hath given them for food, deviling a lie againft G od. They have erred, and
were not rightly directed. He it is who produceth gardens of vim, both tbofi
‘which are fupported on trails <?ƒ wood, and thofe which are not fupporteda, and
palm-trees, and the corn affording various food, and olives, and pomegranates,
alike and unlike unto one another. Eat of their fruit, when they bear fruit, and
pay the due thereof on the day whereon ye..lhall gather itb ; but be not pro-
fufe c, for G od loveth not thofe who are too profufe. And G od hath given you
fonye cattle fit for bearing of burthens, and fome fit for (laughter only. Eat of
what G od hath given you for food ; and follow not the fteps of S a t a n , for he
is your declared enemy. Four pair d of cattle hath G od given you ; of lheep one
pair, and of goats one pair. Say unto them, Hath G od forbidden the two males,
of Jheep and of goats, or the two females; or that which the wombs of the two
females contain? Tell me with certainty, if ye fpeak truth. And-of camels
hath G od given you one pair, and of oxen one pair. Say, Hath he forbidden the
two males of thefe, or the two females ; or that which the wombs of the two
females containe ? Were ye prefent when G od commanded you this ? And
who is more unjuft than he who devifeth a lie againft Gonf , that he may
feduce men without underftanding ? Verily G od diredteth not unjuft people.
Say, I find not in that which hath been revealed unto'me, .any thing forbidden
unto the eater, that he eat it not, except it be that which dieth of itfelf, or
blood poured forthE, or fwine’s flefh : for this is afi abomination: or that which
is prophane, having been flain in the name of fome other than of G od. Butwho-
fo lhall be compelled by necefiity to eat of thefe things, not lulling, nor wilfully
tranfgreffing, verily thy L ord will be gracious unto him and merciful. Unto
the Jews did we forbid every beajl having an undivided hoof; and of bullocks
and lheep, we forbade them the fat of both ; except that which lhould be on their
backs, or their inwards \ or which lhould .be interftiixed with the bone1. This
have we rewarded them with, becaufe oftheir iniquity; and we are furely fpeakers
I .of
* Supported on trails of wood, and not fupportedi]
Or, as fome chufe to interpret the words, trees
er plants which are planted by the labour of man,
and thofe which grow naturally in the defarts and
on mountains. N ,
b And pay the due 'thereof, &c.] That is, give
alms thereof to the poor. And thefe alms, as
alBeidawi obferves, were what they ufed to give
before thtZacat, or legal alms, was inftituted;
which was done after Mohammed had retired from
Mecca, where this verfe was revealed. Yet fome
are of another opinion, and for this very reafon
will have the verfe to have been revealed at Medina.
c Be not prefufe;] i. e. Give not fo much
thereof in alms, as to leave your own families
in want; for charity begins at home.
4 Four pain'] Or, literally, eight males and
females paired together ; that is, four of each
fex, and two of every diftinft kind.
e In this paflage Mohammed endeavours to convince
the Arabs of their fuperftitious folly, in
making it unlawful, one while, to eat the males
of thefe four kinds of cattle; another while, the
females; and at another time, their young I.
f Who is more iinjujl than he who devifeth a lit
againft God, & c.] The perfon particularly intended
here, fome fay, was Amru Ebn lohai,
king of Hejaz, a great introducer of idolatry and
fuperftition among the Arabs 2.
8 Blood poured forth ;] That is, fluid' blood; in
oppolition to yvhat the Arabs-kuppofe to be alio
blood, but not fluid; as the liver and the fplecn 3 <
h We forbad them the fat, &c.] See Levit. vii.
23, and iii. 16.
'Or that which is intermixed with the bonei\ vif
The fat of the rumps or tails of lheep,1 which
aje very large in the eaft; a fmall one weighing
ten or twelve pounds, and fome no lefs than
threefcore.
1 Al Beidawi. 2 Idem. See Prelim. Difc. ƒ>. 20, and Pocqck. Spec. p. 80. 1 M
Beidawi, Jallalo’ddin,
o f t r u t h . I f t h e y a c c u f e t h e e o f i m p o f t u r e , f a y , Y o u r L o r d i s i n d u e d w i t h
extenftve m e r c y ; b u t h i s f e v e r i t y l h a l l n o t b e a v e r t e d f r o m w i c k e d p e o p l e .
T h e i d o l a t e r s w i l l f a y , I f G o d h a d p l e a f e d , w e h a d n o t b e e n g u i l t y o f i d o l a t
r y n e i t h e r o u r f a t h e r s ; a n d pretend that w e h a v e n o t f o r b i d d e n them a n y
t h i n g . T h u s d i d t h e y w h o w e r e - b e f o r e t h e m a c c u f e the prophets o f i m p o f t u r e ,
u n t i l t h e y t a i l e d o u r f e v e r e p u n i f h m e n t . . S a y , I s t h e r e w i t h y o u a n y certain k n o w l e d g e o f w hat ye alledge, t h a t y e m a y p r o d u c e i t u n t o u ? ? Y e f o l l o w o n l y a
falfe i m a g i n a t i o n ; a n d y e o n l y u t t e r d i e ? . S a y , . T h e r e f o r e u n t o G o d belongeth t h e m o f t e v i d e n t d e m o n f t r a t i o n ; f o r i f h e h a d p l e a f e d , h e h a d d i r e c t e d y o u
a l l . S a y , P r o d u c e y o u r w i t n e f f e s , w h o c a n b e a r t e f t i m o n y t h a t G o d h a t h f o r b
i d d e n t h i s . B u t i f t h e y b e a r t e f t i m o n y o f this,, d o n o t t h o u b e a r t e f t i m o n y
w i t h t h e m , n o r d o t h o u f o l l o w t h e . d e f i r e s o f t h o f e w h o a < c c u f e . o u r f i g n s o f
f a l f h o o d , a n d w h o b e l i e v e n o t i n t h e l i f e t o c o m e , a n d e q u a l i z e idols w i t h t h e i r
L ord- S a y , C o m e * ; I w i l l r e h e a r f e t h a t w h i c h y o u r L o r d h a t h f o r b i d d e n
y o u ; that is to fa y , t h a t y e b e ' n o t . g u i l t y o f i d o l a t r y , a n d tha t' ye Jhew k i n d -
n e f s t o your p a r e n t s , a n d t h a t y e m u r d e r n o t y o u r c h i l d r e n f o r fe a r l e f t y e b e
r e d u c e d t o p o v e r t y : w e w i l l p r o v i d e f o r y o u a n d t h e m ; a n d d r a w n o t n e a r
u n t o h a i n o u s c r i m e s 1’ , n e i t h e r o p e n l y n o r m d e c r e e ^ a n d f l a y n o t t h e f o u l
w h i c h G o d h a t h f o r b i d d e n you to flay,, u n l e f s f o r a j u f t c a u f e c . T h i s h a t h
h e i n j o i n e d y o u t h a t y e m a y u n d e r f t a n d . A n d m e d d l e n o t w i t h t h e f u b f t a n c e
o f t h e o r p h a n , o t h e r w i f c t h a n f o r t h e . i m p r o v i n g thereof, u n t i l h e a t t a i n h i s
a g e o f f t r e n g t h ; a n d u f e a f u l l m e a f u r e , a n d a j u f t b a l a n c e . W e w i l l n o t i m -
p o f e a task o n any f o u l , b e y o n d i t s a b i l i t y . A n d w h e n y e p r o n o u n c e judgment o b f e r v e j u f t i c e , a l t h o u g h i t b e fo r or againft o n e w h o i s n e a r o f k i n , a n d f u l f
i l l t h e c o v e n a n t o f G o d . T h i s h a t h G o d c o m m a n d e d y o u , t h a t y e m a y b e
a d m o n i l h e d and that ye may know t h a t t h i s i s m y r i g h t w a y : t h e r e f o r e f o l l
o w i t , a n d f o l l o w n o t t h e p a t h s o f others, l e f t y e b e f c a t t e r e d f r o m t h e p a t h
jof Godj j ' T h i s h a t h h e c o m m a n d e d y o u t h a t y e m a y t a k e h e e d . W e g a v e
a l f o u n t o M o s e s t h e b o o k o f the L aw ; a p e r f e d t r u l e u n t o h i m . w h o l h o u l d d o
r i g h t , a n d a d e t e r m i n a t i o n c o n c e r n i n g a l l t h i n g s needful, a n d a d i r e f t i o n , a n d
m e r c y ; t h a t the children o f I s r a e l m i g h t b e l i e v e t h e m e e t i n g o f t h e i r L o r d .
A n d t h i s b o o k w h i c h w e h a v e now f e n t d o w n , i s b l e f f e d ; t h e r e f o r e f o l l o w i t a n d
f e a r God t h a t y e m a y o b t a i n m e r c y | l e f t y e l h o u l d f a y , T h e f e r i p t u r e s w e r e
o n l y l e n t d o w n u n t o t w o p e o p l e <* b e f o r e u s ; a n d w e n e g l e d t e d t o p e r u i e t h e m
w i t h a t t e n t i o n , e ; o r l e f t . y e l h o u l d f a y , I f a y b o o k .o f . divine revelations h a d
b e e n f e n t . d o w n u n t o u s , w e w o u l d f u r e l y h a v e b e e n b e t t e r d i r e f t e d t h a n
t h e y f . A n d n o w h a t h a m a n i f e f t d e c l a r a t i o n c o m e u n t o y o u f r o m y o u r L o r d ,
Q 2 a n d
This and the two following werfes CJallalo d-- be.ca'ufe we knew.nothing of .them, or did not
Ain fuppofes to have been revealed at Medina. . underftand the language wherein they were writ-
b Hainous crimes i] The original word fignifies ten. .. 5 . y .
peculiarly fornication, and avarice. 1 We would furely have been better direbledthan
c UnleJ's for.a juft caufe i] As for murder, a- they;] Becaufe of the acutenefs of . our wit,
poftafy, or adultery 1. the clearnefs of our underftanding, and our fad
Unto two people;] That is,‘ the Jews and the cility of learning fciences; as appears from our
Cbriftians. excelling in hiftory, poetry, and oratory, not-
.* And we neglebled to pefufe them, &c.] Either withftanding we are an illiterate people sf