command from,him*,, that they may repent of that which they concealed in
their minds. Anclthey who believe will fay, Are thefe 7i# men who have fworh
by G od, with a rhoft firm oath, that they furely held with youb ? their works
are become vain, and they are of thofe who perilh. O true believers, whoever of
you apoftatizeth from his religion, G od will certainly bring other people to
fiipply his place \ whom he will love, and who will love him ; who fhall be
humble towards the believers, but fevere to the unbelievers: they fhall fight for
the religion of G o d , and fhall not fear the obloquy of the’ detriifter. This
is the bounty of G o d , he beftoweth it on whom he pleafeth: G od is ex.
tenfive and wife. Verily your protedtor is G o d , and his apoftle, and thofe
who believe, who obferve the ftated times of prayer, and give alms, and who
bow down to worfhip. And whofo taketh G od, and his apoftle, and the
believers for his friends, they are the party of G o d , and they Jhall be vifto-
rious. O true believers, take not fuch of thofe to whom the fcriptures were
delivered before you, or of the infidels, for your friends, Who make’alaughing-
ftock, and a jeft of your religion 4 ; but fear G o d , if ye be true believers s
nor thofe who, when ye call to prayer, make a laughing-ftock and a jeft of Hi
G od and his apoftle for his patrons, faid that whole leader was Korrnb Ebn Ssslmst. 6. Brn
he was a man apprehenfive of the ficklenefs of Soleirn, who followed al Fujaah Ebn Abd'Yalil.
fortune, and therefore would not throw off his 7. Bairn Yarbu, whofe captain via: Make E h
old friends, who might be of fervice to him Noweirab Elm Kail. 8. Part of the tribe of Ta,
hereafter1; mim, the profeiytes of Sajdj the daughter of d
*- A command from himi] To extirpate and Mondbar,vib.o gave her felf out fora propheteft*.
banifli the Jews ; or to deteft and puniih the 9. The .tribe of Ktndab, led by al Aflialh Eh
hypocrites. Kais. 10. Bar.u liar Elis a! JVaye/ in the f:c-
* Are tbefethe men who have /worn, &c.] Thefe venceof Bahrein» headed by al Horan Ebn Zell.
wor.ds may be.fpoken by the Mohammedans ei- And, 11. Some of the tribe:of GbaJJan, who,
ther to, one another, or to the Jews j fince thefe with their prince Jdbalah Ebn al Ayhssm, re:
hypocrites had given their oaths to both*. nouneed Mohammedifin in the time of Omr,
‘ Whoever of jin apoftatizeth from his religion, and returned to their former profeilion of Cbri-
Goss will certainly bring othefsltofupply his place, ftianitp 7, •; r .
&c.l This is one of thofe -accidents which, it But as to the perfons who fulfilled the other
is pretended, were foretold by the Koran long part of this prophecy, by fupplying the loft of
before they came to pafs. For in the latter days fo many renegates, the commentators are not
of Mohammed, and after his death, confiderable agreed. Some will have them to' be the inha.
numbers of the Arabs quitted his religion, and bitants of Yaman, and'others the Perftans j the
returned do Paganifm, Judaifm, or Chriftianity. authority of Mohammed himfelf being vouched
A l Beidawi reckons them up in the following for both opinions. Others, however, fpppofe
eider. 1. Three companies of Barns Modlaj, fe- them to be 2000 of the tribe of al Nikhd (who
duced by Dhu"lhamar al Afzoad al Anft, who fet dwelt in Yaman) 5000 of thofe of Kendo and fin-
up for a prophet in Yaman, and grew very pow- jilah, and 3000 of unknown ftfeent, who were
erful there5 . 2. Banu Honeifa, who followed prefentat the famous battle of Kadejia3, fought
the famous falfe prophet Mofeilama *. 3. Bants in the Khalifat of Omar, and which put an end
A fad, who acknowledged toleiha Ebn Kbawai- to the Perjian empire 9.
ltd, another pretender to divine revelation5, for d Yoke not thofe for your :friends*wbo mssks a
their prophet. Ail thefe fell off in Mohammed's laughing-ftock of your religion.'] This paffage was
life time. The following, except only the laft, primarily intended to forbid the Mojlems entrmg
apoftatized in the reign of Abu Beer. 4. Cer- into a friendlhip with two hypocrites named
tain of the tribe of Fezdrah, headed by Oyeyma Refaa Ebn Z eid, and Soweid Ebn a! Haretb, who
Ebn Hofein. 5. Some of- the tribe of GbnpfSth- ■■ *"*
* Idem. 2 Idem. 5 See the Prelim. Difc. $. VIII. 4. See ib. * See ft-
4 See ib. 7 See ib. V I. p. 'l j . 8 V. D ’H e r b e l . Bibl. Orient.p. 226. 9 Al B e id a w i .
it » this they do, becaufe they are people who do not underftand. Say, O ye who
have received the fcriptures, do ye rejedt us for any other reafon than becaufe
believe in G o d , and that revelation which hath been fent down unto us, and
that which was formerly fent down, and for that the greater part of you are
tranfereflors ? Say, Shall I denounce unto you a worfe thing than this, as to the
reward which ye are to with G od ? He whom Gop hath curfed, and with
whom he hath been angry, having changed fome of them into apes and fwine",
and who worfhip T a g h u t c,,: they are in the worfe condition, and err more
■ widely from the ftraitnefs of the path. When they came unto you, they faid,
We believe: yet they entred itfto your company with infidelity, and went forth
from you with the fame •, but G od well knew what .they concealed. Thou lhalt fee
many of them haftening unto iniquity and malice, and to eat things forbidden4;
and woe unto them for what they have done. Unlefs their dodtors and priefts
forbid them uttering wickednefs, and eating things forbidden-; woe unto them
far what they fhall have committed. The Jews fay, The hand of G o d is
tied up'. Their hands fhall be tied upf, and they fhall be curfed for that
which they have faid. Nay, his. hands are both ftretched forth ; he beftoweth as
he pleafeth : that which hath been fent down unto thee from thy L o r d 8 fhall in-
creafe the tranfgfeflion and infidelity of many of them ; and we have put
enmity and hatred between them, until the day of refurreflion. So often as
they fhall kindle a fire for war, G od fhall extinguifh ith; and they fhall fet
I their minds to a£t corruptly in the earth, but G od loveth not the corrupt doers.
N 2 - Moreno1
they had embraced Mohammedifm, je t ri- the words o f Phineas Ebn Azures (another inde-
I drafted it on all occafions, and were notwith- cent expreffion of whom, .almoft to the fame
Handing greatly beloved among the prophet’s purpofe, is mentioned elfewhere') when the
S followers. Jews were much impoverifhed by a dearth,
* Nor thofe who when ye call to prayer, make a which the commentators will have to be a judg-
jeftofit;] Thefe words were added onoccafion ment on them for their reje&ing of Mohammedi
of a certain Chriftian, who hearing the Mu- and the other Jews who heard him, inftead of
I adhdhin, or cryer, in calling to prayers, repeat reproving him, exprefied their approbation of
[ this part of the ufual form, Iprofefs /^/Moham- what he had faid 6.
med/j the apoftle of G od, faid aloud, May G od f Their hands fhall be tied up ;] i.e. They fhall
I burn the liar: but a few nights after hi? oym ,be punifhed-with want and avarice. The words
houfe was accidentally fet on fire by a fervant, may alfo: allude to the manner wherein the re-
and himfelf and his family periflied in theflames1. probatesfhall appear at the laft day, having their
b Having changed fome of them into apes and right hands tied up^ to their necks 7^; which is
fwine j] The former were the Jews of Ailaby the proper fignification of the Arabic word,
who broke the fabbath *; and the latter thofe * Viz. The Koran.
who believed not in the miracle of the Table h So often as they kindle fire for war, G od fhall
which was let,down from heaven to Jesus 3. extinguifh i t ;] Either by raifing feuds andquaf-
Some, however, imagine that the Jews of At- rels among themfelves,or by granting the vidtef-
lah only are meant in this place, pretending that ry to the Mojlems. A l Beidawi adds, that on'
the young men among them, were metamorpho- ‘the Jews neglediing the true obfervance.of their
fed into apes, and the old men into fwine *. law, and corrupting their religion, G od has fuc-
* See chap. 2. p. 31. ceffively delivered them into the hands, firft of
6 See before, p. 88. Bakht Nafr or Nebuchadnezzar, then of Titus the
“ God’; handss tied up ;] That is, he is be- -Roman, and afterwards of the Perftans, and has
come niggardly and clofe-fifted. Thefe were now at laft fubjedled them to the Mohammedarts.
1 Idem. - * • >* See chap. 2. p. q. } See towards the end of this chapter. * AA l Bfiir-
•»awi. i Chap. p. $7. < 6 AlB ziVAtf ii 7 See.the Prelim, Difc. $. IV .p. 89.