of the M ohajerin, and the A n sars ”, and thofe who have followed them in
well doing ; G od is well pleafed with them, and they are well pleafed in him •
and he hath prepared for them gardens watered: by rivers; they fhall remain
therein for ever. This fhall, be great felicity. And of the A rabs of the defart
who dwell round about you, there are hypocritical perfonsb: and of the in-
habitants of M edina there are fame who are obftinate in hypocrify. Thou
knoweft them not, O prophet, but we know them: we will furely punifh
them twice” ; afterwards fhall they be lent to a grievous torment. And o-
thers have acknowledged their crimes'*. They have mixed a good adtion with
another which is bad': peradventure G od will be turned unto them; for
G od is gracious and merciful. Take alms .of their fubftance, that thou mayeft
cleanfe them, and purify them thereby f ; and pray for them : for thy prayers
fhall be a -fecurity of mind unto them ; and G od both heareth and knoweth.
Do they not know that G od accepteth repentance from his fervants, and accepted!
alms; and that G o d. is eafy to be reconciled, and merciful ? Say unto
them, Work as ye will; but G od will behold your work, and his apoftle alfo,
and the true believers t and ye fhall be brought before him who knoweth that
which is kept fecret, and that which is made public ; and he will declare unto
you whatever ye have done. And there are others who wait with fufpenfe
the decree of G od ; whether he will punifh them, or whether he will be
turned unto them8: but G od is knowing and wife. ; There are fame who have
built a temple to hurt the faithful, and to propagate infidelity, and to foment
: - , ■ diviiion
a The leaders and the fir ft o f the Mohajerin and
the Anfars;] The Mohajerin, or refugees, were
thofe of Mecca, who fled thence on account
of their religion ; and the Anfars, or helpers',
were thofe of Medina, who received Mohammed-
and his followers into their protection, and affifted
them againft their enemies.. By the leaders pf
the Mohajerin are meant thofe who believed on -
Mohammed before the Hejra, or early enough to
pray towards Jerufalem, from which the Kebla
was changed to the temple of Mecca in the fe-
cond year of the Hejra, or elfe fuch of them as
were prefent at the battle* of Bedr. The leaders
of the Anfars were thofe .who took.the oath
of fidelity to him at al Akaba, either the firft
or the fecond time 1.
b O f the Arabs o f the defart who dwell round
about you, &c.] i. e. In the neighbourhood of
Medina. Thefe were the tribes of Joheina, Mo-
zeina, Aflam, Afhja, and Ghifdr2.
c We will,punifh them twice;] Either by ex-
pofing them to public fhame, and putting them
to death j or by either of thofe punifh ments and
the torment of the fepulchre ; orfitfe by exacting
alms of them by way of fine, and giving
them corporal punifliment3.
a Others have acknowledged their crimes j]
Making no hypocritical excufes for them. Thefe
were certain' men, who having ftaid at home
inftead of accpmpanying Mohammed to 'Tabtic, as
foqn as they,heard the fevere reprehenfions^nd
threafs o f this chapter againft thofe who had ftaid
behind* bound themfelves to the pillars dPthe
mofque, and fwore that they would nbt loofe
-themfelves, till they were looled by the prophet.
But. when he entred the mofque to pray, and
was informed of the matter, he alfo fwore that
he would not loofe them without a particular
command from G od ; whereupon this palfage
was revealed, • and they , were accordingly dif-
mifled4.
0 They have mixed, a'good aft ion. with a bad;]
Tho’ they were backward in going to. war,i, and
held with the hypocrites, yet they confefted
their crime and repented.
f Take alms o f their fubftance, &c.] When thefe
perfons were loofed, they prayed Mohammed to
take their fubftance, for the fake pf which they
had ftaid at home, as alms, to cleanfe them from
their tranfgreflion ; but he tojd them he had no
orders to accept any thing from them: upon
which this verfe was Tent down, allowing him
to take theiiwalms ^
g There are others, who wait, &c.] The perfons
here intended were the three Anfars whofc
pardon is granted a little below.
1 A l B e id a w i . 2 Idem» Idem. 4 Idem. 5 Idem.
divifion among the true believers *, and for a lurking place for him who hath
fought againft G od and his apoftle in time paftb; and they fwear, faying,
Verily we intended no other than to do for the beft: but G od is witnefs
that they do certainly lye. Stand not up to pray therein for ever. There is
a temple founded on piety ”, from the firft day of its building. It is more juft
that thou ftand up to pray therein : therein are men who love to be purified d;
for G od loveth the clean. Whether therefore is he better, who hath founded
his. building on the fear of God and his good will ; or be who hath
founded his building, on the brink of a bank of earth which is wafhed away by
waters, fo that it falleth with him into the fire of hell?1 G od diredteth
not the ungodly people. Their-building which they have built will not ceafe
ubeanoccafton of doubting in their hearts, until their hearts be cut in pieces.';
Y
a There are fome who have built a temple to hurt
the faithful, &c.j When Barn Amru Ebn Awf
had built the temple or mofque. of Koba, which
will be mentioned by and by, .they asked Mo-
bammed to come and pray in it, and he complied •
with their requeft. This exciting the envy pf
their brethren, Banu Ganem ,Ebn Aw f they alfo
built a mofque, intending that the Imam or prieft
who fho-uld officiate thefe, fhou'ld be Abu Amer
a Chriftian monk; but he dying in Syria, they
came to Mohammed and defired he would confe-
crate, as it were, thfeir mofque by praying in it.
The prophet accordingly prepared himfelf to go
with them, but was forbidden by the immediate
revelation of this paflage, difeovering their hypocrify
and ill defign whereupon he fent:Malec
Ebn al Dokhjhom, Maan Ebn Addi, Amer Ebn
al Sacan, and al Wahfha the Ethiopian to demo-
lilh and burn i t ; which they performed and
made it a dunghil. According to another account
this mofque was built a little before the expedition
of- Tabuc, with a defign to hinder Mohammed's
men from ingaging therein ; and
when he was asked to pray there, he anfwered
that he was juft fetting out on a journey, but
that when he came back, with G o d ’s leave, he
would do what they defired ; but when they
applied to him again, on his return, this paflage
was revealed x. •
b For a lurking place for him who hath fought
ogamft G od and his apoftle in time paft ;] That
is Abu Amer the monk, who was a declared ene-
my to Mohammed, having threatened him at
Ohod, that no party lhould appear in the field
againft himj but he would make one of them ;
and, to be as good as his word, he continued to
oppofe him till the battle of Honein, at which
he was prefent, and being put to flight with
thofe of Hawazen, he retreated into Syria, denning
to obtain a fupply of troops'from the
i : -and
Grecian emperor to renew the war j but he died
at Kinnifrin. Others fay that this monk was a
confederate at the war of the ditch, and that he
fled thence into Syria 2.
c There is a temple founded on piety, &c.] viz.
That of Koba, a place about two miles from
Medina,, where Mohammed refted four days before
he entred that city, .in his Eight from Mecca,
and where he laid the foundation of a
mofque 3, which was afterwards built by Banu
Amru Ebn Awf But according to a different tradition,
the mofque here meant, was that which
Mohammed built at Medina.
' d Therein are men who defire to be purified
A l Beidawi fays, that Mohammed walking once ‘
with the Mohajerin to Koba, found the Anfars
fitting at the mofque door, and asked them
whether they were believers; and, on their being
filent, repeated the queftion : whereupon
Omar anfwered, that they were believers ; and
Mohammed demanding whether they acquiefced
in the'judgment Omar had made of them, they
faid, yes. He then asked them whether they
would be patient in adverfity, and thankful in
profperity; to which they anfwering in the affirmative,
He fwore by the L ord of the Caaba,
that they were true believers. Afterwards he
examined them as to their manner of performing
the legal wafliings, and particularly, what they
did after eafing themfelves ; they told him that
in fuch a cafe they ufed three ftones, and after
that wafhed with water: upon which he repeated
théfe words of the Koran to them.
e Until their hearts be cut in pieces;] Some
interpret thefe words, o f their being deprived of
their judgmeht and underftanding ; and others
of the punifhment they are to expeót, either of
death in this world, or of the rack of the fe-
pulchre, or-the pains of hell.
Idem. J a l l a l o ’d d in . 2 Iidem. 3 Iidem, E bn S h o h n a h . V. A b u l f e d . vit. Mob..,
e u ' ^here the tranfiator taking this fajfage o f ihe Koran, which is there cited, fo r the words
his author, has miffed the true fenfe.