A l K 0 R A N. C ha p , 3,
We are not obliged to obferve juftice with the heathen: but they utter a lie a-
gainft God, knowingly. Yea -, whofo keepeth his covenant, andfeareth God,
G od furely loveth thofe who fear him. But they who make merchandize of
G od’s covenant, and o f their oaths, for a fmall price, lhall have no portion in
the next life, neither lhall G od fpeak to them or regard them on the day of re-
furredrion, nor lhall he cleanfe them ; but they lhall fuffer a grievous punilh-
ment. And there are certainly fome of them, who read the fcriptures per.
verily, that ye may think w h a t they r ea d to be really in the fcriptures, yet
it is not in the fcripture ; and they fay, This is from G od s but it is not
from God : and they fpeak that which is falfe concerning G od, againft their
own knowledge. It is not j i t for a man, that G od Ihould give him a book
o f r e v e la tio n s , and wifdom, and prophecy ; and then he Ihould fay unto men,
Be ye worlhippers o f me, befides G o d ; but h e ought to fa y , Be ye perfect
in knowledge and in works, lince ye know the fcriptures, and exercife your
felves therein *. G od hath not commanded you to take the angels and the
prophets for y ou r Lo rds: W ill he command you to become infidels, after
ye have been true believers ? And remember when G od accepted the covenant
o f the prophets1, fa y in g , T h i s verily is the fcripture and the wifdom
which I have given you : hereafter lhall an apoftle come unto you, confirming
the truth o f that fc r ip tu r e which is with you s ye lhall furely believe
on him, and ye lhall affift him. G od faid, Are ye . firmly refolved, and.do
ye accept my covenant on this condition ? They anfwered, We are firmly
refolved : G od faid, Be ye therefore witneflfes ; and I alfo bear witnefs with
you : and whofoever turneth back after this, they are furely the tranfgref-
fors. Do they therefore feek any other religion but G od’s ? fince to him
i s refigned whofoever is in heaven or on earth, voluntarily, or of force:
and to him lhail they return. Say, We believe in God, and that which
.hath been fent down unto us, and that which was fent down unto A b rah am ,
hammed Ebn Moflema in the third year of the
Jiejra 1. Dr. Prideaux % has confounded the
•Caab we are now fpeaking of, with another very
different perfon of theiame name, and a famous
poet, but who was the fon of Zohair, and no
Jew; as a learned-gentleman has already obferv-
xcd 3. In cohfequence of*which miftake, the doftor
attributes what the Arabian Kiftorians write of
the lifter, to the former, and wrongly affirms
that he was not pur to death by Mohammed.
Some of the commentators however fuppofe
that'in the former part of this paffage the Cbri-
fifdrts are intended, who, they fay,are generally
people of fome'honour and;-juftice ; and in the
latter part the Jews, who they think are more
given to cheating and diftionefty4^
* It is not fit far a man, &c.];Thispaffage was
revealed, fay the commentators, in anlwer to the
Chrifiians, who infilled that fief us had commanded
them to worfhip him as G od. Al Beidawi
adds that two Chrifiians, named Abu Rdfe el
Koradhi and al Seyid al Najrani, offered to acknowledge
Mohammed for their Lord, and to
worlhiphim; to which he anfwered, Gox> forbid
that we Jbould wor.Jhip any befides G o.d.
b When G od accepted the covenant of the prophets,
&c.] Some commentators interpret this of
the children of Ifrael ihemfelves, of whofe race
the prophets were. But others, fay the fouls of all
the prophets, even of thofe who wiere not then
born, were prefent on mount Sinai,, when God
gave the lawto Mofes, and that they entred into
the covenant here mentioned with him. A ftory
borrowed 'by Mohammed from, the cIaltnudiJh>
and therefore -moll probably, his true meaningin
this place.
1 Al J A N N A B I, E lmacin. * Life of Mabom. p. f 8, &c.
j&.nv,Ve&D. Fit. Mob. p. 6$, & i2z. * A l Bejdaw4.
3 V . G ag nier, -in Not. oi
CnAP. 3. A l K O R A N . 4 ?'
and I s m a e l , and I s a a c , and J a c o b , and the tribes, and that which was delivered
to M o s e s , and J e s u s , and the prophets, from their L o r d ; we make
no diftinfh'on between any of them ; and to him are we refigned. Whoever
followeth any other religion than I s l a m , it lhall not be accepted of him :
and in the next life he lhall be of thofe who perilh *. How lhall G o d diredt
men who have become infidels after they had believed, and born witnefs
that the apoftle was true, and manifeft declarations of the divine will had
come unto them? for G o d direftethnot thè ungodly people. Their reward
lhall be, that on them fhallfall the curfe of G o d , and of angels, and of all
mankind: they lhall remain under the fame for ever -, their torment lhall
not be mitigated, neither lhall they be regarded 5 except thofe who repent
after this, and amend -, -for ■ G o d is gracious and merciful. Moreover they
who become infidels after they have believed, and yet increafe in infidelity,
their repentance lhall in no wife be accepted, and they are thofe who go
aftray. Verily they who'believe not, and die in their unbelief, the world
full of gold lhall in no wife be accepted from any of them, even though he
Ihould give it for his. ranfom-, they lhall fuffer a grievous punilhment, and
they lhall have none to help them. * Ye will never attain unto righteoufnefs,
until ye give in alms of that which ye love : and whatever ye give, G o d
knoweth°it. All food was permitted unto the children of I s r a e l , except
what I s r a e l forbad unto himfelfb, before the Pentateuch-was fent downc.
Say unto th e j.ew s , Bring hither the Pentateuch and read it, if ye fpeak truth.
Whoever therefore contriveth-a lye againft G o d after this, they will be evil
doers. Say, G o d is true r -follow ÿe therefore the religion of A b r a h a m
the orthodox -, for he was no idolater. Verilythe-firft houfe appointed unto
men to worfhip in was that which is in B e c c a i bleffed, and a diredtion to
■ . all
bSee-béfor‘e, ch. 2. p. 8, Not. d. This expofition Teems to be taken from the.
b All'food was permitted unto the children of children of Ifrael'6 not eating of the linew on
l{nt\,except what• Ifrael forbad unto himfelf.] This the hollow of the thigh, becaufe the angel, with .
pàffage was * revealed on the Jews reproaching whom Jacob wreftled at Peniel, touched the bol-
‘Mobmmed and his -followers -with their eating low of his thigh in thefinew that frank 3.
of the fleffi and milk of camels 1, which they ^BefbrethePtntztùnchwas fentdowni] Wherefaid
was'Tôrbidden Abraham, whofe religion M?- in the lfraeliffs,beczufe of their wickèdnefs and
bmm'ed 'prctended'-to follow. In anfwer to which pèrverfenefs, were forbidden to. eat certain ani-
he tells them, that- G od ordained no diftkl&ion mais Whicb had been allowed their predeceflors4.
of rteats 'before he ga ve the law to 'Mofes, tho’ d Tbe firft houfe appointed unto men, was that
Jacob ^olutitarHy abftained ‘ from the ftelh and which isin Btcca.f Mohammed received this paf-
milk of camels ; 'Which fome commentators fay fage,- -when the Jews laid that their Kebla, or
Was the confequence of a vow made by that the-temple of Jerufalem, was more ancient than
patriarch, When affliéléd with the fciatica, that that of tht Mohammedans, or the Caaba 5. Becca
if he'were cured he would eatno more of that is another name of Mecca ^, Al Beiddwi ob-
méat whioh‘ he -liked beft ; and that was ca- ferves that the Arabs ufed the M and B propels'
ffdffi : but others fuppofe he1 abftainèd from -Jriifcuoufly in feveral-words,
it by the advice ^f phyficians only 2.
1 See Lev. xi. 4. • Debt. xW. y. * Al Beidawi, jALLALorDDiN.
3Z-, 4 Koran, I c. r 4. Seethe notes there, 5 Al Beidawi,
6 See the P r e lim ifr . fv i.p . 3,
3 Gen. xxxii,
Jalialo’ddi^