266 A l K O R A N . C h a p . 21.
ed, Alas for us! verily we have been unjuft a. And this their lamentation
ceafed not, until we had rendred them like corn which is mowën down, and
utterly extinél. We created not the heavens and the earth, and that which is
between them, by way of fportb. If we had pleafed to take diverfion
verily we had taken it with that which befeemeth usc ; if we had refolved to
have done this. ’ But we will oppofe truth to vanity, and it lhall confound the
fame ■, and behold, it fhall vanifh away. Wo be unto you, for that which ye
impioujly utter concerning God I Ante whoever is in; heaven and on earth h
fubjelt unto him ; and the angels who are'in his prefence do not infolently
difdain his fervice, neither are they tired therewith. They praife him night
and day : they faint not. Have they taken gods from the earth ? Shall they
raife the dead to life? If there were either in heaven or on earth gods befides
G o d , verily both'would be corrupted d. But far be that which they utter,
from G o d , the L ord of the throne ! No account fhall be demanded of him
for what he fhall do j- but an account lhall be demanded of them. Have
they taken other gods befides him ? Say, Produce your proof thereof. This
is the admonition of thofe who are contemporary with me, and the admonition
of thofe who have been before me c : but the greater, part of them
know riot the truth, and turn afide from the fame. We have fent no apoffle
before thee, but we revealed unto him that there is no god befides my felf:
wherefore ferve me. They fay, The Merciful hath begotten iffue ; and tbs
angels are his daughtersf. G od forbid ! They are his honoured fervants: they
prevent him not in any thing which they fay E ; and they execute his command.
He knoweth that which is before them, and that which'is behind
them: they fhall not intercede fo r any, except for whom it fhall pleafe him
- and
a T hey anfcoered, W o unto u s, &c.] It is relat- ' Some think the original word, tranflated diver-
ed that a prophet was lent-to the inhabitants-of f t o n f l ignifies in this place, a w ife , Or a chilh
certain towns in Yaman, but inllead of hearken- and that the paiflage is particularly levelled againft
ing to his remonilrances, they killed him: upon the G h r ijt ia n s 1.
Which. God, delivered them into.-, the hands of . d B o th would bo co r ru p ted ;] That is, the whole
N e b u c h a d n e z z a r , who put them to the fword J creation would'necelfarily fail mtoconfufion and
a voice at the fame time crying from heaven, be overturned, by the competition of fuch rriigh-
Vengednce. f o r th e blood o f th e prophets f Upon ty antagoniila.
which they repented, and ufed the words of this - e T h is is th e admonition- o f th o fe who 'are‘ can-
paflage. . . . . . temporary w i th me, a nd o f thofe who barn been
b We h a v e n o t created th e heavens and ea r th , by before m e ;] i. e. This is the-eonllant doctrine of
way o f f p o r t ;] But for the manifeilation of our all the facred books; not only o f the Koran,
power and wifdöm to people of underftartdihg, bur of thofe which were revealed iff former
that they may feriouOy confider the .wonders of ages ; all of them bearing witneis to the.great
the 'creation, and-diredl their.adiipns to the a.ttain- and fundamental truth of the unity of God,
mént- o f ' future happinefs,' neglefHng the vain f This paflage was revealpclcon account of
pómp- and fleeting pleafures of this world. the K b o z d i t e s , who' held the' angels' to he the
, c W i t h th a t w h ich befeemetb us ;] viz. We had daughters of God.
fought'our pleafurein our own perfections; or, in £ They p r ev en t h im not in any th in g which they
the fpiritUal beings which are in our immediate fa y ;] i. e. They prefume not to fay .any - thing,
prefence; and not in railing of material build- until he hath fpoken- i t ; behaving as fervants
ings, with painted roofs, and fine floors, which who know their duty,
is the'diverfion of man.
lidetn.
C h a p . 21. A l K O R A N . 2 6 7
and they tremble for fear of him. Whoever of thetft Ihaji fay, I am a god
befides him ; that angel-will we reward with hell: fo r fo will we reward the unjuft.
D o not the unbelievers therefore know, that the heavens and the earth were
folid, and we-:clave the fame in funder and made every living thing of
water? Will they not therefore believe? And we placed liable mountains on
the earth, left it Ihould move with themb; and we' made broad paffages between
them for. paths, that they might be direfted in their jo k rn ey f; arid we
made the heaven a toof well fupported. Tet'they turn Aftde from ths figns
thereofnot confidering that they dre the woAmanjhip o f 'God. . It is he whb
hath created tho>»«ight, and the day, and the fun, and rile .moon all the
celeßiäl bodies move fwiftly, each in its refpeblive orb. We'have not granted
unto any: man before thee, eternal permanency in this tyorldi ’if thou die
therefore, will they be immortal'? Every foyf fhall tafte bf death : ind wfe
will prove-ycfu with evil, and wfth good, for' a^triai o/' j'oü-, and unto us
lhall ye return. When the unbelievers fee thee, they receive thee only with
fcoffing, faying, Is this he who mentibnerh your gods with contempt? Yet
themfelves believe not what is mentioned to tbem'ol the Merciful/1. Man is
created of precipitation e. Hereafter will I lhew you my figns, fo that ye
lhall not wilh them to be haftened. They fay, When Will this threat be ac-
complijhed, . if ye fpeak truth ? I f they who believe' not, knew that th'e time
will fitrely come, when7 they lhall not be able to drive back the fire o f hell
from their faces, nor from their backs, neither' fhall. thdy ; be helped, they
would not haßen it. But the day o f vengeance lhall ccsme upon thefn fuddenly,
and lhall ftrike them with aftonilhment: they ftiall not be aisle to avert i t ;
neither lhall they be refpited. Other apoftles have been mocked before thee :
but the puhifhment which they fcoffed at, fell upon fuch o f them as mocked.
Say unto ‘the fcoffers, Who fhall fave you by night and by day front the Merciful?
Yet they utterly negledt the remembrance of their'L o r d . Have they
gods who will defend them, befides us ? They are not able to help themfelves
; neither fhall they be affifted againft us by their companions. But we
have permitted thefe men and their fathers to enjoy worldly prosperity, fo long
as life was; continued unto them. Do they not perceive that, we come unto the
M m 2 land
a The heavens and the earth were folid, and we
clave the fame in funder .That is, They were
one continued maïs of matter, till we feparated
them, and divided the heaven intofeven heavens,;
and the earth into as many ftories ; and diftin-
guiihed the various orbs of the one, and the
different climates of the other, .ÇgV. Or, a§ fome'
chufe to translate the words, The heavens and the
earth \wefe Jhiit up, and we opened the fame ; their
meaning being, that the heavens did not fain,
flor the earth produce vegetables, till G od ihter-
jpofed his power 1.
b See chap, 16, p. 215.
c I f thou die therefore, will they be immortal, f ]
1 Al B e i d a w i , J a l l a l o ’ d d in ..
This paflage was revealed when the infidels faid,
We expeft, to; fee - Mohammed die, like the reft
of mankind.
d Yet they believe -not what is mentioned to them
of the Merciful j] Denying his unity j or rejecting
his apoftles and the fcriptures which were
given for their inftruCtion, and particularly the
Koran.
e Man is created^ of '.precipitation;] Being hafty
and jnconfiderate 2. It is. faid this paflage was
•revealed on, .account ,of al Nodar Ebn'al Hareih,
when he defire'd Mohammed to haften the divine
yengeance with which he threatned the unbelievers
3, ■
2 See chap. 17. p. 228, 3 A l B e i d a w *.