1 1 8 Al K 0 R A N. C h a p . 7 .
for men in thy ftrait way; then will I come upon them from before, and from be
hind, and from their right hands, and from their left*; and thou ihalt not find
the greater part of them thankful. G od faid unto him, Get thee hence de-
fpifed, and driven far away : verily whoever of them fhall follow thee f w;n
•furely fill hell with you all : but as for thee, O A d a m , dwell thou and thv
wife in paradife and eat of the fruit thereof where-ever ye will; but approach
not this tree, left ye becopre of the number of the.unjuft. And Sa t a n fu„..
gelled to them both, that he would difcover unto them their nakednefs which
was hidden from them ; and he faid, Your L ord hath not forbidden-you this
tree, for any other reafon but left ye fhould become angels, or left ye become
immortal. And he fware unto them, faying, Verily I am one of thofe who
counfel you aright. And he caufed them to fall through deceitb. And when
they had tafted of the tree, their nakednefs appeared unto themc; and they
began to join together the leaves of paradifed, to cover themfelves. And their
L o rd called to them, faying, "Did I not forbid you this tree; and did I not
fay unto you, Verily S a t a n is your declared enemy ? They anfwered 0
L o r d , we have dealt unjuftly with our own fouls ; and if thou forgive us not
and be not merciful unto us, we fhall furely be of thofe who peFifh. Goo
faid, Get ye down, the one of you an enemy unto the other ; and ye fhall
have a dwelling place upon earth, and a provifion for a feafon. He faid, There-
in flrall ye live-,-and therein fhall ye die, and from thence fhall ye be taken
forth at the refurreElion. O children of A d a m , we have lent down unto yon
apparel % to conceal your nakednefs, and fair garments ; but the cloathine
.of piety is better. This is one of the figns of G od ; that peradventure ye may
confider. O children of A d a m , let not S a t a n feduce you, as he expelled
your parents out of paradife, by ftripping them of their cloathing, that he
might (hew them their nakednefs : verily he feeth you, both he and his companions,
whereas ye fee not themf. We have appointed the devils to be the
patrons
* I will come upon them from before, and from
behind, and from their right hands, and from their
lefty &c.] i. e. I will attack them on every fide
that I fhall be able. The other two ways, viz.
from above,and from under their feet,are omitted,
fay the^ commentators, to Ihew that the devil’s
.power is limited *.
6 T ta Mohammedan gofpelof Barnabas tells us,
.that the fentence which G od pronounced on the
ferpent for introducing the devil into paradife 2,
was, that he fhould not only be turned out of
paradife, but that he fhould have his legs cut off
by the angel Michael, with the fword.of God;
and that the devil him.felf, fince he had rendered
our firft parents unclean, was condemned to
eat the excrements of them and all their pofteri-
ty; which two laft circumflances I do not
.remember to have read elfewhere. The words
o f the manufeript are thefe- ' Y llama [Dios']
a la ferpUnte, y a Michael, aquel que tiene la ef-
pada de Dios, y ie dixo, Aquefla jierpe es acelerada,
1 A l Be id aw i . * See the notes.to chap. II. p.
echala let primer a del parayfo, y cortale las piernas,
y f quijjere caminart arrajlrara la vida por titrra.
Y llamo a Satanas, el qual vino riendoy y dixok;
Por que tu reprobo has enganado a aquejlos, y losbai j
hecho immundos? Yo quiero que toda immundicia J
fuya, y de todos fus bijos, en faliendo de fus tempos ®
entre por tu boca, por que en verdad ellos haranpein-
tend a, y tu quedaras bar to de immundicia.
c Their nakednefs appeared unto them,'] Which I
they had not perceived before; being cloathed, as >
feme fay, with light, or garments of paradife,
which fell from them on their difobedience.
Yahya imagines their nakednefs was hidden by
their hair.
d The leaves of paradife;] Which it is faid were
fig-leaves 3..
c W? have font down unto you apparel ;} Not only
proper materials, but alfo ingenuity of mind
and dexterity of hand to make ufe of them4-.
▼ Whereas yefee not themf] Becaufe of the fubti! ty
of their bodies, and their being void of all colour ’ •
S’ 3 Idem, , t f Idem, . * Jalualo’dmn*
Chap. 7- A l K 0 R A IV. 119
natrons of thofe who believe not: and when they commit a filthy aftion,
they fay) We found our fathers prattifmg the fame; and G od hath commanded
us to do it. Say, Verily G od commandeth not filthy aftions. Do ye
fpeak concerning G od that which,ye know not? Say, My L ord hath commanded
me to obferve juftice ; therefore fetyour {nets to pray at every place of
worlhip, and call upon him, approving unto him the iincerity of your re-
lioioh. As he produced yoa at firft, fo unto him (hall ye return. A part of
mankind hath he direfted ; and' a part hath, been juftly led into error, be-
caufe they have taken the devils for their patrons befides G o d , and imagine
that they are rightly direfted. O children of A d a m , take your decent apparel
at every .place of worfhip % and eat and drinkb, but be not guilty of
excefs; for he loveth not thole who are guilty of excefs. Say, Who hath
forbidden the decent apparel of G o d , which he hath produced for his fer-
vants, and the good things which he hath provided for food ? Say, Thefe
things are for thofe who believe, in this prefent life, but peculiarly on the
day of refurreftion*. Thus do we diftinftly explain our figns unto people who
underftand. Say, Verily my L ord hath forbidden filthy aftions, both that
which is difeovered thereof, and that which is concealed, and alfo iniquity, and
unjuft violence ; and hath forbidden you to afibciate with G od that concerning
which he hath fent you down no authority, or to fpeak of G od that which
ye know not. Unto every nation there is a prefixed term ; therefore when
their term is expired, they fhall not have refpite for an hour, neither (hall they
be anticipated. O children of A d a m , verily apoftles from among you (hall
come unto you, who (hall expound my figns unto you : whofoever therefore
lhall fear G od and amend, there (hall come no fear on them, neither (hall
they be grieved. But they who fhall accufe our figns of falfhood, and lhall
proudly rejeft them, they lhall be the companions of hell fire ; they lhall
remain therein for ever.. And who is more unjuft than he who devifeth a lie
concerning G od, or accufeth his figns of impofture ? Unto thefe fhall be given
their portion of worldly happinefs, according to what is written in the book of
God-s decrees, until our mefiengers d come unto them, and (hall caufe them
to die ; faying, Where are the idols which'ye called upon, befides G o d ?
They lhall anlwer, They have difappeared from us. And they (hall bear witne(
s
* Take your decent apparel at every place of wor-
Jhip, &c.} This paffage was revealed to reprove
an immodeft cuftom of the pagan Arabs, who
ufed to enconipafs the Caaba naked, becaufe
cloaths, they faid, were the figas of their difobedience
to God 1. The Sonna orders that
when a man goes to prayers, he fhould put on his
better apparel, out of refpedt to the divine ma-
jefty before whom he is to appear. But as the
Mohammedans think it indecent, on the one hand,
to come into God’s prefence in a llovenly manner;
fo they imagine, on the other, that they ought
not to appear before him in habits too rich or
fumptuous, and particularly in cloaths adorned
with gold or filver, left they fhould feem proud.
b And eat and drink»] The fens of Amer, it
is laid, when they performed the pilgrimage to
Mecca, ufed to eat no more than was abfolutely
recefiary, and that not of the more delicious fort
of food neither; which abftinence they looked
upon as a peice of merit, but they are here told
the contrary 2.
c But peculiarly on the day of refurreblion;] Becaufe
then the wicked, who alfo partook of the
bleffings of this life, will have no fhare in the
injoymentsof the next.
4 Our Meffengers;] viz The angel of death
and his affiftants.
1 Idem. dl Beidawi, 2 Idem,
IfH