nefs againft themfelves, that they were unbelievers. ' G od fhall fay unto them
at the refurreflion, Enter ye with the nations which'have preceded you, of
genii and of m n, into h ell fire: fo often as one nation fhall enter, it lhall
curfe its filler, until they fhall all have fucceffively entred therein. The latter
of them lhall fay of the former of them, O L o r d , thefe have feduced us •
therefore infiitt on them a double punifhment of the fire o f hell. G od fhall'
anfwer, I t /ball be doubled unto allb; but ye know it not. And the former
o f them lhall fay unto the latter of them, Ye have not therefore any favour
above us ; tafte the punilhment for that which ye have gained. Verily they
who fhall charge our figns with fallhood, and lhall proudly rejedl them, the
gates of heaven lhall not be opened unto them', neither lhall they enter into
paradife, until a camel pals through the eye of a needle ‘ ; and’ thus will we
reward the wicked doers. Their couch lhall be in hell, and over them lhall
be coverings o f fir e ; and thus will we reward the unjuft. But they who believe
and do that which is right,- (we will not load any foul but according to its
ability,) they lhall be the companions of paradife ; they lhall remain therein
for ever. And we will remove all grudges from their minds E; rivers
fhall run at.theirfeer, and they fhall fay, Praifed be G o d , who hath diredted
us unto this fe licity I for we Ihould not have been rightly diredled, if G od had-
not direfted us : now are we convinced by demonftration that the apoftles
of our L o r d camzu n to us with truth. And it fhall be proclaimed unto them,
This is paradife, whereof ye are made heirs, as a reward fo r that which ye
have wrought. And the inhabitants'of paradife lhall call out to the inhabitants
of h ell fire, faying, Now have we found that which our L o r d promifed
us, to be true: have ye alfo found that which your L o r d promifed you,, to be
true ? They fhall anfwer,* Yea. And a cryerg lhall proclaim between them,
The curfe of G o d /hall be on the wicked ; who turn men afide from the way
of G o d , and feek to render it crooked , and who deny the life to comq. And
between the blejfed and the damned there lhall be a vail ; and men fh a ll fund
■ on A 1 A r a f 11, who lhall know every one o f them by their marks'; and lhall’
I - c a l l
* It fhall curfe itsftfter fj That is, the nation
.whofe example betrayed them into their idolatry
.and other wickednefs.
" It is doubled unto you all; ] Unto thofe who
fet the example, becaufe they not only tranfgref-
féd themfelves, but were allb the occalion of the
others tranfgreffion j and unto thofe who followed
them, becaufe of their own infidelity, and
their imitating an ill example 1.
* The gates of heaven [hall not be opened unto
them j] That is, when their fouls lhall, after
death, afcend to heaven, they lhall not be admitted,
but lhall be thrown down into the dungeon
under the feventh earth a.
d This expreffion was probably taken from our
Saviour’s words in the golpel3 ; tho’ it be proverbial
in the eaft.
* And we will remove all grudges from their
1 Idem.
jB.EID AWI.
minds;] »So that whatever differences or animo-
fities there had been between them in their lifetime,
they lhall, now be forgotten, and give
place to fincere love and amity. This Alt is
laid to have hoped would prove true to himfelf
and his inveterate enemies, Othmdn, Telha, and
alZobeir 4.
f The inhabitants;] Literally the companions.
8 This cryer, fome fay, will- be the angel If-
rafil.
b And men fhall f t and on al Araf;] Al Araf'v
the name -of the wall or partition which, as
Mohammed taught, will feparate paradife from
hell1. But as to the perfons who are to be placed
thereon, the commentators differ, as has
been elfewhere obferved 6.
1 Who fhall know every one of them by their
marks;]
* J a l l a lo ’pd.in. See the Prelim. Difc.ubi fup. 78. 3 Matth. xix. 24. 4 $
* JSee the Prelim. Difc. §. IV. p. 94. 6 See ibid.
call unto the inhabitants of paradifefaying, Peace be upon you : yet they
lhall not enter therein, although they earneftly defire it a. And when they fhall
turn their eyes towards the companions of h ell fire, they fhall fay, O L o r d ,
place us not with the ungodly people! And thofe who ftand on A l A r a f fhall
call unto certain menb, whom they fhall know by their marks, and fiiall fay,
What hath your gathering o f riches availed you, and that ye were puffed up
with pride ? Are thefe the men on whom ye fware that Gob would not beftow
mercy c ? Enter ye into paradife; there fh a ll come no fear on you, neither fhall
ye be grievedd. And the inhabitants of h ell fire fhall call unto the inhabitants
of paradife, faying, Pour upon us fome water, or of thofe' refrejhments which
God hath beft owed on you*. They fhall anfwer, Verily G o d hath forbidden them
unto the unbelievers 5 who made a laughing-ftock and a fport of their religion,
and whom the life of the world hath deceived: therefore this day will we forget
them, as they did forget the meeting of this day, and for that they denied our
figns to he from G o d . And now have we brought unto thofe o f M ecca a book
of divine revelations: we have explained it with knowledge ; a direction and
mercy unto people who fhall believe. Do they wait fo r any other than the
interpretation thereof* ? On the day whereon the interpretation thereof fhall
come, they who had forgotten the fame befpre, fhall fay, Now pire we con-
wnced ly demonftration that the meffengers of our L o r d came unto us with
t r u t h : fhall we therefore have any interceffors, who will intercede for us ?
or fhall we be fent back into the world, that we may do other works than
w h a t we did in our life -time? B u t now have they loft their fouls ; and that
w h i c h they impioufly imagined, hath fled from them8. Verily your L o ^ d
is G od, who created the heavens and the earth in fix days ; and then afcend-
ed his throne : he caufeth the night to cover the day it fucceedeth the fame
f w i f t l y : he alfo created thé fun and the moon, and the ftars, w h ic h ' are abfo-
l u t e l y fubjedt unto his command. Is not the whole creation, and the empire
thereof, his ? Bleffed be G o d , the L o r d of all creatures ! Call upon your
R L o r d
marks;'] i. e. Who fhall diflinguifh the bleffed
from the damned by their proper charafteriftics;
fuch as the whitenefs and fplendor of the faces
of the former, and the blacknefs of thofe of the
latterl . [■ ;
1 let they fhall not enter therein, although they ear-
tiefily defire it;] From this circumftance it feems
th<it their opinionis the molt probable, who make
this intermediate partition a fort of purgatory for
thofe, who tho’ they deferve not to be fent to
heM,' yet have not merits fufficient to gain them
immediate Admittance into paradife, and will be
tantalized here for a certain.Time with a bare
vie^w of the felicity of that place.
Certain men;] That is, the chiefs andringj
loaders ©f the infidels2 .
c On whom ye fware that G od would not beftow
mercy;] Thefe were the inferior and poorer a-
roong the'believers, whom they defpifed in their
life-times as unworthy o f G od’s favour.
d Enter ye into paradife, See. ] Thefe words
are diredled, by an apoftrophe, to the poor and
defpifed believers above mentioned. Some com-,
men tators however imagine thefeand the next preceding
words are to be underftood of thofe who
will be confined in al Araf; and that the damned
will, in return for their reproachful fpeech,
fwear that they fhall never enter paradife themfelves;
whereupon G od of Jiis mercy fhall order
them to be admitted by thefe words 3.
e Or,ofthat which G od hath b eft owed on you;] i. e.
O f the other liquors or fruits of paradife. Compare
this paffage wi th 'the parable of Dives and
Lazarus.
f The interpretation thereof;] That is, the e-
vent of the promifes and menaces therein.
, s See Chap. 6. p. 101. not. c.