{landing, that ye may be happy. O true believers, inquire not concerning
things, which, if they be declared unto you, may give you pain*; but if ye
ask concerning them when the K o r a n is fent down, they will be declared unto
you: G o d pardoneth you as to thefe matters ; for G o d is ready to forgive,
and gracious. People who have been before you formerly enquired concerning
them ; and afterwards difbelieved therein. G o d hath not ordained any thing
concerning B a h i r a , nor S a i b a , nor W a s i l a , nor H a m i 1' ; but the unbelievers'
have invented a lie againft G o d : and the greater part of them do not
underftand. And when it was faid unto them, Come unto that which G o d
hath revealed, and to the apoftle ; they anfwered, That religion which we
found our fathers to follow is fufficient for us. What, though their fathers
knew nothing, and were not rightly directed ? O true believers, take care of
your fouls. He who erreth fhall not hurt you, while ye are rightly direfted1:
unto G o d fhall ye all return, and he will tell you that which ye have done.
O true believers, let witneffes be taken between you, when death approaches
any of you, at the time of making the teftament; let, there be two witneffes, juft
men, from among you 4; or two others of a different tribe or fa ith from your
felves % if ye be journeying in. the earth, and the-accident of death be-
fal you. Ye fhall fhut them both up, after the afternoon prayerf, and they
fhall fwear by G o d , if ye doubt them, and they fh a ll fa y , We will not fell
our, evidence for a bribe, although the perfon concerned be one who is related
to us, neither will we conceal the teftimony of G o d , for then fhould vve cer-
'• '• ' : -V dl'.v i.-f: V ■,: ■ i f f tainly
* Inquire not concerning things which i f they he
'declared unto you may give you pain, &c.] The A-
rabs continually teazing their prophet with questions,
which probably he was not always prepared
to anfwer, they are here ordered to wait,
till God fhould think fit to declare his pleafurdf
by fome farther revelation : and, to abate their
curiofity, they are told, at the fame time, that
very likely the anfwers would not be agreeable
to their inclinations. A l Beidawi fays, that
when the pilgrimage was firft commanded, So-
rdka Ebn Make asked Mohammed whether they
were obliged to perform it every year ? To this
queftion the prophet at firft turned a deaf ear;
but being asked it a fecond, and a third time,
he at Taft faid, No: hut i f I had faid, yes, it
would have become a duty, and i f it were a duty, ye
-would not be able to perform i t ; therefore give me
no trouble as to things wherein I give you none :
whereupon this paffage was revealed.
b God hath not ordained any thing concerning
Bahira, nor Saiba, nor Wasila, nor Hami, &c.]
Thefe were the names given by the pagan A-
fabs to certain camels or iheep which were turn-
•ed loofe *to feed, and exempted from common
fervices, in fome particular cafes ; having their
ears flit, or fome other mark, that they might
ibe known; and this they did in honour of their
gods *. Which fuperftrtions are here declared
to be no ordinances of God, but the inventions
of foolilh men.
* He who erreth fhall not hurt you,Sec."] This was
revealed when the ipfidels reproached thofe who
embraced Mohammedifm and renounced their
old idolatry, that by fo doing they arraigned the
wifdom of their forefathers 2.
d Two juft men from among you i] That is, of
your kijiared, or religion.
e Or two others of a dijf&ent tribe or faith j]
They who interpret thefe words of perfons of
another religion, fay they are abrogated, and
that the teftimony of fuch ought not to be received
4 Ifym.
againft a Moflem 3.
f Ye JhallJhut them both up after the afternoon
prayer, &c.] In cafe there was any doubt, the
witneffes were to be kept apart from company,
left they fhould be corrupted, till they gave their
evidence, which they generally did when the afternoon
prayer was over ; becaufe that was the
time o f people’s aflembling in public,;or, fay fome,
becaufe <the guardian angels then relieve each o-
ther, fb -that there would be four angels to wit-
nefs againft them i f they gave falfe evidence.
But others fuppofe they might be examined after
the hour of any other prayer, when there
was a Sufficient affembly 4.
1 JSee the Prelim. Dift. 5* V . * A l B-eidaw i. 3 Idem.
tainly be o f the number of the wicked. But j f it appear that both have been
ilty 0f iniquity, two others fhall ftand up in their place, of thofe who
have convicted them o f faljhood, the two neareft in blood, and they fhall fwear
by G o d , faying, Verily our teftimony is more true than the teftimony of
thefe two, neither have we prevaricated ; for then fhould we become o f the
number of the unjqft. This will be eafier, that men may give teftimony
.according to the plain intention thereof, or fear leaft a different oath be given,
after their oath. Therefore fear G od, and hearken; for God direð not
the unjuft peoplea. On a certain dayb fhall God afiembld the apoftles, and
fhall fay unto them, What anfwer was returned you, when ye preached unto
ihe people to whom ye were fen t ? They fhall anfwe r ,h a v e no knowledge,
but thou art the knower of fecrets0. When G od fhall fay, O J esus fon of
M a r y , remember my favour towards thee, and towards thy mother; when
I flrengthened thee with the holy fpirit4, that thou fhouldeft fpeak unto men.
in the cradle, and when thou waft grown upe; and when I taught thee the
feripture, and wifdom, and the law, and the gofpel; and when thou didft
create of clay as it were the figure of a bird, by my permiffion, and didft
breathe thereon, and it became a bird by my permiffion ; and thou didft
heal one blind from his birth, and the leper, by my permiffion ; and when
thou didft bring forth the dead from the ir graves, by my permiffion5 ; and
when I with-held the children of I s r a e l from killing thee *, when thou hadft
come unto them with evident miracles, and fuch of them as believed not, faid,
This is nothing bur manifeft forcery. And when I commanded the apoftles
o f J e s u s faying, Believe in me, and in my meflenger; they anfwered, We do be*
G lieve;
“ The occalion of the preceding paffage is
faid to have been this. Tamim al Dari and
Addi Ebn Yaztd, both Chriftians, took a journey
into Syria to trade, in company with Bodeil,
the freed-man of Amru Ebn al As, who was a
Moflem. When they came to Damafcus, Bodeil
fell fick, and died ; having firft wrote down a
lift of his effedls on a piece of paper, which he
hid in his baggage, without acquainting his companions
with it, and defired them only to deliver
what he had to his friends of the tribe of
Sabrn. The furvivors however fearching among
his goods, found a v.effel of filver of confidera-
ble weight, and inlaid with gold, which they
concealed, and on their return, delivered the
^ft to the deceafed’s relations; who finding the
lift of Bodeils writing, demanded the veffel of
filver of them, but they denied i t ; and the affair
being brought btfoxeMobammed, thefe words,
viz. 0 true believers take witneffes, &c. were revealed,
and he ordered them to be fworn at the
pulpit in the mofque, juft as afternoon prayer
was over, and on their making oath that they
knew nothing of the plate demanded, difmiffed
them. But afterwards the veffel being found in
their hands, the Sahmites, fufpe&ing it was
Bodeils, charged them with k , and they con-
feffed it was his, butjnfifted that they had
bought it of him, and that they had not produced
it, becaufe they had no proof of the bargain.
Upon this, they went again before Mo-
bammed, to whom thefe words, And i f it appear,
See. were revealed; and thereupon Amru
Ebn al As and al Motalleb Ebn Abi Ref da, both
of the tribe of Sabrn, ftood up, and were fworn
againft them ; and judgment was given accordingly
s
b On a certain day',J That is, on the day of
judgment.
c We have no knowledge, &c.] That is, We are
ignorant whether our profelytes were fincere,
or whether they apoftatized after our deaths;but
thou well knoweft not only what anfwer they
gave us, but the fecrets of their hearts, and whether
they have ftnee continued firm in their religion
or not.
d See chap. 2. p. 12.
* See chap. 3, p. 41.
f See ibid.
8 See ibid. p. 42.
1 Idem.