fay, O L o r d , I fly unto'thee for refuge, againft the fuggefticns of the devils:
and I have recourfe unto thee, O L o r d , to drive them away, that they
be not prefentwith m t I ’be gainfaying o f the unbelievers ceafeth not until, when
death overtaketh any of them, he faith, O L o r d , fuffer me to return to life,
that I may do that which is right; in ■ profejfmg the true fa ith which I have
neglefted !y By no means. Verily thefe are the words which he fhallfpeak:
but behind them there (hall be a bar % until the day of refurredtion. When
therefore the trumpet (hall be founded, there (hall be no. relation between
them which Jhall he regarded on that day ; neither (hall they a(k ajifiance
of each other. They whofe balances (hall be heavy with good works, lhall.
be happy: but they whofe balances (hall be light, are thofe who (hall lofe
.their fouls, and (hall remain in hell for ever1*. The fire (hall fcorch their
faces, and they (hall writhe' their mouths therein fo r anguifh: and it Jhall
be fa id unto them, 'Were not my figns rehearfed unto you ; and did ye
not charge them with falfhhood? They (hall anfwer, O L o r d , our unhap-
pinefs prevailed over us, and we were people who went aftray. O L ord,
take us forth from this f i r e : if we return to our fo rm er wickednefs, we (hall
furely be unjuft. G od will fay unto them, Be ye driven away with ignominy
thereinto: and fpeak not unto me to deliver you. Verily there were a party
of my fervants, who faid, O L o r d , we believe: wherefore forgive us,
and be merciful unto us s for thou art the beft of thofe who (hew mercy.
But ye received them with feoffs, fo that they fuffered you to forget my
admonition % and ye laughed them to fcorn. I have this day rewarded
them, for that they fuffered the injuries ye offered them with patience : verily
they enjoy great felicity. G od will fay, What number of years have ye
a That they be not prefent with me;] To be liege
me: or, as it may alfo Be tranHated, That they
hurt me not.
b In profejjtng the true fa ith which I have
neglefted;] Or, as the words may alfo import,
In the world which I have le ft; that is, during
the further term of life which lhall be granted
me, and from which I have been cut o ff1.
c Behind them there Jhall be a ban] The original
word barzakh, here tranflated bar, primarily
lignifies any partition, or interftice, which divides
one thing from another j but is ufed by the
Arabs not always in the fame, and fometimes
in an obfeure fenfe. They feem generally to
exprefs by it what the Greeks did by the word
Hades ; one while uiing it for the place of the
•dead, another while for the time of their continuance
in that ftate, and another while for the
ilate it felf. It is defined by their critics to be the
interval or /pace between this world and the next,
or between death and the refurre&ion; every per-
fon who dies, being faid to enter into al bar*
zakh; or, as the Greek expreffes it, KcflttCiiw
US JpS'n 2. One lexicographer 3 tells us that
in the Koran it denotes the grave: but the commentators
on this paffage expound it a bar, or
invincible objlacle, cutting off all poffibility of
return into the world, after death. See chap.
25. where the word again occurs.
. Some interpreters underftand the words we
have rendred behind them, to mean before them,
(it being one of thofe words, of which there are
feveral in the Arabic tongue, that have direft
contrary fignifications) confidering al Bar zakh
as a future fpace, and lying before, and not behind
them.
d See the Prelim. Difc. $. IV. p. 89.
® They fuffered you to forget my admonition;]
Being unable to prevail on you by their remon-
ftranees, becaufe .of the contempt wherein ye
held them.
1 Idem. 2 V . Pocock. not. in Port. Mofis, p. 248, fcfr. and the Prelim. Difc. $. IV. p. 77.
3 Ebn Mar up, apud Gol. Lex. Arab. col. 254.
#dfti
I m i i , i
continued on earth? They will anfwer, We have continued there a
day, or part of a day *: but a(k thofe who keep accountb. G od will
fay, Ye have tarried but a little, if ye knew it. Did ye think that
we had created you in (port, and that ye (hould not be brought again before
us? Wherefore let G od be exalted, the King, the Truth! There is
no G od befides him, the L o r d of the honourable throne. Whoever together
with the true G od (hall invoke another god, concerning whom he hath
no demonftrative proof, lhall furely be brought to an account for the fame
before his L o rd. Verily the infidels (hall not profper. Say, O L ord, pardon,
and (hew mercy; for thou art the belt of thofe who (hew mercy.
* A day or part o f a day ;] The time will feem diflike, as of long continuance,
thus Ihort to them in comparifon to the eternal b Ask thofe who keep account;] That is, the
duration of their torments , or becaufe the time angels, who keep account of the length of mens
of their living in the world .was the time of their lives and of their works, or any other who may
joy and pleafure; it being ufual for the Arabs to have leifure to compute; and not us, whofe tor-
deferibe what they like as of Ihort, and what they ments diftradt our thoughts and attention.
C HA P . XXIV.
Intitled, Lighta ; revealed ^ / M e d i n a .
In the name of the moft merciful G od.
TH I S S u r a have we fent down from heaven \ and have ratified the
fame : and we have revealed therein evident figns, that ye may be
warned. The whore,'and the whoremonger, lhall ye fcourge with an hundred
ftripes b. And let not companion towards them prevent you from executing
the judgment of G od c ; if ye believe in G od and the lafi: day : and
let fome of the true believers be witnefifes of their punilhmentd, The
whoremonger lhall not marry any other than a harlot, or an idolatrels. An<j
a harlot lhall no man take in marriage, except a whoremonger, or an idolater.
1 This title is taken from an allegorical comparifon
made between light and Go d, or faith
in him, about the middle of the chapter.
b The whore and the whoremonger Jhall ye fcourge
with an hundredJlripes, &c. J This law is not to
be underftood to relate to married people, Who
are of free condition; becaufe adultery in fuch,
according to the Sonna, is to be punilhed by Honing1.
c Let not compajjton prevent you, &c.] i. e. Be
not moved by pity, either to" forgive the offenders,
or to mitigate their punilhment. Moham-
1 See chap. 4./. 62, and 64.
med was for fo ftri£t and impartial an execution
of the laws, that he is reported to have faid*, I f
Fatema the daughter o f Mohammed Jleal, let her
hand be Jlruck o ff2.
d Let fome o f the true believers be witneffes o f
their punijhment.] That is, Let the punilhment
be inflifted in public, and not in pfivateN; becaufe
the ignominy of it is more intolerable than
the fmart, and more likely to work a reformation
on the offender. Some fay there ought to be
three perfons prefent at the leaft; but others
think two, or even one, to be fufficient 3.
2 A l Beidawj, 3 Idem.