befallen them at Ohod*, fiich of them as do good works, and fear G o d , fhall
have a great reward ; unto whom certain men faid, Verily the men o f M ecc
a have already gathered forces againft you, be ye therefore afraid of themb: but
this increafed their faith, and they faid, G o d is our fupport,, and the moft
excellent patron, Wherefore they returned with favour from G o d , and advantage'
5 s no evil befel them: and they, followed what was well pleafing unto
G o d ; for G o d is endowed with great liberality. Verily that devil'* would
caufe you to fear his friends: but be ye not afraid of them ; but fear m e ,
if ye be true believers. They fhall not grieve thee, who emuloufly haften
unto infidelity ; for they fhall never hurt G o d at all. G o d will not g i v e
them a part in the next life, and they fhall fuffer a great punifhment. Surely
thofe who purchafe infidelity with faith, fhall by no means hurt G o d at
all, but they fhall fuffer a grievous punifhment. And let not the unbelievers
think, becaufe we grant them lives long and profperous, that it is better for
their fouls: we grant them long and profperous lives only that their iniquity
may be increafed •, and .they fhall fuffer an ignominious punifhment. G o d
is not difpofed to leave the faithful in the condition which ye are now in', un*
They who hearkened to Gov and his apoftle,Scc.']
The commentators differ a little as to the occa-
iion of this paffage. When news was brought
to Mohammed, after the battle of Ohod, that, the
.enemy, repenting of their retreat,’ were returning
towards Medina, he called about him thofe
who had ftpod by him in the battle, and marched
out to meet the enemy as far as Homard al Afad
about eight miles from that town, notwithftand-
ing feveral of his men were fo ill of their wounds
•that they were forced to be carried ; but a panic
fear having feized the army of the Koreifh, they
changed their refolution and continued their
march home j p f which Mohammed having received
intelligence, he alfo went back to Medina:
and according to fome commentators the Koran
-here approves the faith and courage of thofe
who attended the prophet on this occafion.
■ Others fay the perfons intended in this paffage
were thofe who went with Mohammed the next
year, to meet Abu Sofian and the Koreifh, according
totheir challenge, at Bedr1, where they waited
fometime for the enemy, and then returned
-home ; for the Kbreijh tho’ they fet out from
Mecca, yet-never came fo far as the place of appointment,
their hearts failing them on their
march ; which Mohammed attributed to their being
ftruck with a terror from G od 2. This expedition
the Arabian hiftories call the fecond, or
defer expedition of Bedr.
* .Unto whom certain men faid, Verily thofe of
Mecca have already gathered forces againft you,
&c.] The perfon-s who thus endeavoured to dif-
courage xheMohammedans, were, according to one
tradition, fome of the tribe of Abd Kais, who
going to Medina were bribed by Abu Sofian with
a camel’s load of dried railins; and according to
another tradition, it was No aim Ebn Masudal
AJhjai, who was alfo bribed with a Ihe camel ten
months gone with young, (a valuable prefent in
Arabia). This Noaim, they fay, finding Mohammed
and his men preparing for the expedition,
. told them that Abu Sofian, to fpare them the pains
of coming fo far as Bedr, would feek them in
their own houfes, and that none of them could
poffibly efcape otherwife than by timely flight.
Upon which Mohammed, feeing his followers a
little difpirited, fwore that he would go himfelf
tho’ not one of them went with him. And accordingly
he fet out with feventy horfe-men,
every one of them crying out Hasbna Allah, i. e.
G od /r our fupport 3. !
* Wherefore they returned with advantage»]
While they ft a id at Bedr expecting the enemy,
they opened a kind of fair there, and traded to
very confidCrable profit 4.
4 That devil j] Meaning either Noaim, or Abu
Sofian himfelf.
e G od will not leavethefaithful in the * condition
ye are now in, &c.J That is, he will not fuffer
the good and fincere among you to continue
indiferiminately mixed with the wicked and hypocritical.
1 See before, p-J3- noi.Jn * ^ / B e ipaw i . J Idem, Ja lla lo’ddin. * .^/Beidawj.
til he fever the kicked from ' the good; nor is G o d difpofed to make you ac-
ainted wjt[{ what is a hidden fecret, but GoD'chufeth fuch of his apoftles as
■ hepleafeth.P o - r e o e d his mindunto *: believe therefore in G o d , andhis agoftles ;
and if ye'believe, and fear G od, ye fhall - receive a great reward. And let
not thofe-who are covetous of what G o d of his' bounty hath granted them,
imagine'that their avarice is betMr'fbr them : nay, 'rather it is worfe for them.
ThS which they have covetoufly referved fhall be bound as a collar about their
neck*, on the day of the relurreftion : unto G o d ielffkveth' th:e‘ inheritance
of heaven and earth ; and G o d is 'well acquainted with vvhati ye do. G o d
hath already heard the faymg-of thofe who faid, Verily G o d is poor, and we
are rich0: we will furely write down what they have faid, and the flaughter which
they have made ;of the prophets Without a caufe; and we will fay unto them,
Tafte ye »the pain of burning. This'fh a ll they fu ffe r for the e v il _ which then-
hands. ha.vfc fent before thfem, find becaufe G o d is not unjuft' towards
mankind; who alfo fay, Surely G o d hath commanded us, that we Ihould not
crive credit to any apoftle, until-one fhould tome unto us with' a facrifice, which
. Should be confumed by fire“, 'Say, Apoftles have already come unto you>e-
•I fore
*Nor is G od difpofed to acquaint you with what
is a hidden fecret, but-Gov chufeth fuch o f his a-
pojlles as -he pleafeth.^ This paffage-was revealed
"on tKe rebellious and 'difobetfterit ‘Mohammedans
-telling Mohammed, that if be was a true prophet,
he could ealily diftinguilh thofe who fin-*
cerely believed from the diffemblers r.
b That which they have covetoufly ,referved Jhpll
be bound as a collar about'their neck, Scc j Mohfim-
fnedh faid to have’declated, 'that whoever pays
vnot hi's legil cofttributioft of alms duly£ lhall^
•have a ferpent twitted about his neck at the resurrection2.
„ ,
'G od hath heard the faying o f thofe who fiidt
"God is poor, and we are fich.] It is ' related that
■ Mohamtped,: writing to the Jews of the tribe of
■ Kainokd to invite them to I f dm, and exhorting
them, among other things, in the words of the
Koran1, to lend unto G od on good ufury, PbineasEbx
"Azura, on hearing that expreflion, faid. Surely
God is poor, fince they ask to borrow Jor.fbim.
Whereupon Abu ^^rr Who 'was tHe bearer of
that letter, ftrtick him on the face, and told-him,
that if it had not been for the truce between them
he would have ftruck off his head : and on Phi-
neas's complaining to Mohammed .of Abu Beer's
illufage, this paffage was repealed ft.
d The Jews, fay the commentator?, infilled
that it was a.peculiar proof of the million of all
the prophets feiit .to them, that they could, by
their prayers, bring down fire from heaven to
confume the facrifice, and therefore they expected
Mohammed Ihould do the like. . And fome
Mohammedan doctors agree that Gob appointed
this miracle astheteft of all their prophets, except
only Jesus and Mohammed *; tho* others lay any
other miracle was a proof full as fufficient as the
bringing down«iii;e from heaven 6.
The Arabian Jews feem to have drawn a general
confequence from fome particular inftances
of this miracle ib the old Teftamehfc 7. And the
Jews at'fhis day fay, that firft the lire which fell
from heaven on the altar of the tabernacle;8 after
the confecration of Aaron and his fons, and afterwards
that which defeended on the altar 0i<Solo-
mon's temple, at the dedication of that ftruCture9,
was fed and conftantly maintained there by the
priefts, both day and night, without being fuf-
fered once to go out; till.-it waseXtinguilhed, as"
fome fftinlr, in-the reign’of Manqj/ts 1<J, but according
to the more received opinion, wlfen the
-ternpie”was deftroyed by the Chaldeans. Several
Chriftians 11 have given credit to this affection
o f the Jews, with what reafon I lhall not here
enquire } and the Jews in confequence of this
notion/ ihight probably expcCt, that a prophet
who came to teftore G od’s true religion, Ihould
rekindle for them this heavenly fire, which they
have not been favoured with fince the Babylon-
ijh captivity.
1 Idem. ^ idem, Jalx-alo’ddin. 3 Chap. 2 .p. 29; 4 Al Beidawi. * JaiA
lalo’dd^n. 6 .^/Beidawi. 7 Leif. ix. 24. 1 Chron, xxi. 26. 2 Chron. viii f ;
I Kngs xviii. ft bevit. ix. 24. 9 2 Chron, vii, j . 19 Talmd, Ztbachimi c, 6. II See Piudeaux’j Connell, part!. book 3. p. 15^.