have committed j f Will ye direft him whom G o d hath led aftray ; fincefor
him whom G o d fhall lead aftray, thou lhalt find no true path? They defire
that ye lhould become infidels, as they are infidels, and that ye fhould be
equally wicked with themfclves. Therefore take not friends from among them,
until they fly their country for the religion of G o d i and if they turn back from
the faith, take them, and kill them where-ever ye find them ; and take no
friend from among them, nor any helper, except thofe who go unto a people
who are in alliance with you *, or thofe who come unto you, their hearts
forbidding them either to fight againft you, or to fight againft their own people
. And if G o d pleafed he would have permitted them to have prevailed
againft you, and they would have fought againftyou. But if they depart from
you, and fight not againft you, and offer you peace, G o d doth not allow
you to take or kill them. Ye Ihall find others who are defirous to enter into a
confidence with you, and at the fame time to preferve a confidence with their own
peopleci fo often as they return to fedition, they Ihall be fubverted therein;
and if they depart not from you, and offer you peace, and reftrain their hands
from warring againft you, take them and kill them wherefoever ye find them;
over thefe have we granted you a manifeft power. It is not lawful for a be-'
liever to kill a believer, unlefs it happen by miftake $; and whofo killeth a
believer by miftake, the penalty fhall be the freeing of a believer from flavery,
and a fine to be paid to the family of the deceafed% unlefs they .remit if as
alms: and if the flain perfon be of a people at enmity with you, and be a
true believer, the penalty fhall be the freeing of a believer f; but if he -be of
a* people in confederacy with you, a fine to be paid to his family, and the
freeing of a believer. And he who findeth not wherewith to do this, Ihall fail
two months confecutively, as a penance injoined from G o d ; and G o d is
knowing and wife. But whofo killeth a believer defignedly, his reward Ihall
be hell; he fhall remain therein for ever*-, and G o d fhall be angry with
; , him,
embrace Mohammedifm, that they might be truft*
ed by the Mojlems, but when they returned, fell
back to their old idolatry 3.
: A Unlefs it be by miftake;] That is, by accident
and without defign. This paflage was revealed
to decide the cafe of Ay aft Ebn Abi Re-
bin, the brother, by the mother’s fide, of Aba
Jahl, who meeting Haietb EbnZeid on the road,
and not knowing that he had embraced Moham-
medijm, flew him +.
e And a fine to be paid tor the family of the deceafed
i] Which fine is td'be diftributed according
to the laws of inheritances given in the beginning
of this chapter 4.
f -The freeing of-a true believer j] And no fine
fhall be paid, becaufe in fuch cafe his relations,
being infidels and at open war with the Mojlenih
have no right to inherit what he leaves.
g He fhall remain1 therein for ever y] That is,
unlefs he repent. Others however underfland
4 v ;v m . .M-, •' not
went farther and farther,-tflhthey joined' the idolaters
j or, as others fay, oii occafion o f fome
defertersat the battle of Obody concerning whom
the Mojlems were twitted m opinion whether
they fhould be flain as infidels, or not.
* A people who are in alliance with you.;] The
people here meant, fay fome, were the tribe of
Khozdah, or, according to others, the AJlamians,
whofe chief named Heidi Ebn Owaimar, agreed
with Mohammed, when he fet out againft Mecca,
to ftand neuter ; or, as others rather think. Barn
Beer Ebn Zeid 1.
b Whofe hearts-forbid them to fight either a-
gainfi-you, or their own peoples] Thefe, it is faid,
were theiribe of Modldj, who came in to Mohammed,
but would not be obliged to affift him
in war.
c Who defire to enter into a confidence with you,
See.] The perfons hinted at here, were the tribes
o f Afad and Gha fan, or, as fome fayi BanuAb-
dalddr, who came to Medina and-pretended to
1 . ^ / B e i d a w i , J a l l a i -o ’ d d i n . . ' 2 u^ / B e i d a w i . 3 Id em . * Ident-
4 . Id em .
him and Ihall curfe him, and ihall prepare for him a great punifhmenf.
O true believers, when ye are on a march iii defence of the true religion,
juftly difeern fuch as ye fh a ll happen to meet? and fay not unto him who fa-
luteth you, Thou art not a true believera; Teeking the accidental goods of
the prefent life b ; for with G od is much fpoil. Such have ye formerly been 5
but God hath been gracious unto youc 5 therefore make a juft difeernment,
for God is well acquainted with that which ye do. Thofe believers who fit ftill
at home, not having any hurtdft and thofe who eipploy their fortunes' and
their perfons for the religion of God, ihall not be held, equal. G od hath preferred
thofe who employ their fortunes and their perfons in that caufe, to a decree
o f honour above thofe who fit at home : God hath indeed promifed every
one paradife, but G od hath preferred thofe who fight f o r ih e fa ith before thole
who fit ftill, by adding unto them a great reward, by degrees o f honour conferred
on them from him, and^y granting them forgiveneis, and mercy *, for G od is
indulgent and merciful. Moreover unto thofe whom the angels put to death,
having injured their own fouls % the angels faid, Of what religion were ye ?
they anfwered, We were weak in the earth f. The angels replied, Was not
God’s earth wide enough, that ye might fly therein to a place o f refuge z? Therefore
their habitation fhall be hell; and an evil journey fh a ll it be thithe r: except
the weak among men, and women, and children, who were not able to find
means, and were not directed in the way; thefe peradventure God will pardon,
for God is ready to forgive and gracious. Whofoever flieth from his country,
for the fake of God’s true religion, ihall find in the earth many forced to
do the fame, and plenty o f provifions. And whoever departeth from his houfe,
and flieth unto G od and his apoftle, if death overtake him in the way k ,
L G od
not here an eternity of damnation, (for it is the
general doólrihe of the Mohammedans that none
who profefs that faith Ihall continue in hell for
ever) but only a long fpace of time 1.
* Say not unto him who faluteth you, Thou art
not a true believer;] On pretence that he only
feigns to be a Mofiem, that he might efcapefrom
you. The commentators mention more inftances
than one, of perfons flain and plundered by
Mohammedls men under this pretext, notwith-
ftanding they declared themfelves Mojlems by
repeating the ufual form ofv words, and faluting
themj for which reafón this paflage was revealed,
to prevent fuch rafli judgments for the future.
6 Seeking the accidental goods of this life 5] That
rs* being willing to judge him an infidel, only
that ye may kill and plunder him.
c Such were ye formerly, &c.] viz. At your firft
profeffion of IJlamifm, before ye had given any
demonftrations of your fincerity and zeal there-
Not having any hurt;] i. e. Not being dif-
. from going to war by ficknefs, or other
jolt impediment, i t is faid that when the paf*
fage was firft revealed, there was no fuch exception
therein, which occafioned Ebn Omm Mac-
tum, on his hearing it repeated, to objedl, And
what i f I fhould be blind P Whereupon Mohammed,
falling into a kind of trance, which was
fucceeded by ftrong agitations, pretended he had
received the divine dire&ion to add thefe words
to the text2.
c Thofe whom the angels put to death, &c.] Thefe
were certain» inhabitants of Mecca, who held
with the hare and ran with the hounds, for tho*
they embraced Moharnmedifm, yet they would
not leave that city to join the prophet, as the
reft of the Mojlems did, but on the contrary,
went out with the idolaters, and were therefore
flain with them at the battle of Bedr 3.
f We were weak in the earth ;jj Being unable to
fly, and compelled to follow the infidels to war..
g Was not G odV earth wide enough, that ye
might fly to a place of refugef] As they did who
fled to Ethiopia and to Medina.
h I f death overtake him in the way;] This
paflage was revealed, fays al Beiddwi, on account
of Jondob Ebn Damra. This perfon being lick,
was, in his flight, carried by his fons on a couch,
and