine affair. I will not decide upon a thing unless ye
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg&nbsp;141]</a></span>
+bear me witness.&mdash;They replied, We are endowed with
+strength and endowed with great valour; but the
+command [belongeth] to thee; therefore see what thou
+wilt command <i>us to do, and we will obey thee</i>. She said,
+Verily kings, when they enter a city, waste it, and render
+the mighty of its inhabitants abject; and thus will they
+do <i>who have sent the letter</i>. But I will send unto them with
+a gift, and I will see with what the messengers will return,
+<i>whether the gift will be accepted, or whether it will be rejected.
+If he be</i> [merely] <i>a king, he will accept it; and if he be a
+prophet, he will not accept it.&mdash;And she sent male and
+female servants, a thousand in equal numbers</i> [five hundred
+of each sex], <i>and five hundred bricks of gold, and a crown
+set with jewels, and musk and ambergris and other things,
+by a messenger with a letter.<a name="FNanchor_317" id="FNanchor_317"></a><a href="#Footnote_317" class="fnanchor">317</a> And the lapwing hastened
+unto Solomon, to tell him the news; on hearing which, he
+commanded that bricks of gold and silver should be cast,
+and that a horse-course should be extended to the length of
+nine leagues from the place where he was, and that they
+should build around it a wall with battlements, of gold and
+silver, and that the handsomest of the beasts of the land
+and of the sea should be brought with the sons of the jinn
+on the right side of the horse-course and on its left.</i></p>
+
+<p>And when <i>the messenger</i> came <i>with the gift, and with
+him his attendants</i>, unto Solomon, he [Solomon] said, Do
+ye aid me with wealth? But what God hath given
+me (<i>namely the gift of prophecy and the kingdom</i>) is better
+than what He hath given you, <i>of worldly goods</i>; yet ye
+rejoice in your gift, <i>because ye glory in the showy things
+of this world</i>. Return unto them <i>with the gift that thou
+hast brought</i>; for we will surely come unto them with
+forces with which they have not power [to contend], and
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg&nbsp;142]</a></span>
+we will surely drive them out from it, (<i>that is, from their
+country, Seba, which was named after the father of their
+tribe</i>,) abject and contemptible, <i>if they come not unto us
+submitting. And when the messenger returned unto her
+with the gift, she placed her throne within seven doors,
+within her palace, and her palace was within seven palaces;
+and she closed the doors, and set guards to them, and prepared
+to go unto Solomon, that she might see what he would
+command her to do. She departed with twelve thousand
+kings, each king having with him many thousands, and
+proceeded until she came as near to him as a league&#8217;s
+distance; when he knew of her</i> [approach,] he said, O
+nobles, which of you will bring unto me her throne before
+they come unto me submitting? An &acute;efreet, of the jinn,
+answered, I will bring it unto thee before thou shalt arise
+from thy place <i>wherein thou sittest to judge from morning
+until mid-day</i>; for I am able to do it, [and] trustworthy
+<i>with respect to the jewels that it compriseth and other
+matters. Solomon said, I desire it more speedily.</i> [And
+thereupon] he with whom was knowledge of the <i>revealed</i>
+scripture (<i>namely</i> [his Wezeer] <i>&Aacute;&#7779;af the son of Barkhiya,
+who was a just person, acquainted with the most great name
+of God, which ensured an answer to him who invoked thereby</i><a name="FNanchor_318" id="FNanchor_318"></a><a href="#Footnote_318" class="fnanchor">318</a>)
+said, I will bring it unto thee before thy glance can
+be withdrawn <i>from any object. And he said unto him,
+Look at the sky. So he looked at it; then he withdrew his
+glance, and found it placed before him: for during his look
+towards the sky, &Aacute;&#7779;af prayed, by the most great name, that
+God would bring it; and it so happened, the throne passing
+under the ground until it came up before the throne of
+Solomon.</i> And when he saw it firmly placed before him,
+he said, This is of the favour of my Lord, that He may try
+me, whether I shall be thankful or whether I shall be
+unthankful. And he who is thankful is thankful for <i>the
+sake of</i> his own soul, <i>which will have the reward of his</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg&nbsp;143]</a></span>
+<i>thankfulness</i>; and [as to] him who is ungrateful, my Lord
+is independent [and] bountiful.</p>
+
+<p>[Then Solomon] said, Alter ye her throne so that it may
+not be known by her, that we may see whether she be
+rightly directed <i>to the knowledge thereof</i>, or whether she be
+of those who are not rightly directed <i>to the knowledge of
+that which is altered. He desired thereby to try her intelligence.
+So they altered it, by adding to it, or taking from
+it, or in some other manner.</i> And when she came, it was
+said <i>unto her</i>, Is thy throne like this? She answered, As
+though it were the same. (<i>She answered them ambiguously
+like as they had questioned her ambiguously, not saying, Is
+this thy throne?&mdash;and had they so said, she had answered,
+Yes.</i>) <i>And when Solomon saw her knowledge, he said</i>, And
+we have had knowledge bestowed on us before her, and
+have been Muslims. But what she worshipped instead
+of God hindered her <i>from worshipping Him</i>; for she was
+of an unbelieving people.&mdash;It was said unto her <i>also</i>,
+Enter the palace. <i>It had a floor of white, transparent
+glass, beneath which was running water, wherein were fish.
+Solomon had made it on its being said unto him that her
+legs and feet were</i> [hairy] <i>like the legs of an ass.</i> And when
+she saw it, she imagined it to be a great water, and she
+uncovered her legs, <i>that she might wade through it; and
+Solomon was on his throne at the upper end of the palace,
+and he saw that her legs and her feet were handsome</i>. He
+said <i>unto her</i>, Verily it is a palace evenly spread with
+glass. <i>And he invited her to embrace El-Isl&aacute;m</i>, [whereupon]
+she said, O my Lord, verily I have acted unjustly towards
+mine own soul, <i>by worshipping another than Thee</i>, and I
+resign myself, with Solomon, unto God, the Lord of the
+worlds. <i>And he desired to marry her; but he disliked the
+hair upon her legs; so the devils made for him the depilatory
+of quick-lime, wherewith she removed the hair, and he married
+her; and he loved her, and confirmed her in her kingdom.
+He used to visit her every month once, and to remain with
+her three days; and her reign expired on the expiration of</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg&nbsp;144]</a></span>
+<i>the reign of Solomon. It is related that he began to reign
+when he was thirteen years of age, and died at the age of
+three and fifty years. Extolled be the perfection of Him to
+the duration of whose dominion there is no end!</i></p>
+
+<p class="name">(xxvii. 15-45.)</p>
+
+<p><i>We subjected</i> unto Solomon the wind, which travelled
+in the morning (<i>unto the period when the sun began to
+decline</i>) <i>the distance of</i> a month&#8217;s <i>journey</i>, and in the evening
+<i>from the commencement of the declining of the sun into
+its setting</i> a month&#8217;s <i>journey</i>. And We made the fountain
+of molten brass to flow for him <i>three days with their nights</i>
+[in every month], <i>as water floweth;<a name="FNanchor_319" id="FNanchor_319"></a><a href="#Footnote_319" class="fnanchor">319</a> and the people worked
+until the day</i> [of its flowing], <i>with that which had been given
+into Solomon</i>. And of the jinn [were] those who worked
+in his presence, by the will of his Lord; and such of them
+as swerved from <i>obedience to</i> Our command We will cause
+to taste of the punishment of hell <i>in the world to come</i> (<i>or,
+as it is said by some, We cause to taste of its punishment in
+the present world, an angel beating them with a scourge from
+hell, the stripe of which burneth them</i>). They made for him
+whatever he pleased, of lofty halls (<i>with steps whereby to
+ascend to them</i>), and images (<i>for they were not forbidden by
+his law</i><a name="FNanchor_320" id="FNanchor_320"></a><a href="#Footnote_320" class="fnanchor">320</a>), and large dishes, like great tanks for watering
+camels, <i>around each of which assembled a thousand men,
+eating from it</i>, and cooking-pots standing firmly <i>on their
+legs, cut out from the mountains in El-Yemen, and to which
+they ascended by ladders</i>. <i>And We said</i>, Work, O family of
+David, <i>in the service of God</i>, with thanksgiving <i>unto Him
+for what He hath given you</i>:&mdash;but few of My servants are
+the thankful. And when We decreed that he (<i>namely,
+Solomon</i>) should die, <i>and he died, and remained standing,
+and leaning upon his staff for a year, dead, the jinn meanwhile</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg&nbsp;145]</a></span>
+<i>performing those difficult works as they were accustomed
+to do, not knowing of his death, until the worm ate his staff,
+whereupon he fell down</i>, nothing showed them his death
+but the eating reptile (<i>the worm</i>) that ate his staff.<a name="FNanchor_321" id="FNanchor_321"></a><a href="#Footnote_321" class="fnanchor">321</a> And
+when he fell down, the jinn plainly perceived that if they
+had known things unseen (<i>of which things was the death of
+Solomon</i>), they had not continued in the ignominious
+affliction (<i>that is, in their difficult works</i>), <i>imagining that he
+was alive, inconsistently with their opinion that they knew
+things unseen. And that the period was a year was known
+by calculating what the worm had eaten of his staff since
+his death in each day and night or other space of time.</i>
+(xxxiv. 11-13.)</p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg&nbsp;146]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>JONAH.</i></h3>
+
+<p>Verily Jonah [Yoonus] was one of the apostles. [Remember]
+when he fled unto the laden ship, <i>being angry with
+his people, because the punishment wherewith he had threatened
+them did not fall upon them; wherefore he embarked in the
+ship; and it became stationary in the midst of the sea: so
+the sailors said, Here is a slave who hath fled from his master,
+and the lot will discover him</i>:&mdash;and he cast lots <i>with those
+who were in the ship</i>, and he was [the] one upon whom the
+lot fell. <i>They therefore cast him into the sea</i>, and the fish
+swallowed him; and he was reprehensible, <i>for having gone
+to the sea, and embarked in the ship, without the permission
+of his Lord</i>. And had he not been of those who glorified
+God (<i>by his saying often in the belly of the fish, There is no
+god but Thou! I extol Thy perfection! Verily I have
+been of the offenders!</i>), he had remained in his belly
+until the day of resurrection.<a name="FNanchor_322" id="FNanchor_322"></a><a href="#Footnote_322" class="fnanchor">322</a> And We cast him on the
+plain land, <i>the same day, or after three or seven days, or
+twenty or forty days</i>; and he was sick; and We caused a
+gourd plant<a name="FNanchor_323" id="FNanchor_323"></a><a href="#Footnote_323" class="fnanchor">323</a> to grow up over him, <i>to shade him</i>. <i>It had a
+trunk, contrary to what is the case of gourds in general, being
+miraculously produced for him.</i><a name="FNanchor_324" id="FNanchor_324"></a><a href="#Footnote_324" class="fnanchor">324</a> <i>And a wild she-goat came</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg&nbsp;147]</a></span>
+<i>to him evening and morning, of whose milk he drank until he
+became strong.</i> And We sent him <i>after that, as before</i>, unto
+<i>his people in Nineveh, in the land of El-Mo&#7779;il</i>, a hundred
+thousand, or they were a greater number by <i>twenty or
+thirty or seventy thousand</i>; and they believed <i>on beholding
+the punishment wherewith they had been threatened</i>;<a name="FNanchor_325" id="FNanchor_325"></a><a href="#Footnote_325" class="fnanchor">325</a>
+wherefore We allowed them enjoyment <i>of their goods</i> for
+a time, <i>until the expiration of their terms of life</i>. (xxxvii.
+139-148.)</p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg&nbsp;148]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>EZRA.</i></h3>
+
+<p>[Hast thou not considered] him who passed by a city
+(<i>which was Jerusalem</i>), <i>riding upon an ass, and having with
+him a basket of figs and a vessel of the juice of grapes</i> (<i>and
+he was &acute;Ozeyr</i> [Ezra]), and it was falling down upon its
+roofs, <i>Nebuchadnezzar having ruined it</i>? He said, <i>wondering
+at the power of God</i>, How will God quicken this after
+its death?&mdash;And God caused him to die for a hundred
+years. Then He raised him to life: [and] He said <i>unto him</i>,
+How long hast thou tarried <i>here</i>?&mdash;He answered I have
+tarried a day, or part of a day.&mdash;<i>For he slept in the first
+part of the day, and was deprived of his life, and was reanimated
+at sunset.</i> He said Nay, thou hast tarried a
+hundred years: but look at thy food and thy drink: they
+have not become changed by time: and look at thine ass.&mdash;<i>And
+he beheld it dead, and its bones white and shining.&mdash;We
+have done this that thou mayest know</i>, and that We may
+make thee a sign <i>of the resurrection</i> unto men. And look
+at the bones <i>of thine ass</i>, how We will raise them; then
+We will clothe them with flesh.&mdash;<i>So he looked at them, and
+they had become put together, and were clothed with flesh, and
+life was breathed into it, and it brayed.</i> Therefore when it
+had been made manifest to him he said, I know that God
+is able to accomplish everything. (ii. 261.)</p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg&nbsp;149]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><i>THE MESSIAH.</i></h3>
+
+<p><i>Remember</i> when the wife of &acute;Imr&aacute;n<a name="FNanchor_326" id="FNanchor_326"></a><a href="#Footnote_326" class="fnanchor">326</a> said, (<i>when she had
+become aged, and desired offspring, wherefore she supplicated
+God, and became sensible of pregnancy</i>,) O my Lord, verily
+I devote unto Thee what is in my womb, to be dedicated
+<i>to the service of Thy holy house</i>: then accept [it] from
+me; for Thou art the Hearer <i>of prayer</i>, the Knower <i>of
+intentions</i>. <i>And &acute;Imr&aacute;n perished while she was pregnant.</i>
+And when she gave birth to it, (<i>namely her daughter; and
+she was hoping that it might be a boy; since none but boys
+were dedicated</i>,) she said, O my Lord, verily I have brought
+forth a female, (and God well knew what she had brought
+forth,) and the male is not as the female, <i>the latter not
+being fit for the service</i> [of the temple]; and I have named
+her Mary [Maryam]; and I beg thy protection for her and
+her offspring from the accursed devil.<a name="FNanchor_327" id="FNanchor_327"></a><a href="#Footnote_327" class="fnanchor">327</a> (<i>In the traditions</i>
+[it is said], <i>No child is born but the devil hath touched it at
+the time of its birth, wherefore it first raiseth its voice by
+crying, excepting Mary and her son.</i><a name="FNanchor_328" id="FNanchor_328"></a><a href="#Footnote_328" class="fnanchor">328</a>) And her Lord accepted
+her (<i>that is, He accepted Mary from her mother</i>) with a
+gracious acceptance, and caused her to grow with an
+excellent growth, <i>as though she grew in a day as a child</i>
+[generally] <i>groweth in a month</i>. <i>Her mother took her to
+the doctors, the keepers of the Holy House, and said, Receive</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg&nbsp;150]</a></span>
+<i>ye this devoted child. And they eagerly desired her, because
+she was the daughter of their chief. But Zechariah said, I am
+more worthy of having her; for her maternal aunt is with
+me. They however replied, Nay, but we will cast lots.&mdash;So
+they departed (and they were nine and twenty) to the river
+Jordan, and cast their divining arrows on the understanding
+that he whose arrow should become steady in the water and
+rise should be</i> [acknowledged] <i>most worthy of her; and the
+arrow of Zechariah became steady, and he took her, and
+built for her a chamber in the temple, with stairs to which
+no one ascended but himself. And he used to bring her her
+food and her drink and her ointment; and used to find
+with her the fruits of winter in summer, and the fruits of
+summer in winter, as He&mdash;whose name be exalted!&mdash;hath
+said</i>, And Zechariah maintained her. Whenever Zechariah
+went in to her in the chamber, he found with her provisions.
+He said, O Mary, whence came to thee this?
+She answered, (<i>being then a little child</i>,) It is from God:
+<i>He bringeth it to me from Paradise</i>: for God supplieth
+whom He pleaseth without reckoning.</p>
+
+<p>Then, <i>when he saw this, and knew that He who was able
+to produce a thing out of its season was able to give a child
+in old age, (and the people of his house had become extinct,)</i>
+Zechariah supplicated his Lord, <i>when he had entered the
+chamber to pray in the latter part of the night</i>. He said,
+O my Lord, give me from Thee a good offspring (<i>a righteous
+son</i>); for Thou art the Hearer of prayer.&mdash;And the angels
+(<i>by which is meant Gabriel</i>) called to him as he stood
+praying in the chamber (<i>that is, the temple</i>), saying, God
+promiseth thee John [Ya&#7717;y&aacute;], who shall be a verifier of
+[the] Word <i>which cometh</i> from God, (<i>that is, Jesus</i> [&acute;Eesa];
+<i>for he is the Spirit of God, and was named</i> [the] <i>Word
+because he was created by the word Be</i>,) and a chief, (<i>or one
+followed</i>,) and chaste, and a prophet, of the righteous. (<i>It
+is related that he neither did any sin nor intended any.</i>)&mdash;He
+said, O my Lord, how shall I have a son, when old
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg&nbsp;151]</a></span>
+age hath come upon me, <i>when I have attained the utmost
+age, a hundred and twenty years</i>, and my wife is barren,
+<i>and hath attained the age of eight and ninety</i>?&mdash;He
+answered, <i>It shall be</i> thus. God will do what He
+pleaseth.&mdash;He said, O my Lord, give me a sign.&mdash;He
+replied, Thy sign [shall be] that thou shalt not speak
+unto men for three days, except by signal; but remember
+thy Lord often, and glorify [Him] in the evening and in
+the morning. (iii. 31-36.)</p>
+
+<p>And he went forth unto his people from the chamber,
+and made a sign unto them, [as though he would say]
+Glorify [God] in the morning and in the evening <i>as usual</i>.
+<i>And he knew by his being prevented from speaking unto
+them that his wife had conceived John. And after his birth,
+by some years, God said unto him</i>, O John, receive the book
+(<i>that is, the Law</i>) with resolution. And We bestowed on
+him wisdom (<i>the gift of prophecy</i>) [when he was yet] a
+child, <i>three years of age</i>, and compassion from Us <i>for mankind</i>,
+and [a disposition to bestow] alms <i>upon them</i>. And
+he was pious, and dutiful to his parents, and was not
+proud [nor] rebellious <i>toward his Lord</i>; and peace <i>from
+Us</i> [was] on him on the day when he was born, and on the
+day of his death, and [shall be] on the day when he shall
+be raised to life. (xix. 12-15.)</p>
+
+<p>And <i>remember</i> when the angels (<i>that is, Gabriel</i>) said,
+O Mary, verily God hath chosen thee and hath purified
+thee and hath chosen thee above the women of the
+peoples <i>of thy time</i>. O Mary, be devout towards thy
+Lord and prostrate thyself and bow down with those who
+bow down: <i>pray with those who pray</i>.&mdash;This is [one] of
+the announcements of things unseen <i>by thee</i>: We reveal
+it unto thee, <i>O Mo&#7717;ammad</i>; for thou wast not with them
+when they cast their divining arrows <i>that it might appear
+to them</i> which of them should rear Mary, and thou wast
+not with them when they disputed together <i>as to rearing
+her</i>.&mdash;<i>Remember</i> when the angels (<i>that is, Gabriel</i>) said, O
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg&nbsp;152]</a></span>
+Mary, verily God promiseth thee [the] Word from Him,
+whose name [shall be] the Messiah [El-Mesee&#7717;], Jesus the
+son of Mary, honourable in this world <i>by his prophetic
+office</i>, and in the world to come <i>by his intercession and
+high stations</i>, and of those admitted near <i>unto God</i>; and
+he shall speak unto men in the cradle, and when of full
+age,<a name="FNanchor_329" id="FNanchor_329"></a><a href="#Footnote_329" class="fnanchor">329</a> and [he shall be] of the righteous.&mdash;She said, O
+my Lord, how shall I have a son, when a man hath not
+touched me?&mdash;He answered, <i>It shall be</i> thus; God will
+create what He pleaseth: when He determineth a thing,
+He only saith unto it, Be,&mdash;and it is. And He will teach
+him writing and wisdom and the Law and the Gospel,
+and <i>constitute him</i> an apostle to the children of Israel, <i>in
+youth or after adolescence</i>. <i>And Gabriel breathed into the
+bosom of her shift; whereupon she conceived; and those
+events of her history which are related in the Soorat Maryam</i>
+[&#7730;ur. xix.] <i>happened</i>. (iii. 37-43.)</p>
+
+<p>Relate in the book (<i>that is, the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n</i>) <i>the history of</i>
+Mary, when she retired from her family to a place towards
+the east, <i>in the house</i>, and she took a veil [to conceal herself]
+from them; and We sent unto her our spirit <i>Gabriel</i>,
+and he appeared unto her as a perfect man. She said, I
+beg the Compassionate to preserve me from thee! If
+thou be a pious person, <i>thou wilt withdraw from me</i>.&mdash;He
+replied, I am only the messenger of thy Lord [to inform
+thee] that He will give thee a pure son, <i>endowed with the
+gift of prophecy</i>. She said, How shall I have a son, when
+a man hath not touched me, and I am not a harlot? He
+answered, Thus <i>shall it be: a son shall be created unto thee
+without a father</i>. Thy Lord saith, This is easy unto Me;
+and <i>thus shall it be</i> that We may make him a sign unto
+men, <i>showing Our power</i>, and a mercy from Us <i>unto him
+who shall believe in him</i>: for it is a thing decreed.&mdash;And
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg&nbsp;153]</a></span>
+she conceived him; and she retired with him [yet unborn]
+to a distant place <i>far from her family</i>; and the pains of
+childbirth urged her to repair to the trunk of a palm-tree
+<i>that she might lean against it</i>. <i>And she gave birth to the
+child, which was conceived and formed and born in an hour.</i><a name="FNanchor_330" id="FNanchor_330"></a><a href="#Footnote_330" class="fnanchor">330</a>
+She said, Oh! would that I had died before this <i>event</i>,
+and had been a thing forgotten [and] unnoticed!&mdash;But
+he who was below her (<i>namely Gabriel, who was on a
+lower place than she</i>) called to her, Grieve not. God hath
+made below thee a rivulet: and shake thou towards thee
+the trunk of the palm-tree (<i>which was dried-up</i>); it shall
+let fall upon thee ripe dates, fresh-gathered: therefore
+eat <i>of the dates</i>, and drink <i>of the water of the rivulet</i>, and
+be of cheerful eye <i>on account of the child</i>: and if thou see
+any one of mankind, <i>asking thee concerning the child</i>, say,
+I have vowed unto the Compassionate an abstinence <i>from
+speech with mankind respecting him and other matters</i>;
+therefore I will not speak to-day unto a man <i>after this</i>.</p>
+
+<p>And she brought him [namely the child] unto her
+people, carrying him. They said, O Mary, thou hast
+done a strange thing. O sister of Aaron, (<i>he was a righteous
+man; and the meaning is, O thou who art like him in
+chastity</i>,<a name="FNanchor_331" id="FNanchor_331"></a><a href="#Footnote_331" class="fnanchor">331</a>) thy father was not a man of wickedness, nor
+was thy mother a harlot. <i>Then whence gottest thou this
+child?</i>&mdash;And she made a sign <i>to them</i>, [pointing] towards
+him, [namely the child, as though she would say,] <i>Speak
+ye unto him.</i> They said, How shall we speak unto him
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg&nbsp;154]</a></span>
+who is in the cradle, an infant? He [however] said,
+Verily I am the servant of God:<a name="FNanchor_332" id="FNanchor_332"></a><a href="#Footnote_332" class="fnanchor">332</a> He hath given me the
+book <i>of the Gospel</i>, and hath appointed me a prophet; and
+He hath made me blessed wherever I shall be, and hath
+commanded me to observe prayer and give alms as long
+as I shall live, and <i>hath made me</i> dutiful to my mother,
+and hath not made me proud [nor] wicked. And peace
+<i>from God</i> [was] on me on the day when I was born, and
+[will be] on the day when I shall die, and on the day
+when I shall be raised to life.&mdash;This [was] Jesus the son
+of Mary. <i>I have spoken</i> the saying of truth, concerning
+which they (<i>namely the Christians</i>) doubt, <i>saying that Jesus
+is the son of God</i>. It is not [meet] for God to get a son.
+Extolled be His purity <i>from that</i> [imputation]! When He
+decreeth a thing <i>that He desireth to bring into existence</i>,
+He only saith unto it, Be,&mdash;and it is: <i>and thus He
+created Jesus the son of Mary without a father</i>.&mdash;And <i>say</i>,
+Verily God is my Lord and your Lord: therefore worship
+ye Him: this is a right way, <i>leading to Paradise</i>. But
+the sects have differed among themselves; <i>that is, the
+Christians have differed concerning Jesus, as to whether he
+be the son of God, or a deity with Him, or the third of three</i>.
+And woe unto them who have disbelieved <i>in that which
+hath been stated, or in other matters</i>, on account of the
+assembly of a great day, <i>the day of resurrection, and its
+terrors</i>. How will they hear, and how <i>will they</i> see, on
+the day when they shall come unto Us <i>in the world to
+come</i>! But the offenders to-day (<i>that is, in the present
+world</i>) are in a manifest error: <i>they are deaf, so that they
+hear not the truth; and blind, so that they see it not</i>.
+And do thou, <i>O Mo&#7717;ammad</i>, warn them (<i>namely the unbelievers
+of Mekkeh</i>) of the day of sighing (<i>the day of resurrection,
+when the evil-doer shall sigh for his having neglected</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg&nbsp;155]</a></span>
+<i>to do good in the present world</i>), when the command <i>for
+their punishment</i> shall be fulfilled, while they (<i>in the present
+world</i>) are in a state of heedlessness <i>with respect to it</i>, and
+while they believe not <i>therein</i>. Verily We shall inherit
+the earth and whomsoever are upon it (<i>the heedless and
+others; they being destroyed</i>); and unto Us shall they be
+brought back <i>to be recompensed</i>. (xix. 16-41.)</p>
+
+<p><i>And when God sent him</i> [Jesus] <i>to the children of
+Israel, he said unto them, Verily I am the apostle of God
+unto you</i>; for I have come unto you with a sign from
+your Lord; for I will make for you of earth the similitude
+of a bird, and will breathe into it, and it shall be a
+bird,<a name="FNanchor_333" id="FNanchor_333"></a><a href="#Footnote_333" class="fnanchor">333</a> by the permission (<i>or will</i>) of God;<a name="FNanchor_334" id="FNanchor_334"></a><a href="#Footnote_334" class="fnanchor">334</a> (<i>and he made
+for them a bat; for it is the most perfect of birds in make;
+and it flew, while they looked at it; but when it had gone
+out of their sight, it fell down dead</i>;) and I will cure the
+blind from his birth, and the leper; (<i>and he cured in one day
+fifty thousand, by prayer, on the condition of faith</i>;) and I
+will raise to life the dead, by the permission of God; (<i>this
+he repeated to deny his divinity: and he raised to life &acute;&Aacute;riz</i>
+[Lazarus] <i>a friend of his; and a son of the old woman,
+and the daughter of the publican; and they lived, and
+children were born to them; and Shem the son of Noah, who
+died immediately</i>;) and I will tell you what ye eat and
+what ye store up in your houses. Verily therein will be
+a sign unto you, if ye be believers. And <i>I have come
+unto you</i> as a verifier of that which was before me, of the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg&nbsp;156]</a></span>
+Law, and to make lawful unto you part of what was made
+unlawful to you <i>therein</i>; (<i>and he made lawful to them, of
+fish and fowls, whatsoever is without fin or spur; and it is
+said that he made lawful all, and that &#8216;part&#8217; is used in
+the sense of &#8216;the whole:&#8217;</i>) and I have come unto you with
+a sign from your Lord; therefore fear ye God, and obey
+me <i>in that which I command you, as to the confession of
+the unity of God and the service of Him</i>. Verily God is
+my Lord and your Lord; therefore worship Him. This
+is [the] right way. <i>But they accused him of falsehood and
+believed not in him.</i> And when Jesus perceived their
+unbelief, he said, Who [will be] my helpers for God?
+The apostles<a name="FNanchor_335" id="FNanchor_335"></a><a href="#Footnote_335" class="fnanchor">335</a> answered, We [will be] the helpers of God.
+We have believed in God; and bear thou witness, <i>O
+Jesus</i>, that we are Muslims [or resigned]. O our Lord,
+we have believed in that which Thou hast sent down <i>of
+the Gospel</i>, and we have followed the Apostle, <i>Jesus</i>;
+therefore write us down among those who bear witness <i>of
+Thy unity and of the truth of Thine apostle</i>.&mdash;And they
+(<i>that is, the unbelievers among the children of Israel</i>) devised
+a stratagem <i>against Jesus, to slay him treacherously</i>; but
+God devised a stratagem <i>against them; for He put the
+likeness of Jesus upon one who intended his slaughter, and
+they slew him; and Jesus was taken up</i> [into heaven],<a name="FNanchor_336" id="FNanchor_336"></a><a href="#Footnote_336" class="fnanchor">336</a>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg&nbsp;157]</a></span>
+and God is the best of those who devise stratagems....
+<i>It is related that God sent a cloud to Jesus, and it took him
+up; but his mother clung unto him and wept: whereupon
+he said unto her, Verily the resurrection will unite us.&mdash;It
+is also related that he will descend shortly before the resurrection
+and judge according to the law of our prophet</i>
+[Mo&#7717;ammad], <i>slay Antichrist and the swine, break the
+cross, and impose the capitation-tax</i> [on unbelievers].&mdash;<i>Also,
+that he will remain, according to one tradition, seven
+years; according to another, forty years; and die, and be
+prayed over: but it is probable that</i> [by the latter period]
+<i>is meant the whole time of his tarrying upon the earth, before
+the ascension and after</i>. (iii. 43&mdash;47.)</p>
+
+<p><i>Remember</i> when the apostle said, O Jesus, son of Mary,
+is thy Lord able to cause a table to descend unto us from
+heaven?<a name="FNanchor_337" id="FNanchor_337"></a><a href="#Footnote_337" class="fnanchor">337</a> He replied, Fear God, <i>in demanding signs</i>, if
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg&nbsp;158]</a></span>
+ye be believers. They said, We desire that we may eat
+therefrom, and that our hearts may be at ease <i>in consequence
+of additional evidence</i>, and we may know, <i>with
+increased knowledge</i>, that thou hast spoken truth unto us
+<i>in asserting thyself to be a prophet</i>, and may be witnesses
+thereof.&mdash;Jesus the son of Mary said, O God, our Lord,
+cause a table to descend unto us from heaven, that it
+(<i>namely the day of its descent</i>) may be unto us a festival,<a name="FNanchor_338" id="FNanchor_338"></a><a href="#Footnote_338" class="fnanchor">338</a>
+unto the first of us and the last of us (<i>or those who shall
+come after us</i>), and a sign from Thee <i>of Thy power, and of
+my prophetic office</i>; and provide us with food <i>thereby</i>; for
+Thou art the best of providers.&mdash;God said, <i>in reply to
+him</i>, Verily I will cause it to descend unto you; but
+whosoever of you shall disbelieve after <i>its descent</i>, I will
+surely punish him with a punishment wherewith I will
+not punish any [other] of the peoples.&mdash;<i>And the angels</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg&nbsp;159]</a></span>
+<i>descended with it from heaven: upon it were seven cakes of
+bread and seven fishes; and they ate of them until they
+were satisfied. And in a tradition related by Ibn-&acute;Abb&aacute;s
+it is said that the table brought down from heaven bread
+and flesh, and they were commanded not to act deceitfully,
+nor to store up for the morrow; but they</i> [that is, some of
+the people] <i>did so, and were transformed into apes and
+swine</i>. (v. 112-115.)</p>
+
+<p>Propound unto them, as an example, the inhabitants
+of the city <i>of Antioch</i>, when the apostles <i>of Jesus</i> came
+unto it;<a name="FNanchor_339" id="FNanchor_339"></a><a href="#Footnote_339" class="fnanchor">339</a> when We sent unto them two,<a name="FNanchor_340" id="FNanchor_340"></a><a href="#Footnote_340" class="fnanchor">340</a> and they charged
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg&nbsp;160]</a></span>
+them with falsehood; wherefore We strengthened <i>them</i>
+with a third;<a name="FNanchor_341" id="FNanchor_341"></a><a href="#Footnote_341" class="fnanchor">341</a> and they said, Verily we are sent unto
+you. They replied, Ye are not [aught] save men like us,
+and the Compassionate hath not revealed anything: ye
+do nothing but lie. They said, Our Lord knoweth that
+we are indeed sent unto you; and naught is imposed on
+us but the delivering of a plain message, <i>shown to be true
+by manifest proofs, namely the cure of him who hath been
+born blind and of the leper and the sick, and the raising of
+the dead</i>. [The people of Antioch] said, Verily we presage
+evil from you; <i>for the rain is withheld from us on your
+account</i>: if ye desist not, we will assuredly stone you,
+and a painful punishment shall surely betide you from us.
+[The apostles] replied, Your evil luck is with you <i>because
+of your unbelief</i>. If ye have been warned, <i>will ye presage
+evil and disbelieve</i>? Nay, ye are an exorbitant people.&mdash;And
+there came from the furthest part of the city a man
+(<i>namely &#7716;abeeb the carpenter, who had believed in the
+apostles</i>) running: he said, O my people, follow the
+apostles: follow those who ask not of you a recompense,
+and who are rightly directed. <i>And it was said unto
+him, Art thou of their religion? He replied</i>, And
+why should I not worship Him who hath created me, and
+unto whom ye shall be brought back <i>after death</i>? Shall
+I take deities beside Him? If the Compassionate be
+pleased to afflict me, their intercession will not avert from
+me aught, nor will they deliver. Verily, in that case (<i>if I
+worshipped aught but God</i>), I should be in a manifest
+error. Verily I believe in your Lord; therefore hear
+ye me.&mdash;<i>But they stoned him, and he died;<a name="FNanchor_342" id="FNanchor_342"></a><a href="#Footnote_342" class="fnanchor">342</a> and</i> it was
+said <i>unto him at his death</i>, Enter thou into Paradise.
+<i>And it is said that he entered it alive.</i> He said, O would
+that my people knew my Lord&#8217;s forgiveness of me and
+His having made me [one] of those who are honoured?&mdash;And
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg&nbsp;161]</a></span>
+We sent not down against his people after him (<i>that
+is, after his death</i>) an army <i>of angels</i> from heaven <i>to
+destroy them</i>, nor were We sending down <i>angels to destroy
+any one</i>. It (<i>namely their punishment</i>) was naught but
+one cry <i>which Gabriel uttered against them</i>; and lo, they
+were extinct. (xxxvi. 12-28.)</p>
+
+<p><i>We have cursed the Jews</i> ... for their disbelief <i>in Jesus</i>
+and their uttering against Mary a great calumny and
+their saying, We have killed the Messiah, Jesus the son
+of Mary, the apostle of God,&mdash;Yet they killed him not
+nor crucified him; but one (<i>namely the person whom they
+crucified</i>) was made to appear to them like <i>Jesus</i>; and
+verily those who disagreed respecting him were in doubt
+concerning him, <i>or his slaughter; for some of them said,
+when they saw the slain person, The face is the face of
+Jesus; but the body is not his body:&mdash;and others said, It
+is he</i>:<a name="FNanchor_343" id="FNanchor_343"></a><a href="#Footnote_343" class="fnanchor">343</a>&mdash;they had no knowledge of him; but only
+followed an opinion. And they did not really kill him;
+but God took him up unto Himself; and God is mighty
+[and] wise. And there is not of the people of the
+Scripture <i>one</i> but he shall assuredly believe in him
+(<i>namely Jesus</i>) before his death; <i>that is, before his own
+death, or before the death of Jesus, when he descendeth shortly
+before the resurrection</i>;<a name="FNanchor_344" id="FNanchor_344"></a><a href="#Footnote_344" class="fnanchor">344</a> and on the day of resurrection
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg&nbsp;162]</a></span>
+he (<i>namely Jesus</i>) shall be a witness against them
+(iv. 155-157.)</p>
+
+<p>When God shall say, <i>on the day of resurrection</i>, O
+Jesus, son of Mary, hast thou said unto men, Take me
+and my mother as two deities, beside God?&mdash;<i>Jesus</i> shall
+answer, <i>after being agitated</i> (<i>or after it shall have thundered</i>),
+Extolled be Thy purity <i>from the imputation of aught
+that is unsuitable to Thee, as the having a partner, and other
+things</i>! It is not for me to say that which is not right
+for me. Had I said it, Thou hadst known it. Thou
+knowest what is in me; but I know not what is in
+Thee; for Thou well-knowest things unseen. I said not
+unto them aught but that which Thou commandedst me;
+<i>namely</i> Worship ye God, my Lord and your Lord;&mdash;and
+I was a watcher over them, <i>commanding them to abstain
+from what they said</i>, while I remained among them: but
+since Thou hast taken me to Thyself,<a name="FNanchor_345" id="FNanchor_345"></a><a href="#Footnote_345" class="fnanchor">345</a> Thou hast been the
+watcher over them, and Thou art the witness of all
+things. If Thou punish them, (<i>that is, such of them as
+have continued in unbelief</i>,) they are Thy servants <i>and
+Thou mayest do with them as Thou pleasest</i>; and if Thou
+forgive them, (<i>that is, such of them as have believed</i>,) Thou
+art the Mighty, the Wise. (v. 116-118.)</p>
+
+<p>When the son of Mary was proposed as an instance
+(<i>when the saying of God was revealed, Verily ye and what
+ye worship beside God</i> [shall be] <i>fuel of hell</i> [Kur. xxi.
+98], <i>and the polytheists said, We are content for our gods
+to be with Jesus, for he hath been worshipped beside God</i>,<a name="FNanchor_346" id="FNanchor_346"></a><a href="#Footnote_346" class="fnanchor">346</a>)
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg&nbsp;163]</a></span>
+lo, thy people, <i>the polytheists</i>, cried out <i>in joy</i> thereat, and
+they said, [Are] our gods better, or [is] he? <i>We are content
+for our gods to be with him.</i>&mdash;They proposed not it
+(<i>namely the instance</i>) unto thee otherwise than as a cause
+of dispute (<i>knowing that the word &#8216;what&#8217; applieth to that
+which is not endowed with reason; so that it doth not reflect
+upon Jesus, on whom be peace!</i>): yea, they are a contentious
+people. He (<i>namely Jesus</i>) is no other than a
+servant whom We favoured <i>with the gift of prophecy</i>; and
+We proposed him, <i>by reason of his having come into existence
+without a father</i>, as an instance <i>of the divine power</i> unto
+the children of Israel. And if We pleased, We would
+substitute for you angels to succeed in the earth.<a name="FNanchor_347" id="FNanchor_347"></a><a href="#Footnote_347" class="fnanchor">347</a> And
+verily he (<i>namely Jesus</i>) <i>shall be</i> a sign of the [last]
+hour:<a name="FNanchor_348" id="FNanchor_348"></a><a href="#Footnote_348" class="fnanchor">348</a> <i>it shall be known by his descending</i>: wherefore
+doubt not thereof.&mdash;And <i>say unto them</i>, Follow ye me <i>in
+confessing the unity of God</i>: this, <i>which I command you to
+follow</i>, is a right way. And let not the devil turn you
+away <i>from the religion of God</i>; for he is unto you a manifest
+enemy.&mdash;And when Jesus came with manifest proofs
+(<i>with miracles and ordinances</i>), he said, I have come unto
+you with wisdom (<i>with prophecy and with the ordinances
+of the Gospel</i>), and to explain unto you part of [the things]
+concerning which ye disagree: therefore fear ye God, and
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg&nbsp;164]</a></span>
+obey me. Verily God is my Lord and your Lord;
+wherefore worship ye Him: this is a right way.&mdash;But
+the parties disagreed among themselves <i>respecting Jesus,
+whether he were God, or the son of God, or the third of three</i>:
+and woe unto them that transgressed <i>in that which they
+said respecting Jesus</i>, because of the punishment of an
+afflicting day! (xliii. 57-65.)</p>
+
+<p>Verily the similitude of Jesus in the sight of
+God is as the similitude of Adam. He created him
+(<i>Adam</i>) of earth: then He said unto him, Be,&mdash;and he
+was. <i>In like manner he said unto Jesus, Be, without a
+father,&mdash;and he was.</i> <i>This is</i> the truth from thy Lord:
+therefore be not thou of those who doubt. And whosoever
+<i>of the Christians</i> argueth with thee respecting him, after
+the knowledge that hath come unto thee <i>concerning him</i>,
+say, Come ye, let us call our sons and your sons and our
+wives and your wives, and ourselves and yourselves <i>will
+assemble</i>: then we will invoke, and will lay the curse of
+God on those who lie, <i>saying, O God, curse the liar respecting
+the nature of Jesus!&mdash;And the prophet invited a
+company from Nejr&aacute;n to do so, when they had argued with
+him respecting Jesus; and they said</i>, [Wait] <i>until we consider
+our case: then we will come unto thee. And their
+counsellor said, Ye know his prophetic office, and that no
+people have execrated a prophet but they have perished.
+They however quieted the man, and departed, and came
+unto the prophet. And he had come forth, having with him
+El-&#7716;asan and El-&#7716;oseyn and F&aacute;&#7789;imeh and &acute;Alee; and he
+said unto them, When I pray, say ye Amen. But they
+refused to execrate, and made peace with him on the condition
+of their paying tribute.</i>&mdash;Verily this is indeed the true
+history, and there is no deity but God, and verily God is
+indeed the Mighty, the Wise. (iii. 52-55.)</p>
+
+<p>O people of the Scripture (<i>that is, of the Gospel</i>), exceed
+not the just bounds in your religion,<a name="FNanchor_349" id="FNanchor_349"></a><a href="#Footnote_349" class="fnanchor">349</a> nor say of God
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg&nbsp;165]</a></span>
+[aught] but the truth. The Messiah, Jesus the son of
+Mary, [was] only the apostle of God, and His Word, which
+he transmitted unto Mary, and a spirit (<i>that is, a being
+possessing a spirit</i>) from Him. (<i>He is mentioned in conjunction
+with God, in order to show him honour, and is not,
+as ye assert, the son of God, or a God with Him, or the third
+of three; for the being possessing a spirit is compound, and
+the Deity must be confessed to be pure from the imputation
+of composition and the relationship of a compound being to
+Him.</i>) Therefore believe in God and His apostles, and
+say not, <i>There are</i> three <i>gods, God and Jesus and his
+mother</i>.<a name="FNanchor_350" id="FNanchor_350"></a><a href="#Footnote_350" class="fnanchor">350</a> Abstain <i>from this, and say what will be</i> better
+for you; <i>that is, assert the unity of God</i>. God is only one
+god. Extolled be His purity from the imputation of His
+having a son! To Him belongeth whatsoever is in the
+heavens and whatsoever is in the earth: and God is a
+sufficient witness <i>thereof</i>. The Messiah doth not disdain
+to be a servant unto God, nor do the angels who are
+admitted near <i>unto Him</i>. (iv. 169, 170.)</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2>FOOTNOTES:</h2>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1" id="Footnote_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> See prefatory note, p. 2.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2" id="Footnote_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> <i>i.e.</i>, the glory of the clan.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3" id="Footnote_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Battles.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4" id="Footnote_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> This and the other verses quoted
+in this chapter are taken from the
+translations of old Arab poetry contributed
+by Mr. C. J. Lyall to the
+<i>Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of
+Bengal (Translations from the Ham&acirc;seh
+and the Agh&acirc;n&icirc;; The Mo`allaqah
+of Zuheyr)</i>. They imitate the metres
+of the original Arabic verse, but are
+nevertheless as literal as need be.
+The transliteration of proper names
+in the verses (and in other quotations)
+has been assimilated to the system
+adopted by Mr. Lane, from which in
+this work I only depart in the case
+of names which by frequent use have
+become almost the property of the
+English language.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5" id="Footnote_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> A tribe.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6" id="Footnote_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> The subject of the poem, mentioned
+in the second hemistich of the
+third verse as &#8216;thou,&#8217; whose death
+the supposed author (&#8216;one valiant&#8217;)
+avenged.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7" id="Footnote_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> For these and other stories about
+&#7716;&aacute;tim, see Caussin de Perceval&#8217;s <i>Essai
+sur l&#8217;Histoire des Arabes</i>, ii. 607-628:
+a book which is a treasury of Arab
+life, and abounds in those anecdotes
+which reveal more of the character of
+the people than whole volumes of
+ethnological treatise.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8" id="Footnote_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> The later Arabic poets were mostly
+incapable of the genius of the old
+singers: the times had changed, and
+the ancient poetry appeared almost
+as exotic to their ideas as it does to
+our own. No greater mistake can be
+made than to judge of the old poets
+by such a writer as Beh&aacute;-ed-deen
+Zoheyr, of whom Professor E. H.
+Palmer has lately given us so beautiful
+a version. There is nothing in
+common between El-Beh&aacute; and &acute;Antarah&mdash;scarcely
+even the language.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9" id="Footnote_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Deutsch, <i>Lit. Remains</i>, 453, 454:
+cp. N&ouml;ldeke, <i>Beitr&auml;ge zur Kennt. d.
+Poesie d. alten Araber</i>, xxiii., xxiv.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10" id="Footnote_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Ezekiel xxvii. <a href="#Page_19">19</a>-24. The identifications
+of the various names with
+Arabian towns are partly conjectural,
+but the general reference is clearly to
+Arabia. Cf. the &#8216;Speaker&#8217;s&#8217; <i>Commentary</i>,
+vi. 122; and the interpretations of Hitzig,
+Movers, Tuch, and M&eacute;nant.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11" id="Footnote_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> C. P. Tiele, <i>Outlines of the History of Religion</i>: tr. J. E. Carpenter, p. 63.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12" id="Footnote_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> Deutsch. <i>Lit. Remains</i>, pp. 70-72.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13" id="Footnote_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> R. Bosworth Smith, <i>Mohammed and Mohammedanism</i>, 2d ed. p. 131.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14" id="Footnote_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Or &#8216;read,&#8217; &#8216;recite.&#8217; These lines are the beginning of the 96th Soorah
+of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15" id="Footnote_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Sir W. Muir,<i> Life of Mahomet</i>, 402.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16" id="Footnote_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> The following is an abridgment: cp. Muir 485, and the <i>Seeret-er-Rasool</i>,
+tr. Weil, ii. 316, 317.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17" id="Footnote_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> An attempt has been made to explain
+away Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s fidelity to
+Khadeejeh, by adducing the motive
+of pecuniary prudence. Mo&#7717;ammad,
+they say, was a poor man, Khadeejeh
+rich and powerfully connected; any
+<i>affaire de c&oelig;ur</i> on the husband&#8217;s part
+would have been followed by a divorce
+and the simultaneous loss of property
+and position. It is hardly necessary
+to point out that the fear of poverty&mdash;a
+matter of little consequence in
+Arabia and at that time&mdash;would not
+restrain a really sensual man for five-and-twenty
+years; especially when it
+is by no means certain that Khadeejeh,
+who loved him with all her heart
+in a motherly sort of way, would have
+procured a divorce for any cause soever.
+And this explanation leaves
+Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s loving remembrance of
+his old wife unaccounted for. If her
+money alone had curbed him for
+twenty-five years, one would expect
+him at her death to throw off the
+cloak, thank Heaven for the deliverance,
+and enter at once upon the rake&#8217;s
+progress. He does none of those
+things. The story of Zeyneb, the
+divorced wife of Zeyd, is a favourite
+weapon with Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s accusers.
+It is not one to enter upon here; but
+I may say that the lady&#8217;s own share
+in the transaction has never been sufficiently
+considered. In all probability
+Zeyd, the freed slave, was glad
+enough to get rid of his too well-born
+wife, and certainly he bore no rancour
+against Mo&#7717;ammad. The real point
+of the story is the question of forged
+revelations, which is discussed below.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18" id="Footnote_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> &#8216;The Prophet said: Whosoever
+shall bear witness that there is one
+God; and that Mo&#7717;ammad is His servant
+and messenger; and that Jesus
+Christ is His servant and messenger,
+and that he is the son of the hand-maid
+of God, and that he is the Word
+of God, the word which was sent to
+Mary, and Spirit from God; and
+[shall bear witness] that there is truth
+in Heaven and Hell, will enter into
+paradise, whatever sins he may be
+chargeable with.&#8217;&mdash;<i>Mishk&aacute;t-el-Mas&aacute;beeh</i>,
+i. 11.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19" id="Footnote_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> R. Bosworth Smith: <i>Mohammed and Mohammedanism</i>, 2d ed., 255-257.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20" id="Footnote_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> <i>The People of Turkey</i>, by a Consul&#8217;s Daughter, preface, xxii.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21" id="Footnote_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> <i>Mishk&aacute;t-el-Mas&aacute;beeh</i>, i. 46, 51.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22" id="Footnote_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> Dr. E. Blyden. See his article on Mohammadanism in Western Africa
+in <i>The People of Africa</i>. (New York, 1871.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23" id="Footnote_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> It may be interesting to some
+readers to judge for themselves of the
+different characteristics of these four
+groups of soorahs; and though in a
+series of translated selections it will
+hardly be possible to gain a thorough
+appreciation of the change of style or
+matter, some notion may nevertheless
+be obtained by reading the First Part
+of these Selections in the following
+order (the numbers referring to the
+figures at the head of each extract):&mdash;
+</p><p>
+Mekka&mdash;First Period:&mdash;xvii., lxvi.,
+lxv., xviii., xxxvii., xxxviii., xxxix.,
+xl., xli., xlii., xliii., xxx., iii., i.
+</p><p>
+Second Period:&mdash;lx., xlvii., xxix.,
+viii., xiv., lxiii., vi., li., lxii., xxxi.,
+xliv., lxxxvi., lxxxi., xlv., xxxvi.,
+xx.
+</p><p>
+Third Period:&mdash;lxxiii., lxiv., xxxv.,
+liii., xlvi., xvi., lxxvi., xxxii., lix.,
+xxi., vii., lv., xix., xii., x., lxxii.,
+xxviii., xi.
+</p><p>
+Medina:&mdash;ii., lxxxiv., xxxiii.,
+lxxvii., xxxiv., xxiv., xxvi., ix., lii.,
+lxxix., lxvii., lxi., iv., lxxi., lxix.,
+lxx., lxxv., lxxxiii., xlviii., v., lxxviii.,
+xxii., lvi., lvii., xlix., xxvii., xxv.,
+xiii., lviii., lxxiv., l., liv., xxiii., lxxx.,
+xv., lxviii., lxxxv., lxxxii.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24" id="Footnote_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> This is generally believed to be the night of (that is, preceding) the 27th
+day of the month.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25" id="Footnote_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> In the Introduction, the references
+are to the new one volume edition,
+1877. Since writing my chapter on
+the early Arabs, Sir W. Muir has
+published an interesting essay on old
+Arabic poetry in the <i>Journal of the
+Royal Asiatic Society</i> (xi part i.
+1879).</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26" id="Footnote_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> The &#8216;Lord&#8217;s Prayer&#8217; of the Muslims,
+recited several times in each of
+the five daily prayers, and on many
+other occasions.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27" id="Footnote_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> <i>That is, of all creatures.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28" id="Footnote_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> [&#8216;Do we beg assistance,&#8217; in the
+original ed.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29" id="Footnote_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> <i>God knoweth best what He meaneth
+by these letters.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30" id="Footnote_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> <i>That it is from God.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31" id="Footnote_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> <i>In the resurrection and paradise
+and hell.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32" id="Footnote_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> <i>The &#7730;ur-&aacute;n.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33" id="Footnote_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> <i>The Pentateuch and the Gospel
+and other books.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34" id="Footnote_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> This chapter is held in particular
+veneration by the Mo&#7717;ammadans,
+and declared, by a tradition of their
+prophet, to be equal in value to a
+third part of the whole Kor&acirc;n.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_35" id="Footnote_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> One of the most admired passages
+in the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n, recited (though not by
+all Muslims) at the close of each of
+the five daily prayers, and often engraved
+on an ornament of gold or
+silver or a precious stone to be worn
+as an amulet.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_36" id="Footnote_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> &#8216;The seven heavens and earths
+in comparison with the Throne are
+nought but as seven dirhems [silver
+coins] cast into a shield.&#8217;&mdash;Trad.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_37" id="Footnote_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> [&#8216;Able to do everything,&#8217; orig. ed. Lit. &#8216;potent over everything.&#8217;]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_38" id="Footnote_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> Lit. &#8216;driven away with stones.&#8217;
+This expression alludes to a tradition,
+that Abraham, when the devil tempted
+him to disobey God, in not sacrificing
+his son, drove the fiend away by throwing
+stones at him; in memory of which,
+the Mo&#7717;ammadans, at the pilgrimage
+of Mecca, throw a certain number of
+stones at the devil, with certain ceremonies,
+in the valley of Mina.&mdash;S.
+The devils, or evil jinn, it is said,
+had liberty to enter any of the seven
+heavens till the birth of Jesus, when
+they were excluded from three of
+them; on the birth of Mo&#7717;ammad
+they were forbidden the other four.
+They continue, however, to ascend
+to the confines of the lowest heaven,
+and there, listening to the conversation
+of the angels respecting things
+decreed by God, obtain knowledge of
+futurity, which they sometimes impart
+to men, who by means of talismans
+or certain invocations make them
+to serve the purposes of magical performances.
+Shooting stars are often
+hurled at the devils when they thus
+listen.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_39" id="Footnote_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> <i>That it may not move with its inhabitants.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_40" id="Footnote_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> <i>Or determined.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_41" id="Footnote_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> <i>Slaves and beasts and cattle: for
+it is God only who sustaineth them.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_42" id="Footnote_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> <i>Which cause the clouds to fill with
+water.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_43" id="Footnote_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> <i>As the bird from the egg.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_44" id="Footnote_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> <i>As the egg from the bird.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_45" id="Footnote_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> <i>Or consider.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_46" id="Footnote_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> <i>For you previously to birth.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_47" id="Footnote_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> [&#8216;Compacted,&#8217; orig. ed. Strictly,
+words such as &#8216;come forth&#8217; should
+be supplied before &#8216;clusters.&#8217;]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_48" id="Footnote_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> <i>In leaf.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_49" id="Footnote_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> <i>In fruit.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_50" id="Footnote_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_50"><span class="label">[50]</span></a> [Genii.] <i>since they have obeyed them
+in worshipping idols</i>. See p. 33.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_51" id="Footnote_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_51"><span class="label">[51]</span></a> <i>Alone.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_52" id="Footnote_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_52"><span class="label">[52]</span></a> <i>This was revealed with reference
+to a man unto whom the Prophet sent
+one to invite him</i> to the faith; <i>but
+he said, Who is the apostle of God,
+and what is God? Is he of gold, or
+silver, or brass? Whereupon a thunderbolt
+fell upon him, and struck off
+his skull</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_53" id="Footnote_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_53"><span class="label">[53]</span></a> <i>On the Preserved Tablet.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_54" id="Footnote_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_54"><span class="label">[54]</span></a> <i>Restoring your souls in the daytime.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_55" id="Footnote_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_55"><span class="label">[55]</span></a> <i>The term of life.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_56" id="Footnote_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_56"><span class="label">[56]</span></a> [&#8216;Predominant,&#8217; orig. ed.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_57" id="Footnote_57"></a><a href="#FNanchor_57"><span class="label">[57]</span></a> <i>Angels who register your deeds.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_58" id="Footnote_58"></a><a href="#FNanchor_58"><span class="label">[58]</span></a> <i>The creatures.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_59" id="Footnote_59"></a><a href="#FNanchor_59"><span class="label">[59]</span></a> <i>That He may recompense them.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_60" id="Footnote_60"></a><a href="#FNanchor_60"><span class="label">[60]</span></a> <i>O Mo&#7717;ammad, to the people of
+Mekkeh.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_61" id="Footnote_61"></a><a href="#FNanchor_61"><span class="label">[61]</span></a> <i>Namely, the Jews and the Christians,
+and those</i> [Arabs] <i>who assert that
+the angels are daughters of God</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_62" id="Footnote_62"></a><a href="#FNanchor_62"><span class="label">[62]</span></a> [&#8216;Demolished,&#8217; orig. ed.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_63" id="Footnote_63"></a><a href="#FNanchor_63"><span class="label">[63]</span></a> <i>On the day of resurrection.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_64" id="Footnote_64"></a><a href="#FNanchor_64"><span class="label">[64]</span></a> <i>Without wealth or helper.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_65" id="Footnote_65"></a><a href="#FNanchor_65"><span class="label">[65]</span></a> <i>Of the perfume and saffron with
+which they are overdaubed.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_66" id="Footnote_66"></a><a href="#FNanchor_66"><span class="label">[66]</span></a> <i>Idols.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_67" id="Footnote_67"></a><a href="#FNanchor_67"><span class="label">[67]</span></a> <i>This they would not worship them.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_68" id="Footnote_68"></a><a href="#FNanchor_68"><span class="label">[68]</span></a> [&#8216;Similitudes,&#8217; orig. ed. It is the
+plural of the same word as that translated
+&#8216;parable&#8217; at the beginning of
+the preceding extract, and &#8216;likeness&#8217;
+twice in this extract.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_69" id="Footnote_69"></a><a href="#FNanchor_69"><span class="label">[69]</span></a> [It is said that Mo&#7717;ammad, when
+a revelation came down to him, used
+to say, &#8216;Cover ye me with something
+whereby I may become warm.&#8217; Lane:
+Lexicon, voce <i>dathara</i>.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_70" id="Footnote_70"></a><a href="#FNanchor_70"><span class="label">[70]</span></a> [Idolatry.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_71" id="Footnote_71"></a><a href="#FNanchor_71"><span class="label">[71]</span></a> [This rendering is Mr. Rodwell&#8217;s.
+I do not think it can be bettered.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_72" id="Footnote_72"></a><a href="#FNanchor_72"><span class="label">[72]</span></a> [Lit. &#8216;And by the night when it
+becometh still;&#8217; or (but this is less
+strongly supported) &#8216;when it darkeneth.&#8217;]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_73" id="Footnote_73"></a><a href="#FNanchor_73"><span class="label">[73]</span></a> [&#8216;In my possession,&#8217; orig. ed.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_74" id="Footnote_74"></a><a href="#FNanchor_74"><span class="label">[74]</span></a> [&#8216;Apostle,&#8217; in the orig. ed.; but
+Christian associations have somewhat
+restricted the original meaning of the
+word, and I have therefore in this
+and other instances substituted
+&#8216;Messenger,&#8217; which exactly represents
+the Arabic <i>rasool</i>.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_75" id="Footnote_75"></a><a href="#FNanchor_75"><span class="label">[75]</span></a> <i>To unbelief.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_76" id="Footnote_76"></a><a href="#FNanchor_76"><span class="label">[76]</span></a> <i>He will only injure himself.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_77" id="Footnote_77"></a><a href="#FNanchor_77"><span class="label">[77]</span></a> <i>The Jews said unto the Muslims,
+We are the people of the first book</i> (the
+Pentateuch), <i>and our &#7730;ibleh</i> (the point
+to which we turn our faces in praying)
+<i>is the more ancient, and the prophets
+have not been of the Arabs, and if
+Mo&#7717;ammad were a prophet, he had
+been of us</i>. <i>Therefore</i> the following
+<i>was revealed</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_78" id="Footnote_78"></a><a href="#FNanchor_78"><span class="label">[78]</span></a> <i>So that He may choose of His servants
+whom He pleaseth.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_79" id="Footnote_79"></a><a href="#FNanchor_79"><span class="label">[79]</span></a> <i>That is, God is; and He hath
+acquitted Abraham of belonging to
+them by His saying</i> [&#7730;ur. iii. 60],
+<i>Abraham was not a Jew nor a Christian;
+and the other persons above-mentioned
+with him were followers of him</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_80" id="Footnote_80"></a><a href="#FNanchor_80"><span class="label">[80]</span></a> <i>They are the Jews, who have concealed
+the testimony of God, in the
+Pentateuch, of Abraham&#8217;s orthodoxy.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_81" id="Footnote_81"></a><a href="#FNanchor_81"><span class="label">[81]</span></a> [Mo&#7717;ammad and A&#7717;mad are from
+the same root, <i>&#7717;amd</i>, meaning &#8216;praise;&#8217;
+and both names were borne by the
+Prophet. The supposed prediction of
+Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s coming arose, perhaps,
+from a confusion between Parakletos
+and Perikleitos or possibly Periklytos
+in Evang. S. Jo. xvi. 7, where the
+coming of &#8216;the Paraclete&#8217; is promised;
+in some Arabic version of which the
+word may have been ignorantly rendered
+by &#8216;A&#7717;mad,&#8217; and thus reported
+to Mo&#7717;ammad.]
+</p></div>
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_82" id="Footnote_82"></a><a href="#FNanchor_82"><span class="label">[82]</span></a> <i>By the description of him in their
+books.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_83" id="Footnote_83"></a><a href="#FNanchor_83"><span class="label">[83]</span></a> <i>The description of him.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_84" id="Footnote_84"></a><a href="#FNanchor_84"><span class="label">[84]</span></a> <i>In the Law.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_85" id="Footnote_85"></a><a href="#FNanchor_85"><span class="label">[85]</span></a> <i>Or miracles.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_86" id="Footnote_86"></a><a href="#FNanchor_86"><span class="label">[86]</span></a> <i>As Zechariah and John, and ye
+slew them.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_87" id="Footnote_87"></a><a href="#FNanchor_87"><span class="label">[87]</span></a> <i>Their belief, if the signs come.</i>
+The copies of the original differ in
+this verse, but not in an important
+manner.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_88" id="Footnote_88"></a><a href="#FNanchor_88"><span class="label">[88]</span></a> <i>From the truth, so that they shall
+not believe.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_89" id="Footnote_89"></a><a href="#FNanchor_89"><span class="label">[89]</span></a> <i>The &#7730;ur-&aacute;n.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_90" id="Footnote_90"></a><a href="#FNanchor_90"><span class="label">[90]</span></a> Or art mad.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_91" id="Footnote_91"></a><a href="#FNanchor_91"><span class="label">[91]</span></a> <i>That is, with punishment.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_92" id="Footnote_92"></a><a href="#FNanchor_92"><span class="label">[92]</span></a> [The original copy kept by God.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_93" id="Footnote_93"></a><a href="#FNanchor_93"><span class="label">[93]</span></a> [This line is often inscribed on the
+covers of copies of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_94" id="Footnote_94"></a><a href="#FNanchor_94"><span class="label">[94]</span></a> <i>In eloquence.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_95" id="Footnote_95"></a><a href="#FNanchor_95"><span class="label">[95]</span></a> [In orig. edition, and literally,
+&#8216;Although some of them assisted
+others.&#8217;]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_96" id="Footnote_96"></a><a href="#FNanchor_96"><span class="label">[96]</span></a> <i>That they may be admonished.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_97" id="Footnote_97"></a><a href="#FNanchor_97"><span class="label">[97]</span></a> <i>And not sent an angel?</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_98" id="Footnote_98"></a><a href="#FNanchor_98"><span class="label">[98]</span></a> <i>Instead of mankind.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_99" id="Footnote_99"></a><a href="#FNanchor_99"><span class="label">[99]</span></a> <i>For no apostle is sent unto a people
+but one of their own kind.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_100" id="Footnote_100"></a><a href="#FNanchor_100"><span class="label">[100]</span></a> Forgery.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_101" id="Footnote_101"></a><a href="#FNanchor_101"><span class="label">[101]</span></a> <i>Mo&#7717;ammad.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_102" id="Footnote_102"></a><a href="#FNanchor_102"><span class="label">[102]</span></a> Chapter.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_103" id="Footnote_103"></a><a href="#FNanchor_103"><span class="label">[103]</span></a> <i>To assist you.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_104" id="Footnote_104"></a><a href="#FNanchor_104"><span class="label">[104]</span></a> <i>The result of the threat that it
+containeth.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_105" id="Footnote_105"></a><a href="#FNanchor_105"><span class="label">[105]</span></a> <i>As to its being from God.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_106" id="Footnote_106"></a><a href="#FNanchor_106"><span class="label">[106]</span></a> <i>In eloquence and beauty of composition
+and information concerning
+what is unseen.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_107" id="Footnote_107"></a><a href="#FNanchor_107"><span class="label">[107]</span></a> <i>Your deities whom ye worship,
+that they may aid you.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_108" id="Footnote_108"></a><a href="#FNanchor_108"><span class="label">[108]</span></a> <i>When the unbelievers cavilled at
+abrogation, and said, &#8216;Mo&#7717;ammad
+commandeth his companions to-day
+to do a thing and forbiddeth it tomorrow,&#8217;</i>
+the following <i>was revealed</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_109" id="Footnote_109"></a><a href="#FNanchor_109"><span class="label">[109]</span></a> <i>Namely, a Christian slave whom
+the Prophet used to visit.</i> [The Mekkans
+accounted for the production
+of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n by an unlearned man
+like Mo&#7717;ammad by ascribing it to
+the teaching of some Christian,
+whom is doubtful. Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s
+reply is that the Christian&#8217;s was a
+foreign tongue, whilst the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n
+was in Arabic.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_110" id="Footnote_110"></a><a href="#FNanchor_110"><span class="label">[110]</span></a> [&#8216;As a further supply,&#8217; orig. ed.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_111" id="Footnote_111"></a><a href="#FNanchor_111"><span class="label">[111]</span></a> [Lit. &#8216;Burdens:&#8217; explained by El-Bey&#7693;&aacute;wee and others <i>as buried
+treasures</i> and as <i>dead</i>.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_112" id="Footnote_112"></a><a href="#FNanchor_112"><span class="label">[112]</span></a> <i>The most highly esteemed of property.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_113" id="Footnote_113"></a><a href="#FNanchor_113"><span class="label">[113]</span></a> [&#8216;Be set on fire,&#8217; orig. ed. Both
+these renderings, and also &#8216;be dried
+up,&#8217; are supported by various authorities.
+See Lane: Lex. voce <i>sejera</i>.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_114" id="Footnote_114"></a><a href="#FNanchor_114"><span class="label">[114]</span></a> Woman-child.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_115" id="Footnote_115"></a><a href="#FNanchor_115"><span class="label">[115]</span></a> <i>Of men&#8217;s actions.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_116" id="Footnote_116"></a><a href="#FNanchor_116"><span class="label">[116]</span></a> <i>As the skin is plucked off a</i>
+slaughtered <i>sheep</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_117" id="Footnote_117"></a><a href="#FNanchor_117"><span class="label">[117]</span></a> <i>A kind of thorn which no beast
+eateth, by reason of its impurity.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_118" id="Footnote_118"></a><a href="#FNanchor_118"><span class="label">[118]</span></a> <i>Or eight ranks of them.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_119" id="Footnote_119"></a><a href="#FNanchor_119"><span class="label">[119]</span></a> <i>Unto a company, by reason of his
+joy thereat.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_120" id="Footnote_120"></a><a href="#FNanchor_120"><span class="label">[120]</span></a> <i>And it shall be said unto such.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_121" id="Footnote_121"></a><a href="#FNanchor_121"><span class="label">[121]</span></a> <i>And it shall be said unto the
+keepers of hell.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_122" id="Footnote_122"></a><a href="#FNanchor_122"><span class="label">[122]</span></a> <i>As it hath denied it in the present
+world.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_123" id="Footnote_123"></a><a href="#FNanchor_123"><span class="label">[123]</span></a> <i>Those who shall receive their books
+in their right hands.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_124" id="Footnote_124"></a><a href="#FNanchor_124"><span class="label">[124]</span></a> <i>How honourable shall they be!</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_125" id="Footnote_125"></a><a href="#FNanchor_125"><span class="label">[125]</span></a> <i>How contemptible shall they be!</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_126" id="Footnote_126"></a><a href="#FNanchor_126"><span class="label">[126]</span></a> <i>In the way to good fortune
+(namely, the Prophets), how honourable
+shall be!</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_127" id="Footnote_127"></a><a href="#FNanchor_127"><span class="label">[127]</span></a> [&#8216;Destined to continue for ever
+<i>in boyhood</i>,&#8217; orig. ed.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_128" id="Footnote_128"></a><a href="#FNanchor_128"><span class="label">[128]</span></a> [&#7716;ooreeyehs.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_129" id="Footnote_129"></a><a href="#FNanchor_129"><span class="label">[129]</span></a> Intensely black and white, large-eyed.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_130" id="Footnote_130"></a><a href="#FNanchor_130"><span class="label">[130]</span></a> From bottom to top.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_131" id="Footnote_131"></a><a href="#FNanchor_131"><span class="label">[131]</span></a> [The &#7716;ooreeyehs.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_132" id="Footnote_132"></a><a href="#FNanchor_132"><span class="label">[132]</span></a> <i>Polytheism.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_133" id="Footnote_133"></a><a href="#FNanchor_133"><span class="label">[133]</span></a> Beneath the tents thereof.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_134" id="Footnote_134"></a><a href="#FNanchor_134"><span class="label">[134]</span></a> <i>The believers and the unbelievers.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_135" id="Footnote_135"></a><a href="#FNanchor_135"><span class="label">[135]</span></a> <i>One after another, barefooted,
+naked, unarmed.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_136" id="Footnote_136"></a><a href="#FNanchor_136"><span class="label">[136]</span></a> <i>Of the resurrection.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_137" id="Footnote_137"></a><a href="#FNanchor_137"><span class="label">[137]</span></a> <i>Written in their books.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_138" id="Footnote_138"></a><a href="#FNanchor_138"><span class="label">[138]</span></a> <i>I will surely fill Hell</i>, &amp;c. [&#7730;ur. vii. 17, given below, p. 51].</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_139" id="Footnote_139"></a><a href="#FNanchor_139"><span class="label">[139]</span></a> Of righteousness.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_140" id="Footnote_140"></a><a href="#FNanchor_140"><span class="label">[140]</span></a> <i>Between all creatures.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_141" id="Footnote_141"></a><a href="#FNanchor_141"><span class="label">[141]</span></a> [Or &#8216;marked&#8217; or &#8216;goodly.&#8217;]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_142" id="Footnote_142"></a><a href="#FNanchor_142"><span class="label">[142]</span></a> [Fighting for the faith.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_143" id="Footnote_143"></a><a href="#FNanchor_143"><span class="label">[143]</span></a> [Or &#8216;end,&#8217; &#8216;result.&#8217;]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_144" id="Footnote_144"></a><a href="#FNanchor_144"><span class="label">[144]</span></a> &#8220;Arms on armour clashing bray&#8217;d
+Horrible discord.&#8221;&mdash;<i>Par. Lost</i>, vi.
+209.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_145" id="Footnote_145"></a><a href="#FNanchor_145"><span class="label">[145]</span></a> <i>O Mo&#7717;ammad.</i> The copies of
+the original differ here, but the
+differences are unimportant.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_146" id="Footnote_146"></a><a href="#FNanchor_146"><span class="label">[146]</span></a> <i>By taking to themselves idols.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_147" id="Footnote_147"></a><a href="#FNanchor_147"><span class="label">[147]</span></a> <i>Thou wouldst see a great thing!</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_148" id="Footnote_148"></a><a href="#FNanchor_148"><span class="label">[148]</span></a> <i>Denying their having led them
+into error.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_149" id="Footnote_149"></a><a href="#FNanchor_149"><span class="label">[149]</span></a> <i>Iblees.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_150" id="Footnote_150"></a><a href="#FNanchor_150"><span class="label">[150]</span></a> <i>And the people of paradise are
+introduced into paradise, and the
+people of the fire into the fire, and
+when the latter have assembled around
+him.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_151" id="Footnote_151"></a><a href="#FNanchor_151"><span class="label">[151]</span></a> <i>Respecting the resurrection and
+retribution.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_152" id="Footnote_152"></a><a href="#FNanchor_152"><span class="label">[152]</span></a> <i>The contrary.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_153" id="Footnote_153"></a><a href="#FNanchor_153"><span class="label">[153]</span></a> <i>The people of Mekkeh.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_154" id="Footnote_154"></a><a href="#FNanchor_154"><span class="label">[154]</span></a> <i>Of the resurrection.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_155" id="Footnote_155"></a><a href="#FNanchor_155"><span class="label">[155]</span></a> <i>If the choice had been given us
+we had not gone forth and had not
+been slain.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_156" id="Footnote_156"></a><a href="#FNanchor_156"><span class="label">[156]</span></a> <i>Namely, the Jews.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_157" id="Footnote_157"></a><a href="#FNanchor_157"><span class="label">[157]</span></a> [See <i>Modern Egyptians</i>, 5th ed.,
+p 284.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_158" id="Footnote_158"></a><a href="#FNanchor_158"><span class="label">[158]</span></a> [On the various orders of the
+Jinn, see Lane&#8217;s <i>Thousand and
+One Nights</i>, Introduction, note 21.
+And see above, pp. 7, 9.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_159" id="Footnote_159"></a><a href="#FNanchor_159"><span class="label">[159]</span></a> <i>Consisting of the angels.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_160" id="Footnote_160"></a><a href="#FNanchor_160"><span class="label">[160]</span></a> <i>They speak not until after He
+hath spoken.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_161" id="Footnote_161"></a><a href="#FNanchor_161"><span class="label">[161]</span></a> <i>Iblees</i> [the devil].</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_162" id="Footnote_162"></a><a href="#FNanchor_162"><span class="label">[162]</span></a> [In the Arabic, &#8216;&#7730;ur-&aacute;n.&#8217;]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_163" id="Footnote_163"></a><a href="#FNanchor_163"><span class="label">[163]</span></a> <i>This is said to be the most comprehensive
+verse in the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n with respect
+to good and evil.</i> [The commentators
+say it contains the whole duty of
+man, both in respect of doing and of
+shunning. It is needless to enumerate
+the various virtues and sins
+which they consider are implied in
+each of the simple words of the text.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_164" id="Footnote_164"></a><a href="#FNanchor_164"><span class="label">[164]</span></a> [Mr. Rodwell&#8217;s rendering.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_165" id="Footnote_165"></a><a href="#FNanchor_165"><span class="label">[165]</span></a> The traveller.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_166" id="Footnote_166"></a><a href="#FNanchor_166"><span class="label">[166]</span></a> <i>Of being rewarded for so doing.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_167" id="Footnote_167"></a><a href="#FNanchor_167"><span class="label">[167]</span></a> <i>Or reproach.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_168" id="Footnote_168"></a><a href="#FNanchor_168"><span class="label">[168]</span></a> <i>Their idols.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_169" id="Footnote_169"></a><a href="#FNanchor_169"><span class="label">[169]</span></a> <i>Disposition.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_170" id="Footnote_170"></a><a href="#FNanchor_170"><span class="label">[170]</span></a> [Lit., and in orig. ed., &#8216;hath great good fortune.&#8217;]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_171" id="Footnote_171"></a><a href="#FNanchor_171"><span class="label">[171]</span></a> [<i>Mod. Egypt.</i>, 104.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_172" id="Footnote_172"></a><a href="#FNanchor_172"><span class="label">[172]</span></a> [The Christians and Jews.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_173" id="Footnote_173"></a><a href="#FNanchor_173"><span class="label">[173]</span></a> [Or &#8216;best:&#8217; so in <i>Mod. Egypt.</i>,
+280.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_174" id="Footnote_174"></a><a href="#FNanchor_174"><span class="label">[174]</span></a> [This is Mr. Rodwell&#8217;s word, and
+is, I think, more expressive of the original
+(<i>muslimoona</i>) than &#8216;resigned.&#8217;]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_175" id="Footnote_175"></a><a href="#FNanchor_175"><span class="label">[175]</span></a> <i>In the prophets.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_176" id="Footnote_176"></a><a href="#FNanchor_176"><span class="label">[176]</span></a> [Some suppose this verse to be
+abrogated by the next extract:
+others try to explain it away.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_177" id="Footnote_177"></a><a href="#FNanchor_177"><span class="label">[177]</span></a> <i>And of him who inviteth them to
+the true religion.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_178" id="Footnote_178"></a><a href="#FNanchor_178"><span class="label">[178]</span></a> Mirage (<i>sar&aacute;b</i>).</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_179" id="Footnote_179"></a><a href="#FNanchor_179"><span class="label">[179]</span></a> <i>In like manner the unbeliever
+reckoneth that his works will profit
+him, until, when he dieth and is
+brought before his Lord, he findeth
+not his works.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_180" id="Footnote_180"></a><a href="#FNanchor_180"><span class="label">[180]</span></a> <i>The unbeliever.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_181" id="Footnote_181"></a><a href="#FNanchor_181"><span class="label">[181]</span></a> <i>By his unbelief.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_182" id="Footnote_182"></a><a href="#FNanchor_182"><span class="label">[182]</span></a> <i>In the tradition it is said, &#8216;Whosoever
+hath any good thing given unto
+him, whether of family or wealth, and
+saith on the occasion thereof, &#8216;What
+God willeth (`m&aacute;-sh&aacute;&auml;-ll&aacute;h)! There
+is no power but in God!&#8217; he will not
+see in it aught displeasing.&#8217;</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_183" id="Footnote_183"></a><a href="#FNanchor_183"><span class="label">[183]</span></a> <i>On the day of resurrection.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_184" id="Footnote_184"></a><a href="#FNanchor_184"><span class="label">[184]</span></a> <i>O Mo&#7717;ammad.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_185" id="Footnote_185"></a><a href="#FNanchor_185"><span class="label">[185]</span></a> <i>Of the people of Mekkeh.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_186" id="Footnote_186"></a><a href="#FNanchor_186"><span class="label">[186]</span></a> <i>So as to disdain receiving the truth.</i>
+(<i>This was revealed as respecting the
+envoys who came from the King of
+Abyssinia: the Prophet recited the
+Soorat Y&aacute;-Seen</i> [xxxvi.], <i>whereupon
+they wept and became Muslims, and
+said, &#8216;How like is this to that which
+was revealed to Jesus.&#8217;</i>)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_187" id="Footnote_187"></a><a href="#FNanchor_187"><span class="label">[187]</span></a> <i>Not believing in Mo&#7717;ammad.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_188" id="Footnote_188"></a><a href="#FNanchor_188"><span class="label">[188]</span></a> <i>With respect to the hypocrites</i> the following <i>was revealed</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_189" id="Footnote_189"></a><a href="#FNanchor_189"><span class="label">[189]</span></a> <i>Their chiefs.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_190" id="Footnote_190"></a><a href="#FNanchor_190"><span class="label">[190]</span></a> The number of the prophets
+which have been from time to time
+sent by God into the world amounts
+to no less than 224,000, according to
+one Mo&#7717;ammadan tradition, or to
+124,000 according to another; among
+whom 313 were apostles, sent with
+special commissions to reclaim mankind
+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 Mo&#7717;ammad. All the prophets
+in general the Mo&#7717;ammadans believe
+to have been free from great
+sins and errors of consequence, and
+professors of one and the same religion,
+that is, El-Isl&aacute;m, notwithstanding
+the different laws and institutions
+which they observed. In this
+great number of prophets, they not
+only reckon divers patriarchs and
+persons named in Scripture but not
+recorded to have been prophets
+(wherein the Jewish and Christian
+writers have sometimes led the way),
+as Adam, Seth, Lot, Ishmael, Nun,
+Joshua, &amp;c., and introduce some of
+them under different names, as
+Enoch, Heber, and Jethro, who are
+called in the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n, Idrees, Hood,
+and Sho&acute;eyb; but several others
+whose very names do not appear in
+Scripture (though they endeavour to
+find some persons there to fix them
+on), as &#7778;&aacute;li&#7717;, El-Khi&#7693;r, Dhu-l-Kifl.
+</p><p>
+As to the Scriptures, the Mo&#7717;ammadans
+are taught by the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n
+that God, in divers ages of the
+world, gave revelations of His will in
+writing to several prophets, the
+whole and every word of which it is
+absolutely necessary for a good Muslim
+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 Idrees
+or Enoch, ten to Abraham; and the
+other four, being the Pentateuch,
+the Psalms, the Gospel, and the
+&#7730;ur-&aacute;n, were successively delivered
+to Moses, David, Jesus, and Mo&#7717;ammad;
+which last being the <i>seal</i> of
+the prophets, those revelations are
+now closed and no more are to be
+expected. All these divine books,
+except the four last, they agree to be
+now entirely lost and their contents
+unknown; though 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.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_191" id="Footnote_191"></a><a href="#FNanchor_191"><span class="label">[191]</span></a> &#8216;El-J&aacute;nn&#8217; is here used as a
+name of Iblees, the father of the
+jinn. It also signifies the jinn themselves.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_192" id="Footnote_192"></a><a href="#FNanchor_192"><span class="label">[192]</span></a> According to a tradition of the
+Prophet, the height of Adam was
+equal to that of a tall palm-tree.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_193" id="Footnote_193"></a><a href="#FNanchor_193"><span class="label">[193]</span></a> The Mo&#7717;ammadans say, that
+when they were cast down from
+Paradise [which is in the seventh
+heaven], Adam fell on the isle of
+Ceylon, or Sarandeeb, and Eve near
+Juddah (the port of Mekkeh) in
+Arabia; and that, after a separation
+of two hundred years, Adam was, on
+his repentance, conducted by the
+angel Gabriel to a mountain near
+Mekkeh, where he found and knew
+his wife, the mountain being thence
+named &acute;Araf&aacute;t; and that he afterwards
+retired with her to Ceylon.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_194" id="Footnote_194"></a><a href="#FNanchor_194"><span class="label">[194]</span></a> The prayer is inserted by the
+commentary from &#7730;ur. vii. 22.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_195" id="Footnote_195"></a><a href="#FNanchor_195"><span class="label">[195]</span></a> This word has various significations
+in the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n; sometimes,
+as in this passage, it signifies <i>divine
+revelation</i>, or <i>scripture</i> in general;
+sometimes the <i>verses</i> of the <i>&#7730;ur-&aacute;n</i>
+in particular; and at other times,
+<i>visible miracles</i>. But the sense is
+easily distinguished by the context.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_196" id="Footnote_196"></a><a href="#FNanchor_196"><span class="label">[196]</span></a> Called in Arabic H&aacute;beel and
+&#7730;&aacute;beel.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_197" id="Footnote_197"></a><a href="#FNanchor_197"><span class="label">[197]</span></a> The occasion of their making
+this offering is thus related, according
+to the common tradition in the
+East. Each of them being born with
+a twin-sister, when they were grown
+up, Adam by God&#8217;s direction ordered
+Cain to marry Abel&#8217;s twin-sister,
+and Abel to marry Cain&#8217;s;
+(for it being the common opinion
+that marriages ought not to be
+had in the nearest degrees of
+consanguinity, since they must necessarily
+marry their sisters, it
+seemed reasonable to suppose they
+ought to take those of the remoter
+degree;) but this Cain refusing to
+agree to, because his own sister was
+the handsomest, Adam ordered them
+to make their offerings to God, thereby
+referring the dispute to His determination.
+The commentators
+say Cain&#8217;s offering was a sheaf of
+the very worst of his corn; but
+Abel&#8217;s a fat lamb of the best of his
+flock.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_198" id="Footnote_198"></a><a href="#FNanchor_198"><span class="label">[198]</span></a> Or, as the original literally
+signifies, boiled over [or boiled],
+which is consonant to what the
+Rabbins say, that the waters of the
+deluge were boiling hot.&mdash;This oven
+was, as some say, at El-Koofeh, in
+a spot whereon a mosque now stands;
+or, as others rather think, in a certain
+place in India, or else at &acute;Eyn-el-Wardeh
+in Mesopotamia. Some
+pretend that it was the same oven
+which Eve made use of to bake her
+bread in, being of a form different
+from those we use, having the mouth
+in the upper part, and that it descended
+from patriarch to patriarch
+till it came to Noah. It is remarkable
+that Mo&#7717;ammad, in all probability,
+borrowed this circumstance
+from the Persian Magi, who also
+fancied that the first waters of the
+deluge gushed out of the oven of a
+certain old woman named Zala C&ucirc;fa.&mdash;But
+the word &#8220;tennoor,&#8221; which is
+here translated &#8220;oven,&#8221; also signifying
+&#8220;the superficies of the earth,&#8221; or
+&#8220;a place whence waters spring forth,&#8221;
+or &#8220;where they are collected,&#8221; some
+suppose it means no more in this
+passage than the spot or fissure
+whence the first eruption of waters
+broke forth.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_199" id="Footnote_199"></a><a href="#FNanchor_199"><span class="label">[199]</span></a> It is a custom of many Muslims
+to pronounce these words, &#8216;In the
+name of God be its course and its
+mooring,&#8217; on embarking for any
+voyage.&mdash;L. The commentators tell
+us that Noah was two years in building
+the ark, which was framed of
+Indian plane-tree; that it was divided
+into three stories, of which
+the lower was designed for the
+beasts, the middle one for the men
+and women, and the upper for the
+birds; and the men were separated
+from the women by the body of
+Adam, which Noah had taken into
+the ark. This last is a tradition of
+the Eastern Christians.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_200" id="Footnote_200"></a><a href="#FNanchor_200"><span class="label">[200]</span></a> The original of this passage is
+considered the most sublime in the
+&#7730;ur-&aacute;n.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_201" id="Footnote_201"></a><a href="#FNanchor_201"><span class="label">[201]</span></a> The Mo&#7717;ammadans say that
+Noah went into the ark on the tenth
+of Rejeb, and came out of it on the
+tenth of Mo&#7717;arram; which therefore
+became a fast: so that the whole
+time of Noah&#8217;s being in the ark according
+to them was six months.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_202" id="Footnote_202"></a><a href="#FNanchor_202"><span class="label">[202]</span></a> &acute;&Aacute;d was an ancient and potent
+tribe of Arabs, and zealous idolaters.
+They chiefly worshipped four deities,
+S&aacute;kiyeh, &#7716;&aacute;fi&#7693;hah, R&aacute;zi&#7731;ah, and
+S&aacute;limeh; 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
+restoring them to health when
+afflicted with sickness; according
+to the signification of the several
+names.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_203" id="Footnote_203"></a><a href="#FNanchor_203"><span class="label">[203]</span></a> Generally supposed to be the
+same person as Heber.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_204" id="Footnote_204"></a><a href="#FNanchor_204"><span class="label">[204]</span></a> Thamood was another tribe of
+the ancient Arabs who fell into
+idolatry. They dwelt first in the
+country of the &acute;&Aacute;dites, but their
+numbers increasing, they removed
+to the territory of &#7716;ejr.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_205" id="Footnote_205"></a><a href="#FNanchor_205"><span class="label">[205]</span></a> This extraordinary camel frighting
+the other cattle from their pasture,
+a certain rich woman, named
+&acute;Oneyzeh Umm-Gh&aacute;nim, having four
+daughters, dressed them out, and
+offered one &#7730;ud&aacute;r his choice of them,
+if he would kill the camel. Whereupon
+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 &#7778;ada&#7731;ah Bint-El-Mukht&aacute;r
+as a joint-conspiratress
+with &acute;Oneyzeh, and pretending that
+the young one was not killed.&#8217;&mdash;S.
+(A.F., B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_206" id="Footnote_206"></a><a href="#FNanchor_206"><span class="label">[206]</span></a> Defying the vengeance with
+which they were threatened; because
+they trusted in their strong dwellings
+hewn in the rocks, saying that the
+tribe of &acute;&Aacute;d perished only because
+their houses were not built with sufficient
+strength.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_207" id="Footnote_207"></a><a href="#FNanchor_207"><span class="label">[207]</span></a> Like violent and repeated
+claps of thunder; which some say
+was no other than the voice of the
+angel Gabriel, which rent their
+hearts. It is said that after they had
+killed the camel, &#7778;&aacute;li&#7717; told them that
+on the morrow their faces should become
+yellow, the next day red, and
+the third day black; and that on the
+fourth God&#8217;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.&mdash;S. (A.F., B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_208" id="Footnote_208"></a><a href="#FNanchor_208"><span class="label">[208]</span></a> In the Mir-&aacute;t-ez-Zem&aacute;n it is stated
+that there are various opinions respecting
+the age in which this person
+lived: 1. That he lived in the first
+century after the Deluge, and was of
+the sons of Japheth, and was born in
+the land of the Greeks: so said &acute;Alee;
+2. That he was after Thamood: so
+said El-&#7716;asan; 3. That he was of
+the lineage of Esau, the son of Isaac:
+so said Mu&#7731;&aacute;til; 4. That he lived
+between the times of Moses and
+Jesus; 5. That he lived between
+Jesus and Mo&#7717;ammad; and 6. That
+he was of the lineage of Yoon&aacute;n, son
+[as some say] of Noah, in the days of
+Abraham; and this, adds the author,
+is the most correct.&mdash;But some suppose
+him to be the same with Alexander
+the Great.&mdash;Respecting his
+surname of &#8216;Dhu-l-&#7730;arneyn,&#8217; the
+most obvious signification of which
+is &#8216;the two-horned,&#8217; the more judicious
+in general are of opinion that
+he received it because he made expeditions
+to the extreme parts of the
+east and west, and therefore that it
+signifies &#8216;Lord of the two extreme
+parts of the earth.&#8217;</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_209" id="Footnote_209"></a><a href="#FNanchor_209"><span class="label">[209]</span></a> Who were clothed in the skins
+of wild beasts, and lived upon what
+the sea cast on shore.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_210" id="Footnote_210"></a><a href="#FNanchor_210"><span class="label">[210]</span></a> The Arabs call them Y&aacute;jooj
+and M&aacute;jooj, and say they are two
+nations or tribes descended from
+Japheth the son of Noah; or, as
+others write, Gog are a tribe of the
+Turks, and Magog of those of Geel&aacute;n,
+the Geli and Gel&aelig; of Ptolemy and
+Strabo.&mdash;It is said these barbarous
+people made their irruptions into the
+neighbouring countries in the spring,
+and destroyed and carried off all the
+fruits of the earth; and some pretend
+they were man-eaters.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_211" id="Footnote_211"></a><a href="#FNanchor_211"><span class="label">[211]</span></a> The Eastern authors unanimously
+agree that he (&Aacute;zar) 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 was, 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.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_212" id="Footnote_212"></a><a href="#FNanchor_212"><span class="label">[212]</span></a> Some tell us that Nimrod, on
+seeing this miraculous deliverance
+from his palace, cried out that he
+would make an offering to the God
+of Abraham; and that he accordingly
+sacrificed four thousand kine.
+[B.] But, if he ever relented, he
+soon relapsed into his former infidelity:
+for he built a tower that he
+might ascend to heaven to see
+Abraham&#8217;s God; which being overthrown
+[&#7730;ur. xvi. 28], still persisting
+in his design, he would be carried
+to heaven in a chest borne by four
+monstrous birds; but after wandering
+for some time through the air,
+he fell down on a mountain with
+such force that he made it shake,
+whereto (as some fancy) a passage
+in the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n [xiv. 47] alludes,
+which may be translated, &#8216;although
+their contrivances be such as to
+make the mountains tremble.&#8217;&mdash;Nimrod,
+disappointed in his design
+of making war with God, turned his
+arms against Abraham, who, being
+a great prince, raised forces to defend
+himself; but God, dividing
+Nimrod&#8217;s subjects, and confounding
+their language, deprived him of
+the greater part of his people, and
+plagued those who adhered to him
+by swarms of gnats, which destroyed
+almost all of them; and one of those
+gnats having entered into the nostril,
+or ear, of Nimrod, penetrated to
+one of the membranes of his brain,
+where, growing bigger every day, it
+gave him such intolerable pain, that
+he was obliged to cause his head to
+be beaten with a mallet, in order to
+procure some ease, which torture he
+suffered four hundred years; God
+being willing to punish, by one of
+the smallest of His creatures, him
+who insolently boasted himself to
+be lord of all. A Syrian calendar
+places the death of Nimrod, as if
+the time were well known, on the
+eighth of Tamooz, or July.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_213" id="Footnote_213"></a><a href="#FNanchor_213"><span class="label">[213]</span></a> They tell us that Gabriel thrust
+his wing under them and lifted
+them up so high that the inhabitants
+of the lower heaven heard the
+barking of the dogs and the crowing
+of the cocks; and then, inverting
+them, threw them down to the
+earth.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_214" id="Footnote_214"></a><a href="#FNanchor_214"><span class="label">[214]</span></a> It is the most received opinion
+among the Mo&#7717;ammadans that the
+son whom Abraham offered was
+Ishmael and not Isaac; Ishmael
+being his only son at that time: for
+the promise of Isaac&#8217;s birth is mentioned
+lower, as subsequent in time
+to this transaction. They also allege
+the testimony of their prophet, who
+is reported to have said, &#8216;I am the
+son of the two who were offered in
+sacrifice;&#8217; meaning his great ancestor,
+Ishmael, and his own father &acute;Abd-Allah:
+for &acute;Abd-el-Mu&#7789;&#7789;alib had
+made a vow that if God would permit
+him to find out and open the
+well Zemzem and should give him
+ten sons he would sacrifice one of
+them; accordingly, when he had
+obtained his desire in both respects,
+he cast lots on his sons, and the lot
+falling on &acute;Abd-Allah, he redeemed
+him by offering a hundred camels,
+which was therefore ordered to be
+the price of a man&#8217;s blood in the
+Sunneh.&mdash;S. (B., Z.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_215" id="Footnote_215"></a><a href="#FNanchor_215"><span class="label">[215]</span></a> The occasion of this request of
+Abraham is said to have been a
+doubt proposed to him by the devil
+in human form, how it was possible
+for the several parts of a corpse 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.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_216" id="Footnote_216"></a><a href="#FNanchor_216"><span class="label">[216]</span></a> In the original, &#8216;Im&aacute;m,&#8217; which
+answers to the Latin <i>Antistes</i>. This
+title the Mo&#7717;ammadans give to
+their priests [if such a title may be
+used, for want of one more correct]
+who begin the prayers in their
+mosques, and whom all the congregation
+follow.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_217" id="Footnote_217"></a><a href="#FNanchor_217"><span class="label">[217]</span></a> The term &#8216;rek&acute;ah&#8217; signifies the
+repetition of a set form of words,
+chiefly from the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n, and ejaculations
+of &#8216;God is most Great!&#8217; etc.,
+accompanied by particular postures;
+part of the words being repeated in
+an erect posture, part sitting, and
+part in other postures: an inclination
+of the head and body, followed
+by two prostrations, distinguishing
+each rek&acute;ah. Each of the five daily
+prayers of the Muslims consist of a
+certain number of rek&acute;ahs.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_218" id="Footnote_218"></a><a href="#FNanchor_218"><span class="label">[218]</span></a> The city of E&#7789;-&#7788;&aacute;&iuml;f was so called,
+according to Abu-l-Fida and several
+other Arab authors, because it, with
+the the adjacent fields, was separated
+from Syria during the Deluge, and
+after floating round about upon the
+water at length rested in its present
+situation, where its soil has continued
+to produce the fruits of Syria.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_219" id="Footnote_219"></a><a href="#FNanchor_219"><span class="label">[219]</span></a> Namely, the Ka&#7841;beh.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_220" id="Footnote_220"></a><a href="#FNanchor_220"><span class="label">[220]</span></a> In the original, &#8216;Muslims,&#8217;
+which is the peculiar and very
+appropriate title of the believers in
+the religion taught by Mo&#7717;ammad;
+and as he professed not to teach a
+religion essentially <i>new</i>, this title is
+given to all true believers before
+him.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_221" id="Footnote_221"></a><a href="#FNanchor_221"><span class="label">[221]</span></a> &#8216;El-Islam&#8217; signifies the <i>resigning</i>
+oneself to God and to His service,
+and is the name given by Mo&#7717;ammad
+to that religion which, he asserted,
+all the prophets before him had
+taught, and he restored; the
+foundation of which was the unity
+of God.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_222" id="Footnote_222"></a><a href="#FNanchor_222"><span class="label">[222]</span></a> This well, say some, was a certain
+well near Jerusalem, or not far
+from the river Jordan; but others
+call it the well of Egypt, or Midian.
+The commentators tell us that when
+the sons of Jacob had gotten Joseph
+with them in the field, they began to
+abuse and to beat him so unmercifully
+that they had killed him had
+not Judah on his crying out for help
+insisted on the promise they had
+made not to kill him but to cast him
+into the well. Whereupon they let
+him down a little way; but as he
+held by the sides of the well, they
+bound him, and took off his inner
+garment, designing to stain it with
+blood to deceive their father. Joseph
+begged hard to have his garment
+returned to him, but to no purpose,
+his brothers telling him, with a sneer,
+that the eleven stars and the sun and
+the moon might clothe him and keep
+him company.&mdash;S. (B., Z.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_223" id="Footnote_223"></a><a href="#FNanchor_223"><span class="label">[223]</span></a> The commentators pretend that
+Gabriel also clothed him in the well
+with a garment of silk of Paradise.
+For they say that when Abraham was
+thrown into the fire by Nimrod, he
+was stripped; and that Gabriel
+brought him this garment and put it
+on him; and that from Abraham it
+descended to Jacob, who folded it up
+and put it into an amulet, which he
+hung about Joseph&#8217;s neck, whence
+Gabriel drew it out.&mdash;S. (B., Z.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_224" id="Footnote_224"></a><a href="#FNanchor_224"><span class="label">[224]</span></a> These races they used by way
+of exercise; and the commentators
+generally understand here that kind
+of race wherein they also showed their
+dexterity in throwing darts, which is
+still used in the East.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_225" id="Footnote_225"></a><a href="#FNanchor_225"><span class="label">[225]</span></a> This Jacob had reason to suspect,
+because when the garment was
+brought to him, he observed that,
+though it was bloody, yet it was not
+torn.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_226" id="Footnote_226"></a><a href="#FNanchor_226"><span class="label">[226]</span></a> Three days after Joseph had been
+thrown into it.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_227" id="Footnote_227"></a><a href="#FNanchor_227"><span class="label">[227]</span></a> The commentators are so exact
+as to give us the name of this man,
+who as they pretend, was M&aacute;lik Ibn-Do&#7841;r,
+of the tribe of Khuz&aacute;&acute;ah.&mdash;S.
+(B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_228" id="Footnote_228"></a><a href="#FNanchor_228"><span class="label">[228]</span></a> The expositors are not agreed
+whether the pronoun <i>they</i> relates to
+M&aacute;lik and his companions, or to
+Joseph&#8217;s brethren. They who espouse
+the former opinion say that those
+who came to draw water concealed
+the manner of their coming by him
+from the rest of the caravan, that
+they might keep him to themselves;
+pretending that some people of the
+place had given him to them to sell
+for them in Egypt. And they who
+prefer the latter opinion tell us that
+Judah carried victuals to Joseph every
+day while he was in the well; but
+not finding him there on the fourth
+day, he acquainted his brothers with
+it: whereupon they all went to the
+caravan and claimed Joseph as their
+slave, he not daring to discover that
+he was their brother, lest something
+worse should befall him; and at
+length they agreed to sell him to
+them.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_229" id="Footnote_229"></a><a href="#FNanchor_229"><span class="label">[229]</span></a> A corruption of Potiphar. He
+was a man of great consideration,
+being superintendent of the royal
+treasury.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_230" id="Footnote_230"></a><a href="#FNanchor_230"><span class="label">[230]</span></a> That is, to &#7730;i&#7789;feer and his
+friends. The occasion of Joseph&#8217;s imprisonment
+is said to be either that
+they suspected him to be guilty notwithstanding
+the proofs which had
+been given of his innocence, or else
+that Zeleekha desired it, feigning, to
+deceive her husband, that she wanted
+to have Joseph removed from her
+sight till she could conquer her passion
+by time; though her real design
+was to force him to compliance.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_231" id="Footnote_231"></a><a href="#FNanchor_231"><span class="label">[231]</span></a> According to the explication of
+some who take the pronoun <i>him</i>
+to relate to Joseph, this passage may
+be rendered, &#8216;But the devil caused
+him (<i>i.e.</i>, Joseph) to forget to make
+his application unto his lord;&#8217; and
+to beg the good offices of his fellow-prisoner
+for his deliverance, instead
+of relying on God alone, as it became
+a prophet, especially, to have done.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_232" id="Footnote_232"></a><a href="#FNanchor_232"><span class="label">[232]</span></a> This prince, as the Oriental
+writers generally agree, was Er-Reiy&aacute;n
+the son of El-Weleed the Amalekite,
+who was converted by Joseph to the
+worship of the true God, and died in
+the lifetime of that prophet. But
+some pretend that the Pharaoh of
+Joseph and of Moses were one and
+the same person, and that he lived
+(or rather reigned) four hundred
+years.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_233" id="Footnote_233"></a><a href="#FNanchor_233"><span class="label">[233]</span></a> The commentators say that
+Joseph, being taken out of prison,
+after he had washed and changed his
+clothes, was introduced to the king,
+whom he saluted in the Hebrew
+tongue, and on the king&#8217;s asking
+what language that was, he answered
+that it was the language of his fathers.
+This prince, they say, understood no
+less than seventy languages, in every
+one of which he discoursed with
+Joseph, who answered him in the
+same; at which the king, greatly
+marvelling, desired him to relate his
+dream, which he did, describing the
+most minute circumstances: whereupon
+the king placed Joseph by him
+on his throne, and made him his
+Wezeer, or chief minister.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_234" id="Footnote_234"></a><a href="#FNanchor_234"><span class="label">[234]</span></a> Namely, Ephraim and Manasses:
+so that according to this tradition,
+she was the same woman who is called
+Asenath by &#8216;Moses.&#8217; This supposed
+marriage, which authorized their
+amours, probably encouraged the
+Mo&#7717;ammadan divines to make use
+of the loves of Joseph and Zeleekha
+as an allegorical emblem of the spiritual
+love between the Creator and
+the creature, God and the soul; just
+as the Christians apply the Song of
+Solomon to the same mystical purpose.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_235" id="Footnote_235"></a><a href="#FNanchor_235"><span class="label">[235]</span></a> Joseph, being made Wezeer,
+governed with great wisdom; for he
+not only caused justice to be impartially
+administered and encouraged the
+people to industry and the improvement
+of agriculture during the seven
+years of plenty, but began and perfected
+several works of great benefit;
+the natives at this day ascribing
+to the patriarch Joseph almost all
+the ancient works of public utility
+throughout the kingdom; as particularly
+the rendering the province
+of El-Feiyoom, from a standing pool
+or marsh, the most fertile and best-cultivated
+land in all Egypt. When
+the years of famine came, the effects
+of which were felt not only in Egypt
+but in Syria and the neighbouring
+countries, the inhabitants were obliged
+to apply to Joseph for corn,
+which he sold to them, first for their
+money, jewels, and ornaments, then
+for their cattle and lands, and at
+length for their persons; so that all
+the Egyptians in general became
+slaves to the king, though Joseph by
+his consent soon released them and
+returned them their substance.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_236" id="Footnote_236"></a><a href="#FNanchor_236"><span class="label">[236]</span></a> At length Joseph asked them
+whom they had to vouch for their
+veracity; but they told him they
+knew no man who could vouch for
+them in Egypt. Then, replied he,
+one of you shall stay behind with me
+as a pledge, and the others may
+return home with their provision;
+and when ye come again, ye shall
+bring your younger brother with you,
+that I may know ye have told me the
+truth. Whereupon, it being in vain
+to dispute the matter, they cast lots
+who should stay behind, and the lot
+fell upon Simeon. When they departed,
+Joseph gave each of them a
+camel, and another for their brother.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_237" id="Footnote_237"></a><a href="#FNanchor_237"><span class="label">[237]</span></a> The original word signifying
+not only money but also goods bartered
+or given in exchange for other
+merchandise, some commentators tell
+us that they paid for their corn, not
+in money, but in shoes and dressed
+skins.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_238" id="Footnote_238"></a><a href="#FNanchor_238"><span class="label">[238]</span></a> The belief in the influence of the
+evil eye prevails among all the Muslims,
+even the most religious and
+learned; for their prophet said, &#8216;The
+eye hath a complete influence; because
+verily, if there were a thing to overcome
+fate, it most certainly would be
+a malignant eye.&#8217; Hence he permitted
+charms (which he disallowed
+in almost every other case) to be
+employed for the purpose of counteracting
+its influence.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_239" id="Footnote_239"></a><a href="#FNanchor_239"><span class="label">[239]</span></a> It is related that Joseph, having
+invited his brethren to an entertainment,
+ordered them to be placed two
+and two together; by which means,
+Benjamin, the eleventh, was obliged
+to sit alone, and, bursting into tears,
+said, If my brother Joseph were alive,
+he would have sat with me. Whereupon
+Joseph ordered him to be seated
+at the same table with himself, and
+when the entertainment was over,
+dismissed the rest, ordering that they
+should be lodged two and two in a
+house, but kept Benjamin in his own
+apartment, where he passed the night.
+The next day, Joseph asked him
+whether he would accept of himself
+for his brother, in the room of him
+whom he had lost; to which Benjamin
+replied, &#8216;Who can find a
+brother comparable unto thee? Yet
+thou art not the son of Jacob and
+Rachel.&#8217; And upon this, Joseph discovered
+himself to him.&mdash;S. (B.).</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_240" id="Footnote_240"></a><a href="#FNanchor_240"><span class="label">[240]</span></a> Some, however, are of opinion
+that it was a drinking-cup.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_241" id="Footnote_241"></a><a href="#FNanchor_241"><span class="label">[241]</span></a> The occasion of this suspicion,
+it is said, was that Joseph having
+been brought up by his father&#8217;s sister,
+she became so fond of him, that when
+he grew up and Jacob designed to
+take him from her she contrived the
+following stratagem to keep him.
+Having a girdle which had once belonged
+to Abraham, she girt it about
+the child, and then pretending she
+had lost it, caused strict search to be
+made for it; and it being at length
+found on Joseph, he was adjudged,
+according to the above-mentioned law
+of the family, to be delivered to her
+as her property. Some, however, say
+that Joseph actually stole an idol of
+gold, which belonged to his mother&#8217;s
+father, and destroyed it; a story probably
+taken from Rachel&#8217;s stealing
+the images of Laban: and others tell
+us that he once stole a goat or a hen,
+to give to a poor man.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_242" id="Footnote_242"></a><a href="#FNanchor_242"><span class="label">[242]</span></a> Mi&#7779;r is the name both of Egypt and its capital.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_243" id="Footnote_243"></a><a href="#FNanchor_243"><span class="label">[243]</span></a> The injury they did Benjamin
+was the separating him from his
+brother, after which they kept him
+in so great subjection that he durst
+not speak to them but with the
+utmost submission. Some say that
+these words were occasioned by a
+letter which Joseph&#8217;s brethren delivered
+to him from their father,
+requesting the releasement of Benjamin,
+and by their representing his
+extreme affliction at the loss of him
+and his brother. The commentators
+observe that Joseph, to excuse his
+brethren&#8217;s behaviour towards him,
+attributes it to their ignorance and
+the heat of youth.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_244" id="Footnote_244"></a><a href="#FNanchor_244"><span class="label">[244]</span></a> The frontier town of Egypt towards Syria.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_245" id="Footnote_245"></a><a href="#FNanchor_245"><span class="label">[245]</span></a> El-Bey&#7693;&aacute;wee tell us that
+Joseph sent carriages and provisions
+for his father and his family; and
+that he and the king of Egypt went
+forth to meet them. He adds that
+the number of the children of Israel
+who entered Egypt with him was
+seventy-two; and that when they
+were led out thence by Moses, they
+were increased to six hundred thousand
+five hundred and seventy men,
+and upwards, besides the old people
+and children.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_246" id="Footnote_246"></a><a href="#FNanchor_246"><span class="label">[246]</span></a> A transposition is supposed to
+be in these words:&mdash;he seated his
+father and mother after they had
+bowed down to him, and not before.&mdash;S.
+(B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_247" id="Footnote_247"></a><a href="#FNanchor_247"><span class="label">[247]</span></a> But when Moses led the Israelites
+out of Egypt, he took up the
+coffin, and carried Joseph&#8217;s bones
+with him into Canaan, where he
+buried them by his ancestors.&mdash;S.
+(B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_248" id="Footnote_248"></a><a href="#FNanchor_248"><span class="label">[248]</span></a> The Mo&#7717;ammadan writers tell
+us that Job was of the race of Esau,
+and was blessed with a numerous
+family and abundant riches; but
+that God proved him by taking away
+all that he had, even his children,
+who were killed by the fall of a house;
+notwithstanding which he continued
+to serve God and to return Him
+thanks as usual; that he was then
+struck with a filthy disease, his body
+being full of worms and so offensive
+that as he lay on the dunghill none
+could bear to come near him: that
+his wife, however (whom some call
+Ra&#7717;meh the daughter of Ephraim
+the son of Joseph, and others Makhir
+the daughter of Manasses), attended
+him with great patience, supporting
+him with what she earned by her
+labour; but that the devil appearing
+to her one day, after having reminded
+her of her past prosperity, promised
+her that if she would worship him,
+he would restore all they had lost;
+whereupon she asked her husband&#8217;s
+consent, who was so angry at the proposal,
+that he swore, if he recovered,
+to give his wife a hundred stripes.&mdash;S.
+(B., J., A.F.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_249" id="Footnote_249"></a><a href="#FNanchor_249"><span class="label">[249]</span></a> Some say there were two springs,
+one of hot water wherein he bathed,
+and the other of cold of which he
+drank.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_250" id="Footnote_250"></a><a href="#FNanchor_250"><span class="label">[250]</span></a> His wife also becoming young
+and handsome again, and bearing him
+twenty-six sons. Some, to express
+the great riches which were bestowed
+on Job after his sufferings, say he
+had two threshing-floors, one for
+wheat and the other for barley, and
+that God sent two clouds, which
+rained gold on the one and silver on
+the other till they ran over.&mdash;(J.)
+The traditions differ as to the continuance
+of Job&#8217;s calamities: one
+will have it to be eighteen years;
+another, thirteen; another, three;
+and another, exactly seven years
+seven months and seven hours.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_251" id="Footnote_251"></a><a href="#FNanchor_251"><span class="label">[251]</span></a> Or &#8216;a palm-branch having a
+hundred leaves.&#8217;&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_252" id="Footnote_252"></a><a href="#FNanchor_252"><span class="label">[252]</span></a> But see note <a href="#Footnote_248">1</a>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_253" id="Footnote_253"></a><a href="#FNanchor_253"><span class="label">[253]</span></a> The commentators generally suppose
+him to be the same person with
+the father-in-law of Moses, who is
+named in Scripture Reuel or Raguel,
+and Jethro. But A&#7717;mad Ibn-&acute;Abd-El-&#7716;aleem
+charges those who entertain
+this opinion with ignorance. They
+say (after the Jews) that he gave his
+son-in-law [Moses] that wonder-working
+rod with which he performed all
+those miracles in Egypt and the
+Desert, and also excellent advice and
+instructions; whence he had the
+surname of &#8216;Kha&#7789;eeb-el-Ambiya,&#8217; or
+&#8216;the Preacher to the Prophets.&#8217;&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_254" id="Footnote_254"></a><a href="#FNanchor_254"><span class="label">[254]</span></a> The Arabic word &#8216;&#7693;a&acute;eef&#8217;
+(weak) signifying also in the &#7716;imyaritic
+dialect &#8216;blind,&#8217; some suppose
+that Sho&acute;eyb was so, and that the
+Midianites objected that to him as
+a defect which disqualified him for
+the prophetic office.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_255" id="Footnote_255"></a><a href="#FNanchor_255"><span class="label">[255]</span></a> Which of the kings of Egypt this
+Pharaoh of Moses was is uncertain.
+Not to mention the opinions of the
+European writers, those of the East
+generally suppose him to have been
+El-Weleed, who according to some
+was an Arab of the tribe of &acute;&Aacute;d,
+or according to others the son of
+Mu&#7779;&acute;ab the son of Er-Reiy&aacute;n the
+son of El-Weleed the Amalekite.
+There are historians, however, who
+suppose &#7730;&aacute;boos the brother and
+predecessor of El-Weleed was the
+prince we are speaking of, and pretend
+he lived six hundred and
+twenty years and reigned four hundred.
+Which is more reasonable, at
+least, than the opinion of those who
+imagine it was his father Mu&#7779;&acute;ab or
+grandfather Er-Reiy&aacute;n. Abu-l-Fida
+says the Mu&#7779;&acute;ab, being one hundred
+and seventy years old and having no
+child, while he kept the herds saw a
+cow calve, and heard her say at the
+same time, &#8216;O Mu&#7779;&acute;ab, be not grieved,
+for thou shalt have a wicked son,
+who will be at length cast into hell.&#8217;
+And he accordingly had this Weleed,
+who afterwards coming to be king of
+Egypt proved an impious tyrant.&mdash;S.
+(A.F., Z.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_256" id="Footnote_256"></a><a href="#FNanchor_256"><span class="label">[256]</span></a> This name is given to Pharaoh&#8217;s
+chief minister; from whence it is
+generally inferred that Mo&#7717;ammad
+had been made Haman the favorite
+of Ahasuerus king of Persia, and
+who indisputably lived many years
+after Moses, to be that prophet&#8217;s
+contemporary.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_257" id="Footnote_257"></a><a href="#FNanchor_257"><span class="label">[257]</span></a> It is related that the midwife
+appointed to attend the Hebrew
+women, terrified by a light which
+appeared between the eyes of Moses
+at his birth, and touched with an
+extraordinary affection for the child,
+did not discover him to the officers,
+so that his mother kept him in her
+house, and nursed him three months;
+after which it was impossible for
+her to conceal him any longer, the
+king then giving orders to make the
+searches more strictly.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_258" id="Footnote_258"></a><a href="#FNanchor_258"><span class="label">[258]</span></a> The commentators say that his
+mother made an ark of the papyrus,
+and pitched it, and put in some cotton;
+and having laid the child therein,
+committed it to the river, a branch of
+which went into Pharaoh&#8217;s garden:
+that the stream carried the ark
+thither into a fishpond, at the head
+of which Pharaoh was then sitting
+with his wife &Aacute;siyeh the daughter of
+Muz&aacute;&#7717;em; and that the king, having
+commanded it to be taken up and
+opened, and finding in it a beautiful
+child, took a fancy to it, and ordered
+it to be brought up.&mdash;Some writers
+mention a miraculous preservation of
+Moses before he was put into the ark;
+and tell us, that his mother having
+hid him from Pharaoh&#8217;s officers in
+an oven, his sister, in her mother&#8217;s
+absence, kindled a large fire in the
+oven to heat it, not knowing the
+child was there; but that he was
+afterwards taken out unhurt.&mdash;S.
+(B., A.F.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_259" id="Footnote_259"></a><a href="#FNanchor_259"><span class="label">[259]</span></a> &#7730;ur. xxvi. 17.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_260" id="Footnote_260"></a><a href="#FNanchor_260"><span class="label">[260]</span></a> This person, says the tradition,
+was an Egyptian and Pharaoh&#8217;s
+uncle&#8217;s son.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_261" id="Footnote_261"></a><a href="#FNanchor_261"><span class="label">[261]</span></a> The Jews pretend he was actually
+imprisoned for the fact, and
+condemned to be beheaded; but
+that when he should have suffered
+his neck became as hard as ivory,
+and the sword rebounded on the
+executioner.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_262" id="Footnote_262"></a><a href="#FNanchor_262"><span class="label">[262]</span></a> According to El-Bey&#7693;&aacute;wee, Moses
+knew not the way, and, coming to a
+place where three roads met, committed
+himself to the guidance of
+God, and took the middle road,
+which was the right; Providence
+likewise so ordering it that his pursuers
+took the other two roads, and
+missed him.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_263" id="Footnote_263"></a><a href="#FNanchor_263"><span class="label">[263]</span></a> This was &#7778;afoora [also called
+&#7778;afoorah and &#7778;afooriya], or Zipporah,
+the elder, or as others suppose
+the younger, daughter of Sho&acute;eyb,
+whom Moses afterwards married.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_264" id="Footnote_264"></a><a href="#FNanchor_264"><span class="label">[264]</span></a> The commentators say, that
+Moses, having obtained leave of
+Sho&acute;eyb or Jethro, his father-in-law,
+to visit his mother, departed with his
+family from Midian towards Egypt; but
+coming to the valley of &#7788;uwa, wherein
+Mount Sinai stands, his wife fell in
+labour and was delivered of a son in
+a very dark and snowy night: he had
+also lost his way, and his cattle were
+scattered from him, when on a sudden
+he saw a fire by the side of a
+mountain, which on his nearer
+approach he found burning in a green
+bush.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_265" id="Footnote_265"></a><a href="#FNanchor_265"><span class="label">[265]</span></a> This was a mark of humility
+and respect: though some fancy
+there was some uncleanness in the
+shoes themselves, because they were
+made of the skin of an ass not
+dressed.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_266" id="Footnote_266"></a><a href="#FNanchor_266"><span class="label">[266]</span></a> Which was at first no bigger than
+the rod, but afterwards swelled to a
+prodigious size.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_267" id="Footnote_267"></a><a href="#FNanchor_267"><span class="label">[267]</span></a> When Moses saw the serpent
+move about with great nimbleness
+and swallow stones and trees, he was
+greatly terrified, and fled from it; but
+recovering his courage at these words
+of God, he had the boldness to take
+the serpent by the jaws.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_268" id="Footnote_268"></a><a href="#FNanchor_268"><span class="label">[268]</span></a> Moses had an impediment in his
+speech, which was occasioned by the
+following accident. Pharaoh one day
+carrying him in his arms when a
+child, he suddenly laid hold of his
+beard and plucked it in a very rough
+manner, which put Pharaoh into
+such a passion that he ordered him
+to be put to death: but &Aacute;siyeh his
+wife representing to him that he was
+but a child, who could not distinguish
+between a burning coal and a ruby, he
+ordered the experiment to be made;
+and a live coal and a ruby being set
+before Moses, he took the coal and
+put it into his mouth, and burnt his
+tongue: and thereupon he was pardoned.&mdash;This
+is a Jewish story a little
+altered.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_269" id="Footnote_269"></a><a href="#FNanchor_269"><span class="label">[269]</span></a> For he was obliged to abandon
+his country and his friends, and to
+travel several days in great terror
+and want of necessary provisions to
+seek a refuge among strangers; and
+was afterwards forced to serve for
+hire to gain a livelihood.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_270" id="Footnote_270"></a><a href="#FNanchor_270"><span class="label">[270]</span></a> Aaron being by this time come
+out to meet his brother, either by
+divine inspiration, or having notice
+of his design to return to Egypt.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_271" id="Footnote_271"></a><a href="#FNanchor_271"><span class="label">[271]</span></a> The Arab writers tell enormous
+fables of this serpent or dragon.
+For they say that he was hairy and
+of so prodigious a size that when he
+opened his mouth his jaws were
+fourscore cubits asunder and when
+he laid his lower jaw on the ground
+his upper reached to the top of the
+palace [or rather, I believe, the
+<i>throne</i> of Pharaoh]: that Pharaoh,
+seeing this monster make towards
+him, fled from it; and that the
+whole assembly also betaking themselves
+to their heels, no less than
+twenty-five thousand of them lost
+their lives in the press. They add
+that Pharaoh, upon this abjured
+Moses by God who had sent him to
+take away the serpent, and promised
+he would believe on Him and let
+the Israelites go; but when Moses
+had done what he requested, he
+relapsed and grew as hardened as
+before.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_272" id="Footnote_272"></a><a href="#FNanchor_272"><span class="label">[272]</span></a> 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.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_273" id="Footnote_273"></a><a href="#FNanchor_273"><span class="label">[273]</span></a> They provided themselves with
+a great number of thick ropes and
+long pieces of wood, which they
+contrived by some means to move
+and make them twist themselves one
+over the other; and so imposed on
+the beholders, who at a distance
+took them to be true serpents. It
+is also said that they rubbed them
+over with quicksilver, which being
+wrought upon by the heat of the sun
+caused them to move.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_274" id="Footnote_274"></a><a href="#FNanchor_274"><span class="label">[274]</span></a> The expositors add that when
+this serpent had swallowed up all
+the rods and cords he made directly
+towards the assembly and put them
+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.&mdash;S.
+(B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_275" id="Footnote_275"></a><a href="#FNanchor_275"><span class="label">[275]</span></a> Sale observes that some writers
+introduce only two of the enchanters
+as acknowledging Moses&#8217; 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&#8217;s tomb and 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 masters slept, or
+only when they were awake; for,
+said he, enchantments have no effect
+while the enchanter is asleep, and
+therefore if it be otherwise in this
+case, you may be assured that they
+act by a divine power. These two
+magicians then, arriving at the capital
+of Egypt, on inquiry found 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.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_276" id="Footnote_276"></a><a href="#FNanchor_276"><span class="label">[276]</span></a> 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
+&#7730;ur-&aacute;n [xxviii. 35], &#8216;Ye two, and
+they who follow you, shall overcome.&#8217;&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_277" id="Footnote_277"></a><a href="#FNanchor_277"><span class="label">[277]</span></a> See p. 101, l. 5, n. <a href="#Footnote_260">1</a>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_278" id="Footnote_278"></a><a href="#FNanchor_278"><span class="label">[278]</span></a> Cp. Act. Apost. v. 38, 39.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_279" id="Footnote_279"></a><a href="#FNanchor_279"><span class="label">[279]</span></a> &#8216;The people of Noah and of &acute;&Aacute;d
+and of Thamood, and those whom
+God destroyed after them.&#8217; So explained
+in the &#7730;&aacute;moos.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_280" id="Footnote_280"></a><a href="#FNanchor_280"><span class="label">[280]</span></a> It is said that H&aacute;m&aacute;n having
+prepared bricks and other materials
+employed no less than fifty thousand
+men besides labourers in the building,
+which they carried to so immense
+a height that the workmen could no
+longer stand on it: that Pharaoh
+ascending this tower threw a javelin
+towards heaven, which fell back
+again stained with blood, whereupon
+he impiously boasted that he had
+killed the god of Moses; but at sunset
+God sent the angel Gabriel, who
+with one stroke of his wing demolished
+the tower, a part whereof
+falling on the king&#8217;s army destroyed
+a million of men.&mdash;S. (Z.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_281" id="Footnote_281"></a><a href="#FNanchor_281"><span class="label">[281]</span></a> Some are of opinion that those
+who were sent by Pharaoh to seize
+the true believer, his kinsman, are
+the persons more particularly meant
+in this place: for they tell us that
+the said believer fled to a mountain,
+where they found him at prayers,
+guarded by the wild beasts, which
+ranged themselves in order about
+him; and that his pursuers thereupon
+returned in a great fright to
+their master, who put them to death
+for not performing his command.&mdash;S.
+(B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_282" id="Footnote_282"></a><a href="#FNanchor_282"><span class="label">[282]</span></a> Some expound these words of
+the previous punishment they are
+doomed to suffer, according to a
+tradition of Ibn-Mes&acute;ood, which informs
+us that their souls are in the
+crops of black birds which are exposed
+to hell-fire every morning and
+evening until the Day of Judgment.&mdash;S.
+(B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_283" id="Footnote_283"></a><a href="#FNanchor_283"><span class="label">[283]</span></a> As there is no mention of any
+such miraculous inundation in the
+[so-called] Mosaic writings, some
+have imagined this plague to have
+been either a pestilence, or the smallpox,
+or some other epidemical distemper.
+(B.) For the word &#8216;&#7789;oof&aacute;n,&#8217;
+which is used in this place, and is
+generally rendered a &#8216;deluge,&#8217; may
+also signify any other universal destruction
+or mortality.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_284" id="Footnote_284"></a><a href="#FNanchor_284"><span class="label">[284]</span></a> 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 Egypt
+and the Amalekites.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_285" id="Footnote_285"></a><a href="#FNanchor_285"><span class="label">[285]</span></a> Particularly the lofty tower
+[before mentioned] which Pharaoh
+caused to be built, that he might
+attack the God of Moses.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_286" id="Footnote_286"></a><a href="#FNanchor_286"><span class="label">[286]</span></a> The word here translated &#8216;body&#8217;
+signifying also a &#8216;coat of mail,&#8217; some
+imagine the meaning to be that his
+corpse floated armed with his coat of
+mail, which they tell us was of gold,
+by which they knew it was
+he.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_287" id="Footnote_287"></a><a href="#FNanchor_287"><span class="label">[287]</span></a> These people some will have to
+be of the tribe of Amalek, 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.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_288" id="Footnote_288"></a><a href="#FNanchor_288"><span class="label">[288]</span></a> The Eastern writers say these
+quails were of a peculiar kind of be
+found nowhere else but in El-Yemen, from
+whence they were brought by a south
+wind in great numbers to the Israelites&#8217;
+camp in the desert. The Arabs
+called these birds &#8216;selwa,&#8217; which is
+plainly the same with the Hebrew
+&#8216;salwim,&#8217; and say they have no bones,
+but are eaten whole.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_289" id="Footnote_289"></a><a href="#FNanchor_289"><span class="label">[289]</span></a> The word here rendered &#8216;a great
+city,&#8217; namely &#8216;mi&#7779;ran,&#8217; is rendered
+by Marracci and Sale &#8216;Egypt,&#8217; and
+is so understood by many learned
+Arabs; but according to a general
+rule, to have this signification it
+should be &#8216;mi&#7779;ra:&#8217; in some copies
+of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n, however, it is thus
+written.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_290" id="Footnote_290"></a><a href="#FNanchor_290"><span class="label">[290]</span></a> See Sale&#8217;s note <i>in loc.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_291" id="Footnote_291"></a><a href="#FNanchor_291"><span class="label">[291]</span></a> A kind of soft stone, like dry mud.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_292" id="Footnote_292"></a><a href="#FNanchor_292"><span class="label">[292]</span></a> The story here alluded to, though
+it occurs among passages respecting
+Moses and his people, is said to relate
+to a different age and to be as follows:&mdash;In
+the days of David, some Israelites
+dwelt at Eyleh, 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&#8217;s
+commandment, catched 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 Sabbath, used
+both persuasion and force to stop
+this impiety, but to no purpose, the
+offenders growing only more and more
+obstinate; whereupon 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.&mdash;S. (A. F.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_293" id="Footnote_293"></a><a href="#FNanchor_293"><span class="label">[293]</span></a> His breath before [he used the tooth-stick] had the odour of musk.&mdash;S.
+(B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_294" id="Footnote_294"></a><a href="#FNanchor_294"><span class="label">[294]</span></a> It is said that not only the ten
+commandments, but the whole law
+was written thereon.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_295" id="Footnote_295"></a><a href="#FNanchor_295"><span class="label">[295]</span></a> That is, as some understand it,
+consisting of flesh and blood; or, as
+others, being a mere body or mass of
+metal, without a soul.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_296" id="Footnote_296"></a><a href="#FNanchor_296"><span class="label">[296]</span></a> The person who cast this calf, the
+Mo&#7717;ammadans say, was not Aaron
+but Es-S&aacute;miree, 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&#8217;s absence,
+having ordered Es-S&aacute;miree 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, Es-S&aacute;miree, understanding
+the founder&#8217;s art, put
+them altogether into a furnace, to
+melt them down into one mass, which
+came out in the form of a calf. One
+writer says, that all the Israelites
+adored this calf, except only twelve
+thousand.&mdash;S. (A. F.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_297" id="Footnote_297"></a><a href="#FNanchor_297"><span class="label">[297]</span></a> After he had completed his forty days&#8217; stay in the mount, and had received
+the Law.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_298" id="Footnote_298"></a><a href="#FNanchor_298"><span class="label">[298]</span></a> Or, I knew that which they
+knew not&mdash;that the messenger sent
+to thee from God was a pure spirit,
+and that his footsteps gave life
+to whatever they touched; being
+no other than the angel Gabriel,
+mounted on the horse of life: and
+therefore I made use of the dust of
+his feet to animate the molten calf.
+It is said, Es-S&aacute;miree knew the angel
+because he had saved and taken care
+of him when a child and exposed by
+his mother for fear of Pharaoh.&mdash;S.
+(B., Jel&aacute;l.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_299" id="Footnote_299"></a><a href="#FNanchor_299"><span class="label">[299]</span></a> The word here rendered &#8216;hearts&#8217;
+often signifies stomachs; and if this
+be its meaning here, the narrative
+agrees with the [so-called] Mosaic
+account: for Moses &#8216;took the calf
+which they had made, and burnt it
+in the fire, and ground it to powder,
+and strawed it upon the water, and
+made the children of Israel to drink
+of it.&#8217;&mdash;Exod. xxxii. 20.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_300" id="Footnote_300"></a><a href="#FNanchor_300"><span class="label">[300]</span></a> 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&#8217; intercession
+restored to life.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_301" id="Footnote_301"></a><a href="#FNanchor_301"><span class="label">[301]</span></a> This person is represented by the
+commentators as the most beautiful
+of the Israelites, and so far surpassing
+them all in opulence that the
+riches of &#7730;&aacute;roon have become a
+proverb.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_302" id="Footnote_302"></a><a href="#FNanchor_302"><span class="label">[302]</span></a> Moses, as some say, having complained
+to God of a false accusation
+brought against him by &#7730;&aacute;roon, He
+directed him to command the earth
+what he pleased, and it should obey
+him; whereupon he said, &#8216;O earth,
+swallow them up;&#8217; and immediately
+the earth opened under &#7730;&aacute;roon and
+his confederates, and swallowed them
+up, with his palace and all his riches.&mdash;There
+goes a tradition that as
+&#7730;&aacute;roon sank gradually into the
+ground, first to his knees, then to
+his waist, then to his neck, he cried
+out four several times, &#8216;O Moses,
+have mercy on me!&#8217; but that Moses
+continued to say, &#8216;O earth, swallow
+them up!&#8217; till at last he wholly disappeared:
+upon which God said to
+Moses, &#8216;Thou hadst no mercy on
+&#7730;&aacute;roon, though he asked pardon of
+thee four times; but I would have
+had compassion on him if he had
+asked pardon of me but once.&#8217;&mdash;S.
+(B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_303" id="Footnote_303"></a><a href="#FNanchor_303"><span class="label">[303]</span></a> Or rather, fawn-coloured; as are
+most of the cows of Arabia. The
+word in the original properly signifies
+yellow.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_304" id="Footnote_304"></a><a href="#FNanchor_304"><span class="label">[304]</span></a> The story of this young man is
+thus related:&mdash;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; at which
+time his mother told him the heifer
+was his, and bid him fetch her and
+sell her for three pieces of gold.
+When the young 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&#8217;s consent;
+which when he had obtained, he
+returned to the market-place, and
+met the angel, who now offered 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 done 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.&mdash;S. (A.F.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_305" id="Footnote_305"></a><a href="#FNanchor_305"><span class="label">[305]</span></a> The more common tradition
+seems to be that the man was murdered
+by <i>one</i> person, the son of his
+brother, who desired to obtain his
+property (as his inheritance), or his
+daughter, or both. (Mir-&aacute;t-ez-Zem&aacute;n).</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_306" id="Footnote_306"></a><a href="#FNanchor_306"><span class="label">[306]</span></a> Also called El-Kha&#7693;ir. This mysterious
+person, whom the vulgar and
+some others regard as a prophet, and
+identify with Ily&aacute;s (Elias or Elijah),
+and whom some confound with St.
+George, was, according to the more
+approved opinion of the learned, a
+just man or saint, the Wezeer and
+counsellor of that equally doubtful
+personage Dhu-l-&#7730;arneyn, whose story
+has already been related in this
+volume. El-Khi&#7693;r is said to have
+drunk of the Fountain of Life, by
+virtue of which he still lives, and
+will live till the day of judgment.
+He is also said to appear frequently
+to Muslims in perplexity, and to be
+generally clad in green garments;
+whence, according to some, his name.&mdash;Sale
+states, in a note on this
+passage, that the Muslims usually
+confound El-Khi&#7693;r with Phineas, as
+well as Elias and St. George, saying
+that his soul passed by a metempsychosis
+successively through all
+three; and he adds, that part of
+these fictions they took from the
+Jews, some of whom also fancy
+Phineas was Elias.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_307" id="Footnote_307"></a><a href="#FNanchor_307"><span class="label">[307]</span></a> Or, as some rather think, El-Ubulleh,
+near El-Basrah, or else
+B&aacute;jarw&aacute;n in Armenia.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_308" id="Footnote_308"></a><a href="#FNanchor_308"><span class="label">[308]</span></a> They were ten brothers, five of
+whom were past their labour by
+reason of their age.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_309" id="Footnote_309"></a><a href="#FNanchor_309"><span class="label">[309]</span></a> 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 &#8216;sekeeneh,&#8217;
+which signifies &#8216;tranquillity&#8217;
+or &#8216;security of mind,&#8217; and is so understood
+by the commentators, may
+not improbably mean the &#8216;divine
+presence&#8217; or &#8216;glory,&#8217; which used to
+appear on the Ark, and which the
+Jews express by the same word
+&#8216;Shekinah.&#8217;&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_310" id="Footnote_310"></a><a href="#FNanchor_310"><span class="label">[310]</span></a> Sale observes that Ya&#7717;y&aacute; most
+rationally understands hereby the
+divine revelations which David received
+from God, and not the art
+of making coats of mail.&mdash;The cause
+of his applying himself to this art is
+thus related in the Mir-&aacute;t-ez-Zem&aacute;n:&mdash;He
+used to go forth in disguise;
+and when he found any people who
+knew him not, he approached them
+and asked them respecting the conduct
+of David, and they praised him
+and prayed for him; but one day, as
+he was asking questions respecting
+himself as usual, God sent to him an
+angel in the form of a human being,
+who said, &#8216;An excellent man were
+David if he did not take from the
+public treasury:&#8217;&mdash;whereupon the
+heart of David was contracted, and
+he begged of God to render him independent:
+so He made iron soft to
+him, and it became in his hands as
+thread; and he used to sell a coat of
+mail for four thousand [pieces of
+money&mdash;whether gold or silver is not said]
+and with part of this he obtained
+food for himself, and part he
+gave in alms, and with part he fed
+his family.&mdash;Hence an excellent
+coat of mail is often called by the
+Arabs &#8216;D&aacute;woodee,&#8217; <i>i.e.</i>, &#8216;Davidean.&#8217;
+See my translation of &#8216;The Thousand
+and One Nights,&#8217; chap. viii. note 5.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_311" id="Footnote_311"></a><a href="#FNanchor_311"><span class="label">[311]</span></a> For David, they say, divided
+his time regularly, setting apart one
+day for the service of God, another
+day for rendering justice to his
+people, another day for preaching to
+them, and another day for his own
+affairs.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_312" id="Footnote_312"></a><a href="#FNanchor_312"><span class="label">[312]</span></a> They say that he had a carpet
+of green silk, on which his throne was
+placed, being of a prodigious length
+and breadth, and sufficient for all his
+forces to stand on, the men placing
+themselves on his right hand, and the
+spirits [or jinn] on his left; and that
+when all were in order the wind at
+his command took up the carpet
+and transported it with all that were
+upon it wherever he pleased; the
+army of birds at the same time
+flying over their heads and forming a
+kind of canopy to shade them from
+the sun.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_313" id="Footnote_313"></a><a href="#FNanchor_313"><span class="label">[313]</span></a> Whither the wind brought
+back Solomon&#8217;s throne in the evening,
+after having carried it to a distant
+country in the morning.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_314" id="Footnote_314"></a><a href="#FNanchor_314"><span class="label">[314]</span></a> After the space of forty days,
+which was the time the image had
+been worshipped in his house, the
+devil [or jinnee] flew away, and threw
+the signet into the sea: the signet
+was immediately swallowed by a fish,
+which being taken and given to Solomon,
+he found the ring in its belly,
+and, having by this means recovered
+the kingdom, took &#7778;akhr, and, tying
+a great stone to his neck, threw him
+into the Lake of Tiberias.&mdash;S. (B.,
+A.F.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_315" id="Footnote_315"></a><a href="#FNanchor_315"><span class="label">[315]</span></a> See note 30 to the Introduction of my translation of the &#8216;Thousand
+and One Nights.&#8217;</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_316" id="Footnote_316"></a><a href="#FNanchor_316"><span class="label">[316]</span></a> The Arab historians tell us
+that Solomon, having finished the
+Temple of Jerusalem, went in
+pilgrimage to Mekkeh, where having
+stayed as long as he pleased, he proceeded
+towards El-Yemen; and leaving
+Mekkeh in the morning he
+arrived by noon at &#7778;an&acute;a, and being
+extremely delighted with the country
+rested there; but wanting water
+to make the ablution, he looked
+among the birds for the lapwing
+which found it for him.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_317" id="Footnote_317"></a><a href="#FNanchor_317"><span class="label">[317]</span></a> Some add that Bil&#7731;ees, to try
+whether Solomon was a prophet or
+not, drest the boys like girls and the
+girls like boys, and sent him in a
+casket a pearl not drilled and an
+onyx drilled with a crooked hole;
+and that Solomon distinguished the
+boys from the girls by the different
+manner of their taking water, and
+ordered one worm to bore the pearl,
+and another to pass a thread through
+the onyx.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_318" id="Footnote_318"></a><a href="#FNanchor_318"><span class="label">[318]</span></a> Others, however, suppose it was
+El-Khi&#7693;r, or else Gabriel, or some
+other angel; and some imagine it to
+have been Solomon himself.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_319" id="Footnote_319"></a><a href="#FNanchor_319"><span class="label">[319]</span></a> This fountain they say was in
+El-Yemen.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_320" id="Footnote_320"></a><a href="#FNanchor_320"><span class="label">[320]</span></a> Some say these spirits made him
+two lions, which were placed at the
+foot of his throne; and two eagles,
+which were set above it; and that
+when he mounted it, the lions
+stretched out their paws; and when
+he sat down, the eagles shaded him
+with their wings.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_321" id="Footnote_321"></a><a href="#FNanchor_321"><span class="label">[321]</span></a> The commentators to explain
+this passage tell us that David,
+having laid the foundations of the
+Temple of Jerusalem, which was to
+be in lieu of the tabernacle of Moses,
+when he died, left it to be finished by
+his son Solomon, who employed the
+genii in the work; that Solomon, before
+the edifice was quite completed,
+perceiving his end drew nigh, begged
+of God that his death might be concealed
+from the genii till they had
+entirely finished it; that God therefore
+so ordered it that Solomon died
+as he stood at his prayers, leaning on
+his staff, which supported the body
+in that posture a full year; and the
+genii, supposing him to be alive, continued
+their work during that term,
+at the expiration whereof, the temple
+being perfectly completed, a worm,
+which had gotten into the staff, ate
+it through, and the corpse fell to the
+ground and discovered the king&#8217;s
+death.&mdash;S. (B., Jel&aacute;l.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_322" id="Footnote_322"></a><a href="#FNanchor_322"><span class="label">[322]</span></a> It is said that the fish, after it
+had swallowed Jonah, swam after the
+ship with its head above water, that
+the prophet might breathe; who continued
+to praise God till the fish came
+to land and vomited him out.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_323" id="Footnote_323"></a><a href="#FNanchor_323"><span class="label">[323]</span></a> Sale states that some imagine
+Jonah&#8217;s plant to have been a fig; and
+others, the m&oacute;z (or banana), which
+bears very large leaves and excellent
+fruit.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_324" id="Footnote_324"></a><a href="#FNanchor_324"><span class="label">[324]</span></a> The commentators add that
+this plant withered the next morning,
+and that Jonah being much concerned
+at it God made a remonstrance
+to him in behalf of the
+Ninevites, agreeably to what is
+recorded in Scripture.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_325" id="Footnote_325"></a><a href="#FNanchor_325"><span class="label">[325]</span></a> When he first began to exhort
+them to repentance, instead of
+hearkening to him, they used him
+very ill, so that he was obliged to
+leave the city, threatening them at
+his departure that they should be
+destroyed within three days, or, as
+others say, within forty. But when
+the time drew near, and they saw the
+heavens overcast with a black cloud
+which shot forth fire and filled the
+air with smoke and hung directly
+over the city, they were in a terrible
+consternation, and getting into the
+fields, with their families and cattle,
+they put on sackcloth and humbled
+themselves before God, calling aloud
+for pardon and sincerely repenting
+of their past wickedness. Whereupon
+God was pleased to forgive
+them, and the storm blew over.&mdash;S.
+(B., Jel&aacute;l, A.F.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_326" id="Footnote_326"></a><a href="#FNanchor_326"><span class="label">[326]</span></a> &acute;Imr&aacute;n, as observed by Sale, is the
+name of two several persons according
+to the Muslims: one was the
+father of Moses and Aaron, and the
+other was the father of the Virgin
+Mary. The latter is here meant, and
+his wife&#8217;s name was Hannah.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_327" id="Footnote_327"></a><a href="#FNanchor_327"><span class="label">[327]</span></a> Or the devil driven away with
+stones.&mdash;See note <a href="#Footnote_38">1</a>, p. 7.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_328" id="Footnote_328"></a><a href="#FNanchor_328"><span class="label">[328]</span></a> And for this reason, they say,
+neither of them was guilty of any sin,
+like the rest of the children of
+Adam.&mdash;S. (&#7730;at&aacute;deh.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_329" id="Footnote_329"></a><a href="#FNanchor_329"><span class="label">[329]</span></a> That is, between thirty, or
+thirty-four, and fifty-one: and the
+passage may relate to Christ&#8217;s preaching
+here on earth. But as he had
+scarce attained this age when he was
+taken up into heaven, the commentators
+choose to understand it of his
+second coming.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_330" id="Footnote_330"></a><a href="#FNanchor_330"><span class="label">[330]</span></a> The age of the Virgin Mary at
+the time of her conception was thirteen,
+or, as others say, ten; and she
+went six, seven, eight, or nine months
+with him, according to different traditions;
+though some say the child was
+conceived at its full growth of nine
+months, and that she was delivered of
+him within an hour after.&mdash;S. (B.,
+Yahya.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_331" id="Footnote_331"></a><a href="#FNanchor_331"><span class="label">[331]</span></a> Some say the Virgin Mary had
+really a brother named Aaron, who
+had the same father but a different
+mother: others suppose Aaron the
+brother of Moses is here meant, but
+say Mary is called his sister either because
+she was of the Levitical race,
+(as, by her having been related to
+Elizabeth, it should seem she was,) or
+by way of comparison: others say that
+it was a different person of that name
+who was contemporary with her and
+conspicuous for his good or bad
+qualities, and that they likened her
+to him either by way of commendation
+or of reproach.&mdash;S. (B., Z., &amp;c.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_332" id="Footnote_332"></a><a href="#FNanchor_332"><span class="label">[332]</span></a> These were the first words
+which were put into the mouth of
+Jesus, to obviate the imagination of
+his partaking of the divine nature or
+having a right to the worship of mankind
+on account of his miraculous
+speaking so soon after his birth.&mdash;S.
+(B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_333" id="Footnote_333"></a><a href="#FNanchor_333"><span class="label">[333]</span></a> It is related in the spurious Gospel
+of the Infancy of Christ that Jesus
+being seven years old and at play
+with several children of his age, they
+made several figures of birds and
+beasts of clay for their diversion;
+and each preferring his own workmanship,
+Jesus told them that he
+would make his walk and leap; which
+accordingly at his command they
+did. He made also several figures of
+sparrows and other birds, which flew
+about or stood on his hands as he
+ordered them, and also ate and drank
+when he offered them meat and drink.
+The children, telling this to their
+parents, were forbidden to play any
+more with Jesus, whom they held to
+be a sorcerer.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_334" id="Footnote_334"></a><a href="#FNanchor_334"><span class="label">[334]</span></a> The commentators observe that
+these words are added lest it should
+be thought Jesus did these miracles
+by his own power, or was God.&mdash;S.
+(B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_335" id="Footnote_335"></a><a href="#FNanchor_335"><span class="label">[335]</span></a> In Arabic, &#8216;el-&#7716;aw&aacute;reeyoon;&#8217;
+which word they derive from &#8216;&#7717;&aacute;ra,&#8217;
+&#8216;to be white&#8217; [or rather, &#8216;to whiten&#8217;
+clothes], and suppose the apostles
+were so called either from the <i>candour</i>
+and <i>sincerity</i> of their minds, or because
+they were princes and wore
+white garments, or else because they
+were by trade fullers.&mdash;(B., Jel&aacute;l.)
+According to which last opinion, their
+vocation is thus related: That as
+Jesus passed by the sea-side, he saw
+some fullers at work, and, accosting
+them, said, &#8216;Ye cleanse these clothes,
+but cleanse not your hearts;&#8217; upon
+which they believed on him. But
+the true etymology seems to be from
+the Ethiopic verb &#8216;hawyra,&#8217; &#8216;to go;&#8217;
+whence &#8216;haw&acirc;rya&#8217; signifies &#8216;one that
+is sent,&#8217; a &#8216;messenger,&#8217; or &#8216;apostle.&#8217;&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_336" id="Footnote_336"></a><a href="#FNanchor_336"><span class="label">[336]</span></a> The person crucified some will
+have to be a spy that was sent to entrap
+him; others that it was one
+Titian, who by the direction of Judas
+entered in at a window of the house
+where Jesus was; to kill him; and
+others that it was Judas himself,
+who agreed with the rulers of the
+Jews to betray him for thirty pieces
+of silver, and led those who were
+sent to take him.&mdash;They add, that
+Jesus, after his crucifixion in <i>effigy</i>,
+was sent down again to the earth to
+comfort his mother and disciples and
+acquaint them how the Jews were
+deceived, and was then taken up a
+second time into heaven.
+</p><p>
+It is supposed by several that
+this story was an original invention
+of Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s; but they are certainly
+mistaken: for several sectaries
+held the same opinion long before
+his time. The Basilidians, in the
+very beginning of Christianity, denied
+that Christ himself suffered, but
+[asserted] that Simon the Cirenean
+was crucified in his place. The
+Corinthians before them, and the
+Carpocratians next (to name no more
+of those who affirmed Jesus to have
+been a mere man), did believe the
+same thing, that it was not himself,
+but one of his followers, very like
+him, that was crucified. Photius
+tells us that he read a book entitled
+&#8216;The Journeys of the Apostles,&#8217; relating
+the acts of Peter, John,
+Andrew, Thomas, and Paul; and
+among other things contained therein
+this was one, that Christ was not
+crucified, but another in his stead,
+and that therefore he laughed at his
+crucifiers, or those who thought they
+had crucified him.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_337" id="Footnote_337"></a><a href="#FNanchor_337"><span class="label">[337]</span></a> 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, &#8216;In the name of God,
+the best provider of food.&#8217; What the
+provisions were with which the 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; another, fruits of
+Paradise: but the most received tradition
+is that when 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 afflicted with bodily
+infirmities or poverty, ate of these
+provisions and were satisfied, the
+fish remaining whole as it was at the
+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 Mo&#7717;ammadan writers
+are of opinion that this table did not
+really descend, but it was only a
+parable; but most think that the
+words of the &#7730;ur-&aacute;n are plain to the
+contrary. A further tradition is
+that several men were changed into
+swine [and apes] 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.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_338" id="Footnote_338"></a><a href="#FNanchor_338"><span class="label">[338]</span></a> Some say the table descended
+on a Sunday, which was the reason
+of the Christians&#8217; observing that day
+as sacred. Others pretend 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&#8217;s last supper and
+the institution of the Eucharist.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_339" id="Footnote_339"></a><a href="#FNanchor_339"><span class="label">[339]</span></a> To explain this passage, the
+commentators tell the following story:&mdash;The
+people of Antioch being idolaters,
+Jesus sent two of his disciples
+thither to preach to them; and when
+they drew near the city, they found
+&#7716;abeeb, surnamed En-Nejj&aacute;r, or The
+Carpenter, feeding sheep, and acquainted
+him with their errand;
+whereupon he asked them what proof
+they had of their veracity, and they
+told him they could cure the sick
+and the blind and the lepers; and to
+demonstrate the truth of what they
+said they laid their hands on a child
+of his who was sick and immediately
+restored him to health. &#7716;abeeb
+was convinced by this miracle and
+believed; after which they went into
+the city and preached the worship of
+one true God, curing a great number
+of people of several infirmities; but
+at length, the affair coming to the
+prince&#8217;s ear, he ordered them to be
+imprisoned for endeavouring to seduce
+the people. When Jesus heard
+of this, he sent another of his disciples,
+generally supposed to have
+been Simon Peter; who, coming to
+Antioch, and appearing as a zealous
+idolater, soon insinuated himself into
+the favour of the inhabitants and of
+their prince, and at length took an
+opportunity to desire the prince would
+order the two persons who, as he was
+informed, had been put in prison for
+broaching new opinions to be brought
+before him to be examined; and accordingly
+they were brought: when
+Peter, having previously warned them
+to take no notice that they knew him,
+asked them who sent them; to which
+they answered, God, who had created
+all things and had no companion.
+He then required some convincing
+proof of their mission, upon which
+they restored a blind person to his
+sight and performed some other
+miracles, with which Peter seemed
+not to be satisfied, for that according
+to some he did the very same miracles
+himself, but declared that if
+their God could enable them to raise
+the dead he would believe them;
+which condition the two apostles accepting,
+a lad was brought who had
+been dead seven days, and at their
+prayers he was raised to life; and
+thereupon Peter acknowledged himself
+convinced, and ran and demolished
+the idols, a great many of
+the people following him and embracing
+the true faith; but those who
+believed not were destroyed by the
+cry of the angel Gabriel.&mdash;S. (B., Z.,
+&amp;c.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_340" id="Footnote_340"></a><a href="#FNanchor_340"><span class="label">[340]</span></a> Some say these two were John
+and Paul; but others name different
+persons.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_341" id="Footnote_341"></a><a href="#FNanchor_341"><span class="label">[341]</span></a> Simon Peter.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_342" id="Footnote_342"></a><a href="#FNanchor_342"><span class="label">[342]</span></a> His tomb is still shown near
+Antioch, and is much visited by the
+Mo&#7717;ammadans.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_343" id="Footnote_343"></a><a href="#FNanchor_343"><span class="label">[343]</span></a> Also some said he was taken up
+into heaven; and others, that his
+manhood only suffered, and that his
+godhead ascended into heaven.&mdash;S.
+(B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_344" id="Footnote_344"></a><a href="#FNanchor_344"><span class="label">[344]</span></a> Some, referring the relative <i>his</i>
+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 El-Hajj&aacute;j, when a Jew is expiring
+the angels will strike him on the
+back and face, and say to him, &#8216;O
+thou enemy of God, Jesus was sent
+as a prophet unto thee, and thou
+didst not believe on him;&#8217; to which
+he will answer, &#8216;I now believe him
+to be the servant of God:&#8217; and to
+a dying Christian they will say,
+&#8216;Jesus was sent as a prophet unto
+thee, and thou hast imagined him to
+be God, or the son of God;&#8217; whereupon
+he will believe him to be the
+servant of God only and His apostle.&mdash;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 [the
+dead being raised to life in their
+graves] 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 establish
+the Mo&#7717;ammadan religion and a most
+perfect tranquillity and security on
+earth [where he will remain forty
+years, and then die.&mdash;Others again
+suppose that the words &#8216;believe in
+him&#8217; signify &#8216;believe in God.&#8217;]&mdash;S.
+(B., Z., Jel&aacute;l, &amp;c.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_345" id="Footnote_345"></a><a href="#FNanchor_345"><span class="label">[345]</span></a> It is a dispute among the
+Mo&#7717;ammadans whether Christ actually
+died or not before his assumption.&mdash;S.
+(B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_346" id="Footnote_346"></a><a href="#FNanchor_346"><span class="label">[346]</span></a> Some, however, are of opinion
+it [this passage] might have been revealed
+in answer to certain idolaters,
+who said that the Christians, who
+received the Scriptures, worshipped
+Jesus, supposing him to be the son of
+God; whereas the angels were more
+worthy of that honour than he.&mdash;S.
+(B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_347" id="Footnote_347"></a><a href="#FNanchor_347"><span class="label">[347]</span></a> As easily as We produced Jesus
+without a father [B.]. The intent of
+the words is to show how just and
+reasonable it is to think that the
+angels should bear the relation of
+children to men rather than to God,
+they being His creatures as well as
+men, and equally in His power.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_348" id="Footnote_348"></a><a href="#FNanchor_348"><span class="label">[348]</span></a> For some time before the resurrection
+Jesus is to descend on earth
+according to the Mo&#7717;ammadans near
+Damascus, or as some say near a
+rock [or rather a mountain-road]
+named [&acute;A&#7731;abet] Afeek, with a lance
+in his hand, wherewith he is to kill
+Antichrist, whom he will encounter
+at Ludd, or Lydda, a small town not
+far from Joppa. They add that he
+will arrive at Jerusalem at the time
+of morning-prayer, that he shall perform
+his devotions after the Mo&#7717;ammadan
+institution, and officiate instead
+of the Im&aacute;m, who shall give
+place to him; that he will break
+down the cross, and destroy the
+churches of the Christians, of whom
+he will also make a general slaughter,
+excepting only such as shall profess
+El-Isl&aacute;m.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_349" id="Footnote_349"></a><a href="#FNanchor_349"><span class="label">[349]</span></a> Either by rejecting and contemning Jesus, as the Jews do; or raising
+him to an equality with God, as do
+the Christians.&mdash;S. (B.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_350" id="Footnote_350"></a><a href="#FNanchor_350"><span class="label">[350]</span></a> 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.&mdash;S.</p></div>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg&nbsp;166]<br />[Pg&nbsp;167]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>INDEX OF CHAPTERS.</h2>
+
+<table style="border-collapse: collapse;" summary="index of chapters" border="0">
+<tr>
+<td class="right">CHAP.</td>
+<td class="right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">PAGE</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">I.</td>
+<td class="right">(e</td>
+<td class="left">ntire)</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_3">3</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">II.</td>
+<td class="right">1</td>
+<td class="left">-6</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_4">4</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">7</td>
+<td class="left">-19</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_41">41</a>-2</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">21</td>
+<td class="left">-2</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">28</td>
+<td class="left">-31</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_49">49</a>-50</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">33</td>
+<td class="left">-7</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_51">51</a>-2</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">51</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_121">121</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">52</td>
+<td class="left">-3</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_121">121</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">54</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">57</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_115">115</a>-6</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">58</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">59</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">60</td>
+<td class="left">-2</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_116">116</a>-7</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">63</td>
+<td class="left">-9</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_125">125</a>-7</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">87</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_121">121</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">100</td>
+<td class="left">-1</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">118</td>
+<td class="left">-20</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_73">73</a>-5</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">130</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_47">47</a>-8</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">133</td>
+<td class="left">-4</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_15">15</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">141</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_16">16</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">158</td>
+<td class="left">-60</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_8">8</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">160</td>
+<td class="left">-2</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_30">30</a>-1</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">166</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">172</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_35">35</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">191</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">247</td>
+<td class="left">-52</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_132">132</a>-4</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">256</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_5">5</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">260</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_70">70</a>-1</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">261</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_148">148</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">262</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_73">73</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">265</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">266</td>
+<td class="left">-7</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">273</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">280</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_37">37</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">III.</td>
+<td class="right">12</td>
+<td class="left">-15</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">25</td>
+<td class="left">-6</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_6">6</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">31</td>
+<td class="left">-6</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_149">149</a>-51</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">37</td>
+<td class="left">-43</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_151">151</a>-2</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">43</td>
+<td class="left">-7</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_155">155</a>-7</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">52</td>
+<td class="left">-5</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_164">164</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">58</td>
+<td class="left">-60</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_75">75</a>-6</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">79</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">138</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_14">14</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">139</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">148</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">163</td>
+<td class="left">-5</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_30">30</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">179</td>
+<td class="left">-80</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_16">16</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">IV.</span></td>
+<td class="right">51</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_10">10</a>-11</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">80</td>
+<td class="left">-1</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">123</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_30">30</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">144</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_31">31</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">155</td>
+<td class="left">-7</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_161">161</a>-2</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">161</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_14">14</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">169</td>
+<td class="left">-70</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_164">164</a>-5</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">V.</span></td>
+<td class="right">23</td>
+<td class="left">-9</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_122">122</a>-4</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">30</td>
+<td class="left">-5</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_53">53</a>-4</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">56</td>
+<td class="left">, 62-3</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_42">42</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">86</td>
+<td class="left">-6</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_40">40</a>-1</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">112</td>
+<td class="left">-5</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_157">157</a>-9</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">116</td>
+<td class="left">-8</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">VI.</span></td>
+<td class="right">50</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_14">14</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">59</td>
+<td class="left">-64</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_10">10</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">74</td>
+<td class="left">-82</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_66">66</a>-7</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">95</td>
+<td class="left">-103</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_8">8</a>-9</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">108</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">109</td>
+<td class="left">-11</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_16">16</a>-7</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">VII.</span></td>
+<td class="right">10</td>
+<td class="left">-17</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_50">50</a>-1</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">22</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_51">51</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">52</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_6">6</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">63</td>
+<td class="left">-70</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_60">60</a>-1</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">71</td>
+<td class="left">-7</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_61">61</a>-2</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">101</td>
+<td class="left">-23</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_107">107</a>-9</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">124</td>
+<td class="left">-33</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_112">112</a>-4</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">134</td>
+<td class="left">-6</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_114">114</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">138</td>
+<td class="left">-42</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_117">117</a>-8</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">146</td>
+<td class="left">-8</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_118">118</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">154</td>
+<td class="left">-6</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_121">121</a>-2</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">186</td>
+<td class="left">-8</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_31">31</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">IX.</span></td>
+<td class="right">18</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">X.</span></td>
+<td class="right">38</td>
+<td class="left">-40</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">90</td>
+<td class="left">-2</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_114">114</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">100</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XI.</span></td>
+<td class="right">27</td>
+<td class="left">-36</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_55">55</a>-6</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">38</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_56">56</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">38</td>
+<td class="left">-46</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_56">56</a>-8</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">47</td>
+<td class="left">-50</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_58">58</a>-9</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">72</td>
+<td class="left">-8</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_71">71</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">84</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_72">72</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">85</td>
+<td class="left">-98</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_95">95</a>-6</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XII.</span></td>
+<td class="right">4</td>
+<td class="left">-22</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_77">77</a>-80</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">35</td>
+<td class="left">-50</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_80">80</a>-2</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">54</td>
+<td class="left">-102</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_82">82</a>-92</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XIII.</span></td>
+<td class="right">13</td>
+<td class="left">-4</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_9">9</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XIV.</span></td>
+<td class="right">26</td>
+<td class="left">-7</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_31">31</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XV.</span></td>
+<td class="right">6</td>
+<td class="left">-15</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">16</td>
+<td class="left">-25</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_7">7</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XVI.</span></td>
+<td class="right">92</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_34">34</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">103</td>
+<td class="left">-5</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_20">20</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XVII.</span></td>
+<td class="right">90</td>
+<td class="left">-8</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_18">18</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XVIII.</span></td>
+<td class="right">28</td>
+<td class="left">-30</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">31</td>
+<td class="left">-42</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_39">39</a>-40</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">45</td>
+<td class="left">-7</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">59</td>
+<td class="left">-81</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_127">127</a>-31</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">82</td>
+<td class="left">-101</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_63">63</a>-5</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">109</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_20">20</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">110</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_14">14</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XIX.</span></td>
+<td class="right">12</td>
+<td class="left">-15</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_151">151</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">16</td>
+<td class="left">-41</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_152">152</a>-5</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">42</td>
+<td class="left">-51</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_67">67</a>-8</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">91</td>
+<td class="left">-6</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XX.</span></td>
+<td class="right">8</td>
+<td class="left">-50</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_103">103</a>-7</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">88</td>
+<td class="left">-99</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_119">119</a>-21</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XXI.</span></td>
+<td class="right">26</td>
+<td class="left">-30</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">52</td>
+<td class="left">-75</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_68">68</a>-70</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">79</td>
+<td class="left">-82</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XXII.</span></td>
+<td class="right">72</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XXIV.</span></td>
+<td class="right">39</td>
+<td class="left">-40</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_39">39</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XXV.</span></td>
+<td class="right">64</td>
+<td class="left">-75</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_43">43</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XXVII.</span></td>
+<td class="right">15</td>
+<td class="left">-45</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_138">138</a>-44</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg&nbsp;168]</a></span><span class="smcap">XXVIII.</span></td>
+<td class="right">21</td>
+<td class="left">-8</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_97">97</a>-103</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">76</td>
+<td class="left">-82</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_124">124</a>-5</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XXIX.</span></td>
+<td class="right">40</td>
+<td class="left">-3</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_12">12</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">45</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XXXIV.</span></td>
+<td class="right">11</td>
+<td class="left">-13</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_144">144</a>-5</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">49</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_14">14</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XXXVI.</span></td>
+<td class="right">12</td>
+<td class="left">-28</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_159">159</a>-61</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XXXVII.</span></td>
+<td class="right">97</td>
+<td class="left">-111</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_72">72</a>-3</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">139</td>
+<td class="left">-48</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_146">146</a>-7</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XXXVIII.</span></td>
+<td class="right">20</td>
+<td class="left">-4</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_135">135</a>-6</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">29</td>
+<td class="left">-39</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_136">136</a>-8</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">40</td>
+<td class="left">-4</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_93">93</a>-4</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XXXIX.</span></td>
+<td class="right">67</td>
+<td class="left">-75</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_28">28</a>-9</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XL.</span></td>
+<td class="right">27</td>
+<td class="left">-49</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_109">109</a>-12</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XLI.</span></td>
+<td class="right">34</td>
+<td class="left">-5</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_37">37</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XLIII.</span></td>
+<td class="right">57</td>
+<td class="left">-65</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_162">162</a>-4</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">L.</span></td>
+<td class="right">30</td>
+<td class="left">-3</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">LVI.</span></td>
+<td class="right">1</td>
+<td class="left">-56</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_24">24</a>-6</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">76</td>
+<td class="left">-9</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">LXI.</span></td>
+<td class="right">6</td>
+<td class="left">-9</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_15">15</a>-16</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">LXII.</span></td>
+<td class="right">5</td>
+<td class="left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_41">41</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">LXVII.</span></td>
+<td class="right">1</td>
+<td class="left">-4</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_6">6</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right">&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="right">6</td>
+<td class="left">-8</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_30">30</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">LXIX.</span></td>
+<td class="right">13</td>
+<td class="left">-37</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_23">23</a>-4</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">LXXI.</span></td>
+<td class="right">27</td>
+<td class="left">-9</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_56">56</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">LXXII.</span></td>
+<td class="right">1</td>
+<td class="left">, 2, 8-11</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">LXXIV.</span></td>
+<td class="right">1</td>
+<td class="left">-7</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">LXXVI.</span></td>
+<td class="right">29</td>
+<td class="left">-30</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">LXXXI.</span></td>
+<td class="right">1</td>
+<td class="left">-14</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_22">22</a>-3</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">LXXXII.</span></td>
+<td class="right">(e</td>
+<td class="left">ntire)</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_22">22</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">LXXXVIII.</span></td>
+<td class="right">1</td>
+<td class="left">-7</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_23">23</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XCII.</span></td>
+<td class="right">(e</td>
+<td class="left">ntire)</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_34">34</a>-5</td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XCIII.</span></td>
+<td class="right">(e</td>
+<td class="left">ntire)</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">LXXXVIII.</span></td>
+<td class="right">1</td>
+<td class="left">-6</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_xliii">xliii</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">XCIX.</span></td>
+<td class="right">(e</td>
+<td class="left">ntire)</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">CI.</span></td>
+<td class="right">(e</td>
+<td class="left">ntire)</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">CVII.</span></td>
+<td class="right">(e</td>
+<td class="left">ntire)</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_35">35</a></td>
+</tr><tr>
+<td class="right"><span class="smcap">CXII.</span></td>
+<td class="right">(e</td>
+<td class="left">ntire)</td>
+<td class="right"><a href="#Page_5">5</a></td>
+</tr></table>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg&nbsp;169]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>GENERAL INDEX.</h2>
+
+<ul class="IX">
+<li>
+Aaron, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, ff.</li>
+<li>
+&acute;Abb&aacute;s, Ibn-, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&acute;Abdallah ibn Ubayy, <a href="#Page_lx">lx</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&acute;Abd-el-Mu&#7789;&#7789;alib, <a href="#Page_xxxvii">xxxvii</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Abel, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Aboo-Bekr, <a href="#Page_xlv">xlv</a>, <a href="#Page_xlvii">xlvii</a>, <a href="#Page_lvi">lvi</a>, <a href="#Page_lxxvii">lxxvii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Aboo-Fir&aacute;s, <a href="#Page_xxix">xxix</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Aboo-Lahab, <a href="#Page_li">li</a>, <a href="#Page_lii">lii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Aboo-&#7788;&aacute;lib, <a href="#Page_xxxviii">xxxviii</a>, <a href="#Page_xlv">xlv</a>, <a href="#Page_xlvii">xlvii</a>, <a href="#Page_xlix">xlix</a>, <a href="#Page_l">l</a>, <a href="#Page_lii">lii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Abraham, <a href="#Page_xxxii">xxxii</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>-76.</li>
+<li>
+Abrogation of revelations, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Abyssinia, flight to, <a href="#Page_xlvii">xlvii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&Aacute;d, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Adam, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>-52, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Advent of Christ, second, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li>
+<li>
+African converts, <a href="#Page_xcvii">xcvii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+A&#7717;mad, prophecy of, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&acute;A&iuml;sheh, <a href="#Page_liii">liii</a>, <a href="#Page_lxix">lxix</a>, <a href="#Page_lxxiii">lxxiii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&acute;A&#7731;abeh, pledges of the, <a href="#Page_lv">lv</a>, <a href="#Page_lvi">lvi</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&acute;Alee, <a href="#Page_xxxix">xxxix</a>, <a href="#Page_lvi">lvi</a>.</li>
+<li>
+All&aacute;h Ta&acute;&aacute;la, <a href="#Page_xxxiii">xxxiii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Alms, <a href="#Page_lxxxiv">lxxxiv</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Amnesty to Mekka, <a href="#Page_lxvii">lxvii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Anas, <a href="#Page_xli">xli</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Ancestry, pride of, <a href="#Page_xviii">xviii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Angels, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li>
+<li>
+An&#7779;&aacute;r, <a href="#Page_lix">lix</a>, <a href="#Page_lx">lx</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&acute;An&#7789;arah, <a href="#Page_xxviii">xxviii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Antichrist, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Antioch, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>-161.</li>
+<li>
+Apostles, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Appearance of Mo&#7717;ammad, <a href="#Page_xl">xl</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Arab poetry, examples, <a href="#Page_xiv">xiv</a>, <a href="#Page_xv">xv</a>, <a href="#Page_xvi">xvi</a>, <a href="#Page_xvii">xvii</a>, <a href="#Page_xviii">xviii</a>, <a href="#Page_xix">xix</a>, <a href="#Page_xxix">xxix</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Arabia, <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>-xiii.</li>
+<li>
+Arabia, submission of, <a href="#Page_lxvii">lxvii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Arabs at Yethrib, <a href="#Page_liv">liv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Arabs before Isl&aacute;m, the, xi-xxxv;<ul>
+<li>their country, <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>;</li>
+<li>influence on their character, <a href="#Page_xii">xii</a>;</li>
+<li>the Bedawee nature, <a href="#Page_xiii">xiii</a>;</li>
+<li>devotion to the clan, <a href="#Page_xiv">xiv</a>;</li>
+<li>honour, <a href="#Page_xv">xv</a>;</li>
+<li>war and plunder, <a href="#Page_xvi">xvi</a>;</li>
+<li>ferocity, <a href="#Page_xvi">xvi</a>, <a href="#Page_xvii">xvii</a>;</li>
+<li>family pride, <a href="#Page_xviii">xviii</a>;</li>
+<li>pledge of protection, <a href="#Page_xviii">xviii</a>;</li>
+<li>hospitality, <a href="#Page_xix">xix</a>;</li>
+<li>&#7716;&aacute;tim the ideal Arab, <a href="#Page_xix">xix</a>-xxii;</li>
+<li>Arab poetry, <a href="#Page_xxii">xxii</a>-xxiv;</li>
+<li>the fair of &acute;Ok&aacute;&#7693;h, <a href="#Page_xxiv">xxiv</a>-xxvi;</li>
+<li>women of Arabia, <a href="#Page_xxvi">xxvi</a>;</li>
+<li>chivalry, <a href="#Page_xxvii">xxvii</a>, <a href="#Page_xxviii">xxviii</a>;</li>
+<li>fathers and daughters, <a href="#Page_xxix">xxix</a>;</li>
+<li>town life, <a href="#Page_xxx">xxx</a>;</li>
+<li>Mekka, <a href="#Page_xxx">xxx</a>.;</li>
+<li>music and poetry at Mekka, <a href="#Page_xxxi">xxxi</a>;</li>
+<li>dice and drink, <a href="#Page_xxxi">xxxi</a>;</li>
+<li>the Ka&#7841;beh, <a href="#Page_xxxii">xxxii</a>;</li>
+<li>religion of the early Arabs, <a href="#Page_xxxii">xxxii</a>;</li>
+<li>Christianity and Judaism in Arabia, <a href="#Page_xxxiv">xxxiv</a>;</li>
+<li>the &#7716;aneefs, <a href="#Page_xxxiv">xxxiv</a>;</li>
+<li>Zeyd ibn &acute;Amr, <a href="#Page_xxxv">xxxv</a>;</li>
+<li>the change in the Arabs effected by Mo&#7717;ammad, <a href="#Page_xxxv">xxxv</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>
+Aristocracy, hostility of, <a href="#Page_xlvii">xlvii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Ark, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&Aacute;&#7779;af Solomon&#8217;s wezeer, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Aws, Benee-, <a href="#Page_liv">liv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Azar or Terah, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Babel</span>, Tower of, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Bathsheba, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Bayard of Isl&aacute;m, <a href="#Page_l">l</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Bedr, <a href="#Page_lxv">lxv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Beh&aacute;-ed-deen Zoheyr, <a href="#Page_xxiv">xxiv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Believers and unbelievers, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>-43.</li>
+<li>
+Benjamin, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>-89.</li>
+<li>
+Bil&aacute;l, the first Mu&euml;ddin, <a href="#Page_xlv">xlv</a>, <a href="#Page_xlvii">xlvii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Bil&#7731;ees, Queen of Sheba, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>-143.</li>
+<li>
+Birds and Solomon, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>-139.</li>
+<li>
+Book, the preserved, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Books, divine, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>-48.</li>
+<li>
+Byzantium, Emperor of, <a href="#Page_lxviii">lxviii</a>.<br /><br /></li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Cain</span>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Caleb, 123.</li>
+<li><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg&nbsp;170]</a></span>
+Calf, the golden, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, ff.</li>
+<li>
+Camel of Mo&#7717;ammad, <a href="#Page_lxvi">lxvi</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Camel of Thamood, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Camel-driver, Mo&#7717;ammad a, <a href="#Page_xxxix">xxxix</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Caussin de Perceval, M., <a href="#Page_xxii">xxii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Chivalry of ancient Arabs, <a href="#Page_xxvii">xxvii</a>, <a href="#Page_xxviii">xxviii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Christ, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>-165.</li>
+<li>
+&mdash;&mdash; divinity of, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>-165.</li>
+<li>
+&mdash;&mdash; the Messiah, <a href="#Page_lxi">lxi</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&mdash;&mdash; the Word of God, <a href="#Page_lxxxii">lxxxii</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&mdash;&mdash; supposed crucifixion of, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&mdash;&mdash; second advent of, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Christians, <a href="#Page_xxxiv">xxxiv</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Clan feeling, <a href="#Page_xiv">xiv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Corruption of Christian and Jewish scriptures, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Cow, sacrifice of, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>-127.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Daughters</span> of God, <a href="#Page_xxxiii">xxxiii</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Daughters, love of, <a href="#Page_xxix">xxix</a>.</li>
+<li>
+David, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>-36, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Davidean coats of mail, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Day of judgment, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>-31.</li>
+<li>
+Debtors, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Destiny, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Deutsch, Dr. Emanuel, <a href="#Page_xxiv">xxiv</a>, <a href="#Page_xl">xl</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Devils, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Dhaf&aacute;r, Christians of, <a href="#Page_xxxiv">xxxiv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Dhu-l-&#7730;arneyn, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>-65, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Dhu-l-Kifl, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Dice, <a href="#Page_xxxi">xxxi</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Disaffected party, <a href="#Page_lx">lx</a>, <a href="#Page_lxv">lxv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Divine books, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>-48.</li>
+<li>
+Divinity of Christ, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>-165.</li>
+<li>
+Divinity of the Virgin, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Drink, love of, <a href="#Page_xxxi">xxxi</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Eden</span>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Egypt, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, ff.</li>
+<li>
+Egypt, plagues of, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>-114.</li>
+<li>
+Elias, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Embarcation formula, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Emeen, El-, <a href="#Page_xl">xl</a>, <a href="#Page_xlv">xlv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Emeeneh, El-, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Enoch, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Eve, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Evil eye, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Exodus, the, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, ff.</li>
+<li>
+Ezekiel, lines from, <a href="#Page_xxx">xxx</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Ezra, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Fair</span>, <i>see</i> &acute;Ok&aacute;&#7693;h.</li>
+<li>
+Family pride of Arabs, <a href="#Page_xviii">xviii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Famine of Egypt, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, ff.</li>
+<li>
+Fanes, <a href="#Page_xxxiii">xxxiii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Fast, <a href="#Page_lxxxiv">lxxxiv</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Fate, <a href="#Page_lxxxi">lxxxi</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Fathers and daughters, <a href="#Page_xxix">xxix</a>.</li>
+<li>
+F&aacute;ti&#7717;ah, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Fetishism, <a href="#Page_xxxiii">xxxiii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Fij&aacute;r, war of the, <a href="#Page_xxxviii">xxxviii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Fir&aacute;s, Aboo-, <a href="#Page_xxix">xxix</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Flight of Mo&#7717;ammad, <a href="#Page_lvi">lvi</a>, <a href="#Page_lvii">lvii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Flight to Abyssinia, <a href="#Page_xlvii">xlvii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Flood, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>-59.</li>
+<li>
+Forgery, lxvii ff., <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Gabriel</span>, <a href="#Page_xliv">xliv</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li>
+<li>
+God, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>-12.</li>
+<li>
+&mdash;&mdash; unity, profession of, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&mdash;&mdash; has no partners, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>-165.</li>
+<li>
+&mdash;&mdash; the supreme, <a href="#Page_xxxiii">xxxiii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&mdash;&mdash; Mo&#7717;ammad doctrine of, <a href="#Page_lxxx">lxxx</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Goddesses, moon, <a href="#Page_xxxiii">xxxiii</a>, <a href="#Page_xlviii">xlviii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Gog and Magog, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Golden calf, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, ff.</li>
+<li>
+Goliath, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Good for evil, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Gospel, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, ff.</li>
+<li>
+Greeting, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Habeeb</span>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, ff.</li>
+<li>
+Haggadah, <a href="#Page_xliii">xliii</a>, <a href="#Page_lxi">lxi</a>, <a href="#Page_lxii">lxii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+H&aacute;m&aacute;n, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Haneefs, <a href="#Page_xxxiv">xxxiv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+H&aacute;shimees, <a href="#Page_xxxviii">xxxviii</a>, <a href="#Page_li">li</a>, <a href="#Page_lii">lii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&#7716;&aacute;tim, <a href="#Page_xix">xix</a>-xxii.</li>
+<li>
+&#7716;aw&aacute;reeyoon, El-, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Heber, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Hell, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>-31.</li>
+<li>
+Helpers, the, <a href="#Page_lix">lix</a>, <a href="#Page_lx">lx</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&#7716;ij&aacute;z;, <a href="#Page_xii">xii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Hijreh, the, <a href="#Page_lvii">lvii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&#7716;ir&aacute;, Mount, <a href="#Page_xliii">xliii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Honour, Arab, <a href="#Page_xv">xv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Hood, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&#7716;ooreeyehs, notes  <a href="#Footnote_128">128</a>,  <a href="#Footnote_131">131</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Hospitality, Arab, <a href="#Page_xix">xix</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Howw&aacute;, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Hubal, <a href="#Page_xxxii">xxxii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Humanity, <a href="#Page_lxxxvi">lxxxvi</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Hypocrites, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&#8216;Hypocrites, the,&#8217; <a href="#Page_lx">lx</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Iblees</span>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Idols, <a href="#Page_xxxii">xxxii</a>, <a href="#Page_xlvi">xlvi</a>, <a href="#Page_lxvi">lxvi</a>, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Idrees, 47.</li>
+<li><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg&nbsp;171]</a></span>
+Ily&aacute;s, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Im&aacute;m, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&acute;Imr&aacute;n, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Infanticide, <a href="#Page_xxxii">xxxii</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Inspiration, <a href="#Page_lxxiv">lxxiv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Isaac, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>-73.</li>
+<li>
+Ishmael, <a href="#Page_xxxii">xxxii</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>-73.</li>
+<li>
+Iskender, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Isl&aacute;m, lxxvii-xcix, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Jacob</span>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>-92.</li>
+<li>
+Jann, El-, or Iblees, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Jerusalem, Temple of, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Jesus of Nazareth, <i>see</i> Christ.</li>
+<li>
+Jethro, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, ff.</li>
+<li>
+Jewish corruption of Scripture, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Jews, liv, lxii-lxv, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Jinn, <a href="#Page_liii">liii</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>-138, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Jinnee, Mo&#7717;ammad possessed by a, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Ji&acute;r&aacute;neh, El-, scene at, <a href="#Page_lix">lix</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Job, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Jonah, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Joodee, mountain of El-, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Joseph, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>-92.</li>
+<li>
+Joseph and Zeleekha, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Joshua, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>-129.</li>
+<li>
+Judah, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>-79.</li>
+<li>
+Judaism in Arabia, <a href="#Page_xxxiv">xxxiv</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Ka&#7841;beh</span>, <a href="#Page_xxxii">xxxii</a>, <a href="#Page_lxxxiv">lxxxiv</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>-75.</li>
+<li>
+&#7730;a&#7779;w&aacute;, El-, <a href="#Page_lxvi">lxvi</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Khadeejeh, <a href="#Page_xxxix">xxxix</a>, <a href="#Page_lii">lii</a>, <a href="#Page_liii">liii</a>, <a href="#Page_lxxi">lxxi</a>, <a href="#Page_lxxii">lxxii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Kha&#7789;eeb-el-Ambiya, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Khazraj, Benee-, <a href="#Page_liv">liv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Khi&#7693;r, El-, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>-130.</li>
+<li>
+Khusru, the, <a href="#Page_lxvii">lxvii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&#7730;i&#7789;feer, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Korah, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Kudar ibn S&aacute;lif, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&#7730;ureysh, <a href="#Page_xxxvii">xxxvii</a> f, <a href="#Page_xlv">xlv</a>-lviii, <a href="#Page_lxv">lxv</a>-lxvii.</li>
+<li>
+&#7730;ur-&aacute;n, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>-20, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>;<ul>
+<li>state in which it was left by Mo&#7717;ammad, <a href="#Page_ci">ci</a>;</li>
+<li>first revision, <a href="#Page_ci">ci</a>;</li>
+<li>second revision, <a href="#Page_ci">ci</a>;</li>
+<li>chaotic order, <a href="#Page_cii">cii</a>;</li>
+<li>scientific arrangement of N&ouml;ldeke, <a href="#Page_ciii">ciii</a>;</li>
+<li>characteristics of different groups, <a href="#Page_civ">civ</a>;</li>
+<li>statistics, <a href="#Page_cvi">cvi</a>.<br /><br /></li></ul></li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Lahab</span>, Aboo-, <a href="#Page_li">li</a>, <a href="#Page_lii">lii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Lapwing and Solomon, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</li>
+<li>
+L&aacute;t, El-, <a href="#Page_xxxiii">xxxiii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Lazarus, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Lion of God, <a href="#Page_l">l</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Lot, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Lyall, Mr. C. J., <a href="#Page_xv">xv</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Marriages</span> of Mo&#7717;ammad, <a href="#Page_xxxix">xxxix</a>, <a href="#Page_lxx">lxx</a> ff.</li>
+<li>
+Martyrs for the faith, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Mary the Virgin, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, ff.</li>
+<li>
+Mary, divinity of, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Medina, <a href="#Page_lvii">lvii</a>, <a href="#Page_lix">lix</a> ff., <a href="#Page_lxv">lxv</a>, <i>and see</i> Yethrib.</li>
+<li>
+Mekka, xxx ff., <a href="#Page_lxvii">lxvii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Men&aacute;h, <a href="#Page_xxxiii">xxxiii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Messenger or apostle, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Messiah, <i>see</i> Christ.</li>
+<li>
+Metempsychosis, <a href="#Page_xxxiii">xxxiii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Midian, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Migrations of Muslims, <a href="#Page_xlvii">xlvii</a>, <a href="#Page_lvii">lvii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Mi&acute;r&aacute;j, <a href="#Page_lv">lv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Misr, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Miracles or signs, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Miriam (Maryam), <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Mo&#7717;ammad, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>-20, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>;<ul>
+<li>his family, <a href="#Page_xxxvii">xxxvii</a>;</li>
+<li>childhood, <a href="#Page_xxxvii">xxxvii</a>;</li>
+<li>youth, <a href="#Page_xxxviii">xxxviii</a>.</li>
+<li>shepherding, <a href="#Page_xxxviii">xxxviii</a>;</li>
+<li>camel-driving, <a href="#Page_xxxix">xxxix</a>;</li>
+<li>personal appearance, <a href="#Page_xl">xl</a>;</li>
+<li>habits, <a href="#Page_xli">xli</a>, <a href="#Page_xlii">xlii</a>;</li>
+<li>solitary wanderings, <a href="#Page_xlii">xlii</a>;</li>
+<li>the call, <a href="#Page_xliii">xliii</a>;</li>
+<li>public appearance, <a href="#Page_xliv">xliv</a>;</li>
+<li>first conversions, <a href="#Page_xlv">xlv</a>;</li>
+<li>address on Mount E&#7779;-&#7778;af&aacute;, <a href="#Page_xlvi">xlvi</a>;</li>
+<li>preaching, <a href="#Page_xlvi">xlvi</a>;</li>
+<li>hostility of the aristocracy, <a href="#Page_xlvii">xlvii</a>;</li>
+<li>torturing of slaves, <a href="#Page_xlvii">xlvii</a>.</li>
+<li>emigration to Abyssinia, <a href="#Page_xlvii">xlvii</a>;</li>
+<li>speech to the Negus, <a href="#Page_xlviii">xlviii</a>;</li>
+<li>persecution by &#7730;ureysh, <a href="#Page_xlviii">xlviii</a>;</li>
+<li>compromise, <a href="#Page_xlviii">xlviii</a>;</li>
+<li>interview with Aboo-&#7788;&aacute;lib, <a href="#Page_xlix">xlix</a>;</li>
+<li>conversion of &acute;Omar and &#7716;amzeh, <a href="#Page_l">l</a>;</li>
+<li>the ban of the H&aacute;shimees, <a href="#Page_li">li</a>;</li>
+<li>its end, <a href="#Page_lii">lii</a>;</li>
+<li>death of Aboo-&#7788;&aacute;lib and Khadeejeh, <a href="#Page_lii">lii</a>;</li>
+<li>visit to E&#7789;-&#7788;&aacute;&iuml;f, <a href="#Page_liii">liii</a>;</li>
+<li>pilgrims from Yethrib, <a href="#Page_liv">liv</a>;</li>
+<li>state of parties at Yethrib, <a href="#Page_liv">liv</a>;</li>
+<li>first pledge of the &acute;A&#7731;abeh, <a href="#Page_lv">lv</a>;</li>
+<li>Yethrib and Mekka, <a href="#Page_lv">lv</a>;</li>
+<li>the night journey, <a href="#Page_lv">lv</a>;</li>
+<li>second pledge of the &acute;A&#7731;abeh, <a href="#Page_lvi">lvi</a>;</li>
+<li>emigration of Muslims to Yethrib, <a href="#Page_lvii">lvii</a>;</li>
+<li>Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s flight or Hijreh, <a href="#Page_lvii">lvii</a>, <a href="#Page_lviii">lviii</a>;</li>
+<li>retrospect, <a href="#Page_lviii">lviii</a>;</li>
+<li>parties at Medina, <a href="#Page_lix">lix</a>;</li>
+<li>the Refugees, Helpers, Hypocrites, <a href="#Page_lix">lix</a>, <a href="#Page_lx">lx</a>;</li>
+<li>the Jews, <a href="#Page_lxi">lxi</a>;</li>
+<li>are conciliated, <a href="#Page_lxii">lxii</a>;</li>
+<li>but become hostile, <a href="#Page_lxii">lxii</a>;</li>
+<li>their punishment, lxiii-lxv;</li>
+<li>war with the &#7730;ureysh, <a href="#Page_lxv">lxv</a>;</li>
+<li>Bedr, O&#7717;ud, siege of Medina, truce, <a href="#Page_lxv">lxv</a>;</li>
+<li>the Muslims perform the Lesser Pilgrimage, <a href="#Page_lxvi">lxvi</a>;</li>
+<li>conquest of Mekka, <a href="#Page_lxvii">lxvii</a>;</li>
+<li><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg&nbsp;172]</a></span>complete amnesty, <a href="#Page_lxvii">lxvii</a>;</li>
+<li>submission of Arabia, <a href="#Page_lxvii">lxvii</a>.</li>
+<li>farewell pilgrimage and oration, <a href="#Page_lxviii">lxviii</a>;</li>
+<li>death, <a href="#Page_lxix">lxix</a>;</li>
+<li>character, <a href="#Page_lxix">lxix</a>;</li>
+<li>charges of cruelty, sensuality, insincerity, discussed, <a href="#Page_lxx">lxx</a>-lxxvi.</li></ul></li>
+<li>
+Mo&#7717;ammad, the illiterate or Gentile apostle, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Moon-goddesses, <a href="#Page_xxxiii">xxxiii</a>, <a href="#Page_xlvii">xlvii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Moses, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>-131.</li>
+<li>
+Mosques or temples, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Mountain-worship, <a href="#Page_xxxiii">xxxiii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Mu&euml;ddin, the first, <a href="#Page_xlv">xlv</a>, <a href="#Page_xlvii">xlvii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Mu&#7717;&aacute;jiroon, <a href="#Page_lx">lx</a>, <a href="#Page_lxv">lxv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Mun&aacute;fi&#7731;oon, <a href="#Page_lix">lix</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Mu&#7779;&acute;ab, <a href="#Page_lv">lv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Mu&#7779;&acute;ab ibn Er-Reiy&aacute;n, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Muslim, meaning of, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Muslim, the true, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Negro</span> slaves, <a href="#Page_xlv">xlv</a>, <a href="#Page_xlvii">xlvii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Negus or Nej&aacute;shee, <a href="#Page_xli">xli</a>, <a href="#Page_xlvii">xlvii</a>, <a href="#Page_xlviii">xlviii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Nejd, <a href="#Page_xii">xii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Nejr&aacute;n, <a href="#Page_xxxiv">xxxiv</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Night journey, <a href="#Page_lv">lv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Nimrod, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Nineveh, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Noah, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>-59.</li>
+<li>
+N&ouml;ldeke, <a href="#Page_ciii">ciii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Nun, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">O&#7717;ud</span>, battle of, <a href="#Page_lxv">lxv</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&acute;Oka&#7693;h, fair of, xxiv-xxvi, <a href="#Page_xxxviii">xxxviii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&acute;Omar, <a href="#Page_l">l</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&acute;Oneyzeh, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Oration, farewell, <a href="#Page_lxviii">lxviii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Oratory among the Arabs, <a href="#Page_xxiv">xxiv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&acute;Othm&aacute;n, <a href="#Page_xlv">xlv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Oven of El-Koofeh, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&acute;Ozeyr or Ezra, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Palmer</span>, Prof. E. H., <a href="#Page_xxiv">xxiv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Parables, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>-40.</li>
+<li>
+Paraclete, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Paradise, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>-31.</li>
+<li>
+Partners with God, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Parties at Medina, <a href="#Page_lix">lix</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Penates, <a href="#Page_xxxiii">xxxiii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Pentateuch, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li>
+<li>
+People of the Scripture, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Perceval, M. Caussin de, <a href="#Page_xxii">xxii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Person of Mo&#7717;ammad, <a href="#Page_xl">xl</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Pharaoh of Joseph, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Pharaoh of Moses, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, ff.</li>
+<li>
+Pilgrimage, <a href="#Page_lxxxiv">lxxxiv</a>.<ul>
+<li>lesser, <a href="#Page_lxvi">lxvi</a>.</li>
+<li>last, <a href="#Page_lxviii">lxviii</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>
+Pilgrims, <a href="#Page_xxxvii">xxxvii</a>, <a href="#Page_liv">liv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Pledges of the &acute;A&#7731;abeh, <a href="#Page_lv">lv</a>, <a href="#Page_lvi">lvi</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Poetry, Arab, <a href="#Page_xxii">xxii</a>-xxiv.</li>
+<li>
+Polygamy, <a href="#Page_lxxxix">lxxxix</a>-xcii.</li>
+<li>
+Potiphar, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Potiphar&#8217;s wife, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Prayer, <a href="#Page_lxxxiii">lxxxiii</a>.<ul>
+<li>opening, <a href="#Page_cvi">cvi</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li></ul></li>
+<li>
+Preaching of Mo&#7717;ammad, <a href="#Page_xlvi">xlvi</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Preceders, the, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Predestination, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Premonition, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Preserved book, the, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Pride of ancestry, <a href="#Page_xviii">xviii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Priests, <a href="#Page_xxxiii">xxxiii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Prophets, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Protection, <a href="#Page_xviii">xviii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Psalms, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Queen</span> of Sheba, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, ff.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Refugees</span>, the, <a href="#Page_lix">lix</a>, <a href="#Page_lx">lx</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Reiy&aacute;n, Er-, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Rek&acute;ah, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Religion of early Arabs, <a href="#Page_xxxii">xxxii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Religion, true and false, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>-37.</li>
+<li>
+Resurrection, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>-31.</li>
+<li>
+Reuel, <i>see</i> Sho&acute;eyb.</li>
+<li>
+Revelations, series of, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>-48.</li>
+<li>
+Revelations, Mo&#7717;ammad&#8217;s, <a href="#Page_c">c</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Sabians</span>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Sabbath-breaking, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&#7778;ada&#7731;ah, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li>
+<li>
+E&#7779;-&#7778;af&aacute;, <a href="#Page_xlvi">xlvi</a>, <a href="#Page_lxvi">lxvi</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&#7778;afoora, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</li>
+<li>
+S&aacute;li&#7717;, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li>
+<li>
+S&aacute;miree Es-, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, ff.</li>
+<li>
+Samuel, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Sarah, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Saul, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Seers, <a href="#Page_xxxiii">xxxiii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Sensuality of Mo&#7717;ammad, <a href="#Page_lxx">lxx</a> ff.</li>
+<li>
+Seth, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Sheba, Queen of, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, ff.</li>
+<li>
+Shi-b or quarter, <a href="#Page_li">li</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Shepherding, <a href="#Page_xxxviii">xxxviii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Sho&acute;eyb, or Jethro, or Reuel, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, ff.</li>
+<li>
+&#7778;i&#7693;&#7693;eek, Es-, <a href="#Page_xlv">xlv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Siege of Medina, <a href="#Page_lxv">lxv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Sierra Leone, <a href="#Page_xcviii">xcviii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Signs, <i>see</i> Miracles.</li>
+<li>
+Sincerity of Mo&#7717;ammad, <a href="#Page_lxxii">lxxii</a> ff.</li>
+<li>
+Slaves, <a href="#Page_xlv">xlv</a>, <a href="#Page_xlvii">xlvii</a>, <a href="#Page_lxviii">lxviii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Smith, Mr. R. Bosworth, <a href="#Page_xliii">xliii</a>, <a href="#Page_lxxxvii">lxxxvii</a>.</li>
+<li><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg&nbsp;173]</a></span>
+Sodom, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, ff.</li>
+<li>
+Solomon, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>-145.</li>
+<li>
+Sons of God, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>-165.</li>
+<li>
+Soorah, the first, <a href="#Page_xliii">xliii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Soorah, the second, <a href="#Page_xliv">xliv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Soorahs, &#8220;forged,&#8221; <a href="#Page_lxxii">lxxii</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Table</span> from heaven, the, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>-159.</li>
+<li>
+Tablet, the preserved, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&#7788;a&iuml;f, E&#7789;-, <a href="#Page_liii">liii</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Tal&#7717;ah, <a href="#Page_xlv">xlv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+&#7788;&aacute;lib, <i>see</i> Aboo-&#7788;&aacute;lib.</li>
+<li>
+Terah, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Temples, <a href="#Page_xxxiii">xxxiii</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Thamood, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Throne-verse, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Th&oacute;r, Mount, <a href="#Page_lvii">lvii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Torturing slaves, <a href="#Page_xlvii">xlvii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Town-life in Arabia, <a href="#Page_xxx">xxx</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Treating with Jews, <a href="#Page_lxii">lxii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Tree-worship, <a href="#Page_xxxiii">xxxiii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Truce with &#7730;ureysh, <a href="#Page_lxv">lxv</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Ubayy</span>, Ibn-, <a href="#Page_lx">lx</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Umm-Gh&aacute;nim, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Umeyyeh, branch of, <a href="#Page_xxxviii">xxxviii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Unity, profession of the, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Uzz&aacute;, El-, <a href="#Page_xxxiii">xxxiii</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Wara&#7731;ah</span>, <a href="#Page_xxxv">xxxv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Wars of Mo&#7717;ammad, <a href="#Page_xxxviii">xxxviii</a>, <a href="#Page_lxv">lxv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Weleed, El-, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Wives of Mo&#7717;ammad, <a href="#Page_lxx">lxx</a> ff.</li>
+<li>
+Wives, command as to, <a href="#Page_lxviii">lxviii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Women of Arabia, <a href="#Page_xxvii">xxvii</a> ff.</li>
+<li>
+Women in Paradise, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Yethrib</span>, xxxvii, <a href="#Page_liv">liv</a>, <a href="#Page_lv">lv</a>, <a href="#Page_lvi">lvi</a>, <i>and</i> see Medina.</li>
+<li>&nbsp;</li>
+<li>
+<span class="smcap">Zeleekha</span>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Zemzem, <a href="#Page_xxxii">xxxii</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Zeyd, <a href="#Page_xxxix">xxxix</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Zeyd ibn &acute;Amr, <a href="#Page_xxxv">xxxv</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Zeyd ibn Th&aacute;bit, <a href="#Page_ci">ci</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Zeyneb, <a href="#Page_lxxii">lxxii</a>.</li>
+<li>
+Zipporah, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<hr />
+
+<table summary="erratum">
+<tr>
+<td class="left vertt"><span class="smcap">Erratum.</span>&mdash;</td>
+<td class="left">P. <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, line 1, <i>for</i> should <i>read</i> shall.<br />
+P. <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, line 21, <i>after</i> illiterate <i>add</i> [or Gentile, <i>i.e.</i>, Arab].</td>
+</tr></table>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="center">PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.<br />
+EDINBURGH AND LONDON</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/back.jpg" width="500" height="763" alt="back cover" title="" />
+<span class="caption">back cover</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Selections From The Kur-an, by Edward William Lane
+
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+</pre>
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+</body>
+</html>
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+Project Gutenberg's Selections From The Kur-an, by Edward William Lane
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Selections From The Kur-an
+
+Author: Edward William Lane
+
+Contributor: Stanley Lane Poole
+
+Release Date: December 26, 2013 [EBook #44515]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SELECTIONS FROM THE KUR-AN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Fritz Ohrenschall, Turgut Dincer and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+TRUeBNER'S
+
+ORIENTAL SERIES.
+
+VII.
+
+
+   Ballantyne Press
+   BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.
+   EDINBURGH AND LONDON
+
+[Illustration: MECCA.]
+
+
+   SELECTIONS FROM THE KUR-AN
+
+   BY
+
+   EDWARD WILLIAM LANE,
+
+   HON. DOCTOR OF LITERATURE, LEYDEN;
+   CORRESPONDENT OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE;
+   HON. MEMBER OF THE GERMAN ORIENTAL SOCIETY, THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY,
+   THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE, ETC.;
+   AUTHOR OF "THE MODERN EGYPTIANS," AND "AN ARABIC-ENGLISH LEXICON;"
+   TRANSLATOR OF "THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS."
+
+   A New Edition, Revised and Enlarged,
+
+   _WITH AN INTRODUCTION_,
+
+   BY
+
+   STANLEY LANE POOLE.
+
+   LONDON:
+   TRUeBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL.
+
+   1879.
+
+   [_All rights reserved._]
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+There are several translations of the Kur-an in several languages; but
+there are very few people who have the strength of mind to read any of
+them through. The chaotic arrangement and frequent repetitions, and
+the obscurity of the language, are sufficient to deter the most
+persistent reader, whilst the nature of a part of its contents renders
+the Kur-an unfit for a woman's eye.
+
+Yet there always has been a wish to know something about the sacred
+book of the Mohammadans, and it was with the design of satisfying this
+wish, whilst avoiding the weariness and the disgust which a complete
+perusal of the Kur-an must produce, that Mr. Lane arranged the
+'Selections' which were published in 1843. In spite of many printer's
+errors, due to the author's absence from England, the book was so far
+successful that the edition was exhausted, and it is now very
+difficult to obtain a copy. But partly owing to the obstructions to
+the reading offered by an interwoven native commentary, and partly by
+reason of the preference shown for the doctrinal over the poetical
+passages, the book went into scholars' hands rather than into the
+libraries of the general reading public. It has proved of
+considerable service to students of Arabic, who have found it the most
+accurate rendering in existence of a large part of the Kur-an; and
+even native Muslims of India, ignorant of Arabic, have used Lane's
+'Selections' as their Bible.
+
+In this edition I have endeavoured rather to carry out the original
+intention of the translator. Experience has shown that the first plan
+was over-learned to commend itself to the average reader, for whom Mr.
+Lane had destined the book; in this edition I have therefore omitted
+many of the notes, which will not be missed by the reader for whom the
+book is intended, and for which the Arabic scholar has only to refer
+to the first edition, or to Sale's _Koran_, whence most of them were
+derived. Again, the text of the first edition was obscured and
+interrupted by an interwoven commentary, which destroyed the pleasure
+of the language and often made the meaning less intelligible than
+before. This commentary has been thinned. Where it added nothing to
+the text, it has been erased; where it gave a curious or valuable
+explanation, it has been thrown into a footnote; where it merely
+supplied a necessary word to complete the sense, that word has been
+left in the text distinguished by a different type[1]. Once more, the
+early and wilder _soorahs_ were almost wholly omitted in the first
+edition, whilst the later more dogmatic and less poetical _soorahs_
+were perhaps too fully represented. I have endeavoured to establish
+the balance between the two.
+
+In this edition the Selections are divided into two parts. The first
+is Islam; the second, other religions as regarded in Islam. In the
+first are grouped, under distinctive headings, the more important
+utterances of Mohammad on what his followers must believe and do; in
+the second are his versions of the history of the patriarchs and other
+personages of the Jewish and Christian writings.
+
+It is only in the First Part that I have made much alteration, either
+by adding fresh extracts (distinguished by a sign), or by making a few
+merely verbal alterations in the original extracts, or by the
+suppression or transposition of the commentary. Any alterations that
+go beyond this--new renderings, for instance--are duly recorded in the
+footnotes.
+
+The Second Part is almost unchanged from the first edition. In this
+part the interwoven commentary is left entire, for the traditions of
+the commentators about Abraham and Moses and Christ are as curious as
+the traditions of Mohammad, and about as credible; and the narrative
+style of the Second Part allows the introduction of parentheses more
+easily than the rhetorical form which many of the extracts in the
+First Part present.
+
+Mr. Lane's Introduction was abridged from Sale's Preliminary
+Discourse, with but little addition from his own knowledge. Sale's
+Discourse abounds in information, but it is too detailed and lengthy
+for the purpose of this volume. I have, then, substituted a short
+sketch of the beginnings of Islam. I have tried to bring home to the
+reader the little we know of the early Arabs; then to draw the picture
+of the great Arab prophet and his work; to show what are the salient
+points of Islam; and finally to explain something of the history of
+the Kur-an and its contents. I am conscious of having drawn the
+picture with a weak hand, but I hope the sketch may serve as a not
+quite useless introduction to a volume of typical selections from a
+book which, in the peculiar character of its contents and the
+extraordinary power of its influence, has not its parallel in the
+world.
+
+   S. L. P.
+
+   _June 1878._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+        _INTRODUCTION._
+
+                                                 PAGE
+      I. THE ARABS BEFORE MOHAMMAD                 xi
+     II. MOHAMMAD                              xxxvii
+    III. ISLAM                                 lxxvii
+     IV. THE KUR-AN                                 c
+
+
+        _PART THE FIRST._
+
+      I. THE OPENING PRAYER                         3
+     II. PREMONITION                                4
+    III. GOD                                        5
+     IV. MOHAMMAD AND THE KUR-AN                   13
+      V. THE RESURRECTION, PARADISE, AND HELL      21
+     VI. PREDESTINATION                            32
+    VII. ANGELS AND JINN                           33
+   VIII. TRUE RELIGION AND FALSE                   34
+     IX. BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS                 38
+
+
+        _PART THE SECOND._
+
+      I. PROPHETS, APOSTLES, AND DIVINE BOOKS      47
+     II. ADAM AND EVE                              49
+    III. ABEL AND CAIN                             53
+     IV. NOAH AND THE FLOOD                        55
+      V. 'AD AND THAMOOD                           60
+     VI. DHU-L-KARNEYN                             63
+    VII. ABRAHAM, ISHMAEL, ISAAC                   66
+   VIII. JACOB, JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN            77
+     IX. JOB                                       93
+      X. SHO'EYB                                   95
+     XI. MOSES AND HIS PEOPLE                      97
+    XII. SAUL, DAVID, SOLOMON                     132
+   XIII. JONAH                                    146
+    XIV. EZRA                                     148
+     XV. THE MESSIAH                              149
+
+         INDEXES                                  167
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+I.--_THE ARABS BEFORE MOHAMMAD._
+
+
+     'Oh, our manhood's prime vigour! No spirit feels waste,
+   Not a muscle is stopped in its playing nor sinew unbraced.
+   Oh, the wild joys of living! the leaping from rock up to rock,
+   The strong rending of boughs from the fir-tree, the cool silver shock
+   Of the plunge in the pool's living water, the hunt of the bear,
+   And the sultriness showing the lion is couched in his lair.
+   And the meal, the rich dates yellowed over with gold-dust divine,
+   And the locust flesh steeped in the pitcher, the full draught of wine,
+   And the sleep in the dried river-channel where bulrushes tell
+   That the water was wont to go warbling so softly and well.
+   How good is man's life, the mere living! how fit to employ
+   All the heart and the soul and the senses for ever in joy!'
+
+   --BROWNING, _Saul_.
+
+
+Between Egypt and Assyria, jostled by both, yielding to neither, lay a
+strange country, unknown save at its marches even to its neighbours,
+dwelt-in by a people that held itself aloof from all the earth--a
+people whom the great empires of the ancient world in vain essayed to
+conquer, against whom the power of Persia, Egypt, Rome, Byzantium was
+proven impotence, and at whose hands even the superb Alexander, had he
+lived to test his dream, might for once have learnt the lesson of
+defeat. Witnessing the struggle and fall of one and another of the
+great tyrannies of antiquity, yet never entering the arena of the
+fight;--swept on its northern frontier by the conflicting armies of
+Khusru and Caesar, but lifting never a hand in either cause;--Arabia was
+at length to issue forth from its silent mystery, and after baffling
+for a thousand years the curious gaze of strangers, was at last to
+draw to itself the fearful eyes of all men. The people of whom almost
+nothing before could certainly be asserted but its existence was
+finally of its own free will to throw aside the veil, to come forth
+from its fastnesses, and imperiously to bring to its feet the kingdoms
+of the world.
+
+It is not all Arabia of which I speak. The story to tell has nothing
+as yet to say to the 'happy' tilled lands of the south, nor to the
+outlying princedoms of El-Heereh and Ghassan bordering the territories
+and admitting the suzerainty of Persia and Rome. These lands were not
+wrapped in mystery: the Himyerite's kingdom in the Yemen, the rule of
+Zenobia at Palmyra, were familiar to the nations around. But the
+cradle of Islam was not here.
+
+Along the eastern coast of the Red Sea, sometimes thrusting its spurs
+of red sandstone and porphyry into the waves, sometimes drawing away
+and leaving a wide stretch of lowland, runs a rugged range of
+mountain. One above another, the hills rise from the coast, leaving
+here and there between them a green valley, where you may see an Arab
+settlement or a group of Bedawees watering their flocks. Rivers there
+are none; and the streams that gather from the rainfall are scarcely
+formed but they sink into the parched earth. Yet beneath the dried-up
+torrent-beds a rivulet trickles at times, and straightway there
+spreads a rich oasis dearly prized by the wanderers of the desert. All
+else is bare and desolate. Climb hill after hill, and the same sight
+meets the eye--barren mountain-side, dry gravelly plain, and the rare
+green valleys. At length you have reached the topmost ridge; and you
+see, not a steep descent, no expected return to the plain, but a vast
+desert plateau, blank, inhospitable, to all but Arabs unindwellable.
+You have climbed the Hijaz--the 'barrier'--and are come to the steppes
+of the Nejd--the 'highland.' In the valleys of this barrier-land are
+the Holy Cities, Mekka and Medina. Here is the birthplace of Islam:
+the Arab tribes of the Hijaz and the Nejd were the first disciples of
+Mohammad.
+
+One may tell much of a people's character from its home. Truism as it
+seems, there is yet a meaning in the saying that the Arabs are
+peculiarly the people of Arabia. Those who have travelled in this
+wonderful land tell us of the quickening influence of the air and
+scene of the desert. The fresh breath of the plain, the glorious sky,
+the still of the wide expanse, trod by no step but your own, looked
+upon only by yourself and perhaps yonder solitary eagle or the wild
+goat leaping the cliffs you have left behind, the absolute stillness
+and aloneness, bring about a strange sense of delight and exultation,
+a bounding-up of spirits held in long restraint, an unknown nimbleness
+of wit and limb. The Arabs felt all this and more in their bright
+imaginative souls. A few would settle in villages, and engage in the
+trade which came through from India to the West; but such were held in
+poor repute by the true Bedawees, who preferred above all things else
+the free life of the desert. It is a relief to turn from the hurry and
+unrest of modern civilisation, from the never-ending strife for
+wealth, for 'position,' for pleasure, even for knowledge, and look for
+a moment on the careless life of the Bedawee. He lived the aimless,
+satisfied life of some child; he sought no change; he was supremely
+content with the exquisite sense of simple existence; he was happy
+because he lived. He wished no more. He dreaded the dark After-death;
+he thrust it from his thoughts as often as it would force itself
+unwelcome upon him. Utterly fearless of man and fortune, he took no
+thought for the morrow: whatever it brought forth, he felt confidently
+his strength to enjoy or endure; only let him seize the happiness of
+to-day while it shall last, and drain to the dregs the overbrimming
+cup of his life. He was ambitious of glory and victory, but it was not
+an ambition that clouded his joy. Throughout a life that was full of
+energy, of passion, of strong endeavour after his ideal of desert
+perfectness, there was yet a restful sense of satisfied enjoyment, a
+feeling that life was of a surety well worth living.
+
+For the Arab had his ideal of life. The true son of the desert must in
+the old times do more than stretch his limbs contentedly under the
+shade of the overhanging rock. He must be brave and chivalrous,
+generous, hospitable; ready to sacrifice himself and his substance for
+his clan; prompt to help the needy and the traveller; true to his
+word, and, not least, eloquent in his speech.
+
+Devotion to the clan was the strongest tie the Arab possessed. Though
+tracing their descent from a common traditional ancestor, the great
+northern family of Bedawees was split up into numerous clans, owning
+no central authority, but led, scarcely governed, each by its own
+chief, who was the most valiant and best-born man in it. The whole
+clan acted as one being; an injury done to one member was revenged by
+all, and even a crime committed by a clansman was upheld by the whole
+brotherhood. Though a small spark would easily light-up war between
+even friendly clans, it was rarely that those of kin met as enemies.
+It is told how a clan suffered long and oft-repeated injuries from a
+kindred clan without one deed of revenge. 'They are our brothers,'
+they said; 'perhaps they will return to better feelings; perhaps we
+shall see them again as they once were.' To be brought to poverty or
+even to die for the clan, the Arab deemed his duty--his privilege. To
+add by his prowess or his hospitality or his eloquence to the glory of
+the clan was his ambition.
+
+   A mountain[2] we have where dwells he whom we shelter there,
+     lofty, before whose height the eye falls back blunted:
+   Deep-based is its root below ground, and overhead there soars
+     its peak to the stars of heaven whereto no man reaches.
+   A folk are we who deem it no shame to be slain in fight,
+     though that be the deeming thereof of Salool and 'Amir;
+   Our love of death brings near to us our days of doom,
+     but their dooms shrink from death and stand far distant.
+   There dies among us no lord a quiet death in his bed,
+     and never is blood of us poured forth without vengeance.
+   Our souls stream forth in a flood from the edge of the whetted swords:
+     no otherwise than so does our spirit leave its mansion.
+   Pure is our stock, unsullied: fair is it kept and bright
+     by mothers whose bed bears well, and fathers mighty.
+   To the best of the uplands we wend, and when the season comes
+     we travel adown to the best of fruitful valleys.
+   Like rain of the heaven are we: there is not in all our line
+     one blunt of heart, nor among us is counted a niggard.
+   We say nay when so we will to the words of other men,
+     but no man to us says nay when we give sentence.
+   When passes a lord of our line, in his stead there rises straight
+     a lord to say the say and do the deeds of the noble.
+   Our beacon is never quenched to the wanderer of the night,
+     nor has ever a guest blamed us where men meet together.
+   Our Days[3] are famous among our foemen, of fair report,
+     branded and blazed with glory like noble horses.
+   Our swords have swept throughout all lands both west and east,
+     and gathered many a notch from the steel of hauberk-wearers;
+   Not used are they when drawn to be laid back in the sheaths
+     before that the folk they meet are spoiled and scattered.
+   If thou knowest not, ask men what they think of us and them
+     --not alike are he that knows and he that knows not.
+   The children of Ed-Dayyan are the shaft of their people's mill,
+     --around them it turns and whirls, while they stand midmost.[4]
+
+The renown of the clan was closely wrapped up with the Arab
+chieftain's personal renown. He was keenly sensitive on the point of
+honour, and to that notion he attached a breadth of meaning which can
+scarcely be understood in these days. Honour included all the
+different virtues that went to make up the ideal Bedawee. To be proved
+wanting in any of these was to be dishonoured. Above all things, the
+man who would 'keep his honour and defile it not' must be brave and
+hospitable--
+
+   A rushing rain-flood when he gave guerdons:
+     when he sprang to the onset, a mighty lion.
+
+The Arab warrior was a mighty man of valour. He would spend whole days
+in the saddle, burdened with heavy armour, in the pursuit of a foe,
+seeking the life of the slayer of his kin, or sweeping down upon the
+caravan of rich merchandise which his more peaceful countrymen of the
+towns were carrying through the deserts. The Arab lived mainly by
+plunder. His land did not yield him food--unless it were dates, the
+Bedawee's bread--and he relied on the success of his foraging
+expeditions for his support. These he conducted with perfect
+good-breeding; he used no violence when it could be avoided; he merely
+relieved the caravan from the trouble of carrying any further the
+goods that he was himself willing to take charge of, urging, if
+necessary, the unfair treatment of his forefather Ishmael as an
+excellent reason for pillaging the sons of Isaac. 'When a woman is the
+victim, no Bedouin brigand, however rude, will be ill-mannered enough
+to lay hands upon her. He begs her to take off the garment on which he
+has set his heart, and he then retires to a distance and stands with
+eyes averted, lest he should do violence to her modesty.'
+
+The poems of the early Arabs are full of the deeds of their warriors,
+the excitement of the pitched battle, the delight of the pursuit, the
+nightly raid on the camp, the trial of skill between rival chiefs, and
+the other pictures of a warrior's triumph. Here we find little of the
+generosity of war: mercy was rarely exercised and hatred was carried
+to its extremest limits; quarter was neither asked nor given; to
+despatch a wounded man was no disgrace; the families of the vanquished
+were enslaved. Notwithstanding his frank genial nature, the Arab was
+of a dangerously quick temper, derived, he boasted, from the flesh he
+lived on of the camel, the surliest and most ill-conditioned of
+beasts. If he conceived himself insulted, he was bound to revenge
+himself to the full, or he would have been deemed dishonoured for
+ever. And since his fiery temper easily took offence, the history of
+the early Arabs is full of the traditions of slight quarrels and their
+horrible results--secret assassination and the long-lasting blood-feud.
+
+   Many the warriors, noon-journeying, who, when
+     night fell, journeyed on and halted at dawning--
+   Keen each one of them, girt with a keen blade
+     that when one drew it flashed forth like the lightning--
+   They were tasting of sleep by sips, when, as
+     they nodded, thou didst fright them, and they were scattered.
+   Vengeance we did on them: there escaped us
+     of the two houses none but the fewest.
+   And if Hudheyl[5] broke the edge of his[6] sword-blade--
+     many the notch that Hudheyl gained from him!
+   Many the time that he made them kneel down on
+     jagged rocks where the hoof is worn with running!
+   Many the morning he fell on their shelter,
+     and after slaughter came plunder and spoiling!
+   Hudheyl has been burned by me, one valiant
+     whom Evil tires not though they be wearied--
+   Whose spear drinks deep the first draught, and thereon
+     drinks deep again of the blood of foemen.
+   Forbidden was wine, but now it is lawful:
+     hard was the toil that made it lawful!
+   Reach me the cup, O Sawad son of 'Amr!
+     my body is spent with gaining my vengeance.
+   To Hudheyl we gave to drink Death's goblet,
+     whose dregs are disgrace and shame and dishonour.
+   The hyena laughs over the slain of Hudheyl, and
+     the wolf--see thou--grins by their corpses,
+   And the vultures flap their wings, full-bellied
+     treading their dead, too gorged to leave them.
+
+The contempt which the Arab, with a few noble exceptions, felt for the
+gentler virtues is seen in these lines:--
+
+   Had I been a son of Mazin, there had not plundered my herds
+     the sons of the Child of the Dust, Dhuhl son of Sheyban!
+   There had straightway arisen to help me a heavy-handed kin,
+     good smiters when help is needed, though the feeble bend to the blow:
+   Men who, when Evil bares before them his hindmost teeth,
+     fly gaily to meet him, in companies or alone.
+   They ask not their brother, when he lays before them his wrong
+     in his trouble, to give them proof of the truth of what he says.
+   But as for my people, though their number be not small,
+     they are good for nought against evil, however light it be;
+   They requite with forgiveness the wrong of those that do them wrong,
+     and the evil deeds of the evil they meet with kindness and love;
+   As though thy Lord had created among the tribes of men
+     themselves alone to fear Him, and never one man more.
+   Would that I had in their stead a folk who, when they ride forth,
+     strike swiftly and hard, on horse or on camel borne!
+
+A point on which the temper of the Bedawee was easily touched was his
+family pride. The Arab prized good blood as much in men as in his
+horses and camels. In these he saw the importance of breed, and in men
+he firmly believed the same principle held good. With the tenacious
+memory of his race, he had no difficulty in remembering the whole of a
+complicated pedigree, and he would often proudly dwell on the purity
+of his blood and the gallant deeds of his forefathers. He would
+challenge another chief to prove a more noble descent, and hot
+disputes and bitter rivalries often came of these comparisons.
+
+But if noble birth brought rivalry and hatred, it brought withal
+excellent virtues. The Arab nobleman was not a man who was richer and
+more idle and luxurious than his inferiors: his position, founded upon
+descent, depended for its maintenance on personal qualities. Rank
+brought with it onerous obligations. The chief, if he would retain and
+carry on the repute of his line, must not only be fearless and ready
+to fight all the world; he must be given to hospitality, generous to
+kith and kin, and to all who cry unto him. His tent must be so pitched
+in the camp that it shall not only be the first that the enemy
+attacks, but also the first the wayworn stranger approaches; and at
+night fires must be kindled hard by to guide wanderers in the desert
+to his hospitable entertainment. If a man came to an Arab noble's
+tent and said, 'I throw myself on your honour,' he was safe from his
+enemies until they had trampled on the dead body of his host. Nothing
+was baser than to give up a guest; the treachery was rare, and brought
+endless dishonour upon the clan in which the shame had taken place.
+The poet extols the tents--
+
+   Where dwells a kin great of heart, whose word is enough to shield
+     whom they shelter when peril comes in a night of fierce strife
+     and storm;
+   Yea, noble are they: the seeker of vengeance gains not from them
+     the blood of his foe, nor is he that wrongs them left without
+     help.
+
+The feeling lasted even under the debased rule of Muslim despots; for
+it is related that a governor was once ordering-out some prisoners to
+execution, when one of them asked for a drink of water, which was
+immediately given him. He then turned to the governor and said, 'Wilt
+thou slay thy guest?' and was forthwith set free. A pledge of
+protection was inferred in the giving of hospitality, and to break his
+word was a thing not to be thought upon by an Arab. He did not care to
+give an oath; his simple word was enough, for it was known to be
+inviolable. Hence the priceless worth of the Arab chief's word of
+welcome: it meant protection, unswerving fidelity, help, and succour.
+
+There was no bound to this hospitality. It was the pride of the Arab
+to place everything he possessed at the service of the guest. The last
+milch-camel must be killed sooner than the duties of hospitality be
+neglected. The story is told of Hatim, a gallant poet-warrior of the
+tribe of Tayyi, which well illustrates the Arab ideal of hostship.
+Hatim was at one time brought to the brink of starvation by the dearth
+of a rainless season. For a whole day he and his family had eaten
+nothing, and at night, after soothing the children to sleep by telling
+them some of those stories in which the Arabs have few rivals, he was
+trying by his cheerful conversation to make his wife forget her
+hunger. Just then they heard steps without, and a corner of the tent
+was raised. 'Who is there?' said Hatim. A woman's voice replied, 'I am
+such a one, thy neighbour. My children have nothing to eat, and are
+howling like young wolves, and I have come to beg help of thee.'
+'Bring them here,' said Hatim. His wife asked him what he would do,
+for if he could not feed his own children, how should he find food for
+this woman's? 'Do not disturb thyself,' he answered. Now Hatim had a
+horse renowned far and wide for the purity of his stock and the
+fleetness and beauty of his paces. He would not kill his favourite for
+himself nor even for his own children; but now he went out and slew
+him, and prepared him with fire for the strangers' need. And when he
+saw them eating with his wife and children, he exclaimed, 'It were a
+shame that you alone should eat whilst all the camp is perishing of
+hunger;' and he went and called the neighbours to the meal, and in the
+morning there remained of the horse nothing but his bones. But as for
+himself, wrapped in his mantle, he sat apart in a corner of the tent.
+
+This Hatim is a type of the Arab nature at its noblest. Though
+renowned for his courage and skill in war, he never suffered his
+enmity to overcome his generosity. He had sworn an oath never to take
+a man's life, and he strictly observed it, and always withheld the
+fatal last blow. In spite of his clemency, he was ever successful in
+the wars of his clan, and brought back from his raids many a rich
+spoil, only to spend it at once in his princely fashion. His
+generosity and faithful observance of his word at times placed him in
+positions of great danger; but the alternative of denying his
+principles seems never to have occurred to his mind. For instance, he
+had imposed upon himself as a law never to refuse a gift to him that
+asked it of him. Once, engaged in single combat, he had disarmed and
+routed his opponent, who then turned and said, 'Hatim, give me thy
+spear.' At once he threw it to him, leaving himself defenceless; and
+had he not met an adversary worthy of himself, this had been the last
+of his deeds. Happily Hatim was not the only generous warrior of the
+Arabs, and his foe did not avail himself of his advantage. When
+Hatim's friends remonstrated with him on the rashness of an act which,
+in the spirit of shopkeepers, they regarded as quixotic, Hatim said,
+'What would you have me to do? He asked of me a gift!'
+
+It was Hatim's practice to buy the liberty of all captives who sought
+his aid: it was but another application of the Arab virtue of
+hospitality. Once a captive called to him when he was on a journey and
+had not with him the means of paying the ransom. But he was not wont
+to allow any difficulties to baulk him of the exercise of his duty,
+and he had the prisoner released, stepping meanwhile into his chains
+until his own clan should send the ransom.
+
+Brave, chivalrous, faithful, and generous beyond the needful of Arab
+ideal--so that his niggard wife, using the privilege of high dames,
+repudiated him because he was ever ruining himself and her by his open
+hand--Hatim filled up the measure of Arab virtue by his eloquence, and
+such of his poems as have come down to us reflect the nobility of his
+life. As a youth he had shown a strong passion for poetry, and would
+spare no means of doing honour to poets. His grandfather, in despair
+at the boy's extravagance, sent him away from the camp to guard the
+camels, which were pastured at a distance. Sitting there in a state of
+solitude little congenial to his nature, Hatim lifted his eyes and saw
+a caravan approaching. It was the caravan of three great poets who
+were travelling to the court of the King of El-Heereh. Hatim begged
+them to alight and to accept of refreshment after the hot and dreary
+journey. He killed them a camel each, though one would have more than
+sufficed for the three; and in return they wrote him verses in praise
+of himself and his kindred. Overjoyed at the honour, Hatim insisted on
+the poets each accepting a hundred camels; and they departed with
+their gifts. When the grandfather came to the pasturing and asked
+where the camels were gone, Hatim answered, 'I have exchanged them for
+a crown of honour, which will shine for all time on the brow of thy
+race. The lines in which great poets have celebrated our house will
+pass from mouth to mouth, and will carry our glory over all Arabia.'
+[7]
+
+This story well illustrates the Arab's passionate love of poetry. He
+conceived his language to be the finest in the world, and he prized
+eloquence and poetry as the goodliest gifts of the gods. There were
+three great events in Arab life, when the clan was called together and
+great feastings and rejoicings ensued. One was the birth of a son to a
+chief; another the foaling of a generous mare; the third was the
+discovery that a great poet had risen up among them. The advent of the
+poet meant the immortality of the deeds of the clansmen and the
+everlasting contumely of their foes; it meant the raising up of the
+glory of the tribe over all the clans of Arabia, and the winning of
+triumphs by bitterer weapons than sword and spear--the weapons of
+stinging satire and scurrilous squib. No man might dare withstand the
+power of the poets among a people who were keenly alive to the point
+of an epigram, and who never forgot an ill-natured jibe if it were
+borne upon musical verse. Most of the great heroes of the desert were
+poets as well as warriors, and their poesy was deemed the chiefest gem
+in their crown, and, like their courage, was counted a proof of
+generous birth. The Khalif 'Omar said well, 'The kings of the Arabs
+are their orators and poets, those who practise and who celebrate all
+the virtues of the Bedawee.'
+
+This ancient poetry of the Arabs is the reflection of the people's
+life. Far away from the trouble of the world, barred by wild wastes
+from the stranger, the Bedawee lived his happy child's life, enjoying
+to the uttermost the good the gods had sent him, delighting in the
+face that Nature showed him, inspired by the glorious breath of the
+deserts that were his home. His poetry rings of that desert life. It
+is emotional, passionate, seldom reflective. Not the end of life, the
+whence and the whither, but the actual present joy of existence, was
+the subject of his song. Vivid painting of nature is the
+characteristic of this poetry: it is natural, unpolished, unlaboured.
+The scenes of the desert--the terrors of the nightly ride through the
+hill-girdled valley where the Ghools and the Jinn have their haunts;
+the gloom of the barren plain, where the wolf, 'like a ruined
+gamester,' roams ululating; the weariness of the journey under the
+noonday sun; the stifling of the sand-storm, the delusions of the
+mirage; or again, the solace of the palm-tree's shade, and the
+delights of the cool well;--such are the pictures of the Arab poet. The
+people's life is another frequent theme: the daily doings of the
+herdsman, the quiet pastoral life, on the one hand; on the other, the
+deeds of the chiefs--war, plunder, the chase, wassail, revenge,
+friendship, love. There were satires on rival tribes, panegyrics on
+chiefs, laments for the dead. This poetry is wholly objective,
+artless, childlike; it is the outcome of a people still in the
+freshness of youth, whom the mysteries and complications of life have
+not yet set a-thinking. 'Just as his language knows but the present
+and the past, so the ancient Arab lived but in to-day and yesterday.
+The future is nought to him; he seizes the present with too thorough
+abandonment to have an emotion left for anything beyond. He troubles
+himself not with what fate the morrow may bring forth, he dreams not
+of a beautiful future,--only he revels in the present, and his glance
+looks backward alone. Rich in ideas and impressions, he is poor in
+thought. He drains hastily the foaming cup of life; he feels deeply
+and passionately; but it is as if he were never conscious of the
+coming of the thoughtful age which, while it surveys the past, as
+often turns an anxious look to the unknown future.'
+
+It is very difficult for a Western mind to enter into the real beauty
+of the old Arab poetry. The life it depicts is so unlike any we can
+now witness, that it is almost removed beyond the pale of our
+sympathies. The poetry is loaded with metaphors and similes, which to
+us seem far-fetched, though they are drawn from the simplest daily
+sights of the Bedawee. Moreover, it is only in fragments that we can
+read it; for the change in the whole character of Arab life and in the
+current of Arab ideas which followed the conquests of Islam
+extinguished the old songs, which were no longer suitable to the new
+conditions of things; and as they were seldom recorded in writing, we
+possess but a little remnant of them.[8] Yet 'these fragments may be
+broken, defaced, dimmed, and obscured by fanaticism, ignorance, and
+neglect; but out of them there arises anew all the freshness, bloom,
+and glory of desert-song, as out of Homer's epics rise the glowing
+spring-time of humanity and the deep blue heavens of Hellas. It is not
+a transcendental poetry, rich in deep and thoughtful legend and lore,
+or glittering in the many-coloured prisms of fancy, but a poetry the
+chief task of which is to paint life and nature as they really are;
+and within its narrow bounds it is magnificent. It is chiefly and
+characteristically full of manliness, of vigour, and of a chivalrous
+spirit, doubly striking when compared with the spirit of abjectness
+and slavery found in some other Asiatic nations. It is wild and vast
+and monotonous as the yellow seas of its desert solitudes; it is
+daring and noble, tender and true.' [9]
+
+There was one place where, above all others, the Kaseedehs of the
+ancient Arabs were recited: this was 'Okadh, the Olympia of Arabia,
+where there was held a great annual Fair, to which not merely the
+merchants of Mekka and the south, but the poet-heroes of all the land
+resorted. The Fair of 'Okadh was held during the sacred months,--a sort
+of 'God's Truce,' when blood could not be shed without a violation of
+the ancient customs and faiths of the Bedawees. Thither went the poets
+of rival clans, who had as often locked spears as hurled rhythmical
+curses. There was little fear of a bloody ending to the poetic
+contest, for those heroes who might meet there with enemies or
+blood-avengers are said to have worn masks or veils, and their poems
+were recited by a public orator at their dictation. That these
+precautions and the sacredness of the time could not always prevent
+the ill-feeling evoked by the pointed personalities of rival singers
+leading to a fray and bloodshed is proved by recorded instances; but
+such results were uncommon, and as a rule the customs of the time and
+place were respected. In spite of occasional broils on the spot, and
+the lasting feuds which these poetic contests must have excited, the
+Fair of 'Okadh was a grand institution. It served as a focus for the
+literature of all Arabia: every one with any pretensions to poetic
+power came, and if he could not himself gain the applause of the
+assembled people, at least he could form one of the critical audience
+on whose verdict rested the fame or the shame of every poet. The Fair
+of 'Okadh was a literary congress, without formal judges, but with
+unbounded influence. It was here that the polished heroes of the
+desert determined points of grammar and prosody; here the seven Golden
+Songs were recited, although (alas for the charming legend!) they were
+_not_ afterwards 'suspended' on the Kaabeh; and here 'a magical
+language, the language of the Hijaz,' was built out of the dialects of
+Arabia, and was made ready to the skilful hand of Mohammad, that he
+might conquer the world with his Kur-an.
+
+The Fair of 'Okadh was not merely a centre of emulation for Arab
+poets: it was also an annual review of Bedawee virtues. It was there
+that the Arab nation once-a-year inspected itself, so to say, and
+brought forth and criticised its ideals of the noble and the beautiful
+in life and in poetry. For it was in poetry that the Arab--and for that
+matter each man all the world over--expressed his highest thoughts, and
+it was at 'Okadh that these thoughts were measured by the standard of
+the Bedawee ideal. The Fair not only maintained the highest standard
+of poetry that the Arabic language has ever reached: it also upheld
+the noblest idea of life and duty that the Arab nation has yet set
+forth and obeyed. 'Okadh was the press, the stage, the pulpit, the
+Parliament, and the Academie Francaise of the Arab people; and when,
+in his fear of the infidel poets (whom Imra-el-Keys was to usher to
+hell), Mohammad abolished the Fair, he destroyed the Arab nation even
+whilst he created his own new nation of Muslims;--and the Muslims
+cannot sit in the places of the old pagan Arabs.
+
+It is very difficult for the Western mind to dissociate the idea of
+Oriental poetry from the notion of amatory odes, and sonnets to the
+lady's eyebrow: but even the few extracts that have been given in this
+chapter show that the Arab had many other subjects besides love to
+sing about, and though the divine theme has its place in almost every
+poem, it seldom rivals the prominence of war and nature-painting, and
+it is treated from a much less sensual point of view than that of
+later Arab poets. Many writers have drawn a gloomy picture of the
+condition of women in Arabia before the coming of Mohammad, and there
+is no doubt that in many cases their lot was a miserable one. There
+are ancient Arabic proverbs that point to the contempt in which
+woman's judgment and character were held by the Arabs of 'the Time of
+Ignorance,' and Mohammad must have derived his mean opinion of women
+from a too general impression among his countrymen. The marriage tie
+was certainly very loose among the ancient Arabs. The ceremony itself
+was of the briefest. The man said _khitb_ (_i.e._ I am an
+asker-in-marriage), and the giver-away answered _nikh_ (_i.e._, I am a
+giver-in-marriage), and the knot was thus tied, only to be undone with
+equal facility and brevity. The frequency of divorce among the Arabs
+does not speak well for their constancy, and must have had a degrading
+effect upon the women. Hence it is argued that women were the objects
+of contempt rather than of respect among the ancient Arabs.
+
+Yet there is reason to believe that the evidence upon which this
+conclusion is founded is partial and one-sided. There was a wide gulf
+between the Bedawee and the town Arab. It is not impossible that the
+view commonly entertained as to the state of women in preislamic times
+is based mainly on what Mohammad saw around him in Mekka, and not on
+the ordinary life of the desert. To such a conjecture a curiously
+uniform support is lent by the ancient poetry of the desert; and
+though the poets were then--as they always are--men of finer mould than
+the rest, yet their example, and still more their poems passing from
+mouth to mouth, must have created a widespread belief in their
+principles. It is certain that the roaming Bedawee, like the mediaeval
+knight, entertained a chivalrous reverence for women, although he,
+too, like the knight, was not always above a career of promiscuous
+gallantry; but there was always a certain glamour of romance about the
+intrigues of the Bedawee. He did not regard the object of his love as
+a chattel to be possessed, but as a divinity to be assiduously
+worshipped. The poems are full of instances of the courtly respect
+displayed by the heroes of the desert toward defenceless maidens, and
+the mere existence of so general an ideal of conduct in the poems is a
+strong argument for Arab chivalry: for with the Arabs the abyss
+between the ideal accepted of the mind and the attaining thereof in
+action was narrower than it is among 'more advanced' nations.
+
+Whatever was the condition of women in the trading cities and
+villages, it is certain that in the desert woman was regarded as she
+has never since been among Muslims. The modern hareem system was there
+as yet undreamt of; the maid of the desert was unfettered by the
+ruinous restrictions of modern life in the East. She was free to
+choose her own husband, and to bind him to have no other wife than
+herself. She might receive male visitors, even strangers, without
+suspicion: for her virtue was too dear to her and too well assured to
+need the keeper. It was the bitterest taunt of all to say to a hostile
+clan that their men had not the heart to give nor their women to deny;
+for the chastity of the women of the clan was reckoned only next to
+the valour and generosity of the men. In those days bastardy was an
+indelible stain. It was the wife who inspired the hero to deeds of
+glory, and it was her praise that he most valued when he returned
+triumphant. The hero of desert song thought himself happy to die in
+guarding some women from their pursuers. Wounded to the death,
+'Antarah halted alone in a narrow pass, and bade the women press on to
+a place of safety. Planting his spear in the ground, he supported
+himself on his horse, so that when the pursuers came up they knew not
+he was dead, and dared not approach within reach of his dreaded arm.
+At length the horse moved, and the body fell to the ground, and the
+enemies saw that it was but the corpse of the hero that had held the
+pass. In death, as in a life _sans peur et sans reproche_, 'Antarah
+was true to the chivalry of his race.
+
+There are many instances like this of the knightly courtesy of the
+Arab chief in 'the Time of Ignorance.' In the old days, as an ancient
+writer says, the true Arab had but one love, and her he loved till
+death, and she him. Even when polygamy became commoner, especially in
+the towns, it was not what is meant by polygamy in a modern Muslim
+state: it was rather the patriarchal system of Abram and Sarai.
+
+There is much in the fragments of the ancient poetry which reflects
+this fine spirit. It is ofttimes 'tender and true,' and even Islam
+could not wholly root out the real Arab sentiment, which reappears in
+Muslim times in the poems of Aboo-Firas. Especially valuable is the
+evidence of the old poetry with regard to the love of a father for his
+daughters. Infanticide, which is commonly attributed to the whole Arab
+nation of every age before Islam, was in reality exceedingly rare in
+the desert, and after almost dying out only revived about the time of
+Mohammad. It was probably adopted by poor and weak clans, either from
+inability to support their children, or in order to protect themselves
+from the stain of having their children dishonoured by stronger
+tribes, and the occasional practice of this barbarous and suicidal
+custom affords no ground for assuming an unnatural hatred and contempt
+for girls among the ancient Arabs. These verses of a father to his
+daughter tell a different story:--
+
+   If no Umeymeh were there, no want would trouble my soul,
+     no labour call me to toil for bread through pitchiest night;
+   What moves my longing to live is but that well do I know
+     how low the fatherless lies, how hard the kindness of kin.
+   I quake before loss of wealth lest lacking fall upon her,
+     and leave her shieldless and bare as flesh set forth on a board.
+   My life she prays for, and I from mere love pray for her death--
+     yea death, the gentlest and kindest guest to visit a maid.
+   I fear an uncle's rebuke, a brother's harshness for her;
+     my chiefest end was to spare her heart the grief of a word.
+
+Once more, the following lines do not breathe the spirit of
+infanticide:--
+
+   Fortune has brought me down (her wonted way)
+     from station great and high to low estate;
+   Fortune has rent away my plenteous store:
+     of all my wealth, honour alone is left.
+   Fortune has turned my joy to tears: how oft
+     did Fortune make me laugh with what she gave!
+   But for these girls, the Kata's downy brood,
+     unkindly thrust from door to door as hard,
+   Far would I roam and wide to seek my bread
+     in earth that has no lack of breadth and length;
+   Nay, but our children in our midst, what else
+     but our hearts are they walking on the ground?
+   If but the wind blow harsh on one of them,
+     mine eye says no to slumber all night long.
+
+Hitherto we have been looking at but one side of Arab life. The
+Bedawees were indeed the bulk of the race, and furnished the swords of
+the Muslim conquests; but there was also a vigorous town-life in
+Arabia, and the citizens waxed rich with the gains of their
+trafficking. For through Arabia ran the trade-route between East and
+West: it was the Arab traders who carried the produce of the Yemen to
+the markets of Syria; and how ancient was their commerce one may
+divine from the words of a poet of Judaea spoken more than a thousand
+years before the coming of Mohammad.
+
+   Wedan and Javan from San'a paid for thy produce:
+     sword-blades, cassia, and calamus were in thy trafficking.
+   Dedan was thy merchant in saddle-cloths for riding;
+   Arabia and all the merchants of Kedar, they were the merchants
+     of thy hand:
+     in lambs and rams and goats, in these were they thy merchants.
+   The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants,
+     with the chief of all spices, and with every precious stone,
+       and gold,
+          they paid for thy produce.
+   Haran, Aden, and Canneh, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur and
+     Chilmad were thy merchants;
+   They were thy merchants in excellent wares,
+     in cloth of blue and broidered work,
+     in chests of cloth of divers colours, bound with cords
+        and made fast among thy merchandize.[10]
+
+Mekka was the centre of this trading life, the typical Arab city of
+old times--a stirring little town, with its caravans bringing the silks
+and woven stuffs of Syria and the far-famed damask, and carrying away
+the sweet-smelling produce of Arabia, frankincense, cinnamon,
+sandal-wood, aloe, and myrrh, and the dates and leather and metals of
+the south, and the goods that come to the Yemen from Africa and even
+India; its assemblies of merchant-princes in the Council Hall near the
+Kaabeh; and again its young poets running over with love and
+gallantry; its Greek and Persian slave-girls brightening the luxurious
+banquet with their native songs, when as yet there was no Arab school
+of music, and the monotonous but not unmelodious chant of the
+camel-driver was the national song of Arabia; and its club, where busy
+men spent their idle hours in playing chess and draughts, or in
+gossiping with their acquaintance. It was a little republic of
+commerce, too much infected with the luxuries and refinements of the
+states it traded with, yet retaining enough of the free Arab nature to
+redeem it from the charge of effeminacy.
+
+Mekka was a great home of music and poetry, and this characteristic
+lasted into Muslim times. There is a story of a certain stonemason who
+had a wonderful gift of singing. When he was at work the young men
+used to come and importune him, and bring him gifts of money and food
+to induce him to sing. He would then make a stipulation that they
+should first help him in his work; and forthwith they would strip off
+their cloaks, and the stones would gather round him rapidly. Then he
+would mount a rock and begin to sing, whilst the whole hill was
+coloured red and yellow with the variegated garments of his audience.
+Singers were then held in the highest admiration, and the greatest
+chiefs used to pay their court to ladies of the musical profession.
+One of them used to give receptions, open to the whole city, in which
+she would appear in great state, surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting,
+each dressed magnificently, and wearing 'an elegant artificial
+chignon.' It was in this town-life that the worse qualities of the
+Arab came out; it was here that his raging passion for dicing and his
+thirst for wine were most prominent. In the desert there was little
+opportunity for indulging in either luxury; but in a town which often
+welcomed a caravan bringing goods to the value of twenty thousand
+pound, such excesses were to be looked for. Excited by the song of the
+Greek slave-girl and the fumes of mellow wine, the Mekkan would throw
+the dice till, like the Germans of Tacitus, he had staked and lost his
+own liberty.
+
+But Mekka was more than a centre of trade and of song. It was the
+focus of the religion of the Arabs. Thither the tribes went up every
+year to kiss the black stone which had fallen from heaven in the
+primeval days of Adam, and to make the seven circuits of the Kaabeh
+naked,--for they would not approach God in the garments in which they
+had done their sins,--and to perform the other ceremonies of the
+pilgrimage. The Kaabeh, a cubical building in the centre of Mekka, was
+the most sacred temple in all Arabia, and it gave its sanctity to all
+the district around. It had been, saith tradition, first built by Adam
+from a heavenly model, and then rebuilt from time to time by Seth and
+Abraham and Ishmael, and less reverend persons, and it contained the
+sacred things of the land. Here was the black stone, here the great
+god of red agate, Hubal, and the three hundred and sixty idols, one
+for each day of the year, which Mohammad afterwards destroyed in one
+day. Here was Abraham's stone and that other which marked the tomb of
+Ishmael, and hard by Zemzem, the god-sent spring which gushed from the
+sand when the forefather of the Arabs was perishing of thirst.
+
+The religion of the ancient Arabs, little as we know of it, is
+especially interesting, inasmuch as the Arabs longest retained the
+original Semitic character, and hence probably the original Semitic
+religion: and so in the ancient religion of Arabia we see the religion
+once professed by Chaldeans, Canaanites, Ph[oe]nicians. This ancient
+religion 'rises little higher than animistic polydaemonism. It is a
+collection of tribal religions standing side by side, only loosely
+united, though there are traces of a once closer connection.' [11]
+The great objects of worship were the sun and the stars and the three
+moon-goddesses--El-Lat the bright moon, Menah the dark, and El-'Uzza
+the union of the two; whilst a lower cultus of trees, stones, and
+mountains, supposed to be dwelt-in by souls, shows that the religion
+had not yet quite risen above simple fetishism. At the time of
+Mohammad the Arabs worshipped numerous images, which may have been
+merely a development from the previous stone-worship, or may have been
+introduced from intercourse with Christians. There are traces of a
+belief in a supreme God behind this pantheon, and the moon-goddesses
+and other divinities were regarded as daughters of _the most high God_
+(Allah ta'ala)--a conception also possibly derived from Christianity.
+The various deities (but not the Supreme Allah) had their fanes, where
+human sacrifices, though rare, were not unknown; and their cultus was
+superintended by a hereditary line of seers, who were held in great
+reverence, but never developed into a priestly caste.
+
+Besides the tribal gods, individual households had their special
+Penates, to whom was due the first and the last salam of the returning
+or outgoing host. But in spite of all this superstitious apparatus the
+Arabs were never a religious people. In the old days, as now, they
+were reckless, skeptical, materialistic. They had their gods and their
+divining-arrows, but they were ready to demolish both if the responses
+proved contrary to their wishes. A great majority believed in no
+future life nor in a reckoning-day of good and evil. If a few tied
+camels to the graves of the dead that the corpse might ride mounted to
+the judgment-seat, it must have been the exception; and if there are
+some doubtful traces of the doctrine of metempsychosis, this again
+must have been the creed of the very few.
+
+Christianity and Judaism had made but small impress upon the Arabs.
+There were Jewish tribes in the north, and there is evidence in the
+Kur-an and elsewhere that the traditions and rites of Judaism were
+widely known in Arabia. But the creed was too narrow and too
+exclusively national to commend itself to the majority of the people.
+Christianity fared even worse. Whether or not St. Paul went there, it
+is at least certain that very little effect was produced by the
+preaching of Christianity in Arabia. We hear of Christians on the
+borders, and even two or three among the Mekkans, and bishops and
+churches are spoken of at Dhafar and Nejran. But the Christianity that
+the Arabs knew was, like the Judaism of the northern tribes, a very
+imperfect reflection of the faith it professed to set forth. It had
+become a thing of the head instead of the heart, and the refinements
+of monophysite and monothelite doctrines gained no hold upon the Arab
+mind.
+
+Thus Judaism and Christianity, though they were well known, and
+furnished many ideas and ceremonies to Islam, were never able to
+effect any general settlement in Arabia. The common Arabs did not care
+much about any religion, and the finer spirits found the wrangling
+dogmatism of the Christian and the narrow isolation of the Jew little
+to their mind. For there were before the time of Mohammad men who were
+dissatisfied with the low fetishism in which their countrymen were
+plunged, and who protested emphatically against the idle and often
+cruel superstitions of the Arabs. Not to refer to the prophets, who,
+as the Kur-an relates, were sent in old time to the tribes of 'Ad and
+Thamood to convert them, there was, immediately before the preaching
+of Mohammad, a general feeling that a change was at hand; a prophet
+was expected, and women were anxiously hoping for male children if so
+be they might mother the Apostle of God; and the more thoughtful
+minds, tinged with traditions of Judaism, were seeking for what they
+called 'the religion of Abraham.' These men were called _'Haneefs,'_
+or skeptics, and their religion seems to have consisted chiefly in a
+negative position, in denying the superstition of the Arabs, and in
+only asserting the existence of one sole-ruling God whose absolute
+slaves are all mankind, without being able to decide on any minor
+doctrines, or to determine in what manner this one God was to be
+worshipped. So long as the Haneefs could give their countrymen no more
+definite creed than this, their influence was limited to a few
+inquiring and doubting minds. It was reserved for Mohammad to
+formulate the faith of the Haneefs in the dogmas of Islam. For the
+leader of these few 'skeptics' was Zeyd ibn 'Amr, to whom Mohammad
+often resorted, and another, Warakah, was the cousin of the Prophet
+and his near neighbour: and thus the Haneefs were the forerunners of
+the man who was to change the destinies of the Arabs.
+
+We can no longer see the true Arab as he was in 'the Time of
+Ignorance,' and we cannot but regret our loss; for the Pagan Arab is a
+noble type of man, though there be nobler. There is much that is
+admirable in his high mettle, his fine sense of honour, his
+knightliness, his 'open-handed, both-handed,' generosity, his frank
+friendship, and his manly independent spirit; and the faults of this
+wild reckless nature are not to be weighed against its many
+excellencies. When Mohammad turned abroad the current of Arab life, he
+changed the character of the people. The mixture with foreign nations,
+and the quiet town-life that succeeded to the tumult of conquest,
+gradually effaced many of the leading ideas of the old Arab nature,
+and the remnant that still dwell in the land of their fathers have
+lost much of that nobleness of character which in their ancestors
+covered a multitude of sins. Mohammad in part destroyed the Arab and
+created the Muslim. The last is no amends for the first. The modern
+Bedawee is neither the one nor the other; he has lost the greatness
+of the old type without gaining that of the new. As far as the Arabs
+alone are concerned, Mohammad effected a temporary good and a lasting
+harm. As to the world at large, that is matter for another chapter.
+
+
+
+
+II.--_MOHAMMAD._
+
+   For every fiery prophet in old times,
+   And all the sacred madness of the bard,
+   When God made music through them, could but speak
+   His music by the framework and the chord;
+   And as _he_ saw it _he hath_ spoken truth.
+
+   --THE HOLY GRAIL.
+
+
+A prophet for the Arabs must fulfil two conditions if he will bring
+with his good tidings the power of making them accepted: he must
+spring from the traditional centre of Arabian religion, and he must
+come of a noble family of pure Arab blood. Mohammad fulfilled both.
+His family was that branch of the Kureysh which had raised Mekka to
+the dignity of the undisputed metropolis of Arabia, and which, though
+impoverished, still held the chief offices of the sacred territory.
+Mohammad's grandfather was the virtual chief of Mekka; for to him
+belonged the guardianship of the Kaabeh, and he it was who used the
+generous privilege of giving food and water to the pilgrims who
+resorted to the 'House of God.' His youngest son, after marrying a
+kinswoman belonging to a branch of the Kureysh, settled at Yethrib
+(Medina), died before the birth of his son (571), and this son,
+Mohammad, lost his mother when he was only six years old. The orphan
+was adopted by his grandfather, 'Abd-el-Muttalib; and a tender
+affection sprang up between the chief of eighty years and his little
+grandson. Many a day the old man might be seen sitting at his wonted
+place near the Kaabeh, and sharing his mat with his favourite. He
+lived but two years more; and at his dying request, his son Aboo-Talib
+took charge of Mohammad, for whom he too ever showed a love as of
+father and mother.
+
+Such is the bare outline of Mohammad's childhood; and of his youth we
+know about as little, though the Arabian biographies abound in
+legends, of which some may be true and most are certainly false. There
+are stories of his journeyings to Syria with his uncle, and his
+encounter with a mysterious monk of obscure faith; but there is
+nothing to show for this tale, and much to be brought against it. All
+we can say is, that Mohammad probably assisted his family in the war
+of the Fijar, and that he must many a time have frequented the annual
+Fair of 'Okadh, hearing the songs of the desert chiefs and the praise
+of Arab life, and listening to the earnest words of the Jews and
+Christians and others who came to the Fair. He was obliged at an early
+age to earn his own living; for the noble family of the Hashimees, to
+which he belonged, was fast losing its commanding position, whilst
+another branch of the Kureysh was succeeding to its dignities. The
+princely munificence of Hashim and 'Abd-el-Muttalib was followed by
+the poverty and decline of their heirs. The duty of providing the
+pilgrims with food was given up by the Hashimees to the rival branch
+of Umeyyeh, whilst they retained only the lighter office of serving
+water to the worshippers. Mohammad must take his share in the labour
+of the family, and he was sent to pasture the sheep of the Kureysh on
+the hills and valleys round Mekka; and though the people despised the
+shepherd's calling, he himself was wont to look back with pleasure to
+these early days, saying that God called never a prophet save from
+among the sheep-folds. And doubtless it was then that he developed
+that reflective disposition of mind which at length led him to seek
+the reform of his people, whilst in his solitary wanderings with the
+sheep he gained that marvellous eye for the beauty and wonder of the
+earth and sky which resulted in the gorgeous nature-painting of the
+Kur-an. Yet he was glad to change this menial work for the more
+lucrative and adventurous post of camel-driver to the caravans of his
+wealthy kinswoman Khadeejeh; and he seems to have taken so kindly to
+the duty, which involved responsibilities, and to have acquitted
+himself so worthily, that he attracted the notice of his employer, who
+straightway fell in love with him, and presented him with her hand.
+The marriage was a singularly happy one, though Mohammad was scarcely
+twenty-five and his wife nearly forty, and it brought him that repose
+and exemption from daily toil which he needed in order to prepare his
+mind for his great work. But beyond that, it gave him a loving woman's
+heart, that was the first to believe in his mission, that was ever
+ready to console him in his despair and to keep alive within him the
+thin flickering flame of hope when no man believed in him--not even
+himself--and the world was black before his eyes.
+
+We know very little of the next fifteen years. Khadeejeh bore him sons
+and daughters, but only the daughters lived. We hear of his joining a
+league for the protection of the weak and oppressed, and there is a
+legend of his having acted with wise tact and judgment as arbitrator
+in a dispute among the great families of Mekka on the occasion of the
+rebuilding of the Kaabeh. During this time, moreover, he relieved his
+still impoverished uncle of the charge of his son 'Alee--afterwards the
+Bayard of Islam,--and he freed and adopted a certain captive, Zeyd; and
+these two became his most devoted friends and disciples. Such is the
+short but characteristic record of these fifteen years of manhood. We
+know very little about what Mohammad did, but we hear only one voice
+as to what he was. Up to the age of forty his unpretending modest way
+of life had attracted but little notice from his townspeople. He was
+only known as a simple upright man, whose life was severely pure and
+refined, and whose true desert sense of honour and faith-keeping had
+won him the high title of El-Emeen, 'the Trusty.'
+
+Let us see what fashion of man this was, who was about to work a
+revolution among his countrymen, and change the conditions of social
+life in a vast part of the world. The picture[12] is drawn from an
+older man than we have yet seen; but Mohammad at forty and Mohammad at
+fifty or more were probably very little different. 'He was of the
+middle height, rather thin, but broad of shoulders, wide of chest,
+strong of bone and muscle. His head was massive, strongly developed.
+Dark hair, slightly curled, flowed in a dense mass down almost to his
+shoulders. Even in advanced age it was sprinkled by only about twenty
+grey hairs--produced by the agonies of his "Revelations." His face was
+oval-shaped, slightly tawny of colour. Fine, long, arched eyebrows
+were divided by a vein which throbbed visibly in moments of passion.
+Great black restless eyes shone out from under long, heavy eyelashes.
+His nose was large, slightly aquiline. His teeth, upon which he
+bestowed great care, were well set, dazzling white. A full beard
+framed his manly face. His skin was clear and soft, his complexion
+"red and white," his hands were as "silk and satin," even as those of
+a woman. His step was quick and elastic, yet firm, and as that of one
+"who steps from a high to a low place," In turning his face he would
+also turn his full body. His whole gait and presence were dignified
+and imposing. His countenance was mild and pensive. His laugh was
+rarely more than a smile....
+
+'In his habits he was extremely simple, though he bestowed great care
+on his person. His eating and drinking, his dress and his furniture,
+retained, even when he had reached the fulness of power, their almost
+primitive nature. The only luxuries he indulged in were, besides arms,
+which he highly prized, a pair of yellow boots, a present from the
+Negus of Abyssinia. Perfumes, however, he loved passionately, being
+most sensitive of smell. Strong drinks he abhorred.
+
+'His constitution was extremely delicate. He was nervously afraid of
+bodily pain; he would sob and roar under it. Eminently unpractical in
+all common things of life, he was gifted with mighty powers of
+imagination, elevation of mind, delicacy and refinement of feeling.
+"He is more modest than a virgin behind her curtain," it was said of
+him. He was most indulgent to his inferiors, and would never allow his
+awkward little page to be scolded, whatever he did. "Ten years," said
+Anas, his servant, "was I about the Prophet, and he never said as much
+as 'uff' to me." He was very affectionate towards his family. One of
+his boys died on his breast in the smoky house of the nurse, a
+blacksmith's wife. He was very fond of children. He would stop them in
+the streets and pat their little cheeks. He never struck any one in
+his life. The worst expression he ever made use of in conversation
+was, "What has come to him?--may his forehead be darkened with mud!"
+When asked to curse some one he replied, "I have not been sent to
+curse, but to be a mercy to mankind." "He visited the sick, followed
+any bier he met, accepted the invitation of a slave to dinner, mended
+his own clothes, milked his goats, and waited upon himself," relates
+summarily another tradition. He never first withdrew his hand out of
+another man's palm, and turned not before the other had turned.... He
+was the most faithful protector of those he protected, the sweetest
+and most agreeable in conversation; those who saw him were suddenly
+filled with reverence; those who came near him loved him; they who
+described him would say, "I have never seen his like either before or
+after." He was of great taciturnity; but when he spoke it was with
+emphasis and deliberation, and no one could ever forget what he said.
+He was, however, very nervous and restless withal, often low-spirited,
+downcast as to heart and eyes. Yet he would at times suddenly break
+through these broodings, become gay, talkative, jocular, chiefly among
+his own. He would then delight in telling little stories, fairy tales,
+and the like. He would romp with the children and play with their
+toys.'
+
+'He lived with his wives in a row of humble cottages, separated from
+one another by palm-branches, cemented together with mud. He would
+kindle the fire, sweep the floor, and milk the goats himself. 'Aisheh
+tells us that he slept upon a leathern mat, and that he mended his
+clothes, and even clouted his shoes, with his own hand. For months
+together ... he did not get a sufficient meal. The little food that he
+had was always shared with those who dropped in to partake of it.
+Indeed, outside the Prophet's house was a bench or gallery, on which
+were always to be found a number of the poor, who lived entirely on
+his generosity, and were hence called the "people of the bench." His
+ordinary food was dates and water or barley-bread; milk and honey were
+luxuries of which he was fond, but which he rarely allowed himself.
+The fare of the desert seemed most congenial to him, even when he was
+sovereign of Arabia.' [13]
+
+Mohammad was full forty before he felt himself called to be an apostle
+to his people. If he did not actually worship the local deities of the
+place, at least he made no public protest against the fetish worship
+of the Kureysh. Yet in the several phases of his life, in his contact
+with traders, in his association with Zeyd and other men, he had
+gained an insight into better things than idols and human sacrifices,
+divining-arrows and mountains and stars. He had heard a dim echo of
+some 'religion of Abraham;' he had listened to the stories of the
+Haggadah: he knew a very little about Jesus of Nazareth. He seems to
+have suffered long under the burden of doubt and self-distrust. He
+used to wander about the hills alone, brooding over these things; he
+shunned the society of men, and 'solitude became a passion to him.'
+
+At length came the crisis. He was spending the sacred months on Mount
+Hira, 'a huge barren rock, torn by cleft and hollow ravine, standing
+out solitary in the full white glare of the desert sun, shadowless,
+flowerless, without well or rill.' Here in a cave Mohammad gave
+himself up to prayer and fasting. Long months or even years of doubt
+had increased his nervous excitable disposition. He had had, they say,
+cataleptic fits during his childhood, and was evidently more
+delicately and finely constituted than those around him. Given this
+nervous nature, and the grim solitude of the hill where he had almost
+lived for long weary months, blindly feeling after some truth upon
+which to rest his soul, it is not difficult to believe the tradition
+of the cave, that Mohammad heard a voice say, 'Cry!' 'What shall I
+cry?' he answers--the question that has been burning his heart during
+all his mental struggles--
+
+   Cry[14]! in the name of thy Lord, who hath created;
+   He hath created man from a clot of blood.
+   Cry! and thy Lord is the Most Bountiful,
+   Who hath taught [writing] by the pen:
+   He hath taught man that which he knew not.
+
+Mohammad arose trembling, and went to Khadeejeh, and told her what he
+had seen; and she did her woman's part, and believed in him and
+soothed his terror, and bade him hope for the future. Yet he could not
+believe in himself. Was he not perhaps mad, possessed by a devil? Were
+these voices of a truth from God? And so he went again on his solitary
+wanderings, hearing strange sounds, and thinking them at one time the
+testimony of Heaven, at another the temptings of Satan or the ravings
+of madness. Doubting, wondering, hoping, he had fain put an end to a
+life which had become intolerable in its changings from the heaven of
+hope to the hell of despair, when again he heard the voice, 'Thou art
+the messenger of God, and I am Gabriel.' Conviction at length seized
+hold upon him; he was indeed to bring a message of good tidings to
+the Arabs, the message of God through His angel Gabriel. He went back
+to Khadeejeh exhausted in mind and body. 'Wrap me, wrap me,' he said;
+and the word came unto him--
+
+   O thou enwrapped in thy mantle
+   Arise and warn!
+   And thy Lord,--magnify Him!
+   And thy raiment,--purify it!
+   And the abomination,--flee it!
+   And bestow not favours that thou mayest receive again with increase,
+   And for thy Lord wait thou patiently.
+
+There are those who see imposture in all this; for such I have no
+answer. Nor does it matter whether in a hysterical fit or under any
+physical disease soever Mohammad saw these visions and heard these
+voices. We are not concerned to draw the lines of demarcation between
+enthusiasm and ecstasy and inspiration. It is sufficient that Mohammad
+_did_ see these things--the subjective creations of a tormented mind.
+It is sufficient that he believed them to be a message from on high,
+and that for years of neglect and persecution and for years of triumph
+and conquest he acted upon his belief.
+
+Mohammad now (612) came forward as the Apostle of the One God to the
+people of Arabia: he was at last well assured that his God was of a
+truth _the_ God, and that He had indeed sent him with a message to his
+people, that they too might turn from their idols and serve the living
+God. He was in the minority of one, but he was no longer afraid; he
+had learnt that self-trust which is the condition of all true work. At
+first he spoke to his near kinsmen and friends; and it is impossible
+to overrate the importance of the fact that his closest relations and
+those who lived under his roof were the first to believe and the
+staunchest of faith. The prophet who is _with_ honour in his own home
+need appeal to no stronger proof of his sincerity, and that Mohammad
+_was_ 'a hero to his own valet' is an invincible argument for his
+earnestness. The motherly Khadeejeh had at once, with a woman's
+instinct, divined her husband's heart and confirmed his fainting hope
+by her firm faith in him. His dearest friends, Zeyd and 'Alee, were
+the next converts; and though, to his grief, he could never induce his
+lifelong protector, Aboo-Talib, to abandon the gods of his fathers,
+yet the old man loved him none the less, and said, when he heard of
+'Alee's conversion, 'Well, my son, he will not call thee to aught save
+what is good; wherefore thou art free to cleave unto him.' A priceless
+aid was gained in the accession of Aboo-Bekr, who succeeded Mohammad
+as the first Khalif of Islam, and whose calm judgment and quick
+sagacity, joined to a gentle and compassionate heart, were of
+incalculable service to the faith. Aboo-Bekr was one of the wealthiest
+merchants of Mekka, and exercised no small influence among his
+fellow-citizens, no less by his character than his position. Like
+Mohammad, he had a nickname, Es-Siddeek, 'The True:' _The True_ and
+_The Trusty_,--no mean augury for the future of the religion!
+
+Five converts followed in Aboo-Bekr's steps; among them 'Othman, the
+third Khalif, and Talhah, the man of war. The ranks of the faithful
+were swelled from humbler sources. There were many negro slaves in
+Mekka, and of them not a few had been predisposed by earlier teaching
+to join in the worship of the One God; and of those who were first
+converted was the Abyssinian Bilal, the original Mueddin of Islam, and
+ever a devoted disciple of the Prophet. These and others from the
+Kureysh raised the number of Muslims to more than thirty souls by the
+fourth year of Mohammad's mission--thirty in three long years, and few
+of them men of influence!
+
+This small success had been achieved with very little opposition from
+the idolaters. Mohammad had not spoken much in public; and when he did
+speak to strangers, he restrained himself from attacking their
+worship, and only enjoined them to worship the One God who had
+created all things. The people were rather interested, and wondered
+whether he were a soothsayer or madman, or if indeed there were truth
+in his words. But now (A.D. 615) Mohammad entered upon a more public
+career. He summoned the Kureysh to a conference at the hill of
+Es-Safa, and said, 'I am come to you as a warner, and as the
+forerunner of a fearful punishment.... I cannot protect you in this
+world, nor can I promise you aught in the next life, unless ye say,
+There is no God but Allah.' He was laughed to scorn, and the assembly
+broke up; but from this time he ceased not to preach to the people of
+a punishment that would come upon the unbelieving city. He told them,
+in the fiery language of the early soorahs, how God had punished the
+old tribes of the Arabs who would not believe in His messengers, how
+the Flood had swallowed up the people who would not hearken to Noah.
+He swore unto them, by the wonderful sights of nature, by the noonday
+brightness, by the night when she spreadeth her veil, by the day when
+it appeareth in glory, that a like destruction would assuredly come
+upon them if they did not turn away from their idols and serve God
+alone. He enforced his message with every resource of language and
+metaphor, till he made it burn in the ears of the people. And then he
+told them of the Last Day, when a just reckoning should be taken of
+the deeds they had done; and he spoke of Paradise and Hell with all
+the glow of Eastern imagery. The people were moved, terrified;
+conversions increased. It was time the Kureysh should take some step.
+If the idols were destroyed, what would come to them, the keepers of
+the idols, and their renown throughout the land? How should they
+retain the allegiance of the neighbouring tribes who came to worship
+their several divinities at the Kaabeh? That a few should follow the
+ravings of a madman or magician who preferred one god above the
+beautiful deities of Mekka was little matter; but that some leading
+men of the city should join the sect, and that the magician should
+terrify the people in open day with his denunciations of the worship
+which _they_ superintended, was intolerable. The chiefs were seriously
+alarmed, and resolved on a more active policy. Hitherto they had
+merely ridiculed the professors of this new faith; they would now take
+stronger measures. Mohammad himself they dared not touch; for he
+belonged to a noble family, which, though it was reduced and
+impoverished, had deserved well of the city, and which, moreover, was
+now headed by a man who was reverenced throughout Mekka, and was none
+other than the adoptive father and protector of Mohammad himself. Nor
+was it safe to attack the other chief men among the Muslims, for the
+blood-revenge was no light risk. They were thus compelled to content
+themselves with the mean satisfaction of torturing the black slaves
+who had joined the obnoxious faction. They exposed them on the
+scorching sand, and withheld water till they recanted--which they did,
+only to profess the faith once more when they were let go. The first
+Mueddin alone remained steadfast: as he lay half stifled he would only
+answer, 'Ahad! Ahad!'--'One [God]! One!'--till Aboo-Bekr came and bought
+his freedom, as he was wont to do for many of the miserable victims.
+Mohammad was very gentle with these forced renegades: he knew what
+stuff men are made of, and he bade them be of good cheer for their
+lips, so that their hearts were sound.
+
+At last, moved by the sufferings of his lowly followers, he advised
+them to seek a refuge in Abyssinia--'a land of righteousness, wherein
+no man is wronged;' and in the fifth year of his mission (616) eleven
+men and four women left Mekka secretly, and were received in Abyssinia
+with welcome and peace. These first emigrants were followed by more
+the next year, till the number reached one hundred. The Kureysh were
+very wroth at the escape of their victims, and sent ambassadors to the
+Nejashee, the Christian king of Abyssinia, to demand that the refugees
+should be given up to them. But the Nejashee assembled his bishops
+and sent for the Muslims and asked them why they had fled; and one of
+them answered and said--
+
+'O king! we lived in ignorance, idolatry, and unchastity; the strong
+oppressed the weak; we spoke untruth; we violated the duties of
+hospitality. Then a prophet arose, one whom we knew from our youth,
+with whose descent and conduct and good faith and morality we are all
+well acquainted. He told us to worship one God, to speak truth, to
+keep good faith, to assist our relations, to fulfil the rights of
+hospitality, and to abstain from all things impure, ungodly,
+unrighteous. And he ordered us to say prayers, give alms, and to fast.
+We believed in him; we followed him. But our countrymen persecuted us,
+tortured us, and tried to cause us to forsake our religion; and now we
+throw ourselves upon thy protection. Wilt thou not protect us?' And he
+recited a chapter of the Kur-an, which spoke of Christ; and the king
+and the bishops wept upon their beards. And the king dismissed the
+messengers and would not give up the men.
+
+The Kureysh, foiled in their attempt to recapture the slaves, vented
+their malice on those believers who remained. Insults were heaped upon
+the Muslims, and persecution grew hotter each day. For a moment
+Mohammad faltered in his work. Could he not spare his people these
+sufferings? Was it impossible to reconcile the religion of the city
+with the belief in one supreme God? After all, was the worship of
+those idols so false a thing? did it not hold the germ of a great
+truth? And so Mohammad made his first and last concession. He recited
+a revelation to the Kureysh, in which he spoke respectfully of the
+three moon-goddesses, and asserted that their intercession with God
+might be hoped for: 'Wherefore bow down before God and serve Him;' and
+the whole audience, overjoyed at the compromise, bowed down and
+worshipped at the name of the God of Mohammad--the whole city was
+reconciled to the double religion. But this Dreamer of the Desert was
+not the man to rest upon a lie. At the price of the whole city of
+Mekka he would not remain untrue to himself. He came forward and said
+he had done wrong--the devil had tempted him. He openly and frankly
+retracted what he had said: and 'As for their idols, they were but
+empty names which they and their fathers had invented.'
+
+Western biographers have rejoiced greatly over 'Mohammad's fall.' Yet
+it was a tempting compromise, and few would have withstood it. And the
+life of Mohammad is not the life of a god, but of a man: from first to
+last it is intensely human. But if for once he was not superior to the
+temptation of gaining over the whole city and obtaining peace where
+before there was only bitter persecution, what can we say of his
+manfully thrusting back the rich prize he had gained, freely
+confessing his fault, and resolutely giving himself over again to the
+old indignities and insults? If he was once insincere--and who is
+not?--how intrepid was his after-sincerity! He was untrue to himself
+for a while, and he is ever referring to it in his public preaching
+with shame and remorse; but the false step was more than atoned for by
+his magnificent recantation.
+
+Mohammad's influence with the people at large was certainly weakened
+by this temporary change of front, and the opposition of the leaders
+of the Kureysh, checked for the moment by the Prophet's concession,
+now that he had repudiated it, broke forth into fiercer flame. They
+heaped insults upon him, and he could not traverse the city without
+the encounter of a curse. They threw unclean things at him, and vexed
+him in his every doing. The protection of Aboo-Talib alone saved him
+from personal danger. This refuge the Kureysh determined to remove.
+They had attempted before, but had been turned back with a soft
+answer. They now went to the chief, of fourscore years, and demanded
+that he should either compel his nephew to hold his peace, or else
+that he should withdraw his protection. Having thus spoken they
+departed. The old man sent for Mohammad, and told him what they had
+said. 'Now therefore save thyself and me also, and cast not upon me a
+burden heavier than I can bear;' for he was grieved at the strife
+between his family and his wider kindred, and would fain have seen
+Mohammad temporize with the Kureysh. But though the Prophet believed
+that at length his uncle was indeed about to abandon him, his courage
+and high resolve never faltered. 'Though they should set the sun on my
+right hand and the moon on my left to persuade me, yet while God
+commands me I will not renounce my purpose.' But to lose his uncle's
+love!--he burst into tears, and turned to go. But Aboo-Talib called
+aloud, 'Son of my brother, come back.' So he came. And he said,
+'Depart in peace, my nephew, and say whatsoever thou desirest; for, by
+the Lord, I will never deliver thee up.'
+
+The faithfulness of Aboo-Talib was soon to be tried. At first, indeed,
+things looked brighter. The old chief's firm bearing overawed the
+Kureysh, and they were still more cowed by two great additions that
+were now joined to the Muslim ranks. One was Mohammad's uncle, Hamzeh,
+'the Lion of God,' a mighty hunter and warrior of the true Arab
+mettle, whose sword was worth twenty of weaker men to the cause of
+Islam. The other was 'Omar, afterwards Khalif, whose fierce impulsive
+nature had hitherto marked him as a violent opponent of the new faith,
+but who afterwards proved himself one of the mainstays of Islam. The
+gain of two such men first frightened then maddened the Kureysh. The
+leaders met together and consulted what they should do. It was no
+longer a case of an enthusiast followed by a crowd of slaves and a few
+worthy merchants; it was a faction led by stout warriors, such as
+Hamzeh, Talhah, 'Omar,--half-a-dozen picked swordsmen; and the Muslims,
+emboldened by their new allies, were boldly surrounding the Kaabeh,
+and performing the rites of their religion in the face of all the
+people. The Kureysh resolved on extreme measures. They determined to
+shut off the obnoxious family of the Hashimees from the rest of their
+kindred. The chiefs drew up a document, in which they vowed that they
+would not marry with the Hashimees, nor buy and sell with them, nor
+hold with them any communication soever; and this they hung up in the
+Kaabeh.
+
+The Hashimees were not many enough to fight the whole city, so they
+went every man of them, save one, to the shi-b (or quarter) of
+Aboo-Talib,--a long, narrow mountain defile on the eastern skirts of
+Mekka, cut off by rocks or walls from the city, except for one narrow
+gateway,--and there shut themselves up. For though the ban did not
+forbid them to go about as heretofore, they knew that no soul would
+speak with them, and that they would be subject to the maltreatment of
+any vagabond they met. So they collected their stores and waited.
+Every man of the family, Muslim or Pagan, cast in his lot with their
+common kinsman, Mohammad, saving only his own uncle, Aboo-Lahab, a
+determined enemy to Islam, to whom a special denunciation is justly
+consecrated in the Kur-an.
+
+For two long years the Hashimees remained shut up in their quarter.
+Only at the pilgrimage-time--when the blessed institution of the sacred
+months made violence sacrilege--could Mohammad come forth and speak
+unto the people of the things that were in his heart to say. Scarcely
+any converts were made during this weary time; and most of those who
+had previously been converted, and did not belong to the doomed clan,
+took refuge in Abyssinia; so that in the seventh year of Mohammad's
+mission there were probably not more than twelve Muslims of any weight
+who remained by him. Still the Hashimees remained in their quarter. It
+seemed as if they must all perish: their stores were almost gone, and
+the cries of starving children could be heard outside. Kind-hearted
+neighbours would sometimes smuggle-in a camel's load of food, but it
+availed little. The Kureysh themselves were getting ashamed of their
+work, and were wishing for an excuse for releasing their kinsmen. The
+excuse came in time. It was discovered that the deed of ban was eaten
+up by worms, and Aboo-Talib turned the discovery to his advantage. The
+venerable old chief went out and met the Kureysh at the Kaabeh, and
+pointing to the crumbling leaf he bitterly reproached them with their
+hardness of heart towards their brethren: then he departed. And
+straightway there rose up five chiefs, heads of great families, and,
+amid the murmurs of the fiercer spirits who were still for no quarter,
+they put on their armour, and going to the shi-b of Aboo-Talib, bade
+the Hashimees come forth in peace. And they came forth.
+
+It was now the eighth year of Mohammad's mission; and for the last two
+years, wasted in excommunication, Islam had almost stood still, at
+least externally. For though Mohammad's patient bearing under the ban
+had gained over a few of his imprisoned clan to his side, he had made
+no converts beyond the walls of his quarter. During the sacred months
+he had gone forth to speak to the people,--to the caravans of strangers
+and the folk at the fairs,--but he had no success; for hard behind him
+followed Aboo-Lahab, the squinter, who mocked at him, and told the
+people he was only 'a liar and a sabian.' And the people answered that
+his own kindred must best know what he was, and they would hear
+nothing from him. The bold conduct of the five chiefs had indeed
+secured for Mohammad a temporary respite from persecution; but this
+relief was utterly outweighed by the troubles that now fell upon him
+and fitly gave that year the name of 'The Year of Mourning.' For soon
+after the revoking of the ban Aboo-Talib died, and five weeks later
+Khadeejeh. In the first Mohammad lost his ancient protector, who,
+though he would never give up his old belief, had yet faithfully
+guarded the Prophet from his childhood upwards, and, with the true
+Arab sentiment of kinship, had subjected himself and his clan to years
+of persecution and poverty in order to defend his brother's son from
+his enemies. The death of Khadeejeh was even a heavier calamity to
+Mohammad. She first had believed in him, and she had ever been his
+angel of hope and consolation. To his death he cherished a tender
+regret for her; and when his young bride 'Aisheh, the favourite of his
+declining years, jealously abused 'that toothless old woman,' he
+answered with indignation, 'When I was poor, she enriched me; when
+they called me a liar, she alone believed in me; when all the world
+was against me, she alone remained true.'
+
+Mohammad might well feel himself alone in the world. Most of his
+followers were in Abyssinia; only a few tried friends remained at
+Mekka. All the city was against him; his protector was dead, and his
+faithful wife. Dejected, almost hopeless, he would try a new field. If
+Mekka rejected him, might not Et-Taif give him welcome? He set out on
+foot on his journey of seventy miles, taking only Zeyd with him; and
+he told the people of Et-Taif his simple message. They stoned him out
+of the city for three miles. Bleeding and fainting, he paused to rest
+in an orchard, to recover strength before he went back to the insults
+of his own people. The owners of the place sent him some grapes; and
+he gathered up his strength once more, and bent his weary feet towards
+Mekka. On the way, as he slept, his fancy called up a strange dream:
+men had rejected him, and now he thought he saw the Jinn, the spirits
+of the air, falling down and worshipping the One God, and bearing
+witness to the truth of Islam. Heartened by the vision, he pushed on;
+and when Zeyd asked him if he did not fear to throw himself again into
+the hands of the Kureysh, he answered, 'God will protect His religion
+and help His prophet.'
+
+So this lonely man came back to dwell among his enemies. Though a
+brave Arab gentleman, compassionating his aloneness, gave him the
+Bedawee pledge of protection, yet he well knew that the power of his
+foes made such protection almost useless, and at any time he might be
+assassinated. But the Kureysh had not yet come to think of the last
+resource, and meanwhile a new prospect was opening out for Mohammad.
+That same year, as he was visiting the caravans of the pilgrims who
+had come from all parts of Arabia to worship at the Kaabeh, he found a
+group of men of Yethrib who were willing to listen to his words. He
+expounded to them the faith he was sent to preach, and he told them
+how his people had rejected him, and asked them whether Yethrib would
+receive him. The men were impressed with his words and professed
+Islam, and promised to bring news the next year; then they returned
+home and talked of this matter to their brethren. Now at Yethrib,
+besides two pagan tribes that had migrated upwards from the south,
+there were three clans of Jewish Arabs. Between the pagans and Jews,
+and then between the two pagan clans, there had been deadly wars; and
+now there were many parties in the city, and no one was master. The
+Jews, on the one hand, were expecting their Messiah; the pagans looked
+for a prophet. If Mohammad were not the Messiah, the Jews thought that
+he might at least be their tool to subdue their pagan rivals. 'Whether
+he is a prophet or not,' said the pagans, 'he is our kinsman by his
+mother, and will help us to overawe the Jews; and if he is the coming
+prophet, it is our policy to recognise him before those Jews who are
+always threatening us with their Messiah.' The teaching of Mohammad
+was so nearly Jewish, that a union of the two creeds might be hoped
+for; whilst to the pagan Arabs of Yethrib monotheism was no strange
+doctrine. All parties were therefore willing to receive Mohammad and
+at least try the experiment of his influence. As a peace-maker,
+prophet, or messiah, he would be equally welcome in a city torn
+asunder by party jealousies.
+
+When the time of pilgrimage again came round, Mohammad waited at the
+appointed place in a secluded glen, and there met him men from the two
+pagan tribes of Yethrib--the clans of Khazraj and Aws--ten from one and
+two from the other. They told him of the willingness of their people
+to embrace Islam, and their hope to make ready the city for his
+welcome. They plighted their faith with him in these words: 'We will
+not worship save one God; we will not steal, nor commit adultery, nor
+kill our children; we will in nowise slander, nor will we disobey the
+prophet in anything that is right.' This is the first pledge of the
+'Akabeh.
+
+The twelve men of Yethrib went back and preached Islam to their
+people. 'So prepared was the ground, so zealous the propagation, and
+so apt the method, that the new faith spread rapidly from house to
+house and from tribe to tribe. The Jews looked on in amazement at the
+people, whom they had in vain endeavoured for generations to convince
+of the errors of Polytheism and dissuade from the abominations of
+idolatry, suddenly and of their own accord casting away their idols
+and professing belief in God alone.' They asked Mohammad to send them
+a teacher versed in the Kur-an, so anxious were they to know Islam
+truly; and Mus'ab was sent, and taught them and conducted their
+worship; so that Islam took deep root at Yethrib.
+
+Meanwhile Mohammad was still among the Kureysh at Mekka. His is now an
+attitude of waiting; he is listening for news from his distant
+converts. Resting his hopes upon them, and despairing of influencing
+the Mekkans, he does not preach so much as heretofore. He holds his
+peace mainly, and bides his time. One hears little of this interval of
+quietude. Islam seems stationary at Mekka, and its followers are
+silent and reserved. The Kureysh are joyful at the ceasing of those
+denunciations which terrified whilst they angered them, yet they are
+not quite satisfied. The Muslims have a waiting look, as though there
+were something at hand.
+
+It was during this year of expectation that the Prophet's celebrated
+'Night Journey' took place. This Mi'raj has been the subject of
+extravagant embellishments on the part of the traditionists and
+commentators, and the cause of much obloquy to the Prophet from his
+religious opponents. Mohammad dreamed a dream, and referred to it
+briefly and obscurely in the Kur-an. His followers persisted in
+believing it to have been a reality--an ascent to heaven in the
+body--till Mohammad was sick of repeating his simple assertion that it
+was a dream. The traditional form of this wonderful vision may be read
+in any life of Mohammad, and though it is doubtless very different
+from the story the Prophet himself gave, it is still a grand vision,
+full of glorious imagery, fraught with deep meaning.
+
+Again the time of pilgrimage came round, and again Mohammad repaired
+to the glen of the Mountain-road. Mus'ab had told him the good tidings
+of the spread of the faith at Yethrib, and he was met at the
+rendezvous by more than seventy men. They came by twos and threes
+secretly for fear of the Kureysh, 'waking not the sleeper, nor
+tarrying for the absent.' Then Mohammad recited to them verses from
+the Kur-an, and in answer to their invitation that he should come to
+them, and their profession that their lives were at his service, he
+asked them to pledge themselves to defend him as they would their own
+wives and children. And a murmur of eager assent rolled round about
+from the seventy, and an old man, one of their chiefs, stood forth and
+said, 'Stretch out thy hand, O Mohammad.' And the chief struck his own
+hand into Mohammad's palm in the frank Bedawee fashion, and thus
+pledged his fealty. Man after man the others followed, and struck
+their hands upon Mohammad's. Then he chose twelve of them as leaders
+over the rest, saying, 'Moses chose from among his people twelve
+leaders. Ye shall be the sureties for the rest, even as the apostles
+of Jesus were; and I am the surety for my people.' A voice of some
+stranger was heard near by, and the assembly hastily dispersed and
+stole back to their camp. This is the second pledge of the 'Akabeh.
+
+The Kureysh knew that some meeting had taken place, and though they
+could not bring home the offence to any of the Yethrib pilgrims, they
+kept a stricter watch on the movements of Mohammad and his friends
+after the pilgrims had returned homeward. It was clear that Mekka was
+no longer a safe place for the Muslims, and a few days after the
+second pledge Mohammad told his followers to betake themselves
+secretly to Yethrib. For two months at the beginning of the eleventh
+year of the mission (622) the Muslims were leaving Mekka in small
+companies to make the journey of 250 miles to Yethrib. One hundred
+families had gone, and whole quarters of the city were deserted, left
+with empty houses and locked doors, 'a prey to woe and wind.' There
+were but three believers now remaining in Mekka--these were Mohammad,
+Aboo-Bekr, and 'Alee. Like the captain of a sinking ship, the Prophet
+would not leave till all the crew were safe. But now they were all
+gone save his two early friends, and everything was ready for the
+journey; still the Prophet did not go. But the Kureysh, who had been
+too much taken by surprise to prevent the emigration, now prepared
+measures for a summary vengeance on the disturber of their peace and
+the emptier of their city. They set a watch on his house, and, it is
+said, commissioned a band of armed youths of different families to
+assassinate him together, that the blood recompense might not fall on
+one household alone. But Mohammad had warning of his danger, and
+leaving 'Alee to deceive the enemy, he was concealed with Aboo-Bekr in
+a narrow-mouthed cave on Mount Thor, an hour-and-a-half's journey from
+Mekka, before the Kureysh knew of his escape. For three days they
+remained hidden there, while their enemies were searching the country
+for them. Once they were very near, and Aboo-Bekr trembled:--'We are
+but two.' 'Nay,' answered Mohammad, 'we are three, for God is with
+us.' And a spider, they say, wove its web over the entrance of the
+cave, so that the Kureysh passed on, thinking that no man had entered
+there.
+
+On the third night the pursuit had been almost given over, and the two
+fugitives took up their journey again. Mounted on camels they
+journeyed to Yethrib. In eight days they reached the outskirts of the
+city (September 622). Mohammad was received with acclamation, and took
+up his residence among his kindred. The seat of Islam was transferred
+from Mekka to Yethrib, henceforward to be known as
+Medina,--_Medeenet-en-Nebee_, 'the City of the Prophet.'
+
+This is the _Hijreh_, or Flight of the Prophet, from which the Muslims
+date their history. Their first year began on the 16th day of June of
+the Year of Grace 622.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A great change now comes over the Prophet's life. It is still the same
+man, but the surroundings are totally different; the work to be done
+is on a wider, rougher stage. Thus far we have seen a gentle,
+thoughtful boy tending the sheep round Mekka;--a young man of little
+note, of whom the people only knew that he was pure and upright and
+true;--then a man of forty whose solitary communion with his soul has
+pressed him to the last terrible questions that each man, if he will
+think at all, must some time ask himself--What is life? What does this
+world mean? What is reality, what is truth? Long months, years
+perhaps, we know not how long and weary, filled with the tortures of
+doubt and the despair of ever attaining to the truth, filled with the
+dreary thought of his aloneness in the relentless universe, and the
+longing to end it all, brought at last their fruits--sure conviction of
+the great secret of life, a firm belief in the Creator in whom all
+things live and move and have their being, whom to serve is man's
+highest duty and privilege, the one thing to be done. And then ten
+years of struggling with careless, unthinking idolators; ten years of
+slow results, the gaining over of a few close friends, the devoted
+attachment of some slaves and men of the meaner rank; finally, the
+conversion of half-a-dozen great citizen chiefs, ending in the flight
+of the whole brotherhood of believers from their native city and their
+welcome to a town of strangers, where the faith had forced itself home
+to the hearts of perhaps two hundred citizens. It was but little that
+was done; so many years of toil, of indomitable courage and
+perseverance and long-suffering, and only about three hundred converts
+at the end! But it was the seed of a great harvest. Mohammad had shown
+men what he was; the nobility of his character, his strong friendship,
+his endurance and courage, above all, his earnestness and fiery
+enthusiasm for the truth he came to preach,--these things had revealed
+the hero, the master whom it was alike impossible to disobey and
+impossible not to love. Henceforward it is only a question of time. As
+the men of Medina come to know Mohammad, they too will devote
+themselves to him body and soul; and the enthusiasm will catch fire
+and spread among the tribes till all Arabia is at the feet of the
+Prophet of the One God. 'No emperor with his tiaras was obeyed as this
+man in a cloak of His own clouting.' He had the gift of influencing
+men, and he had the nobility only to influence them for good.
+
+We have now to see Mohammad as king. Though he came as a fugitive,
+rejected as an impostor by his own citizens, yet it was not long
+before his word was supreme in his adopted city. He had to rule over a
+mixed and divided people, and this must have helped him to the supreme
+voice. There were four distinct parties at Medina. First, the
+'Refugees' (Muhajiroon), who had fled from Mekka; on these Mohammad
+could always rely with implicit faith. But he attached equal
+importance to the early converts of Medina, who had invited him among
+them and given him a home when the future seemed very hopeless before
+him, and who were thenceforward known by the honourable title of the
+'Helpers' (Ansar). How devoted was the affection of these men is
+shown by the well-known scene at El-Ji'raneh, when the Helpers were
+discontented with their share of the spoils, and Mohammad answered,
+'Why are ye disturbed in mind because of the things of this life
+wherewith I have sought to incline the hearts of these men of Mekka
+into Islam, whereas ye are already steadfast in the faith? Are ye not
+satisfied that others should obtain the flocks and the camels, while
+ye carry back the Prophet of the Lord unto your homes? Nay, I will not
+leave you for ever. If all mankind went one way, and the men of Medina
+went another way, verily I would go the way of the men of Medina. The
+Lord be favourable unto them, and bless them, and their sons, and
+their sons' sons, for ever!' And the 'Helpers' wept upon their beards,
+and cried with one voice, 'Yea, we are well satisfied, O Prophet, with
+our lot.' To retain the allegiance of the Refugees and the Helpers was
+never a trouble to Mohammad; the only difficulty was to rein in their
+zeal and hold them back from doing things of blood and vengeance on
+the enemies of Islam. To prevent the danger of jealousy between the
+Refugees and the Helpers, Mohammad assigned each Refugee to one of the
+Ansar to be his brother; and this tie of gossipry superseded all
+nearer ties, till Mohammad saw the time was over when it was needed.
+The third party in Medina was that of the 'Disaffected,' or in the
+language of Islam the 'Hypocrites' (Munafikoon). This was composed of
+the large body of men who gave in their nominal allegiance to Mohammad
+and his religion when they saw they could not safely withstand his
+power, but who were always ready to turn about if they thought there
+was a chance of his overthrow. Mohammad treated these men and their
+leader 'Abdallah ibn Ubayy (who himself aspired to the sovranty of
+Medina) with patient courtesy and friendliness, and, though they
+actually deserted him more than once at vitally critical moments, he
+never retaliated, even when he was strong enough to crush them, but
+rather sought to win them over heartily to his cause by treating them
+as though they were what he would have them be. The result was that
+this party gradually diminished and became absorbed in the general
+mass of earnest Muslims, and though up to its leader's death it
+constantly called forth Mohammad's powers of conciliation, after that
+it vanished from the history of parties.
+
+The fourth party was the real thorn in the Prophet's side. It
+consisted of the Jews, of whom three tribes were settled in the
+suburbs of Medina. They had at first been well disposed to Mohammad's
+coming. He could not indeed be the Messiah, because he was not of the
+lineage of David; but he would do very well to pass off upon their
+neighbours, the pagan Arabs, as, if not the Messiah, at least a great
+prophet; and by his influence the Jews might regain their old
+supremacy in Medina. Mohammad's teaching was very nearly Jewish--they
+had taught him the fables of their Haggadah, and he believed in their
+prophets--why should he not be one of them and help them to the
+dominion? When Mohammad came, they found out their mistake; instead of
+a tool they had a master. He told the people, indeed, the stories of
+the Midrash, and he professed to revive the religion of Abraham: but
+he added to this several damning articles; he taught that Jesus _was_
+the Messiah, and that no other Messiah was to be looked for; and,
+moreover, whilst reverencing and inculcating the doctrine of the
+Hebrew prophets and of Christ, as he knew it, he yet insisted on his
+own mission as in nowise inferior to theirs--as, in fact, the seal of
+prophecy by which all that went before was confirmed or abrogated. The
+illusion was over; the Jews would have nothing to say to Islam: they
+set themselves instead to oppose it, ridicule it, and vex its Preacher
+in every way that their notorious ingenuity could devise.
+
+The step was false: the Jews missed their game, and they had to pay
+for it. Whether it was possible to form a coalition,--whether the Jews
+might have induced Mohammad to waive certain minor points if they
+recognised his prophetic mission,--it is difficult to say. It seems
+most probable that Mohammad would not have yielded a jot to their
+demands, and would have accepted nothing short of unconditional
+surrender to his religion. And it is at least doubtful whether Islam
+would have gained anything by a further infusion of Judaism. It
+already contained all that it could assimilate of the Hebrew faith;
+the rest was too narrow for the universal scope of Islam. The religion
+of Mohammad lost little, we may be sure, by the standing aloof of the
+Arabian Jews; but the Jews themselves lost much. Mohammad, indeed,
+treated them kindly so long as kindness was possible. He made a treaty
+with them, whereby the rights of the Muslims and the Jews were
+defined. They were to practise their several religions unmolested;
+protection and security were promised to all the parties to the
+treaty, irrespective of creed; each was to help the other if attacked;
+no alliance was to be made with the Kureysh; war was to be made in
+common, and no war could be made without the consent of Mohammad:
+crime alone could do away with the protection of this treaty.
+
+But the Jews would not content themselves with standing aloof; they
+must needs act on the offensive. They began by asking Mohammad hard
+questions out of their law, and his answers they easily refuted from
+their books. They denied all knowledge of the Jewish stories in the
+Kur-an--though they knew that they came from their own Haggadah, which
+was ever in their mouths in their own quarter,--and they showed him
+their Bible, where, of course, the Haggadistic legends were not to be
+found. Mohammad had but one course open to him--to say they had
+suppressed or changed their books; and he denounced them accordingly,
+and said that his was the true account of the patriarchs and prophets,
+revealed from heaven. Not satisfied with tormenting Mohammad with
+questions on that Torah which they were always wrangling about
+themselves, they took hold of the every day formulas of Islam, the
+daily prayers and ejaculations, and, 'twisting their tongues,'
+mispronounced them so that they meant something absurd or blasphemous.
+When asked which they preferred, Islam or idolatry, they frankly
+avowed that they preferred idolatry. To lie about their own religion
+and to ridicule another religion that was doing a great and good work
+around them was not enough for these Jews; they must set their poets
+to work to lampoon the women of the believers in obscene verse, and
+such outrages upon common decency, not to say upon the code of Arab
+honour and chivalry, became a favourite occupation among the poets of
+the Jewish clans.
+
+These were offences against the religion and the persons of the
+Muslims. They also conspired against the state. Mohammad was not only
+the preacher of Islam, he was also the king of Medina, and was
+responsible for the safety and peace of the city. As a prophet, he
+could afford to ignore the jibes of the Jews, though they maddened him
+to fury; but as the chief of the city, the general in a time of almost
+continual warfare, when Medina was kept in a state of military defence
+and under a sort of military discipline, he could not overlook
+treachery. He was bound by his duty to his subjects to suppress a
+party that might (and nearly did) lead to the sack of the city by
+investing armies. The measures he took for this object have furnished
+his European biographers with a handle for attack. It is, I believe,
+solely on the ground of his treatment of the Jews that Mohammad has
+been called 'a bloodthirsty tyrant:' it would certainly be difficult
+to support the epithet on other grounds.
+
+The bloodthirstiness consists in this: some half-dozen Jews, who had
+distinguished themselves by their virulence against the Muslims, or by
+their custom of carrying information to the common enemy of Medina,
+were executed; two of the three Jewish clans were sent into exile,
+just as they had previously come into exile, and the third was
+exterminated--the men killed, and the women and children made slaves.
+The execution of the half-dozen marked Jews is generally called
+assassination, because a Muslim was sent secretly to kill each of the
+criminals. The reason is almost too obvious to need explanation. There
+were no police or law-courts or even courts-martial at Medina; some
+one of the followers of Mohammad must therefore be the executor of the
+sentence of death, and it was better it should be done quietly, as the
+executing of a man openly before his clan would have caused a brawl
+and more bloodshed and retaliation, till the whole city had become
+mixed up in the quarrel. If secret assassination is the word for such
+deeds, secret assassination was a necessary part of the internal
+government of Medina. The men must be killed, and best in that way. In
+saying this I assume that Mohammad was cognisant of the deed, and that
+it was not merely a case of private vengeance; but in several
+instances the evidence that traces these executions to Mohammad's
+order is either entirely wanting or is too doubtful to claim our
+credence.
+
+Of the sentences upon the three whole clans, that of exile, passed
+upon two of them, was clement enough. They were a turbulent set,
+always setting the people of Medina by the ears; and finally a brawl
+followed by an insurrection resulted in the expulsion of one tribe;
+and insubordination, alliance with enemies, and a suspicion of
+conspiracy against the Prophet's life, ended similarly for the second.
+Both tribes had violated the original treaty, and had endeavoured in
+every way to bring Mohammad and his religion to ridicule and
+destruction. The only question is whether their punishment was not too
+light. Of the third clan a fearful example was made, not by Mohammad,
+but by an arbiter appointed by themselves. When the Kureysh and their
+allies were besieging Medina, and had well-nigh stormed the defences,
+this Jewish tribe entered into negotiations with the enemy, which were
+only circumvented by the diplomacy of the Prophet. When the besiegers
+had retired, Mohammad naturally demanded an explanation of the Jews.
+They resisted in their dogged way, and were themselves besieged and
+compelled to surrender at discretion. Mohammad, however, consented to
+the appointing of a chief of a tribe allied to the Jews as the judge
+who should pronounce sentence upon them. The man in question was a
+fierce soldier, who had been wounded in the attack on the Jews, and
+indeed died from his wound the same day. This chief gave sentence that
+the men, in number some six hundred, should be killed, and the women
+and children enslaved; and the sentence was carried out. It was a
+harsh, bloody sentence, worthy of the episcopal generals of the army
+against the Albigenses, or of the deeds of the Augustan age of
+Puritanism; but it must be remembered that the crime of these men was
+high treason against the State, during time of siege; and those who
+have read how Wellington's march could be traced by the bodies of
+deserters and pillagers hanging from the trees, need not be surprized
+at the summary execution of a traitorous clan.
+
+Whilst Mohammad's supremacy was being established and maintained among
+the mixed population of Mekka, a vigorous warfare was being carried on
+outside with his old persecutors, the Kureysh. On the history of this
+war, consisting as it did mainly of small raids and attacks upon
+caravans, I need not dwell; its leading features were the two battles
+of Bedr and Ohud, in the first of which three hundred Muslims, though
+outnumbered at the odds of three to one, were completely victorious
+(A.D. 624, A.H. 2); whilst at Ohud, being outnumbered in the like
+proportion and deserted by the 'Disaffected' party, they were almost
+as decisively defeated (A.H. 3). Two years later the Kureysh,
+gathering together their allies, advanced upon Medina and besieged it
+for fifteen days; but the foresight of Mohammad in digging a trench,
+and the enthusiasm of the Muslims in defending it, resisted all
+assaults, and the coming of the heavy storms for which the climate of
+Medina is noted drove the enemy back to Mekka. The next year (A.H. 6)
+a ten years' truce was concluded with the Kureysh, in pursuance of
+which a strange scene took place in the following spring. It was
+agreed that Mohammad and his people should perform the Lesser
+Pilgrimage, and that the Kureysh should for that purpose vacate Mekka
+for three days. Accordingly, in March 629, about two thousand Muslims,
+with Mohammad at their head on his famous camel El-Kaswa--the same on
+which he had fled from Mekka--trooped down the valley and performed the
+rites which every Muslim to this day observes.
+
+'It was surely a strange sight which at this time presented itself in
+the vale of Mekka,--a sight unique in the history of the world. The
+ancient city is for three days evacuated by all its inhabitants, high
+and low, every house deserted; and, as they retire, the exiled
+converts, many years banished from their birthplace, approach in a
+great body, accompanied by their allies, revisit the empty homes of
+their childhood, and within the short allotted space fulfil the rites
+of pilgrimage. The ousted inhabitants, climbing the heights around,
+take refuge under tents or other shelter among the hills and glens;
+and, clustering on the overhanging peak of Aboo-Kubeys, thence watch
+the movements of the visitors beneath, as with the Prophet at their
+head they make the circuit of the Kaabeh and the rapid procession
+between Es-Safa and Marwah; and anxiously scan every figure if
+perchance they may recognise among the worshippers some long-lost
+friend or relative. It was a scene rendered possible only by the
+throes which gave birth to Islam.'[15]
+
+When the three days were over, Mohammad and his party peaceably
+returned to Medina; and the Mekkans re-entered their homes. But this
+pilgrimage, and the self-restraint of the Muslims therein, advanced
+the cause of Islam among its enemies. Converts increased daily, and
+some leading men of the Kureysh now went over to Mohammad. The clans
+around were sending in their deputations of homage. But the final
+keystone was set in the eighth year of the flight (A.D. 630), when a
+body of Kureysh broke the truce by attacking an ally of the Muslims;
+and Mohammad forthwith marched upon Mekka with ten thousand men, and
+the city, defence being hopeless, surrendered. Now was the time for
+the Prophet to show his bloodthirsty nature. His old persecutors are
+at his feet. Will he not trample on them, torture them, revenge
+himself after his own cruel manner? Now the man will come forward in
+his true colours: we may prepare our horror, and cry shame beforehand.
+
+But what is this? Is there no blood in the streets? Where are the
+bodies of the thousands that have been butchered? Facts are hard
+things; and it is a fact that the day of Mohammad's greatest triumph
+over his enemies was also the day of his grandest victory over
+himself. He freely forgave the Kureysh all the years of sorrow and
+cruel scorn they had inflicted on him: he gave an amnesty to the whole
+population of Mekka. Four criminals, whom justice condemned, made up
+Mohammad's proscription list when he entered as a conqueror the city
+of his bitterest enemies. The army followed his example, and entered
+quietly and peaceably; no house was robbed, no woman insulted. One
+thing alone suffered destruction. Going to the Kaabeh, Mohammad stood
+before each of the three hundred and sixty idols and pointed to it
+with his staff, saying, 'Truth is come and lying is undone,' and at
+these words his attendants hewed it down; and all the idols and
+household gods of Mekka and round about were destroyed.
+
+It was thus that Mohammad entered again his native city. Through all
+the annals of conquest, there is no triumphant entry like unto this
+one.
+
+The taking of Mekka was soon followed by the adhesion of all Arabia.
+Every reader knows the story of the spread of Islam. The tribes of
+every part of the peninsula sent embassies to do homage to the
+Prophet. Arabia was not enough: the Prophet had written in his bold
+uncompromising way to the great kings of the East, to the Persian
+Khusru, and the Greek Emperor; and these little knew how soon his
+invitation to the faith would be repeated, and how quickly Islam would
+be knocking at their doors with no faltering hand.
+
+The Prophet's career was near its end. In the tenth year of the
+Flight, twenty years after he had first felt the Spirit move him to
+preach to his people, he resolved once more to leave his adopted city
+and go to Mekka to perform a farewell pilgrimage. And when the rites
+were done in the valley of Mina, the Prophet spoke unto the
+multitude--the forty thousand pilgrims--with solemn last words.[16]
+
+'YE PEOPLE! Hearken to my words; for I know not whether after this
+year I shall ever be amongst you here again.
+
+'Your Lives and your Property are sacred and inviolable amongst one
+another until the end of time.
+
+'The Lord hath ordained to every man the share of his inheritance: a
+Testament is not lawful to the prejudice of heirs.
+
+'The child belongeth to the Parent; and the violator of Wedlock shall
+be stoned.
+
+'Ye people! Ye have rights demandable of your Wives, and they have
+rights demandable of you. Treat your women well.
+
+'And your Slaves, see that you feed them with such food as ye eat
+yourselves, and clothe them with the stuff ye wear. And if they commit
+a fault which ye are not willing to forgive, then sell them, for they
+are the servants of the Lord, and are not to be tormented.
+
+'Ye people! Hearken unto my speech and comprehend it. Know that every
+Muslim is the brother of every other Muslim. All of you are on the
+same equality: ye are one Brotherhood.'
+
+Then, looking up to heaven, he cried, 'O Lord! I have delivered my
+message and fulfilled my mission.' And all the multitude answered,
+'Yea, verily hast thou'!--'O Lord! I beseech Thee, bear Thou witness to
+it'! and, like Moses, he lifted up his hands and blessed the people.
+
+
+Three months more and Mohammad was dead.
+
+   A.H. 11. June, 632.
+
+
+It is a hard thing to form a calm estimate of the Dreamer of the
+Desert. There is something so tender and womanly, and withal so
+heroic, about the man, that one is in peril of finding the judgment
+unconsciously blinded by the feeling of reverence and well-nigh love
+that such a nature inspires. He who, standing alone, braved for years
+the hatred of his people, is the same who was never the first to
+withdraw his hand from another's clasp, the beloved of children, who
+never passed a group of little ones without a smile from his wonderful
+eyes and a kind word for them, sounding all the kinder in that
+sweet-toned voice. The frank friendship, the noble generosity, the
+dauntless courage and hope of the man, all tend to melt criticism in
+admiration.
+
+In telling in brief outline the story of Mohammad's life I have
+endeavoured to avoid controversial points. I have tried to convey in
+the simplest manner the view of that life which a study of the
+authorities must force upon every unbiassed mind. Many of the events
+of Mohammad's life have been distorted and credited with ignoble
+motives by European biographers; but on the facts they mainly agree,
+and these I have narrated, without encumbering them with the
+ingenious adumbrations of their learned recorders. But there are some
+things in the Prophet's life which have given rise to charges too
+weighty to be dismissed without discussion. He has been accused of
+cruelty, sensuality, and insincerity; he has been called a
+'bloodthirsty tyrant,' a voluptuary, and an impostor.
+
+The charge of cruelty scarcely deserves consideration. I have already
+spoken of the punishment of the Jews, which forms the ground of the
+accusation. One has but to refer to Mohammad's conduct to the
+prisoners after the battle of Bedr, to his patient tolerance towards
+his enemies at Medina, his gentleness to his people, his love of
+children and the dumb creatures, and above all, his bloodless entry
+into Mekka, and the complete amnesty he gave to those who had been his
+bitter enemies during eighteen years of insult and persecution and
+finally open war, to show that cruelty was no part of Mohammad's
+nature.
+
+To say that Mohammad, or any other Arab, was sensual in a higher
+degree than an ordinary European is simply to enounce a well-worn
+axiom: the passions of the men of the sunland are not as those of the
+chill north. But to say that Mohammad was a voluptuary is false. The
+simple austerity of his daily life, to the very last, his hard mat for
+sleeping on, his plain food, his self-imposed menial work, point him
+out as an ascetic rather than a voluptuary in most senses of the word.
+Two things he loved, perfumes and women; the first was harmless
+enough, and the special case of his wives has its special answer. A
+great deal too much has been said about these wives. It is a
+melancholy spectacle to see professedly Christian biographers gloating
+over the stories and fables of Mohammad's domestic relations like the
+writers and readers of 'society' journals. It is, of course, a fact
+that whilst the Prophet allowed his followers only four wives he took
+more than a dozen himself; but be it remembered that, with his
+unlimited power, he need not have restricted himself to a number
+insignificant compared with the hareems of some of his successors,
+that he never divorced one of his wives, that all of them save one
+were widows, and that one of these widows was endowed with so terrific
+a temper that Aboo-Bekr and 'Othman had already politely declined the
+honour of her alliance before the Prophet married her: the
+gratification of living with a vixen cannot surely be excessive.
+Several of these marriages must have been entered into from the
+feeling that those women whose husbands had fallen in battle for the
+faith, and who had thus been left unprotected, had a claim upon the
+generosity of him who prompted the fight. Other marriages were
+contracted from motives of policy, in order to conciliate the heads of
+rival factions. It was not a high motive, but one does not look for
+very romantic ideas about love-matches from a man who regarded women
+as 'crooked ribs,' and whose system certainly does its best to make
+marriage from love impossible; yet, on the other hand, it was not a
+sensual motive. Perhaps the strongest reason--one of which it is
+impossible to over-estimate the force--that impelled Mohammad to take
+wife after wife was his desire for male offspring. It was a natural
+wish that he should have a son who should follow in his steps and
+carry on his work; but the wish was never gratified, Mohammad's sons
+died young. After all, the overwhelming argument is his fidelity to
+his first wife. When he was little more than a boy he married
+Khadeejeh, who was fifteen years older than himself, with all the
+added age that women gain so quickly in the East. For five-and-twenty
+years Mohammad remained faithful to his elderly wife, and when she was
+sixty-five, and they might have celebrated their 'silver wedding,' he
+was as devoted to her as when first he married her. During all those
+years there was never a breath of scandal. Thus far Mohammad's life
+will bear microscopic scrutiny. Then Khadeejeh died; and though he
+married many women afterwards, some of them rich in youth and beauty,
+he never forgot his old wife, and loved her best to the end: 'when I
+was poor she enriched me, when they called me a liar she alone
+believed in me, when all the world was against me she alone remained
+true.' This loving, tender memory of an old wife laid in the grave
+belongs only to a noble nature; it is not to be looked for in a
+voluptuary.[17]
+
+When, however, all has been said, when it has been shown that Mohammad
+was not the rapacious voluptuary some have taken him for, and that his
+violation of his own marriage-law may be due to motives reasonable and
+just from his point of view rather than to common sensuality, there
+remains the fact that some of the soorahs of the Kur-an bear
+unmistakable marks of self-accommodation and personal convenience;
+that Mohammad justified his domestic excesses by words which he gave
+as from God. And hence the third and gravest charge, the charge of
+imposture. We must clearly understand what is meant by this
+accusation. It is meant that the Prophet _consciously_ fabricated
+speeches, and palmed them off upon the people as the very word of God.
+The question, it will at once be perceived, has nothing whatever to
+do with the truth or untruth of the revelations. Many an earnest
+enthusiast has uttered prophecies and exhortations which he firmly
+believed to be the promptings of the Spirit, and no man can charge
+such an one with imposture. He thoroughly believes what he says, and
+the fault is in the judgment, not the conscience. The question is
+clearly narrowed to this: Did Mohammad believe he was speaking the
+words of God equally when he declared that permission was given him to
+take unto him more wives, as when he proclaimed 'There is no god but
+God'? It is a question that concerns the conscience of man; and each
+must answer it for himself. How far a man may be deluded into
+believing everything he says is inspired it is impossible to define.
+There are men to-day who would seem to claim infallibility; and in
+Mohammad's time it was so much easier to believe in one's self. Now,
+one never wants a friend to remind him of his weakness; then, there
+were hundreds who would fain have made the man think himself God. It
+is wonderful, with his temptations, how great a humility was ever his,
+how little he assumed of all the god-like attributes men forced upon
+him. His whole life is one long argument for his loyalty to truth. He
+had but one answer for his worshippers, 'I am no more than a man, I am
+only human.' 'Do none enter Paradise save by the mercy of God?' asked
+'Aisheh. 'None, none, none,' he answered. 'Not even thou by thy own
+merits?' 'Neither shall I enter Paradise unless God cover me with His
+mercy.' He was a man like unto his brethren in all things save one,
+and that one difference served only to increase his humbleness, and
+render him the more sensitive to his shortcomings. He was sublimely
+confident of this single attribute, that he was the messenger of the
+Lord of the Daybreak, and that the words he spake came verily from
+Him. He was fully persuaded--and no man dare dispute his right to the
+belief--that God had sent him to do a great work among his people in
+Arabia. Nervous to the verge of madness, subject to hysteria, given to
+wild dreamings in solitary places, his was a temperament that easily
+leads itself to religious enthusiasm. He felt a subtle influence
+within him which he believed to be the movings of the Spirit: he
+thought he heard a voice; it became real and audible to him, awed and
+terrified him, so that he fell into frantic fits. Then he would arise
+and utter some noble saying; and what wonder if he thought it came
+straight from highest heaven? It was not without a sore struggle that
+he convinced himself of his own inspiration; but once admitted, the
+conviction grew with his years and his widening influence for good,
+and nothing then could shake his belief that he was the literal
+mouthpiece of the All-Merciful. When a man has come to this point, he
+cannot be expected to discriminate between this saying and that. As
+the instrument of God he has lost his individuality; he believes God
+is ever speaking through his lips; he dare not question the
+inspiration of the speech lest he should seem to doubt the Giver.
+
+Yet there must surely be a limit to this delusion. There are some
+passages in the Kur-an which it is difficult to think Mohammad truly
+believed to be the voice of the Lord of the Worlds. Mohammad's was a
+sensitive conscience in the early years of his teaching, and it is
+hard to think that it could have been so obscured in later times that
+he could really believe in the inspired source of some of his
+revelations. He may have thought the commands they conveyed necessary,
+but he could hardly have deemed them divine. In some cases he could
+scarcely fail to be aware that the object of the 'revelation' was his
+own comfort or pleasure or reputation, and not the _major Dei gloria_,
+nor the good of the people.
+
+The truth would seem to be that in the latter part of his life
+Mohammad was forced to enlarge the limits of his revelations as the
+sphere of his influence increased. From a private citizen of Mekka he
+had become the Emeer, the chief of the Arabs, the ruler of a
+factious, jealous, turbulent people; and the change must have had its
+effect upon his character. The man who from addressing a few devout
+followers in a tent in the desert finds himself the head of a nation
+of many tribes, king of a country twice the size of France, will find
+many things difficult that before seemed easy. As a statesman Mohammad
+was as great as he was as a preacher of righteousness; but as his
+field of work enlarged, his mind had to accommodate itself to the
+needs of commoner minds. He learnt to see the expedient where before
+he knew only the right. His revelations now deal with the things of
+earth, when before they looked only towards the things of heaven; and
+petty social rules, 'general orders,' selfish permissions, are
+promulgated with the same authority and as from the same divine source
+as the command to worship one God alone. He governed the nation as a
+prophet and not as a king, and as a prophet his ordinances must be
+endorsed with the divine afflatus. He found he must regulate the
+meanest details of the people's life, and he believed he could only do
+this by using God's name for his decrees. He doubtless argued himself
+into the belief that even these petty, and to us sometimes immoral,
+regulations, being for the good of the people, as he conceived the
+good, were really God's ordinances; but even thus he had lowered the
+standard of his teaching, and alloyed with base metal the pure gold of
+his early ideal. It was a temptation that few men have withstood, but
+it was, nevertheless, a falling-off from the Mohammad we loved at
+Mekka, the simple truth-loving bearer of good tidings to the Arabs.
+
+Yet behind this engrafted character, formed by the difficulties of his
+position, by the invincible jealousy and treachery of the tribes he
+governed, the old nature still lived, and ever and anon broke forth in
+fervid words of faith and hope in the cause and the promises that had
+been the light and support of his early years of trial. In the late
+chapters of the Kur-an, among complicated directions for the Muslim's
+guidance in all the circumstances of life, we suddenly hear an echo of
+the old fiery eloquence and the expression of the strong faith which
+never deserted him.
+
+Surely the character of Mohammad has been misjudged. He was not the
+ambitious schemer some would have him, still less the hypocrite and
+sham prophet others have imagined. He was an enthusiast in that
+noblest sense when enthusiasm becomes the salt of the earth, the one
+thing that keeps men from rotting whilst they live. Enthusiasm is
+often used despitefully, because it is joined to an unworthy cause, or
+falls upon barren ground and bears no fruit. So was it not with
+Mohammad. He was an enthusiast when enthusiasm was the one thing
+needed to set the world aflame, and his enthusiasm was noble for a
+noble cause. He was one of those happy few who have attained the
+supreme joy of making one great truth their very life-spring. He was
+the messenger of the One God, and never to his life's end did he
+forget who he was, or the message which was the marrow of his being.
+He brought his tidings to his people with a grand dignity, sprung from
+the consciousness of his high office, together with a most sweet
+humility, whose roots lay in the knowledge of his own weakness. Well
+did Carlyle choose him for his prophet-hero! There have been purer
+lives and higher aspirations than Mohammad's; but no man was ever more
+thoroughly filled with the sense of his mission or carried out that
+mission more heroically.
+
+
+
+
+III.--ISLAM.
+
+   'Your turning your faces in prayer towards the east and the
+   west is not piety; but the pious is he who believeth in God
+   and the Last Day, and in the Angels, and the Scripture, and
+   who giveth money, notwithstanding his love thereof, to
+   relations and orphans, and to the needy and the son of the
+   road, and to the askers, and for the freeing of slaves, and
+   who performeth prayer and giveth the appointed alms; and those
+   who perform their covenant when they covenant, and the patient
+   in adversity and affliction and in the time of violence. These
+   are they who have been true: and these are they who fear
+   God.'--_Kur-an_, ii. 172.
+
+When it was noised abroad that the Prophet was dead, 'Omar, the
+fiery-hearted, the Simon Peter of Islam, rushed among the people, and
+fiercely told them they lied, it could not be true, Mohammad was not
+dead. And Aboo-Bekr came and said, 'Ye people! he that hath worshipped
+Mohammad, let him know that Mohammad is dead; but he that hath
+worshipped God,--that the Lord liveth, and doth not die.'
+
+Many have sought to answer the questions--Why was the triumph of Islam
+so speedy and so complete? Why have so many millions embraced the
+religion of Mohammad, and scarcely a hundred ever recanted? Why do a
+thousand Christians become Muslims to one Muslim who adopts
+Christianity? Why do a hundred and fifty millions of human beings
+still cling to the faith of Islam? Some have attempted to explain the
+first overwhelming success of the Mohammadan religion by the argument
+of the sword. They forget Carlyle's laconic reply, 'First get your
+sword.' You must win men's hearts before you can induce them to peril
+their lives for you, and the first conquerors of Islam must have been
+made Muslims before they were made 'fighters on the path of God.'
+Others allege the low morality of the religion and the sensual
+paradise it promises as a sufficient cause for the zeal of its
+followers; but even were these admitted to the full, to say that such
+reasons could win the hearts of millions of men who have the same
+hopes and longings after the right and the noble as we, is to libel
+mankind. No religion has ever gained a lasting hold upon the souls of
+men by the force of its sensual permissions and fleshly promises. It
+is urged, again, that Islam met no fair foe, that the worn-out forms
+of Christianity and Judaism it encountered were no test of its power
+as a quickening faith, and that it prevailed simply because there was
+nothing to prevent it; and this was undoubtedly a help to the progress
+of the new creed, but it could not have been the cause of its victory.
+
+In all these reasons the religion itself is left out of the question.
+Decidedly Islam itself was the main cause of its triumph. By some
+strange intuition Mohammad succeeded in finding the one form of
+Monotheism that has ever commended itself to any wide section of the
+Eastern world. It was only a remnant of the Jews that learned to
+worship the one God of the prophets after the hard lessons of the
+Captivity. Christianity has never gained a hold upon the East. Islam
+not only was at once accepted (partly in earnest, partly in name, but
+accepted) by Arabia, Syria, Persia, Egypt, Northern Africa, and
+Southern Spain at its first outburst, but, with the exception of
+Spain, it has never lost its vantage-ground; it has seen no country
+that has once embraced its doctrine turn to another faith; it has
+added great multitudes in India and China and Turkestan to its
+subjects; and in quite recent times it has been spreading in wide and
+swiftly--following waves over Africa, and has left but a small part of
+that vast continent unconverted to its creed. Admitting the mixed
+causes that contributed to the rapidity of the first torrent of
+Mohammadan conquest, they do not account for the duration of Islam.
+There must be something in the religion itself to explain its
+persistence and increase, and to account for its present hold over so
+large a proportion of the dwellers on the earth.
+
+Men trained in European ideas of religion have always found a
+difficulty in understanding the fascination which the Muslim faith has
+for so many minds in the East. 'There is no god but God, and Mohammad
+is His Prophet.' There is nothing in this, they say, to move the
+heart. Yet this creed has stirred an enthusiasm that has never been
+surpassed. Islam has had its martyrs, its self-tormentors, its
+recluses, who have renounced all that life offered and have accepted
+death with a smile for the sake of the faith that was in them. It is
+idle to say the eternity of happiness will explain this. The truest
+martyrs of Islam, as well as of Christianity, did not die to gain
+paradise. And if they did, the belief in the promises of the creed
+must follow the hearty belief in the creed. Islam must have possessed
+a power of seizing men's belief before it could have inspired them
+with such a love of its paradise.
+
+Mohammad's conception of God has, I think, been misunderstood, and its
+effect upon the people consequently under-estimated. The God of Islam
+is commonly represented as a pitiless tyrant, who plays with humanity
+as on a chessboard, and works out his game without regard to the
+sacrifice of the pieces; and there is a certain truth in the figure.
+There is more in Islam of the potter who shapes the clay than of the
+father pitying his children. Mohammad conceived of God as the Semitic
+mind has always preferred to think of Him: his God is the All-Mighty,
+the All-Knowing, the All-Just. Irresistible Power is the first
+attribute he thinks of: the Lord of the Worlds, the Author of the
+Heavens and the Earth, who hath created Life and Death, in whose hand
+is Dominion, who maketh the Dawn to appear and causeth the Night to
+cover the Day, the Great, All-Powerful Lord of the glorious Throne;
+the Thunder proclaimeth His perfection, the whole earth is His
+handful, and the Heavens shall be folded together in His right hand.
+And with the Power He conceives the Knowledge that directs it to
+right ends. God is the Wise, the Just, the True, the Swift in
+reckoning, who knoweth every ant's weight of good and of ill that each
+man hath done, and who suffereth not the reward of the faithful to
+perish.
+
+   'God! There is no God but He, the Ever-Living, the
+   Ever-Subsisting. Slumber seizeth Him not nor sleep. To Him
+   belongeth whatsoever is in the Heavens and whatsoever is in
+   the Earth. Who is he that shall intercede with Him, save by
+   His permission? He knoweth the things that have gone before
+   and the things that follow after, and men shall not compass
+   aught of His knowledge, save what He willeth. His Throne
+   comprehendeth the Heavens and the Earth, and the care of them
+   burdeneth Him not. And He is the High, the Great.'--_Kur-an_,
+   ii. 256.
+
+But with this Power there is also the gentleness that belongs only to
+great strength. God is the Guardian over His servants, the Shelterer
+of the orphan, the Guider of the erring, the Deliverer from every
+affliction; in His hand is Good, and He is the Generous Lord, the
+Gracious, the Hearer, the Near-at-Hand. Every soorah of the Kur-an
+begins with the words, 'In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
+Merciful,' and Mohammad was never tired of telling the people how God
+was Very-Forgiving, that His love for man was more tender than the
+mother-bird for her young.
+
+It is too often forgotten how much there is in the Kur-an of the
+loving-kindness of God, but it must be allowed that these are not the
+main thoughts in Mohammad's teaching. It is the doctrine of the Might
+of God that most held his imagination, and that has impressed itself
+most strongly upon Muslims of all ages. The fear rather than the love
+of God is the spur of Islam. There can be no question which is the
+higher incentive to good; but it is nearly certain that the love of
+God is an idea absolutely foreign to most of the races that have
+accepted Islam, and to preach such a doctrine would have been to
+mistake the leaning of the Semitic mind.
+
+The leading doctrine of Mohammad, then, is the belief in One
+All-Powerful God. Islam is the self-surrender of every man to the will
+of God. Its danger lies in the stress laid on the power of God, which
+has brought about the stifling effects of fatalism. Mohammad taught
+the foreknowledge of God, but he did not lay down precisely the
+doctrine of Predestination. He found it, as all have found it, a
+stumbling-block in the way of man's progress. It perplexed him, and he
+spoke of it, but often contradicted himself; and he would become angry
+if the subject were mooted in his presence: 'Sit not with a disputer
+about fate,' he said, 'nor begin a conversation with him.' Mohammad
+vaguely recognised that little margin of Free Will which makes life
+not wholly mechanical.
+
+This doctrine of one Supreme God, to whose will it is the duty of
+every man to surrender himself, is the kernel of Islam, the truth for
+which Mohammad lived and suffered and triumphed. But it was no new
+teaching, as he himself was constantly saying. His was only the last
+of revelations. Many prophets--Abraham, Moses, and Christ--had taught
+the same faith before; but people had hearkened little to their words.
+So Mohammad was sent, not different from them, only a messenger, yet
+the last and greatest of them, the 'seal of prophecy,' the 'most
+excellent of the creation of God.' This is the second dogma of Islam:
+Mohammad is the apostle of God. It is well worthy of notice that it is
+not said, 'Mohammad is the only apostle of God.' Islam is more
+tolerant in this matter than other religions. Its prophet is not the
+sole commissioner of the Most High, nor is his teaching the only true
+teaching the world has ever received. Many other messengers had been
+sent by God to guide men to the right, and these taught the same
+religion that was in the mouth of the preacher of Islam. Hence Muslims
+reverence Moses and Christ only next to Mohammad. All they claim for
+their founder is that he was the last and best of the messengers of
+the one God.[18]
+
+After the belief in God and his prophets and scriptures, the Muslim
+must believe in angels, good and evil genii, in the resurrection and
+the judgment, and in future rewards and punishments. What the teaching
+of the Kur-an is upon these points may be seen in the First Part of
+the 'Selections.' They form a very common weapon of attack on the
+ground of their superstition, their anthropomorphism, and their
+sensuality. Yet these minor beliefs have their place in all religions,
+and they are conceived in scarcely more absurdly realistic a manner in
+Islam than in any other creed. Every religion seems to need an
+improbable, almost a ludicrous, side, in order to provide material for
+the faith of the masses. Mohammad himself was what is called a
+superstitious man, and the improbable side thus found its way easily
+into his creed. With all the fancies floating in Arabia in his time,
+it would have been strange if he had introduced nothing of the
+superstitious into Islam. The Jinn, the Afreets, and the other beings
+of the air and water, have not done much harm to the Mohammadan mind;
+and they have given so many a delightful fable to the West, that we
+must feel a certain grateful respect for them. The realistic pictures
+of paradise and hell have exercised a more serious influence. The
+minute details of these infernal and celestial pictures must move
+alternately the disgust and the contemptuous amusement of a Western
+reader; yet these same things were very real facts to Mohammad, and
+have been of the utmost importance to generation after generation of
+Muslims. In the present day there are cultured men who receive these
+descriptions in the same allegorical sense as some Christians accept
+the Revelation of S. John--which, indeed, in some respects offers a
+close parallel to the pictorial parts of the Kur-an; but the vast
+majority of believers (like many Christians in the parallel case) take
+the descriptions literally, and there can be no doubt that the belief
+founded on such pictures, accepted literally, must work an ill effect
+on the professors of the faith of which these doctrines form a minor,
+but a too prominent, part; and it is the aim of rational Muslims to
+sweep away such cobwebs from their sky.
+
+Islam lies more in doing than in believing. That 'faith without works
+is dead' is a doctrine which every day's routine must bring home to
+the mind of the devout Muslim. The practical duties of the Mohammadan
+religion, beyond the actual profession of faith, are the performance
+of prayer, the giving of alms, the keeping of the fasts, and the
+accomplishing the pilgrimage. Mr. Lane has so minutely described the
+regular prayers used over all the Mohammadan East, that it is only
+necessary here to refer to his account of them in the 'Modern
+Egyptians.' There it will be seen that they form no light part of the
+religious duties of the Muslim, especially since they involve careful
+preparatory ablutions; for Mohammad impressed upon his followers the
+salutary doctrine that cleanliness is an essential part of godliness,
+and the scrupulous cleanliness of the Mohammadan, which contrasts so
+favourably with the unsavoury state of Easterns of other creeds, is an
+excellent feature in the practical influence of Islam. The charge
+which missionaries and the like are fond of bringing against the
+Muslim prayers, that they are merely lifeless forms and vain
+repetitions, is an exaggeration. There is a vast deal of repetition in
+the Mohammadan ritual, just as the paternoster is repeated again and
+again in the principal Christian liturgies; but iteration does not
+necessarily kill devotion. There is plenty of real fervour in the
+prayers of the Mosque, and they are joined-in by the worshippers with
+an earnest attention which shames the listless sleepy bearing of most
+congregations in England. It is true the greater part of the prayers
+are laid down in prescribed forms; but there is an interval set apart
+for private supplication, and the original congregations in the
+mosques availed themselves of this permission more generally than is
+now the case, when the old fervour has become comparatively cool; and
+Mohammad frequently enjoins private prayer at home, and specially
+praises him who 'passeth his night worshipping God.'
+
+Almsgiving was originally compulsory, and the tax was collected by the
+officers of the Khalif; but now the Muslim is merely expected to give
+voluntarily about a fortieth part of his income in charity each year.
+The great fast of Ramadan is too well known to need more than a
+passing mention here; but it is not so well known that Mohammad,
+ascetic as he was himself in this as in many other matters, whilst he
+ordained the month of fasting for the chastening of his able-bodied
+followers, was a determined enemy to useless mortification of the
+flesh, and boldly affirmed that God took no pleasure in a man's
+wantonly injuring himself; and so if one that was weakly and sick
+could not keep the fast without bodily detriment he was to omit it.
+And the same wise leniency was shown by the Arab prophet in respect of
+prayer,--which may be curtailed or omitted in certain cases,--and with
+regard to the pilgrimage, which no one was to perform to his hurt.
+This same pilgrimage is often urged as a sign of Mohammad's tendency
+to superstition and even idolatry. It is asked how the destroyer of
+idols could have reconciled his conscience to the circuits of the
+Kaabeh and the veneration of the black stone covered with adoring
+kisses. The rites of the pilgrimage cannot certainly be defended
+against the charge of superstition; but it is easy to see why Mohammad
+enjoined them. They were hallowed to him by the memories of his
+ancestors, who had been the guardians of the sacred temple, and by the
+traditional reverence of all his people; and besides this tie of
+association, which in itself was enough to make it impossible for him
+to do away with the rites, Mohammad perceived that the worship in the
+Kaabeh would prove of real value to his religion. He swept away the
+more idolatrous and immoral part of the ceremonies, but he retained
+the pilgrimage to Mekka and the old veneration of the temple for
+reasons of which it is impossible to dispute the wisdom. He well knew
+the consolidating effect of forming a centre to which his followers
+should gather; and hence he reasserted the sanctity of the black stone
+that 'came down from Heaven;' he ordained that everywhere throughout
+the world the Muslim should pray looking towards the Kaabeh, and he
+enjoined him to make the pilgrimage thither. Mekka is to the Muslim
+what Jerusalem is to the Jew. It bears with it all the influence of
+centuries of associations. It carries the Muslim back to the cradle of
+his faith, the childhood of his prophet; it reminds him of the
+struggle between the old faith and the new, of the overthrow of the
+idols, and the establishment of the worship of the One God. And, most
+of all, it bids him remember that all his brother Muslims are
+worshipping towards the same sacred spot; that he is one of a great
+company of believers, united by one faith, filled with the same hopes,
+reverencing the same things, worshipping the same God. Mohammad showed
+his knowledge of the religious emotions in man when he preserved the
+sanctity of the temple of Islam.
+
+It would take too much space to look closely into the lesser duties of
+Islam, many of which suggest exceedingly wholesome lessons to Western
+civilisation. But we must not pass over one of these minor duties, for
+it reflects the highest credit upon the founder and the professors of
+Mohammadanism--I mean the humane treatment of animals.
+
+'There is no religion which has taken a higher view in its
+authoritative documents of animal life, and none wherein the precept
+has been so much honoured by its practical observance. 'There is no
+beast on earth,' says the Kur-an, 'nor bird which flieth with its
+wings, but the same is a people like unto you--unto the Lord shall they
+return;' and it is the current belief that animals will share with men
+the general resurrection, and be judged according to their works. At
+the slaughter of an animal, the Prophet ordered that the name of God
+should always be named; but the words, 'the Compassionate, the
+Merciful,' were to be omitted; for, on the one hand, such an
+expression seemed a mockery to the sufferer, and, on the other, he
+could not bring himself to believe that the destruction of any life,
+however necessary, could be altogether pleasing to the All-Merciful.
+'In the name of God,' says a pious Musalman before he strikes the
+fatal blow; 'God is most great; God give thee patience to endure the
+affliction which He hath allotted thee!' In the East there has been no
+moralist like Bentham to insist in noble words on the extension of the
+sphere of morality to all sentient beings, and to be ridiculed for it
+by people who call themselves religious; there has been no naturalist
+like Darwin, to demonstrate by his marvellous powers of observation
+how large a part of the mental and moral faculties which we usually
+claim for ourselves alone we share with other beings; there has been
+no Oriental 'Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.' But
+one reason of this is not far to seek. What the legislation of the
+last few years has at length attempted to do, and, from the mere fact
+that it is legislation, must do ineffectually, has been long effected
+in the East by the moral and religious sentiment which, like almost
+everything that is good in that part of the world, can be traced back,
+in part at least, to the great Prophet of Arabia. In the East, so far
+as it has not been hardened by the West, there is a real sympathy
+between man and the domestic animals; they understand one another; and
+the cruelties which the most humane of our countrymen unconsciously
+effect in the habitual use, for instance, of the muzzle or the
+bearing-rein on the most docile, the most patient, the most faithful,
+and the most intelligent of their companions, are impossible in the
+East. An Arab _cannot_ ill-treat his horse; and Mr. Lane bears
+emphatic testimony to the fact that in his long residence in Egypt he
+never saw an ass or a dog (though the latter is there looked upon as
+an unclean animal) treated with cruelty, except in those cities which
+were overrun by Europeans.'[19]
+
+There are some very beautiful traditions of the Prophet, showing the
+tenderness with which he always treated animals and which he ever
+enjoined on his people. A man once came to him with a carpet and said,
+'O Prophet, I passed through a wood and heard the voices of the young
+of birds, and I took and put them into my carpet, and their mother
+came fluttering round my head.' And the Prophet said, 'Put them down;'
+and when he had put them down the mother joined the young. And the
+Prophet said, 'Do you wonder at the affection of the mother towards
+her young? I swear by Him who has sent me, Verily God is more loving
+to his servants than the mother to these young birds. Return them to
+the place from which ye took them, and let their mother be with them.'
+'Fear God with regard to animals,' said Mohammad; 'ride them when they
+are fit to be ridden, and get off when they are tired. Verily there
+are rewards for our doing good to dumb animals, and giving them water
+to drink.'
+
+
+Such, in brief outline, is the religion of Mohammad. It is a form of
+pure theism, simpler and more austere than the theism of most forms of
+modern Christianity, lofty in its conception of the relation of man to
+God, and noble in its doctrine of the duty of man to man, and of man
+to the lower creation. There is little in it of superstition, less of
+complexity of dogmas; it is an exacting religion, without the
+repulsiveness of asceticism; severe, but not merciless. On the other
+hand, it is over-rigid and formal; it leaves too little to the
+believer and too much to his ritual; it places a prophet and a book
+between man and God, and practically discourages the desire for a
+direct relation between the Deity and his servant; it draws the
+picture of that God in too harsh outlines, and leaves out too much of
+the tenderness and loving-kindness of the God of Christ's teaching,
+and hence it has been the source of more intolerance and fanatical
+hatred than most creeds.
+
+This religion is Islam as understood and taught by its Prophet, so far
+as we can gather it from the Kur-an, aided by those traditions which
+seem to have the stamp of authenticity. It need hardly be said that it
+is not identical with the Islam with which the philosophers of Baghdad
+amused themselves, nor with the fantastic creed which the Fatimee
+Khalifs of Egypt represented, and brought in the person of El-Hakim to
+its limit of extravagance; nor is it the Islam with which as much as
+with their ferocity the Karmatees aroused the fear and abhorrence of
+all good Muslims. Neither the Soofism of Persia nor the dervish
+sensation-religion of Turkey conform to this ancient Islam, to which
+perhaps a modification of the Wahhabee puritanism would be the
+nearest approach. The original faith of Mohammad has not gained by its
+development in foreign lands and alien minds, and perhaps the best we
+can hope for modern Islam is that it may try the experiment of
+retrogression, or rather seek to regain the simplicity of the old form
+without losing the advantages (if there be any) which it has acquired
+from contact with Western civilisation.
+
+
+Islam is unfortunately a social system as well as a religion; and
+herein lies the great difficulty of fairly estimating its good and its
+bad influence on the world. It is but in the nature of things that the
+teacher who lays down the law of the relation of man to God should
+also endeavour to appoint the proper relation between man and his
+neighbour. Christianity was undoubtedly a social even more than a
+religious reform, but the social regulations were too indefinite, or
+at all events too impracticable, for any wide acceptance among the
+professors of the religion. Islam was less fortunate. Mohammad not
+only promulgated a religion; he laid down a complete social system,
+containing minute regulations for a man's conduct in all circumstances
+of life, with due rewards or penalties according to his fulfilment of
+these rules. As a religion Islam is great: it has taught men to
+worship one God with a pure worship who formerly worshipped many gods
+impurely. As a social system Islam is a complete failure: it has
+misunderstood the relations of the sexes, upon which the whole
+character of a nation's life hangs, and, by degrading women, has
+degraded each successive generation of their children down an
+increasing scale of infamy and corruption, until it seems almost
+impossible to reach a lower level of vice.
+
+The fatal spot in Islam is the degradation of women. The true test of
+a nation's place in the ranks of civilisation is the position of its
+women. When they are held in reverence, when it is considered the most
+infamous of crimes to subject a woman to dishonour, and the highest
+distinction to protect her from wrong; when the family life is real
+and strong, of which the mother-wife is the heart; when each man's
+pulse beats loyal to womanhood, then is a nation great. When women are
+treated as playthings, toys, drudges, worth anything only if they have
+beauty to be enjoyed or strength to labour; when sex is considered the
+chief thing in a woman, and heart and mind are forgotten; when a man
+buys women for his pleasure and dismisses them when his appetite is
+glutted, then is a nation despicable.
+
+And so is it in the East. Yet it would be hard to lay the blame
+altogether on Mohammad. The real roots of the degradation of women lie
+much deeper. When Islam was instituted, polygamy was almost
+necessitated by the number of women and their need of support; and the
+facility of divorce was quite necessitated by the separation of the
+sexes, and the consequence that a man could not know or even see the
+woman he was about to marry before the marriage ceremony was
+accomplished. It is not Mohammad whom we must blame for these great
+evils, polygamy and divorce; it is the state of society which demanded
+the separation of the sexes, and in which it was not safe to allow men
+and women freely to associate; in other words, it was the sensual
+constitution of the Arab that lay at the root of the matter. Mohammad
+might have done better. He might boldly have swept away the traditions
+of Arab society, unveiled the women, intermingled the sexes, and
+punished by the most severe measures any license which such
+association might at first encourage. With his boundless influence, it
+is possible that he might have done this, and, the new system once
+fairly settled, and the people accustomed to it, the good effects of
+the change would have begun to show themselves. But such an idea could
+never have occurred to him. We must always remember that we are
+dealing with a social system of the seventh century, not of the
+nineteenth. Mohammad's ideas about women were like those of the rest
+of his contemporaries. He looked upon them as charming snares to the
+believer, ornamental articles of furniture difficult to keep in order,
+pretty playthings; but that a woman should be the counsellor and
+companion of a man does not seem to have occurred to him. It is to be
+wondered that the feeling of respect he always entertained for his
+first wife, Khadeejeh, (which, however, is partly accounted for by the
+fact that she was old enough to have been his mother,) found no
+counterpart in his general opinion of womankind: 'Woman was made from
+a crooked rib, and if you try to bend it straight, it will break;
+therefore treat your wives kindly.' Mohammad was not the man to make a
+social reform affecting women, nor was Arabia the country in which
+such a change should be made, nor Arab ladies perhaps the best
+subjects for the experiment. Still he did something towards bettering
+the condition of women: he limited the number of wives to four; laid
+his hand with the utmost severity on the incestuous marriages that
+were then rife in Arabia; compelled husbands to support their divorced
+wives during their four months of probation; made irrevocable divorce
+less common by adding the rough, but deterring, condition that a woman
+triply divorced could not return to her husband without first being
+married to some one else--a condition exceedingly disagreeable to the
+first husband; and required four witnesses to prove a charge of
+adultery against a wife--a merciful provision, difficult to be
+fulfilled. The evil permitted by Mohammad in leaving the number of
+wives four instead of insisting on monogamy was not great. Without
+considering the sacrifice of family peace which the possession of a
+large harem entails, the expense of keeping several wives, each of
+whom must have a separate suite of apartments or a separate house, is
+so great that not more than one in twenty can afford it. It is not so
+much in the matter of wives as in that of concubines that Mohammad
+made an irretrievable mistake. The condition of the female slave in
+the East is indeed deplorable. She is at the entire mercy of her
+master, who can do what he pleases with her and her companions; for
+the Muslim is not restricted in the number of his concubines, as he is
+in that of his wives. The female white slave is kept solely for the
+master's sensual gratification, and is sold when he is tired of her,
+and so she passes from master to master, a very wreck of womanhood.
+Her condition is a little improved if she bear a son to her tyrant;
+but even then he is at liberty to refuse to acknowledge the child as
+his own, though it must be owned he seldom does this. Kind as the
+Prophet was himself towards bondswomen, one cannot forget the
+unutterable brutalities which he suffered his followers to inflict
+upon conquered nations in the taking of slaves. The Muslim soldier was
+allowed to do as he pleased with any 'infidel' woman he might meet
+with on his victorious march. When one thinks of the thousands of
+women, mothers and daughters, who must have suffered untold shame and
+dishonour by this license, he cannot find words to express his horror.
+And this cruel indulgence has left its mark on the Muslim character,
+nay, on the whole character of Eastern life. Now, as at the first,
+young Christian girls are dragged away from their homes and given over
+to the unhallowed lusts of a Turkish voluptuary; and not only to
+Turks, but to Englishmen; for the contagion has spread, and
+Englishmen, even those who by their sacred order should know better,
+instead of uttering their protest, as men of honour and Christians,
+against the degradation, have followed the example of the Turk, and
+helped in the ruin of women. Concubinage is the black stain in Islam.
+With Mohammad's views of women, we could hardly expect him to do
+better; but, on the other hand, he could scarcely have done worse.
+There are, however, one or two alleviating circumstances. One is the
+fact that the canker has not eaten into the whole of Eastern society;
+it is chiefly among the rich that the evil effects of the system are
+felt. And another fact which shows that the Mohammadan system, bad as
+it is, is free from a defect which social systems better in other
+respects than Mohammad's are subject to is the extreme rarity of
+prostitution in Muslim towns. The courtesan forms a very small item in
+the census of a Mohammadan city, and is retained more for strangers
+from Europe than for the Muslim inhabitants. Instances are frequently
+occurring in the Indian law courts which show the strong feeling that
+exists on the subject among the Mohammadans of India. They consider it
+quite inconceivable that a Muslim should have illicit intercourse with
+a free Muslimeh woman, and this inconceivableness of the action is
+urged as evidence in trials of the legitimacy of children. But whilst
+admitting the importance of this remarkable feature in Islam, it must
+not be forgotten that the liberty allowed by their law to Muslims in
+the matter of concubines does not very materially differ from
+prostitution, and whilst the latter is directly forbidden by the
+dominant religion of Europe, concubinage is as directly permitted by
+Islam.
+
+One would think that long intercourse with Europeans might have
+somewhat raised the estimation of women in the East; but either
+because travellers in the East are not always the best specimens of
+Western morality, or because the Eastern mind has an unequalled
+aptitude for assimilating the bad and rejecting the good in any system
+it meets, it is certain that women are no better off now than they
+were in the East. A well-known correspondent of a leading daily print
+writes thus of Turkish home life:--
+
+   'It is obvious that the home life of any people will depend
+   almost entirely on the position which is assigned to women. It
+   is not necessary to inquire what this position is according to
+   the teaching of the sacred books of a race. Between
+   Christianity and Islam it is enough to notice that there is
+   apparently no country where the first is the prevailing
+   religion in which woman is hindered by religion from obtaining
+   a position almost, if not quite, on an equality with man, and
+   similarly, no country where the second prevails where woman is
+   not in a degraded position.... Under Christianity she is
+   everywhere free. Under Islam she is everywhere a slave. The
+   pious Mohammadan, like the pious Jew, thanks God that he has
+   not been made a woman. The pious Mohammadan woman, like the
+   pious Jewess, thanks God that she has been made according to
+   the Creator's will. Man and woman alike recognise that to be a
+   woman is to be in an inferior condition. This feeling of the
+   degradation of woman so pervades Turkey that the poorer
+   classes of Christians have even become infected by it. When a
+   son is born there is nothing but congratulations. When a
+   daughter, nothing but condolences. A polite Turk, if he has
+   occasion to mention his wife, will do so with an apology....
+   He regards it as a piece of rudeness to mention the fact to
+   you, and it would be equally rude for him to inquire after
+   your wife, or to hint that he knew you were guilty of anything
+   so unmentionable as to have one. Charles the Twelfth told his
+   queen that she had been chosen to give children, and not
+   advice. The Turk regards woman as destined solely for the same
+   purpose and for his pleasure. Probably polygamy is of itself
+   sufficient to account for the way in which Mohammadans regard
+   woman. But whether this is so or not, there is one influence
+   which polygamy asserts which accounts for the low ideal of
+   woman prevalent in all Muslim countries. When a man has a
+   number of wives it is impossible that they can all become his
+   companions and his confidantes, or that one of them can become
+   his companion or confidante to the same extent as if the man
+   had only one wife. Hence a man who is limited to one will not
+   be contented with beauty alone. He must have a certain amount
+   of intelligence and education. The Turk, on the other hand,
+   has no reason whatever to think of anything except beauty. As
+   he never means to see much of his wife, intelligence or
+   education is a matter of small account. If he can afford it he
+   will have a Circassian wife, a woman who has been reared with
+   the intention of being sold, who has not an idea in her head,
+   who has seen nothing, and knows nothing. Such a woman would be
+   as objectionable as a wife to the great majority of Europeans
+   as a South Sea Island beauty. But she satisfies the ideal of
+   the Turk. She is beautiful, and beauty is all that he
+   requires.'
+
+It is this sensual and degraded view of woman that destroys to so
+great an extent the good influence which the better part of the
+teaching of Islam might exert in the East. So long as women are held
+in so light an esteem, they will remain ignorant, and bigoted, and
+sensual; and so long as mothers are what most Muslim mothers are now,
+their children will be ignorant and fanatical and vicious. In Turkey
+there are other influences at work besides the Mohammadan social
+system; but Turkish women may serve as an instance of the state of
+things which that system encourages. 'In those early years spent at
+home, when the child ought to have instilled into him some germ of
+those principles of conduct by which men must walk in the world if
+they are to hold up their heads among civilised nations, the Turkish
+child is only taught the first steps towards those vicious habits of
+mind and body which have made his race what it is. The root of the
+evil is partly found in the harem system. So long as that system keeps
+Turkish women in their present depressed state, so long will Turkish
+boys and girls be vicious and ignorant.' As I have said elsewhere,[20]
+'It is quite certain that there is no hope for the Turks so long as
+Turkish women remain what they are, and home-training is the
+initiation of vice.' If the mother is ignorant and vicious, the son
+cannot form a high ideal of womanhood, and thus is barred off from the
+chivalrous spirit wherewith alone a man may reach to the highest
+love:--that
+
+           'Subtle master under heaven,
+   Not only to keep down the base in man,
+   But teach high thought, and amiable words,
+   And courtliness, and the desire of fame,
+   And love of truth, and all that makes a man.'
+
+The Muslin has no ideal of chivalry like this to make his life pure
+and honourable: his religion encourages an opposite view, and the
+women among whom he is brought up only confirm it.
+
+If Islam is to be a power for good in the future, it is imperatively
+necessary to cut off the social system from the religion. At the
+beginning, among a people who had advanced but a little way on the
+road of civilisation, the defects of the social system were not so
+apparent; but now, when Easterns are endeavouring to mix on equal
+terms with Europeans, and are trying to adopt the manners and customs
+of the West, it is clear that the condition of their women must be
+radically changed if any good is to come of the Europeanising
+tendency. The difficulty lies in the close connection between the
+religious and social ordinances in the Kur-an: the two are so
+intermingled that it is hard to see how they can be disentangled
+without destroying both. The theory of revelation would have to be
+modified. Muslims would have to give up their doctrine of the syllabic
+inspiration of the Kur-an and exercise their moral sense in
+distinguishing between the particular and the general, the temporary
+and the permanent: they would have to recognise that there was much in
+Mohammad's teaching which, though useful at the time, is inapplicable
+to the present conditions of life; that his knowledge was often
+partial, and his judgment sometimes at fault; that the moral sense is
+capable of education as much as the intellect, and, therefore, that
+what was apparently moral and wise in the seventh century may quite
+possibly be immoral and suicidal in a society of the nineteenth
+century. Mohammad himself said, according to tradition, 'I am no more
+than a man: when I order you anything respecting religion, receive it;
+and when I order you about the affairs of the world, then I am nothing
+more than man.' And he seemed to foresee that the time would come when
+his minor regulations would call for revision: 'Ye are in an age,' he
+said, 'in which, if ye abandon one-tenth of what is ordered, ye will
+be ruined. After this, a time will come when he who shall observe
+one-tenth of what is now ordered will be redeemed.'[21]
+
+If Muslims would take these warnings of their prophet to heart, there
+would be some hope for Islam. Some few of the higher intellects among
+them have already admitted the principle of moral criticism applied to
+the Kur-an; but it is very doubtful whether 'rational Islam' will ever
+gain a wide following, any more than 'rational Christianity.' People
+in general do not care to think for themselves in matters religious.
+They like their creed served up to them as cooked meat, not raw flesh.
+They must have definite texts and hard-and-fast commandments to appeal
+to. They will not believe in the spirit, but prefer the letter. They
+will have nothing to say to tendencies, but must have facts. It is of
+no avail to speak to them of the spirit of a life or of a whole book;
+they must hang their doctrine on a solitary sentence. They will either
+believe every letter of their scripture, or they will believe nothing.
+
+Such people make up the majority of the professors of Islam; and with
+them no reform, within Islam, seems possible. Among the upper (I will
+not call them the higher) classes, they are either fanatics or
+concealed infidels; and their lives are a proof of the
+incompatibility of ordinary Mohammadanism, real or nominal, with a
+high social and national life. Among the poorer classes, the social
+system has a more restricted field of operation, for the poor are
+naturally less able to avail themselves of the permissions of their
+Prophet. In a poor community Islam exerts an eminently salutary
+influence, as the condition of the Mohammadan converts in Western
+Africa conclusively proves. An able observer,[22] whose African birth
+and training qualify him in a high degree for properly understanding
+the true state of his countrymen, whilst his Christian profession
+serves as a guarantee against excessive prejudice in favour of Islam,
+has recorded his experience of the work of Mohammadan missionaries in
+Liberia and the neighbouring parts of Africa. 'All careful and candid
+observers,' he remarks, 'agree that the influence of Islam in Central
+and West Africa has been, upon the whole, of a most salutary
+character.... As an eliminatory and subversive agency it has displaced
+or unsettled nothing as good as itself.' It has inculcated habits of
+moderation and soberness over the whole of the vast region covered by
+its emissaries; and so great is the influence of its teaching, that
+where there are Muslim inhabitants, even in pagan towns, it is a very
+rare thing to see a person intoxicated. The Mohammadan converts drink
+nothing but water. 'From Senegal to Lagos, over two thousand miles,
+there is scarcely an important town on the seaboard where there is not
+at least one mosque and active representatives of Islam, side by side
+with the Christian teacher. And as soon as a pagan, however obscure or
+degraded, embraces the Muslim faith, he is at once admitted as an
+equal to the society.... The pagan village possessing a Muslim teacher
+is always found to be in advance of its neighbours in all the elements
+of civilisation.... The introduction of Islam into Central and West
+Africa has been the most important, if not the sole, preservative
+against the desolations of the slave trade. Mohammadanism furnished a
+protection to the tribes who embraced it, by effectually binding them
+together in one strong religious fraternity, and enabling them by
+their united efforts to baffle the attempts of powerful slave-hunters.
+Enjoying this comparative immunity from sudden hostile incursion,
+industry was stimulated among them; industry diminished their poverty;
+and as they increased in worldly substance, they also increased in
+desire for knowledge. Receiving a desire of letters by a study of the
+Arabic language, they acquired loftier views, wider tastes, and those
+energetic habits which so pleasingly distinguish them from their pagan
+neighbours.' Students often travel on foot from the west coast right
+across Africa to study at the great mosque of the Azhar in Cairo. It
+must be remembered that these results were observed in the very centre
+of African Christianity, in Sierra Leone and other coast settlements.
+It is said that in Sierra Leone three-fourths of the Muslim population
+were not born Muslims, but were converted from Christianity or
+paganism; and this, although 'all liberated Africans are always handed
+over to Christian missionaries for instruction, and their children are
+baptized and brought up at the public expense in Christian schools,
+and are thus, in a sense, ready-made Christians.'
+
+These facts show that, even in the present day, and with the
+competition of Christian missionary societies, Islam may be a power
+for good in poor communities--that it can not only give them a pure
+instead of a degraded faith, but can raise them socially and
+intellectually. The effects of a simple form of Islam on these African
+converts may give one some notion of its influence on its hearers in
+the early days, before the theologians had corrupted it.
+
+But this good influence is very partial and limited, even among the
+poorer classes. In communities where all are poor, Islam is an
+excellent agent for improvement; but in countries where there are
+many grades of wealth and rank, the poor only ape in a humble manner
+the vices of those whom they are taught to regard as their 'betters.'
+In all civilised and wealthy countries the social system of Islam
+exerts a ruinous influence on all classes, and if there is to be any
+great future for the Mohammadan world, that system of society must be
+done away.
+
+   THE WOMAN'S CAUSE IS MAN'S; THEY RISE OR SINK
+   TOGETHER, DWARFED OR GODLIKE, BOND OR FREE.
+
+
+
+
+IV.--_THE KUR-AN._
+
+   The Muslim who reads the Kur-an is like the orange-fruit,
+   whose smell and taste are sweet; and the Muslim who reads not
+   the Kur-an is like the date, which hath no smell, but its
+   taste is sweet; and the Hypocrite who reads not the Kur-an is
+   like the colocynth, without a smell, and with a bitter taste;
+   and the Hypocrite who reads it is like the sweet bazil, whose
+   smell is sweet, but its taste bitter.--_Tradition._
+
+
+It is an immense merit in the Kur-an that there is no doubt as to its
+genuineness. The 'Word of the Lord' came to Mohammad, and he uttered
+it, and the people wrote it down or committed it to memory; and that
+very word we can now read with full confidence that it has remained
+unchanged through nearly thirteen hundred years.
+
+The revelations came to Mohammad in many ways and at all times, but
+never 'in visions bright, transcendant, exalted. They came ghastly,
+weird, most horrible. After long solitary broodings, a something used
+to move Mohammad, all of a sudden, with frightful vehemence. He
+"roared like a camel," his eyes rolled and glowed like red coals, and
+on the coldest day terrible perspirations would break out all over his
+body. When the terror ceased, it seemed to him as if he had heard
+bells ringing, "the sound whereof seemed to rend him to pieces"--as if
+he had heard the voice of a man--as if he had seen Gabriel--or as if
+words _had been written in his heart_. Such was the agony he endured,
+that some of the verses revealed to him well-nigh made his hair turn
+white.'
+
+No collection of these revelations was made during Mohammad's
+lifetime; at his death, the Kur-an existed only as scattered
+chaotically among the believers. But about a year later, the death in
+battle of some of the men who had specially committed passages of the
+Kur-an to memory, and the dread that the whole of Mohammad's teaching
+might vanish at the end of a generation or two, induced Aboo-Bekr to
+make the innovation from which every one shrank, and he gave orders to
+the Prophet's secretary, Zeyd ibn Thabit, to collect the fragments of
+the Kur-an in one book. So Zeyd gathered the Kur-an from palm-leaves,
+skins, shoulder-blades, stones, and the hearts of men, arranged the
+chapters in a certain order, and presented Aboo-Bekr with a Kur-an
+which probably differed in no essential particular from the book we
+have now. All scholars are agreed that Zeyd did his work faithfully,
+and neither inserted nor omitted anything from party motives. But he
+seems to have occasionally mixed up fragments of very different date
+in one chapter--Mohammad himself countenanced this--and may possibly
+have omitted some portions that were not found till afterwards.
+
+Some twenty years later a second recension was ordered by the Khalif
+'Othman. Slight varieties of reading, mainly dialectal, had arisen;
+swords were near being drawn over them; and it was evident that a
+serious schism would come about if a uniform authorised text of the
+Kur-an were not provided. These slight dialectal differences were not
+sufficiently settled, it would seem, in Aboo-Bekr's edition, so this
+new recension was made by Zeyd and three men of the Kureysh, for they
+would best know the original dialect of the Kur-an. The new edition
+followed the first one, apparently, both in order and in matter;
+definitely fixing, however, the true text in the dialect of the
+Kureysh, and possibly adding any verses that might have been
+discovered since Zeyd's first edition. This second recension was
+conducted with the same careful fidelity and scrupulous impartiality
+as the first; and it was accepted by all the different parties that
+were then disputing the supremacy. Copies of this edition were then
+distributed to the principal cities of the empire, and the old copies
+and fragments were called-in and burned.
+
+This edition of 'Othman, made about A.D. 660, is the one that has ever
+since been the authorised and only version of the Kur-an throughout
+the Muslim world and in the studies of European linguists. The only
+differences that have since crept into the text are certain
+unimportant varieties in vocalisation and orthography and in the
+division of verses.
+
+It was a singular system these early revisers went upon. They seem,
+indeed, to have established the authenticity of each saying
+satisfactorily; but in the arrangement of them they showed an
+extraordinary dulness. The tradition of the year when each revelation
+was spoken appears to have been lost even in the short time that had
+elapsed since it had been spoken. People remembered the words, but
+seldom the occasion of the words. Hence the revisers had to devise an
+artificial order; not according to subject, nor after the development
+of the style, but simply in order of length! They put the longest
+chapters first and the shortest last; that is to say, they inverted,
+roughly speaking, the true order, for the early soorahs were short and
+the later ones long.
+
+Read in this order, the Kur-an is an unintelligible jumble. Carlyle
+may well say that 'nothing but a sense of duty could carry any
+European through the Kur-an.' You can trace no development of mind or
+doctrine in the present arrangement; it is indeed a confused mass of
+'endless iterations, long-windedness, entanglement, most crude,
+incondite.' But scholars have long discovered certain signs of a true
+order--several kinds of evidence by which a chronological arrangement
+of the Kur-an may be attempted. These are--(1.) The _references to
+historical events_ in the Kur-an, as identified by tradition. These,
+however, are but few, and occur chiefly in quite the latest soorahs;
+and tradition is apt to identify any reference with any event it
+chooses. A much more important test is (2.) the _style_; for a
+distinct development can be traced in the rime, in the length of
+verses, and in the words employed. And then there is (3.) the
+_matter_ test, based on what we know of Mohammad's life, from which we
+can argue a certain change in his preaching at Mekka, and still more
+when, from addressing idolaters in his birthplace, he came to preach
+to Jews and Christians at Medina. The danger of this last test is that
+each man forms his own theory of Mohammad's mental and religious
+growth, and may arrange the soorahs in accordance with that theory.
+Even with these three tests, used by the most accomplished critics, it
+is impossible to arrive at an exact order, and to determine the
+precise chronological position of each soorah. But whilst it is
+admitted that an exact chronological arrangement of each individual
+chapter of the Kur-an is impossible, it is yet no less certain that
+the soorahs may be roughly grouped together, and that these groups can
+be definitely assigned to certain periods of Mohammad's career.
+
+Professor Th. Noeldeke's _Geschichte des Qorans_ has established his
+right to the first place in this science of Kur-an arrangement, and
+his order of soorahs may fairly be accepted as authoritative. Of this
+order Mr. Rodwell's English version of the Kur-an is an example,
+except that a few of the earliest soorahs are transposed. Noeldeke has
+two great divisions of the soorahs: those revealed at Mekka, and those
+revealed during the Medina period. Further, he divides the Mekkan
+division into three groups.[23]
+
+
+         {   I. A.D. 612-617 (Rodwell, pp. 1-64)--To the Abyssinian
+         {         exile (fifth year).
+         {
+         {  II. A.D. 617-619 (Rodwell, pp. 64-192)--Fifth and sixth
+   Mekka {         years of Mohammad's mission.
+         {
+         { III. A.D. 619-622 (Rodwell, pp. 193-366)--From the
+         {         seventh year to the Flight.
+
+   Medina       A.D. 622-633 (Rodwell, pp. 366-555)--At Medina.
+
+
+Read in this order the Kur-an becomes intelligible. It is still
+confused in its progression and strangely mixed in its contents; but
+the development of Mohammad's faith can be traced in it, and we can
+see dimly into the workings of his mind, as it struggles with the deep
+things of God, wrestles with the doubts which echoed the cavils of the
+unbelievers, soars upwards on the wings of ecstatic faith, till at
+last it gains the repose of fruition. Studied thus, the Kur-an is no
+longer dull reading to one who cares to look upon the working of a
+passionate troubled human soul, and who can enter into its trials and
+share in the joy of its triumphs.
+
+In the soorahs revealed at Mekka, Mohammad has but one theme--God; and
+one object--to draw his people away from their idols and bring them to
+the feet of that God. He tells them of Him in glowing language, that
+comes from the heart's white heat. He points to the glories of nature,
+and tells them these are God's works. With all the brilliant imagery
+of the Arab, he tries to show them what God is, to convince them of
+His power and His wisdom and His justice. The soorahs of this period
+are short, for they are pitched in too high a key to be long
+sustained. The language has the ring of poetry, though no part of the
+Kur-an complies with the demands of Arab metre. The sentences are
+short and full of half-restrained energy, yet with a musical cadence.
+The thought is often only half expressed; one feels the speaker has
+essayed a thing beyond words, and has suddenly discovered the
+impotence of language, and broken off with the sentence unfinished.
+There is the fascination of true poetry about these earliest soorahs;
+as we read them we understand the enthusiasm of the Prophet's
+followers, though we cannot fully realise the beauty and the power,
+inasmuch as we cannot hear them hurled forth with Mohammad's fiery
+eloquence. From first to last the Kur-an is essentially a book to be
+heard, not read, but this is especially the case with the earliest
+chapters.
+
+In the soorahs of the second period of Mekka we begin to trace the
+decline of the Prophet's eloquence. There are still the same earnest
+appeals to the people, the same gorgeous pictures of the Last Day and
+the world to come; but the language begins to approach the quiet of
+prose, the sentences become longer, the same words and phrases are
+frequently repeated, and the wearisome stories of the Jewish prophets
+and patriarchs, which fill so large a place in the later portion of
+the Kur-an, now make their appearance. The fierce passion of the
+earliest soorahs, that could not out save in short burning verses,
+gives place to a calmer more argumentative style. Mohammad appeals
+less to the works of God as proofs of his teaching, and more to the
+history of former teachers, and the punishments of the people who
+would not hear them. And the characteristic oaths of the first period,
+when Mohammad swears by all the varied sights of nature as they
+mirrored themselves in his imagination, have gone, and in their place
+we find only the weaker oath 'by the Kur-an.' And this declension is
+carried still further in the last group of the soorahs revealed at
+Mekka. The style becomes more involved and the sentences longer, and
+though the old enthusiasm bursts forth ever and anon, it is rather an
+echo of former things than a new and present intoxication of faith.
+The fables and repetitions become more and more dreary, and but for
+the rich eloquence of the old Arabic tongue, which gives some charm
+even to inextricable sentences and dull stories, the Kur-an at this
+period would be unreadable. As it is, we feel we have fallen the whole
+depth from poetry to prose, and the matter of the prose is not so
+superlative as to give us amends for the loss of the poetic thought
+of the earlier time and the musical fall of the sentences.
+
+In the soorahs of the Medina period these faults reach their climax.
+We read a singularly varied collection of criminal laws, social
+regulations, orders for battle, harangues to the Jews, first
+conciliatory, then denunciatory, and exhortations to spread the faith,
+and such-like heterogeneous matters. Happily the Jewish stories
+disappear in the latest soorahs, but their place is filled by scarcely
+more palatable materials. The chapters of this period are interesting
+chiefly as containing the laws which have guided every Muslim state,
+regulated every Muslim society, and directed in their smallest acts
+every Mohammadan man and woman in all parts of the world from the
+Prophet's time till now. The Medina part of the Kur-an is the most
+important part for Islam, considered as a scheme of ritual and a
+system of manners; the earliest Mekka revelations are those which
+contain what is highest in a great religion and what was purest in a
+great man.
+
+The word _Kur-an_ means the _crying_, _reciting_, _reading_, and is
+applied not only to the whole book, but to any chapter or section of
+it. The Kur-an is also called El-Furkan, 'the Distinguisher,' and
+El-Mushaf, 'the Volume,' and El-Kitab, 'the Book,' and Edh-Dhikr, 'the
+Admonition.' The Kur-an contains, in its ordinary form, 114 chapters
+(_soorahs_), 6616 verses (_ayat_, literally 'signs' or 'wonders'),
+77,934 words, and 323,671 letters, according to the estimates of
+laborious Muslim divines, which differ, however, in a slight manner in
+consequence of the various divisions of verses. After the first
+chapter, which is a short prayer (the Fatihah), the soorahs gradually
+decrease in length from 289 verses in the second to from three to six
+in the ten concluding chapters. Each chapter is headed by a title,
+taken from same prominent word in it (as the 'Chapter of the
+Striking,' 'of the Cow,' &c.); beneath which is noted whether it was
+promulgated (according to tradition) at Mekka or Medina, and the
+number of its verses. Then follow the words:--'In the Name of God, the
+Compassionate, the Merciful;' after which the chapter begins. To
+twenty-nine chapters are prefixed certain letters (_e.g._, ch. ii. on
+p. 4), or a single letter, which have never been successfully
+interpreted. The Muslims believe them to conceal profound mysteries.
+In Soorah 55 a refrain is found, and traces of a like imitation in
+Soorahs 54 and 17. It is probable that the Kur-an was originally
+_chanted_ in somewhat the same manner as it is in the present day.
+
+The Kur-an is also divided in thirty sections, and these are again
+subdivided; and from this division rather than from chapter and verse
+do the Muslims generally quote.
+
+'The Muslims absolutely deny that the Kur-an was composed by their
+Prophet himself, or by 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 tablet of vast size, called the Preserved Tablet,
+in which are also recorded the divine decrees, past and future; that a
+copy from this tablet, 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;[24] whence Gabriel revealed it to
+Mohammad by parcels, some at Mekka, and some at Medina, at different
+times during the space of twenty-three years, as the exigency of
+affairs required; giving him, however, the consolation to show him the
+whole (which they tell us was bound in silk, and adorned with gold and
+precious 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 directions of the angel. The first parcel that was
+revealed is generally agreed to have been the first five verses of the
+ninety-sixth chapter. After the new revealed passages had been from
+the Prophet's mouth taken down in writing by his scribe, they were
+published to his followers, several of whom took copies for their
+private use; but the far greater number got them by heart. The
+originals, when returned, were put promiscuously into a chest, without
+regard to any order of time, for which reason it is uncertain when
+many passages were revealed.
+
+'The Kur-an being the Muslims' rule 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 Kur-an into allegorical and literal. The former comprehends the
+more obscure, 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
+tradition and study, to know the time when each passage was revealed,
+its circumstances, state, and history, and the reasons or particular
+emergencies for the sake of which it was revealed. Or, more
+explicitly, whether the passage was revealed at Mekka 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 depend thereon; whether it be particular
+or general; and lastly, whether it be implicit by intention, or
+explicit in words.
+
+'By what has been said, the reader may easily believe that this book
+is held by the Muslims in the greatest reverence and esteem. The more
+strict among them dare not touch it without being first washed or
+legally purified; which lest they should do by inadvertence, they
+sometimes write these words of the book itself on the cover or label,
+"None shall touch it but they who are purified." 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, inscribe sentences from it on their banners, sometimes adorn
+it with gold and precious stones, and knowingly suffer it not to be in
+the possession of any person of a different persuasion. It is the
+foundation of their education; and the children in the schools are
+taught to chant it, and commit the whole of it to memory.'
+
+
+
+
+BOOKS.
+
+
+In reading a large number of works bearing upon the subjects of this
+Introduction, I have remarked a curious freedom of quotation in most
+of the writers. I find the same sentence, or at least the same
+thought, repeated in several books without any reference to the author
+who first put it forth. Each writer seems to have studied his
+predecessors with such minuteness that he can quote their very words,
+but he does not appear to remember whence the words came. When a
+thought has once been perfectly expressed, it were a ridiculous vanity
+to seek to frame it in different words, and so far it is undoubtedly
+wise to make use of the best of what has preceded us; nevertheless, it
+is well to acknowledge our debt. Yet thoughts, and even phrases,
+impress themselves on the memory till one unconsciously comes to
+appropriate them as his own; and this, I doubt not, is the cause of
+much of the plagiarism I have noticed. It is extremely probable that I
+have been guilty of the same sin. I have crowded my pages with marks
+of quotation, sometimes with foot references, sometimes without (for
+the student of the subject will know where to look for them), but it
+is quite likely that I have often unconsciously used another's phrase
+or metaphor without rendering thanks. So I now append a list of the
+principal European books I have used, and beg once and for all to
+record my indebtedness to their writers. The original Arabic
+authorities will dispense with my acknowledgments, and the catalogue
+of them would not assist the English reader who wishes to proceed
+further in the study of the subject, for whom this list may prove
+useful.
+
+   BURCKHARDT, J. L. _Notes on the Bedouins and Wahabys._ 2 vols.
+       1831.
+
+   DEUTSCH, EMANUEL. _Literary Remains._ 1874.
+
+   DOZY, R. _Essai sur l'Histoire de l'Islamisme_, trad. par V.
+       Chauvin. 1879.
+
+   FRESNEL, F. _Lettres sur l'Histoire des Arabes avant
+       l'Islamisme._ 1836-38.
+
+   HUGHES, REV. T. P. _Notes on Muhammadanism._ 2d ed. 1877.
+
+   KREMER, A. VON. _Geschichte der herrschenden Ideen des
+       Islams._ 1868.
+
+   ---- _Culturgeschichte des Orients unter den Chalifen._ 2 vols.
+   1876, 1877.
+
+   LANE, E. W. _The Modern Egyptians._ 5th ed. 1 vol. 1860.
+
+   ---- _The Thousand and One Nights_ (notes). 2d ed. 3 vols.
+       1859, 1860.
+
+   ---- _Selections from the Kur-an._ 1st ed. 1843.
+
+   ---- _Arabic-English Lexicon_, Preface, &c. 1863.
+
+   LYALL, C. J. _Translations from the Hamaseh and the Aghani; The
+       Mo'allaqah of Zuheyr._ (Journal As. Soc. of Bengal, 1878.)
+
+   MUIR, SIR W. _The Life of Mahomet._ 4 vols. New edition.[25]
+       1867.
+
+   NOeLDEKE, TH. _Geschichte des Qorans._ 1860.
+
+   ---- _Beitraege zur Kenntniss der Poesie der alten Araber._
+       1864.
+
+   PALGRAVE, W. GIFFORD. _Central and Eastern Arabia._ 6th ed.
+       1871.
+
+   PERCEVAL, A.-P. CAUSSIN DE. _Essai sur l'Histoire des Arabes
+       avant l'Islamisme._ 3 vols. 1847, 1848.
+
+   POOLE, R. STUART. _Pagan and Muslim Arabs._ (Fortnightly
+       Review, October 15, 1865.)
+
+   RODWELL, J. M. _El-Koran._ 2d ed. 1876.
+
+   SALE, G. _The Koran._ 1836.
+
+   SEDILLOT, L.-A. _Histoire Generale des Arabes._ 2d ed. 2 vols.
+       1877.
+
+   SMITH, R. BOSWORTH. _Mohammed and Mohammedanism._ 2d ed. 1876.
+
+   SPRENGER, A. _Das Leben und die Lehre des Mohammad._ 2d ed. 3
+       vols. 1869.
+
+   ST. HILAIRE, T.-BARTHELEMY. _Mahomet et le Coran._ 2d ed.
+   1865.
+
+   TIELE, C. P. _Outlines of the History of Religion_, translated
+       by J. E. Carpenter. (Truebner's Philosophical Library. Vol.
+       vii. 1877.)
+
+   WEIL, G. _Das Leben Mohammed's nach Ibn Ishak_ bearbeitet von
+       Ibn Hischam. 2 vols. 1864.
+
+
+
+
+SELECTIONS FROM THE KUR-AN.
+
+_PART THE FIRST._
+
+NOTE.
+
+
+The following extracts were all translated by Mr. Lane, with the
+exception of those to which an obelus ([+]) is prefixed, for
+which I alone am responsible. In the text, the words in italics are
+inserted from the commentary of the Jelaleyn; words in square brackets
+[] are Mr. Lane's additions, inserted where the difference between the
+Arabic and English idioms required them.
+
+In the foot-notes, words in italics are from the commentary of the
+Jelaleyn; notes followed by the initial S., from Sale's _Koran_; the
+letters B., Z., and A. F., following S. in parenthesis, point to the
+authorities from which Sale's note was derived, the great commentaries
+of El-Beydawee and Ez-Zamakhsharee, and Abu-l-Fida's Life of Mohammad,
+respectively. The other notes are Mr. Lane's, either from the original
+edition or extracted from his _Modern Egyptians_ (5th 1 vol. ed.
+1860), or his notes to the _Thousand and One Nights_ (2d ed. 1859);
+except those enclosed in square brackets, which are due to myself.
+
+The numbers at the end of each extract refer to the chapter (soorah)
+and verse in Fluegel's text of the Kur-an (Lipsiae, 1869).
+
+   S. L. P.
+
+
+
+
+_PART THE FIRST._
+
+
+_THE OPENING PRAYER._[26]
+
+_EL-FATIHAH._
+
+
+I.
+
+   In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
+
+   Praise be to God, the Lord of the Worlds,[27]
+   The Compassionate, the Merciful,
+   The King of the day of judgment.
+   Thee do we worship, and of Thee seek we help.[28]
+   Guide us in the right way,
+   The way of those to whom Thou hast been gracious,
+   Not of those with whom Thou art wroth, nor of the erring.
+
+   (i.)
+
+
+
+
+_PREMONITION._
+
+
+II.
+
+A.L.M.[29] Respecting this Book there is no doubt;[30] _it is_ a
+guidance for them that fear Him,
+
+Who believe in the unseen,[31] and perform the prayer, and of what We
+have bestowed on them expend,
+
+And who believe in that which hath been sent down to thee,[32] and
+what hath been sent down before thee,[33] and have firm assurance of
+the life to come.
+
+Those follow a right direction from their Lord, and those are they who
+shall prosper.
+
+As for those who have disbelieved, it will be equal to them whether
+thou admonish them or admonish them not: they will not believe.
+
+God hath sealed their hearts and their ears, and over their eyes is a
+covering, and for them is [ordained] a great punishment.
+
+   (ii. 1-6.)
+
+
+
+
+_GOD._
+
+
+III.
+
+   SAY, He is God, One [God];
+   God, the Eternal.
+   He begetteth not nor is begotten,
+   And there is none equal unto Him.
+
+   (cxii.)[34]
+
+
+IV.
+
+_The Throne-Verse._[35]
+
+God! There is no God but He, the _Ever_-Living, the Ever-Subsisting.
+Slumber seizeth Him not, nor sleep. To Him belongeth whatsoever is in
+the Heavens and whatsoever is in the Earth. Who is he that shall
+intercede with Him, unless by His permission? He knoweth what [hath
+been] before them and what [shall be] after them, and they shall not
+compass aught of His knowledge save what He willeth. His Throne
+comprehendeth the Heavens and the Earth,[36] and the care of them
+burdeneth Him not. And He is the High, the Great.
+
+   (ii. 256.)
+
+
+V.
+
+[+]SAY, O God, to whom belongeth dominion, Thou givest dominion
+to whom Thou wilt, and from whom Thou wilt Thou takest it away; Thou
+exaltest whom Thou wilt, and whom Thou wilt Thou humblest. In Thy hand
+is good. Verily Thou art all-powerful.
+
+Thou causest the night to pass into the day, and Thou causest the day
+to pass into the night; and Thou bringest forth the living from the
+dead, and Thou bringest forth the dead from the living; and thou
+givest sustenance to whom Thou wilt without measure.
+
+   (iii. 25, 26.)
+
+
+VI.
+
+Blessed be He in whose hand is the dominion and who is
+all-powerful;[37]
+
+Who hath created death and life, that He may prove you, which of you
+[will be] best in works: and He is the Mighty, the Very-Forgiving:
+
+Who hath created seven heavens, one above another. Thou seest not any
+fault in the creation of the Compassionate. But lift up the eyes again
+_to heaven_. Dost thou see any fissures?
+
+Then lift up the eyes again twice; the sight shall return unto thee
+dull and dim.
+
+   (lxvii. 1-4.)
+
+
+VII.
+
+Verily your Lord is God, who created the heavens and the earth in six
+days: then He ascended the throne. He causeth the night to cover the
+day; it followeth it swiftly: and _He created_ the sun and the moon
+and the stars, made subject utterly to His command. Do not the _whole_
+creation and command belong to Him? Blessed be God, the Lord of the
+Worlds.
+
+   (vii. 52.)
+
+
+VIII.
+
+We have placed in heaven _the twelve_ signs _of the Zodiac_, and
+adorned them for the beholders _with the constellations_;
+
+And We have guarded them (_by means of shooting stars_) from every
+accursed devil,[38]
+
+Excepting him who listeneth by stealth, whom a manifest shooting star
+pursueth.
+
+We have also spread forth the earth, and thrown thereon firm
+_mountains_,[39] and We have caused to spring forth in it every kind
+[of green thing] weighed.[40]
+
+And We have provided for you therein necessaries of life, and _for_
+him whom ye do not sustain;[41]
+
+And there is not a thing but the storehouses thereof are with Us, and
+We send it not down save in determined quantities.
+
+We also send the fertilizing winds,[42] and We send down water from
+heaven, and give you to drink thereof; and ye are not the storers of
+it.
+
+And verily We give life and death, and We are the heirs _of all the
+creation_.
+
+We also know those who have gone before you, and We know those who
+follow after [you].
+
+And verily thy Lord will assemble them together: for He is Wise,
+Knowing.
+
+   (xv. 16-25.)
+
+
+IX.
+
+And your God is One God: there is no god but He, the Compassionate,
+the Merciful.
+
+Verily in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the varying
+of night and day, and the ships that course upon the sea _laden_ with
+what is profitable to mankind, and the water that God hath sent down
+from heaven, quickening the earth thereby after its death, and
+scattering about it all kinds of beasts; and in the changing of the
+winds, and the clouds that are compelled to do service between heaven
+and earth, are signs unto a people who understand.
+
+Yet among men are those who take to themselves, beside God, idols,
+which they love as _with_ the love for God: but those who have
+believed are more loving towards God _than these towards their idols_.
+
+   (ii. 158-160.)
+
+
+X.
+
+Verily God causeth the grain to come forth, and the date-stone: He
+bringeth forth the living from the dead,[43] and He bringeth forth the
+dead from the living:[44] This is God; then wherefore are ye turned
+away?
+
+He causeth the dawn to appear, and hath ordained the night for rest,
+and the sun and the moon for reckoning _time_: this is the appointment
+of the Mighty, the Wise.
+
+And it is He who hath ordained for you the stars, that ye may be
+guided by them in the darknesses of the land and of the sea: We have
+clearly shown the signs _of Our power_ unto the people who know.[45]
+
+And it is He who hath produced you from one soul, and _there is_ a
+place of rest and of storing:[46] We have clearly shown the signs to
+the people who understand.
+
+And it is He who hath sent down water from heaven, and We have
+produced thereby the germs of everything, and We have caused the
+green thing to come forth therefrom, from which We draw forth grains
+massed; and from the palm-tree, from its fruit-branch, clusters of
+dates heaped together:[47] and gardens of grapes, and the olive and
+the pomegranate, like one another[48] and not like.[49] Look ye at
+their fruits when they bear fruit, and their ripening. Verily therein
+are signs unto the people who believe.
+
+Yet they have set up the Jinn[50] as partners of God, though He hath
+created them, and without knowledge have they falsely attributed to
+Him sons and daughters. Extolled be His purity, and high be He exalted
+above that which they attribute [to Him]!
+
+_He is_ the Author of the heavens and the earth. How then should He
+have offspring, when He hath no consort, and hath created everything
+and knoweth everything?
+
+This is God your Lord. There is no God but He, the Creator of
+everything: therefore worship ye Him;[51] and He is guardian over
+everything.
+
+The eyes see Him not, but He seeth the eyes: and He is the Gracious,
+the Knowing.
+
+   (vi. 95-103.)
+
+
+XI.
+
+It is He who maketh the lightning to appear unto you, [causing] fear
+and hope _of rain_, and formeth the pregnant clouds.
+
+And the thunder proclaimeth His perfection with His praise; and
+[likewise] the angels, in fear of Him. And He sendeth the
+thunderbolts, and striketh with them whom He pleaseth, whilst they
+dispute concerning God; for He is mighty in power.[52]
+
+   (xiii. 13, 14.)
+
+
+XII.
+
+With Him are the keys of the hidden things: none knoweth them but He:
+and He knoweth whatsoever is on the land and in the sea, and there
+falleth not a leaf but He knoweth it, nor a grain in the dark parts of
+the earth, nor a moist thing nor a dry thing, but [it is noted] in a
+distinct writing.[53]
+
+And it is He who taketh your souls at night, and knoweth what ye have
+gained in the day; then He reviveth you therein,[54] that an appointed
+time[55] may be fulfilled. Then unto Him shall ye return: then will He
+declare unto you what ye have done.
+
+And He is the Supreme[56] over His servants, and He sendeth watchers
+over you,[57] until when death cometh unto any one of you, Our
+messengers take his soul, and they fail not.
+
+Then are they[58] returned unto God their Lord, the True.[59] Doth not
+judgment belong to Him? And He is the most quick of reckoners.
+
+SAY,[60] Who delivereth you from the darknesses of the land and of the
+sea, _when_ ye supplicate Him humbly and in secret, _saying_, 'If Thou
+deliver us from these _dangers_, we will assuredly be of [the number
+of] the thankful'?
+
+SAY, God delivereth you from them and from every affliction.
+
+   (vi. 59-64.)
+
+
+XIII.
+
+Verily God will not forgive the associating with Him [any other being
+as a god], but will forgive other _sins_ unto whom He pleaseth; and
+whoso associateth [another] with God hath wrought a great wickedness.
+
+   (iv. 51.)
+
+
+XIV.
+
+They[61] say, 'The Compassionate hath gotten offspring:' Ye have done
+an impious thing.
+
+It wanteth little but that the heavens be rent thereat, and that the
+earth cleave asunder, and that the mountains fall down in pieces.[62]
+
+_For_ that they have attributed offspring to the Compassionate, when
+it beseemeth not the Compassionate to get offspring.
+
+There is none of all that are in the heavens and the earth but he
+shall come unto the Compassionate as a servant.[63] He hath known them
+and numbered them with an _exact_ numbering.
+
+And each of them shall come unto Him on the day of resurrection,
+alone.[64]
+
+[+]Verily those who have believed and have done the things that
+are right, on them the Compassionate will bestow [His] love.
+
+   (xix. 91-96.)
+
+
+XV.
+
+O men _of Mekkeh_, a parable is propounded, wherefore hearken unto it.
+Verily, those _idols_ which ye invoke beside God can never create a
+fly, although they assembled for it: and if the fly carry off from
+them aught,[65] they cannot recover the same from it. Weak are the
+seeker and the sought!
+
+   (xxii. 72.)
+
+
+XVI.
+
+The likeness of those who take to themselves Tutelars[66] instead of
+God is as the likeness of the spider, which maketh for herself a
+dwelling; and the frailest of dwellings surely is the dwelling of the
+spider! If they knew[67]----!
+
+Verily God knoweth whatever thing they invoke in His stead; and He is
+the Mighty, the Wise.
+
+And these parables[68] we propound unto men; but none understand them
+except the wise.
+
+God hath created the heavens and the earth in truth: verily therein is
+a sign unto the believers.
+
+   (xxix. 40-43.)
+
+
+
+
+_MOHAMMAD AND THE KUR-AN._
+
+
+XVII.
+
+   [+]O thou enwrapped _in thy mantle_,[69]
+   Arise and warn!
+   And thy Lord--magnify Him!
+   And thy raiment--purify it!
+   And the abomination[70]--flee it!
+   And bestow not favours that thou mayest receive again with increase.
+   And for thy Lord wait thou patiently.[71]
+
+   (lxxiv. 1-7.)
+
+
+XVIII.
+
+   [+]By the morning-brightness,
+   And by the still of night,[72]
+   Thy Lord hath not forsaken thee, neither hath He hated thee.
+   And surely the Future will be better for thee than the Present,
+   And thy Lord will give to thee, and thou wilt be well-pleased.
+   Did He not find thee an orphan, and sheltered thee?
+   And He found thee erring, and guided thee,
+   And found thee needy, and enriched thee.
+   Then, as to the orphan, oppress him not;
+   And as to him that asketh of thee, chide him not away;
+   And as for the bounty of thy Lord, tell it then [abroad].
+
+   (xciii.)
+
+
+XIX.
+
+SAY, I do not say unto you, 'With me[73] are the treasures of God,'
+nor, 'I know what is unseen,' nor do I say unto you, 'Verily I am an
+angel.' I follow not [aught] but what is revealed unto me.
+
+   (vi. 50.)
+
+
+XX.
+
+[+]SAY, I am only a man like unto you. It is only revealed unto
+me that your God is One God. He then that hopeth to meet his Lord, let
+him work a righteous work, and in the worship of his Lord let him not
+associate any [other god].
+
+   (xviii. 110.)
+
+
+XXI.
+
+[+]SAY, If I err, only against myself shall I err, but if I am
+rightly-guided, it [is] of what my Lord hath revealed to me. Verily,
+He is the Hearer, the Near-at-hand!
+
+   (xxxiv. 49.)
+
+
+XXII.
+
+Mohammad is nought but a Messenger.[74] The Messengers have passed
+away before him. If then he die or be slain, will ye turn round upon
+your heels?[75] But he who turneth round upon his heels will not
+injure God a whit;[76] and God will reward the thankful.
+
+   (iii. 138.)
+
+
+XXIII.
+
+Verily We have revealed unto thee as we revealed unto Noah and the
+prophets after him, and _as_ We revealed unto Abraham, and Ishmael,
+and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and Jesus, and Job, and Jonah,
+and Aaron, and Solomon; and We gave unto David the Psalms.
+
+   (iv. 161.)
+
+
+XXIV.
+
+[77] SAY _unto them_, Do ye argue with us concerning God, when
+He is our Lord and your Lord,[78] and when we have our works and ye
+have your works, and when we are sincere towards Him?
+
+Nay, do ye say that Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the
+tribes were Jews or Christians? SAY _unto them_, Are ye the more
+knowing, or is God?[79] And who is more unrighteous than they who
+conceal a testimony that they have from God?[80] But God is not
+heedless of that which ye do.
+
+   (ii. 133, 134.)
+
+
+XXV.
+
+_Remember_, when Jesus the son of Mary said, 'O children of Israel,
+Verily I am the Messenger of God unto you, confirming the Law which
+[was] before me, and giving good tidings of a Messenger who shall come
+after me, whose name [shall be] Ahmad.'[81] But when he (_Ahmad_) came
+unto them with evident proofs, they said, 'This is manifest magic!'
+
+And who is more unrighteous than he who forgeth falsehood against God,
+when he is invited unto El-Islam? And God directeth not the
+unrighteous people.
+
+They desire to put out the light of God with their mouths: but God
+will perfect His light, though the unbelievers be loth _thereto_.
+
+It is He who hath sent His messenger with the direction and the
+religion of truth, that He may exalt above every religion, though the
+polytheists be loth _thereto_.
+
+   (lxi. 6-9.)
+
+
+XXVI.
+
+Those to whom We have given the Scripture know him (_Mohammad_) as
+they know their children.[82] But a party of them do conceal the
+truth[83] while they know.
+
+   (ii. 141.)
+
+
+XXVII.
+
+_The Jews said unto Mohammad_, 'Verily God hath enjoined us[84] that
+we should not believe an apostle until he bring us a sacrifice which
+fire shall devour.'
+
+SAY, Apostles have come unto you before me with manifest proofs,[85]
+and with that ye have mentioned:[86] then wherefore did ye slay them,
+if ye be speakers of truth?
+
+   (iii. 179, 180.)
+
+
+XXVIII.
+
+_The unbelievers of Mekkeh_ have sworn by God, with the mightiest of
+their oaths, that if a sign come unto them they will assuredly believe
+therein. SAY, Signs are only with God. And what will make you to
+know?[87] Verily if they come they will not believe.
+
+And We will turn away their hearts and their eyes,[88] as they
+believed not therein the first time; and We will leave them in their
+transgression, wandering about in perplexity.
+
+And though We had sent down unto them the angels, and the dead had
+spoken unto them, and We had gathered together about them everything
+in tribes, they had not believed unless God had pleased; but the
+greater number of them know not.
+
+   (vi. 109-111.)
+
+
+XXIX.
+
+And they have said, 'O thou unto whom the Admonition[89] hath been
+sent down, thou art certainly possessed by a Jinnee.[90]
+
+Why dost thou not come unto us with the angels, if thou be of those
+that speak truth?'
+
+We send not down the angels save with justice,[91] nor would they then
+be respited.
+
+Verily, We have sent down the Admonition, and We will surely preserve
+it.
+
+And We have sent _Messengers_ before thee among the sects of the
+former generations;
+
+And there came not unto them any Messenger but they had him in
+derision:
+
+In like manner will We put it into the hearts of the sinners _of
+Mekkeh to do so_;
+
+They shall not believe in him, and the punishment of the former
+generations hath passed.
+
+And if We should open above them a gate in heaven, and they should
+pass the day mounting up to it,
+
+They would say, 'Our eyes are only intoxicated, or rather we are a
+people enchanted.'
+
+   (xv. 6-15.)
+
+
+XXX.
+
+   [+]Verily, it is the excellent Kur-an,
+   Written in the Preserved Book.[92]
+   None shall touch it but they who are purified.[93]
+   It is a revelation from the Lord of the Worlds.
+
+   (lvi. 76-79.)
+
+
+XXXI.
+
+SAY, Verily if mankind and the Jinn assembled together for the purpose
+of producing the like of this Kur-an,[94] they could not produce the
+like thereof, although they helped one another.[95]
+
+And We have explained unto men in this Kur-an every _kind of_
+parable,[96] but the greater number of men have refused [all else]
+save unbelief,
+
+And have said, 'We will by no means believe in thee until thou cause a
+fountain to gush forth for us from the earth,
+
+_Or_ thou have a garden of palm-trees and grapes, and thou cause
+rivers to spring forth in the midst thereof in abundance,
+
+_Or_ thou cause heaven to fall down upon us, as thou hast pretended,
+in pieces, or thou bring God and the angels before _us_,
+
+_Or_ thou have a house of gold, or thou ascend into heaven, and we
+will not believe thy ascending until thou cause a book to descend unto
+us which we may read.' SAY, Extolled be the perfection of my Lord! Am
+I [aught] save a man, [sent] as a Messenger?
+
+And nothing hath hindered men from believing when the direction hath
+come unto them, but their saying, 'Hath God sent a man as a
+Messenger?'[97]
+
+SAY, If there were upon the earth angels walking at ease,[98] We had
+sent down unto them from heaven an angel as a Messenger.[99]
+
+SAY, God is a sufficient witness between me and you: for He knoweth
+and seeth His servants.
+
+   (xvii. 90-98.)
+
+
+XXXII.
+
+And this Kur-an is not an invention[100] of one who is not God, but
+_it hath been sent down_ as a confirmation of those _books which have
+been_ before it, and an explanation of the Scripture--there is no doubt
+thereof--from the Lord of the Worlds.
+
+Do they say, 'He[101] hath forged it?' SAY, Then bring ye a
+Soorah[102] like unto it and call whom ye can,[103] other than God, if
+ye speak truth.
+
+Nay they have charged with falsehood that which they comprehend not,
+and the explanation thereof[104] hath not yet come unto them. In like
+manner did those who were before them charge _their Messengers_ with
+falsehood; but see how was the end of the offenders!
+
+   (x. 38-40.)
+
+
+XXXIII.
+
+If ye be in doubt concerning that which We have sent down unto Our
+servant _Mohammad_,[105] bring ye a Soorah like unto it,[106] and
+invoke your witnesses,[107] other than God, if ye be speakers of
+truth.
+
+But if ye do _it_ not (and do _it_ ye shall not), fear the fire whose
+fuel is men and stones: it is prepared for the unbelievers.
+
+   (ii. 21, 22.)
+
+
+XXXIV.
+
+Whatsoever[108] verse We abrogate or cause _thee_ to forget, We will
+produce one better than it or like unto it. Dost thou not know that
+God is all-powerful?
+
+Dost thou not know that to God _belongeth_ the dominion of the heavens
+and the earth, and that beside God ye have no protector or defender?
+
+   (ii. 100, 101.)
+
+
+XXXV.
+
+When We substitute a verse in the stead of a verse (and God best
+knoweth what He revealeth), they say, 'Thou art but a forger!'--but the
+greater number of them know not!
+
+SAY, The Holy Spirit _Gabriel_ hath brought it down from thy Lord with
+truth, to stablish those who have believed, and as a direction and
+good tidings unto the Muslims.
+
+And We well know that they say, 'Only a man[109] teacheth him.' The
+tongue of him to whom they incline is foreign, and this _is the_
+perspicuous Arabic tongue.
+
+   (xvi. 103-105).
+
+
+XXXVI.
+
+SAY, If the sea were ink, for _writing_ the words of my Lord, the sea
+would be dried up or ever the words of my Lord were exhausted; and
+[so] if we brought its like in aid.[110]
+
+   (xviii. 109).
+
+
+
+
+_THE RESURRECTION, PARADISE, AND HELL._
+
+
+XXXVII.
+
+   [+]The Striking! what is the Striking?
+   And what shall teach thee what the Striking is?
+   _It is_ a day when men shall be like scattered moths,
+   And the mountains like carded wool!
+   Then as for him whose balances are heavy, his shall be a life
+     well-pleasing.
+   As for him whose balances are light, his abode shall be the Pit.
+   And what shall teach thee what that is?
+   A raging fire!
+
+   (ci.)
+
+
+XXXVIII.
+
+   [+]When the earth is shaken with her shaking,
+   And the earth hath cast forth her dead,[111]
+   And man shall say, 'What aileth her?'
+   On that day shall she tell out her tidings,
+   Because thy Lord hath inspired her.
+   On that day shall men come one by one to behold their works,
+   And whosoever shall have wrought an ant's weight of good shall
+     behold it,
+   And whosoever shall have wrought an ant's weight of ill shall
+     behold it.
+
+   (xcix.)
+
+
+XXXIX.
+
+
+   [+]When the heaven shall be cloven asunder,
+   And when the stars shall be scattered,
+   And when the seas shall be let loose,
+   And when the graves shall be turned upside-down,
+   _Every_ soul shall know what it hath done and left undone.
+   O man! what hath seduced thee from thy generous Lord,
+   Who created thee and fashioned thee and disposed thee aright?
+   In the form which pleased Him hath He fashioned thee.
+   Nay, but ye treat the Judgment as a lie.
+   Verily there are watchers over you,
+   Worthy recorders,
+   Knowing what ye do.
+   Verily in delight shall the righteous dwell;
+   And verily the wicked in Hell[-Fire];
+   They shall be burnt at it on the day of doom,
+   And they shall not be hidden from it.
+   And what shall teach thee what the Day of Judgment is?
+   Again: What shall teach thee what is the Day of Judgment?
+   _It is_ a day when one soul shall be powerless for another soul;
+     and all on that day shall be in the hands of God.
+
+   (lxxxii.)
+
+
+XL.
+
+   When the sun shall be wrapped up,
+   And when the stars shall fall down,
+   And when the mountains shall be made to pass away,
+   And when the camels ten months gone with young[112] shall be neglected,
+   And when the wild beasts shall be gathered together,
+   And when the seas shall overflow,[113]
+   And when the souls shall be joined _to their bodies_,
+   And when the child[114] that hath been buried alive shall be asked
+   For what crime she was put to death,
+   And when the books[115] shall be laid open,
+   And when the heaven shall be removed,[116]
+   And when Hell shall be made to burn,
+   And when Paradise shall be brought near,--
+   _Then every_ soul shall know what it hath done.
+
+   (lxxxi. 1-14.)
+
+
+XLI.
+
+
+   Hath the news of the Overwhelming reached thee?
+   Countenances on that day [shall be] abased,
+   Labouring, toiling:
+   They shall feel the heat of scorching fire,
+   They shall be given to drink from a fountain fiercely boiling,
+   There shall be no food for them but of daree',[117]--
+   It shall not fatten nor satisfy hunger.
+
+   (lxxxviii. 1-7.)
+
+
+XLII.
+
+   When one blast shall be blown on the trumpet,
+   And the earth shall be raised and the mountains, and be broken to
+     dust with one breaking,
+   On that day the Calamity shall come to pass:
+   And the heaven shall cleave asunder, being frail on that day,
+   And the angels on the sides thereof; and over them on that day
+     eight _of the angels_[118] shall bear the throne of thy Lord.
+   On that day ye shall be presented _for the reckoning_; none of
+     your secrets shall be hidden.
+   And as to him who shall have his book given to him in his right
+     hand, he shall say,[119] 'Take ye, read my book;
+   Verily I was sure I should come to my reckoning.
+   And his [shall be] a pleasant life
+   In a lofty garden,
+   Whose clusters [shall be] near at hand.
+   [120]'Eat ye and drink with benefit on account of that which ye paid
+      beforehand in the past days.'
+
+
+   But as to him who shall have his book given to him in his left
+     hand, he shall say, 'O would that I had not had my book given
+     to me,
+   Nor known what [was] my reckoning!
+   O would that _my death_ had been the ending _of me_!
+   My wealth hath not profited me!
+   My power is passed away from me!'
+   '[121]Take him and chain him,
+   Then cast him into hell to be burnt,
+   Then in a chain of seventy cubits bind him:
+   For he believed not in God, the Great,
+   Nor urged to feed the poor;
+   Therefore he shall not have here this day a friend,
+   Nor any food save filth
+   Which none but the sinners shall eat.'
+
+   (lxix. 13-37.)
+
+
+XLIII.
+
+   When the Calamity shall come to pass
+   There shall not be _a soul_ that will deny its happening,[122]
+   [It will be] an abaser _of some_, an exalter _of others_;
+   When the earth shall be shaken with a _violent_ shaking,
+   And the mountains shall be crumbled with a [violent] crumbling,
+   And shall become fine dust scattered abroad;
+   And ye shall be three classes.
+   And the people of the right hand,[123] what [shall be] the people
+     of the right hand![124]
+   And the people of the left hand, what the people of the left
+     hand![125]
+   And the Preceders,[126] the Preceders!
+   These [shall be] the brought-nigh [unto God]
+   In the gardens of delight,--
+   A crowd of the former generations,
+   And a few of the latter generations,
+   Upon inwrought couches
+   Reclining thereon, face to face.
+   Youths ever-young[127] shall go unto them round about
+   With goblets and ewers and a cup of flowing wine,
+   Their [heads] shall ache not with it neither shall they be drunken;
+   And with fruits of the [sorts] which they shall choose,
+   And the flesh of birds of the [kinds] which they shall desire.
+   And damsels[128] with eyes[129] like pearls laid up
+   _We will give them_ as a reward for that which they have done.
+   Therein shall they hear no vain discourse nor accusation of sin,
+   But [only] the saying, 'Peace! Peace!'
+
+   And the people of the right hand--what [shall be] the people of
+     the right hand!
+   [They shall dwell] among lote-trees without thorns
+   And bananas loaded with fruit,[130]
+   And a shade _ever_-spread,
+   And water _ever_-flowing,
+   And fruits abundant
+   Unstayed and unforbidden,
+   And couches raised.
+   Verily we have created them[131] by a [peculiar] creation,
+   And have made them virgins,
+   Beloved of their husbands, of equal age [with them],
+   For the people of the right hand,
+   A crowd of the former generations
+   And a crowd of the latter generations.
+
+   And the people of the left hand--what [shall be] the people of
+     the left hand!
+   [They shall dwell] amidst burning wind and scalding water,
+   And a shade of blackest smoke,
+   Not cool and not grateful.
+   For before this they were blest with worldly goods,
+   And they persisted in heinous sin,[132]
+   And said, 'When we shall have died and become dust and bones,
+     shall we indeed be raised to life,
+   And our fathers the former generations?'
+   SAY, Verily the former and the latter generations
+   Shall be gathered together for the appointed time of a known day.
+   Then ye, O ye erring, belying [people],
+   Shall surely eat of the tree of Ez-Zakkoom,
+   And fill therewith [your] bellies,
+   And drink thereon boiling water,
+   And ye shall drink as thirsty camels drink.--
+   This [shall be] their entertainment on the day of retribution.
+
+   (lvi. 1-56.)
+
+
+XLIV.
+
+Verily We have prepared for the offenders fire, the smoke of which
+shall encompass them; and if they ask relief, they shall be relieved
+with water like the dregs of oil, which shall scald _their_ faces.
+Miserable shall be the drink, and evil shall be the couch.
+
+As for those who have believed and done the things that are right,
+verily We will not suffer the reward of him that hath done well to
+perish:
+
+For these are gardens of perpetual abode, beneath them[133] shall
+rivers run; they shall be adorned therein with bracelets of gold, and
+shall wear green garments of fine brocade and of thick brocade,
+reclining therein on the thrones. Excellent shall be the reward, and
+pleasant shall be the couch.
+
+   (xviii. 28-30.)
+
+
+XLV.
+
+_Call to mind_ the day when We will cause the mountains to pass away
+and thou shalt see the earth plain; and We will assemble them[134] and
+not leave of them any one.
+
+And they shall be set before thy Lord in ranks: 'Now are ye come unto
+Us as We created you the first time.[135] Nay, ye thought that We
+would not perform [Our] promise to you.'[136]
+
+And the book shall be put [in every man's hand], and thou shalt see
+the sinners fearful because of that which is [written] therein, and
+they shall say, 'O woe is us! what meaneth this book? It leaveth
+neither a small _sin_ nor a great _sin_, but it enumerateth it!' And
+they shall find that which they shall have wrought present;[137] and
+thy Lord will not deal unjustly with any one.
+
+   (xviii. 45-47.)
+
+
+XLVI.
+
+They have not esteemed God with the estimation due unto Him, since the
+whole earth [shall be] His handful on the day of resurrection, and the
+heavens [shall be] folded together by His right hand. Extolled be His
+perfection and high be He exalted above the [things] they associate
+_with Him_!
+
+And the trumpet shall be blown, and they that are in the heavens and
+they that are in the earth shall die, except those whom God shall
+please. Then it shall be blown another time; and lo, they shall arise,
+waiting.
+
+And the earth shall shine with the light of its Lord. And the book
+shall be placed, and the prophets shall be brought and the witnesses,
+and judgment shall be given between them with truth, and they shall
+not be treated unjustly.
+
+And every soul shall be fully paid _the reward_ of what it hath done,
+and He well knoweth what they do.
+
+And those who have disbelieved shall be driven in troops unto hell,
+until when they come to it, its gates shall be opened, and its
+guardians shall say unto them, 'Did not Messengers from among you come
+unto you rehearsing the signs of your Lord, and warning you of the
+meeting of this your day?' They shall answer, 'Yea:' (But the sentence
+of punishment[138] hath been justly pronounced against the
+unbelievers:)
+
+It shall be said, 'Enter ye the gates of hell to remain therein for
+ever:' and evil shall be the abode of the proud.
+
+
+And those who have feared their Lord shall be urged on in troops unto
+paradise, until when they come unto it, its gates are already opened,
+and its guardians say unto them: 'Peace be on you! Ye have been good:
+therefore enter it to abide _therein_ for ever.'
+
+And they shall say, 'Praise be to God, who hath performed unto us His
+promise, and hath made us to inherit the land, that we may dwell in
+Paradise wheresoever we please; and how excellent is the reward of the
+workers!'[139]
+
+And thou shalt see the angels encompassing the throne, extolling the
+perfection with the praise of their Lord. And judgment shall be given
+between them[140] with truth: and it shall be said,'Praise be to God,
+the Lord of the Worlds!'
+
+   (xxxix. 67-75.)
+
+
+XLVII.
+
+Paradise shall be brought near unto the pious, _to a place_ not
+distant _from them, so that they shall see it_.
+
+_And it shall be said unto them_, 'This is what ye have been promised,
+unto every one who hath earnestly turned himself unto God and kept
+_His laws_,
+
+Who hath feared the Compassionate in secret, and come with a penitent
+heart:
+
+Enter it in peace: this is the Day of Eternity.'
+
+   (l. 30-33.)
+
+
+XLVIII.
+
+[+]Fairseeming to men is the love of pleasures from women and
+children, and hoarded riches of gold and silver, and pastured[141]
+horses, and flocks, and corn-fields. Such is the enjoyment of this
+world's life! But God, goodly is the home with Him!
+
+SAY, Shall I tell you of better things than these prepared in the
+presence of their Lord for those that fear [God]? Theirs shall be
+gardens beneath which rivers run, and in which they shall abide for
+ever, and stainless wives, and acceptance with God: for God regardeth
+His servants,
+
+--Who say, 'O our Lord, verily we have believed; forgive us then our
+sins, and keep us from the torment of the fire,'--
+
+The patient, and the truthful, and the lowly, and the charitable, and
+they who seek pardon at each daybreak.
+
+   (iii. 12-15.)
+
+
+XLIX.
+
+[+]And repute not those slain in God's cause[142] to be dead:
+nay, alive with their Lord, they are provided for;
+
+Joyful in what God of His bounty hath vouchsafed them, and rejoicing
+for those that follow after them, but have not yet overtaken them,
+that on them no fear shall come, neither shall they grieve;
+
+Rejoicing at the favour of God and His bounty, and that God suffereth
+not the reward of the faithful to perish.
+
+   (iii. 163-165.)
+
+
+L.
+
+Whosoever doeth the things that are right, whether male or female,
+being a believer,--these shall enter paradise, and shall not be wronged
+in the least degree.
+
+   (iv. 123.)
+
+
+LI.
+
+For those who have disbelieved in their Lord [is prepared] the
+punishment of hell; and evil [shall be] the journey.[143]
+
+When they shall be cast into it they shall hear it braying,[144] while
+it boileth, well-nigh bursting with fury.
+
+   (lxvii. 6-8.)
+
+
+LII.
+
+If thou shouldst see[145] those who have offended[146] when they see
+the punishment![147]--for power belongeth altogether unto God, and God
+is severe in punishing:
+
+When those who have been followed will declare themselves clear of
+those who have followed [them],[148] when they have seen the
+punishment, and the ties [that bound them together] shall be severed
+from them:
+
+And those who have followed shall say, 'O that there were for us a
+return _to the world_! then would we declare ourselves clear of them,
+like as they have _now_ declared themselves clear of us!' After this
+manner will God show them their _evil_ works, for which [they shall
+pour forth] lamentations; and they shall not come forth from the fire.
+
+   (ii. 160-162.)
+
+
+LIII.
+
+And the Devil[149] shall say, when the matter shall have been
+determined,[150] 'Verily God promised you the promise of truth;[151]
+and I promised you,[152] but I deceived you: yet had I no power over
+you;
+
+But I only called you and ye answered me. Therefore blame not me, but
+blame your own selves. I am not a helper of you, neither are ye
+helpers of me. Verily I renounce your having associated me _with God_
+heretofore.'
+
+   (xiv. 26, 27).
+
+
+LIV.
+
+Verily the hypocrites shall be in the lowest abyss of the fire, and
+thou shalt not find for them any defender.
+
+   (iv. 144.)
+
+
+LV.
+
+They[153] will ask thee respecting the Hour,[154] at what time is its
+coming fixed. SAY, The knowledge of it is only with my Lord: none
+shall manifest it in its time but He. It is grievous in the heavens
+and in the earth. It shall not come upon you otherwise than suddenly.
+
+They will ask thee as though thou wert well acquainted therewith. SAY,
+The knowledge of it is only with God: but the greater number of men
+know not!
+
+SAY, I possess not for myself _power to procure_ advantage nor _to
+avert_ mischief, save as God pleaseth: and if I knew things unseen, I
+should obtain abundance of good, and evil should not happen unto me. I
+am only a denouncer of threats _unto the unbelievers_, and an
+announcer of good tidings unto the people who believe.
+
+   (vii. 186-188.)
+
+
+
+
+_PREDESTINATION._
+
+
+LVI.
+
+A soul cannot die unless by permission of God, according to a writing
+_of God_, definite _as to time_.
+
+   (iii. 139.)
+
+
+LVII.
+
+They say [whose companions were slain at the battle of Ohod], 'If
+aught of the affair had been _submitted_ to us we had not been slain
+here.'[155] SAY, Had ye been in your houses, those _of you_ who were
+decreed to be slain had gone forth to the places where they lie.
+
+   (iii. 148.)
+
+
+LVIII.
+
+Wheresoever ye be, death will overtake you, although you be in lofty
+towers. If good fortune betide them,[156] they say, 'This is from
+God!' But if evil betide them, they say, 'This is from thee, _O
+Mohammad_!' SAY, All is from God. And what aileth this people that
+they are not near to understanding what is said _unto them_?
+
+Whatsoever good betideth thee, _O man, it is_ from God; and whatsoever
+evil betideth thee, from thyself _is it_.
+
+   (iv. 80, 81.)
+
+
+LIX.
+
+[+]No soul can believe but by the permission of God.
+
+   (x. 100.)
+
+
+LX.
+
+[+]And whoso willeth taketh the way to his Lord: But ye shall
+not will it, unless God will it.
+
+   (lxxvi. 29, 30.)
+
+
+LXI.
+
+[+]Expend in the way of God, and throw not yourselves into
+destruction.[157]
+
+   (ii. 191.)
+
+
+_ANGELS AND JINN._[158]
+
+
+LXII.
+
+They say, 'The Compassionate hath gotten offspring.'[159] Extolled be
+His purity! Nay, _they are_ honoured servants.
+
+They prevent Him not in speech,[160] and according to His command they
+act.
+
+He knoweth what is before them and what is behind them, and they shall
+not intercede
+
+Save for whom He shall please, and they fear in dread of Him.
+
+And him[161] among them who saith, 'I am a god beside Him,' that
+[angel] We will recompense with Hell.
+
+   (xxi. 26-30.)
+
+
+LXIII.
+
+[+]SAY, It hath been revealed to me that a company of the Jinn
+listened [to me] and said, 'Verily we have heard a wonderful
+discourse[162]
+
+Which guideth unto right: wherefore we believed in it, and we will by
+no means associate any one with our Lord....
+
+We tried the heaven, but we found it filled with a mighty garrison and
+darting flames;
+
+We sat on some of its seats to listen, but whosoever listeneth now
+findeth a darting flame in ambush for him.
+
+We know not whether evil be meant for them that are on the earth, or
+whether their Lord intendeth for them a right guidance.
+
+There are among us the good, and among us _those who are_ not so,--we
+are of various ways.
+
+   (lxxii. 1, 2, 8-11.)
+
+
+
+
+_TRUE RELIGION AND FALSE._
+
+
+LXIV.
+
+Verily God commandeth justice and the doing of good and the giving
+unto the relation: and He forbiddeth wickedness and iniquity and
+oppression. He admonisheth you that ye may reflect.
+
+   (xvi. 92.)[163]
+
+
+LXV.
+
+
+   [+]By the Night when she spreadeth her veil,
+   By the Day when it appeareth in glory,
+   By Him who made male and female;
+   Verily your aims are indeed different!
+   As then for him who giveth [alms] and feareth [God],
+   And yieldeth assent to the Good,
+   To him will We therefore make easy the path to happiness.
+   But as to him who is covetous and bent on riches,
+   And calleth the Good a lie,
+   To him will We make easy the path to distress;
+   And what shall his wealth avail him when he goeth down headlong?
+   Truly man's guidance is with Us,
+   And Ours the next Life and this life Present.
+   I warn you therefore of the flaming fire;
+   None shall be burned at it but the most wretched,--
+   Who hath called the truth a lie and turned his back.
+   But the greatly God-fearing shall escape it,--
+   Who giveth away his substance that he may become pure,
+   And who [offereth] not favours to any one for the sake
+     of recompense,
+   But only as seeking the face of his Lord the Most High.
+   And assuredly in the end he shall be well content.[1]
+
+   (xcii.)
+
+
+LXVI.
+
+   [+]What thinkest thou of him who treateth the day of judgment as a lie?
+   It is he who thrusteth away the orphan,
+   And stirreth not [others] up to feed the poor.
+   Woe, then, to those who pray,
+   Who in their prayer are careless,
+   Who make a show [of devotion],
+   But refuse help [to the needy].[164]
+
+   (cvii.)
+
+
+LXVII.
+
+Your turning your faces _in prayer_ towards the east and the west is
+not piety: but the pious is he who believeth in God and the Last Day,
+and in the angels, and the Scripture, and the prophets, and who giveth
+money, notwithstanding his love _of it_, to relations and orphans, and
+to the needy and the son of the road,[165] and to the askers and for
+_the freeing_ of slaves, and who performeth prayer and giveth the
+[appointed] alms, and those who perform their covenant when they
+covenant, and the patient in adversity and affliction and in the time
+of violence. These are they who have been true: and these are they who
+fear God.
+
+   (ii. 172.)
+
+
+LXVIII.
+
+[+]He only shall visit the temples of God who believeth in God
+and the Last Day, and observeth prayer, and payeth the [appointed]
+alms, and dreadeth none but God: for these are among the
+rightly-guided.
+
+   (ix. 18.)
+
+
+LXIX.
+
+O ye who have believed, make not your alms of no effect by reproach
+and harm, like him who expendeth his wealth to make a vain show unto
+men, and believeth not in God and the Last Day. For his likeness is as
+the likeness of a smooth stone upon which was earth, and a violent
+rain hath fallen upon it, and left it smooth and hard. [Such] cannot
+have aught that they have gained, and God directeth not the
+unbelieving people.
+
+And the likeness of those who expend their wealth from a desire of
+God's being pleased, and from assurance on their part,[166] is as the
+likeness of a garden upon a hill, on which a violent rain hath fallen,
+and it hath produced its fruit twofold: and if a violent rain fall not
+upon it, a gentle rain _falleth_.
+
+   (ii. 266, 267.)
+
+
+LXX.
+
+If ye manifest alms, good will it be: but if ye conceal them and give
+them to the poor, it will be better for you; and it will expiate
+_some_ of your sins.
+
+   (ii. 273.)
+
+
+LXXI.
+
+A kind speech and forgiveness are better than alms which hurt[167]
+followeth.
+
+   (ii. 265.)
+
+
+LXXII.
+
+Revile not what they invoke in preference to God,[168] lest they
+revile God evilly without knowledge.
+
+   (vi. 108.)
+
+
+LXXIII.
+
+Turn away _evil_ by that which is better: and lo, he between whom and
+thyself [was] enmity [shall become] as though he were a warm friend:
+
+But none is endowed with this[169] except those who have been patient,
+and none is endowed with it except he who is greatly favoured.[170]
+
+   (xli. 34, 35.)
+
+
+LXXIV.
+
+[+]If ye are greeted with a greeting, then greet ye with a
+better greeting, or at least return it: verily God taketh count of all
+things.
+
+   (iv. 88.)
+
+
+LXXV.
+
+[+]If there be any [debtor] under a difficulty [of paying his
+debt], let [his creditor] wait until it be easy: but if ye remit it as
+alms, it will be better for you.
+
+   (ii. 280.)[171]
+
+
+
+
+_BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS._
+
+
+LXXVI.
+
+[+]Dispute not with the people of the Scripture[172] unless in
+the kindliest[173] manner, except against such of them as deal evilly
+[with you]; and say [unto them], We believe in that which hath been
+sent down unto us and [that which] hath been sent down unto you, and
+our God and your God is one, and to Him are we self-surrendered.[174]
+
+   (xxix. 45.)
+
+
+LXXVII.
+
+Verily those who have believed,[175] and those who have become Jews,
+and the Christians, and the Sabians, whosoever hath believed in God
+and the Last Day, and hath done that which is right,--they shall have
+their reward with their Lord, and _there shall come_ no fear upon
+them, neither shall they grieve.
+
+   (ii. 59.)[176]
+
+
+LXVIII.
+
+Whoso desireth any other religion than El-Islam, it shall not be
+accepted of him, and in the world to come he [shall be] of those that
+perish.
+
+   (iii. 79.)
+
+
+LXXIX.
+
+The likeness of those who have disbelieved[177] is as the likeness of
+him who crieth out to that which heareth not [aught] save a calling
+and a voice. _They are_ deaf, dumb, blind: therefore they do not
+understand.
+
+   (ii. 166.)
+
+
+LXXX.
+
+[As to] the unbelievers, their works are like a vapour[178] in a
+plain, which the thirsty imagineth to be water, until when he cometh
+to it he findeth it not aught:[179] (but he findeth God there, and He
+fully payeth him his account: and God is swift in reckoning:)
+
+Or, like darknesses in a deep sea, covered by waves over waves,--over
+them clouds,--darknesses one over another: when [one] putteth forth his
+hand he is not nearly able to see it. And unto whomsoever God giveth
+not light, he hath no light.
+
+   (xxiv. 39, 40.)
+
+
+LXXXI.
+
+Propound unto them as a parable two men, on one of whom[180] We
+bestowed two gardens of grape-vines, and We surrounded them with
+palm-trees, and put corn between them; each of the gardens brought
+forth its fruit, and failed not thereof at all;
+
+And We caused a river to flow between them; and he had abundance. And
+he said unto his companion, disputing with him, 'I am greater than
+thou in wealth and more mighty in family.'
+
+And he entered his garden, being unjust to his own soul.[181] He said,
+'I do not think that this will ever perish,
+
+And I do not think that the [Last] Hour will come; and if I should be
+taken back unto my Lord, I shall assuredly find a better [garden] than
+it in return.'
+
+His companion said unto him, disputing with him, 'Dost thou disbelieve
+in Him who created thee of dust, then completely fashioned thee into a
+man?
+
+God is my Lord, and I will not associate any one with my Lord.
+
+And why when thou enteredst thy garden didst thou not say, 'What God
+willeth[182] [cometh to pass]: there is no power but in God?' If thou
+seest me to be inferior to thee in amount of wealth and in number of
+children,
+
+Perhaps my Lord may give me [what will be] better than thy garden; and
+may send upon [thine] thunderbolts from heaven, so that it shall
+become a smooth and slippery ground;
+
+Or its water may become deep-sunk [in the earth], so that thou shalt
+not be able to draw it.'--
+
+And his possessions were encompassed _with destruction_, and he began
+to turn down the palms of his hands for that which he had expended
+thereon; for it[s vines were] falling down upon its trellises; and he
+said, 'O would that I had not associated any one with my Lord!'
+
+And there was no party for him to assist him instead of God, nor was
+he able to defend himself.
+
+In that case[183] protection [belongeth] unto God, the True; He is the
+best rewarder and the best giver of success.
+
+   (xviii. 31-42.)
+
+
+LXXXII.
+
+Thou shalt certainly find[184] the Jews and those who have attributed
+partners to God[185] the most violent of men in hatred of those who
+have believed; and thou shalt certainly find the nearest of them to
+friendship to those who have believed those who say, 'We are
+Christians.' This is because there are among them priests and monks,
+and because they are not proud.[186]
+
+And when they hear that which hath been sent down unto the Apostle,
+thou seest their eyes overflow with tears because of the truth that
+they know: they say, 'O our Lord, we believe, therefore write us down
+among those who bear witness.'
+
+   (v. 85, 86.)
+
+
+LXXXIII.
+
+The likeness of those who were charged to bear in mind the Law [of
+Moses], then bore it not in mind,[187] is as the likeness of the ass
+that beareth books. Evil is the likeness of the people who have
+charged the signs of God with falsehood: and God directeth not the
+unjust people.
+
+   (lxii. 5.)
+
+
+LXXXIV.
+
+[188] Among men are those who say, We believe in God and in
+the Last Day: but they are not believers.
+
+They try to deceive God and those who have believed; but they deceive
+not any except themselves, and they know [it] not.
+
+In their hearts is a disease, and God hath increased their disease,
+and for them [is ordained] a painful punishment, because they have
+charged with falsehood _the prophet of God_.
+
+And when it is said unto them, Corrupt not in the earth, they reply,
+'We are only rectifiers.'
+
+Assuredly they are the corrupters; but they know [it] not.
+
+And when it is said unto them, Believe ye as _other_ men have
+believed, they say, 'Shall we believe as the fools have believed?'
+Assuredly they are the fools; but they know it not.
+
+And when they meet those who have believed, they say, 'We believe:'
+but when they retire privately to their devils,[189] they say, 'We
+_hold_ with you: we only mock _at them_.'
+
+God will mock at them, and keep them in their exceeding wickedness,
+wandering about in perplexity.
+
+These are they who have purchased error in exchange for right
+guidance: but their traffic hath not been profitable; and they have
+not been rightly guided.
+
+Their likeness is as the likeness of those who have kindled a fire _in
+the dark_, and when it hath enlightened what is around them, God
+taketh away their light and leaveth them in darkness, seeing not.
+
+_They are_ deaf, dumb, blind: therefore they will not turn back.
+
+Or _they are_ like _people in_ a storm of rain from heaven, wherein
+are darkness and thunder and lightning: they put their fingers in
+their ears because of the vehement sounds of the thunder, for fear of
+death. And God encompasseth the unbelievers.
+
+The lightning almost snatcheth away their eyes: whenever it shineth on
+them they walk in _the light of_ it, but when darkness cometh on them
+they stand still. And if God pleased He would certainly take away
+their ears and eyes: for God is all-powerful.
+
+   (ii. 7-19.)
+
+
+LXXXV.
+
+O ye who have believed, take not the Jews and Christians as friends.
+They are friends one to another; and whosoever of you taketh them as
+his friends, verily he is _of the number_ of them.
+
+O ye who have believed, take not as friends those who have made your
+religion a laughing-stock and a jest, of those who have received the
+Scripture before you, and the unbelievers: (But fear God if ye be
+believers:)
+
+And _those who_ when ye call to prayer make it a laughing-stock and a
+jest. This _they do_ because they are a people who do not understand.
+
+   (v. 56, 62, 63.)
+
+
+LXXXVI.
+
+[+]The servants of the Merciful are they that walk upon the
+earth softly; and when the ignorant speak unto them, they reply
+'Peace!'--
+
+And they that pass the night worshipping their Lord, prostrate and
+standing;--
+
+And that say, 'O our Lord, turn away from us the torment of Hell:
+verily its torment is endless; verily it is an ill abode and
+resting-place!'--
+
+And those who when they spend are neither lavish nor niggard, but keep
+the mean;--
+
+And those who call on no other gods with God, nor slay whom God hath
+forbidden to be slain, except for a just cause; nor are unchaste;--
+
+And they who bear not witness to a lie, and when they pass by vain
+discourse pass it by with dignity;--
+
+These shall be rewarded with the highest Heaven, for that they
+persevered, and they shall be accosted therein with 'Welcome and
+Peace,' to live therein for ever--a fair abode and resting-place!
+
+   (xxv. 64-75.)
+
+
+
+
+_PART THE SECOND._
+
+_PROPHETS, APOSTLES, AND DIVINE BOOKS._[190]
+
+
+SAY YE, We believe in God, and in that which hath been sent down unto
+us (_namely, the Kur-an_), and what hath been sent down unto Abraham
+(_the ten books_), and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes,
+_his children_, and what Moses received (_namely, the Pentateuch_),
+and Jesus (_namely, the Gospel_), and what the prophets received from
+their Lord (_namely, books and signs_): we make no separation of any
+of them, _believing in some, and disbelieving in some, like the Jews
+and the Christians_; and we resign ourselves unto Him.
+
+   (ii. 130.)
+
+
+
+
+_ADAM AND EVE._
+
+
+_Remember, O Mohammad_, when thy Lord said unto the angels, I am about
+to place in the earth a vicegerent _to act for me in the execution of
+my ordinances therein, namely, Adam_,--they said, Wilt Thou place in it
+one who will corrupt in it _by disobediences_, and will shed blood
+(_as did the sons of El-Jann,[191] who were in it; wherefore, when
+they acted corruptly, God sent to them the angels, who drove them away
+to the islands and the mountains_), when we [on the contrary]
+celebrate the divine perfection, _occupying ourselves_ with Thy
+praise, and extol Thy holiness? _Therefore we are more worthy of the
+vicegerency._--_God_ replied, Verily, I know that which ye know not,
+_as to the affair of appointing Adam vicegerent, and that among his
+posterity will be the obedient and the rebellious, and the just will
+be manifest among them. And He created Adam from the surface of the
+earth, taking a handful of every colour that it comprised, which was
+kneaded with various waters; and He completely formed it, and breathed
+into it the soul: so it became an animated sentient being._[192] And
+He taught Adam the names of all things, _infusing the knowledge of
+them into his heart_. Then He showed them (_namely, the things_) to
+the angels, and said, Declare unto me the names of these _things_, if
+ye say truth _in your assertion that I will not create any more
+knowing than ye, and that ye are more worthy of the vicegerency_. They
+replied, [_We extol_] Thy perfection! We have no knowledge excepting
+what Thou hast taught us; for Thou art the Knowing, the Wise.--_God_
+said, O Adam, tell them their names. And when he had told them their
+names, _God_ said, Did I not say unto you that I know the secrets of
+the heavens and the earth, and know what ye reveal _of your words,
+saying, Wilt thou place in it_, etc., and what ye did conceal _of your
+words, saying, He will not create any more generous towards Him than
+we, nor any more knowing_?
+
+   (ii. 28-31.)
+
+
+We created you; _that is, your father Adam_: then we formed you; _we
+formed him, and you in him_: then We said unto the angels, Prostrate
+yourselves unto Adam, _by way of salutation_; whereupon they
+prostrated themselves, except Iblees, _the father of the jinn, who was
+amid the angels_: he was not of those who prostrated themselves. _God_
+said, What hath hindered thee from prostrating thyself, when I
+commanded thee? He answered, I am better than he: Thou hast created me
+of fire, and Thou hast created him of earth. [God] said, Then descend
+thou from it; _that is, from Paradise; or, as some say, from the
+heavens_; for it is not fit for thee that thou behave thyself proudly
+therein: so go thou forth: verily thou [shalt be] of the contemptible.
+He replied, Grant me respite until the day when they (_that is,
+mankind_) shall be raised from the dead. He said, Thou shalt be of
+those [who are] respited: _and, in another verse_ [in xv. 38, it is
+said], _until the day of the known period; that is, until the period
+of the first blast_ [of the trumpet]. [And the devil] said, Now, as
+Thou hast led me into error, I will surely lay wait for them (_that
+is, for the sons of Adam_) in Thy right way, _the way that leadeth to
+Thee_: then I will surely come upon them, from before them, and from
+behind them, and from their right hands, and from their left, _and
+hinder them from pursuing the way_ (_but, saith Ibn-'Abbas, he cannot
+come upon them above, lest he should intervene between the servant and
+God's mercy_), and Thou shalt not find the greater number of them
+grateful, _or believing_. [God] said, Go forth from it, despised and
+driven away _from mercy_. Whosoever of them (_that is, of mankind_)
+shall follow thee, I will surely fill hell with you all; _with thee,
+and thy offspring, and with men_.
+
+   (vii. 10-17.)
+
+
+And we said, O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife (_Howwa_ [or Eve], _whom
+God created from a rib of his left side_) in the garden, and eat ye
+therefrom plentifully, wherever ye will; but approach ye not this
+tree, _to eat thereof_; (_and it was wheat, or the grape-vine, or some
+other tree_;) for _if ye do so_, ye will be of _the number of_ the
+offenders. But the devil, _Iblees_, caused them to slip from it, _that
+is, from the garden, by his saying unto them, Shall I show you the way
+to the tree of eternity? And he swore to them by God that he was one
+of the faithful advisers to them: so they ate of it_, and He ejected
+them from that _state of delight_ in which they were. And We said,
+Descend ye[193] _to the earth, ye two with the offspring that ye
+comprise_ [yet unborn], one of you (_that is, of your offspring_) an
+enemy to another; and there shall be for you, in the earth, a place of
+abode, and a provision, _of its vegetable produce_, for a time, _until
+the period of the expiration of your terms of life_. And Adam learned,
+from his Lord, words, _which were these_:--_O Lord, we have acted
+unjustly to our own souls, and if Thou do not forgive us, and be
+merciful unto us, we shall surely be of those who suffer loss_.[194]
+_And he prayed in these words_; and He became propitious towards him,
+_accepting his repentance_; for He is the Very Propitious, the
+Merciful. We said, Descend ye from it (_from the garden_) altogether;
+and if there come unto you from Me a direction (_a book and an
+apostle_), those who follow my direction, _there shall come_ no fear
+on them, nor shall they grieve _in the world to come; for they shall
+enter paradise_: but they who disbelieve and accuse our signs[195] of
+falsehood, these shall be the companions of the fire: they shall
+remain therein for ever.
+
+   (ii. 33-37.)
+
+
+
+
+_ABEL AND CAIN._
+
+
+Recite, _O Mohammad_, unto them (_that is, to thy people_) the history
+of the two sons of Adam, _namely, Abel and Cain_,[196] with truth.
+When they offered [their] offering _to God_[197] (_Abel's being a ram,
+and Cain's being produce of the earth_), and it was accepted from one
+of them (_that is, from Abel; for fire descended from heaven, and
+devoured his offering_), and it was not accepted from the other, _Cain
+was enraged; but he concealed his envy until Adam performed a
+pilgrimage, when_ he said _unto his brother_, I will assuredly slay
+thee. _Abel said, Wherefore? Cain answered, Because of the acceptance
+of thine offering to the exclusion of mine. Abel_ replied, God only
+accepteth from the pious. If thou stretch forth to me thy hand to slay
+me, I will not stretch forth to thee my hand to slay thee; for I fear
+God, the Lord of the worlds. I desire that thou shouldst bear the sin
+[which thou intendest to commit] against me, _by slaying me_, and thy
+sin _which thou hast committed before_, and thou wilt be of the
+companions of the fire.--And that is the recompense of the
+offenders.--But his soul suffered him to slay his brother: so he slew
+him; and he became of [the number of] those who suffer loss. _And he
+knew not what to do with him; for he was the first dead person upon
+the face of the earth of the sons of Adam. So he carried him upon his
+back._ And God sent a raven, which scratched up the earth _with its
+bill and its talons and raised it over a dead raven that was with it
+until it hid it_, to show him how he should hide the corpse of his
+brother. He said, O my disgrace! Am I unable to be like this raven,
+and to hide the corpse of my brother?--And he became of [the number of]
+the repentant. _And he digged_ [a grave] _for him, and hid him_.--On
+account of this _which Cain did_ We commanded the children of Israel
+that he who should slay a soul (not for _the latter's having slain_ a
+soul or _committed_ wickedness in the earth, _such as infidelity, or
+adultery, or intercepting the way, and the like_) [should be regarded]
+as though he had slain all mankind; and he who saveth it alive, _by
+abstaining from slaying it_, as though he had saved alive all mankind.
+
+   (v. 30-35.)
+
+
+
+
+_NOAH AND THE FLOOD._
+
+
+We formerly sent Noah [Nooh] unto his people, _saying_, Verily I am
+unto you a plain admonisher that ye worship not [any] but God. Verily
+I fear for you, _if ye worship any other_, the punishment of an
+afflictive day _in this world and in the world to come_.--But the
+chiefs who disbelieved among his people replied, We see thee not to be
+other than a man, like unto us; and we see not any to have followed
+thee except the meanest of us, _as the weavers and the cobblers_, at
+first thought (_or rashly_), nor do we see you to have any excellence
+above us: nay, we imagine you to be liars _in your claim to the
+apostolic commission_. He said, O my people, tell me, if I have an
+evident proof from my Lord and He hath bestowed on me mercy (_the gift
+of prophecy_) from Himself which is hidden from you, shall we compel
+you to _receive_ it when ye are averse thereto? _We cannot do so._
+And, O my people, I ask not of you any riches for it; _namely, for
+delivering my message_. My reward is not due from any but God; and I
+will not drive away those who have believed _as ye have commanded me_
+[because they are poor people]. Verily they shall meet their Lord _at
+the resurrection, and He will recompense them, and will exact for
+them_ [reparation] _from those who have treated them with injustice,
+and driven them away_. But I see you [to be] a people who are ignorant
+_of the end of your case_. And, O my people, who will defend me
+against God if I drive them away? Will ye not then consider? And I do
+not say unto you, I have the treasures of God; nor [do I say], I know
+the things unseen; nor do I say, Verily I am an angel; nor do I say,
+of those whom your eyes contemn, God will by no means bestow on them
+good: (God best knoweth what is in their minds:) verily I should in
+that case be [one] of the offenders.--They replied, O Noah, thou hast
+disputed with us and multiplied disputes with us: now bring upon us
+that _punishment_ wherewith thou threatenest us, if thou be of those
+that speak truth. He said, Only God will bring it upon you, if He
+please _to hasten it unto you; for it is His affair, not mine_; and ye
+shall not escape _God_: nor will my counsel profit you, if I desire to
+counsel you, if God desire to lead you into error. He is your Lord;
+and unto Him shall ye be brought back.
+
+   (xi. 27-36.)
+
+
+And it was said by revelation unto Noah, Verily there shalt not
+believe of thy people [any] but they who have already believed;
+therefore be not grieved for that which they have done.
+
+   (xi. 38.)
+
+
+_And he uttered an imprecation upon them, saying_, O my Lord, leave
+not upon the earth any one of the unbelievers; for if Thou leave them,
+they will lead Thy servants into error, and will not beget [any] but a
+wicked, ungrateful [offspring]. O my Lord, forgive me and my parents
+(_for they were believers_), and whomsoever entereth my house (_my
+abode, or my place of worship_), being a believer, and the believing
+men, and the believing women, (_to the day of resurrection_), and add
+not to the offenders [aught] save destruction.
+
+   (lxxi. 27-29.)
+
+
+_And God answered his prayer, and said_, Construct the ark in our
+sight and according to our revelation, and speak not unto Me
+concerning those who have offended, _to beg Me not to destroy them_;
+for they [shall be] drowned. And he constructed the ark; and whenever
+a company of his people passed by him, they derided him. He said, If
+ye deride us, we will deride you, like as ye deride, _when we are
+saved and ye are drowned_, and ye shall know on whom shall come a
+punishment which shall render him vile, and whom shall befall a
+lasting punishment. [Thus he was employed] until when Our decree _for
+their destruction_ came to pass, and the _baker's_ oven overflowed
+_with water_[198] (_for this was a signal unto Noah_), We said, Carry
+into it (_that is, into the ark_) of every pair, _male and female, of
+each of these descriptions_, two (_and it is related that God
+assembled for Noah the wild beasts and the birds and other creatures,
+and he proceeded to put his hands upon each kind, and his right hand
+fell always upon the male, and his left upon the female, and he
+carried them into the ark_), and thy family (excepting him upon whom
+the sentence _of destruction_ hath already been pronounced, _namely,
+Noah's wife, and his son Canaan: but Shem and Ham and Japheth and
+their three wives he took_), and those who have believed; but there
+believed not with him save a few: _they were six men and their wives:
+and it is said that all who were in the ark were eighty, half of whom
+were men and half women_. And _Noah_ said, Embark ye therein. In the
+name of God [be] its course and its mooring.[199] Verily my Lord is
+very forgiving [and] merciful.--And it moved along with them amid
+waves like mountains; and Noah called unto his son, _Canaan_, who was
+apart _from the ark_, O my child, embark with us, and be not with the
+unbelievers! He replied, I will betake me to a mountain which will
+secure me from the water. [Noah] said, There is nought that will
+secure to-day from the decree of God [any] but him on whom He hath
+mercy. And the waves intervened between them; so he became [one] of
+the drowned. And it was said, O earth, swallow up thy water
+(_whereupon it drank it up, except what had descended from heaven,
+which became rivers and seas_), and, O heaven, cease _from
+raining_;--and the water abated, and the decree was fulfilled, and it
+(_namely, the ark_) rested on El-Joodee (_a mountain of El-Jezeereh,
+near El-Mosil_); and it was said, Perdition to the offending
+people![200]
+
+   (xi. 38-46.)
+
+
+And Noah called upon his Lord, and said, O my Lord, verily my son is
+of my family, _and Thou hast promised me to save them_, and verily Thy
+promise is true, and Thou art the most just of those who exercise
+judgment. _God_ replied, O Noah, verily he is not of thy family _who
+should be saved, or of the people of thy religion_. Verily it
+(_namely, thine asking me to save him_) is not a righteous act; _for
+he was an unbeliever, and there is no safety for the unbelievers_;
+therefore ask not of me that wherein thou hast no knowledge. I
+admonish thee, lest thou become [one] of the ignorant.--_Noah_ said, O
+my Lord, I beg Thee to preserve me from asking Thee that wherein I
+have no knowledge; and if Thou do not forgive me and have mercy upon
+me, I shall be of those who suffer loss.--It was said, O Noah, descend
+_from the ark_,[201] with peace from Us, and blessings, upon thee and
+upon peoples [that shall proceed] from those who are with thee _in the
+ark_ (_that is, their believing posterity_); but peoples [that shall
+proceed] _from those who are with thee_ We will permit to enjoy _the
+provisions of this world_; then a painful punishment shall befall them
+from Us, _in the world to come; they being unbelievers_.
+
+   (xi. 47-50.)
+
+
+
+
+_'AD AND THAMOOD._
+
+
+And _we sent_ unto _the former_ [tribe of] 'Ad[202] their brother
+Hood.[203] He said, O my people, worship God: _assert His unity_. Ye
+have no other deity than Him. Will ye not then fear _Him, and
+believe_?--The chiefs who disbelieved among his people answered, Verily
+we see thee to be in a foolish way, and verily we esteem thee one of
+the liars _with respect to the apostolic commission_. He replied, O my
+people, there is no folly in me; but I am an apostle from the Lord of
+the worlds. I bring unto you the messages of my Lord, and I am unto
+you a counsellor, intrusted _with the apostolic office_. Do ye wonder
+that an admonition hath come unto you from your Lord by _the tongue
+of_ a man from among you, that he may warn you? And remember how He
+hath appointed you vicegerents _in the earth_ after the people of
+Noah, and increased you in tallness of stature. (_For the tall among
+them was a hundred cubits, and the short among them sixty._) Remember,
+then, the benefits of God, that ye may prosper. They said, Art thou
+come unto us that we may worship God alone, and relinquish what our
+fathers worshipped? Then bring upon us that _punishment_ with which
+thou threatenest us, if thou be of those who speak truth.--He replied,
+Punishment and indignation from your Lord have become necessary for
+you. Do ye dispute with me concerning names which ye and your fathers
+have given _to idols which ye worship_, concerning which (_that is,
+the worship of which_) God hath not set down any convincing proof?
+Then await ye _the punishment_. I am with you, of those who await
+_that, for your accusing me of falsehood. And the unprofitable wind
+was sent upon them._ But We delivered him (_namely, Hood_) and them
+who were with him (_of the believers_) by Our mercy; and We cut off
+the uppermost part of those who charged Our signs with falsehood and
+who were not believers.
+
+   (vii. 63-70.)
+
+
+And _We sent_ unto _the tribe of_ Thamood[204] their brother Salih.
+He said, O my people, worship God. Ye have no other deity than Him. A
+_miraculous_ proof _of my veracity_ hath come unto you from your Lord,
+this she-camel of God being a sign unto you. [He had caused her, at
+their demand, to come forth from the heart of a rock.] Therefore let
+her feed in God's earth, and do her no harm, lest a painful punishment
+seize you. And remember how He hath appointed you vicegerents _in the
+earth_ after [the tribe of] 'Ad, and given you a habitation in the
+earth: ye make yourselves, on its plains, pavilions _wherein ye dwell
+in summer_, and cut the mountains into houses _wherein ye dwell in
+winter_. Remember then the benefits of God, and do not evil in the
+earth, acting corruptly.--The chiefs who were elated with pride, among
+his people, said unto those who were esteemed weak, _namely_, to those
+who had believed among them, Do ye know that Salih hath been sent
+_unto you_ from his Lord? They answered, _Yea_: verily we believe in
+that wherewith he hath been sent. Those who were elated with pride
+replied, Verily we disbelieve in that wherein ye have believed.--_And
+the she-camel had a day to water; and they had a day; and they became
+weary of this._ And they hamstrung the she-camel (_Kudar_ [the son of
+Salif] _doing so by their order and slaying her with the sword_);[205]
+and they impiously transgressed the command of their Lord,[206] and
+said, O Salih, bring upon us that _punishment_ with which thou
+threatenest us _for killing her_, if thou be [one] of the apostles.
+And the violent convulsion (_a great earthquake, and a cry from
+heaven_[207]) assailed them, and in the morning they were in their
+dwellings prostrate _and dead_. So he turned away from them, and said,
+O my people, I have brought unto you the message of my Lord and given
+you faithful counsel; but ye loved not faithful counsellors.
+
+   (vii. 71-77.)
+
+
+
+
+_DHU-L-KARNEYN._
+
+
+They (_namely, the Jews_) will ask thee concerning Dhu-l-Karneyn.[208]
+(_His name was El-Iskender, and he was not a prophet._) Answer, I will
+recite unto you an account of him. We gave him ability in the earth,
+_by facilitating his journeying therein_, and gave him a way to
+_attain_ everything _that he required_. And he followed a way _towards
+a place where the sun setteth_, until, when he came to the place where
+the sun setteth, he found that it set in a spring of black mud, _as it
+appeared to the eye; but really that spring was greater than the
+world_; and he found near it a people _who were unbelievers_.[209] We
+said, _by inspiration_, O Dhu-l-Karneyn, either punish _the people by
+slaughter_, or proceed against them gently, _taking them captive_. He
+said, As to him who offendeth _by polytheism_, we will punish him _by
+slaughter_: then he shall be taken back to his Lord, and He will
+punish him with a severe punishment, _in the fire of hell_. But as
+to him who believeth, and doeth that which is right, he shall have as
+a reward paradise, and We will say unto him, in Our command, _that
+which will be_ easy _unto him_.--Then he followed a way _towards the
+place where the sun riseth_, until, when he came to the place where
+the sun riseth, he found that it rose upon a people (_namely, the
+Zenj_) unto whom We had not given anything wherewith to shelter
+themselves therefrom, _neither clothing nor roof; for their land bore
+no building; but they had subterranean dwellings, into which they
+retired at sunrise, and they came forth when the sun was high_. Thus
+_was the case_; and We comprehended with Our knowledge what were with
+him (_namely, Dhu-l-Karneyn_), _of weapons and forces and other
+things_.--Then he followed a way until, when he came between the two
+barriers (_or mountains, at the confines of the country of the Turks,
+between which is the barrier of El-Iskender, as will be related
+presently_), he found before them a people who could scarce understand
+speech. They said, O Dhu-l-Karneyn, verily Yajooj and Majooj [Gog and
+Magog[210]] are corrupting in the earth, _by plunder and tyranny, when
+they came forth unto us_. Shall we therefore pay thee tribute, on the
+condition that thou make a barrier between us and them?--He answered,
+The ability which my Lord hath given me, _by wealth and other things_,
+is better _than your tribute, which I need not. I will make the
+barrier for you gratuitously_: but assist me strenuously _by doing
+that which I desire_: I will make between you and them a strong
+barrier. Bring me pieces of iron _of the size of the blocks of stone
+used in building.--And he built with them, and placed amid them
+firewood and charcoal_, until, when it [the mass] filled up the space
+between the upper parts of the two mountains, _and he had put the
+bellows and fire around that mass_, he said, Blow ye [with the
+bellows]. _So they blew_ until, when he had made it (_that is, the
+iron_) _like_ fire, he said, Bring me molten brass, that I may pour
+upon it. _And he poured the molten brass upon the heated iron, so that
+it entered between its pieces and the whole became one mass._ And they
+(_namely, Yajooj and Majooj_) were not able to ascend to its top _by
+reason of its height and smoothness_; nor were they able to perforate
+it _by reason of its hardness and thickness_. _Dhu-l-Karneyn_ said,
+This (_namely, the barrier, or the gift of the ability to construct
+it_) is a mercy from my Lord: but when the promise of my Lord, _as to
+the eruption of Yajooj and Majooj shortly before the resurrection_,
+shall come _to be fulfilled_, He will reduce it (_namely, the
+barrier_) to dust; and the promise of my Lord concerning _their
+eruption and other events_ is true. And We will suffer some of them,
+on that day (_the day of their eruption_), to pour tumultuously among
+others: and the trumpet shall be blown _for the resurrection_, and We
+will gather them (_namely, all creatures_) together in a body, _in one
+place_. And We will set hell, on that day, _near_ before the
+unbelievers, whose eyes have been veiled from my admonition (_the
+Kur-an_), _and who, being blind, have not been directed by it_, and
+who could not hear _what the prophet recited unto them, by reason of
+their hatred of him; wherefore they believed not in him_.
+
+   (xviii. 82-101.)
+
+
+
+
+_ABRAHAM, ISHMAEL, ISAAC._
+
+
+_Remember_ when Abraham [Ibraheem] said to his father A'zar (_this was
+the surname of Terah_), Dost thou take images as deities?[211] Verily
+I see thee and thy people to be in a manifest error.--(And thus, _as We
+showed him the error of his father and his people_, did We show
+Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and [We did so] that
+he might be of [the number of] those who firmly believe.) And when the
+night overshadowed him, he saw a star (_it is said that it was
+Venus_), [and] he said _unto his people, who were astrologers_, This
+is my Lord, _according to your assertion_.--But when it set, he said, I
+like not those that set, _to take them as Lords, since it is not meet
+for a Lord to experience alteration and change of place, as they are
+of the nature of accidents_. _Yet this had no effect upon them._ And
+when he saw the moon rising, he said _unto them_, This is my Lord.--But
+when it set, he said, Verily if my Lord direct me not (_if He confirm
+me not in the right way_), I shall assuredly be of the erring
+people.--_This was a hint to his people that they were in error; but it
+had no effect upon them._ And when he saw the sun rising, he said,
+This is my Lord. This is greater _than the star and the moon_.--But
+when it set, _and the proof had been rendered more strong to them, yet
+they desisted not_, he said, O my people, verily I am clear of the
+[things] which ye associate _with God; namely, the images and the
+heavenly bodies_. _So they said unto him, What dost thou worship? He
+answered_, Verily I direct my face unto Him who hath created the
+heavens and the earth, following the right religion, and I am not of
+the polytheists.--And his people argued with him; [but] he said, Do ye
+argue with me respecting God, when He hath directed me, and I fear not
+what ye associate with Him, unless my Lord will _that_ aught
+_displeasing should befall me_? My Lord comprehendeth everything by
+_His_ knowledge. Will ye not therefore consider? And wherefore should
+I fear what ye have associated _with God_, when ye fear not for your
+having associated with God that of which He hath not sent down unto
+you a proof? Then which of the two parties is the more worthy of
+safety? _Are we, or you?_ If ye know _who is the more worthy of it,
+follow him_.--_God saith_, They who have believed, and not mixed their
+belief with injustice (_that is, polytheism_), for these shall be
+safety _from punishment_, and they are rightly directed.
+
+   (vi. 74-82.)
+
+
+Relate _unto them_, in the book (_that is, the Kur-an_), _the history
+of_ Abraham. Verily he was a person of great veracity, a prophet. When
+he said unto his father _A'zar, who worshipped idols_, O my father,
+wherefore dost thou worship that which heareth not, nor seeth, nor
+averteth from thee aught, _whether of advantage or of injury_? O my
+father, verily [a degree] of knowledge hath come unto me, that hath
+not come unto thee: therefore follow me: I will direct thee into a
+right way. O my father, serve not the devil, _by obeying him in
+serving idols_; for the devil is very rebellious unto the
+Compassionate. O my father, verily I fear that a punishment will
+betide thee from the Compassionate, _if thou repent not_, and that
+thou wilt be unto the devil an aider, _and a companion in
+hell-fire_.--He replied, Art thou a rejector of my Gods, O Abraham,
+_and dost thou revile them_? If thou abstain not, I will assuredly
+assail thee _with stones or with ill words; therefore beware of me_,
+and leave me for a long time.--_Abraham_ said, Peace _from me_ be on
+thee! I will ask pardon for thee of my Lord; for He is gracious unto
+me: and I will separate myself from you and from what ye invoke
+instead of God; and I will call upon my Lord: perhaps I shall not be
+unsuccessful in calling upon my Lord, _as ye are in calling upon
+idols_.--And when he had separated himself from them, and from what
+they worshipped instead of God, _by going to the Holy Land_, We gave
+him _two sons, that he might cheer himself thereby, namely_, Isaac and
+Jacob; and each [of them] We made a prophet; and We bestowed upon them
+(_namely, the three_), of our mercy, _wealth and children_; and We
+caused them to receive high commendation.
+
+   (xix. 42-51.)
+
+
+We gave unto Abraham his direction formerly, _before he had attained
+to manhood_; and We knew him _to be worthy of it_. When he said unto
+his father and his people, What are these images, to _the worship of_
+which ye are devoted?--they answered, We found our fathers worshipping
+them, _and we have followed their example_. He said _unto them_,
+Verily ye and your fathers have been in a manifest error. They said,
+Hast thou come unto us with truth _in saying this_, or art thou of
+those who jest? He answered, Nay, your Lord (_the being who deserveth
+to be worshipped_) is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, who
+created them, _not after the similitude of anything pre-existing_; and
+I am of those who bear witness thereof. And, by God, I will assuredly
+devise a plot against your idols after ye shall have retired, turning
+your backs.--So, _after they had gone to their place of assembly, on a
+day when they held a festival_, he brake them in pieces _with an axe_,
+except the chief of them, _upon whose neck he hung the axe_; that they
+might return unto it (_namely, the chief_) _and see what he had done
+with the others_. They said, _after they had returned and seen what he
+had done_, Who hath done this unto our gods? Verily he is of the
+unjust.--_And some of them_ said, We heard a young man mention them
+_reproachfully_: he is called Abraham. They said, Then bring him
+before the eyes of the people, that they may bear witness _against him
+of his having done it_. They said _unto him, when he had been
+brought_, Hast thou done this unto our gods, O Abraham? He answered,
+Nay, this their chief did it: and ask ye them, if they [can] speak.
+And they returned unto themselves, _upon reflection_, and said _unto
+themselves_, Verily ye are the unjust, _in worshipping that which
+speaketh not_. Then they reverted to their obstinacy, _and said_,
+Verily thou knowest that these speak not: _then wherefore dost thou
+order us to ask them?_ He said, Do ye then worship, instead of God,
+that which doth not profit you at all, nor injure you _if ye worship
+it not_? Fy on you, and on that which ye worship instead of God! Do ye
+not then understand?--They said, Burn ye him, and avenge your gods, if
+ye will do _so_. _So they collected abundance of firewood for him, and
+set fire to it; and they bound Abraham, and put him into an engine,
+and cast him into the fire. But, saith God_, We said, O fire, be
+thou cold, and a security unto Abraham! _So nought of him was burned
+save his bonds: the heat of the fire ceased, but its light remained;
+and by God's saying, Security,--Abraham was saved from dying, by reason
+of its cold._ And they intended against him a plot; but he caused them
+to be the sufferers.[212] And We delivered him and Lot, _the son of_
+_his brother Haran, from El-'Erak_, [bringing them] unto the land
+which we blessed for the peoples, _by the abundance of its rivers and
+trees, namely, Syria. Abraham took up his abode in Palestine, and Lot
+in El-Mu-tekifeh, between which is a day's journey._ And _when Abraham
+had asked a son_, We gave unto him Isaac, and Jacob as an additional
+gift, _beyond what he had asked, being a son's son_; and all of them
+We made righteous persons _and prophets_. And We made them models of
+religion who directed _men_ by Our command _unto Our religion_; and We
+commanded them by inspiration to do good works and to perform prayer
+and to give the appointed alms; and they served Us. And unto Lot We
+gave judgment and knowledge; and We delivered him from the city which
+committed filthy actions; for they were a people of evil, shameful
+doers; and We admitted him into our mercy; for he was [one] of the
+righteous.
+
+   (xxi. 52-75.)
+
+
+Hast thou not considered him who disputed with Abraham concerning his
+Lord, because God had given him the kingdom? _And he was Nimrod._ When
+Abraham said, (_upon his saying unto him, Who is thy Lord, unto whom
+thou invitest us?_), My Lord is He who giveth life and causeth to
+die,--he replied, I give life and cause to die.--_And he summoned two
+men, and slew one of them, and left the other. So when he saw that he
+understood not_, Abraham said, And verily God bringeth the sun from
+the east: now do thou bring it from the west.--And he who disbelieved
+was confounded; and God directeth not the offending people.
+
+   (ii. 260.)
+
+
+And Our messengers came formerly unto Abraham with good tidings _of
+Isaac and Jacob, who should be after him_. They said, Peace. He
+replied, _Peace be on you_. And he tarried not, but brought a roasted
+calf. And when he saw that their hands touched it not, he disliked
+them and conceived a fear of them. They said, Fear not: for we are
+sent unto the people of Lot, _that we may destroy them_. And his wife
+_Sarah_ was standing _serving them_, and she laughed, _rejoicing at
+the tidings of their destruction_. And we gave her good tidings of
+Isaac [Ishak]; and after Isaac, Jacob [Yaakoob]. She said, Alas! shall
+I bear a child when I am an old woman, _of nine and ninety years_, and
+when this my husband is an old man, _of a hundred or a hundred and
+twenty years_? Verily this [would be] a wonderful thing.--They said,
+Dost thou wonder at the command of God? The mercy of God and His
+blessings be on you, O people of the house (_of Abraham_)! for He is
+praiseworthy, glorious.--And when the terror had departed from Abraham,
+and the good tidings had come unto him, he disputed with Us (_that is,
+with Our messengers_) respecting the people of Lot; for Abraham was
+gentle, compassionate, repentant. _And he said unto them, Will ye
+destroy a city wherein are three hundred believers? They answered, No.
+He said, And will ye destroy a city wherein are two hundred believers?
+They answered, No. He said, And will ye destroy a city wherein are
+forty believers? They answered, No. He said, And will ye destroy a
+city wherein are fourteen believers? They answered, No. He said, And
+tell me, if there be in it one believer? They answered, No. He said,
+Verily in it is Lot. They replied, We know best who is in it. And when
+their dispute had become tedious, they said_, O Abraham, abstain from
+this _disputation_; for the command of thy Lord hath come _for their
+destruction_, and a punishment not [to be] averted is coming upon
+them.
+
+   (xi. 72-78.)
+
+
+And when Our decree for _the destruction of the people of Lot_ came
+[to be executed], We turned them (_that is, their cities_)
+upside-down; _for Gabriel raised them to heaven, and let them fall
+upside-down to the earth_;[213] and We rained upon them stones of
+baked clay, sent one after another, marked with thy Lord, _each with
+the name of him upon whom it should be cast_: and they [are] not far
+distant from the offenders; _that is, the stones are not, or the
+cities of the people of Lot were not, far distant from the people of
+Mekkeh_.
+
+   (xi. 84.)
+
+
+And [Abraham] said [after his escape from Nimrod], Verily I am going
+unto my Lord, who will direct me _unto the place whither He hath
+commanded me to go, namely, Syria. And when he had arrived at the Holy
+Land, he said_, O my Lord, give me _a son_ [who shall be one] of the
+righteous. Whereupon We gave him the glad tidings of a mild youth. And
+when he had attained to the age when he could work with him (_as some
+say, seven years; and some, thirteen_), he said, O my child, verily I
+have seen in a dream that I should sacrifice thee (_and the dreams of
+prophets are true; and their actions, by the command of God_);
+therefore consider what thou seest advisable _for me to do_. He
+replied, O my father, do what thou art commanded: thou shalt find me,
+if God please, [of the number] of the patient. And when they had
+resigned themselves, and he had laid him down on his temple, _in_ [the
+valley of] _Mind, and had drawn the knife across his throat_ (_but it
+produced no effect, by reason of an obstacle interposed by the divine
+power_), We called unto him, O Abraham, thou hast verified the vision.
+Verily thus do We reward the well-doers. Verily this was the manifest
+trial. And We ransomed him _whom he had been commanded to sacrifice_
+(_and he was Ishmael_ [Isma'eel] _or Isaac; for there are two
+opinions_)[214] with an excellent victim, _a ram from Paradise, the
+same that Abel had offered: Gabriel_ (_on whom be peace!_) _brought
+it, and the lord Abraham sacrificed it, saying, God is most great!_
+And We left _this salutation_ [to be bestowed] on him by the latter
+generations, Peace [be] on Abraham! Thus do We reward the well-doers:
+for he was of our believing servants.
+
+   (xxxvii. 97-111.)
+
+
+_Remember_ when Abraham said, O my Lord, show me how Thou will raise
+to life the dead.[215]--He said, Hast thou not believed? He answered,
+Yea: but _I have asked Thee_ that my heart may be at ease. He replied,
+Then take four birds and draw them towards thee, _and cut them in
+pieces and mingle together their flesh and their feathers_; then place
+upon each mountain _of thy land_ a portion of them, then call them
+_unto thee_: they shall come unto thee quickly: and know thou that God
+is mighty [and] wise.--_And he took a peacock and a vulture and a raven
+and a cock, and did with them as hath been described, and kept their
+heads with him, and called them; whereupon the portions flew about,
+one to another, until they became complete: then they came to their
+heads._
+
+   (ii. 262.)
+
+
+_Remember_ when his Lord had tried Abraham by [certain] words,
+_commands and prohibitions_, and he fulfilled them, _God_ said _unto
+him_, I constitute thee a model of religion unto men.[216] He replied,
+And of my offspring _constitute models of religion_. [God] said, My
+covenant doth not apply to the offenders, _the unbelievers among
+them_.--And when We appointed the house (_that is, the Kaabeh_) to be a
+place for the resort of men, and a place of security (_a man would
+meet the slayer of his father there and he would not provoke him_ [to
+revenge],) and [said], Take, _O men_, the station of Abraham (_the
+stone upon which he stood at the time of building the House_) as a
+place of prayer, _that ye may perform behind it the prayers of the two
+rek'ahs_[217] [which are ordained to be performed after the ceremony]
+_of the circuiting_ [of the Kaabeh].--And We commanded Abraham and
+Ishmael, [saying], Purify my House (_rid it of the idols_) for those
+who shall compass [it], and those who shall abide _there_, and those
+who shall bow down and prostrate themselves.--And when Abraham said, O
+my Lord, make this _place_ a secure territory (_and God hath answered
+his prayer, and made it a sacred place, wherein the blood of man is
+not shed, nor is any one oppressed in it, nor is its game hunted_ [or
+shot], _nor are its plants cut or pulled up_), and supply its
+inhabitants with fruits _which hath been done by the transporting of
+Et-Taif from Syria thither, when it_ [that is, the territory of
+Mekkeh] _was desert, without sown land or water_,[218] such of them as
+shall believe in God and the last day.--_He mentioned them peculiarly
+in the prayer agreeably with the saying of God, My covenant doth not
+apply to the offenders._--_God_ replied, And _I will supply_ him who
+disbelieveth: I will make him to enjoy _a supply of food in this
+world_, a little _while_: then I will force him, _in the world to
+come_, to the punishment of the fire; and evil shall be the transit.
+
+   (ii. 118-120.)
+
+
+And _remember_ when Abraham was raising the foundations of the
+House[219] (_that is, building it_), together with Ishmael, _and they
+said_, O our Lord, accept of us _our building_; for Thou art the
+Hearer _of what is said_, the Knower _of what is done_. O our Lord,
+also make us resigned[220] unto Thee, and _make_ from among our
+offspring a people resigned unto Thee, and show us our rites (_the
+ordinances of our worship, or our pilgrimage_), and be propitious
+towards us; for Thou art the Very Propitious, the Merciful. (_They
+begged Him to be propitious to them, notwithstanding their honesty,
+from a motive of humility, and by way of instruction to their
+offspring._) O our Lord, also send unto them (_that is, the people of
+the House_) an apostle from among them (_and God hath answered their
+prayer by sending Mohammad_), who shall recite unto them Thy signs
+(the Kur-an), and shall teach them the book (_the Kur-an_), and the
+knowledge _that it containeth_, and shall purify them _from
+polytheism_; for Thou art the Mighty, the Wise.--And who will be averse
+from the religion of Abraham but he who maketh his soul foolish, _who
+is ignorant that it is God's creation, and that the worship of Him is
+incumbent on it; or who lightly esteemeth it and applieth it to vile
+purposes_; when We have chosen him in this world _as an apostle and a
+friend_, and he shall be in the world to come one of the righteous
+_for whom are high ranks?--And remember_ when his lord said unto
+him, Resign thyself:--he replied, I resign myself unto the Lord of the
+worlds.--And Abraham commanded his children to follow it (_namely, the
+religion_); and Jacob,_ his children; saying_, O my children, verily
+God hath chosen for you the religion _of El-Islam_;[221] therefore die
+not without your being Muslims.--_It was a prohibition from abandoning
+El-Islam and a command to persevere therein unto death._
+
+   (ii. 121-126.)
+
+
+_When the Jews said, Abraham was a Jew, and we are of his
+religion,--and the Christians said the like_, [the following] _was
+revealed_:--O people of the Scripture, wherefore do ye argue respecting
+Abraham, _asserting that he was of your religion_, when the Pentateuch
+and the Gospel were not sent down but after him _a long time_? Do ye
+not then understand the _falsity of your saying_? So ye, O people,
+have argued respecting that of which ye have knowledge, _concerning
+Moses and Jesus, and have asserted that ye are of their religion_:
+then wherefore do ye argue respecting that of which ye have no
+knowledge, _concerning Abraham_? But God knoweth _his case_, and ye
+know _it_ not. Abraham was not a Jew nor a Christian: but he was
+orthodox, a Muslim [or one resigned], _a unitarian_, and he was not of
+the polytheists.
+
+   (iii. 58-60.)
+
+
+
+
+_JACOB, JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN._
+
+
+_Remember_, when Joseph [Yoosuf] said unto his father, O my father,
+verily I saw _in sleep_ eleven stars and the sun and the moon: I saw
+them making obeisance unto me. He replied, O my child, relate not thy
+vision to thy brethren, lest they contrive a plot against thee,
+_knowing its interpretation to be that they are the stars and that the
+sun is thy mother and the moon thy father_; for the devil is unto man
+a manifest enemy. And thus, _as thou sawest_, thy Lord will choose
+thee, and teach thee the interpretation of events, _or dreams_, and
+will accomplish his favour upon thee _by the gift of prophecy_, and
+upon the family of Jacob, as He accomplished it upon thy fathers
+before, Abraham and Isaac; for thy Lord is knowing [and] wise.--Verily
+in _the history of_ Joseph and his brethren are signs to the
+inquirers.--When they (_the brethren of Joseph_) said, _one to
+another_, Verily Joseph and his brother _Benjamin_ are dearer unto our
+father than we, and we are a number of men; verily our father is in a
+manifest error; slay ye Joseph, or drive him away into a _distant_
+land; so the face of your father shall be directed alone unto you,
+_regarding no other_, and ye shall be after it a just people:--a
+speaker among them, _namely, Judah_, said, Slay not Joseph, but throw
+him to the bottom of the well; then some of the travellers may light
+upon him, if ye do _this_. _And they were satisfied therewith_. They
+said, O our father, wherefore dost thou not intrust us with Joseph,
+when verily we are faithful unto him? Send him with us tomorrow _into
+the plain_, that he may divert himself and sport; and we will surely
+take care of him.--He replied, Verily your taking him away will grieve
+me, and I fear lest the wolf devour him while ye are heedless of him.
+They said, Surely if the wolf devour him, when we are a number of men,
+we shall in that case be indeed weak. _So he sent him with them._ And
+when they went away with him, and agreed to put him at the bottom of
+the well, _they did so_.[222] _They pulled off his shirt, after they
+had beaten him and had treated him with contempt and had desired to
+slay him; and they let him down; and when he had arrived half-way down
+the well they let him fall, that he might die; and he fell into the
+water. He then betook himself to a mass of rock; and they called to
+him; so he answered them, imagining that they would have mercy upon
+him. They however desired to crush him with a piece of rock; but Judah
+prevented them._ And We said unto him by revelation, _while he was in
+the well (and he was seventeen years of age, or less), to quiet his
+heart_, Thou shalt assuredly declare unto them this their action, and
+they shall not know _thee at the time_.[223] And they came to their
+father at nightfall weeping. They said, O our father, we went to run
+races,[224] and left Joseph with our clothes, and the wolf devoured
+him; and thou wilt not believe us, though we speak truth. And they
+brought false blood upon his shirt. _Jacob_ said _unto them_, Nay,
+your minds have made a thing seem pleasant unto you, _and ye have done
+it_;[225] but patience is seemly, and God's assistance is implored
+with respect to that which ye relate.
+
+And travellers came _on their way from Midian (Medyen) to Egypt, and
+alighted near the well_;[226] and they sent their drawer of
+water,[227] and he let down his bucket _into the well: so Joseph
+caught hold upon it, and the man drew him forth; and when he saw him_,
+he said, O good news! This is a young man!--_And his brethren thereupon
+knew his case; wherefore they came unto him_, and they[228] concealed
+his case, _making him_ as a piece of merchandise; _for they said, He
+is our slave who hath absconded. And Joseph was silent, fearing lest
+they should slay him._ And God knew that which they did. And they sold
+him for a mean price, [for] some dirhems counted down, _twenty, or
+two-and-twenty_; and they were indifferent to him. _The travellers
+then brought him to Egypt, and he who had bought him sold him for
+twenty deenars and a pair of shoes and two garments._ And the Egyptian
+who bought him, _namely, Kitfeer_,[229] said unto his wife _Zeleekha_,
+Treat him hospitably; peradventure he may be advantageous to us, or
+we may adopt him as a son. _For he was childless._ And thus We
+prepared an establishment for Joseph in the land _of Egypt_, to teach
+him the interpretation of events, _or dreams_; for God is well able to
+effect His purpose; but the greater number of men, _namely, the
+unbelievers_, know not _this_. And when he had attained his age of
+strength (_thirty years, or three-and-thirty_), We bestowed on him
+wisdom and knowledge _in matters of religion, before he was sent as a
+prophet_; for thus do We recompense the well-doers. (xii. 4-22.--_Then
+follows an account of his temptation by his mistress, Zeleekha._)
+
+Then it seemed good unto them,[230] after they had seen the signs of
+_his innocence, to imprison him_. They will assuredly imprison him for
+a time, _until the talk of the people respecting him cease_. _So they
+imprisoned him._ And there entered with him into the prison two young
+men, _servants of the king, one of whom was his cup-bearer and the
+other was his victualler_. _And they found that he interpreted dreams;
+wherefore_ one of them, _namely, the cup-bearer_, said, I dreamed that
+I was pressing grapes: and the other said, I dreamed that I was
+carrying upon my head some bread, whereof the birds did eat: acquaint
+us with the interpretation thereof; for we see thee to be [one] of the
+beneficent.--He replied, There shall not come unto you any food
+wherewith ye shall be fed _in a dream_, but I will acquaint you with
+the interpretation thereof _when ye are awake_, before _the
+interpretation of_ it come unto you. This is _a part_ of that which my
+Lord hath taught me. Verily I have abandoned the religion of a people
+who believe not in God and who disbelieve in the world to come; and I
+follow the religion of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. It is
+not _fit_ for us to associate anything with God. This _knowledge of
+the unity_ [hath been given us] of the bounty of God towards us and
+towards mankind; but the greater number of men are not thankful. O ye
+two companions (_or inmates_) of the prison, are sundry lords better,
+or is God, the One, the Almighty? Ye worship not, beside Him, [aught]
+save names which ye and your fathers have given _to idols_, concerning
+which God hath not sent down any convincing proof. Judgment belongeth
+not [unto any] save unto God _alone_. He hath commanded that ye
+worship not [any] but Him. This is the right religion; but the greater
+number of men know not. O ye two companions of the prison, as to one
+of you, _namely, the cup-bearer_, he will serve wine unto his lord _as
+formerly_; and as to the other, he will be crucified, and the birds
+will eat from off his head.--_Upon this they said, We dreamed not
+aught. He replied_, The thing is decreed concerning which ye [did]
+ask a determination, _whether ye have spoken truth or have lied_. And
+he said unto him whom he judged to be the person who should escape of
+them two, _namely the cup-bearer_, Mention me unto thy Lord, _and say
+unto him, In the prison is a young man imprisoned unjustly.--And he
+went forth._ But the devil caused him to forget to mention _Joseph_
+unto his lord:[231] so he remained in the prison some years: _it is
+said, seven; and it is said, twelve._
+
+And the king of _Egypt,[232] Er-Reiyan the son of El-Weleed_ said,
+Verily I saw [in a dream] seven fat kine which seven lean _kine_
+devoured, and seven green ears of corn and _seven_ other _ears_ dried
+up. O ye nobles, explain unto me my dream, if ye interpret a
+dream.--They replied, _These are_ confused dreams, and we know not the
+interpretation of dreams. And he who had escaped, of the two _young
+men, namely the cup-bearer_, said (for he remembered after a time _the
+condition of Joseph_), I will acquaint you with the interpretation
+thereof; wherefore send me. _So they sent him; and he came unto
+Joseph, and said_, O Joseph, O thou of great veracity, give us an
+explanation respecting seven fat kine which seven lean [kine]
+devoured, and seven green ears of corn and other [seven] dried up,
+that I may return unto the men (_the king and his companions_), that
+they may know _the interpretation thereof_. He replied, Ye shall sow
+seven years as usual: (_this is the interpretation of the seven fat
+kine_:) and what ye reap do ye leave in its ear, _lest it spoil_;
+except a little, whereof ye shall eat. Then there shall come, after
+that, seven grievous [years]: (_this is the interpretation of the
+seven lean kine_:) they shall consume what ye shall have provided for
+them, _of the grain sown in the seven years of plenty_, except a
+little which ye shall have kept. Then there shall come, after that, a
+year wherein men shall be aided _with rain_, and wherein they shall
+press _grapes and other fruits_.--And the king said, _when the
+messenger came unto him and acquainted him with the interpretation of
+the dream_, Bring unto me him _who hath interpreted it_.
+
+   (xii. 35-50.)
+
+
+And when he had spoken unto him,[233] he said _unto him_, Thou art
+this day firmly established with us, and intrusted _with our affairs_.
+_What then seest thou fit for us to do?--He answered, Collect
+provision, and sow abundant seed in these plentiful years, and
+store up the grain in its ear: then the people will come unto thee
+that they may obtain provision from thee. The king said, And who
+will act for me in this affair? Joseph_ said, Set me over the
+granaries of the land; for I am careful [and] knowing.--Thus did We
+prepare an establishment for Joseph in the land, that he might take
+for himself a dwelling therein wherever he pleased.--_And it is related
+that the king crowned him, and put a ring on his finger, and instated
+him in the place of Kitfeer, whom he dismissed from his office; after
+which, Kitfeer died, and thereupon the king married him to his wife
+Zeleekha, and she bore him two sons._[234] We bestow Our mercy on whom
+We please, and We cause not the reward of the well-doers to perish:
+and certainly the reward of the world to come is better for those who
+have believed and have feared.
+
+_And the years of scarcity began, and afflicted the land of Canaan and
+Syria_, and the brethren of Joseph came, _except Benjamin, to procure
+provision, having heard that the governor of Egypt gave food for its
+price_.[235] And they went in unto him, and he knew them; but they
+knew him not; _and they spake unto him in the Hebrew language;
+whereupon he said, as one who distrusted them, What hath brought you
+to my country? So they answered, For corn. But he said, Perhaps ye are
+spies. They replied, God preserve us_ [_from being spies_]! _He said,
+Then whence are ye? They answered, From the land of Canaan, and our
+father is Jacob, the prophet of God. He said, And hath he sons beside
+you? They answered, Yea: we were twelve; but the youngest of us went
+away, and perished in the desert, and he was the dearest of us unto
+him; and his uterine brother remained, and he retained him that he
+might console himself thereby for the loss of the other._[236] _And
+Joseph gave orders to lodge them, and to treat them generously._ And
+when he had furnished them with their provision, _and given them their
+full measure_, he said, Bring me your brother from your father,
+_namely, Benjamin, that I may know your veracity in that ye have
+said_. Do ye not see that I give full measure, and that I am the most
+hospitable of the receivers of guests? But if ye bring him not, there
+shall be no measuring _of corn_ for you from me, nor shall ye approach
+me.--They replied, We will solicit his father for him, and we will
+surely perform _that_. And he said unto his young men, Put their
+money,[237] _which they brought as the price of the corn_, in their
+sacks, that they may know it when they have returned to their family:
+peradventure they will return _to us; for they will not deem it lawful
+to keep it_.--And when they returned to their father, they said, O our
+father, the measuring [of corn] is denied us _if thou send not our
+brother unto him_; therefore send with us our brother, that we may
+obtain measure; and we will surely take care of him. He said, Shall I
+intrust you with him otherwise than as I intrusted you with his
+brother _Joseph_ before? But God is the best guardian, and He is the
+most merciful of those who show mercy.--And when they opened their
+goods, they found their money had been returned unto them. They said,
+O our father, what desire we _of the, generosity of the king greater
+than this?_ This our money hath been returned unto us; and we will
+provide corn for our family, and will take care of our brother, and
+shall receive a camel-load more, _for our brother_. This is a quantity
+easy _unto the king, by reason of his munificence_.--He said, I will by
+no means send him with you until ye give me a solemn promise by God
+that ye will assuredly bring him back unto me unless _an inevitable
+and insuperable impediment_ encompass you. _And they complied with
+this his desire._ And when they had given him their solemn promise, he
+said, God is witness of what we say. _And he sent him with them_; and
+he said, O my sons, enter not _the city of Misr_ by one gate; but
+enter by different gates; _lest the_ [evil] _eye fall upon you_.[238]
+But I shall not avert from you, _by my saying this_, anything _decreed
+to befall you_ from God: _I only say this from a feeling of
+compassion._ Judgment belongeth not [unto any] save unto God _alone_.
+On Him do I rely, and on Him let those rely who rely.
+
+And when they entered as their father had commanded them,
+_separately_, it did not avert from them anything _decreed to befall
+them_ from God, but [only satisfied] a desire in the soul of Jacob,
+which he accomplished; _that is, the desire of averting the_ [evil]
+_eye, arising from a feeling of compassion:_ and he was endowed with
+knowledge, because We had taught him: but the greater number of men,
+_namely the unbelievers_, know not _God's inspiration of His saints_.
+And when they went in unto Joseph, he received unto him (_or pressed
+unto him_) his brother. He said, Verily I am thy brother;[239]
+therefore be not sorrowful for that which they did _from envy to us_.
+_And he commanded him that he should not inform them, and agree with
+him that he should employ a stratagem to retain him with him._ And
+when he had furnished them with their provision, he put the cup,
+_which was a measure made of gold set with jewels_,[240] in the sack
+of his brother _Benjamin_. Then a crier cried, _after they had gone
+forth from the chamber of Joseph_, O company of travellers, ye are
+surely thieves. They said (and turned unto them), What is it that ye
+miss? They answered, We miss the king's measure; and to him who shall
+bring it [shall be given] a camel-load _of corn_, and I am surety for
+it, _namely the load_. They replied, By God! ye well know that we have
+not come to act corruptly in the land, and we have not been thieves.
+_The crier and his companions said_, Then what shall be the recompense
+of him _who hath stolen it_, if ye be liars _in your saying, We have
+not been thieves,--and it be found among you?_ They answered, His
+recompense [shall be that] he in whose sack it shall be found _shall
+be made a slave:_ he, _the thief_, shall be compensation for it;
+_namely, for the thing stolen. Such was the usage of the family of
+Jacob._ Thus do We recompense the offenders _who are guilty of
+theft.--So they turned towards Joseph, that he might search their
+sacks._ And he began with their sacks, _and searched them_ before the
+sack of his brother [Benjamin], _lest he should be suspected_. Then he
+took it forth (_namely, the measure_) from the sack of his brother.
+Thus, _saith God_, did We contrive a stratagem for Joseph. It was not
+[lawful] for him to take his brother _as a slave for theft_ by the law
+of the king of _Egypt_ (_for his recompense by his law was beating,
+and a fine of twice the value of the thing stolen; not the being made
+a slave_), unless God had pleased, _by inspiring him to inquire of his
+brethren and inspiring them to reply according to their usage_. We
+exalt unto degrees [of knowledge and honour] whom We please, _as
+Joseph_; and [there is who is] knowing above every one [else] endowed
+with knowledge.--They said, If he steal, a brother of his hath stolen
+before; _namely, Joseph;[241] for he stole an idol of gold belonging
+to the father of his mother, and broke it, that he might not worship
+it._ And Joseph concealed it in his mind, and did not discover it to
+them. He said _within himself_, Ye are in a worse condition _than
+Joseph and his brother, by reason of your having stolen your brother
+from your father and your having treated him unjustly_; and God well
+knoweth what ye state _concerning him_.--They said, O prince, verily he
+hath a father, a very old man, _who loveth him more than us, and
+consoleth himself by him for the loss of his son who hath perished,
+and the separation of him grieveth him_; therefore take one of us _as
+a slave_ in his stead; for we see thee [to be one] of the beneficent.
+He replied, God preserve us from taking [any] save him in whose
+possession we found our property; for then (_if we took another_), we
+[should be] unjust.
+
+And when they despaired of [obtaining] him, they retired to confer
+privately together. The chief of them _in age_ (_namely, Reuben, or in
+judgment, namely, Judah_), said, Do ye not know that your father hath
+obtained of you a solemn promise in the name of God, _with respect of
+your brother_, and how ye formerly failed of your duty with respect to
+Joseph? Therefore I will by no means depart from the land _of Egypt_
+until my father give me permission _to return to him_, or God decide
+for me _by the delivery of my brother_; and He is the best, _the most
+just_, of those who decide. Return ye to your father, and say, O our
+father, verily thy son hath committed theft, and we bore not testimony
+_against him_ save according to that which we knew _of a certainty, by
+our seeing the cup in his sack_; and we were not acquainted with what
+was unseen _by us when we gave the solemn promise: had we known that
+he would commit theft, we had not taken him. And send thou_, and ask
+_the people of_ the city in which we have been (_namely, Misr_)[242]
+and the company of travellers with whom we have arrived (_who were a
+people of Canaan_): and we are surely speakers of truth.--_So they
+returned to him, and said unto him those words_. He replied, Nay, your
+minds have made a thing seem pleasant unto you, _and ye have done it_
+(_he suspected them, on account of their former conduct in the case of
+Joseph_); but patience is seemly: peradventure God will bring them
+back (_namely, Joseph and his brother_) unto me, together; for He is
+the Knowing _with respect to my case_, the Wise _in His acts_. And
+he turned from them, and said, O! my sorrow for Joseph! And his eyes
+became white in consequence of mourning, and he was oppressed with
+silent grief. They said, By God, thou wilt not cease to think upon
+Joseph until thou be at the point of death, or be of [the number of]
+the dead. He replied, I only complain of my great and unconcealable
+grief and my sorrow unto God; _not unto any beside Him; for He it is
+unto whom complaint is made with advantage_; and I know [by
+revelation] from God what ye know not; _namely, that the dream of
+Joseph was true, and that he is living_. _Then he said_, O my sons, go
+and seek news of Joseph and his brother; and despair not of the mercy
+of God; for none despaireth of the mercy of God except the unbelieving
+people.
+
+_So they departed towards Egypt, unto Joseph_; and when they went in
+unto him, they said, O Prince, distress (_that is, hunger_) hath
+affected us and our family, and we have come with paltry money (_it
+was base money, or some other sort_): yet give us full measure, and be
+charitable to us, _by excusing the badness of our money_; for God
+recompenseth those who act charitably. _And he had pity upon them, and
+compassion affected him, and he lifted up the curtain that was between
+him and them: then_ he said _unto them in reproach_, Do ye know what
+ye did unto Joseph, _in beating and selling and other actions_, and
+his brother, _by your injurious conduct to him after the separation of
+his brother_, when ye were ignorant _of what would be the result of
+the case of Joseph?_[243] They replied, _after they had recognised him
+(desiring confirmation)_, Art thou indeed Joseph? He answered, I am
+Joseph, and this is my brother. God hath been gracious unto us, _by
+bringing us together_; for whosoever feareth _God_ and is patient
+[will be rewarded]: God will not suffer the reward of the well-doers
+to perish. They replied, By God, verily God hath preferred thee above
+us, and we have been indeed sinners. He said, [There shall be] no
+reproach [cast] on you this day: God forgive you; for He is the most
+merciful of those that show mercy. _And he asked them respecting his
+father: so they answered, His eyes are gone. And he said_, Go ye
+with this my shirt (_it was the shirt of Abraham, which he wore when
+he was cast into the fire: it was on his_ [that is, Joseph's] _neck_
+[appended as an amulet] _in the well; and it was from paradise:
+Gabriel commanded him to send it, and said, In it is its odour_ [that
+is, the odour of paradise], _and it shall not be cast upon any one
+afflicted_ [with a disease] _but he shall be restored to health_), and
+cast it [said Joseph] upon the face of my father: he shall recover his
+sight; and bring unto me all your family.--And when the company of
+travellers had gone forth _from El-'Areesh[244] of Egypt_, their
+father said, _unto those who were present of his offspring_, Verily I
+perceive the smell of Joseph (_for the zephyr had conveyed it to him,
+by permission of Him whose name be exalted, from the distance of three
+days' journey, or eight, or more_): were it not that ye think I dote,
+_ye would believe me._ They replied, By God, thou art surely in thine
+old error. And when the messenger of good tidings (_namely, Judah_)
+came _with the shirt_ (_and he had borne the bloody shirt; wherefore
+he desired to rejoice him, as he had grieved him_), he cast it upon
+his face, and he recovered his sight. [Thereupon Jacob] said, Did I
+not say unto you, I know, from God, what ye know not? They said, O our
+father, ask pardon of our crimes for us; for we have been sinners. He
+replied, I will ask pardon for you of my Lord; for He is the Very
+forgiving, the Merciful.--_He delayed doing so until the first
+appearance of the dawn_, _that the prayer might be more likely to be
+answered; or, as some say, until the night of_ [that is, preceding]
+_Friday_.
+
+_They then repaired to Egypt, and Joseph and the great men came forth
+to meet them_; and when they went in unto Joseph, _in his pavilion or
+tent_, he received unto him (_or pressed unto him_) his parents (_his
+father and his mother and his maternal aunt_), and said unto _them_,
+Enter ye Misr, if God please, in safety.[245] _So they entered; and
+Joseph seated himself upon his couch_, and he caused his parents to
+ascend upon the seat of state, and they (_that is, his parents and his
+brethren_) fell down, bowing themselves unto him[246] (_bending, but
+not putting the forehead_) [upon the ground]: _such being their mode
+of obeisance in that time_. And he said, O my father, this is the
+interpretation of my dream of former times: my Lord hath made it true;
+and He hath shown favour unto me, since He took me forth from the
+prison (_he said not, from the well,--from a motive of generosity, that
+his brethren might not be abashed_), and hath brought you from the
+desert, after that the devil had excited discord between me and my
+brethren; for my Lord is gracious unto whom He pleaseth; for He is the
+Knowing, the Wise.--_And his father resided with him four and twenty
+years, or seventeen; and the period of his separation was eighteen, or
+forty, or eighty years. And death came unto him; and thereupon he
+charged Joseph that he should carry him and bury him by his fathers.
+So he went himself and buried him. Then he returned to Egypt and
+remained after him three and twenty years; and when his case was
+ended, and he knew that he should not last_ [upon earth], _and his
+soul desired the lasting possession, he said_, O my Lord, Thou hast
+given me dominion, and taught me the interpretation of events (_or
+dreams_): Creator of the heavens and the earth, Thou art my guardian
+in this world and in the world to come. Make me to die a Muslim, and
+join me with the righteous _among my forefathers. And he lived after
+that a week, or more, and died a hundred and twenty years old. And the
+Egyptians disputed concerning his burial: so they put him in a chest
+of marble, and buried him in the upper part of the Nile, that the
+blessing_ [resulting from him] _might be general to the tracts on each
+side of it.[247] Extolled be the perfection of Him to whose dominion
+there is no end!_
+
+   (xii. 54-102).
+
+
+
+
+JOB.
+
+
+And remember Our servant Job [Eiyoob[248]] when he called unto his
+Lord, Verily the devil hath afflicted me with calamity and pain. (_The
+affliction is attributed to the devil, though all was from God._) _And
+it was said unto him_, Strike _the earth_ with thy foot. _And he did
+so; whereupon a fountain of water sprang forth.[249] And it was said_,
+This _is_ cool _water for thee_ to wash with, and to drink. _So he
+washed himself and drank; and every disease that he had, external and
+internal, quitted him._ And We gave unto him his family, and as many
+more with them (_that is, God raised to life for him those of his
+children who had died, and blest him with as many more_),[250] in Our
+mercy and as an admonition unto those who are endowed with faculties
+of understanding. [And We said unto him,] Take in thy hand a handful
+_of dry grass, or of twigs_,[251] and strike with it _thy wife_ (_for
+he had sworn that he would inflict upon her a hundred blows, because
+she had staid away from him too long one day_[252]) and break not
+thine oath _by abstaining from striking her._--_So he took a hundred
+stalks of schoemanthus, or some other plant, and gave her one blow
+with them._ Verily We found him a patient person. How excellent a
+servant _was he_! For he was one who earnestly turned himself unto
+God.
+
+   (xxxviii. 40-44.)
+
+
+
+
+SHO'EYB.
+
+
+And _we sent_ unto Midian [Medyen] their brother Sho'eyb.[253] He
+said, O my people, worship God; _assert His unity_. Ye have no other
+deity but Him. And give not short measure and weight. Verily I see you
+[to be] in a state of prosperity _that placeth you above the need of
+doing so_; and verily I fear for you, _if ye believe not_, the
+punishment of a day that will encompass _you with destruction_. And, O
+my people, give full measure and weight with equity; and diminish not
+unto men _aught_ of their things nor commit injustice in the earth,
+acting corruptly, _by murder or other offences_. The residue of God
+(_His supply that remaineth to you after the completion of the
+measure_) will be better for you _than diminution_, if ye be
+believers. And I am not a guardian over you, _to recompense you for
+your actions: I have only been sent as an admonisher_.--They replied,
+_in mockery_, O Sho'eyb, do thy prayers command thee that we are to
+leave what our fathers worshipped, or _cease_ to do with our riches
+what we please? Verily thou art the mild, the right director. _This
+they said in mockery._--He said, O my people, tell me, if I act
+according to an evident proof from my Lord, and He hath supplied me
+with a good _lawful_ provision, shall I mix it up with what is
+forbidden, and shall I not desire to oppose you, _and shall I betake
+myself_ to that which I forbid you? I desire not [aught] but _your_
+reformation, as far as I am able [to effect it], and my help is not
+[in any] but in God: on Him do I rely, and unto Him do I turn me. And,
+O my people, let not the opposition of me procure for you the
+befalling you of the like of that which befell the people of Noah or
+the people of Hood or the people of Salih. And _the abodes of the_
+people of Lot [are] not distant from you: (_or the time of their
+destruction was not long ago:_) _therefore be admonished_. And ask ye
+forgiveness of your Lord, and turn unto Him with repentance; for my
+Lord is merciful _to the believers_, loving _to them_. They replied, O
+Sho'eyb, we understand not much of what thou sayest, and verily we see
+thee to be weak[254] among us; and were it not for thy family, we had
+stoned thee; for thou art not, in our estimation, an honourable
+person: _thy family only are the honourable_. He said, O my people,
+are my family more honourable in your estimation than God, _and do ye
+abstain from slaying me for their sake, and not preserve me for God_,
+and have ye cast Him behind you as a thing neglected? Verily my Lord
+comprehendeth that which ye do, _and He will recompense you_. And, O
+my people, act ye according to your condition: verily I will act
+_according to mine_. Ye shall know on whom shall come a punishment
+that shall render him vile, and who is a liar: and await ye _the issue
+of your case_: verily I await with you.--And when Our degree _for their
+destruction_ came [to be executed], we delivered Sho'eyb and those who
+believed with him, in our mercy, and the cry _of Gabriel_ assailed
+those who had offended, so that in the morning they were in their
+abodes prostrate _and dead_, as though they had not dwelt therein. Was
+not Midian removed as Thamood had been removed?
+
+   (xi. 85-98.)
+
+
+
+
+MOSES AND HIS PEOPLE.
+
+
+We will rehearse unto thee, [O Mohammad, somewhat] of the history of
+Moses [Moosa] and Pharaoh [Fir'own or Far'oon],[255] with truth, for
+_the sake of_ people who believe. Verily Pharaoh exalted himself in
+the land _of Egypt_, and divided its inhabitants into parties _to
+serve him_. He rendered weak one class of them, _namely the children
+of Israel_, slaughtering their male children, and preserving alive
+their females, _because one of the diviners said unto him, A child
+will be born among the children of Israel, who will be the means of
+the loss of thy kingdom;_--for he was [one] of the corrupt doers. And
+We desired to be gracious unto those who had been deemed weak in the
+land, and to make them models of religion, and to make them the heirs
+_of the possessions of Pharaoh_, and to establish them in the land _of
+Egypt, and in Syria_, and to show Pharaoh and Haman[256] and their
+forces what they feared from them. And We said, by revelation, unto
+the mother of Moses, _the child above-mentioned, of whose birth none
+knew save his sister_, Suckle him; and when thou fearest for him cast
+him in the river _Nile_, and fear not _his being drowned_, nor mourn
+_for his separation_; for We will restore him unto thee, and will make
+him [one] of the apostles.[257] _So she suckled him three months,
+during which he wept not; and then she feared for him, wherefore she
+put him into an ark pitched within and furnished with a bed for him,
+and she closed it and cast it in the river Nile by night._ And the
+family (_or servants_) of Pharaoh lighted upon him _in the ark on the
+morrow of that night_;[258] _so they put it before him, and it was
+opened, and Moses was taken forth from it, sucking milk from his
+thumb:_ [this happened] that he might be unto them _eventually_ an
+enemy (_slaying their men_) and an affliction (_making slaves of their
+women_); for Pharaoh and Haman (_his Wezeer_) and their forces were
+sinners; _wherefore they were punished by his hand_. And the wife of
+Pharaoh said, _when he and his servants had proposed to kill him_, He
+_is_ delight of the eye unto me and unto thee: do not ye kill him:
+peradventure he may be serviceable unto us, or we may adopt him as a
+son. _And they complied with her desire_; and they knew not _the
+consequence_.
+
+And the heart of the mother of Moses, _when she knew of his having
+been lighted upon_, became disquieted; and she had almost made him
+known _to be her son_, had We not fortified her heart with patience,
+that she might be [one] of the believers _in Our promise_. And she
+said unto his sister _Maryam_ [or Mary], Trace him, _that thou mayest
+know his case_. And she watched him from a distance, while they knew
+not _that she was his sister and that she was watching him_. And We
+forbade him the breasts, _preventing him from taking the breast of any
+nurse except his mother_, before _his restoration to her_: so _his
+sister_ said, Shall I direct you unto the people of a house who will
+nurse him for you, and who will be faithful unto him? _And her offer
+was accepted; therefore she brought his mother, and he took her
+breast: so she returned with him to her house, as God hath said_,--And
+We restored him to his mother, that her eye might be cheerful and that
+she might not grieve, and that she might know that the promise of God
+_to restore him unto her_ was true: but the greater number of them
+(_that is, of mankind_) know not _this_. _And it appeared not that
+this was his sister and this his mother; and he remained with her
+until she had weaned him; and her hire was paid her, for every day a
+deenar, which she took_ [without scruple] _because it was the wealth
+of a hostile person. She then brought him unto Pharaoh, and he was
+brought up in his abode, as God hath related of him in the Chapter of
+the Poets,_[259] [where Pharaoh said unto Moses,] _Have we not brought
+thee up among us a child, and hast thou not dwelt among us_ [thirty]
+_years of thy life?_
+
+And when he had attained his age of strength (_thirty years or thirty
+and three_), and had become of full age (_forty years_), We bestowed
+on him wisdom and knowledge _in religion, before he was sent as a
+prophet_; and thus do We reward the well-doers. And he entered the
+city _of Pharaoh, which was Munf_ [or Memphis], _after he had been
+absent from him a while_, at a time when its inhabitants were
+inadvertent, _at the hour of the noon-sleep_, and he found therein two
+men fighting; this [being] of his party (_namely an Israelite_), and
+this of his enemies (_an Egyptian_), _who was compelling the Israelite
+to carry firewood to the kitchen of Pharaoh without pay_: and he who
+was of his party begged him to aid him against him who was of his
+enemies. _So Moses said unto the latter, Let him go. And it is said
+that he replied to Moses, I have a mind to put the burden upon thee._
+And Moses struck him with his fist, and killed him. _But he intended
+not to kill him; and he buried him in the sand._ He said, This is of
+the work of the devil, _who hath excited my anger_; for he is an enemy
+_unto the son of Adam_, a manifest misleader _of him_. He said, _in
+repentance_, O my Lord, verily I have acted injuriously unto mine own
+soul, _by killing him_; therefore forgive me. So He forgave him: for
+He is the Very Forgiving, the Merciful.--He said, O my Lord, by the
+favours with which Thou hast favoured me, _defend me_, and I will by
+no means be an assistant to the sinners _after this_.--And the next
+morning he was afraid in the city, watching _for what might happen
+unto him on account of the slain man_; and lo, he who had begged his
+assistance the day before was crying out to him for aid _against
+another Egyptian_. Moses said unto him, Verily thou art a person
+manifestly in error, _because of that which thou hast done yesterday
+and to-day_. But when he was about to lay violent hands upon him who
+was an enemy unto them both, (_namely unto Moses and him who begged
+his aid_,) _the latter_ said, _imagining that he would lay violent
+hands upon him, because of that which he had said unto him_, O Moses,
+dost thou desire to kill me, as thou killedst a soul yesterday? Thou
+desirest not [aught] but to be an oppressor in the land, and thou
+desirest not to be [one] of the reconcilers.--_And the Egyptian heard
+that: so he knew that the killer was Moses; wherefore he departed
+unto Pharaoh and acquainted him therewith, and Pharaoh commanded the
+executioners to slay Moses, and they betook themselves to seek him._
+But a man _who was a believer of the family of Pharaoh_[260] came from
+the furthest part of the city, running _by a way that was nearer than
+the way by which they had come_: he said, O Moses, verily the chiefs
+_of the people of Pharaoh_ are consulting respecting thee, to slay
+thee; therefore go forth _from the city_: verily I am unto thee [one]
+of the admonishers. So he went forth from it in fear, watching _in
+fear of pursuer, or for the aid of God_. He said, O my Lord, deliver
+me from the unjust people _of Pharaoh_![261]
+
+And when he was journeying towards Medyen, _which was the city of
+Sho'eyb, eight days' journey from Misr (named after Medyen the son of
+Abraham), and he knew not the way unto it_, he said, Peradventure my
+Lord will direct me unto the right way, _or the middle way. And God
+sent unto him an angel, having in his hand a short spear; and he went
+with him thither._[262] And when he came unto the water (_or well_) of
+Medyen, he found at it a company of men watering _their animals_; and
+he found besides them two women keeping away _their sheep from the
+water_. He said _unto them_ (_namely the two women_), What is the
+matter with you _that ye water not_? They answered, We shall not water
+until the pastors shall have driven away _their animals_; and our
+father is a very old man, _who cannot water the sheep_. And he watered
+for them _from another well near unto them, from which he lifted a
+stone that none could lift but ten persons._ Then he retired to the
+shade _of an Egyptian thorn-tree on account of the violence of the
+heat of the sun; and he was hungry_, and he said, O my Lord, verily I
+am in need of the good _provision_ which Thou shalt send down unto me.
+_And the two women returned unto their father in less time than they
+were accustomed to do: so he asked them the reason thereof; and they
+informed him of the person who had watered for them; whereupon he said
+unto one of them, Call him unto me._
+
+And one of them[263] came unto him, walking bashfully, _with the
+sleeve of her shift over her face, by reason of her abashment at him_:
+she said, My father calleth thee, that he may recompense thee with the
+reward of thy having watered for us. _And he assented to her call,
+disliking in his mind the receiving of the reward: but it seemeth that
+she intended the compensation if he were of such as desired it. And
+she walked before him; and the wind blew her garment, and her legs
+were discovered: so he said unto her, Walk behind me and direct me in
+the way. And she did so, until she came unto her father, who was
+Sho'eyb, on whom be peace! and with him was_ [prepared] _a supper. He
+said unto him, Sit and sup. But he replied, I fear lest it be a
+compensation for my having watered for them, and we are a family who
+seek not a compensation for doing good. He said, Nay, it is my custom
+and hath been the custom of my fathers to entertain the guest and to
+give food. So he ate; and acquainted, him with his case._ And when he
+had come unto him, and had related to him the story _of his having
+killed the Egyptian and their intention to kill him and his fear of
+Pharaoh_, he replied, Fear not: thou hast escaped from the unjust
+people. (_For Pharaoh had no dominion over Medyen._) One of them
+[namely of the women] said (_and she was the one who had been sent_),
+O my father, hire him _to tend our sheep in our stead_; for the best
+whom thou canst hire is the strong, the trustworthy. _So he asked her
+respecting him, and she acquainted him with what hath been above
+related, his lifting up the stone of the well, and his saying unto
+her, Walk behind me;--and moreover, that when she had come unto him,
+and he knew of her presence, he hung down his head and raised it not._
+He _therefore_ said, Verily I desire to marry thee unto one of these
+my two daughters, on the condition that thou shalt be a hired servant
+to me, _to tend my sheep_, eight years; and if thou fulfil ten
+_years_, it shall be of thine own will; and I desire not to lay a
+difficulty upon thee _by imposing as a condition the ten years_: thou
+shalt find me, if God please, [one] of the just, _who are faithful to
+their covenants_. He replied, This [be the covenant] between me and
+thee: whichever of the two terms I fulfil, there shall be no injustice
+against me _by demanding an addition thereto_; and God is witness of
+what we say. _And the marriage-contract was concluded according to
+this; and Sho'eyb ordered his daughter to give unto Moses a rod
+wherewith to drive away the wild beasts from his sheep: and the rods
+of the prophets were in his possession; and the rod of Adam, of the
+myrtle of paradise, fell into her hand; and Moses took it, with the
+knowledge of Sho'eyb._
+
+   (xxviii. 21-28.)
+
+
+Hath the history of Moses been related to thee? when he saw fire,[264]
+_during his journey from Medyen, on his way to Egypt_, and said unto
+his family, _or his wife_, Tarry ye _here_; for I have seen fire:
+perhaps I may bring you a brand from it, or find at the fire a guide
+_to direct me in the way. For he had missed the way in consequence of
+the darkness of the night._ And when he came unto it (_and it was a
+bramble-bush_), he was called to [by a voice saying], O Moses, verily
+I am thy Lord; therefore pull off thy shoes;[265] for thou art in the
+holy valley of Tuwa. And I have chosen thee _from among thy people_;
+wherefore hearken attentively unto that which is revealed _unto thee
+by Me_. Verily I am God: there is no Deity except Me; therefore
+worship Me, and perform prayer in remembrance of Me. Verily the hour
+is coming: I will manifest it _unto mankind, and its nearness shall
+appear unto them by its signs_, that every soul may be recompensed
+_therein_ for its good and evil work: therefore let not him who
+believeth not in it, and followeth his lust, hinder thee from
+_believing in_ it, lest thou perish. And what is that in thy right
+hand, O Moses?--He answered, It is my rod, whereon I lean and wherewith
+I beat down leaves for my sheep _that they may eat them_; and I have
+other uses for it, _as the carrying of provision and the water-skin,
+and the driving away of reptiles_. He said, Cast it down, O Moses. So
+he cast it down; and lo, it was a serpent,[266] running along. _God_
+said, Take it, and fear _it_ not:[267] we will restore it to its
+former state. _And he put his hand into its mouth; whereupon it became
+again a rod._ [And God said,] And put thy _right_ hand to thy _left_
+arm-pit, _and take it forth_: it shall come forth white, without evil,
+(_that is, without leprosy; shining like the rays of the sun, dazzling
+the sight,_) as another sign, that We may show thee the greatest of
+our signs _of thine apostleship_. (_And when he desired to restore his
+hand to its first state, he put it as before described, and drew it
+forth._) Go _as an apostle_ unto Pharaoh _and those who are with
+him_; for he hath acted with exceeding impiety _by arrogating to
+himself divinity_.--_Moses_ said, O my Lord, dilate my bosom, _that it
+may hear the message_, and make my affair easy unto me, and loose the
+knot of my tongue (_this had arisen from his having been burned in his
+mouth by a live coal when he was a child_),[268] that they may
+understand my speech _when I deliver the message_. And appoint unto me
+a Wezeer of my family, _namely_ Aaron [Haroon] my brother. Strengthen
+my back by him, and make him a colleague in my affair, that we may
+glorify Thee much, and remember Thee much; for Thou knowest us.
+
+God replied, Thou hast obtained thy petition, O Moses, and We have
+been gracious unto thee another time: forasmuch as We revealed unto
+thy mother what was revealed, _when she gave birth to thee and feared
+that Pharaoh would kill thee among the others that were born_,
+[saying,] Cast him into the ark, and then cast him, _in the ark_, into
+the river _Nile_, and the river shall throw him on the shore; then an
+enemy unto Me and an enemy unto him (_namely Pharaoh_) shall take him.
+And I bestowed on thee, _after he had taken thee_, love from Me, _that
+thou mightest be loved by men, so that Pharaoh and all that saw thee
+loved thee_; and that thou mightest be bred up in Mine eye. [Also]
+forasmuch as thy sister _Maryam_ went _that she might learn what
+became of thee, after they had brought nurses and thou hadst refused
+to take the breast of any one of them_, and she said, Shall I direct
+you unto one who will nurse him? (_whereupon her proposal was_
+_accepted, and she brought his mother_): so We restored thee to thy
+mother, that her eye might become cheerful and that she might not
+grieve. And thou slewest a soul, _namely the Copt in Egypt, and wast
+sorry for his slaughter, on account of Pharaoh_, and We delivered thee
+from sorrow; and We tried thee with _other_ trial, _and delivered thee
+from it_.[269] And thou stayedst _ten_ years among the people of
+Medyen, _after thou hadst come thither from Egypt, at the abode of
+Sho'eyb the prophet, and he married thee to his daughter._ Then thou
+camest according to _My_ decree, _as to the time of thy mission, when
+thou hadst attained the age of forty years_, O Moses; and I have
+chosen thee for Myself. Go thou and thy brother[270] _unto the
+people_, with My _nine_ signs, and cease ye not to remember Me. Go ye
+unto Pharaoh; for he hath acted with exceeding impiety, _by arrogating
+to himself divinity_, and speak unto him with gentle speech,
+_exhorting him to relinquish that conduct_: peradventure he will
+consider, or will fear _God, and repent_. (_The_ [mere] _hope with
+respect to the two_ [results is expressed] _because of God's knowledge
+that he would not repent._)--They replied, O our Lord, verily we fear
+that he may be precipitately violent against us, _hastening to punish
+us_, or that he may act with exceeding injustice _towards us_. He
+said, Fear ye not; for I am with you: I will hear and will see.
+Therefore go ye unto him, and say, Verily we are the apostles of thy
+Lord: therefore send with us the children of Israel _unto Syria_, and
+do not afflict them, _but cease to employ them in thy difficult works,
+such as digging and building and carrying the heavy burden_. We have
+come unto thee with a sign from thy Lord, _attesting our veracity in
+asserting ourselves apostles_: and peace be on him who followeth the
+right direction:--_that is, he shall be secure from punishment_. Verily
+it hath been revealed unto us that punishment [shall be inflicted]
+upon him who chargeth with falsehood _that wherewith we have come_,
+and turneth away _from it_.
+
+   (xx. 8-50.)
+
+
+Then We sent after them, _namely the apostles before mentioned_ [who
+were Sho'eyb and his predecessors], Moses, with Our signs unto Pharaoh
+and his nobles, and they acted unjustly with respect to them,
+_disbelieving in the signs_: but see what was the end of the corrupt
+doers. And Moses said, O Pharaoh, verily I am an apostle from the Lord
+of the worlds _unto thee_. _But he charged him with falsehood: so he
+said, I am_ right not to say of God aught but the truth. I have come
+unto you with a proof from your Lord: therefore send with me _to
+Syria_ the children of Israel.--_Pharaoh_ said _unto him_, If thou hast
+come with a sign _confirmatory of thy pretension_, produce it, if thou
+be of those who speak truth, So he cast down his rod; and lo, it was a
+manifest serpent.[271] And he drew forth his hand _from his bosom_;
+and lo, it was white _and radiant_ unto the beholders.[272] The nobles
+of the people of Pharaoh said, Verily this is a knowing enchanter: he
+desireth to expel you from your land. What then do ye command?--They
+answered, Put off for a time him and his brother, and send unto the
+cities collectors [of the inhabitants], that they may bring unto thee
+every knowing enchanter. And the enchanters came unto Pharaoh. They
+said, Shall we surely have a reward if we be the party who overcome?
+He answered, Yea; and verily ye shall be of those who are admitted
+near [unto my person]. They said, O Moses, either do thou cast down
+_thy rod_, or we will cast down _what we have with us_. He replied,
+Cast ye. And when they cast down _their cords and their rods_, they
+enchanted the eyes of the men, _diverting them from the true
+perception of them_; and they terrified them; _for they imagined them
+to be serpents running_; and they performed a great enchantment.[273]
+And We spake by revelation unto Moses, [saying,] Cast down thy rod.
+And lo, it swallowed up what they had caused to appear changed.[274]
+So the truth was confirmed, and that which they had wrought became
+vain; and they were overcome there, and were rendered contemptible.
+And the enchanters cast themselves down prostrate:[275] they said, We
+believe in the Lord of the worlds, the Lord of Moses and Aaron.
+Pharaoh said, Have ye believed in Him before I have given you
+permission? Verily this is a plot that ye have contrived in the city,
+that ye may cause its inhabitants to go forth from it. But ye shall
+know _what shall happen unto you at my hand_. I will assuredly cut off
+your hands and your feet on the opposite sides--_the right hand of each
+and his left foot_: then I will crucify you all.--They replied. Verily
+unto our Lord shall we return, _after our death, of whatever kind it
+be_; and thou dost not take vengeance on us but because we believed in
+the signs of our Lord when they came unto us. O our Lord, pour upon us
+patience, and cause us to die Muslims![276]
+
+   (vii. 101-123.)
+
+
+And Pharaoh said, Let me alone, that I may kill Moses, (_for they had
+diverted him from killing him_,) and let him call upon his Lord _to
+defend him from me_. Verily I fear lest he change your religion, _and
+prevent your worshipping me_, or that he may cause corruption to
+appear in the earth (_that is, slaughter, and other offences_).--And
+Moses said _unto his people, having heard this_, Verily I have
+recourse for defence unto my Lord and your Lord from every proud
+person who believeth not in the day of account. And a man [who was] a
+believer, of the family of Pharaoh (_it is said that he was the son of
+his paternal uncle_,)[277] who concealed his faith, said, Will ye kill
+a man because he saith, My Lord is God,--when he hath come unto you
+with evident proofs from your Lord? And if he be a liar, on him [will
+be] _the evil consequence of_ his lie; but if he be a speaker of
+truth, somewhat of that _punishment with_ which he threateneth you
+will befall you _speedily_. Verily God directeth not him who is a
+transgressor, _or polytheist_, [and] a liar. O my people, ye have the
+dominion to-day, being overcomers in the land _of Egypt_; but who will
+defend us from the punishment of God _if ye kill his favourite
+servants_, if it come unto us?[278]--Pharaoh said, I will not advise
+you to do [aught] save what I see to be advisable, _which is, to kill
+Moses_; and I will not direct you save into the right way. And he who
+had believed said, O my people, verily I fear for you the like of the
+day of the confederates,[279] the like of the condition of the people
+of Noah and 'Ad and Thamood and those who [have lived] after them: and
+God willeth not injustice unto [His] servants. And, O my people,
+verily I fear for you the day of calling (_that is, the day of
+resurrection, when the people of Paradise and those of Hell shall
+often call one to another_). On the day when ye shall turn back _from
+the place of reckoning unto hell_, ye shall have no protector against
+God. And he whom God shall cause to err shall have no director.
+Moreover, Joseph (_who was Joseph the son of Jacob according to one
+opinion, and who lived unto the time of Moses; and Joseph the son of
+Abraham the son of Joseph the son of Jacob, according to another
+opinion_) came unto you before _Moses_, with evident _miraculous_
+proofs; but ye ceased not to be in doubt respecting that wherewith he
+came unto you, until, when he died, ye said _without proof_ God will
+by no means send an apostle after him. Thus God causeth to err him who
+is a transgressor, _or polytheist_, [and] a sceptic. They who dispute
+respecting the signs of God, without any convincing proof having come
+unto them, _their disputing_ is very hateful with God and with those
+who have believed. Thus God sealeth every heart (_or the whole heart_)
+of a proud contumacious person.
+
+And Pharaoh said, O Haman, build for me a tower, that I may reach the
+avenues, the avenues of the heavens, and ascend unto the God of
+Moses;[280] but verily I think him, _namely Moses_, a liar _in his
+assertion that he hath any god but myself_. And thus the wickedness of
+his deed was made to seem comely unto Pharaoh, and he was turned away
+from the path _of rectitude_; and the artifice of Pharaoh [ended] not
+save in loss. And he who had believed said, O my people, follow me: I
+will direct you into the right way. O my people, this present life is
+only a temporary enjoyment; but the world to come is the mansion of
+firm continuance. Whosoever doeth evil, he shall not be recompensed
+save with the like of it; and whosoever doeth good, whether male or
+female, and is a believer, these shall enter Paradise; they shall be
+provided for therein without reckoning. And, O my people, how is it
+that I invite you unto salvation, and ye invite me unto the Fire? Ye
+invite me to deny God, and to associate with Him that of which I have
+no knowledge; but I invite you unto the Mighty, the Very Forgiving.
+[There is] no doubt but that the [false gods] _to the worship of_
+which ye invite me are not to be invoked in this world, nor in the
+world to come, and that our return [shall be] unto God, and that the
+transgressors [shall be] the companions of the Fire. And ye shall
+remember, _when ye see the punishment_, what I say unto you; and I
+commit my case unto God; for God seeth [His] servants.--_This he said
+when they threatened him for his opposing their religion._ Therefore
+God preserved him from the evils which they had artfully devised
+(_namely slaughter_), and a most evil punishment encompassed the
+people of Pharaoh,[281] _with Pharaoh himself (namely the
+drowning); then_ they shall be exposed to the Fire morning and
+evening;[282] and on the day when the hour [of judgment] shall come,
+_it shall be said unto the angels_, Introduce the people of Pharaoh
+into the most severe punishment.
+
+   (xl. 27-49.)
+
+
+And the nobles of the people of Pharaoh said _unto him_, Wilt thou let
+Moses and his people go that they may act corruptly in the earth, _by
+inviting to disobey thee_, and leave thee and thy gods? (_For he had
+made for them little idols for them to worship, and he said, I am your
+Lord and their Lord;--and therefore he said, I am your Lord the Most
+High._) He answered, We will slaughter their male children and will
+suffer their females to live: and verily we shall prevail over them.
+_And thus they did unto them; wherefore the children of Israel
+complained, and_ Moses said unto his people, Seek aid of God, and be
+patient; for the earth belongeth unto God: He causeth whomsoever He
+will of His servants to inherit it; and the _prosperous_ end is for
+those who fear _God_. They replied, We have been afflicted before thou
+camest unto us and since thou hast come unto us. He said, Perhaps your
+Lord will destroy your enemy and cause you to succeed [him] in the
+earth, and He will see how ye will act _therein_.--And We had punished
+the family of Pharaoh with dearth and with scarcity of fruits, that
+they might be admonished _and might believe_. But when good betided
+them, they said, This is ours:--_that is, we deserve it;--and they were
+not grateful for it_; and if evil befell them, they ascribed it to
+the ill luck of Moses and those _believers_ who were with him. Nay,
+their ill luck was only with God: _He brought it upon them_: but the
+greater number of them know not _this_. And they said _unto Moses_,
+Whatsoever sign thou bring unto us, to enchant us therewith, we will
+not believe in thee. _So he uttered an imprecation upon them_, and We
+sent upon them the flood, _which entered their houses and reached to
+the throats of the persons sitting, seven days_,[283] and the locusts,
+_which ate their corn and their fruits_, and the kummal, _or grubs, or
+a kind of tick, which sought after what the locusts had left_, and the
+frogs, _which filled their houses and their food_, and the blood _in
+their waters_; distinct signs: but they were proud, _refusing to
+believe in them_, and were a wicked people. And when the punishment
+fell upon them, they said, O Moses, supplicate for us thy Lord,
+according to that which He hath covenanted with thee, _namely that He
+will withdraw from us the punishment if we believe_: verily, if thou
+remove from us the punishment, we will assuredly believe thee, and we
+will assuredly send with thee the children of Israel. But when We
+removed from them the punishment until a period at which they should
+arrive, lo, they brake their promise. Wherefore We took vengeance on
+them, and drowned them in the sea, because they charged our signs with
+falsehood and were heedless of them. And We caused the people who had
+been rendered weak, _by being enslaved_, to inherit the eastern parts
+of the earth and its western parts,[284] which we blessed _with water
+and trees, (namely Syria)_; and the gracious word of thy Lord was
+fulfilled on the children of Israel, because they had been patient;
+and We destroyed the _structures_ which Pharaoh and his people had
+built and what they had erected.[285]
+
+   (vii. 124-133.)
+
+
+We brought the children of Israel across the sea, and Pharaoh and his
+troops pursued them with violence and hostility, until, when drowning
+overtook him, he said, I believe that there is no deity but He in whom
+the children of Israel believe, and I am [one] of the Muslims. _But
+Gabriel thrust into his mouth some of the mire of the sea, lest mercy
+should be granted him, and said_, Now _thou believest_, and thou hast
+been rebellious hitherto, and wast [one] of the corrupters. But to-day
+we will raise thee with thy lifeless body _from the sea_, that thou
+mayest be a sign unto those [who shall come] after thee. (_It is
+related, on the authority of Ibn-'Abbas, that some of the children of
+Israel doubted his death; wherefore he was brought forth to them that
+they might see him._)[286] But verily many men are heedless of Our
+signs.
+
+   (x. 90-92.)
+
+
+And We brought the children of Israel across the sea; and they came
+unto a people who gave themselves up to _the worship of_ idols
+belonging to them;[287] [whereupon] they said, O Moses, make for us a
+god (_an idol for us to worship_), like as they have gods. He replied,
+Verily ye are a people who are ignorant, _since ye have requited God's
+favour towards you with that which ye have said_; for that [religion]
+in which these are [occupied shall be] destroyed, and vain is that
+which they do. He said, Shall I seek for you any other deity than God,
+when He hath preferred you above the peoples _of your time_?
+
+   (vii. 134-136.)
+
+
+And We caused the thin clouds to shade you _from the heat of the sun
+in the desert_, and caused the manna and the quails[288] to descend
+upon you, _and said_, Eat of the good things which We have given you
+for food, _and store not up.--But they were ungrateful for the benefit,
+and stored up; wherefore it was cut off from them_. And they injured
+not Us _thereby_; but they did injure their own souls.
+
+   (ii. 54.)
+
+
+[Remember, O children of Israel,] when ye said, O Moses, we will not
+bear patiently the having one _kind of_ food, _the manna and the
+quails_; therefore supplicate for us thy Lord, that He may produce for
+us _somewhat_ of that which the earth bringeth forth, of its herbs and
+its cucumbers and its wheat and its lentils and its onions:--he said
+_unto them_, Will ye take in exchange that which is worse for that
+which is better?--_But they refused to recede; therefore he supplicated
+God, and He said_, Get ye down into a great city;[289] for ye shall
+have _therein_ what ye have asked.--And the _marks of_ abjection and
+poverty were stamped upon them: _so these characteristics necessarily
+belong to them, even if they are rich, as necessarily as the stamped
+coin belongeth to its die_; and they returned with indignation from
+God. This was because they did disbelieve in the signs of God, and
+slay the prophets (_as Zechariah and John_) unjustly: this was because
+they rebelled and did transgress.
+
+   (ii. 58.)
+
+
+And _remember_ when Moses asked drink for his people, _who had become
+thirsty in the desert_, and We said, Strike with thy rod the stone.
+(_It was the stone that fled away with his garment:[290] it was
+light, square, like the head of a man, marble or kedhdhan._[291])
+_Accordingly he struck it_; and there gushed out from it twelve
+fountains, _according to the number of the tribes_, all men (_each
+tribe of them_) knowing their drinking-place. _And We said unto them_,
+Eat ye and drink of the supply of God, and commit not evil in the
+earth, acting corruptly.
+
+   (ii. 57.)
+
+
+_Remember_ also when We obtained your bond _that ye would do according
+to that which is contained in the Law_, and _had_ lifted up over you
+the mountain [namely Mount Sinai], _pulled it up by the roots and
+raised it over you when ye had refused to accept the Law, and We
+said_, Receive that which We have given you, with resolution, and
+remember that which is contained in it, _to do according thereto_:
+peradventure ye will fear _the Fire, or acts of disobedience_.--Then ye
+turned back after that; and had it not been for the grace of God
+towards you and His mercy, ye had certainly been of those who perish.
+And ye know those of you who transgressed on the Sabbath, _by catching
+fish, when We had forbidden them to do so_ (_and they were the people
+of Eyleh_[292],) and We said unto them, Be ye apes, driven away from
+the society of men.--_Thereupon they became such, and they perished
+after three days._--And We made it (_namely that punishment_) an
+example unto those who were contemporary with them and those who came
+after them, and a warning to the pious.
+
+   (ii. 60-62.)
+
+
+And We appointed unto Moses thirty nights, _at the expiration of which
+We would speak to him, on the condition of his fasting during them;
+and they were_ [the nights of the month of] _Dhu-l-Kaadeh; and he
+fasted during them: but, when they were ended, he disliked the smell
+of his breath; so he used a tooth-stick; whereupon God commanded him
+to fast ten other nights, that He might speak to Him with the odour of
+his breath,[293] as He whose name be exalted hath said_,--and We
+completed them by [adding] ten _nights of Dhu-l-Hijjeh_: so the stated
+time of his Lord was completed, forty nights. And Moses said unto his
+brother Aaron, _at his departure to the mountain for the private
+collocution_, Be thou my deputy among my people, and act rightly, and
+follow not the way of the corrupt doers _by agreeing with them in acts
+of disobedience_. And when Moses came at Our appointed time, and his
+Lord spake unto him _without an intermediary_, he said, O my Lord,
+show me _Thyself_, that I may see Thee. He replied, Thou shalt not see
+Me: but look at the mountain, _which is stronger than thou_; and if it
+remain firm in its place, then shalt thou see Me. And when his Lord
+displayed Himself to the mountain (_that is, when there appeared, of
+His light, half of the tip of His little finger, as related in a
+tradition which El-Hakim hath verified_), He reduced it to powder,
+_levelling it even with the ground around it_; and Moses fell down in
+a swoon. And when he recovered, he said, Extolled be Thy perfection! I
+turn unto Thee repenting, and I am the first of the believers _in my
+time_.--_God_ said _unto him_, O Moses, I have chosen thee above the
+people _of thy time_ [by honouring thee] by My commissions and by My
+speaking _unto thee_: therefore receive what I have given thee, and be
+of those who are grateful. And We wrote for him upon the tables of
+_the Law_[294] (_which were of the lote-tree of Paradise, or of
+chrysolite, or of emerald; in number seven, or ten_) an admonition
+concerning every _requisite_ matter _of religion_, and a distinct
+explanation of everything; _and said_, Therefore receive it with
+resolution, and command thy people to act according to the most
+excellent [precepts] thereof.
+
+   (vii. 138-142.)
+
+
+And the people of Moses, after it (_that is, after his departure for
+the private collocution_), made, of their ornaments (_which they had
+borrowed of the people of Pharaoh_), a corporeal calf[295] _which
+Es-Samiree cast for them,_[296] _and_ which lowed; _for he had the
+faculty of doing so in consequence of their having put into its mouth
+some dust taken from_ [beneath] _the hoof of the horse of Gabriel; and
+they took it as a god_. Did they not see that it spake not to them,
+nor directed them in the way? They took it _as a god_, and were
+offenders. But when they repented, and saw that they had erred, _which
+was after the return of Moses_, they said, Verily if our Lord do not
+have mercy upon us and forgive us, we shall assuredly be of those who
+perish.
+
+   (vii. 146-148.)
+
+
+And Moses returned unto his people[297] enraged _against them_,
+exceedingly sorrowful. He said, O my people, did not your Lord promise
+you a good _true_ promise, _that He would give you the Law?_ But did
+the time of _my absence_ seem tedious to you, or did ye desire that
+indignation from your Lord should befall you, and therefore did ye
+break your promise to me, _and abstain from coming after one?_--They
+answered, We did not break our promise to thee of our own authority;
+but we were made to carry loads of the ornaments of the people _of
+Pharaoh_ (_which the children of Israel had borrowed of them under
+pretence of_ [requiring them for] _a wedding, and which remained in
+their possession_), and we cast them _into the fire, by order of
+Es-Samiree_. And in like manner also Es-Samiree cast _their ornaments
+which he had, and some of the dust which he had taken from the traces
+of the hoofs of the horse of Gabriel;_ and he produced unto them a
+corporeal calf, _of flesh and blood_, which lowed, _by reason of the
+dust, the property of which is to give life to that into which it is
+put; and he had put it, after he had moulded the calf, into its
+mouth_. And they (_namely, Es-Samiree and his followers_) said, This
+is your god, and the god of Moses; but he hath forgotten _his lord
+here, and gone to seek him. God saith_, But did they not see that it
+returned them not an answer, nor was able to cause them hurt or
+profit? And Aaron had said unto them, before _the return of Moses_, O
+my people, ye are only tried by it; and verily your Lord is the
+Compassionate; therefore follow me, _by worshipping Him_, and obey my
+command. They replied, We will by no means cease to be devoted to _the
+worship of_ it until Moses return unto us. _Moses_ said _after his
+return_, O Aaron, what hindered thee, when thou sawest that they had
+gone astray, from following me? Hast thou then been disobedient to my
+command, _by remaining among them who worshipped another than God_?
+--He answered, O son of my mother, seize me not by my beard (_for he
+had taken hold of his beard with his left hand_), nor by [the hair of]
+my head (_for he had taken hold of his hair with his right hand, in
+anger_). Verily I feared lest _if I followed thee (for a company of
+those who worshipped the calf would inevitably have followed me)_ thou
+shouldst say, Thou hast made a division among the children of Israel,
+and hast not waited for my sentence. _Moses_ said, And what was thy
+motive _for doing as thou hast_, O Samiree? He answered, I saw that
+which they saw not;[298] therefore I took a handful _of dust_ from the
+foot-marks _of the horse_ of the apostle _Gabriel_, and cast it _into
+the molten calf_; and thus my soul allured me _to take a handful of
+the dust above-mentioned, and to cast it upon that which had no life,
+that it might have life; and I saw that thy people had demanded of
+thee that thou wouldst make them a god; so my soul suggested to me
+that this calf should be their god. Moses_ said _unto him_, Then get
+thee gone _from among us_, and [the punishment] for thee during _the
+period of thy_ life [shall be], that thou shalt say _unto whomsoever
+thou shalt see_, Touch _me_ not:--(_so he used to wander about the
+desert, and when he touched any one, or any one touched him, they both
+became affected with a burning fever:_) and verily for thee is a
+threat which thou shalt by no means find to be false. And look at thy
+god, to _the worship of_ which thou hast continued devoted. We will
+assuredly burn it: then we will assuredly reduce it to powder and
+scatter it in the sea. (_And Moses, after he had slaughtered it, did
+this._) Your deity is God only, except whom there is no deity. He
+comprehendeth all things by _His_ knowledge.--Thus, _O Mohammad_, do We
+relate unto thee accounts of what hath happened heretofore; and We
+have given thee, from Us, an admonition; _namely the Kur-an_.
+
+   (xx. 88-99.)
+
+
+And they were made to drink down the calf into their hearts,[299]
+(_that is, the love of it mingled with their hearts as drink
+mingleth_,) because of their unbelief.
+
+   (ii. 87.)
+
+
+[Remember, O children of Israel,] when Moses said unto his people _who
+worshipped the calf_, O my people, verily ye have injured your own
+souls by your taking to yourselves the calf _as a god_; therefore turn
+with repentance unto your Creator _from the worship of it_, and slay
+one another: (_that is, let the innocent among you slay the
+criminal_:) this will be best for you in the estimation of your
+Creator. _And He aided you to do that, sending upon you a black cloud,
+lest one of you should see another and have compassion on him, until
+there were slain of you about seventy thousand._ And _thereupon_ He
+became propitious towards you, _accepting your repentance_; for He is
+the Very Propitious, the Merciful.
+
+   (ii. 51.)
+
+
+[Remember also, O children of Israel,] when ye said, _having gone
+forth with Moses to beg pardon of God for your worship of the calf,
+and having heard his words_, O Moses, we will not believe thee until
+we see God manifestly:--whereupon the vehement sound assailed you, _and
+ye died_, while ye beheld _what happened to you_. Then We raised you
+to life after ye had been dead, that peradventure ye might give
+thanks.[300]
+
+   (ii. 52, 53.)
+
+
+And Moses chose _from_ his people seventy men, _of those who had not
+worshipped the calf, by the command of God_, at the time appointed by
+Us _for their coming to ask pardon for their companions' worship of
+the calf; and he went forth with them_; and when the convulsion (_the
+violent earthquake_) took them away (_because, saith Ibn-'Abbas, they
+did not separate themselves from their people when the latter
+worshipped the calf_), _Moses_ said, O my Lord, if Thou hadst pleased,
+Thou hadst destroyed them before _my going forth with them, that the
+children of Israel might have beheld it and might not suspect me_; and
+me [also]. Wilt Thou destroy us for that which the foolish among us
+have done? It is naught but Thy trial: Thou wilt cause to err thereby
+whom Thou pleasest, and Thou wilt rightly guide whom Thou pleasest.
+Thou art our guardian; and do Thou forgive us and have mercy upon us;
+for Thou art the best of those who forgive: and appoint for us in this
+world what is good, and in the world to come; for unto Thee have we
+turned with repentance.--_God_ replied, I will afflict with My
+punishment whom I please, and My mercy extendeth over everything _in
+the world_; and I will appoint it, _in the world to come_, for those
+who fear and give the legal alms, and those who believe on Our signs,
+who shall follow the apostle, the illiterate [or Gentile, _i.e._, Arab]
+prophet, _Mohammad_, whom they shall find written down with them in the
+Pentateuch and the Gospel, _by his name and his description_. He will
+command them that which is right, and forbid them that which is evil;
+and will allow them as lawful the good things _among those forbidden in
+their law_, and prohibit them the impure, _as carrion and other things_,
+and will take off from them their burden and the yokes that were upon
+them, _as the slaying of a soul_ [for an atonement] _in repentance, and
+the cutting off of the mark left by impurity_. And those who shall
+believe in him and honour him and assist him and follow the light which
+shall be sent down with him, _namely the Kur-an_, these shall be the
+prosperous.
+
+   (vii. 154-156).
+
+
+And _remember_ when Moses said unto his people, O my people, remember
+the favour of God towards you, since He hath appointed prophets from
+among you, and made you princes (_masters of servants and other
+attendants_), and given you what He hath not given any [other] of the
+peoples (_as the manna and the quails and other things_). O my people,
+enter the Holy Land which God hath decreed for you (_namely Syria_),
+and turn not back, lest ye turn losers.--They replied, O Moses, verily
+there is in it a gigantic people, _of the remains of the tribe of
+'Ad_, and we will not enter it until they go forth from it; but if
+they go forth from it, then we will enter.--[Thereupon] two men, of
+those who feared _to disobey God, namely Joshua and Caleb, of the
+chiefs whom Moses sent to discover the circumstances of the giants,
+and_ upon whom God had conferred favour, _and who had concealed what
+they had seen of the state of the giants, excepting from Moses,
+wherefore the other chiefs became cowardly_, said _unto them_, Enter
+ye upon them through the gate _of the city, and fear them not; for
+they are bodies without hearts_; and when ye enter it, ye overcome;
+and upon God place your dependence, if ye be believers.--[But] they
+said, O Moses, we will never enter it while they remain therein.
+Therefore go thou and thy Lord, and fight: for we remain here.--_Then
+Moses_ said, O my Lord, verily I am not master of any but myself and
+my brother: therefore distinguish between us and the unrighteous
+people.--_God_ replied, Verily it (_namely the Holy Land_) shall be
+forbidden them forty years; they shall wander in perplexity in the
+land: and be not thou solicitous for the unrighteous people.--_The
+land_ [through which they wandered] _was_ [only] _nine leagues_ [in
+extent]. _They used to journey during the night with diligence; but in
+the morning they found themselves in the place whence they had set
+forth; and they journeyed during the day in like manner. Thus they did
+until all of them had become extinct, excepting those who had not
+attained the age of twenty years; and it is said that they were six
+hundred thousand. Aaron and Moses died in the desert; and mercy was
+their lot: but punishment was the lot of those. And Moses begged his
+Lord, when he was about to die, that He would bring him as near as a
+stone's throw to the Holy Land: wherefore He did so. And Joshua was
+made a prophet after the forty [years], and he gave orders to fight
+against the giants. So he went with those who were with him, and
+fought against them: and it was Friday; and the sun stood still for
+him awhile, until he had made an end of fighting against them._
+
+   (v. 23-29).
+
+
+Karoon[301] [or Korah] was of the people of Moses (_he was the son of
+his paternal uncle, and the son of his maternal aunt, and he believed
+in him_); but he behaved insolently towards them; for We had bestowed
+upon him such treasures that their keys were heavy burdens for a
+company of men endowed with strength, _in number, as some say,
+seventy; and some, forty; and some, ten; and some, another number.
+Remember when his people (the believers among the children of Israel)_
+said unto him, Rejoice not _exultingly in the abundance of thy
+wealth_; for God loveth not those who _so_ rejoice; but seek to
+attain, by means of the _wealth_ which God hath given thee, the latter
+abode [of Paradise], _by expending thy wealth in the service of God_;
+and neglect not thy part in this world, _to work therein for the world
+to come_; but be beneficent _unto mankind, by bestowing alms_, as God
+hath been beneficent unto thee; and seek not to act corruptly in the
+earth; for God loveth not the corrupt doers. He replied, I have only
+been given it on account of the knowledge that I possess. _For he was
+the most learned of the children of Israel in the Law, after Moses and
+Aaron. God saith_, Did he not know that God had destroyed before him,
+of the generations, those that were mightier than he in strength and
+who had amassed more abundance _of wealth_? And the wicked shall not
+be asked respecting their sins, _because God knoweth them: therefore
+they shall be sent into the Fire without a reckoning_. And _Karoon_
+went forth unto his people in his pomp, _with his many dependants
+mounted, adorned with garments of gold and silk, upon decked horses
+and mules_. Those who desired the present life said, O would that we
+had the like of that which hath been bestowed on Karoon _in this
+world_! Verily he is possessed of great good fortune!--But those unto
+whom knowledge _of what God hath promised in the world to come_ had
+been given, said _unto them_, Woe to you! The reward of God _in the
+world to come_ (_which is Paradise_) is better for him who believeth
+and worketh righteousness _than that which hath been bestowed on
+Karoon in the present world_; and none shall receive it but the
+patient _in the service of God_. And We caused the earth to cleave
+asunder and swallow up him and his mansion,[302] and he had no forces
+to defend him, in the place of God, nor was he of the [number of the]
+saved. And the next morning, those who had wished for his place the
+day before said, Aha! God enlargeth provision unto whom He pleaseth of
+His servants, and is sparing _of it unto whom He pleaseth!_ Had not
+God been gracious unto us, He had caused [the earth] to cleave asunder
+and swallow up us! Aha! the ungrateful _for His benefits_ do not
+prosper!
+
+   (xxviii. 76-82.)
+
+
+_Remember_, [O children of Israel,] when Moses said unto his people
+(_when one of them had been slain, whose murderer was not known, and
+they asked him to beg God that He would discover him to them,
+wherefore he supplicated Him_), Verily God commandeth you to sacrifice
+a cow. They said, Dost thou make a jest of us? He said, I beg God to
+preserve me from being _one_ of the foolish. _So when they knew that
+he decidedly intended_ [what he had ordered], they said, Supplicate
+for us thy Lord, that He may manifest to us what she is; _that is,
+what is her age_. _Moses_ replied, He saith, She is a cow neither old
+nor young; _but_ of a middle age, between those _two_: therefore do as
+ye are commanded. They said, Supplicate for us thy Lord, that He may
+manifest to us what is her colour. He replied, He saith, She is a
+red[303] cow: her colour is very bright: she rejoiceth the beholders.
+They said, Supplicate for us thy Lord, that He may manifest to us what
+she is, _whether she be a pasturing or a working cow_; for cows _of
+the description mentioned_ are to us like one another; and we, if God
+please, shall indeed be rightly directed _to her_. (_In a tradition it
+is said, Had they not said, 'If God please,'--she had not ever been
+manifested to them._) He replied, He saith, She is a cow not subdued
+_by work_ that plougheth the ground, nor doth she water the field:
+[she is] free _from defects and the marks of work_; there is no colour
+in her different from the rest of her colour. They said, Now thou hast
+brought the truth. _And they sought her, and found her in the
+possession of the young man who acted piously towards his mother, and
+they bought her for as much gold as her hide would contain._[304]
+Then they sacrificed her; but they were near to leaving it undone, on
+_account of the greatness of her price_. (_And in a tradition it is
+said, Had they sacrificed any cow whatever, He had satisfied them: but
+they acted hardly towards themselves; so God acted hardly towards
+them._) And when ye slew a soul, and contended together respecting it,
+(and God brought forth [to light] that which ye did conceal--_this is
+the beginning of the story_ [and was the occasion of the order to
+sacrifice this particular cow,]) We said, Strike him (_that is, the
+slain person_) with part of her. _So he was struck with her tongue, or
+the root of her tail, or, as some say, with her right thigh; whereupon
+he came to life, and said, Such-a-one and such-a-one slew me,--to the
+two sons of his uncle. And he died. They two_ [the murderers] _were
+therefore deprived of the inheritance, and were slain._[305] Thus God
+raiseth to life the dead, and showeth you His signs (_the proof of His
+power_), that peradventure ye may understand, _and know that He who is
+able to raise to life one soul is able to raise to life many souls._
+Then your hearts became hard, _O ye Jews, so as not to accept the
+truth_, after that, and they [were] as stones, or more hard: for of
+stones there are indeed some from which rivers gush forth; and of them
+there are indeed some that cleave asunder and water issueth from them;
+and of them there are indeed some that fall down through fear of God;
+_whereas your hearts are not impressed, nor do they grow soft, nor do
+they become humble._ But God is not heedless of that which ye do: _He
+only reserveth you unto your time._
+
+   (ii. 63-69.)
+
+
+_Remember_ when Moses said to his young man _Joshua the son of Nun,
+who served him and acquired knowledge from him_, I will not cease _to
+go forward_ until I reach the place where the two seas (_the Sea of
+Greece and the Sea of Persia_) meet, or travel for a long space of
+time. And when they reached the place where they (_the two seas_) met
+they forgot their fish: _Joshua forgot to take it up, on their
+departure; and Moses forgot to remind him_; and it made its way in the
+sea by a hollow passage, _God withholding the water from it_. And when
+they had passed beyond _that place, and proceeded until the time of
+the morning-meal on the following day_, [Moses] said unto his young
+man, Bring us our morning-meal: we have experienced fatigue from this
+our journey. He replied, What thinkest thou? When we repaired to the
+rock to rest _at that place_, I forgot the fish, and none made me
+forget to mention it but the devil; and it made its way in the sea in
+a wonderful manner.--_Moses_ said, That (_namely our loss of the fish_)
+is what we were desiring; _for it is a sign unto us of our finding him
+whom we seek_. And they returned by the way that they had come,
+following the footsteps, _and came to the rock_. And they found one of
+Our servants (_namely El-Khidr_[306]) unto whom We had granted mercy
+from Us (_that is the gift of prophecy in the opinion of some, and the
+rank of a saint according to another opinion which most of the learned
+hold_), and whom We had taught knowledge from Us respecting things
+unseen.--_El-Bukharee hath related a tradition stating that Moses
+performed the office of a preacher among the children of Israel, and
+was asked who was the most knowing of men; to which he answered,
+I:--whereupon God blamed him for this, because he did not refer the
+knowledge thereof to Him. And God said unto him by revelation,
+Verily I have a servant at the place where the two seas meet, and he
+is more knowing than thou. Moses said, O my Lord, and how shall I meet
+with him? He answered, Thou shalt take with thee a fish, and put it
+into a measuring-vessel, and where thou shalt lose the fish, there is
+he. So he took a fish, and put it into a vessel. Then he departed, and
+Joshua the son of Nun departed with him, until they came to the rock,
+where they laid down their heads and slept. And the fish became
+agitated in the vessel, and escaped from it, and fell into the sea,
+and it made its way in the sea by a hollow passage, God withholding
+the water from the fish so that it became like a vault over it: and
+when Moses' companion awoke, he forgot to inform him of the fish._
+
+Moses said unto him [namely El-Khidr], Shall I follow thee, that thou
+mayest teach me [part] of that which thou hast been taught, for a
+direction _unto me_? He answered, Verily thou canst not have patience
+with me. For how canst thou be patient with respect to that whereof
+thou comprehendest not the knowledge?--He replied, Thou shalt find me,
+if God please, patient; and I will not disobey any command of thine.
+He said, Then if thou follow me, ask me not respecting anything: _but
+be patient_ until I give thee an account thereof. _And Moses assented
+to his condition._ And they departed, _walking along the shore of the
+sea_, until, when they embarked in the ship _that passed by them_, he
+(El-Khidr) made a hole in it, _by pulling out a plank or two planks
+from it on the outside by means of an axe when it reached the middle
+of the sea. Moses_ said _unto him_, Hast thou made a hole in it that
+thou mayest drown its people? Thou hast done a grievous thing.--(_But
+it is related that the water entered not the hole._) He replied, Did I
+not say that thou couldst not have patience with me? [Moses] said,
+Chastise me not for my forgetfulness, nor impose on me a difficulty in
+my case.--And they departed, _after they had gone forth from the
+vessel_, _walking on_, until, when they found a boy _who had not
+attained the age of knowing right and wrong, playing with other
+children, and he was the most beautiful of them in countenance_, and
+he (_El-Khidr_) slew him, _Moses_ said _unto him_, Hast thou slain an
+innocent soul, without _his having slain_ a soul? Thou hast done an
+iniquitous thing.--He replied, Did I not say that thou couldst not have
+patience with me? [Moses] said, If I ask thee concerning anything
+after this _time_, suffer me not to accompany thee. Now hast thou
+received from me an excuse _for thy separating thyself from me_.--And
+they departed [and proceeded] until, when they came to the people of a
+city (_which was Antioch[307]_), they asked food of its people; but
+they refused to entertain them: and they found therein a wall, _the
+height whereof was a hundred cubits_, which was about to fall down;
+whereupon he (_El-Khidr_) set it upright _with his hand_. _Moses_ said
+_unto him_, If thou wouldst, thou mightest have obtained pay for it,
+_since they did not entertain us, notwithstanding our want of food_.
+_El-Khidr_ said _unto him_, This shall be a separation between me and
+thee; _but before my separation from thee_, I will declare unto thee
+the interpretation of that which thou couldst not bear with patience.
+
+As to the vessel, it belonged to _ten_ poor men,[308] who pursued
+their business on the sea; and I desired to render it unsound; for
+there was behind them a king, _an unbeliever_, who took every _sound_
+vessel by force. And as to the boy, his parents were believers, and we
+feared that he would transgress against them rebelliously and
+impiously: _for, according to a tradition related by Muslim, he was
+constituted by nature an unbeliever, and had he lived he had so
+acted_; wherefore we desired that their Lord should create for them a
+better than he in virtue, and [one] more disposed than he to filial
+piety. _And God created for them a daughter, who married a prophet,
+and gave birth to a prophet, by means of whom God directed a people
+to the right way_. And as to the wall, it belonged to two orphan
+youths in the city, and beneath it was a treasure _buried_, _of gold
+and silver_, belonging to them; and their father was a righteous man;
+and thy Lord desired that they should attain their age of strength and
+take forth their treasure through the mercy of thy Lord. And I did it
+not (_namely what hath been mentioned_) of mine own will, _but by
+direction of God_. This is the interpretation of that which thou
+couldst not bear with patience.
+
+   (Chap. xviii. 59-81.)
+
+
+
+
+SAUL, DAVID, SOLOMON.
+
+
+Hast thou not considered the assembly of the children of Israel after
+_the death of_ Moses, when they said unto a prophet of theirs, _namely
+Samuel_, Set up for us a king, _under whom_ we will fight in the way
+of God? He said _unto them_, If fighting be prescribed as incumbent on
+you, will ye, peradventure, abstain from fighting? They replied, And
+wherefore should we not fight in the way of God, since we have been
+expelled from our habitations and our children _by their having been
+taken prisoners and slain?_--_The people of Goliath_ [Jaloot] _had done
+thus unto them_.--But when fighting was commanded them, they turned
+back, excepting a few of them, _who crossed the river with Saul_
+[Taloot], _as will be related_. And God knoweth the offenders. _And
+the prophet begged his Lord to send a king; whereupon he consented to
+send Saul._ And their prophet said unto them, Verily God hath set up
+Saul as your king. They said, How shall he have the dominion over us,
+when we are more worthy of the dominion than he, (_for he was not of
+the royal lineage, nor of the prophetic, and he was a tanner, or a
+tender of flocks or herds,_) and he hath not been endowed with ample
+wealth? He replied, Verily God hath chosen him _as king_ over you, and
+increased him in largeness of knowledge and of body, (_for he was the
+wisest of the children of Israel at that time, and the most comely of
+them, and the most perfect of them in make,_) and God giveth his
+kingdom unto whom He pleaseth; and God is ample _in His beneficence_,
+knowing _with respect to him who is worthy of the kingdom_.--And their
+prophet said unto them, _when they demanded of him a sign in proof of
+his kingship_, Verily the sign of his kingship shall be that the ark
+shall come unto you (_in it were the images of the prophets: God sent
+it down unto Adam, and it passed into their possession; but the
+Amalekites took it from them by force: and they used to seek victory
+thereby over their enemy, and to advance it in the fight, and to trust
+in it, as He--whose name be exalted!--hath said_); therein [shall be]
+tranquillity from your Lord,[309] and relics of what the family of
+Moses and the family of Aaron have left: _namely, the two shoes (or
+sandals) of Moses, and his rod, and the turban of Aaron, and a measure
+of the manna that used to descend upon them, and the fragments of the
+tables_ [of the Law]: the angels shall bear it. Verily in this shall
+be a sign unto you _of his kingship_, if ye be believers. _Accordingly
+the angels bore it between heaven and earth, while they looked at it,
+until they placed it by Saul; whereupon they acknowledged his
+kingship, and hastened to the holy war; and he chose of their young
+men seventy thousand._
+
+And when Saul went forth with the troops _from Jerusalem, and it was
+violently hot weather, and they demanded of him water_, he said,
+Verily God will try you by a river, _that the obedient among you, and
+the disobedient, may appear_, (_and it was between the Jordan and
+Palestine_,) and whoso drinketh thereof, he is not of my party (but he
+who tasteth not thereof, he is of my party), excepting him who taketh
+forth a draught in his hand, _and is satisfied therewith, not adding
+to it; for he is of my party_;--then they drank thereof abundantly,
+excepting a few of them, _who were content only with the handful of
+water. It is related that it sufficed them for their own drinking and
+for their beasts, and they were three hundred, and somewhat more
+than ten._ And when he had passed over it, he and those who believed
+with him, they (_that is, those who had drunk_ [plentifully]) said, We
+have no power to-day _to contend_ against Goliath and his troops. _And
+they were cowardly, and passed not over it._ They [however] who held
+it as certain that they should meet God _at the resurrection_ (_and
+they were those who had passed over it_) said, How many a small body
+of men hath overcome a great body by the permission (_or will_) of
+God! And God is with the patient, _to defend and aid_.--And when they
+went forth to battle against Goliath and his troops, they said, O our
+Lord, pour upon us patience, and make firm our feet, _by strengthening
+our hearts for the holy war_, and help us against the unbelieving
+people!--And they routed them by the permission (_or will_) of God, and
+David [Dawood, vulg. Daood], _who was in the army of Saul_, slew
+Goliath. And God gave him (_David_) the kingship _over the children of
+Israel_, and wisdom (_that is prophecy_), _after the death of Samuel
+and Saul, and they_ [namely these two gifts] _had not been given
+together to any one before him_; and He taught him what He
+pleased,[310] _as the art of making coats of mail, and the language of
+birds_. And were it not for God's repelling men, one by another,
+surely the earth had become corrupt _by the predominance of the
+polytheists and the slaughter of the Muslims and the ruin of the
+places of worship_: but God is beneficent to the peoples, _and hath
+repelled some by others_.
+
+   (ii. 247-252.)
+
+
+Hath the story of the two opposing parties come unto thee, _O
+Mohammad_, when they ascended over the walls of the oratory of _David,
+having been prevented going in unto him by the door, because of his
+being engaged in devotion?_ When they went in unto David, and he was
+frightened at them, they said, Fear not: _we are_ two opposing
+parties. _It is said that they were two parties of more than one each;
+and it is said that they were two individuals, angels, who came as two
+litigants, to admonish David, who had ninety-nine wives, and had
+desired the wife of a person who had none but her, and married her and
+taken her as his wife._[311] [One of them said,] One of us hath
+wronged the other; therefore judge between us with truth, and be not
+unjust, but direct us into the right way. Verily this my brother _in
+religion_ had nine-and-ninety ewes, and I had one ewe; and he said,
+Make me her keeper. And he overcame me in the dispute.--_And the other
+confessed him to have spoken truth._--[David] said, Verily he hath
+wronged thee in demanding thy ewe _to add her_ to his ewes; and verily
+many associates wrong one another, except those who believe and do
+righteous deeds: and few indeed are they.--_And the two angels said,
+ascending in their_ [proper or assumed] _forms to heaven, The man hath
+passed sentence against himself. So David was admonished._ And David
+perceived that We had tried him _by his love of that woman_; wherefore
+he asked pardon of his Lord, and fell down bowing himself (_or
+prostrating himself_), and repented. So We forgave him that; and
+verily for him [was ordained] a high rank with Us (_that is, an
+increase of good fortune in this world_), and [there shall be for
+him] an excellent retreat _in the world to come_.
+
+   (xxxviii. 20-24.)
+
+
+We compelled the mountains to glorify Us, with David, and the birds
+_also, on his commanding them to do so, when he experienced languor_;
+and We did _this_. And We taught him the art of making coats of mail
+(_for before his time plates of metal were used_) for you _among
+mankind in general_, that they might defend you from your suffering
+_in warring with your enemies_.--Will ye then, _O people of Mekkeh_, be
+thankful _for My favours, believing the apostles_?--And _We subjected_
+unto Solomon [Suleyman] the wind, blowing strongly, _and being light
+at his desire_, which ran at his command[312] to the land that We
+blessed (_namely Syria_);[313] and We knew all things (_knowing that
+what We gave him would stimulate him to be submissive to his Lord_).
+And _We subjected_, of the devils, those who should dive for him _in
+the sea and bring forth from it jewels for him_, and do other work
+besides that; _that is, building, and performing other services_; and
+We watched over them, _that they might not spoil what they executed;
+for they used, when they had finished a work before night, to spoil
+it, if they were not employed in something else_.
+
+   (xxi. 79-82.)
+
+
+We gave unto David Solomon _his son_. How excellent a servant _was
+he_! For he was one who earnestly turned himself unto God, _glorifying
+and praising Him at all times_. [Remember] when, in the latter part of
+the day, _after the commencement of the declining of the sun_, the
+_mares_ standing on three feet and touching the ground with the edge
+of the fourth foot, swift in the course, were displayed before him.
+_They were a thousand mares, which were displayed before him after he
+had performed the noon-prayers, on the occasion of his desiring to
+make use of them in a holy war; and when nine hundred of them had been
+displayed, the sun set, and he had not performed the
+afternoon-prayers. So he was grieved_, and he said, Verily I have
+preferred the love of [earthly] goods above the remembrance of my
+Lord, (_that is, the performance of the afternoon-prayers_,) so that
+_the sun_ is concealed by the veil. Bring them (_namely the horses_)
+back unto me. _Therefore they brought them back._ And he began to
+sever _with his sword_ the legs and the necks, _slaughtering them,
+and_ [then] _cutting off their legs, as a sacrifice unto God, and gave
+their flesh in alms; and God gave him in compensation what was better
+than they were and swifter, namely the wind, which travelled by his
+command whithersoever he desired._--And We tried Solomon _by depriving
+him of his kingdom. This was because he married a woman of whom he
+became enamoured, and she used to worship an idol in his palace
+without his knowledge. His dominion was in his signet; and he pulled
+it off once and deposited it with his wife, who was named El-Emeeneh;
+and a jinnee came unto her in the form of Solomon, and took it from
+her._ And We placed upon his throne a [counterfeit] body; _namely that
+jinnee, who was Sakhr, or another. He sat upon the throne of
+Solomon, and the birds and other creatures surrounded him; and Solomon
+went forth, with a changed appearance, and saw him upon his throne,
+and said unto the people, I am Solomon:--but they denied him._ Then he
+returned _unto his kingdom, after some days, having obtained the
+signet and put it on, and seated himself upon his throne._[314] He
+said, O my Lord, forgive me, and give me a dominion that may not be
+to any one after me (_or beside me_); for Thou art the Liberal Giver.
+So We subjected unto him the wind, which ran gently at his command
+whithersoever he desired; and the devils [also], every builder _of
+wonderful structures_, and diver _that brought up pearls from the
+sea_, and others bound in chains _which connected their hands to their
+necks. And We said unto him_, This is Our gift, and bestow thou
+_thereof upon whomsoever thou wilt_, or refrain _from bestowing_,
+without _rendering_ an account. And verily for him [was ordained] a
+high rank with Us, and an excellent retreat.
+
+   (xxxviii. 29-39.)
+
+
+We bestowed on David and Solomon knowledge _in judging men and in the
+language of the birds and other matters_; and they said, Praise be to
+God who hath made us to excel many of His believing servants, _by the
+gift of prophecy and by the subjection of the jinn and mankind and the
+devils_. And Solomon inherited from David _the gift of prophecy and
+knowledge_; and he said, O men, we have been taught the language of
+the birds,[315] and have had bestowed on us of everything _wherewith
+prophets and kings are gifted_. Verily this is manifest
+excellence.--And his armies of jinn and men and birds were gathered
+together unto Solomon, and they were led on in order, until, when they
+came unto the valley of ants, (_which_ [was] _at Et-Taif or in Syria,
+the ants whereof_ [were] _small or great_,) an ant (_the queen of the
+ants_), _having seen the troops of Solomon_, said, O ants, enter your
+habitations, lest Solomon and his troops crush you violently, while
+they perceive not. And _Solomon_ smiled, _afterwards_ laughing at her
+saying, _which he heard from the distance of three miles, the wind
+conveying it to him: so he withheld his forces when he came in sight
+of their valley, until the ants had entered their dwellings: and his
+troops were on horses and on foot in this expedition_. And he said, O
+my Lord, inspire me to be thankful for Thy favour which Thou hast
+bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and to do righteousness which
+Thou shalt approve, and admit me, in Thy mercy, among Thy servants,
+the righteous, _the prophets and the saints_.
+
+And he examined the birds,[316] _that he might see the lapwing, that
+saw the water beneath the earth, and directed to it by pecking the
+earth, whereupon the devils used to draw it forth when Solomon wanted
+it_ [to perform the ablution] _for prayer; but he saw it not_: and he
+said, Wherefore do I not see the lapwing? Is it [one] of the
+absent?--_And when he was certain of the case he said_, I will
+assuredly punish it with a severe punishment, _by plucking out its
+feathers and its tail and casting it in the sun so that it shall not
+be able to guard against excessive thirst_; or I will slaughter it; or
+it shall bring me a manifest convincing proof _showing its
+excuse_.--And it tarried not long _before it presented itself unto
+Solomon submissively, and raised its head and relaxed its tail and its
+wings: so he forgave it; and he asked it what it had met with during
+its absence_; and it said, I have become acquainted with that
+wherewith thou hast not become acquainted, and I have come unto thee
+from Seba (_a tribe of El-Yemen_) with a sure piece of news. I found a
+woman reigning over them, _named Bilkees_, and she hath been gifted
+with everything _that princes require_, and hath a magnificent throne.
+_(Its length was eighty cubits; and its breadth, forty cubits; and its
+height, thirty cubits: it was composed of gold and silver set with
+fine pearls and with rubies and chrysolites, and its legs were of
+rubies and chrysolites and emeralds: upon it_ [were closed] _seven
+doors: to each chamber_ [through which one passed to it was] _a closed
+door_.) I found her and her people worshipping the sun instead of God,
+and the devil hath made their works to seem comely unto them, so that
+he hath hindered them from the _right_ way, wherefore they are not
+rightly directed to the worship of God, who produceth what is hidden
+(_namely the rain and vegetables_) in the heavens and the earth, and
+knoweth what they [that is, mankind and others] conceal _in their
+hearts_, and what they reveal _with their tongues_. God: there is no
+deity but He, the Lord of the magnificent throne, _between which and
+the throne of Bilkees is a vast difference_.
+
+_Solomon_ said _to the lapwing_, We will see whether thou hast spoken
+truth or whether thou art of the liars. _Then the lapwing guided them
+to the water, and it was drawn forth_ [by the devils]; _and they
+quenched their thirst and performed the ablution and prayed. Then
+Solomon wrote a letter, the form whereof was this:--From the servant of
+God, Solomon the son of David, to Bilkees the queen of Seba. In the
+name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Peace be on whomsoever
+followeth the right direction. After_ [this salutation, I say], _Act
+ye not proudly towards me; but come unto me submitting.--He then sealed
+it with musk, and stamped it with his signet, and said unto the
+lapwing_, Go with this my letter and throw it down unto them (_namely
+Bilkees and her people_): then turn away from them, _but stay near
+them_, and see what _reply_ they will return. _So the lapwing took it,
+and came unto her, and around her were her forces; and he threw it
+down into her lap; and when she saw it, she trembled with fear. Then
+she considered what was in it, and_ she said _unto the nobles of her
+people_, O nobles, an honourable (_sealed_) letter hath been thrown
+down unto me. It is from Solomon; and it is _this_:--In the name of
+God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Act ye not proudly towards me:
+but come unto me submitting.--She said, O nobles, advise me in mine
+affair. I will not decide upon a thing unless ye bear me
+witness.--They replied, We are endowed with strength and endowed with
+great valour; but the command [belongeth] to thee; therefore see what
+thou wilt command _us to do, and we will obey thee_. She said, Verily
+kings, when they enter a city, waste it, and render the mighty of its
+inhabitants abject; and thus will they do _who have sent the letter_.
+But I will send unto them with a gift, and I will see with what the
+messengers will return, _whether the gift will be accepted, or whether
+it will be rejected. If he be_ [merely] _a king, he will accept it;
+and if he be a prophet, he will not accept it.--And she sent male and
+female servants, a thousand in equal numbers_ [five hundred of each
+sex], _and five hundred bricks of gold, and a crown set with jewels,
+and musk and ambergris and other things, by a messenger with a
+letter.[317] And the lapwing hastened unto Solomon, to tell him the
+news; on hearing which, he commanded that bricks of gold and silver
+should be cast, and that a horse-course should be extended to the
+length of nine leagues from the place where he was, and that they
+should build around it a wall with battlements, of gold and silver,
+and that the handsomest of the beasts of the land and of the sea
+should be brought with the sons of the jinn on the right side of the
+horse-course and on its left._
+
+And when _the messenger_ came _with the gift, and with him his
+attendants_, unto Solomon, he [Solomon] said, Do ye aid me with
+wealth? But what God hath given me (_namely the gift of prophecy and
+the kingdom_) is better than what He hath given you, _of worldly
+goods_; yet ye rejoice in your gift, _because ye glory in the showy
+things of this world_. Return unto them _with the gift that thou hast
+brought_; for we will surely come unto them with forces with which
+they have not power [to contend], and we will surely drive them out
+from it, (_that is, from their country, Seba, which was named after
+the father of their tribe_,) abject and contemptible, _if they come
+not unto us submitting. And when the messenger returned unto her with
+the gift, she placed her throne within seven doors, within her palace,
+and her palace was within seven palaces; and she closed the doors, and
+set guards to them, and prepared to go unto Solomon, that she might
+see what he would command her to do. She departed with twelve thousand
+kings, each king having with him many thousands, and proceeded until
+she came as near to him as a league's distance; when he knew of her_
+[approach,] he said, O nobles, which of you will bring unto me her
+throne before they come unto me submitting? An 'efreet, of the jinn,
+answered, I will bring it unto thee before thou shalt arise from thy
+place _wherein thou sittest to judge from morning until mid-day_; for
+I am able to do it, [and] trustworthy _with respect to the jewels that
+it compriseth and other matters. Solomon said, I desire it more
+speedily._ [And thereupon] he with whom was knowledge of the
+_revealed_ scripture (_namely_ [his Wezeer] _Asaf the son of Barkhiya,
+who was a just person, acquainted with the most great name of God,
+which ensured an answer to him who invoked thereby_[318]) said, I will
+bring it unto thee before thy glance can be withdrawn _from any
+object. And he said unto him, Look at the sky. So he looked at it;
+then he withdrew his glance, and found it placed before him: for
+during his look towards the sky, Asaf prayed, by the most great name,
+that God would bring it; and it so happened, the throne passing under
+the ground until it came up before the throne of Solomon._ And when he
+saw it firmly placed before him, he said, This is of the favour of my
+Lord, that He may try me, whether I shall be thankful or whether I
+shall be unthankful. And he who is thankful is thankful for _the sake
+of_ his own soul, _which will have the reward of his thankfulness_;
+and [as to] him who is ungrateful, my Lord is independent [and]
+bountiful.
+
+[Then Solomon] said, Alter ye her throne so that it may not be known
+by her, that we may see whether she be rightly directed _to the
+knowledge thereof_, or whether she be of those who are not rightly
+directed _to the knowledge of that which is altered. He desired
+thereby to try her intelligence. So they altered it, by adding to it,
+or taking from it, or in some other manner._ And when she came, it was
+said _unto her_, Is thy throne like this? She answered, As though it
+were the same. (_She answered them ambiguously like as they had
+questioned her ambiguously, not saying, Is this thy throne?--and had
+they so said, she had answered, Yes._) _And when Solomon saw her
+knowledge, he said_, And we have had knowledge bestowed on us before
+her, and have been Muslims. But what she worshipped instead of God
+hindered her _from worshipping Him_; for she was of an unbelieving
+people.--It was said unto her _also_, Enter the palace. _It had a floor
+of white, transparent glass, beneath which was running water, wherein
+were fish. Solomon had made it on its being said unto him that her
+legs and feet were_ [hairy] _like the legs of an ass._ And when she
+saw it, she imagined it to be a great water, and she uncovered her
+legs, _that she might wade through it; and Solomon was on his throne
+at the upper end of the palace, and he saw that her legs and her feet
+were handsome_. He said _unto her_, Verily it is a palace evenly
+spread with glass. _And he invited her to embrace El-Islam_,
+[whereupon] she said, O my Lord, verily I have acted unjustly towards
+mine own soul, _by worshipping another than Thee_, and I resign
+myself, with Solomon, unto God, the Lord of the worlds. _And he
+desired to marry her; but he disliked the hair upon her legs; so the
+devils made for him the depilatory of quick-lime, wherewith she
+removed the hair, and he married her; and he loved her, and confirmed
+her in her kingdom. He used to visit her every month once, and to
+remain with her three days; and her reign expired on the expiration
+of the reign of Solomon. It is related that he began to reign when he
+was thirteen years of age, and died at the age of three and fifty
+years. Extolled be the perfection of Him to the duration of whose
+dominion there is no end!_
+
+   (xxvii. 15-45.)
+
+
+_We subjected_ unto Solomon the wind, which travelled in the morning
+(_unto the period when the sun began to decline_) _the distance of_ a
+month's _journey_, and in the evening _from the commencement of the
+declining of the sun into its setting_ a month's _journey_. And We
+made the fountain of molten brass to flow for him _three days with
+their nights_ [in every month], _as water floweth;[319] and the people
+worked until the day_ [of its flowing], _with that which had been
+given into Solomon_. And of the jinn [were] those who worked in his
+presence, by the will of his Lord; and such of them as swerved from
+_obedience to_ Our command We will cause to taste of the punishment of
+hell _in the world to come_ (_or, as it is said by some, We cause to
+taste of its punishment in the present world, an angel beating them
+with a scourge from hell, the stripe of which burneth them_). They
+made for him whatever he pleased, of lofty halls (_with steps whereby
+to ascend to them_), and images (_for they were not forbidden by his
+law_[320]), and large dishes, like great tanks for watering camels,
+_around each of which assembled a thousand men, eating from it_, and
+cooking-pots standing firmly _on their legs, cut out from the
+mountains in El-Yemen, and to which they ascended by ladders_. _And We
+said_, Work, O family of David, _in the service of God_, with
+thanksgiving _unto Him for what He hath given you_:--but few of My
+servants are the thankful. And when We decreed that he (_namely,
+Solomon_) should die, _and he died, and remained standing, and leaning
+upon his staff for a year, dead, the jinn meanwhile performing those
+difficult works as they were accustomed to do, not knowing of his
+death, until the worm ate his staff, whereupon he fell down_, nothing
+showed them his death but the eating reptile (_the worm_) that ate his
+staff.[321] And when he fell down, the jinn plainly perceived that if
+they had known things unseen (_of which things was the death of
+Solomon_), they had not continued in the ignominious affliction (_that
+is, in their difficult works_), _imagining that he was alive,
+inconsistently with their opinion that they knew things unseen. And
+that the period was a year was known by calculating what the worm had
+eaten of his staff since his death in each day and night or other
+space of time._ (xxxiv. 11-13.)
+
+
+
+
+_JONAH._
+
+
+Verily Jonah [Yoonus] was one of the apostles. [Remember] when he fled
+unto the laden ship, _being angry with his people, because the
+punishment wherewith he had threatened them did not fall upon them;
+wherefore he embarked in the ship; and it became stationary in the
+midst of the sea: so the sailors said, Here is a slave who hath fled
+from his master, and the lot will discover him_:--and he cast lots
+_with those who were in the ship_, and he was [the] one upon whom the
+lot fell. _They therefore cast him into the sea_, and the fish
+swallowed him; and he was reprehensible, _for having gone to the sea,
+and embarked in the ship, without the permission of his Lord_. And had
+he not been of those who glorified God (_by his saying often in the
+belly of the fish, There is no god but Thou! I extol Thy perfection!
+Verily I have been of the offenders!_), he had remained in his belly
+until the day of resurrection.[322] And We cast him on the plain land,
+_the same day, or after three or seven days, or twenty or forty days_;
+and he was sick; and We caused a gourd plant[323] to grow up over him,
+_to shade him_. _It had a trunk, contrary to what is the case of
+gourds in general, being miraculously produced for him._[324] _And a
+wild she-goat came to him evening and morning, of whose milk he
+drank until he became strong._ And We sent him _after that, as
+before_, unto _his people in Nineveh, in the land of El-Mosil_, a
+hundred thousand, or they were a greater number by _twenty or thirty
+or seventy thousand_; and they believed _on beholding the punishment
+wherewith they had been threatened_;[325] wherefore We allowed them
+enjoyment _of their goods_ for a time, _until the expiration of their
+terms of life_.
+
+   (xxxvii. 139-148.)
+
+
+
+
+_EZRA._
+
+
+[Hast thou not considered] him who passed by a city (_which was
+Jerusalem_), _riding upon an ass, and having with him a basket of figs
+and a vessel of the juice of grapes_ (_and he was 'Ozeyr_ [Ezra]), and
+it was falling down upon its roofs, _Nebuchadnezzar having ruined it_?
+He said, _wondering at the power of God_, How will God quicken this
+after its death?--And God caused him to die for a hundred years. Then
+He raised him to life: [and] He said _unto him_, How long hast thou
+tarried _here_?--He answered I have tarried a day, or part of a
+day.--_For he slept in the first part of the day, and was deprived of
+his life, and was reanimated at sunset._ He said Nay, thou hast
+tarried a hundred years: but look at thy food and thy drink: they have
+not become changed by time: and look at thine ass.--_And he beheld it
+dead, and its bones white and shining.--We have done this that thou
+mayest know_, and that We may make thee a sign _of the resurrection_
+unto men. And look at the bones _of thine ass_, how We will raise
+them; then We will clothe them with flesh.--_So he looked at them, and
+they had become put together, and were clothed with flesh, and life
+was breathed into it, and it brayed._ Therefore when it had been made
+manifest to him he said, I know that God is able to accomplish
+everything. (ii. 261.)
+
+
+
+
+_THE MESSIAH._
+
+
+_Remember_ when the wife of 'Imran[326] said, (_when she had become
+aged, and desired offspring, wherefore she supplicated God, and became
+sensible of pregnancy_,) O my Lord, verily I devote unto Thee what is
+in my womb, to be dedicated _to the service of Thy holy house_: then
+accept [it] from me; for Thou art the Hearer _of prayer_, the Knower
+_of intentions_. _And 'Imran perished while she was pregnant._ And
+when she gave birth to it, (_namely her daughter; and she was hoping
+that it might be a boy; since none but boys were dedicated_,) she
+said, O my Lord, verily I have brought forth a female, (and God well
+knew what she had brought forth,) and the male is not as the female,
+_the latter not being fit for the service_ [of the temple]; and I have
+named her Mary [Maryam]; and I beg thy protection for her and her
+offspring from the accursed devil.[327] (_In the traditions_ [it is
+said], _No child is born but the devil hath touched it at the time of
+its birth, wherefore it first raiseth its voice by crying, excepting
+Mary and her son._[328]) And her Lord accepted her (_that is, He
+accepted Mary from her mother_) with a gracious acceptance, and caused
+her to grow with an excellent growth, _as though she grew in a day as
+a child_ [generally] _groweth in a month_. _Her mother took her to the
+doctors, the keepers of the Holy House, and said, Receive ye this
+devoted child. And they eagerly desired her, because she was the
+daughter of their chief. But Zechariah said, I am more worthy of
+having her; for her maternal aunt is with me. They however replied,
+Nay, but we will cast lots.--So they departed (and they were nine and
+twenty) to the river Jordan, and cast their divining arrows on the
+understanding that he whose arrow should become steady in the water
+and rise should be_ [acknowledged] _most worthy of her; and the arrow
+of Zechariah became steady, and he took her, and built for her a
+chamber in the temple, with stairs to which no one ascended but
+himself. And he used to bring her her food and her drink and her
+ointment; and used to find with her the fruits of winter in summer,
+and the fruits of summer in winter, as He--whose name be exalted!--hath
+said_, And Zechariah maintained her. Whenever Zechariah went in to her
+in the chamber, he found with her provisions. He said, O Mary, whence
+came to thee this? She answered, (_being then a little child_,) It is
+from God: _He bringeth it to me from Paradise_: for God supplieth whom
+He pleaseth without reckoning.
+
+Then, _when he saw this, and knew that He who was able to produce a
+thing out of its season was able to give a child in old age, (and the
+people of his house had become extinct,)_ Zechariah supplicated his
+Lord, _when he had entered the chamber to pray in the latter part of
+the night_. He said, O my Lord, give me from Thee a good offspring (_a
+righteous son_); for Thou art the Hearer of prayer.--And the angels
+(_by which is meant Gabriel_) called to him as he stood praying in the
+chamber (_that is, the temple_), saying, God promiseth thee John
+[Yahya], who shall be a verifier of [the] Word _which cometh_ from
+God, (_that is, Jesus_ ['Eesa]; _for he is the Spirit of God, and was
+named_ [the] _Word because he was created by the word Be_,) and a
+chief, (_or one followed_,) and chaste, and a prophet, of the
+righteous. (_It is related that he neither did any sin nor intended
+any._)--He said, O my Lord, how shall I have a son, when old age hath
+come upon me, _when I have attained the utmost age, a hundred and
+twenty years_, and my wife is barren, _and hath attained the age of
+eight and ninety_?--He answered, _It shall be_ thus. God will do what
+He pleaseth.--He said, O my Lord, give me a sign.--He replied, Thy sign
+[shall be] that thou shalt not speak unto men for three days, except
+by signal; but remember thy Lord often, and glorify [Him] in the
+evening and in the morning.
+
+   (iii. 31-36.)
+
+
+And he went forth unto his people from the chamber, and made a sign
+unto them, [as though he would say] Glorify [God] in the morning and
+in the evening _as usual_. _And he knew by his being prevented from
+speaking unto them that his wife had conceived John. And after his
+birth, by some years, God said unto him_, O John, receive the book
+(_that is, the Law_) with resolution. And We bestowed on him wisdom
+(_the gift of prophecy_) [when he was yet] a child, _three years of
+age_, and compassion from Us _for mankind_, and [a disposition to
+bestow] alms _upon them_. And he was pious, and dutiful to his
+parents, and was not proud [nor] rebellious _toward his Lord_; and
+peace _from Us_ [was] on him on the day when he was born, and on the
+day of his death, and [shall be] on the day when he shall be raised to
+life. (xix. 12-15.)
+
+And _remember_ when the angels (_that is, Gabriel_) said, O Mary,
+verily God hath chosen thee and hath purified thee and hath chosen
+thee above the women of the peoples _of thy time_. O Mary, be devout
+towards thy Lord and prostrate thyself and bow down with those who bow
+down: _pray with those who pray_.--This is [one] of the announcements
+of things unseen _by thee_: We reveal it unto thee, _O Mohammad_; for
+thou wast not with them when they cast their divining arrows _that it
+might appear to them_ which of them should rear Mary, and thou wast
+not with them when they disputed together _as to rearing
+her_.--_Remember_ when the angels (_that is, Gabriel_) said, O Mary,
+verily God promiseth thee [the] Word from Him, whose name [shall be]
+the Messiah [El-Meseeh], Jesus the son of Mary, honourable in this
+world _by his prophetic office_, and in the world to come _by his
+intercession and high stations_, and of those admitted near _unto
+God_; and he shall speak unto men in the cradle, and when of full
+age,[329] and [he shall be] of the righteous.--She said, O my Lord, how
+shall I have a son, when a man hath not touched me?--He answered, _It
+shall be_ thus; God will create what He pleaseth: when He determineth
+a thing, He only saith unto it, Be,--and it is. And He will teach him
+writing and wisdom and the Law and the Gospel, and _constitute him_ an
+apostle to the children of Israel, _in youth or after adolescence_.
+_And Gabriel breathed into the bosom of her shift; whereupon she
+conceived; and those events of her history which are related in the
+Soorat Maryam_ [Kur. xix.] _happened_.
+
+   (iii. 37-43.)
+
+
+Relate in the book (_that is, the Kur-an_) _the history of_ Mary, when
+she retired from her family to a place towards the east, _in the
+house_, and she took a veil [to conceal herself] from them; and We
+sent unto her our spirit _Gabriel_, and he appeared unto her as a
+perfect man. She said, I beg the Compassionate to preserve me from
+thee! If thou be a pious person, _thou wilt withdraw from me_.--He
+replied, I am only the messenger of thy Lord [to inform thee] that He
+will give thee a pure son, _endowed with the gift of prophecy_. She
+said, How shall I have a son, when a man hath not touched me, and I am
+not a harlot? He answered, Thus _shall it be: a son shall be created
+unto thee without a father_. Thy Lord saith, This is easy unto Me; and
+_thus shall it be_ that We may make him a sign unto men, _showing Our
+power_, and a mercy from Us _unto him who shall believe in him_: for
+it is a thing decreed.--And she conceived him; and she retired with
+him [yet unborn] to a distant place _far from her family_; and the
+pains of childbirth urged her to repair to the trunk of a palm-tree
+_that she might lean against it_. _And she gave birth to the child,
+which was conceived and formed and born in an hour._[330] She said,
+Oh! would that I had died before this _event_, and had been a thing
+forgotten [and] unnoticed!--But he who was below her (_namely Gabriel,
+who was on a lower place than she_) called to her, Grieve not. God
+hath made below thee a rivulet: and shake thou towards thee the trunk
+of the palm-tree (_which was dried-up_); it shall let fall upon thee
+ripe dates, fresh-gathered: therefore eat _of the dates_, and drink
+_of the water of the rivulet_, and be of cheerful eye _on account of
+the child_: and if thou see any one of mankind, _asking thee
+concerning the child_, say, I have vowed unto the Compassionate an
+abstinence _from speech with mankind respecting him and other
+matters_; therefore I will not speak to-day unto a man _after this_.
+
+And she brought him [namely the child] unto her people, carrying him.
+They said, O Mary, thou hast done a strange thing. O sister of Aaron,
+(_he was a righteous man; and the meaning is, O thou who art like him
+in chastity_,[331]) thy father was not a man of wickedness, nor was
+thy mother a harlot. _Then whence gottest thou this child?_--And she
+made a sign _to them_, [pointing] towards him, [namely the child, as
+though she would say,] _Speak ye unto him._ They said, How shall we
+speak unto him who is in the cradle, an infant? He [however] said,
+Verily I am the servant of God:[332] He hath given me the book _of the
+Gospel_, and hath appointed me a prophet; and He hath made me blessed
+wherever I shall be, and hath commanded me to observe prayer and give
+alms as long as I shall live, and _hath made me_ dutiful to my mother,
+and hath not made me proud [nor] wicked. And peace _from God_ [was] on
+me on the day when I was born, and [will be] on the day when I shall
+die, and on the day when I shall be raised to life.--This [was] Jesus
+the son of Mary. _I have spoken_ the saying of truth, concerning which
+they (_namely the Christians_) doubt, _saying that Jesus is the son of
+God_. It is not [meet] for God to get a son. Extolled be His purity
+_from that_ [imputation]! When He decreeth a thing _that He desireth
+to bring into existence_, He only saith unto it, Be,--and it is: _and
+thus He created Jesus the son of Mary without a father_.--And _say_,
+Verily God is my Lord and your Lord: therefore worship ye Him: this is
+a right way, _leading to Paradise_. But the sects have differed among
+themselves; _that is, the Christians have differed concerning Jesus,
+as to whether he be the son of God, or a deity with Him, or the third
+of three_. And woe unto them who have disbelieved _in that which hath
+been stated, or in other matters_, on account of the assembly of a
+great day, _the day of resurrection, and its terrors_. How will they
+hear, and how _will they_ see, on the day when they shall come unto Us
+_in the world to come_! But the offenders to-day (_that is, in the
+present world_) are in a manifest error: _they are deaf, so that they
+hear not the truth; and blind, so that they see it not_. And do thou,
+_O Mohammad_, warn them (_namely the unbelievers of Mekkeh_) of the
+day of sighing (_the day of resurrection, when the evil-doer shall
+sigh for his having neglected to do good in the present world_),
+when the command _for their punishment_ shall be fulfilled, while they
+(_in the present world_) are in a state of heedlessness _with respect
+to it_, and while they believe not _therein_. Verily We shall inherit
+the earth and whomsoever are upon it (_the heedless and others; they
+being destroyed_); and unto Us shall they be brought back _to be
+recompensed_.
+
+   (xix. 16-41.)
+
+
+_And when God sent him_ [Jesus] _to the children of Israel, he said
+unto them, Verily I am the apostle of God unto you_; for I have come
+unto you with a sign from your Lord; for I will make for you of earth
+the similitude of a bird, and will breathe into it, and it shall be a
+bird,[333] by the permission (_or will_) of God;[334] (_and he made
+for them a bat; for it is the most perfect of birds in make; and it
+flew, while they looked at it; but when it had gone out of their
+sight, it fell down dead_;) and I will cure the blind from his birth,
+and the leper; (_and he cured in one day fifty thousand, by prayer, on
+the condition of faith_;) and I will raise to life the dead, by the
+permission of God; (_this he repeated to deny his divinity: and he
+raised to life 'Ariz_ [Lazarus] _a friend of his; and a son of the old
+woman, and the daughter of the publican; and they lived, and children
+were born to them; and Shem the son of Noah, who died immediately_;)
+and I will tell you what ye eat and what ye store up in your houses.
+Verily therein will be a sign unto you, if ye be believers. And _I
+have come unto you_ as a verifier of that which was before me, of the
+Law, and to make lawful unto you part of what was made unlawful to
+you _therein_; (_and he made lawful to them, of fish and fowls,
+whatsoever is without fin or spur; and it is said that he made lawful
+all, and that 'part' is used in the sense of 'the whole:'_) and I have
+come unto you with a sign from your Lord; therefore fear ye God, and
+obey me _in that which I command you, as to the confession of the
+unity of God and the service of Him_. Verily God is my Lord and your
+Lord; therefore worship Him. This is [the] right way. _But they
+accused him of falsehood and believed not in him._ And when Jesus
+perceived their unbelief, he said, Who [will be] my helpers for God?
+The apostles[335] answered, We [will be] the helpers of God. We have
+believed in God; and bear thou witness, _O Jesus_, that we are Muslims
+[or resigned]. O our Lord, we have believed in that which Thou hast
+sent down _of the Gospel_, and we have followed the Apostle, _Jesus_;
+therefore write us down among those who bear witness _of Thy unity and
+of the truth of Thine apostle_.--And they (_that is, the unbelievers
+among the children of Israel_) devised a stratagem _against Jesus, to
+slay him treacherously_; but God devised a stratagem _against them;
+for He put the likeness of Jesus upon one who intended his slaughter,
+and they slew him; and Jesus was taken up_ [into heaven],[336] and
+God is the best of those who devise stratagems.... _It is related that
+God sent a cloud to Jesus, and it took him up; but his mother clung
+unto him and wept: whereupon he said unto her, Verily the resurrection
+will unite us.--It is also related that he will descend shortly before
+the resurrection and judge according to the law of our prophet_
+[Mohammad], _slay Antichrist and the swine, break the cross, and
+impose the capitation-tax_ [on unbelievers].--_Also, that he will
+remain, according to one tradition, seven years; according to another,
+forty years; and die, and be prayed over: but it is probable that_ [by
+the latter period] _is meant the whole time of his tarrying upon the
+earth, before the ascension and after_.
+
+   (iii. 43--47.)
+
+
+_Remember_ when the apostle said, O Jesus, son of Mary, is thy Lord
+able to cause a table to descend unto us from heaven?[337] He replied,
+Fear God, _in demanding signs_, if ye be believers. They said, We
+desire that we may eat therefrom, and that our hearts may be at ease
+_in consequence of additional evidence_, and we may know, _with
+increased knowledge_, that thou hast spoken truth unto us _in
+asserting thyself to be a prophet_, and may be witnesses
+thereof.--Jesus the son of Mary said, O God, our Lord, cause a table to
+descend unto us from heaven, that it (_namely the day of its descent_)
+may be unto us a festival,[338] unto the first of us and the last of
+us (_or those who shall come after us_), and a sign from Thee _of Thy
+power, and of my prophetic office_; and provide us with food
+_thereby_; for Thou art the best of providers.--God said, _in reply to
+him_, Verily I will cause it to descend unto you; but whosoever of you
+shall disbelieve after _its descent_, I will surely punish him with a
+punishment wherewith I will not punish any [other] of the
+peoples.--_And the angels descended with it from heaven: upon it
+were seven cakes of bread and seven fishes; and they ate of them until
+they were satisfied. And in a tradition related by Ibn-'Abbas it is
+said that the table brought down from heaven bread and flesh, and they
+were commanded not to act deceitfully, nor to store up for the morrow;
+but they_ [that is, some of the people] _did so, and were transformed
+into apes and swine_.
+
+   (v. 112-115.)
+
+
+Propound unto them, as an example, the inhabitants of the city _of
+Antioch_, when the apostles _of Jesus_ came unto it;[339] when We sent
+unto them two,[340] and they charged them with falsehood; wherefore
+We strengthened _them_ with a third;[341] and they said, Verily we are
+sent unto you. They replied, Ye are not [aught] save men like us, and
+the Compassionate hath not revealed anything: ye do nothing but lie.
+They said, Our Lord knoweth that we are indeed sent unto you; and
+naught is imposed on us but the delivering of a plain message, _shown
+to be true by manifest proofs, namely the cure of him who hath been
+born blind and of the leper and the sick, and the raising of the
+dead_. [The people of Antioch] said, Verily we presage evil from you;
+_for the rain is withheld from us on your account_: if ye desist not,
+we will assuredly stone you, and a painful punishment shall surely
+betide you from us. [The apostles] replied, Your evil luck is with you
+_because of your unbelief_. If ye have been warned, _will ye presage
+evil and disbelieve_? Nay, ye are an exorbitant people.--And there came
+from the furthest part of the city a man (_namely Habeeb the
+carpenter, who had believed in the apostles_) running: he said, O my
+people, follow the apostles: follow those who ask not of you a
+recompense, and who are rightly directed. _And it was said unto him,
+Art thou of their religion? He replied_, And why should I not worship
+Him who hath created me, and unto whom ye shall be brought back _after
+death_? Shall I take deities beside Him? If the Compassionate be
+pleased to afflict me, their intercession will not avert from me
+aught, nor will they deliver. Verily, in that case (_if I worshipped
+aught but God_), I should be in a manifest error. Verily I believe in
+your Lord; therefore hear ye me.--_But they stoned him, and he
+died;[342] and_ it was said _unto him at his death_, Enter thou into
+Paradise. _And it is said that he entered it alive._ He said, O would
+that my people knew my Lord's forgiveness of me and His having made me
+[one] of those who are honoured?--And We sent not down against his
+people after him (_that is, after his death_) an army _of angels_ from
+heaven _to destroy them_, nor were We sending down _angels to destroy
+any one_. It (_namely their punishment_) was naught but one cry _which
+Gabriel uttered against them_; and lo, they were extinct.
+
+   (xxxvi. 12-28.)
+
+
+_We have cursed the Jews_ ... for their disbelief _in Jesus_ and their
+uttering against Mary a great calumny and their saying, We have killed
+the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, the apostle of God,--Yet they
+killed him not nor crucified him; but one (_namely the person whom
+they crucified_) was made to appear to them like _Jesus_; and verily
+those who disagreed respecting him were in doubt concerning him, _or
+his slaughter; for some of them said, when they saw the slain person,
+The face is the face of Jesus; but the body is not his body:--and
+others said, It is he_:[343]--they had no knowledge of him; but only
+followed an opinion. And they did not really kill him; but God took
+him up unto Himself; and God is mighty [and] wise. And there is not of
+the people of the Scripture _one_ but he shall assuredly believe in
+him (_namely Jesus_) before his death; _that is, before his own death,
+or before the death of Jesus, when he descendeth shortly before the
+resurrection_;[344] and on the day of resurrection he (_namely
+Jesus_) shall be a witness against them.
+
+   (iv. 155-157.)
+
+
+When God shall say, _on the day of resurrection_, O Jesus, son of
+Mary, hast thou said unto men, Take me and my mother as two deities,
+beside God?--_Jesus_ shall answer, _after being agitated_ (_or after it
+shall have thundered_), Extolled be Thy purity _from the imputation of
+aught that is unsuitable to Thee, as the having a partner, and other
+things_! It is not for me to say that which is not right for me. Had I
+said it, Thou hadst known it. Thou knowest what is in me; but I know
+not what is in Thee; for Thou well-knowest things unseen. I said not
+unto them aught but that which Thou commandedst me; _namely_ Worship
+ye God, my Lord and your Lord;--and I was a watcher over them,
+_commanding them to abstain from what they said_, while I remained
+among them: but since Thou hast taken me to Thyself,[345] Thou hast
+been the watcher over them, and Thou art the witness of all things. If
+Thou punish them, (_that is, such of them as have continued in
+unbelief_,) they are Thy servants _and Thou mayest do with them as
+Thou pleasest_; and if Thou forgive them, (_that is, such of them as
+have believed_,) Thou art the Mighty, the Wise.
+
+   (v. 116-118.)
+
+
+When the son of Mary was proposed as an instance (_when the saying of
+God was revealed, Verily ye and what ye worship beside God_ [shall be]
+_fuel of hell_ [Kur. xxi. 98], _and the polytheists said, We are
+content for our gods to be with Jesus, for he hath been worshipped
+beside God_,[346]) lo, thy people, _the polytheists_, cried out _in
+joy_ thereat, and they said, [Are] our gods better, or [is] he? _We
+are content for our gods to be with him._--They proposed not it
+(_namely the instance_) unto thee otherwise than as a cause of dispute
+(_knowing that the word 'what' applieth to that which is not endowed
+with reason; so that it doth not reflect upon Jesus, on whom be
+peace!_): yea, they are a contentious people. He (_namely Jesus_) is
+no other than a servant whom We favoured _with the gift of prophecy_;
+and We proposed him, _by reason of his having come into existence
+without a father_, as an instance _of the divine power_ unto the
+children of Israel. And if We pleased, We would substitute for you
+angels to succeed in the earth.[347] And verily he (_namely Jesus_)
+_shall be_ a sign of the [last] hour:[348] _it shall be known by his
+descending_: wherefore doubt not thereof.--And _say unto them_, Follow
+ye me _in confessing the unity of God_: this, _which I command you to
+follow_, is a right way. And let not the devil turn you away _from the
+religion of God_; for he is unto you a manifest enemy.--And when Jesus
+came with manifest proofs (_with miracles and ordinances_), he said, I
+have come unto you with wisdom (_with prophecy and with the ordinances
+of the Gospel_), and to explain unto you part of [the things]
+concerning which ye disagree: therefore fear ye God, and obey me.
+Verily God is my Lord and your Lord; wherefore worship ye Him: this is
+a right way.--But the parties disagreed among themselves _respecting
+Jesus, whether he were God, or the son of God, or the third of three_:
+and woe unto them that transgressed _in that which they said
+respecting Jesus_, because of the punishment of an afflicting day!
+
+   (xliii. 57-65.)
+
+
+Verily the similitude of Jesus in the sight of God is as the
+similitude of Adam. He created him (_Adam_) of earth: then He said
+unto him, Be,--and he was. _In like manner he said unto Jesus, Be,
+without a father,--and he was. This is_ the truth from thy Lord:
+therefore be not thou of those who doubt. And whosoever _of the
+Christians_ argueth with thee respecting him, after the knowledge that
+hath come unto thee _concerning him_, say, Come ye, let us call our
+sons and your sons and our wives and your wives, and ourselves and
+yourselves _will assemble_: then we will invoke, and will lay the
+curse of God on those who lie, _saying, O God, curse the liar
+respecting the nature of Jesus!--And the prophet invited a company from
+Nejran to do so, when they had argued with him respecting Jesus; and
+they said_, [Wait] _until we consider our case: then we will come unto
+thee. And their counsellor said, Ye know his prophetic office, and
+that no people have execrated a prophet but they have perished. They
+however quieted the man, and departed, and came unto the prophet. And
+he had come forth, having with him El-Hasan and El-Hoseyn and Fatimeh
+and 'Alee; and he said unto them, When I pray, say ye Amen. But they
+refused to execrate, and made peace with him on the condition of their
+paying tribute._--Verily this is indeed the true history, and there is
+no deity but God, and verily God is indeed the Mighty, the Wise.
+
+   (iii. 52-55.)
+
+
+O people of the Scripture (_that is, of the Gospel_), exceed not the
+just bounds in your religion,[349] nor say of God [aught] but the
+truth. The Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, [was] only the apostle of
+God, and His Word, which he transmitted unto Mary, and a spirit (_that
+is, a being possessing a spirit_) from Him. (_He is mentioned in
+conjunction with God, in order to show him honour, and is not, as ye
+assert, the son of God, or a God with Him, or the third of three; for
+the being possessing a spirit is compound, and the Deity must be
+confessed to be pure from the imputation of composition and the
+relationship of a compound being to Him._) Therefore believe in God
+and His apostles, and say not, _There are_ three _gods, God and Jesus
+and his mother_.[350] Abstain _from this, and say what will be_ better
+for you; _that is, assert the unity of God_. God is only one god.
+Extolled be His purity from the imputation of His having a son! To Him
+belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth:
+and God is a sufficient witness _thereof_. The Messiah doth not
+disdain to be a servant unto God, nor do the angels who are admitted
+near _unto Him_. (iv. 169, 170.)
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] See prefatory note, p. 2.
+
+[2] _i.e._, the glory of the clan.
+
+[3] Battles.
+
+[4] This and the other verses quoted in this chapter are taken from
+the translations of old Arab poetry contributed by Mr. C. J. Lyall to
+the _Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal (Translations from
+the Hamaseh and the Aghani; The Mo'allaqah of Zuheyr)_. They imitate
+the metres of the original Arabic verse, but are nevertheless as
+literal as need be. The transliteration of proper names in the verses
+(and in other quotations) has been assimilated to the system adopted
+by Mr. Lane, from which in this work I only depart in the case of
+names which by frequent use have become almost the property of the
+English language.
+
+[5] A tribe.
+
+[6] The subject of the poem, mentioned in the second hemistich of the
+third verse as 'thou,' whose death the supposed author ('one valiant')
+avenged.
+
+[7] For these and other stories about Hatim, see Caussin de Perceval's
+_Essai sur l'Histoire des Arabes_, ii. 607-628: a book which is a
+treasury of Arab life, and abounds in those anecdotes which reveal
+more of the character of the people than whole volumes of ethnological
+treatise.
+
+[8] The later Arabic poets were mostly incapable of the genius of the
+old singers: the times had changed, and the ancient poetry appeared
+almost as exotic to their ideas as it does to our own. No greater
+mistake can be made than to judge of the old poets by such a writer as
+Beha-ed-deen Zoheyr, of whom Professor E. H. Palmer has lately given
+us so beautiful a version. There is nothing in common between El-Beha
+and 'Antarah--scarcely even the language.
+
+[9] Deutsch, _Lit. Remains_, 453, 454: cp. Noeldeke, _Beitraege zur
+Kennt. d. Poesie d. alten Araber_, xxiii., xxiv.
+
+[10] Ezekiel xxvii. 19-24. The identifications of the various names
+with Arabian towns are partly conjectural, but the general reference
+is clearly to Arabia. Cf. the 'Speaker's' _Commentary_, vi. 122; and
+the interpretations of Hitzig, Movers, Tuch, and Menant.
+
+[11] C. P. Tiele, _Outlines of the History of Religion_: tr. J. E.
+Carpenter, p. 63.
+
+[12] Deutsch. _Lit. Remains_, pp. 70-72.
+
+[13] R. Bosworth Smith, _Mohammed and Mohammedanism_, 2d ed. p. 131.
+
+[14] Or 'read,' 'recite.' These lines are the beginning of the 96th
+Soorah of the Kur-an.
+
+[15] Sir W. Muir,_ Life of Mahomet_, 402.
+
+[16] The following is an abridgment: cp. Muir 485, and the
+_Seeret-er-Rasool_, tr. Weil, ii. 316, 317.
+
+[17] An attempt has been made to explain away Mohammad's fidelity to
+Khadeejeh, by adducing the motive of pecuniary prudence. Mohammad,
+they say, was a poor man, Khadeejeh rich and powerfully connected; any
+_affaire de c[oe]ur_ on the husband's part would have been followed by
+a divorce and the simultaneous loss of property and position. It is
+hardly necessary to point out that the fear of poverty--a matter of
+little consequence in Arabia and at that time--would not restrain a
+really sensual man for five-and-twenty years; especially when it is by
+no means certain that Khadeejeh, who loved him with all her heart in a
+motherly sort of way, would have procured a divorce for any cause
+soever. And this explanation leaves Mohammad's loving remembrance of
+his old wife unaccounted for. If her money alone had curbed him for
+twenty-five years, one would expect him at her death to throw off the
+cloak, thank Heaven for the deliverance, and enter at once upon the
+rake's progress. He does none of those things. The story of Zeyneb,
+the divorced wife of Zeyd, is a favourite weapon with Mohammad's
+accusers. It is not one to enter upon here; but I may say that the
+lady's own share in the transaction has never been sufficiently
+considered. In all probability Zeyd, the freed slave, was glad enough
+to get rid of his too well-born wife, and certainly he bore no rancour
+against Mohammad. The real point of the story is the question of
+forged revelations, which is discussed below.
+
+[18] 'The Prophet said: Whosoever shall bear witness that there is one
+God; and that Mohammad is His servant and messenger; and that Jesus
+Christ is His servant and messenger, and that he is the son of the
+hand-maid of God, and that he is the Word of God, the word which was
+sent to Mary, and Spirit from God; and [shall bear witness] that there
+is truth in Heaven and Hell, will enter into paradise, whatever sins
+he may be chargeable with.'--_Mishkat-el-Masabeeh_, i. 11.
+
+[19] R. Bosworth Smith: _Mohammed and Mohammedanism_, 2d ed., 255-257.
+
+[20] _The People of Turkey_, by a Consul's Daughter, preface, xxii.
+
+[21] _Mishkat-el-Masabeeh_, i. 46, 51.
+
+[22] Dr. E. Blyden. See his article on Mohammadanism in Western Africa
+in _The People of Africa_. (New York, 1871.)
+
+[23] It may be interesting to some readers to judge for themselves of
+the different characteristics of these four groups of soorahs; and
+though in a series of translated selections it will hardly be possible
+to gain a thorough appreciation of the change of style or matter, some
+notion may nevertheless be obtained by reading the First Part of these
+Selections in the following order (the numbers referring to the
+figures at the head of each extract):--
+
+Mekka--First Period:--xvii., lxvi., lxv., xviii., xxxvii., xxxviii.,
+xxxix., xl., xli., xlii., xliii., xxx., iii., i.
+
+Second Period:--lx., xlvii., xxix., viii., xiv., lxiii., vi., li.,
+lxii., xxxi., xliv., lxxxvi., lxxxi., xlv., xxxvi., xx.
+
+Third Period:--lxxiii., lxiv., xxxv., liii., xlvi., xvi., lxxvi.,
+xxxii., lix., xxi., vii., lv., xix., xii., x., lxxii., xxviii., xi.
+
+Medina:--ii., lxxxiv., xxxiii., lxxvii., xxxiv., xxiv., xxvi., ix.,
+lii., lxxix., lxvii., lxi., iv., lxxi., lxix., lxx., lxxv., lxxxiii.,
+xlviii., v., lxxviii., xxii., lvi., lvii., xlix., xxvii., xxv., xiii.,
+lviii., lxxiv., l., liv., xxiii., lxxx., xv., lxviii., lxxxv., lxxxii.
+
+[24] This is generally believed to be the night of (that is,
+preceding) the 27th day of the month.
+
+[25] In the Introduction, the references are to the new one volume
+edition, 1877. Since writing my chapter on the early Arabs, Sir W.
+Muir has published an interesting essay on old Arabic poetry in the
+_Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society_ (xi part i. 1879).
+
+[26] The 'Lord's Prayer' of the Muslims, recited several times in each
+of the five daily prayers, and on many other occasions.
+
+[27] _That is, of all creatures._
+
+[28] ['Do we beg assistance,' in the original ed.]
+
+[29] _God knoweth best what He meaneth by these letters._
+
+[30] _That it is from God._
+
+[31] _In the resurrection and paradise and hell._
+
+[32] _The Kur-an._
+
+[33] _The Pentateuch and the Gospel and other books._
+
+[34] This chapter is held in particular veneration by the Mohammadans,
+and declared, by a tradition of their prophet, to be equal in value to
+a third part of the whole Koran.--S.
+
+[35] One of the most admired passages in the Kur-an, recited (though
+not by all Muslims) at the close of each of the five daily prayers,
+and often engraved on an ornament of gold or silver or a precious
+stone to be worn as an amulet.
+
+[36] 'The seven heavens and earths in comparison with the Throne are
+nought but as seven dirhems [silver coins] cast into a shield.'--Trad.
+
+[37] ['Able to do everything,' orig. ed. Lit. 'potent over
+everything.']
+
+[38] Lit. 'driven away with stones.' This expression alludes to a
+tradition, that Abraham, when the devil tempted him to disobey God, in
+not sacrificing his son, drove the fiend away by throwing stones at
+him; in memory of which, the Mohammadans, at the pilgrimage of Mecca,
+throw a certain number of stones at the devil, with certain
+ceremonies, in the valley of Mina.--S. The devils, or evil jinn, it is
+said, had liberty to enter any of the seven heavens till the birth of
+Jesus, when they were excluded from three of them; on the birth of
+Mohammad they were forbidden the other four. They continue, however,
+to ascend to the confines of the lowest heaven, and there, listening
+to the conversation of the angels respecting things decreed by God,
+obtain knowledge of futurity, which they sometimes impart to men, who
+by means of talismans or certain invocations make them to serve the
+purposes of magical performances. Shooting stars are often hurled at
+the devils when they thus listen.
+
+[39] _That it may not move with its inhabitants._
+
+[40] _Or determined._
+
+[41] _Slaves and beasts and cattle: for it is God only who sustaineth
+them._
+
+[42] _Which cause the clouds to fill with water._
+
+[43] _As the bird from the egg._
+
+[44] _As the egg from the bird._
+
+[45] _Or consider._
+
+[46] _For you previously to birth._
+
+[47] ['Compacted,' orig. ed. Strictly, words such as 'come forth'
+should be supplied before 'clusters.']
+
+[48] _In leaf._
+
+[49] _In fruit._
+
+[50] [Genii.] _since they have obeyed them in worshipping idols_. See
+p. 33.
+
+[51] _Alone._
+
+[52] _This was revealed with reference to a man unto whom the Prophet
+sent one to invite him_ to the faith; _but he said, Who is the apostle
+of God, and what is God? Is he of gold, or silver, or brass? Whereupon
+a thunderbolt fell upon him, and struck off his skull_.
+
+[53] _On the Preserved Tablet._
+
+[54] _Restoring your souls in the daytime._
+
+[55] _The term of life._
+
+[56] ['Predominant,' orig. ed.]
+
+[57] _Angels who register your deeds._
+
+[58] _The creatures._
+
+[59] _That He may recompense them._
+
+[60] _O Mohammad, to the people of Mekkeh._
+
+[61] _Namely, the Jews and the Christians, and those_ [Arabs] _who
+assert that the angels are daughters of God_.
+
+[62] ['Demolished,' orig. ed.]
+
+[63] _On the day of resurrection._
+
+[64] _Without wealth or helper._
+
+[65] _Of the perfume and saffron with which they are overdaubed._
+
+[66] _Idols._
+
+[67] _This they would not worship them._
+
+[68] ['Similitudes,' orig. ed. It is the plural of the same word as
+that translated 'parable' at the beginning of the preceding extract,
+and 'likeness' twice in this extract.]
+
+[69] [It is said that Mohammad, when a revelation came down to him,
+used to say, 'Cover ye me with something whereby I may become warm.'
+Lane: Lexicon, voce _dathara_.]
+
+[70] [Idolatry.]
+
+[71] [This rendering is Mr. Rodwell's. I do not think it can be
+bettered.]
+
+[72] [Lit. 'And by the night when it becometh still;' or (but this is
+less strongly supported) 'when it darkeneth.']
+
+[73] ['In my possession,' orig. ed.]
+
+[74] ['Apostle,' in the orig. ed.; but Christian associations have
+somewhat restricted the original meaning of the word, and I have
+therefore in this and other instances substituted 'Messenger,' which
+exactly represents the Arabic _rasool_.]
+
+[75] _To unbelief._
+
+[76] _He will only injure himself._
+
+[77] _The Jews said unto the Muslims, We are the people of the first
+book_ (the Pentateuch), _and our Kibleh_ (the point to which we turn
+our faces in praying) _is the more ancient, and the prophets have not
+been of the Arabs, and if Mohammad were a prophet, he had been of us_.
+_Therefore_ the following _was revealed_.
+
+[78] _So that He may choose of His servants whom He pleaseth._
+
+[79] _That is, God is; and He hath acquitted Abraham of belonging to
+them by His saying_ [Kur. iii. 60], _Abraham was not a Jew nor a
+Christian; and the other persons above-mentioned with him were
+followers of him_.
+
+
+[80] _They are the Jews, who have concealed the testimony of God, in
+the Pentateuch, of Abraham's orthodoxy._
+
+[81] [Mohammad and Ahmad are from the same root, _hamd_, meaning
+'praise;' and both names were borne by the Prophet. The supposed
+prediction of Mohammad's coming arose, perhaps, from a confusion
+between Parakletos and Perikleitos or possibly Periklytos in Evang. S.
+Jo. xvi. 7, where the coming of 'the Paraclete' is promised; in some
+Arabic version of which the word may have been ignorantly rendered by
+'Ahmad,' and thus reported to Mohammad.]
+
+[82] _By the description of him in their books._
+
+[83] _The description of him._
+
+[84] _In the Law._
+
+[85] _Or miracles._
+
+[86] _As Zechariah and John, and ye slew them._
+
+[87] _Their belief, if the signs come._ The copies of the original
+differ in this verse, but not in an important manner.
+
+[88] _From the truth, so that they shall not believe._
+
+[89] _The Kur-an._
+
+[90] Or art mad.
+
+[91] _That is, with punishment._
+
+[92] [The original copy kept by God.]
+
+[93] [This line is often inscribed on the covers of copies of the Kur-an.]
+
+[94] _In eloquence._
+
+[95] [In orig. edition, and literally, 'Although some of them assisted
+others.']
+
+[96] _That they may be admonished._
+
+[97] _And not sent an angel?_
+
+[98] _Instead of mankind._
+
+[99] _For no apostle is sent unto a people but one of their own kind._
+
+[100] Forgery.
+
+[101] _Mohammad._
+
+[102] Chapter.
+
+[103] _To assist you._
+
+[104] _The result of the threat that it containeth._
+
+[105] _As to its being from God._
+
+[106] _In eloquence and beauty of composition and information
+concerning what is unseen._
+
+[107] _Your deities whom ye worship, that they may aid you._
+
+[108] _When the unbelievers cavilled at abrogation, and said,
+'Mohammad commandeth his companions to-day to do a thing and
+forbiddeth it tomorrow,'_ the following _was revealed_.
+
+[109] _Namely, a Christian slave whom the Prophet used to visit._ [The
+Mekkans accounted for the production of the Kur-an by an unlearned man
+like Mohammad by ascribing it to the teaching of some Christian, whom
+is doubtful. Mohammad's reply is that the Christian's was a foreign
+tongue, whilst the Kur-an was in Arabic.]
+
+[110] ['As a further supply,' orig. ed.]
+
+[111] [Lit. 'Burdens:' explained by El-Beydawee and others _as buried
+treasures_ and as _dead_.]
+
+[112] _The most highly esteemed of property._
+
+[113] ['Be set on fire,' orig. ed. Both these renderings, and also 'be
+dried up,' are supported by various authorities. See Lane: Lex. voce
+_sejera_.]
+
+[114] Woman-child.
+
+[115] _Of men's actions._
+
+[116] _As the skin is plucked off a_ slaughtered _sheep_.
+
+[117] _A kind of thorn which no beast eateth, by reason of its
+impurity._
+
+[118] _Or eight ranks of them._
+
+[119] _Unto a company, by reason of his joy thereat._
+
+[120] _And it shall be said unto such._
+
+[121] _And it shall be said unto the keepers of hell._
+
+[122] _As it hath denied it in the present world._
+
+[123] _Those who shall receive their books in their right hands._
+
+[124] _How honourable shall they be!_
+
+[125] _How contemptible shall they be!_
+
+[126] _In the way to good fortune (namely, the Prophets), how
+honourable shall be!_
+
+[127] ['Destined to continue for ever _in boyhood_,' orig. ed.]
+
+[128] [Hooreeyehs.]
+
+[129] Intensely black and white, large-eyed.
+
+[130] From bottom to top.
+
+[131] [The Hooreeyehs.]
+
+[132] _Polytheism._
+
+[133] Beneath the tents thereof.
+
+[134] _The believers and the unbelievers._
+
+[135] _One after another, barefooted, naked, unarmed._
+
+[136] _Of the resurrection._
+
+[137] _Written in their books._
+
+[138] _I will surely fill Hell_, &c. [Kur. vii. 17, given below, p.
+51].
+
+[139] Of righteousness.
+
+[140] _Between all creatures._
+
+[141] [Or 'marked' or 'goodly.']
+
+[142] [Fighting for the faith.]
+
+[143] [Or 'end,' 'result.']
+
+[144] "Arms on armour clashing bray'd Horrible discord."--_Par. Lost_,
+vi. 209.
+
+[145] _O Mohammad._ The copies of the original differ here, but the
+differences are unimportant.
+
+[146] _By taking to themselves idols._
+
+[147] _Thou wouldst see a great thing!_
+
+[148] _Denying their having led them into error._
+
+[149] _Iblees._
+
+[150] _And the people of paradise are introduced into paradise, and
+the people of the fire into the fire, and when the latter have
+assembled around him._
+
+[151] _Respecting the resurrection and retribution._
+
+[152] _The contrary._
+
+[153] _The people of Mekkeh._
+
+[154] _Of the resurrection._
+
+[155] _If the choice had been given us we had not gone forth and had
+not been slain._
+
+[156] _Namely, the Jews._
+
+[157] [See _Modern Egyptians_, 5th ed., p 284.]
+
+[158] [On the various orders of the Jinn, see Lane's _Thousand and One
+Nights_, Introduction, note 21. And see above, pp. 7, 9.]
+
+[159] _Consisting of the angels._
+
+[160] _They speak not until after He hath spoken._
+
+[161] _Iblees_ [the devil].
+
+[162] [In the Arabic, 'Kur-an.']
+
+[163] _This is said to be the most comprehensive verse in the Kur-an
+with respect to good and evil._ [The commentators say it contains the
+whole duty of man, both in respect of doing and of shunning. It is
+needless to enumerate the various virtues and sins which they consider
+are implied in each of the simple words of the text.]
+
+[164] [Mr. Rodwell's rendering.]
+
+[165] The traveller.
+
+[166] _Of being rewarded for so doing._
+
+[167] _Or reproach._
+
+[168] _Their idols._
+
+[169] _Disposition._
+
+[170] [Lit., and in orig. ed., 'hath great good fortune.']
+
+[171] [_Mod. Egypt._, 104.]
+
+[172] [The Christians and Jews.]
+
+[173] [Or 'best:' so in _Mod. Egypt._, 280.]
+
+[174] [This is Mr. Rodwell's word, and is, I think, more expressive of
+the original (_muslimoona_) than 'resigned.']
+
+[175] _In the prophets._
+
+[176] [Some suppose this verse to be abrogated by the next extract:
+others try to explain it away.]
+
+[177] _And of him who inviteth them to the true religion._
+
+[178] Mirage (_sarab_).
+
+[179] _In like manner the unbeliever reckoneth that his works will
+profit him, until, when he dieth and is brought before his Lord, he
+findeth not his works._
+
+[180] _The unbeliever._
+
+[181] _By his unbelief._
+
+[182] _In the tradition it is said, 'Whosoever hath any good thing
+given unto him, whether of family or wealth, and saith on the occasion
+thereof, 'What God willeth ('ma-shaae-llah)! There is no power but in
+God!' he will not see in it aught displeasing.'_
+
+[183] _On the day of resurrection._
+
+[184] _O Mohammad._
+
+[185] _Of the people of Mekkeh._
+
+[186] _So as to disdain receiving the truth._ (_This was revealed as
+respecting the envoys who came from the King of Abyssinia: the Prophet
+recited the Soorat Ya-Seen_ [xxxvi.], _whereupon they wept and became
+Muslims, and said, 'How like is this to that which was revealed to
+Jesus.'_)
+
+[187] _Not believing in Mohammad._
+
+[188] _With respect to the hypocrites_ the following _was revealed_.
+
+[189] _Their chiefs._
+
+[190] The number of the prophets which have been from time to time
+sent by God into the world amounts to no less than 224,000, according
+to one Mohammadan tradition, or to 124,000 according to another; among
+whom 313 were apostles, sent with special commissions to reclaim
+mankind 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 Mohammad. All the
+prophets in general the Mohammadans believe to have been free from
+great sins and errors of consequence, and professors of one and the
+same religion, that is, El-Islam, notwithstanding the different laws
+and institutions which they observed. In this great number of
+prophets, they not only reckon divers patriarchs and persons named in
+Scripture but not recorded to have been prophets (wherein the Jewish
+and Christian writers have sometimes led the way), as Adam, Seth, Lot,
+Ishmael, Nun, Joshua, &c., and introduce some of them under different
+names, as Enoch, Heber, and Jethro, who are called in the Kur-an,
+Idrees, Hood, and Sho'eyb; but several others whose very names do not
+appear in Scripture (though they endeavour to find some persons there
+to fix them on), as Salih, El-Khidr, Dhu-l-Kifl.
+
+As to the Scriptures, the Mohammadans are taught by the Kur-an that
+God, in divers ages of the world, gave revelations of His will in
+writing to several prophets, the whole and every word of which it is
+absolutely necessary for a good Muslim 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 Idrees or Enoch, ten to Abraham; and
+the other four, being the Pentateuch, the Psalms, the Gospel, and the
+Kur-an, were successively delivered to Moses, David, Jesus, and
+Mohammad; which last being the _seal_ of the prophets, those
+revelations are now closed and no more are to be expected. All these
+divine books, except the four last, they agree to be now entirely lost
+and their contents unknown; though 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.--S.
+
+[191] 'El-Jann' is here used as a name of Iblees, the father of the
+jinn. It also signifies the jinn themselves.
+
+[192] According to a tradition of the Prophet, the height of Adam was
+equal to that of a tall palm-tree.
+
+[193] The Mohammadans say, that when they were cast down from Paradise
+[which is in the seventh heaven], Adam fell on the isle of Ceylon, or
+Sarandeeb, and Eve near Juddah (the port of Mekkeh) in Arabia; and
+that, after a separation of two hundred years, Adam was, on his
+repentance, conducted by the angel Gabriel to a mountain near Mekkeh,
+where he found and knew his wife, the mountain being thence named
+'Arafat; and that he afterwards retired with her to Ceylon.--S.
+
+[194] The prayer is inserted by the commentary from Kur. vii. 22.
+
+[195] This word has various significations in the Kur-an; sometimes,
+as in this passage, it signifies _divine revelation_, or _scripture_
+in general; sometimes the _verses_ of the _Kur-an_ in particular; and
+at other times, _visible miracles_. But the sense is easily
+distinguished by the context.--S.
+
+[196] Called in Arabic Habeel and Kabeel.
+
+[197] The occasion of their making this offering is thus related,
+according to the common tradition in the East. Each of them being born
+with a twin-sister, when they were grown up, Adam by God's direction
+ordered Cain to marry Abel's twin-sister, and Abel to marry Cain's;
+(for it being the common opinion that marriages ought not to be had in
+the nearest degrees of consanguinity, since they must necessarily
+marry their sisters, it seemed reasonable to suppose they ought to
+take those of the remoter degree;) but this Cain refusing to agree to,
+because his own sister was the handsomest, Adam ordered them to make
+their offerings to God, thereby referring the dispute to His
+determination. The commentators say Cain's offering was a sheaf of the
+very worst of his corn; but Abel's a fat lamb of the best of his
+flock.--S.
+
+[198] Or, as the original literally signifies, boiled over [or
+boiled], which is consonant to what the Rabbins say, that the waters
+of the deluge were boiling hot.--This oven was, as some say, at
+El-Koofeh, in a spot whereon a mosque now stands; or, as others rather
+think, in a certain place in India, or else at 'Eyn-el-Wardeh in
+Mesopotamia. Some pretend that it was the same oven which Eve made use
+of to bake her bread in, being of a form different from those we use,
+having the mouth in the upper part, and that it descended from
+patriarch to patriarch till it came to Noah. It is remarkable that
+Mohammad, in all probability, borrowed this circumstance from the
+Persian Magi, who also fancied that the first waters of the deluge
+gushed out of the oven of a certain old woman named Zala Cufa.--But the
+word "tennoor," which is here translated "oven," also signifying "the
+superficies of the earth," or "a place whence waters spring forth," or
+"where they are collected," some suppose it means no more in this
+passage than the spot or fissure whence the first eruption of waters
+broke forth.--S.
+
+[199] It is a custom of many Muslims to pronounce these words, 'In the
+name of God be its course and its mooring,' on embarking for any
+voyage.--L. The commentators tell us that Noah was two years in
+building the ark, which was framed of Indian plane-tree; that it was
+divided into three stories, of which the lower was designed for the
+beasts, the middle one for the men and women, and the upper for the
+birds; and the men were separated from the women by the body of Adam,
+which Noah had taken into the ark. This last is a tradition of the
+Eastern Christians.--S.
+
+[200] The original of this passage is considered the most sublime in
+the Kur-an.
+
+[201] The Mohammadans say that Noah went into the ark on the tenth of
+Rejeb, and came out of it on the tenth of Moharram; which therefore
+became a fast: so that the whole time of Noah's being in the ark
+according to them was six months.--S. (B.)
+
+[202] 'Ad was an ancient and potent tribe of Arabs, and zealous
+idolaters. They chiefly worshipped four deities, Sakiyeh, Hafidhah,
+Razikah, and Salimeh; 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 restoring them to
+health when afflicted with sickness; according to the signification of
+the several names.--S.
+
+[203] Generally supposed to be the same person as Heber.--S.
+
+[204] Thamood was another tribe of the ancient Arabs who fell into
+idolatry. They dwelt first in the country of the 'Adites, but their
+numbers increasing, they removed to the territory of Hejr.--S.
+
+[205] This extraordinary camel frighting the other cattle from their
+pasture, a certain rich woman, named 'Oneyzeh Umm-Ghanim, having four
+daughters, dressed them out, and offered one Kudar his choice of them,
+if he would kill the camel. Whereupon 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 Sadakah Bint-El-Mukhtar as a
+joint-conspiratress with 'Oneyzeh, and pretending that the young one
+was not killed.'--S. (A.F., B.)
+
+[206] Defying the vengeance with which they 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 sufficient strength.--S.
+
+[207] Like violent and repeated claps of thunder; which some say was
+no other than the voice of the angel Gabriel, which rent their hearts.
+It is said that after they had killed the camel, Salih told them
+that on the morrow their faces should become yellow, the next day 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.--S. (A.F., B.)
+
+[208] In the Mir-at-ez-Zeman it is stated that there are various
+opinions respecting the age in which this person lived: 1. That he
+lived in the first century after the Deluge, and was of the sons of
+Japheth, and was born in the land of the Greeks: so said 'Alee; 2.
+That he was after Thamood: so said El-Hasan; 3. That he was of the
+lineage of Esau, the son of Isaac: so said Mukatil; 4. That he lived
+between the times of Moses and Jesus; 5. That he lived between Jesus
+and Mohammad; and 6. That he was of the lineage of Yoonan, son [as
+some say] of Noah, in the days of Abraham; and this, adds the author,
+is the most correct.--But some suppose him to be the same with
+Alexander the Great.--Respecting his surname of 'Dhu-l-Karneyn,' the
+most obvious signification of which is 'the two-horned,' the more
+judicious in general are of opinion that he received it because he
+made expeditions to the extreme parts of the east and west, and
+therefore that it signifies 'Lord of the two extreme parts of the
+earth.'
+
+[209] Who were clothed in the skins of wild beasts, and lived upon
+what the sea cast on shore.--S. (B.)
+
+[210] The Arabs call them Yajooj and Majooj, and say they are two
+nations or tribes descended from Japheth the son of Noah; or, as
+others write, Gog are a tribe of the Turks, and Magog of those of
+Geelan, the Geli and Gelae of Ptolemy and Strabo.--It is said these
+barbarous people made their irruptions into the neighbouring countries
+in the spring, and destroyed and carried off all the fruits of the
+earth; and some pretend they were man-eaters.--S. (B.)
+
+[211] The Eastern authors unanimously agree that he (Azar) 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 was, 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.--S.
+
+[212] Some tell us that Nimrod, on seeing this miraculous deliverance
+from his palace, cried out that he would make an offering to the God
+of Abraham; and that he accordingly sacrificed four thousand kine.
+[B.] But, if he ever relented, he soon relapsed into his former
+infidelity: for he built a tower that he might ascend to heaven to see
+Abraham's God; which being overthrown [Kur. xvi. 28], still
+persisting in his design, he would be carried to heaven in a chest
+borne by four monstrous birds; but after wandering for some time
+through the air, he fell down on a mountain with such force that he
+made it shake, whereto (as some fancy) a passage in the Kur-an [xiv.
+47] alludes, which may be translated, 'although their contrivances be
+such as to make the mountains tremble.'--Nimrod, disappointed in his
+design of making war with God, turned his arms against Abraham, who,
+being a great prince, raised forces to defend himself; but God,
+dividing Nimrod's subjects, and confounding their language, deprived
+him of the greater part of his people, and plagued those who adhered
+to him by swarms of gnats, which destroyed almost all of them; and one
+of those gnats having entered into the nostril, or ear, of Nimrod,
+penetrated to one of the membranes of his brain, where, growing bigger
+every day, it gave him such intolerable pain, that he was obliged to
+cause his head to be beaten with a mallet, in order to procure some
+ease, which torture he suffered four hundred years; God being willing
+to punish, by one of the smallest of His creatures, him who insolently
+boasted himself to be lord of all. A Syrian calendar places the death
+of Nimrod, as if the time were well known, on the eighth of Tamooz, or
+July.--S.
+
+[213] They tell us that Gabriel thrust his wing under them and lifted
+them up so high that the inhabitants of the lower heaven heard the
+barking of the dogs and the crowing of the cocks; and then, inverting
+them, threw them down to the earth.--S. (B.)
+
+[214] It is the most received opinion among the Mohammadans that the
+son whom Abraham offered was Ishmael and not Isaac; Ishmael being his
+only son at that time: for the promise of Isaac's birth is mentioned
+lower, as subsequent in time to this transaction. They also allege the
+testimony of their prophet, who is reported to have said, 'I am the
+son of the two who were offered in sacrifice;' meaning his great
+ancestor, Ishmael, and his own father 'Abd-Allah: for
+'Abd-el-Muttalib had made a vow that if God would permit him to
+find out and open the well Zemzem and should give him ten sons he
+would sacrifice one of them; accordingly, when he had obtained his
+desire in both respects, he cast lots on his sons, and the lot falling
+on 'Abd-Allah, he redeemed him by offering a hundred camels, which was
+therefore ordered to be the price of a man's blood in the Sunneh.--S.
+(B., Z.)
+
+[215] The occasion of this request of Abraham is said to have been a
+doubt proposed to him by the devil in human form, how it was possible
+for the several parts of a corpse 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.--S.
+
+[216] In the original, 'Imam,' which answers to the Latin _Antistes_.
+This title the Mohammadans give to their priests [if such a title may
+be used, for want of one more correct] who begin the prayers in their
+mosques, and whom all the congregation follow.--S.
+
+[217] The term 'rek'ah' signifies the repetition of a set form of
+words, chiefly from the Kur-an, and ejaculations of 'God is most
+Great!' etc., accompanied by particular postures; part of the words
+being repeated in an erect posture, part sitting, and part in other
+postures: an inclination of the head and body, followed by two
+prostrations, distinguishing each rek'ah. Each of the five daily
+prayers of the Muslims consist of a certain number of rek'ahs.
+
+[218] The city of Et-Taif was so called, according to Abu-l-Fida and
+several other Arab authors, because it, with the adjacent fields,
+was separated from Syria during the Deluge, and after floating round
+about upon the water at length rested in its present situation, where
+its soil has continued to produce the fruits of Syria.
+
+[219] Namely, the Kaabeh.
+
+[220] In the original, 'Muslims,' which is the peculiar and very
+appropriate title of the believers in the religion taught by Mohammad;
+and as he professed not to teach a religion essentially _new_, this
+title is given to all true believers before him.
+
+[221] 'El-Islam' signifies the _resigning_ oneself to God and to His
+service, and is the name given by Mohammad to that religion which, he
+asserted, all the prophets before him had taught, and he restored; the
+foundation of which was the unity of God.
+
+[222] This well, say some, was a certain well near Jerusalem, or not
+far from the river Jordan; but others call it the well of Egypt, or
+Midian. The commentators tell us that when the sons of Jacob had
+gotten Joseph with them in the field, they began to abuse and to beat
+him so unmercifully that they had killed him had not Judah on his
+crying out for help insisted on the promise they had made not to kill
+him but to cast him into the well. Whereupon they let him down a
+little way; but as he held by the sides of the well, they bound him,
+and took off his inner garment, designing to stain it with blood to
+deceive their father. Joseph begged hard to have his garment returned
+to him, but to no purpose, his brothers telling him, with a sneer,
+that the eleven stars and the sun and the moon might clothe him and
+keep him company.--S. (B., Z.)
+
+[223] The commentators pretend that Gabriel also clothed him in the
+well with a garment of silk of Paradise. For they say that when
+Abraham was thrown into the fire by Nimrod, he was stripped; and that
+Gabriel brought him this garment and put it on him; and that from
+Abraham it descended to Jacob, who folded it up and put it into an
+amulet, which he hung about Joseph's neck, whence Gabriel drew it
+out.--S. (B., Z.)
+
+[224] These races they used by way of exercise; and the commentators
+generally understand here that kind of race wherein they also showed
+their dexterity in throwing darts, which is still used in the East.--S.
+
+[225] This Jacob had reason to suspect, because when the garment was
+brought to him, he observed that, though it was bloody, yet it was not
+torn.--S. (B.)
+
+[226] Three days after Joseph had been thrown into it.--S.
+
+[227] The commentators are so exact as to give us the name of this
+man, who as they pretend, was Malik Ibn-Doar, of the tribe of
+Khuza'ah.--S. (B.)
+
+[228] The expositors are not agreed whether the pronoun _they_ relates
+to Malik and his companions, or to Joseph's brethren. They who espouse
+the former opinion say that those who came to draw water concealed the
+manner of their coming by him from the rest of the caravan, that they
+might keep him to themselves; pretending that some people of the place
+had given him to them to sell for them in Egypt. And they who prefer
+the latter opinion tell us that Judah carried victuals to Joseph every
+day while he was in the well; but not finding him there on the fourth
+day, he acquainted his brothers with it: whereupon they all went to
+the caravan and claimed Joseph as their slave, he not daring to
+discover that he was their brother, lest something worse should befall
+him; and at length they agreed to sell him to them.--S. (B.)
+
+[229] A corruption of Potiphar. He was a man of great consideration,
+being superintendent of the royal treasury.--S. (B.)
+
+[230] That is, to Kitfeer and his friends. The occasion of Joseph's
+imprisonment is said to be either that they suspected him to be guilty
+notwithstanding the proofs which had been given of his innocence, or
+else that Zeleekha desired it, feigning, to deceive her husband, that
+she wanted to have Joseph removed from her sight till she could
+conquer her passion by time; though her real design was to force him
+to compliance.--S.
+
+[231] According to the explication of some who take the pronoun _him_
+to relate to Joseph, this passage may be rendered, 'But the devil
+caused him (_i.e._, Joseph) to forget to make his application unto his
+lord;' and to beg the good offices of his fellow-prisoner for his
+deliverance, instead of relying on God alone, as it became a prophet,
+especially, to have done.--S. (B.)
+
+[232] This prince, as the Oriental writers generally agree, was
+Er-Reiyan the son of El-Weleed the Amalekite, who was converted by
+Joseph to the worship of the true God, and died in the lifetime of
+that prophet. But some pretend that the Pharaoh of Joseph and of Moses
+were one and the same person, and that he lived (or rather reigned)
+four hundred years.--S. (B.)
+
+[233] The commentators say that Joseph, being taken out of prison,
+after he had washed and changed his clothes, was introduced to the
+king, whom he saluted in the Hebrew tongue, and on the king's asking
+what language that was, he answered that it was the language of his
+fathers. This prince, they say, understood no less than seventy
+languages, in every one of which he discoursed with Joseph, who
+answered him in the same; at which the king, greatly marvelling,
+desired him to relate his dream, which he did, describing the most
+minute circumstances: whereupon the king placed Joseph by him on his
+throne, and made him his Wezeer, or chief minister.--S. (B.)
+
+[234] Namely, Ephraim and Manasses: so that according to this
+tradition, she was the same woman who is called Asenath by 'Moses.'
+This supposed marriage, which authorized their amours, probably
+encouraged the Mohammadan divines to make use of the loves of Joseph
+and Zeleekha as an allegorical emblem of the spiritual love between
+the Creator and the creature, God and the soul; just as the Christians
+apply the Song of Solomon to the same mystical purpose.--S.
+
+[235] Joseph, being made Wezeer, governed with great wisdom; for he
+not only caused justice to be impartially administered and encouraged
+the people to industry and the improvement of agriculture during the
+seven years of plenty, but began and perfected several works of great
+benefit; the natives at this day ascribing to the patriarch Joseph
+almost all the ancient works of public utility throughout the kingdom;
+as particularly the rendering the province of El-Feiyoom, from a
+standing pool or marsh, the most fertile and best-cultivated land in
+all Egypt. When the years of famine came, the effects of which were
+felt not only in Egypt but in Syria and the neighbouring countries,
+the inhabitants were obliged to apply to Joseph for corn, which he
+sold to them, first for their money, jewels, and ornaments, then for
+their cattle and lands, and at length for their persons; so that all
+the Egyptians in general became slaves to the king, though Joseph by
+his consent soon released them and returned them their substance.--S.
+(B.)
+
+[236] At length Joseph asked them whom they had to vouch for their
+veracity; but they told him they knew no man who could vouch for them
+in Egypt. Then, replied he, one of you shall stay behind with me as a
+pledge, and the others may return home with their provision; and when
+ye come again, ye shall bring your younger brother with you, that I
+may know ye have told me the truth. Whereupon, it being in vain to
+dispute the matter, they cast lots who should stay behind, and the lot
+fell upon Simeon. When they departed, Joseph gave each of them a
+camel, and another for their brother.--S. (B.)
+
+[237] The original word signifying not only money but also goods
+bartered or given in exchange for other merchandise, some commentators
+tell us that they paid for their corn, not in money, but in shoes and
+dressed skins.--S. (B.)
+
+[238] The belief in the influence of the evil eye prevails among all
+the Muslims, even the most religious and learned; for their prophet
+said, 'The eye hath a complete influence; because verily, if there
+were a thing to overcome fate, it most certainly would be a malignant
+eye.' Hence he permitted charms (which he disallowed in almost every
+other case) to be employed for the purpose of counteracting its
+influence.
+
+[239] It is related that Joseph, having invited his brethren to an
+entertainment, ordered them to be placed two and two together; by
+which means, Benjamin, the eleventh, was obliged to sit alone, and,
+bursting into tears, said, If my brother Joseph were alive, he would
+have sat with me. Whereupon Joseph ordered him to be seated at the
+same table with himself, and when the entertainment was over,
+dismissed the rest, ordering that they should be lodged two and two in
+a house, but kept Benjamin in his own apartment, where he passed the
+night. The next day, Joseph asked him whether he would accept of
+himself for his brother, in the room of him whom he had lost; to which
+Benjamin replied, 'Who can find a brother comparable unto thee? Yet
+thou art not the son of Jacob and Rachel.' And upon this, Joseph
+discovered himself to him.--S. (B.).
+
+[240] Some, however, are of opinion that it was a drinking-cup.
+
+[241] The occasion of this suspicion, it is said, was that Joseph
+having been brought up by his father's sister, she became so fond of
+him, that when he grew up and Jacob designed to take him from her she
+contrived the following stratagem to keep him. Having a girdle which
+had once belonged to Abraham, she girt it about the child, and then
+pretending she had lost it, caused strict search to be made for it;
+and it being at length found on Joseph, he was adjudged, according to
+the above-mentioned law of the family, to be delivered to her as her
+property. Some, however, say that Joseph actually stole an idol of
+gold, which belonged to his mother's father, and destroyed it; a story
+probably taken from Rachel's stealing the images of Laban: and others
+tell us that he once stole a goat or a hen, to give to a poor man.--S.
+
+[242] Misr is the name both of Egypt and its capital.
+
+[243] The injury they did Benjamin was the separating him from his
+brother, after which they kept him in so great subjection that he
+durst not speak to them but with the utmost submission. Some say that
+these words were occasioned by a letter which Joseph's brethren
+delivered to him from their father, requesting the releasement of
+Benjamin, and by their representing his extreme affliction at the loss
+of him and his brother. The commentators observe that Joseph, to
+excuse his brethren's behaviour towards him, attributes it to their
+ignorance and the heat of youth.--S. (B.)
+
+[244] The frontier town of Egypt towards Syria.
+
+[245] El-Beydawee tell us that Joseph sent carriages and provisions
+for his father and his family; and that he and the king of Egypt went
+forth to meet them. He adds that the number of the children of Israel
+who entered Egypt with him was seventy-two; and that when they were
+led out thence by Moses, they were increased to six hundred thousand
+five hundred and seventy men, and upwards, besides the old people and
+children.--S.
+
+[246] A transposition is supposed to be in these words:--he seated his
+father and mother after they had bowed down to him, and not before.--S.
+(B.)
+
+[247] But when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, he took up the
+coffin, and carried Joseph's bones with him into Canaan, where he
+buried them by his ancestors.--S. (B.)
+
+[248] The Mohammadan writers tell us that Job was of the race of Esau,
+and was blessed with a numerous family and abundant riches; but that
+God proved him by taking away all that he had, even his children, who
+were killed by the fall of a house; notwithstanding which he continued
+to serve God and to return Him thanks as usual; that he was then
+struck with a filthy disease, his body being full of worms and so
+offensive that as he lay on the dunghill none could bear to come near
+him: that his wife, however (whom some call Rahmeh the daughter of
+Ephraim the son of Joseph, and others Makhir the daughter of
+Manasses), attended him with great patience, supporting him with what
+she earned by her labour; but that the devil appearing to her one day,
+after having reminded her of her past prosperity, promised her that if
+she would worship him, he would restore all they had lost; whereupon
+she asked her husband's consent, who was so angry at the proposal,
+that he swore, if he recovered, to give his wife a hundred stripes.--S.
+(B., J., A.F.)
+
+[249] Some say there were two springs, one of hot water wherein he
+bathed, and the other of cold of which he drank.--S. (B.)
+
+[250] His wife also becoming young and handsome again, and bearing him
+twenty-six sons. Some, to express the great riches which were bestowed
+on Job after his sufferings, say he had two threshing-floors, one for
+wheat and the other for barley, and that God sent two clouds, which
+rained gold on the one and silver on the other till they ran
+over.--(J.) The traditions differ as to the continuance of Job's
+calamities: one will have it to be eighteen years; another, thirteen;
+another, three; and another, exactly seven years seven months and
+seven hours.--S.
+
+[251] Or 'a palm-branch having a hundred leaves.'--S.
+
+[252] But see note 1 (248).
+
+[253] The commentators generally suppose him to be the same person
+with the father-in-law of Moses, who is named in Scripture Reuel or
+Raguel, and Jethro. But Ahmad Ibn-'Abd-El-Haleem charges those who
+entertain this opinion with ignorance. They say (after the Jews) that
+he gave his son-in-law [Moses] that wonder-working rod with which he
+performed all those miracles in Egypt and the Desert, and also
+excellent advice and instructions; whence he had the surname of
+'Khateeb-el-Ambiya,' or 'the Preacher to the Prophets.'--S.
+
+[254] The Arabic word 'da'eef' (weak) signifying also in the
+Himyaritic dialect 'blind,' some suppose that Sho'eyb was so, and that
+the Midianites objected that to him as a defect which disqualified him
+for the prophetic office.--S.
+
+[255] Which of the kings of Egypt this Pharaoh of Moses was is
+uncertain. Not to mention the opinions of the European writers, those
+of the East generally suppose him to have been El-Weleed, who
+according to some was an Arab of the tribe of 'Ad, or according to
+others the son of Mus'ab the son of Er-Reiyan the son of El-Weleed the
+Amalekite. There are historians, however, who suppose Kaboos the
+brother and predecessor of El-Weleed was the prince we are speaking
+of, and pretend he lived six hundred and twenty years and reigned four
+hundred. Which is more reasonable, at least, than the opinion of those
+who imagine it was his father Mus'ab or grandfather Er-Reiyan.
+Abu-l-Fida says the Mus'ab, being one hundred and seventy years old
+and having no child, while he kept the herds saw a cow calve, and
+heard her say at the same time, 'O Mus'ab, be not grieved, for thou
+shalt have a wicked son, who will be at length cast into hell.' And he
+accordingly had this Weleed, who afterwards coming to be king of Egypt
+proved an impious tyrant.--S. (A.F., Z.)
+
+[256] This name is given to Pharaoh's chief minister; from whence it
+is generally inferred that Mohammad had been made Haman the favorite
+of Ahasuerus king of Persia, and who indisputably lived many years
+after Moses, to be that prophet's contemporary.--S.
+
+[257] It is related that the midwife appointed to attend the Hebrew
+women, terrified by a light which appeared between the eyes of Moses
+at his birth, and touched with an extraordinary affection for the
+child, did not discover him to the officers, so that his mother kept
+him in her house, and nursed him three months; after which it was
+impossible for her to conceal him any longer, the king then giving
+orders to make the searches more strictly.--S. (B.)
+
+[258] The commentators say that his mother made an ark of the papyrus,
+and pitched it, and put in some cotton; and having laid the child
+therein, committed it to the river, a branch of which went into
+Pharaoh's garden: that the stream carried the ark thither into a
+fishpond, at the head of which Pharaoh was then sitting with his wife
+Asiyeh the daughter of Muzahem; and that the king, having commanded it
+to be taken up and opened, and finding in it a beautiful child, took a
+fancy to it, and ordered it to be brought up.--Some writers mention a
+miraculous preservation of Moses before he was put into the ark; and
+tell us, that his mother having hid him from Pharaoh's officers in an
+oven, his sister, in her mother's absence, kindled a large fire in the
+oven to heat it, not knowing the child was there; but that he was
+afterwards taken out unhurt.--S. (B., A.F.)
+
+[259] Kur. xxvi. 17.
+
+[260] This person, says the tradition, was an Egyptian and Pharaoh's
+uncle's son.--S.
+
+[261] The Jews pretend he was actually imprisoned for the fact, and
+condemned to be beheaded; but that when he should have suffered his
+neck became as hard as ivory, and the sword rebounded on the
+executioner.--S.
+
+[262] According to El-Beydawee, Moses knew not the way, and, coming to
+a place where three roads met, committed himself to the guidance of
+God, and took the middle road, which was the right; Providence
+likewise so ordering it that his pursuers took the other two roads,
+and missed him.--S.
+
+[263] This was Safoora [also called Safoorah and Safooriya,
+or Zipporah, the elder, or as others suppose the younger, daughter of
+Sho'eyb, whom Moses afterwards married.--S.]
+
+
+[264] The commentators say, that Moses, having obtained leave of
+Sho'eyb or Jethro, his father-in-law, to visit his mother, departed
+with his family from Midian towards Egypt; but coming to the valley of
+Tuwa, wherein Mount Sinai stands, his wife fell in labour and was
+delivered of a son in a very dark and snowy night: he had also lost
+his way, and his cattle were scattered from him, when on a sudden he
+saw a fire by the side of a mountain, which on his nearer approach he
+found burning in a green bush.--S. (B.)
+
+[265] This was a mark of humility and respect: though some fancy there
+was some uncleanness in the shoes themselves, because they were made
+of the skin of an ass not dressed.--S. (B.)
+
+[266] Which was at first no bigger than the rod, but afterwards
+swelled to a prodigious size.--S. (B.)
+
+[267] When Moses saw the serpent move about with great nimbleness and
+swallow stones and trees, he was greatly terrified, and fled from it;
+but recovering his courage at these words of God, he had the boldness
+to take the serpent by the jaws.--S. (B.)
+
+[268] Moses had an impediment in his speech, which was occasioned by
+the following accident. Pharaoh one day carrying him in his arms when
+a child, he suddenly laid hold of his beard and plucked it in a very
+rough manner, which put Pharaoh into such a passion that he ordered
+him to be put to death: but Asiyeh his wife representing to him that
+he was but a child, who could not distinguish between a burning coal
+and a ruby, he ordered the experiment to be made; and a live coal and
+a ruby being set before Moses, he took the coal and put it into his
+mouth, and burnt his tongue: and thereupon he was pardoned.--This is a
+Jewish story a little altered.--S.
+
+[269] For he was obliged to abandon his country and his friends, and
+to travel several days in great terror and want of necessary
+provisions to seek a refuge among strangers; and was afterwards forced
+to serve for hire to gain a livelihood.--S.
+
+[270] Aaron being by this time come out to meet his brother, either by
+divine inspiration, or having notice of his design to return to
+Egypt.--S. (B.)
+
+[271] The Arab writers tell enormous fables of this serpent or dragon.
+For they say that he was hairy and of so prodigious a size that when
+he opened his mouth his jaws were fourscore cubits asunder and when he
+laid his lower jaw on the ground his upper reached to the top of the
+palace [or rather, I believe, the _throne_ of Pharaoh]: that Pharaoh,
+seeing this monster make towards him, fled from it; and that the whole
+assembly also betaking themselves to their heels, no less than
+twenty-five thousand of them lost their lives in the press. They add
+that Pharaoh, upon this abjured Moses by God who had sent him to take
+away the serpent, and promised he would believe on Him and let the
+Israelites go; but when Moses had done what he requested, he relapsed
+and grew as hardened as before.--S. (B.)
+
+[272] 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.--S.
+(B.)
+
+[273] They provided themselves with a great number of thick ropes and
+long pieces of wood, which they contrived by some means to move and
+make them twist themselves one over the other; and so imposed on the
+beholders, who at a distance took them to be true serpents. It is also
+said that they rubbed them over with quicksilver, which being wrought
+upon by the heat of the sun caused them to move.--S. (B.)
+
+[274] The expositors add that when this serpent had swallowed up all
+the rods and cords he made directly towards the assembly and put them
+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.--S. (B.)
+
+[275] Sale observes that some writers introduce only two of the
+enchanters as acknowledging Moses' 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 and
+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 masters slept, or only when they were
+awake; for, said he, enchantments have no effect while the enchanter
+is asleep, and therefore if it be otherwise in this case, you may be
+assured that they act by a divine power. These two magicians then,
+arriving at the capital of Egypt, on inquiry found 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.--S.
+
+[276] 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 Kur-an [xxviii. 35], 'Ye two,
+and they who follow you, shall overcome.'--S.
+
+[277] See p. 101, l. 5, n. 1 (260).
+
+[278] Cp. Act. Apost. v. 38, 39.
+
+[279] 'The people of Noah and of 'Ad and of Thamood, and those whom
+God destroyed after them.' So explained in the Kamoos.
+
+[280] It is said that Haman having prepared bricks and other materials
+employed no less than fifty thousand men besides labourers in the
+building, which they carried to so immense a height that the workmen
+could no longer stand on it: that Pharaoh ascending this tower threw a
+javelin towards heaven, which fell back again stained with blood,
+whereupon he impiously boasted that he had killed the god of Moses;
+but at sunset God sent the angel Gabriel, who with one stroke of his
+wing demolished the tower, a part whereof falling on the king's army
+destroyed a million of men.--S. (Z.)
+
+[281] Some are of opinion that those who were sent by Pharaoh to seize
+the true believer, his kinsman, are the persons more particularly
+meant in this place: for they tell us that the said believer fled to a
+mountain, where they found him at prayers, guarded by the wild beasts,
+which ranged themselves in order about him; and that his pursuers
+thereupon returned in a great fright to their master, who put them to
+death for not performing his command.--S. (B.)
+
+[282] Some expound these words of the previous punishment they are
+doomed to suffer, according to a tradition of Ibn-Mes'ood, which
+informs us that their souls are in the crops of black birds which are
+exposed to hell-fire every morning and evening until the Day of
+Judgment.--S. (B.)
+
+[283] As there is no mention of any such miraculous inundation in the
+[so-called] Mosaic writings, some have imagined this plague to have
+been either a pestilence, or the smallpox, or some other epidemical
+distemper. (B.) For the word 'toofan,' which is used in this place,
+and is generally rendered a 'deluge,' may also signify any other
+universal destruction or mortality.--S.
+
+[284] 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 Egypt and the Amalekites.--S. (B.)
+
+[285] Particularly the lofty tower [before mentioned] which Pharaoh
+caused to be built, that he might attack the God of Moses.--S.
+
+[286] The word here translated 'body' signifying also a 'coat of
+mail,' some imagine the meaning to be that his corpse floated armed
+with his coat of mail, which they tell us was of gold, by which they
+knew it was he.--S.
+
+[287] These people some will have to be of the tribe of Amalek, 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.--S. (B.)
+
+[288] The Eastern writers say these quails were of a peculiar kind of
+be found nowhere else but in El-Yemen, from whence they were brought
+by a south wind in great numbers to the Israelites' camp in the
+desert. The Arabs called these birds 'selwa,' which is plainly the
+same with the Hebrew 'salwim,' and say they have no bones, but are
+eaten whole.--S.
+
+[289] The word here rendered 'a great city,' namely 'misran,' is
+rendered by Marracci and Sale 'Egypt,' and is so understood by many
+learned Arabs; but according to a general rule, to have this
+signification it should be 'misra:' in some copies of the Kur-an,
+however, it is thus written.
+
+[290] See Sale's note _in loc._
+
+[291] A kind of soft stone, like dry mud.
+
+[292] The story here alluded to, though it occurs among passages
+respecting Moses and his people, is said to relate to a different age
+and to be as follows:--In the days of David, some Israelites dwelt at
+Eyleh, 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 commandment, catched 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 Sabbath, used both persuasion and force to stop this impiety, but
+to no purpose, the offenders growing only more and more obstinate;
+whereupon 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.--S.
+(A. F.)
+
+[293] His breath before [he used the tooth-stick] had the odour of
+musk.--S. (B.)
+
+[294] It is said that not only the ten commandments, but the whole law
+was written thereon.--S.
+
+[295] That is, as some understand it, consisting of flesh and blood;
+or, as others, being a mere body or mass of metal, without a soul.--S.
+(B.)
+
+[296] The person who cast this calf, the Mohammadans say, was not
+Aaron but Es-Samiree, 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 Es-Samiree 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, Es-Samiree,
+understanding the founder's art, put them altogether into a furnace,
+to melt them down into one mass, which came out in the form of a calf.
+One writer says, that all the Israelites adored this calf, except only
+twelve thousand.--S. (A. F.)
+
+[297] After he had completed his forty days' stay in the mount, and
+had received the Law.--S. (B.)
+
+[298] Or, I knew that which they knew not--that the messenger sent to
+thee from God was a pure spirit, and that his footsteps gave life to
+whatever they touched; being no other than the angel Gabriel, mounted
+on the horse of life: and therefore I made use of the dust of his feet
+to animate the molten calf. It is said, Es-Samiree knew the angel
+because he had saved and taken care of him when a child and exposed by
+his mother for fear of Pharaoh.--S. (B., Jelal.)
+
+[299] The word here rendered 'hearts' often signifies stomachs; and if
+this be its meaning here, the narrative agrees with the [so-called]
+Mosaic account: for Moses 'took the calf which they had made, and
+burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the
+water, and made the children of Israel to drink of it.'--Exod. xxxii.
+20.
+
+[300] 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'
+intercession restored to life.--S.
+
+[301] This person is represented by the commentators as the most
+beautiful of the Israelites, and so far surpassing them all in
+opulence that the riches of Karoon have become a proverb.--S.
+
+[302] Moses, as some say, having complained to God of a false
+accusation brought against him by Karoon, He directed him to command
+the earth what he pleased, and it should obey him; whereupon he said,
+'O earth, swallow them up;' and immediately the earth opened under
+Karoon and his confederates, and swallowed them up, with his palace
+and all his riches.--There goes a tradition that as Karoon sank
+gradually into the ground, first to his knees, then to his waist, then
+to his neck, he cried out four several times, 'O Moses, have mercy on
+me!' but that Moses continued to say, 'O earth, swallow them up!' till
+at last he wholly disappeared: upon which God said to Moses, 'Thou
+hadst no mercy on Karoon, though he asked pardon of thee four times;
+but I would have had compassion on him if he had asked pardon of me
+but once.'--S. (B.)
+
+[303] Or rather, fawn-coloured; as are most of the cows of Arabia. The
+word in the original properly signifies yellow.
+
+[304] The story of this young man 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; at which time his mother told him the
+heifer was his, and bid him fetch her and sell her for three pieces of
+gold. When the young 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
+consent; which when he had obtained, he returned to the market-place,
+and met the angel, who now offered 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 done 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.--S. (A.F.)
+
+[305] The more common tradition seems to be that the man was murdered
+by _one_ person, the son of his brother, who desired to obtain his
+property (as his inheritance), or his daughter, or both.
+(Mir-at-ez-Zeman).
+
+[306] Also called El-Khadir. This mysterious person, whom the vulgar
+and some others regard as a prophet, and identify with Ilyas (Elias or
+Elijah), and whom some confound with St. George, was, according to the
+more approved opinion of the learned, a just man or saint, the Wezeer
+and counsellor of that equally doubtful personage Dhu-l-Karneyn, whose
+story has already been related in this volume. El-Khidr is said to
+have drunk of the Fountain of Life, by virtue of which he still lives,
+and will live till the day of judgment. He is also said to appear
+frequently to Muslims in perplexity, and to be generally clad in green
+garments; whence, according to some, his name.--Sale states, in a note
+on this passage, that the Muslims usually confound El-Khidr with
+Phineas, as well as Elias and St. George, saying that his soul passed
+by a metempsychosis successively through all three; and he adds, that
+part of these fictions they took from the Jews, some of whom also
+fancy Phineas was Elias.
+
+[307] Or, as some rather think, El-Ubulleh, near El-Basrah, or else
+Bajarwan in Armenia.--S. (B.)
+
+[308] They were ten brothers, five of whom were past their labour by
+reason of their age.--S. (B.)
+
+[309] 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 'sekeeneh,' which signifies
+'tranquillity' or 'security 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 express
+by the same word 'Shekinah.'--S.
+
+[310] Sale observes that Yahya most rationally understands hereby the
+divine revelations which David received from God, and not the art of
+making coats of mail.--The cause of his applying himself to this art is
+thus related in the Mir-at-ez-Zeman:--He used to go forth in disguise;
+and when he found any people who knew him not, he approached them and
+asked them respecting the conduct of David, and they praised him and
+prayed for him; but one day, as he was asking questions respecting
+himself as usual, God sent to him an angel in the form of a human
+being, who said, 'An excellent man were David if he did not take from
+the public treasury:'--whereupon the heart of David was contracted, and
+he begged of God to render him independent: so He made iron soft to
+him, and it became in his hands as thread; and he used to sell a coat
+of mail for four thousand [pieces of money--whether gold or silver is
+not said], and with part of this he obtained food for himself, and part he
+gave in alms, and with part he fed his family.--Hence an excellent coat
+of mail is often called by the Arabs 'Dawoodee,' _i.e._, 'Davidean.'
+See my translation of 'The Thousand and One Nights,' chap. viii. note
+5.
+
+[311] For David, they say, divided his time regularly, setting apart
+one day for the service of God, another day for rendering justice to
+his people, another day for preaching to them, and another day for his
+own affairs.--S. (B.)
+
+[312] They say that he had a carpet of green silk, on which his throne
+was placed, being of a prodigious length and breadth, and sufficient
+for all his forces to stand on, the men placing themselves on his
+right hand, and the spirits [or jinn] on his left; and that when all
+were in order the wind at his command took up the carpet and
+transported it with all that were upon it wherever he pleased; the
+army of birds at the same time flying over their heads and forming a
+kind of canopy to shade them from the sun.--S.
+
+[313] Whither the wind brought back Solomon's throne in the evening,
+after having carried it to a distant country in the morning.--S.
+
+[314] After the space of forty days, which was the time the image had
+been worshipped in his house, the devil [or jinnee] flew away, and
+threw the signet into the sea: the signet was immediately swallowed by
+a fish, which being taken and given to Solomon, he found the ring in
+its belly, and, having by this means recovered the kingdom, took
+Sakhr, and, tying a great stone to his neck, threw him into the
+Lake of Tiberias.--S. (B., A.F.)
+
+[315] See note 30 to the Introduction of my translation of the
+'Thousand and One Nights.'
+
+[316] The Arab historians tell us that Solomon, having finished the
+Temple of Jerusalem, went in pilgrimage to Mekkeh, where having stayed
+as long as he pleased, he proceeded towards El-Yemen; and leaving
+Mekkeh in the morning he arrived by noon at San'a, and being
+extremely delighted with the country rested there; but wanting water
+to make the ablution, he looked among the birds for the lapwing which
+found it for him.--S. (B.)
+
+[317] Some add that Bilkees, to try whether Solomon was a prophet or
+not, drest the boys like girls and the girls like boys, and sent him
+in a casket a pearl not drilled and an onyx drilled with a crooked
+hole; and that Solomon distinguished the boys from the girls by the
+different manner of their taking water, and ordered one worm to bore
+the pearl, and another to pass a thread through the onyx.--S. (B.)
+
+[318] Others, however, suppose it was El-Khidr, or else Gabriel, or
+some other angel; and some imagine it to have been Solomon himself.--S.
+(B.)
+
+[319] This fountain they say was in El-Yemen.--S. (B.)
+
+[320] Some say these spirits made him two lions, which were placed at
+the foot of his throne; and two eagles, which were set above it; and
+that when he mounted it, the lions stretched out their paws; and when
+he sat down, the eagles shaded him with their wings.--S. (B.)
+
+[321] The commentators to explain this passage tell us that David,
+having laid the foundations of the Temple of Jerusalem, which was to
+be in lieu of the tabernacle of Moses, when he died, left it to be
+finished by his son Solomon, who employed the genii in the work; that
+Solomon, before the edifice was quite completed, perceiving his end
+drew nigh, begged of God that his death might be concealed from the
+genii till they had entirely finished it; that God therefore so
+ordered it that Solomon died as he stood at his prayers, leaning on
+his staff, which supported the body in that posture a full year; and
+the genii, supposing him to be alive, continued their work during that
+term, at the expiration whereof, the temple being perfectly completed,
+a worm, which had gotten into the staff, ate it through, and the
+corpse fell to the ground and discovered the king's death.--S. (B.,
+Jelal.)
+
+[322] It is said that the fish, after it had swallowed Jonah, swam
+after the ship with its head above water, that the prophet might
+breathe; who continued to praise God till the fish came to land and
+vomited him out.--S.
+
+[323] Sale states that some imagine Jonah's plant to have been a fig;
+and others, the moz (or banana), which bears very large leaves and
+excellent fruit.
+
+[324] The commentators add that this plant withered the next morning,
+and that Jonah being much concerned at it God made a remonstrance to
+him in behalf of the Ninevites, agreeably to what is recorded in
+Scripture.--S.
+
+[325] When he first began to exhort them to repentance, instead of
+hearkening to him, they used him very ill, so that he was obliged to
+leave the city, threatening them at his departure that they should be
+destroyed within three days, or, as others say, within forty. But when
+the time drew near, and they saw the heavens overcast with a black
+cloud which shot forth fire and filled the air with smoke and hung
+directly over the city, they were in a terrible consternation, and
+getting into the fields, with their families and cattle, they put on
+sackcloth and humbled themselves before God, calling aloud for pardon
+and sincerely repenting of their past wickedness. Whereupon God was
+pleased to forgive them, and the storm blew over.--S. (B., Jelal, A.F.)
+
+[326] 'Imran, as observed by Sale, is the name of two several persons
+according to the Muslims: one was the father of Moses and Aaron, and
+the other was the father of the Virgin Mary. The latter is here meant,
+and his wife's name was Hannah.
+
+[327] Or the devil driven away with stones.--See note 1. (38), p. 7.
+
+[328] And for this reason, they say, neither of them was guilty of any
+sin, like the rest of the children of Adam.--S. (Katadeh.)
+
+[329] That is, between thirty, or thirty-four, and fifty-one: and the
+passage may relate to Christ's preaching here on earth. But as he had
+scarce attained this age when he was taken up into heaven, the
+commentators choose to understand it of his second coming.--S.
+
+[330] The age of the Virgin Mary at the time of her conception was
+thirteen, or, as others say, ten; and she went six, seven, eight, or
+nine months with him, according to different traditions; though some
+say the child was conceived at its full growth of nine months, and
+that she was delivered of him within an hour after.--S. (B., Yahya.)
+
+[331] Some say the Virgin Mary had really a brother named Aaron, who
+had the same father but a different mother: others suppose Aaron the
+brother of Moses is here meant, but say Mary is called his sister
+either because she was of the Levitical race, (as, by her having been
+related to Elizabeth, it should seem she was,) or by way of
+comparison: others say that it was a different person of that name who
+was contemporary with her and conspicuous for his good or bad
+qualities, and that they likened her to him either by way of
+commendation or of reproach.--S. (B., Z., &c.)
+
+[332] These were the first words which were put into the mouth of
+Jesus, to obviate the imagination of his partaking of the divine
+nature or having a right to the worship of mankind on account of his
+miraculous speaking so soon after his birth.--S. (B.)
+
+[333] It is related in the spurious Gospel of the Infancy of Christ
+that Jesus being seven years old and at play with several children of
+his age, they made several figures of birds and beasts of clay for
+their diversion; and each preferring his own workmanship, Jesus told
+them that he would make his walk and leap; which accordingly at his
+command they did. He made also several figures of sparrows and other
+birds, which flew about or stood on his hands as he ordered them, and
+also ate and drank when he offered them meat and drink. The children,
+telling this to their parents, were forbidden to play any more with
+Jesus, whom they held to be a sorcerer.--S.
+
+[334] The commentators observe that these words are added lest it
+should be thought Jesus did these miracles by his own power, or was
+God.--S. (B.)
+
+[335] In Arabic, 'el-Hawareeyoon;' which word they derive from 'hara,'
+'to be white' [or rather, 'to whiten' clothes], 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.--(B., Jelal.) According to
+which last opinion, their vocation is thus related: That as Jesus
+passed by the sea-side, he saw some fullers at work, and, accosting
+them, said, 'Ye cleanse these clothes, but cleanse not your hearts;'
+upon which they believed on him. But the true etymology seems to be
+from the Ethiopic verb 'hawyra,' 'to go;' whence 'hawarya' signifies
+'one that is sent,' a 'messenger,' or 'apostle.'--S.
+
+[336] The person crucified some will have to be a spy that was sent to
+entrap him; others that it was one Titian, who by the direction of
+Judas entered in at a window of the house where Jesus was; to kill
+him; and others that it was Judas himself, who agreed with the rulers
+of the Jews to betray him for thirty pieces of silver, and led those
+who were sent to take him.--They add, that Jesus, after his crucifixion
+in _effigy_, was sent down again to the earth to comfort his mother
+and disciples and acquaint them how the Jews were deceived, and was
+then taken up a second time into heaven.
+
+It is supposed by several that this story was an original invention of
+Mohammad's; but they are certainly mistaken: for several sectaries
+held the same opinion long before his time. The Basilidians, in the
+very beginning of Christianity, denied that Christ himself suffered,
+but [asserted] that Simon the Cirenean was crucified in his place. The
+Corinthians before them, and the Carpocratians next (to name no more
+of those who affirmed Jesus to have been a mere man), did believe the
+same thing, that it was not himself, but one of his followers, very
+like him, that was crucified. Photius tells us that he read a book
+entitled 'The Journeys of the Apostles,' relating the acts of Peter,
+John, Andrew, Thomas, and Paul; and among other things contained
+therein this was one, that Christ was not crucified, but another in
+his stead, and that therefore he laughed at his crucifiers, or those
+who thought they had crucified him.--S.
+
+[337] 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 best provider of food.' What the provisions
+were with which the 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; another, fruits of Paradise: but the most
+received tradition is that when 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 afflicted with bodily infirmities or poverty, ate of these
+provisions and were satisfied, the fish remaining whole as it was at
+the 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
+Mohammadan writers are of opinion that this table did not really
+descend, but it was only a parable; but most think that the words of
+the Kur-an are plain to the contrary. A further tradition is that
+several men were changed into swine [and apes] 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.--S.
+(B.)
+
+[338] Some say the table descended on a Sunday, which was the reason
+of the Christians' observing that day as sacred. Others pretend 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.--S.
+
+[339] To explain this passage, the commentators tell the following
+story:--The people of Antioch being idolaters, Jesus sent two of his
+disciples thither to preach to them; and when they drew near the city,
+they found Habeeb, surnamed En-Nejjar, or The Carpenter, feeding
+sheep, and acquainted him with their errand; whereupon he asked them
+what proof they had of their veracity, and they told him they could
+cure the sick and the blind and the lepers; and to demonstrate the
+truth of what they said they laid their hands on a child of his who
+was sick and immediately restored him to health. Habeeb was convinced
+by this miracle and believed; after which they went into the city and
+preached the worship of one true God, curing a great number of people
+of several infirmities; but at length, the affair coming to the
+prince's ear, he ordered them to be imprisoned for endeavouring to
+seduce the people. When Jesus heard of this, he sent another of his
+disciples, generally supposed to have been Simon Peter; who, coming to
+Antioch, and appearing as a zealous idolater, soon insinuated himself
+into the favour of the inhabitants and of their prince, and at length
+took an opportunity to desire the prince would order the two persons
+who, as he was informed, had been put in prison for broaching new
+opinions to be brought before him to be examined; and accordingly they
+were brought: when Peter, having previously warned them to take no
+notice that they knew him, asked them who sent them; to which they
+answered, God, who had created all things and had no companion. He
+then required some convincing proof of their mission, upon which they
+restored a blind person to his sight and performed some other
+miracles, with which Peter seemed not to be satisfied, for that
+according to some he did the very same miracles himself, but declared
+that if their God could enable them to raise the dead he would believe
+them; which condition the two apostles accepting, a lad was brought
+who had been dead seven days, and at their prayers he was raised to
+life; and thereupon Peter acknowledged himself convinced, and ran and
+demolished the idols, a great many of the people following him and
+embracing the true faith; but those who believed not were destroyed by
+the cry of the angel Gabriel.--S. (B., Z., &c.)
+
+[340] Some say these two were John and Paul; but others name different
+persons.--S.
+
+[341] Simon Peter.
+
+[342] His tomb is still shown near Antioch, and is much visited by the
+Mohammadans.--S.
+
+[343] Also some said he was taken up into heaven; and others, that his
+manhood only suffered, and that his godhead ascended into heaven.--S.
+(B.)
+
+[344] 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
+El-Hajjaj, when a Jew is expiring the angels will strike him on the
+back and face, and say to him, 'O thou enemy of God, Jesus was sent as
+a prophet unto thee, and thou didst not believe on 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 be 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 [the dead being raised to life in their graves]
+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 establish the Mohammadan religion and a most
+perfect tranquillity and security on earth [where he will remain forty
+years, and then die.--Others again suppose that the words 'believe in
+him' signify 'believe in God.']--S. (B., Z., Jelal, &c.)
+
+[345] It is a dispute among the Mohammadans whether Christ actually
+died or not before his assumption.--S. (B.)
+
+[346] Some, however, are of opinion it [this passage] might have been
+revealed in answer to certain idolaters, who said that the Christians,
+who received the Scriptures, worshipped Jesus, supposing him to be the
+son of God; whereas the angels were more worthy of that honour than
+he.--S. (B.)
+
+[347] As easily as We produced Jesus without a father [B.]. The intent
+of the words is to show how just and reasonable it is to think that
+the angels should bear the relation of children to men rather than to
+God, they being His creatures as well as men, and equally in His
+power.--S.
+
+[348] For some time before the resurrection Jesus is to descend on
+earth according to the Mohammadans near Damascus, or as some say near
+a rock [or rather a mountain-road] named ['Akabet] Afeek, with a lance
+in his hand, wherewith he is to kill Antichrist, whom he will
+encounter at Ludd, or Lydda, a small town not far from Joppa. They add
+that he will arrive at Jerusalem at the time of morning-prayer, that
+he shall perform his devotions after the Mohammadan institution, and
+officiate instead of the Imam, who shall give place to him; that he
+will break down the cross, and destroy the churches of the Christians,
+of whom he will also make a general slaughter, excepting only such as
+shall profess El-Islam.--S. (B.)
+
+
+[349] Either by rejecting and contemning Jesus, as the Jews do; or
+raising him to an equality with God, as do the Christians.--S. (B.)
+
+[350] 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.--S.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX OF CHAPTERS.
+
+
+   CHAP.                 PAGE
+
+   I. (entire)              3
+
+   II.           1-6        4
+   "            7-19     41-2
+   "            21-2       19
+   "           28-31    49-50
+   "            33-7     51-2
+   "              51      121
+   "            52-3      121
+   "              54      115
+   "              57    115-6
+   "              58      115
+   "              59       38
+   "            60-2    116-7
+   "            63-9    125-7
+   "              87      121
+   "           100-1       19
+   "          118-20     73-5
+   "             130     47-8
+   "           133-4       15
+   "             141       16
+   "          158-60        8
+   "           160-2     30-1
+   "             166       38
+   "             172       35
+   "             191       32
+   "          247-52    132-4
+   "             256        5
+   "             260     70-1
+   "             261      148
+   "             262       73
+   "             265       36
+   "           266-7       36
+   "             273       36
+   "             280       37
+
+   III.        12-15       29
+    "           25-6        6
+    "           31-6   149-51
+    "          37-43    151-2
+    "           43-7    155-7
+    "           52-5      164
+    "          58-60     75-6
+    "             79       38
+    "            138       14
+    "            139       32
+    "            148       32
+    "          163-5       30
+    "         179-80       16
+
+   IV.            51    10-11
+   "            80-1       32
+   "              88       37
+   "             123       30
+   "             144       31
+   "           155-7    161-2
+   "             161       14
+   "          169-70    164-5
+
+   V.           23-9    122-4
+   "            30-5     53-4
+   "        56, 62-3       42
+   "            85-6     40-1
+   "           112-5    157-9
+   "           116-8      162
+
+   VI.            50       14
+   "           59-64       10
+   "           74-82     66-7
+   "          95-103      8-9
+   "             108       36
+   "          109-11     16-7
+
+   VII.        10-17     50-1
+    "             22       51
+    "             52        6
+    "          63-70     60-1
+    "           71-7     61-2
+    "         101-23    107-9
+    "         124-33    112-4
+    "          134-6      114
+    "         138-42    117-8
+    "          146-8      118
+    "          154-6    121-2
+    "          186-8       31
+
+   IX.            18       36
+
+   X.          38-40       19
+   "            90-2      114
+   "             100       32
+
+   XI.         27-36     55-6
+   "              38       56
+   "           38-46     56-8
+   "           47-50     58-9
+   "            72-8       71
+   "              84       72
+   "           85-98     95-6
+
+   XII.         4-22    77-80
+    "          35-50     80-2
+    "         54-102    82-92
+
+   XIII.        13-4        9
+
+   XIV.         26-7       31
+
+   XV.          6-15       17
+   "           16-25        7
+
+   XVI.           92       34
+    "          103-5       20
+
+   XVII.        90-8       18
+
+   XVIII.      28-30       27
+     "         31-42    39-40
+     "          45-7       27
+     "         59-81   127-31
+     "        82-101     63-5
+     "           109       20
+     "           110       14
+
+   XIX.        12-15      151
+    "          16-41    152-5
+    "          42-51     67-8
+    "           91-6       11
+
+   XX.          8-50    103-7
+    "          88-99   119-21
+
+   XXI.        26-30       33
+    "          52-75    68-70
+    "          79-82      136
+
+   XXII.          72       11
+
+   XXIV.       39-40       39
+
+   XXV.        64-75       43
+
+   XXVII.      15-45   138-44
+
+   XXVIII.      21-8   97-103
+     "         76-82    124-5
+
+   XXIX.        40-3       12
+     "            45       38
+
+   XXXIV.      11-13    144-5
+     "            49       14
+
+   XXXVI.      12-28   159-61
+
+   XXXVII.    97-111     72-3
+     "        139-48    146-7
+
+   XXXVIII.     20-4    135-6
+      "        29-39    136-8
+      "         40-4     93-4
+
+   XXXIX.      67-75     28-9
+
+   XL.         27-49   109-12
+
+   XLI.         34-5       37
+
+   XLIII.      57-65    162-4
+
+   L.           30-3       29
+
+   LVI.         1-56     24-6
+    "           76-9       17
+
+   LXI.          6-9    15-16
+
+   LXII.           5       41
+
+   LXVII.        1-4        6
+     "           6-8       30
+
+   LXIX.       13-37     23-4
+
+   LXXI.        27-9       56
+
+   LXXII. 1, 2, 8-11       33
+
+   LXXIV.        1-7       13
+
+   LXXVI.      29-30       32
+
+   LXXXI.       1-14     22-3
+
+   LXXXII.  (entire)       22
+
+   LXXXVIII.     1-7       23
+
+   XCII.    (entire)     34-5
+
+   XCIII.   (entire)       13
+
+   XCVI.         1-6    xliii
+
+   XCIX.    (entire)       21
+
+   CI.      (entire)       21
+
+   CVII.    (entire)       35
+
+   CXII.    (entire)        5
+
+
+GENERAL INDEX.
+
+
+   AARON, 105 ff.
+
+   'Abbas, Ibn-, 50.
+
+   'Abdallah ibn Ubayy, lx.
+
+   'Abd-el-Muttalib, xxxvii, 73.
+
+   Abel, 53.
+
+   Aboo-Bekr, xlv, xlvii, lvi, lxxvii.
+
+   Aboo-Firas, xxix.
+
+   Aboo-Lahab, li, lii.
+
+   Aboo-Talib, xxxviii, xlv, xlvii, xlix, l, lii.
+
+   Abraham, xxxii, 15, 47, 66-76.
+
+   Abrogation of revelations, 19, 20, 38.
+
+   Abyssinia, flight to, xlvii.
+
+   Ad, 60, 61.
+
+   Adam, 47, 49-52, 164.
+
+   Advent of Christ, second, 163.
+
+   African converts, xcvii.
+
+   Ahmad, prophecy of, 15.
+
+   'Aisheh, liii, lxix, lxxiii.
+
+   'Akabeh, pledges of the, lv, lvi.
+
+   'Alee, xxxix, lvi.
+
+   Allah Ta'ala, xxxiii.
+
+   Alms, lxxxiv, 36.
+
+   Amnesty to Mekka, lxvii.
+
+   Anas, xli.
+
+   Ancestry, pride of, xviii.
+
+   Angels, 33, 49.
+
+   Ansar, lix, lx.
+
+   'Antarah, xxviii.
+
+   Antichrist, 157, 163.
+
+   Antioch, 159-161.
+
+   Apostles, 14, 47, 156.
+
+   Appearance of Mohammad, xl.
+
+   Arab poetry, examples, xiv, xv, xvi, xvii, xviii, xix, xxix.
+
+   Arabia, xi-xiii.
+
+   Arabia, submission of, lxvii.
+
+   Arabs at Yethrib, liv.
+
+   Arabs before Islam, the, xi-xxxv;
+     their country, xi;
+     influence on their character, xii;
+     the Bedawee nature, xiii;
+     devotion to the clan, xiv;
+     honour, xv;
+     war and plunder, xvi;
+     ferocity, xvi, xvii;
+     family pride, xviii;
+     pledge of protection, xviii;
+     hospitality, xix;
+     Hatim the ideal Arab, xix-xxii;
+     Arab poetry, xxii-xxiv;
+     the fair of 'Okadh, xxiv-xxvi;
+     women of Arabia, xxvi;
+     chivalry, xxvii, xxviii;
+     fathers and daughters, xxix;
+     town life, xxx;
+     Mekka, xxx;
+     music and poetry at Mekka, xxxi;
+     dice and drink, xxxi;
+     the Kaabeh, xxxii;
+     religion of the early Arabs, xxxii;
+     Christianity and Judaism in Arabia, xxxiv;
+     the Haneefs, xxxiv;
+     Zeyd ibn 'Amr, xxxv;
+     the change in the Arabs effected by Mohammad, xxxv.
+
+   Aristocracy, hostility of, xlvii.
+
+   Ark, 56, 57, 133.
+
+   Asaf Solomon's wezeer, 142.
+
+   Aws, Benee-, liv.
+
+   Azar or Terah, 66.
+
+
+   BABEL, Tower of, 69.
+
+   Bathsheba, 135.
+
+   Bayard of Islam, l.
+
+   Bedr, lxv.
+
+   Beha-ed-deen Zoheyr, xxiv.
+
+   Believers and unbelievers, 38-43.
+
+   Benjamin, 77, 84, 86-89.
+
+   Bilal, the first Mueddin, xlv, xlvii.
+
+   Bilkees, Queen of Sheba, 139-143.
+
+   Birds and Solomon, 138-139.
+
+   Book, the preserved, 17.
+
+   Books, divine, 47-48.
+
+   Byzantium, Emperor of, lxviii.
+
+
+   CAIN, 53, 54.
+
+   Caleb, 123.
+
+   Calf, the golden, 118 ff.
+
+   Camel of Mohammad, lxvi.
+
+   Camel of Thamood, 61, 62.
+
+   Camel-driver, Mohammad a, xxxix.
+
+   Caussin de Perceval, M., xxii.
+
+   Chivalry of ancient Arabs, xxvii, xxviii.
+
+   Christ, 47, 149-165.
+
+   ---- divinity of, 154, 162-165.
+
+   ---- the Messiah, lxi.
+
+   ---- the Word of God, lxxxii, 165.
+
+   ---- supposed crucifixion of, 156, 161.
+
+   ---- second advent of, 163.
+
+   Christians, xxxiv, 38, 40, 42, 48, 164.
+
+   Clan feeling, xiv.
+
+   Corruption of Christian and Jewish scriptures, 48.
+
+   Cow, sacrifice of, 125-127.
+
+
+   DAUGHTERS of God, xxxiii, 9, 11, 33.
+
+   Daughters, love of, xxix.
+
+   David, 47, 134-36, 138.
+
+   Davidean coats of mail, 135.
+
+   Day of judgment, 21-31.
+
+   Debtors, 37.
+
+   Destiny, 32.
+
+   Deutsch, Dr. Emanuel, xxiv, xl.
+
+   Devils, 7, 31, 136, 137, 138.
+
+   Dhafar, Christians of, xxxiv.
+
+   Dhu-l-Karneyn, 63-65, 128.
+
+   Dhu-l-Kifl, 47.
+
+   Dice, xxxi.
+
+   Disaffected party, lx, lxv.
+
+   Divine books, 47-48.
+
+   Divinity of Christ, 154, 162-165.
+
+   Divinity of the Virgin, 162, 165.
+
+   Drink, love of, xxxi.
+
+
+   EDEN, 51.
+
+   Egypt, 79 ff.
+
+   Egypt, plagues of, 112-114.
+
+   Elias, 128.
+
+   Embarcation formula, 57.
+
+   Emeen, El-, xl, xlv.
+
+   Emeeneh, El-, 137.
+
+   Enoch, 47.
+
+   Eve, 51.
+
+   Evil eye, 85.
+
+   Exodus, the, 114 ff.
+
+   Ezekiel, lines from, xxx.
+
+   Ezra, 148.
+
+
+   FAIR, _see_ 'Okadh.
+
+   Family pride of Arabs, xviii.
+
+   Famine of Egypt, 83 ff.
+
+   Fanes, xxxiii.
+
+   Fast, lxxxiv, 117.
+
+   Fate, lxxxi, 32.
+
+   Fathers and daughters, xxix.
+
+   Fatihah, 3.
+
+   Fetishism, xxxiii.
+
+   Fijar, war of the, xxxviii.
+
+   Firas, Aboo-, xxix.
+
+   Flight of Mohammad, lvi, lvii.
+
+   Flight to Abyssinia, xlvii.
+
+   Flood, 55-59.
+
+   Forgery, lxvii ff., 19.
+
+
+   GABRIEL, xliv, 72, 73, 78, 111, 152, 161
+
+   God, 5-12.
+
+   ---- unity, profession of, 5.
+
+   ---- has no partners, 9, 11, 33, 154, 162-165.
+
+   ---- the supreme, xxxiii.
+
+   ---- Mohammad doctrine of, lxxx.
+
+   Goddesses, moon, xxxiii, xlviii.
+
+   Gog and Magog, 64, 65.
+
+   Golden calf, 118 ff.
+
+   Goliath, 133, 134.
+
+   Good for evil, 37.
+
+   Gospel, 15, 47, 48, 149 ff.
+
+   Greeting, 37.
+
+
+   HABEEB, 159 ff.
+
+   Haggadah, xliii, lxi, lxii.
+
+   Haman, 97, 110.
+
+   Haneefs, xxxiv.
+
+   Hashimees, xxxviii, li, lii.
+
+   Hatim, xix-xxii.
+
+   Hawareeyoon, El-, 156.
+
+   Heber, 47, 160, 161.
+
+   Hell, 21-31.
+
+   Helpers, the, lix, lx.
+
+   Hijaz;, xii.
+
+   Hijreh, the, lvii.
+
+   Hira, Mount, xliii.
+
+   Honour, Arab, xv.
+
+   Hood, 47, 60, 61.
+
+   Hooreeyehs, Footnotes 128, 131.
+
+   Hospitality, Arab, xix.
+
+   Howwa, 51.
+
+   Hubal, xxxii.
+
+   Humanity, lxxxvi.
+
+   Hypocrites, 31, 41.
+
+   'Hypocrites, the,' lx.
+
+
+   IBLEES, 31, 49, 50.
+
+   Idols, xxxii, xlvi, lxvi, 8, 11, 12, 30.
+
+   Idrees, 47.
+
+   Ilyas, 128.
+
+   Imam, 74, 163.
+
+   'Imran, 149.
+
+   Infanticide, xxxii, 23.
+
+   Inspiration, lxxiv.
+
+   Isaac, 47, 70-73.
+
+   Ishmael, xxxii, 47, 72-73.
+
+   Iskender, 63.
+
+   Islam, lxxvii-xcix, 76.
+
+
+   JACOB, 47, 70, 71, 77-92.
+
+   Jann, El-, or Iblees, 49.
+
+   Jerusalem, Temple of, 145.
+
+   Jesus of Nazareth, _see_ Christ.
+
+   Jethro, 47, 95 ff.
+
+   Jewish corruption of Scripture, 48.
+
+   Jews, liv, lxii-lxv, 38, 40, 41, 42, 48.
+
+   Jinn, liii, 7, 9, 33, 136-138, 144, 145.
+
+   Jinnee, Mohammad possessed by a, 17.
+
+   Ji'raneh, El-, scene at, lix.
+
+   Job, 93, 94.
+
+   Jonah, 146, 147.
+
+   Joodee, mountain of El-, 58.
+
+   Joseph, 77-92.
+
+   Joseph and Zeleekha, 83.
+
+   Joshua, 47, 123, 124, 127-129.
+
+   Judah, 77-79.
+
+   Judaism in Arabia, xxxiv.
+
+
+   KAABEH, xxxii, lxxxiv, 74-75.
+
+   Kaswa, El-, lxvi.
+
+   Khadeejeh, xxxix, lii, liii, lxxi, lxxii.
+
+   Khateeb-el-Ambiya, 95.
+
+   Khazraj, Benee-, liv.
+
+   Khidr, El-, 47, 128-130.
+
+   Khusru, the, lxvii.
+
+   Kitfeer, 79.
+
+   Korah, 124, 125.
+
+   Kudar ibn Salif, 62.
+
+   Kureysh, xxxvii f, xlv-lviii, lxv-lxvii.
+
+   Kur-an, 4, 13-20, 47;
+     state in which it was left by Mohammad, ci;
+     first revision, ci;
+     second revision, ci;
+     chaotic order, cii;
+     scientific arrangement of Noeldeke, ciii;
+     characteristics of different groups, civ;
+     statistics, cvi.
+
+
+   LAHAB, Aboo-, li, lii.
+
+   Lapwing and Solomon, 139.
+
+   Lat, El-, xxxiii.
+
+   Lazarus, 155.
+
+   Lion of God, l.
+
+   Lot, 47, 69, 70.
+
+   Lyall, Mr. C. J., xv.
+
+
+   MARRIAGES of Mohammad, xxxix, lxx ff.
+
+   Martyrs for the faith, 30.
+
+   Mary the Virgin, 149 ff.
+
+   Mary, divinity of, 162, 165.
+
+   Medina, lvii, lix ff., lxv, _and see_ Yethrib.
+
+   Mekka, xxx ff., lxvii.
+
+   Menah, xxxiii.
+
+   Messenger or apostle, 14.
+
+   Messiah, _see_ Christ.
+
+   Metempsychosis, xxxiii.
+
+   Midian, 95, 96, 101.
+
+   Migrations of Muslims, xlvii, lvii.
+
+   Mi'raj, lv.
+
+   Misr, 88.
+
+   Miracles or signs, 16, 17, 18, 52.
+
+   Miriam (Maryam), 99, 105.
+
+   Mohammad, 13-20, 47;
+     his family, xxxvii;
+     childhood, xxxvii;
+     youth, xxxviii;
+     shepherding, xxxviii;
+     camel-driving, xxxix;
+     personal appearance, xl;
+     habits, xli, xlii;
+     solitary wanderings, xlii;
+     the call, xliii;
+     public appearance, xliv;
+     first conversions, xlv;
+     address on Mount Es-Safa, xlvi;
+     preaching, xlvi;
+     hostility of the aristocracy, xlvii;
+     torturing of slaves, xlvii;
+     emigration to Abyssinia, xlvii;
+     speech to the Negus, xlviii;
+     persecution by Kureysh, xlviii;
+     compromise, xlviii;
+     interview with Aboo-Talib, xlix;
+     conversion of 'Omar and Hamzeh, l;
+     the ban of the Hashimees, li;
+     its end, lii;
+     death of Aboo-Talib and Khadeejeh, lii;
+     visit to Et-Taif, liii;
+     pilgrims from Yethrib, liv;
+     state of parties at Yethrib, liv;
+     first pledge of the 'Akabeh, lv;
+     Yethrib and Mekka, lv;
+     the night journey, lv;
+     second pledge of the 'Akabeh, lvi;
+     emigration of Muslims to Yethrib, lvii;
+     Mohammad's flight or Hijreh, lvii, lviii;
+     retrospect, lviii;
+     parties at Medina, lix;
+     the Refugees, Helpers, Hypocrites, lix, lx;
+     the Jews, lxi;
+     are conciliated, lxii;
+     but become hostile, lxii;
+     their punishment, lxiii-lxv;
+     war with the Kureysh, lxv;
+     Bedr, Ohud, siege of Medina, truce, lxv;
+     the Muslims perform the Lesser Pilgrimage, lxvi;
+     conquest of Mekka, lxvii;
+     complete amnesty, lxvii;
+     submission of Arabia, lxvii;
+     farewell pilgrimage and oration, lxviii;
+     death, lxix;
+     character, lxix;
+     charges of cruelty, sensuality, insincerity, discussed, lxx-lxxvi.
+
+   Mohammad, the illiterate or Gentile apostle, 122.
+
+   Moon-goddesses, xxxiii, xlvii,
+
+   Moses, 92, 97-131.
+
+   Mosques or temples, 36.
+
+   Mountain-worship, xxxiii.
+
+   Mueddin, the first, xlv, xlvii.
+
+   Muhajiroon, lx, lxv.
+
+   Munafikoon, lix.
+
+   Mus'ab, lv.
+
+   Mus'ab ibn Er-Reiyan, 97.
+
+   Muslim, meaning of, 75.
+
+   Muslim, the true, 43.
+
+
+   NEGRO slaves, xlv, xlvii.
+
+   Negus or Nejashee, xli, xlvii, xlviii.
+
+   Nejd, xii.
+
+   Nejran, xxxiv, 164.
+
+   Night journey, lv.
+
+   Nimrod, 66, 69, 70.
+
+   Nineveh, 147.
+
+   Noah, 47, 55-59.
+
+   Noeldeke, ciii.
+
+   Nun, 47.
+
+
+   OHUD, battle of, lxv, 32.
+
+   'Okadh, fair of, xxiv-xxvi, xxxviii.
+
+   'Omar, l.
+
+   'Oneyzeh, 62.
+
+   Oration, farewell, lxviii.
+
+   Oratory among the Arabs, xxiv.
+
+   'Othman, xlv.
+
+   Oven of El-Koofeh, 37.
+
+   'Ozeyr or Ezra, 148.
+
+
+   PALMER, Prof. E. H., xxiv.
+
+   Parables, 38-40.
+
+   Paraclete, 15.
+
+   Paradise, 21-31.
+
+   Partners with God, 9, 11, 33.
+
+   Parties at Medina, lix.
+
+   Penates, xxxiii.
+
+   Pentateuch, 47, 48.
+
+   People of the Scripture, 38.
+
+   Perceval, M. Caussin de, xxii.
+
+   Person of Mohammad, xl.
+
+   Pharaoh of Joseph, 81, 83.
+
+   Pharaoh of Moses, 97 ff.
+
+   Pilgrimage, lxxxiv;
+     lesser, lxvi;
+     last, lxviii.
+
+   Pilgrims, xxxvii, liv.
+
+   Pledges of the 'Akabeh, lv, lvi.
+
+   Poetry, Arab, xxii-xxiv.
+
+   Polygamy, lxxxix-xcii.
+
+   Potiphar, 79.
+
+   Potiphar's wife, 79, 83.
+
+   Prayer, lxxxiii;
+     opening, cvi, 3
+
+   Preaching of Mohammad, xlvi.
+
+   Preceders, the, 25.
+
+   Predestination, 32.
+
+   Premonition, 4.
+
+   Preserved book, the, 17.
+
+   Pride of ancestry, xviii.
+
+   Priests, xxxiii.
+
+   Prophets, 47, 48.
+
+   Protection, xviii.
+
+   Psalms, 47, 48.
+
+
+   QUEEN of Sheba, 139 ff.
+
+
+   REFUGEES, the, lix, lx.
+
+   Reiyan, Er-, 81, 97.
+
+   Rek'ah, 74.
+
+   Religion of early Arabs, xxxii.
+
+   Religion, true and false, 34-37.
+
+   Resurrection, 21-31.
+
+   Reuel, _see_ Sho'eyb.
+
+   Revelations, series of, 14, 47-48.
+
+   Revelations, Mohammad's, c, 13.
+
+
+   SABIANS, 38, 48.
+
+   Sabbath-breaking, 116.
+
+   Sadakah, 62.
+
+   Es-Safa, xlvi, lxvi.
+
+   Safoora, 102.
+
+   Salih, 47, 61, 62.
+
+   Samiree Es-, 118 ff.
+
+   Samuel, 133.
+
+   Sarah, 71.
+
+   Saul, 132.
+
+   Seers, xxxiii.
+
+   Sensuality of Mohammad, lxx ff.
+
+   Seth, 47.
+
+   Sheba, Queen of, 139 ff.
+
+   Shi-b or quarter, li.
+
+   Shepherding, xxxviii.
+
+   Sho'eyb, or Jethro, or Reuel, 47, 95 ff.
+
+   Siddeek, Es-, xlv.
+
+   Siege of Medina, lxv.
+
+   Sierra Leone, xcviii.
+
+   Signs, _see_ Miracles.
+
+   Sincerity of Mohammad, lxxii ff.
+
+   Slaves, xlv, xlvii, lxviii.
+
+   Smith, Mr. R. Bosworth, xliii, lxxxvii.
+
+   Sodom, 70 ff.
+
+   Solomon, 136-145.
+
+   Sons of God, 9, 11, 33, 154, 162-165.
+
+   Soorah, the first, xliii.
+
+   Soorah, the second, xliv.
+
+   Soorahs, "forged," lxxii.
+
+
+   TABLE from heaven, the, 157-159.
+
+   Tablet, the preserved, 17.
+
+   Taif, Et-, liii, 74, 138.
+
+   Talhah, xlv.
+
+   Talib, _see_ Aboo-Talib.
+
+   Terah, 66.
+
+   Temples, xxxiii, 36, 145.
+
+   Thamood, 61, 62.
+
+   Throne-verse, 5.
+
+   Thor, Mount, lvii.
+
+   Torturing slaves, xlvii.
+
+   Town-life in Arabia, xxx.
+
+   Treating with Jews, lxii.
+
+   Tree-worship, xxxiii.
+
+   Truce with Kureysh, lxv.
+
+
+   UBAYY, Ibn-, lx.
+
+   Umm-Ghanim, 62.
+
+   Umeyyeh, branch of, xxxviii.
+
+   Unity, profession of the, 5.
+
+   Uzza, El-, xxxiii.
+
+
+   WARAKAH, xxxv.
+
+   Wars of Mohammad, xxxviii, lxv.
+
+   Weleed, El-, 81, 97.
+
+   Wives of Mohammad, lxx ff.
+
+   Wives, command as to, lxviii.
+
+   Women of Arabia, xxvii ff.
+
+   Women in Paradise, 30.
+
+
+   YETHRIB, xxxvii, liv, lv, lvi, _and_ see Medina.
+
+
+   ZELEEKHA, 79, 83.
+
+   Zemzem, xxxii, 73.
+
+   Zeyd, xxxix.
+
+   Zeyd ibn 'Amr, xxxv.
+
+   Zeyd ibn Thabit, ci.
+
+   Zeyneb, lxxii.
+
+   Zipporah, 102.
+
+
+ERRATUM.--P. 36, line 1, _for_ should _read_ shall.
+
+P. 122, line 21, _after_ illiterate _add_ [or Gentile, _i.e._, Arab].
+
+
+   PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.
+   EDINBURGH AND LONDON
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
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author	Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org>	2025-10-14 18:44:25 -0700
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