in this world by a curfe, and they Jhall be followed by the fame on the day of
refurreftion. Did not A d difbelieve in their L o r d ? Was it not faid, ’ A -
way with A d , the people of H u d ? And unto the tribe o f T h a m u d we fent
their brother S a l e h He faid unto them, O my people, worlhip G o d ;
ye have no G o d befides him. It is he who hath produced you out of the
earth, and hath given you an habitation therein. Afk pardon of him therefore,
and be turned unto him ; for my L o r d is near, and ready to anfwer.
They anfwered, O S a l i h , thou waft a perfon on whom we placed our
hopes before this \ Doft thou forbid us to worlhip that which our fathers
worfhipped ? But we are certainly in doubt concerning the religion to which
thou doft invite us, as juftiy to be fufpefted. Sa l e h faid, O my people,
tell me ; if I have received an evident declaration from my L o r d , and hè
hath beftowed on me mercy from himfelf; who will proteól me from tóf
vengeance o f G o d , if I be difobedient unto him ? For ye fhall not add unto
me, other than lofs, And he fa id, O my people, this fhe-camel of G o d ij
a fign unto you ; therefore difmifs her freely that fhe may feed in G o d ’ s
earth, and do her no harm, left a fwift punifhment feize you. Yet they
killed her ; and S a l eh faid, Enjoy yourfelves in your dwellings for three days';
after which ye Jhall be dejlroyed. This is an infallible predidion. And when
our decree came to be executed, we delivered S a l e h and thofe who believed
with him, through our mercy, alfo from the dilgrace of that day ; for thy
’ L o r d is the ftrong, the mighty Goo. But a terrible noife from heaven af-
failed thofë who had acted unjuftly ; and in the morning they Were found
in their houfes, lying dead and proftrate; as though they had never dwelt
therein. Did not T h a m u d difbelieve in their L o r d ? "Was not T h a m u d
ca jl faraway? Our meffengers" alfo came formerly unto A b r a h a m , with
good, tidings: they faid, Peace be upon thee. And he anfwered, And on
you be peace! and he tarried not, but brought a roafted calf. And when
he faw that their hands did not touch the meat, he mifliked them, and entertained
a fear of them'. But they faid, Fear not: for we are fent unto
the people of L o t And his wife Sa r a h was ftanding by8, and fhe laughed6;
and we promifed her I s a a c , and after I s a a c , J a c o b . She faid, Alas!
f h a l l
a See chap. 7. p. 124.
b We had placed our hopes on thee before this ;]}
Defigning to have made thee our prince, becaufe
of the Angular prudence and other good qualities
which we obferved in thee j but thy diflenting
from us in point of religious worlhip has fruftrat-
ed thofe hopes l .
c For three days j] viz. Wednefday, Thurfday,
and Friday % See chap. 7. p. 125. not. c.
d Our meffengers Thefe were the angels,
.who were fent to acquaint Abraham with the pro-
mife of Ifaac, and to deftroy Sodom and Gomorrah.
Some of the commentators pretend they
•were twelve, or nine, or ten in number ; but
others, agreeably to fcripture, fay they were but
three, viz. Gabriel, Michael, and Ifra fil3.
e He entertained a fear o f them;] Apprehending
they had fome ill defign againft him, becaufe
they would not eat with him.
* We are fent unto the people o f Lot;] Being
angels, whofe nature needs not the fupport of
food 4.
g Sarah was ftanding by j] Either behind the
curtain, or door of the tent; or elfe waiting upon
them.
h And Jhe laughed;] The commentators are
lb little acquainted with fcripture, that, not
■ know-
11 I t,ear a fon, who am old ; this my hufband alfo being advanced in
i a , j Verily this would be a wonderful thing. The angels anfwered, Doft
^hou wonder at the ejfebt of the command of G od ? The mercy of God
1 d his bleffings be upon you, the family of the houfeb : for he is praife-
^orthy, and to be glorified. And when his apprehenfion had departed from
A braham, and the good tidings of I s a a c ' s birth had come unto him, he
difputed with us concerning the people of L o t c : for A braham was a pitiful
compaffionate, and devout perfon. The angels faid unto him, O A br a ham
abftain from this; for now is the command of thy L o r d come, to
tut their fentence in execution, and an inevitable punifhment is ready to fall
upon them. And when our meffengers came unto L o t , he was troubled
for themd, and his arm was ftraitened concerning them % and he faid, This
is a grievous day. And his people came unto him, rulhing upon him : and
they had formerly been guilty of wickednefs. Lot faid unto them, O my
people, thefe my daughters are more lawful for you: therefore fear G o d ,
and put me not to lhame by wronging my guefts. Is there not a man of
prudence among you ? They anfwered, Thou knoweft that we have no need
of thy daughters ; and thou well knoweft what we would have. He faid,
If I had ftrength fufficient to oppofe you, or I could have recourfe unto a
powerful fupport ; I would certainly do it. The angels lead, O L o t , verily we
are the meffengers of thy L ord ; they fhall by no means come in unto theef.
Go forth therefore with thy family, in fome part of the night, and let not
any of you turn back : but as for thy wife 8, that fhall happen unto her,
1 1 which;
knowing the true dccafion of Sarah's laughter,
they ftrain their inventions to give fome reafon for
it. Onefays, thatfhelaughedattheangelsdifcover-
ing themfelves, and ridding Abraham and herfelf
of their appreheniions; and another, that it was
at the approaching deflruaion of the Sodomites,
(a very probable motive in one of her fear.) Some
however interpret the original word differently,
and will have it that ihe did not laugh, but that
btrctutrfes, which had flopped for feveral years,
came upon her at this time, as a previous fign of
her future conception 1.
a Shall I bear a fon who am old, my husband
alfo being advanced in years ?] A l Beidawi writes
that Sarah was then ninety, or ninety nine years
old, and Abraham a hundred and twenty.
b The family of the houfe;] Or the flock whence
all the prophets were to proceed for the future.
Or the expreffion may perhaps refer to Abraham
and Ifmael's building the Caaba, which is often
called, by way of excellence, the houfe.
c He difputed with us concerning the people of
Lot;] That is, he interceded with us for them a.
Jallalo'ddin, inftead of the numbers mentioned by
Mofes, fays, that Abraham firft asked whether G od
would deftroy thofe cities i f three hundred righteous
perfons were found therein, and fo fell fuc-
ceflively to two hundred, forty, fourteen, and
at laft came to one : but there was not one righteous
perfon to be found among them, except
only Lot and his family.
d He was troubled for them;] Becaufe they appeared
in the fhape of beautiful young men,,
which muft needs tempt thofe of Sodom to abufe
them 3.
e His arm was ftraitened concerning them;] i. e.
He knew himfelf unable to protedl them againft
the infults of his townfmen.
f The angels faid, O Lot—- they fhall by no
means come in unto thee ;] A l Beidawi fays, that
Lot fhut his door, and argued the matter with
the riotous, affembly from behind i t ; but at
length they endeavoured to get over the wall:
whereupon Gabriel, feeing his diftrefs, ftruck
them on the face with one of his wings, and
blinded them; fo that they moved off, crying out
for help, and faying that Lot had magicians
in his houfe.
& But as for thy wife, &c.] This feems to
be the true fenfe of the paffage; but according
to
1 Idem, Jallalo’ddin, ^ / Z amakhshari; * V. Gen. xviii. 23, & c. 3 Jallalo’d-
»in, ^/Beidawi . V. Joseph.^»/./, i * k i i *