plain our figns, that they may return from their 'vanities. And relate unto the
J ew s the hiftory of him unto whom we brought our figns % and he departed
from them ; wherefore S a t a .n followed him, and he became one of thofe who
Were feduced. And if we had pleafed, we had furely raifed him thereby unto
w if iom •, but he inclined unto the earth, and followed his own defire b. Wherefore
his likenefs is as the likenefs of a dog, which, if thou drive him away,
putteth forth his tongue, or, if thou let him alone, putteth forth his tongue
dlfo. This is the likenefs of the people, Who accufe our figns of falfehood. Re-
hearfe therefore this hiftory unto them, that they may confider. Evil is the t
militude of thofe people who accufe our figns of falfehood and injure their
own fouls. Whomfoever Goo (hall direct, he w ill be rightly directed ; and
whomfoever he fhall lead affray, they ftial! perifh. Moreover we have created
for hell many of the genii and of men •, they have hearts by whieh they un-
derftand not, and they have eyes by which they fee not, and they have
ears by which they hear not. Thefe are like, the brute beafts; yea they go more
affray : thefe aje the negligent. God-hath moft excellent names': therefore
call on'him by the fame and withdraw from thofe who ufe his names per-
verfely *: they, fhall be rewarded for that-, which they fhall have wrought.
And of thofe whom we have created there are a people who diredt others'
with truth, and adf juftly according thereto". But thofe who devife lies a-
gainft our figns, we will fuffer them to fall gradually into ruin, by . a-method
which they know not r: and * will grant them to enjoy a long and prof-
perous life; -for my ftratagem is effeftual. Do they not confider that there
is no devil-in their companion ® ? He is no other than a .public preacher. Or
I do .
* And relate unto the Jews the hiftory of him
unto whom we brought our figns, &c.J Some fup-
pofe the perfon here intended to be a fewijh rabbi,
or one Ommeya Ebn Abi'lfalt, who read-the
fcriptures and found thereby that G od would
fend a prophet aboutthat time, and-was in hopes
that he might be the man> but when Mohammed
declared his million, believed not on him thro*
envy. But according to the more general opinion,
it was Balaam the fon of Beor, of the Cana-
anitijh race, well acquainted with part, at leaft, of
the fcripture, having even been favoured with
fome revelations .from G od ; who being requefted
by his nation to curfe Mofes and the children of
Jfrael, refufed it at firft, faying, How can I curfe
thofe tdbo areprotested by the angels? But afterwards,
he was prevailed on by gifts; and he had no foon-
er done it, than he began to put out his tongue
like a dog, and it hung down upon his breaft r.
6 But he inclined unto the earthy and followed
his own defirej] Loving the wages of unrighte-
oufnefs, and running greedily after error for reward
2.
e G od hath moft excellent names; J Exprefling
his glorious attributes. O f thefe the Mohammedan
Arabs have no lefs than ninety nine, which
are reckoned up by Marracci 3.
d Who ufe his name perverfely;] As did Wal'd
Ebn al Mogheira; who hearing Mohammed give
G od the title of al R a hm a n thé merciful,
•ed aloud, faying that he knew none of that name,
except a certain man who dwelt in Yamama4:
or as the idolatrous Meccans did, who deduced
the names of their idols from thofe o f the true
G od; deriving, for example, Allat from Allah;
al Uzza from al A z iz , the mighty, and Manat
from al Mannan, the bountiful*.
• O f thofe whom we have created there are a people
who direft others with truth, &c.] As it is laid
a little above, that G od hath created many to e-
ternai mifery, fo here he is faid to have created
others to eternal happinefs0.
i We will fuffer them to fa ll gradually vntoffiin,
&c.] By flattering them with profperity in this
life, and permitting them.to fin in an uninterupt-
ed fecurity; till they find themfclves unexpeil*
ly ruined 7„
g Do they not confider that there is no devil in
their companion?] Viz. in Mohammed.j whom t h e y
J A IB eid aw i, J allalo’ddin, A l Z amakhshari. V. D’H erbel. Bibl. Orient. Art.
Balaam. 2 z Pet. ii. v. Jude 11. • 3 In Ale. p. 414. 4 M arrac. vit. Mah. p. 19. * Al
^?eij>awi, J al&a.do'ddin. See the Prelim. JDifc.p. 18. 6 A l Bmdawi. A Idem.
do they not contemplate the kingdom of heaven and earth, and the things which
G o d hath created -, and confider that peradventure it may be that their end
draweth nigh ? And in what new declaration will they believe, after this * ?
He whom G o d fhall caufe to err, fhall have no diredlor ; and he fhall leave
them in their impiety, wandring in confufion. They will afk thee concerning
the /«/hour; at what time its coming is fixed ? Anfwer, Verily the knowledge
thereof is with my L o r d •, none fhall declare the fixed time thereof, except
he. “The expectation the reof is grievous in heaven and on earthb: it fhall
come upon you no otherwife than fuddenly. They will afk thee, as though
thou waft well acquainted therewith. Anfwer, Verily the knowledge thereof
is with G o d alone: but the greater part of men know it not. Say, I am
able neither to procure advantage unto my felf, nor to avert mifehief from me,
but as G o d pleafeth. If I knew thefecrets o f G od, I fhould furely enjoy a-
bundanceof good, neither fhould evil befal me. Verily I am no other than
a denouncer of threats, and a mefienger of good tidings unto people who believe.
It is he who hath created you from one perfon, and out of him produced
his wife, that he might dwell with her ; and when he had known her,
fhe carried a light burthen fo r a time, wherefore fhe walked eafily therewith.
But when it became more heavy", they called upon G o d their L o r d , faying,
If thou give us a child rightly fhaped, we will furely be thankful. Yet when
he had given them a child rightly fhaped, they attributed companions unto
him, for that which he had given themJ. But far be that from G o d , which
T they
they gave out to be poiTefled when he went up
to mount Safa, and from thence called to the fe-
veral families of each refpeftive tribe in order,
to warn them of G od’s vengeance if they continued
in their idolatry 1.
* After this j] i. e. After they have rejected the
Koran. For what more evident revelation can
they hereafter expeft 2 ?
0 The expectation thereof is grievous, in heaven
and on earth',] Not only to men and genii, but
to the angels alfo.
c But when it became more heavyy &c.] That
is, when the child grew bigger in her womb.
They attributed companions unto him, &c.]
For the explaining of this whole paflage the
commentators tell the following ftory.
They fay that when Eve was big with her firft
chijd, the devil came to her and asked her whether
fhe knew what fhe carried within her, and
which way fhe fhould be delivered of it j fugg
in g that poflibly it might be a bead. She,
bemg unable to give an anfwer to this queflion,
went in a fright to Adam, and acquainted him
with the matter, who not knowing what to
think of it, grew fad and penfive. Whereupon
the devil appeared to her again, (or, as others lay> to Adam,) and pretended that he by his
. -^Beidawi. 2 Idem. 3 Idem,
& Selden. dejure nat. fee. Hebr. lib. 5. c. S.
prayers would obtain of God that fhe might be
fafely delivered of a fon in Adam's likenefs, provided
they would promife to name him Abdo'lhareth,
or the fervant of al Hareth, (which was the devil’s
name among the angels) infteaU of Abctallab,
or the fervant of G od, as Adam had defigned.
This propofal was agreed to, and accordingly,
when the child was born, they gave it that
name; upon which it immediately died 3. And
with this Adam and Eve are here taxed, as an
aft of idolatry. The ftory looks like a rabbinical
fiftion, and feems to have no other founda1-
tion than Cain's being called by Mofes Obed ada-
mah, that is, a tiller of the ground, which might
be tranflated into Arabic by Abd'albareth.
But al Beidawi, thinking it unlikely that a
prophet, (as Adam is by the Mohammedans fup-
pofed to have been,) fhould be guilty of fuch
an aftion, imagines the Koran in this place
means Kofai, one of Mohammed's anceftors, and
his wife, who begged ifiue of God, and having
four fons granted them, called their names Atd
Menaf Abd Shams, Abe?al Uzza, and Abd'al
Ddr, after the names of four principal idols of
the Koreijh. And the following words alfo he
fuppofes to relate to their idolatrous pofterity.
Y ah ya . ^ D’Herbelot, Bibl. Orient.p, 438.