afterwards we placed him in the form of feed in a fure receptacle* : afterwards
we made the feed''coagulated blood ; and we formed the coagulated
blood into a piece of fleth : then we formed the piece of flelh into bones;
and we cloathed thofe bones with flefh : then we produced the fame by another
creationb. Wherefore bleffed be G o d , the molt excellent Creatore!
After this fhall ye die: and afterwards fhall ye be reftored to life, on the
day of refurredtion. And we have created over you feven heavens4: and
we are not negligent of what we have created. And we fend down rain
from heaven, by meafure 5 and we caufe it to remain on the earth': we are
alfo certainly able to deprive you of the fame. And we caufe gardens of
palm-trees, and vineyards, to fpring forth for you by means thereof; wherein
ye have many fruits, and whereof ye eat. And we alfo raife fo r you a
tree fpringing from mount S i n a i *; which produceth oil, and a fauce for
thofe who eat. Ye have likewife an inftruftion in the cattle: we give’you
to drink of the milk which is in their bellies, and ye receive many advantages
from them ; and of them do ye eat: and on them, and on fhips, are
ye carried'. We fent N o a h heretofore unto his people, and he faid, 0
my people, ferve G o d : ye have no G o d befides him ; will ye not therefore
fear the conference of your worjhipping other gods ? And the chiefs of his
people, who believed hot, faid, This is no other than a man, as ye are:
he feeketh to raife himfelf to a fuperiority over you. If G o d had pleafed
to have fent a mejfenger unto you, he would furely have fent angels : we have
not heard this of our forefathers. Verily he is no other than a man dif-
turbed with frenzy: wherefore wait concerning him for a time. N oaii faid,
O L o r d , do thou proteft me; for that they accufe me of falfhood. And
we revealed our orders unto him, faying, Make the ark in our fight •, and
according to our revelation. And when our decree cometh to be executed, and
the oven fhall boil and pour fo rth water, carry into it of every fpecies of
animals one pair; and alfo thy family, except fuch of them on whom a
previous fentence of deftruttton hath pa fled s : and fpeak not unto- me in
behalf of thofe who have been unjuft; for they Jhall be drowned. And
when thou and they who Jhall be with thee, fhall go up into the ark, fay,
Praife -be unto G o d , who hath delivered us from the ungodly people ! And
fay, O L o r d , caufe me to come down from this ark with a bleffed decent
; for thou art beft able to bring me down from the fame with fafetf
* A fire receptacle i] Vise. The womb.
1 By another creation ;] i.e. Producing a perfect
man, compofed of foul and body.
<■ See chap. 6. p. 108. not. e.
a Seven heavens;] Literally, feven paths; 'by
which the heavens are meint, becaufe, according
to fome expofitors, they are the paths of the
angels and of the celeftial bodies : tho’ the original
word alfo fignifies things which are folded
or placed lihe Jlories one above another, as
the Mohammedans fuppofe the heavens to be.
e A tree fpringing from mount Sinai;] viz. The
olive. The gardens near this mountain are yet
famous for the excellent fruit-trees of almoft all
forts which grow there L
f On them, and on Jhips are ye carried;] Thebeill
more particularly meant, in this place, is the
camel, which is chiefly ufed for carriage in
the eaft ; being called by the Arabs, the land-
jhip, on which they pafs thofe feas of [and, the
defarts.
s See chap. 11. p. 178, &c.
Verily herein were figns of our omnipotence. and we proved mankind thereby.
Afterwards we railed up another generation “ after them ; and we fent unto
them an apoftle from among themb, who faid, Worfhip G o d : ye have no
Gor> befides him -, will ye not therefore fear his vengeance? And the .chiefs
of his people, < who believed not, and who denied the meeting of the life to
come, and on whom we had beftowed affluence in this prefent life, faid,
This is no other than a man, as ye are •, he eateth of that whereof ye
eat, and he drinketh of that whereof ye drink: and if ye obey a manlike
unto your felves, ye will furely be fufferers. Doth he threaten you that
after ye fhall be dead, and fhall become duft and bones, ye fhall be brought
forth alive from your graves ? Away, away with that ye are threatened
with! There is no other life befides our prefent life: we die, and we iive ; and we
fhall not be raifed again. This is no other than a man, who devifeth a
lie concerning G o d : but we will not believe him. Their apoftle faid, O
L o rd , defend me; for that they have accufed me of impofture. God anfwered,
After a little while they fhall furely repent their obftinacy. Wherefore
a fevere punifhment was juftly inflidted on them, and we rendred them
like the refufe which is carried down by a Jlream. Away therefore with the
ungodly people! Afterwards we raifed up other generationsc after them.
No nation fhall be punilhed before their determined time; neither fhall
they be refpited after. Afterwards we fent our apoftles, one after another.
So often as ^heir apoftle came unto any nation, they charged him with impofture
:., ana we caufed them fucceflively to follow one another to deftruc-
tion ; and we made them only fubjedts of traditional ftories. Away therefore
with the unbelieving nations I Afterwards we fent M o se s , and A a r o n his
brother, with our figns and manifeft power, unto P h a r a o h and his princes:
but they proudly reftifed to believe on him ■, for they were a haughty people.
And they faid, Shall we believe on two men like unto our felves ; whofe
people are our fervants ? And they accufed them of impofture: wherefore
they became of the number of thofe who were deftroyed. And we heretofore
gave the book o f the law unto M o se s , that the children o f I srael might
be directed thereby. And we appointed the fon of M a r y , and his mother,
for a fign: and we prepared an abode for them in an elevated part o f the
earth4, being a place of quiet and fecurity, and watered with running fprings.
0 apoftles, eat of thofe things which are good *; and work righteouf-
O o 2 nefs:
* Another generation;] Namely, the tribe of
Ad, or of thamud,
b An apoftle;] viz. The prophet Hud, or
Saleh.
' Other generations ;] As the Sodomites, Mi-
dianites. Sec.
4 An elevated part of the earth ;] The commentators
tell us the place here intended is Je-
tufalem, or Damaftus, or Ramlah, or Baleftine,
or Egypt l .
But perhaps the paflage means the hill to
which the virgin Mary retired to be delivered,
according to the Mohammedan tradition *.
c O apoftles, eat of thofe things which are good,
,£sft.’] Thefe words are addrefled to the apoftlea
in general, to whom it was permitted to eat
of all clean and wholiome food; and were ipoken
to them feverally at the time of their refpeflive
million. Some however, think them directed
particularly to the virgin Mary and Jefus, or
1 Al B e i d a w i , J a l l a l o ’ d d i n , See chap. 19. p. 250.