thing*; and then would they have taken thee for their friend: and unlefs
we had confirrrfed thee, thou hadft certainly been very near inclining unto
them a little. Then would we furely have caufed thee to tafte the punifli-
ment of life, and the punifhment of deathb ; and thou fhouldeft not have
found any to proteft thee againft us. The unbelievers had likewife almoft
caufed thee to depart the land, that they might have expelled thee thence';
but then Ihould they not have tarried therein after thee, except a little whiled.
This is the method of dealing which we have pre/cribed our [elves in refpeft to
our apoftles, whom we have already fent before thee: and thou fhait not
find any change in our prefcribed method. Regularly perform thy prayer
at the declenfion of the fune, at the firft darknefs of the nightf, and the
prayer of day-break6; for the prayer of day-break is born witnefs unto by
the aneels''. And watch fome part of the night in the fame exercifij ss a work
a It wanted little but the unbelievers had fe-
dated thee, &c.] Thefe are generally fappofed to
have been the tribe of Thakif, the inhabitants
of al Tâyef who infilled on Mohammed's granting
them feveral very extraordinary privileges,
as the terms of their fubmilfion to him ; for they
demanded that they might be free from the legal
contribution of alms, and from obferving the
appointed times of prayer j that they might be
allowed to keep their- idol Allât for a certain
time *, and that their territory might be declared
a place of fecurity and not be violated, like
that of Mecca, &c. And they added, that if
the other Arabs asked him the reafon of thefe
conceffions, he Ihould fay, that G od had commanded
him fo to do 2. According to which explication
it is plain this verfe muft have been revealed
long after the Hejra.
Some, however, will have the paflage to have
been revealed at Mecca, on occafion of the Koreijh
j who told Mohammed they would not fuf-
fer him to kifs the black Hone in the wall of
Caaba, unlefs he alfo vifited their idols, and
touched them with his hand, to Ihew his refpeCL
b The punifhment of life, and the punifhment of
death ;] i. e. Both of this life and the next. Some
interpret the firft of the punifhment in the next
world, and the latter of the torture of the fe-
pulchre 3.
c The unbelievers had likewife almofl caufed thee
to depart the land,&cc.]The commentators differ
as to the place where this paflage was delivered,
and the occafion of it. Some think it was revealed
at Mecca, and that it refers to the violent
enmity which the Koreijh bore Mohammed, and
their, reftlefs endeavours to make him leave Mec-
1 See the Prelim. Difc. p. 18. 2 Al Beidaw:
126,iAc. 3 ^ /B eidawi. 4 Idem.
7 Al Beidawi.
of
ca 4 » as he was at length obliged to do. But
as the perfons hère fpoken of feem not to have
prevailed in their projeCl, others fuppofe that
the verfe was revealed at M e d in a , on the following
occafion. The J ew s , envious of Mohammed's
good reception and flay there, told
him, by way of counfel, that Sy ria was the land
of the prophets, and that if he was really a prophet
he ought to go thither. Mohammed fe-
rioufly reflecting on what they had faid, began
to think they had advifed him well ; and actually
fet out, and proceeded a day’s journey in
his way to S y r ia : whereupon God acquainted
him with their defign by the revelation of this
verfe ; and he returned to M e d in a 1.
d T hen Jhould they not h a v e ta r r ied therein
a fte r th ee , ex cept a l i t t l e w h ile .’] This was fulfilled,
according to the former of the abovemention
ed explications, by the lofs o f the Koreijh at
B e d n and according to the latter, by the great
ilaughter of-th e j e w s of K o r e id h a and a l N a dir 6.
e A t th e declenfion o f th e f u n j] i. e. At the
time of noon prayer, to hen the fun declines
from the meridian j or, as fome choofe to
tranflate the words, a t th e J e tt in g o f the fun,
which is the time of the firft evening prayer.
f A t th e f i r f t darknefs o f th e n ig h t f ] The
time of the laft evening prayer.
g T h e prayer o f day-break ;] Literally, the
r eading o f th e day-break t whence, fome fuppofe
the reading of the K o ra n at that time is here
meant..-
h B y th e angels ;] viz. The guardian angels,
who, according to fome, are relieved at that
time ; or elfe the angels appointed to make
the change of night into day, & c 7.
[, Jallalo’ddin. V . A b u i f . v i t . M o l a n . p.
? Id em , Jallalo*ddin. “ 6 Iidetn.
f funererovation for thee; peradventure thy L ord will raife thee to an ho-
nrThle Ration *. And fay, O L ord, caufe me to enter with a favourable entry
"nr! raufe me to come forth with a favourable coming forth” ; and grant me
9 i thee an affifting power. And fay, Truth is come, and fallhood is
Tnilhed \ for fallhood is of Ihort continuanceS We fend down of the Koran
' which is a medicine and mercy unto the true believers ,,but it fball
nnlv increafe the perdition of the unjuft. When we beftow favours on
man he retireth and withdraweth himfelf ungratefully from u s : but when e-
vil toucheth him, he defpaireth of our mercy. Say, Every one afteth after
his own manner d : but your L ord beft knoweth who is moft truly directed
in his way. They will a lk thee concerning the fpirit : anfwer, The fpirit
mas created at the command of my L ord f : but ye have no knowledge
Sven unto you, except a little 6. If we pleafed,_ we Ihould certainly take a-
wav that which we have revealed unto thee ” ; in fuch cafe thou couldeft not
find anv to affift dree therein againft us, unlefs through mercy from thy L ord ;
for his favour towards thee hath been great. Say, Verily if men and gea
An honourable ftationf] According to a
tradition of Abu Horeira, the honourable ftation
here intended, is that of interceffor for others x.
b Caufe me to enter with a favourable entry
and caufe me to come forth with a favourable coming
forth] That is, Grant that I may enter my grave
with peace, and come forth from it, at the re-
furreCtion, with honour and fatisfaCtion. In
which fenfe this petition is the fame with that
of Balaam, Let me dye the death of the righteous,
and let my laß end be like his 2.
But as the perfon here fpoken to is generally
fuppofed to be Mohammed, the commentators fay
he was commanded to~ pray in thefe words for
a fafe departure from Mecca, and a good reception
at Medina; or for a fare refuge in the cave,
where he hid himfelf when he fled from Mec-
a 3 ; or (which is the more common opinion)
for a victorious entrance into Mecca, and a fafe
return thence4. - _
c Say, Truth is come, and faljhood is vanifbed,
&c.j Thefe words Mohammed repeated, when
he entred the temple of Mecca, after the taking
of that city, and cleanfed it of the idols;
a great number of which are faid to have fallen
down on his touching them with the end of
the ftick he held in his hand *.
d Every one adteth after his own manner;] i. e.
According to his judgment or opinion, be it true
or falfe; or according to the bent of his mind,
and the natural conftitution of his body 6.
e Concerning the fpirit;] Or the foul of man.
Some interpret it of the angel Gabriel, or of the
divine revelation 7.
f The fpirit was created at the command of
my L o r d ; ] viz. by the word Kun, i. e. Be;
confifting of an immaterial fubftance, and not
generated, like the body. But, according to a
different opinion, this paflage Ihould be tranfla-
ted, The fpirit is of thofe things, the knozoledge of
which thy L o r d hath referved to himfelf. For
it is faid that the Jews bid the Koreijh ask Mohammed
to relate the hiftory of thofe who flept in the
cave 8, and of Dhu'lkarnein 9, and to give them
an account of the foul of man j adding, that if
he pretended to anfwer all the three queftions,
or could anfwer none of them, they might be
fare he was no prophet; but if he gave an anfwer
to one or two of the queftions and was
filent as to the other, he was really a prophet.
Accordingly when they propounded the queftions
to him, he told them the two hiftories, but acknowledged
his ignorance as to the origin of
the human foul10...
g Ye have no knowledge given unto you, except a
little j] All your knowledge being acquired from
the Information of your fenfes, which muft ne-
ceflarily fail you in fpiritual fpeculations, without
the affiftance of divine revelation 11.
h We would certainly take away that which/
we have revealed Viz. the Koran » by razing
it both from the written copies, and the memories
of men.
1 Idem. * Numb. xxiii. io. * See the Prelim■ Difc. 5- II. p■
Jallalo’ddin. ■* I idem. V. G agnier, Vie de Mahomet, tom. 2.
dawi. 7 Idem. 8 See the next chapter. 9 See ib. 10
51. 4 ^ /Beidawi,
p. 127. * 6 A l Bei-
Al Beidawi. 11 Idem.