leaveth the truth behind him. And fay, The truth is from your L ord;
wherefore let him who will, believe, and let him who will, be incredulous.
We have furely prepared for the unjuft hell fire, the flame and fmoke
whereof lhall furround them like a pavilion: and if they beg relief, they
lhall be relieved with water like molten brals, which lhall fcald their faces •
0 how miferable a potion, and how unhappy a couch ! As to thofe who believe
and do good works, we will not fuffer the reward of him who lhall work
righteoufnefs to perilh: for them are ■ prepared gardens of eternal abode’, which
lhall be watered by rivers ; they lhall be adorned therein with bracelets of gold
and lhall be clothed in green garments of fine filk and brocades; repofing
themfelves therein on thrones. O how happy a reward, and how eafy a couch!
And propound unto them as a parable two men-b: on the one of whom we had
bellowed two vineyards, and had furrounded them with palm-trees, and had
caufed corn to grow between them. Each of the gardens brought forth its
fruit every feafon, and failed not at all ; and we caufed a river to flow in the
midft thereof: and he had great abundance. And he faid unto his companion by
way of debate, I am fuperior to thee in wealth, and have a more powerful family.
And he went into his garden c, being guilty of injuftice againft his own
foul, and faid, I do not think that this garden will decay for ever ; neither do
1 think that the laft hour will come : and although I lhould return unto my
L o r d , verily I lhall find a better garden than this in exchange A And his
companion faid unto him, by way of debate, Doll thou not believe in him
who created thee of the dull, and afterwards of feed ; and then falhioned thee
into a perfedt man ? But as fo r me, G o d is my L o r d ; and I will not afiociate
any other deity with my L o r d . And when thou entereft thy garden, wilt
thou not fay, What G o d pleafeth Jhall come to pafs ; there is no power but
in G o d alone ? Although thou feefl: me to be inferior to thee in wealth and
number o f children, my L o r d is well able to bellow on me ä better gift than
thy garden, and to fhoot his arrows againft the fame from heaven, fo that it
lhall become barren dull\ or its water may fink deep into the earth, that thou
canlt not draw thereof. And his pofleflions were incompafled with deftruc-
tion, as his companion had forewarned him: wherefore he began to turn down
I ■ «ssa.- I I the
a Gardens of eternal abode;] Literally of Eden.
See chap. 9. p. 158.
b Two men;j Tho’ thefe feem to be general
charadters only, defigned to reprefent the different
end of the wicked, and of the good ; yet
it is fnppofed, by fome, that two particular per-
fons arc here meant. One fays they were two
Ifraelitei and brothers, who had a confiderable
fum left them by their father, which they divided
between them } and that one of them, being
an unbeliever, bought large fields and poffeifions
with his portion, while the other, who was a true
believer, difpofed of his to pious ufes; but that
in the end, the former was ruined, and the latter
profpered. Another thinks they were two men
of the tribe of Makhzum: the one named al
4fiv ad Ebn Abd'al Aft add. an infidel; and the
other Abu Salma Ebn Ababa blab, the husband cf
Omm Salma, ’ (whom the prophet married after
his death,) and a true believer 1,
c And he went into. his. garden i]( Carrying his
companion with him, out of oftentation, and to
mortify him with the view of his large ppffef-
fions *.
d I Jhall find a better garden in • exchange;]
Vainly imagining that his prosperity was not fo
much the free gift of God, as due to his
merit 3.
1 A IB eid awj. 2 Idem. 3 Idem.
the palms of his hands out o f forrow and regret for that which he had expend- I ed thereon •, for the vines thereof were fallen down on their trails: and he
I faid Would to G od that I had not afibciated any other deity with my L ord !
And he had no party to aflifl: him, befides God, neither was he able to defend
I himfelf againft his vengeance. In fuch cafe protedlion belongeth of right unto
I God alone ; he is the bell: rewarder, and the bell giver of fuccels. And pro-
I pound to them a fimilitude of the prefent life. I t is' like water which we
[ fend down from heaven ; and the herb of the earth is mixed therewith, and af- I ter it hath been green and flourifhing, in the morning I it becometh dry Hubble, which the winds fcatter abroad : and God is able to do all things. Wealth I and children are the ornament of this prefent life : but good works, which are
permanent, are better in the fight of thy L ord, with refpeft to the reward, and
better with refpebl to hope. On a certain day we will caufe the mountains to
pafs away ’ , and thou lhalt fee the earth appearing plain and even ; and we will I gather mankind together, and we will not leave any one of them behind. And I they lhall be fet before thy L ord in diftinft order, and he Jhall fay unto them,
[ Now are ye come unto us naked, as we created you the firft time: but ye I thought that we lhould not perform our promife unto you. And the book
I wherein every one’ s allions are recorded lhall be put into his hand; and thou lhalt
I fee the wicked in great terror, becaufe ol that which is written therein, and they
I lhall fay, Alas lor us! what meaneth this book ? it omitteth neither a fmall
I allion nor a great one, but it comprizeth the fame ; and they lhall find that
I which they have wrought, prefent before their eyes: and thy L ord will not
I deal unjuftly with any one. Remember when we faid unto the angels, Wor-
I fhip ye A dam : and they all worlhipped him, except E blis b, who was one of the
I genii’, and departed from.the command of his L ord. Will ye therefore
I take him and his offspring for your patrons befides me, notwithftanding they
I are your enemies ? Miferable Jhall fuch a change be to the ungodly ! I called
I not them to be prefent at the creation of the heavens and of the earth, nor
I at the creation of themfelves, neither did I take thofe feducers for my afliliants.
On a certain day, God lhall fay unto the idolaters, Call thofe whom ye imagined
to be my companions, to protelt you: and they lhall call them, tout they
lhall not anfwer them ■, and we will place a valley of deftruftion between themi -.
and the wicked lhall fee hell fire, and they lhall know that they lhall be
thrown into the fame, and they lhall find no way to avoid it. And now
have we varioufly propounded unto men, in this K oran, a parable of every
I i 2 kind ;
’ Tbt mountains Jhall pafs away;] For being him the father of the genii, whom he begat af-
■ tom up by the roots, they fliall fly in the air, ter his fail 2 ; it being a coniiant opinion, among
and be reduced to atoms 1. the Mohammedans, that the angels are impeccable,
b See chap. 2. p. 4, and ch. 7. p. 117, left. and do not propagate their fpecies L
’ Who was one of the genii;] Hence fome ima- d A valley of defiruQion between them ;J i. e.
gine the genii are a fpecies of angels: others fup- Between the idolaters and their falfe gods. Some
pofe the devil to have been originally a genius, fuppofe the meaning is no more than that G od
which was the occalion of his rebellion, and call will fet them at variance and divifion.
1 Idem. See Prelim. Difc.§. IV. p. 82. 3 Jalcalo'ddjv, ife. 3 Eee the Prelim. Difc.
1. IV. p. 71, (jsv.