great felicity Let not their difcourfe “ grieve thee ; for all might bdom th
unto G o d . he both heareth and knoweth. Is not whoever dwelleth in heavp
and on earth, fubjebl unto G o d ? What therefore do they follow, who invnU
idols, befides G o d ? They follow nothing but a vain opinion ; and thev ortL
utter lyes It is he who hath ordained the night for you, that ye may 1 1
your reft therein, and the clear day fo r labour: verily herein are fi<ms Hi
people who hearlcen. They fay, G o d hath begotten children : G o d forbid 1 H e is lelr-iurncient. Unto him belongeth whatfoever is in heaven and on e a r t h •
ye have no demonftrative proof of this. Do ye fpeak of G o d that which ve
know not? Say, Verily they who imagine a lye concerning G o d , ihall n o t
prolper. They may enjoy a provifion in this world; but afterwards unto in
Ihall they return, and we will then caufe them to tafte a grievous punifhment
for that they were unbelievers. Rehearfe unto them the hiftory of N o a h ” *
when he faid unto his people, O my people, if my Handing forth among. m
and my warning you o f the figns of G o d , be grievous unto you ; in G o d d o I
put my truft. Therefore lay your defign againft me, and affemble your falfe g o d s :
but let not your defign be carried on by you in the dark : then come forth a-
gamft me, and delay not. And if ye turn afide from my admonitions, I alk n o t
any reward of you f o r the fam e c ; I expert my reward from G o d alone, a n d I
am commanded to be one of thofe who are refigned unto him. But they accuf-
ed him of impofture ; wherefore we delivered him, and thofe who were with
hmi m the a n c , and we caufed them to furvive the flood, but we d r o w n e d
thofe who charged our figns with fallhood. Behold therefore, what was the e n d
of thofe who were warned by N oah. Then did we fend, after him, a p o f t l e s
unto their refpeSltve people “, and they cameunto them with evident demonftra-
tions: yet they were not difpofed to believe in that which they had before reieft-
ed as falfe. Thus do we feal up the hearts of the tranfgreffors. Then- did we
fend, after them, M o s e s and A a r o n unto P h a r a o h and his princes with o u r
ligns . but they behaved proudly, and were a wicked people. And when the
truth from us had come unto them, they faid, Verily this is manifeft forcery.
M o s r s faid unto them, Do ye fpeak this of the truth, after it hath come u n t o
you ? Is this forcery ? but forcerers fhall not profper. They faid, Art thou
come unto us to turn us afide from that religion, which we found our fathers
pradife ; and that ye two may have the command in the land ? But we do hot
believe you. And P h a r a o h faid, Bring unto me every expert magician. And
when the magicians were come, M o s e s faid unto them, Call down that which
ye are about to caft down And when they had caft down their rods and cords, M o s e s faid unto them, The enchantment which ye have performed, Ihall G o o
iurely render vain ; for G o d profpereth not the work of the wicked doers. And
G o d will verify the truth of his words, although the wicked be averfe thereto.
m And
*flh eir difcourfe C\ viz. The impious and rebellious
talk of the infidels.
b See chap. 7. p. 122^ & c.
1 I ask not any reward, &c.J Therefore ye
cannot excufe your felves by faying that 1 am
bwrthenfome to you.
d We fent, after him, apoftles unto their refper
th e people;] As Hud,Sdleh, Abraham, lot, and
Shoaib, to thofe o f Ad, Thamud, Babel, Sodom
and Midian.
‘ See chap. 7, p, 128. He.
An d there believed not any on M oses, except a generation ofhis people“, for fear
of P haraoh and of his princes, left he fhould afflift them. And P haraoh
was lifted up with pride in the earth, and was furely one of the tranfgreffors.
And M oses faid, O my people, if ye believe in G od , put your truft in him*,
if ye be refigned to his will. They anfwered, We put our truft in G o d : O
L ord, fuffer us not to be afflidted by unjuft people ; but deliver us, through
thy mercy, from the unbelieving people. And we fpake by infpiration unto-
Moses and his brother, faying, Provide habitations for your people in E g y p t ,
and make your houfes a place of worlhip b, and be conftant at prayer y
and bear good news unto thetrue believers. And M oses faid, O L ord, verily
thou haft given unto P haraoh and his people pompous ornaments', and riches
in this prefent life, O L ord, that they may be feduced from thy way :
0 L ord, bring their riches to nought, and harden their hearts ; that they
may not believe, until they fee th e ir grievous punilhment. G od faid, Your
petition is heard d: be ye upright therefore % and follow not the way of thofe
who are ignorant. And we caufed the children of Israel to -pals through
the.fea ; and P haraoh and his army followed them in a violent and hoftile
manner; until, when he was drowning, he faid, I believe that there is no
God but he, on whom-the children of Israel believe ; and I am one of the
refio-ned f. Now do f t thou b e liev e ; when thou haft been hitherto rebellious,
and one of the wicked doers ? This day will we raife thy body8 from the-
httomof t b e ß a , that thou may eft be a fign unto thofe who Ihall be after
thee ; and verily a great number of men are negligent of our figns. And we
prepared for the children of Israel an eftablifhed dwelling in the land o f
C a n a a n , a,nd we provided good things for their fuftenance: and they differed
a Except a generation o f bispeople j] For when
lie firft began to preach, a few of the younger
Ifraelites only believed on him ; the others not
giving ear to him* for fear of the king. But
fome fuppofe the pronoun his refers to Pharaoh,
and that thefe were certain Egyptians, who, together
with his wife Afia, believed on Mofes 1 .
b A place o f worjhip.] So Jallaloddin expounds
the original word Kebla, which properly
fignifies that place or quarter towards which
one prays. Wherefore al Zamakbjbari fuppofes,
that the Ifraelites are here ordered to difpofe
their oratories in fuch a manner, that, when they
prayed, their faces might be turned towards Mecca
; which he imagines, was the Kebla of Mofes,
as it is that of the Mohammedans. The former
commentator adds, that Pharaoh had forbidden
the Ifraelites to pray to G od j for which reafon
they were obliged to perform .that duty privately
in their hoiifes.
c Ornaments ;] As magnificent apparel, chariots,
and the like.
d Your petition is heard The pronoun is in the
dual, number j the antecedent being Mofes and
Aaron. The commentators fay, that in confequence
of this prayer, all the treafures of E -'
gypt were turned into ftones 2.
c Be ye upright;] Or, as al Beidawi interprets
it, Be ye conftant and fteady in preaching to the*
people. The Mohammedans pretend that Mofes-
continued in Egypt no lefs than forty years, after
he had firft published his million : which cannot
be reconciled to feripture.
f I believe that there is no G od but he, &c.}^
Thefe words, it is faid, P^r^repeated often in
his extremity, that he might be heard. But his.
repentance came too late j for Gabriel foon Hopped
his mouth with mud, left he Ihould obtain,
mercy ; reproaching him at the fame time in the.
words which follow.
g We w ill raife thy dead body, &c.] Some of.
the children of Ifrael doubting whether Pharaoh
was really drowned, Gabriel, by G od’s command,
caufed his naked corps to fwim.taihore,.
that they might fee i t 3. The word here tranf-
lated body, fignifying aICo a cent o f . snail, fome,
imagine the meaning to be, that his,corps floated,
armed with his;co,at of mail, which they tell us?
was of gold, by which they knew that it was -
he..