and their iffue, and their brethren •, and wechofe them, and diredfo'd them into
the ricrht way. This is the dire&ion of G o d , ' he direð thereby fuch of his
fervants as he pleafeth •, but if they had been guilty of idolatry, that which
they wrought would have become utterly fruitlefs unto them. Thofe were.tbt
perfons unto xwhom we gave the fcripture, and wifdom, and prophecy ; but
if thefe1 believe not therein, we will commit the care of them to a people
who fhall not difbelieve the fame. Thofe were the perfons whom G od
hath diredted, therefore follow their direction. Say unto the inhabitants of
M e c c a , Task of you no recompenfe for preaching the K o r an ; it is no-o-
ther than an admonition unto all creatures. They make not a due eftimati-
onof G od h, when they fay, G od hath not fent down unto man any thing at
allc: Say, Who fent down the book which M oses brought, a light and a
diredtion unto men ; which ye tranfcribeon papers, whereof ye publilh ySme
pa rt, and great part whereof ye conceal ? and ye have been taught by M ohamm
ed what ye knew not, neither your fathers. Say, G od fen t it down: then leave
them to amufe themfelves with their vain difcourfe. This-book which we have
fent down, is blefled; confirming that which was revealed before it; and is delive
red unto thee that thou mayeft preach it unto the metropolis o f -M e c c a and
to thofe who are round about it. And they who believe in the next lift, will
believe therein, and they will diligently obferve their times o f prayer. Who is
more wicked than he who forgeth a lie concerning G o d 11? or faith, TKr-was
revealed unto me ; when nothing hath been revealed unto him' ? and who
faith, I will produce a revelation like unto that which G od hath fent down'?
a Thefe j] That is, the Koreijh 1. -
fc They make not a due ejlimation of G ctd,
&jV.] That is, they know him not truely, nor
have juft notions of his goodnefs and" mercy
towards man. The perfons here meant, according
to fome commentators, are the Jews, and
according to others, the idolaters 2.
. This verfe and the two next, as Jallatiddin
thinks, were revealed at Medina.
e G o d hath not fent down unto man any thing,
&c.] By thefe words the Jews (if they were
the perfons meant) chiefly intended to deny
the Koran Do be of divine revelation : tho’ they
might in ftridlnefs infift that G od never revealed,
or fent down, as the Koran exprefles it,
any real compofition or material writing from
heaven, in the manner that Mohammed pretended
his revelations were delivered 3, if we
except only the decalogue; G o d having left to
the infpired pen-men, not only the labour of
writing, but the liberty, in a great meafure at
jeaft, of putting the truths into their own words
and manner of exprefEon.
4 Who is more unjuji than be who. forgeth a lie
1 Idem. * Idem. ? Seethe Prelim,
t A l Bbidaws. 6 See the Prelim. Difc,
concerning G o d, £s*g ] Falfely pretending to
have received revelations from him ; as did
Mofeilama, al Afwad alAnfi, and others.
e Or faith, This, was revealed unto me \ when
nothing hath been revealed unto him j] As did
Abddllah Ebn Saad Ebn Abi Sarah, who for
fome time was the prophet’s amanuenfis, and
when thefe words were dictated to him as revealed,
viz. We created man of a-purer kind of
clay, See. +, cried out," by way of admiration,
BleJfedbe G o d , the beft Creator ! and being
ordered by Mohammed to3 write thefe words
down alfo, as part of the-infpired paflage, began
to think himfelf as great a prophet as his
mafter *. Whereupon he took upon himfelf
to corrupt and alter the Koran according to his
own fancy, and at length apoftatizing, was one
of the ten who were proferibed at the taking of
Mecca 6, and narrowly efcaped with life on his
recantation, by the interpolition of Otbman Ebn
Asffan, whofe fofter-brother he was:7.
f And who faith, I will produce, a. revelation>
&c.] For fome Arabs, it leems, had the vanity
Difc. §, III. p. :6aij, &c. 4 Koran, chap. 23*
p . 55. 7 V, A bu’lfed. Vit.Mob>p• I$3*
I f thou didft fee wfien the ungodly are in the pangs of death, and the angels*;
reach out their hands, faying, Caft forth your fouls-, this day fhall ye receive
an ignominious punifhment for that which ye have falfely fpoken concerning
G od ; and becaufe ye have proudly rejedted his figns. And now are ye come
unto us aloneb, as we created you at firft1, and ye have left that which we
had bellowed on you, behind your backs; neither do we fee with you your
intercefforsd, whom ye thought to have been partners with Gob among you :
nowis the relation between you cut off, and whatye imagined hath deceived you'.
G od caufeth the grain, and the date-ftone to put forth : he bringeth forth
the livino- from the dead, and he bringeth forth the dead from the living |
This is G o d . Why therefore are ye turned away from him ? He caufeth the
mornino-to appear ; and hath ordained the night for reft, and the fun and
the moon for the computing of time. This is the difpofition of the mighty,
the wife G od, It is he who hath ordained the ftars for you, that ye may be
diredted thereby in the darknefs of the land and of thefea. We have clearly
fhewn forth our figns, unto people who underftand. It is he who hath produced
you from one foul; and hath provided for you a fure receptacle and a
repofitorys. We have clearly fhewn forth our figns, unto people who are
wife. It is he who fendeth down water from heaven, and we have thereby
produced the fpringing buds of all things, and have thereout produced the
green thing, from which we produce the grain growing in rows, and palm-trees
from whofe branches proceed clufters of dateshanging clofe together; and gardens
of grapes, and olives, and pomegranates, both Hke. and unlike to one another.
Look on their fruits, when they bear fruit, and their growing to maturity.
Verily herein are figns, unto people who believe. Tet they have fet up the
geniih as partners with G o d , although he created them : and they have falfely
attributed unto-him fons and daughters1,, without knowledge. Praife be
unto him; and far be that from.him which,they attribute a«/<? &V»/ lie is the
maker of heaven and earth: how fhould he have iffue fince he hath no confort?
he hath created all things, and he is omnifeient. This is G od your L o rd ; there
is no G od but he, the creator of all things: therefore ferve him ; for he taketh
care of all things. The fight comprehended; him not, but he comprehended;
the
to imagine* an<3 gave out, that i f they pleated,
they could write a book nothing inferior to the
Koran. ,
* See before, p. 104. riot. .?
b Alone;] That is, without your wealth,
your children, or your friends, which ye fo
much depended on in your life time.
' As we created you at firft;] i. e. Naked and
helplefs. ' ".
* Tour intercejfors i] Or falfe grid's.
B What ye imagined, &c.] Concerning the
intercefliori of your idols', or the disbelief of
future rewards and punilhments.
1 See chap. 3, p. 38.
B A fure receptacle and a repofitory}] Namely,
in the Toms of your fathers,- .and'the wombs of
your mothers 1.
h Genii;] This word dignifies properly the
genus of rational, invifible beings, whether angels,
devils, or that -intermediate fpecies ufu-
aily called gram. Some of the commentators
therefore, iri this place, underftand the angels,
whom the pagan Arabs worflripped ; and others
the devils, either becaufe they became their
fervants by adoring idols at their mitigation,
or elfe becaufe, according to the Magian fyf-
tem, they looked on the devil as a fort of
creator, making him the author .and . principle
of'all evil, and G od the author of good only*.
' See the Prelim. Difcourfe, p. 17, and 39*