decreeth a thing, he only faith unto it, Be ; and it is. And verily G od is my
L o r d , and your L o r d ; wherefore ferve him : this is the right way. Yet the
fe diaries differ among themfelves concerning J esus ; but wo be unto thofe who
are unbelievers, becaufe of their appearance at the great day. Do thou
caufe them to hear, and do thou caufe them to fee % on the day whereon they
fhall come unto us to be judged: but the ungodly are this day in a manifeft error.
And do thou forewarn them of the day of fighing, when the matter
fhall be determined, while they are now funk in negligence and do not believe.
Verily we will inherit the earth, and whatever creatures are therein b; and unto
us fhall they all return. And remember A b r a h a m in the book of the
K oran-, for he was one of great veracity, and a prophet. When he faid unto
his fatherc, O my father, why doft thou worlhip that which heareth not,
neither feeth, norprofiteth thee at all ? O my father, verily a degree of knowledge
hath been bellowed on me, which hath not been bellowed on thee: wherefore
follow me ; I will lead thee into an even way. O my father, ferve not
S a t a n ; for S a t a n was rebellious unto the Merciful. O my father, verily
I fear left a punifhment be inflidled on thee from the Merciful, and thou
become a companion of S a t a n . His father anfwered, Doft thou rejedt my
gods, O A b r a h a m ? If thou forbear not, I will furely Hone thee: wherefore
leave me for a long time. A braham replied, Peace be on thee: I will
afk pardon for thee of my L o r d ; for he is gracious unto me. And I will
feparate my felf from you, and from the idols which ye invoke befides G od ;
and I will call upon my L o r d : it may be that I fhall not be unfuccefsful in
calling _on my L o r d , as ye are in calling upon them. And when he had
feparated himfelf from them, and from the idols which they worfhipped
befides G o d a, we gave him I s a a c and J a c o b ; and we made each of them
a prophet; and we beftowed on them, through our mercy, the gift of prophecy,
and children, and wealth-, and we caufed them to deferve the highefl
commendations'. And remember M ose s in the book o f the K oran: for
he was fincerely upright, and was an apoftle and a prophet. And we called
unto him from the right fide of mount Sin a i , and caufed him to. draw near,
and to difcourfe privately with us f. And we gave him, through our mercy,
his brother A a r o n , a prophet, fo r his ajjiftant. Remember alfo I sm a e l in
the
annihilated. Set chap. iy. p. 211.
c See chap. 6. p. 106, (Ac-
d When he had feparated himfelf from them;]
By flying to Harr an, and thence t6 Paleftine.
c We caufed them to g deferve the bigbefi
commendations;] Literally, We granted them <‘
lofty tongue of truth.
.. 1 And to. difcourfe privately with Us ;]; Or, a is
fome expound it, And we raifed him on high;
for, fay, they, he was railed to fo great an ek"
vation, that he heard the creaking of the pen
writing on the table of G o d ’ s decrees 3.
Do thou caufe them to hear, and to fee, &c.]
Thefe words are varioufly expounded : fome
taking them to exprefs admiration 1 at the
quicknefs of thofe fenfeHn the wicked, at the
day of judgment, when they fhall plainly perceive
the torments prepared for them,, tho’ they
have been deaf and blind in this life; and others
fuppoling the words contain a threat to the unbelievers,
of what they fhall then hear and fee ;
or eile a command to Mohammed to lay before
them the terrors of that day 2.
b We will inherit the earth, &c.j i. e. Alone
furviving, when all creatures fhall be dead and
1 See chap. 18. p. 241. * A l B e i d a w i . 3 Idem.
the fame book: for he was true to his promifea; and was an apoftle, and a
nrophet. And he commanded his family to obferve prayer, and to give alms;
and he was acceptable unto his L ord. And remember Edris b in the fame
book; for he was a juft perfon, and a prophet: and we exalted him to a
high place '. Thefe are they unto whom God hath been bounteous, of
the prophets of the pofterity of A dam, and of thofe whom we carried in the
ark with Noah ; and of the pofterity of A braham, and of Israel, and of
thofe whom we have diredled and chbfen. When the figns of the Merciful
were read unto them, they fell down, worlhipping, and wept: but a fucceed-
ing veneration have come after them, who negledt prayer, and follow their
lulls'; and they fhall furely fall into evil: except him Who repenteth, and be-
lieveth, and doth that which is righ tth e fe fhall enter paradife, and they
fhall not in the leaft be wronged : gardens of perpetual abode fhall be their
reward, which the Merciful hath promifed unto his fervants, as. an objedt of
faith ; for his promife will furely come to be fulfilled. Therein fhall they hear
no vain difcourfe, but peacei ; and their provifion fhall be prepared for them
therein morning and evening. This is paradife, which we will give for an
inheritance unto fuch of our fervants as fhall be pious. We defeend not frohi
heaven, unlefs by the command of thy L ord : untb him belongeth whatfoever
is before us, and whatfoever is behind us, and whatfoever is in the intermediate
fpace ; neither is thy L ord forgetful of thee'. He is the L ord of heaven
and earth, and of whatfoever is between them: wherefore worlhip him, and
be conftant in his worlhip. Doft thou know any named like him f? Man
faith,
a He was true to bis promife j] Being cele - ing firft fuffered death, and been reftored to life;
brated on that account; and particularly for, his and that.he is now alive in one of the feven hea-
behaving with that refignation and conftancy vens, or in paradife *.
which he had promifed his father, on hisreceiving d Peace;] i. e. Words of peace and comfort;
G od's command to facrifice him 1 : for the Mo- or the falutations of the angels s, (Ac.
bammedans fay it was Ifmael, and not Jfaac, e We defeend not from heaven, unlefsatthecomwhom
he was commanded to offer. mand of thy L o r d , & c .] Thefe are generally
b Edris;] Or Enoch, the great-grandfather of fuppofed to have been the words of the angel
Noah, who had that furname from his great Gabriel, in anfwer to Mohammed's complaint for
knowledge ; for he was favoured with no lefs than his long delay of fifteen, or, according to ano-
thirty books of divine revelations, and was the ther tradition, of forty days, before he brought
firft who wrote with a pen, and ftudied the fei- him inftrudtions what folution he fhould give to
ences of aftronomy and arithmetic, (Ac 2. the queftions which had been asked him concern-
The learned Bartolocci endeavours to fhew, ing the fleepers, Dhu'lkarnein, and the fpirit 6.
from the teftimonies of the ancient Jews, that Others, however, are of opinion that they are
Enoch, furnamed Edris, was a very different the words which the godly will ufe at their en-
perfon from the Enoch of Mofes, and many ages trance into paradife; and that their meaning is,
younger 3. We take up our abode here at the command and
c And we exalted him to a high place ;] Some through the mercy of G o d alone, who ruleth all
tmderftand by this the honour of the prophetic things, pafl, future, and trefent; and who is not
office, and his familiarity with G od ; but others forgetful of the works of his fervants 7.
fuppofe his tranflation is here meant: for they f Doft thou know any named like him?] That
% that he was taken up by G od into heaven is, Deferving, or having a right to the name and
at the age of three hundred and fifty, hav- attributes of G o d .
1 Idem. 2 Idem, Jallalo’ ddin, (Ac, .. 3 Bartol. Bibl. Rabh. part 2. p. 845.
lidern, Abulfbda. 5 See chap. 10. p. 167. 6 See before, p. 241. 7 Al Beidawl,