3° 2 Al K O R A N . C h a p . 26.
ever: it ihail be an excellent abode, and a delightful ftation. Say, My
L o r d is not follicitous on your account, if ye do not invoke him : ye have
already charged his apoftle with impofture 5 but hereafter fhall there be a
lafting punilhment in f i lle d on you.
C H A P . XXVI.
Int tiled, T h e P o e t s a ; revealed at M e c c a b.
In th e n am e o f th e m o f t m e r c ifu l G o d .
T. S. M '. Thefe are the figns of the perfpicuous book. Peradventure
thou afflifteft thy felf unto death, left the M e ccan s become not true
believers. If we pleafed, we could fend down unto them a convincing fien
from heaven, unto which their necks would humbly fubmit. But there
cometh unto them no admonition from the Merciful, being newly revealed
as occaftons require, but they turn afide from the fame ; and they have charged
it with falfhood: but a mefiage ihail come unto them, which they fhall
not laugh to fcorn. Do they not behold the earth, how many vegetables we
caufe to fpring up therein, of every noble fpecies ? Verily herein is a fign:
but the greater part of them do not believe. Verily thy L o r d is the
mighty, the merciful G od. Remember when thy L o r d called M o s e s ,
faying, Go to the unjuft people, the people of P h a r a o h s will they not
dread me ? M oses anfwered, O L o r d , verily I fear left they accufe me of
falfhood, and left my breaft become ftraitened, and my tongue be not ready
in /peaking *: fend therefore unto A a r o n , to be my affiftant. Alfo they have
a crime to objebl againft me' ; and I fear they will put me to death. ' G od faid,
'They fh a ll by no means p u t thee to death : wherefore go ye with our fio-ns ;
for we w ill be with you, and w ill hear what pa/fes between you and them. G o ye
therefore unto P h a r a o h , and fay, Verily we are the apoftlef of the L o r d of
all creatures : fend away with us the children of I s r a e l . And when they had
delivered their mejfage, P haraoh anfwered, Have we not brought thee up
among us, when a child ; and haft thou not dwelt among us for fe v e rd
years of thy life * ? Yet haft thou done thy deed which thou haft done: and thou
art
a The chapter bears this infcription, becaufe
at the conclufion of it the Arabian poets are fe-
verely cenfured.
b The five laft verfes, beginning at thefe
words, And tbofe who err follow the poets, &c. fome
take to have been revealed at Medina.
c See the Prelim. Difc. §. III. p. 59, & c.
'd See chap. 20. p. 257.
e A crime i] viz. The having killed an Egyptian
*.
f The Apoftle j] The word is in the Angular
number in the original; for which the commentators
give feveral reafons.
g For feveral years;] It is faid that Mofes
dwelt among the Egyptians thirty years, and
then went to Midiany where he ftaid ten years;
after which he returned to Egypte and {pent
thirty years in endeavouring to convert them *
and that he lived after the drowning of Pbaraob
fifty years 2. •
C h a p . 26. A l K O R A N 3 0 3
art an ungrateful perfon. M oses replied, I did it indeed, and I was one
of thofe who erred *; wherefore I fled from you, becaufe I feared you : but
my L o r d hath beftowed on me wifdom, and hath appointed me one of his
apoftles. And this is the favour which thou haft beftowed on me, that thou
haft enflaved the children of I s r a e l . P h a r a o h faid, And who is the L o r d
of all creatures ? M oses anfwered, The L o r d of heaven and earth, and of
whatever is between them : if ye are men of fagacity. P haraoh faid unto
thofe who were about him, Do ye not hear? M oses faid, Your L o r d , and
the L o r d of your forefathers. P haraoh faid unto thofe who were prefent,
Your apoftle, who is fent unto you, is certainly diftrafted b. M oses faid,
The L o r d of the eaft, and of the weft, and of whatever is between them ;
if ye are men of underftanding. P haraoh faid unto him, Verily if thou take
any god befides me c, I will make thee one of thofe who are imprifoned*.
M oses anfwered, What, although I come unto you with a convincing miracle ?
P haraoh replied, Produce it therefore, if thou fpeakeft truth. And he call
down his rod, and behold, it became a vifible ferpent: and he drew forth his
hand out o f his bofom ; and behold, it appeared, white unto the fpeftators.
P haraoh faid unto the princes who were about him, Verily this man is a
ikilful magician : he feeketh to difpofiefs you of your land by his forcery ; what
therefore do ye direft ? They anfwered, Delay him, and his brother by good
words fo r a time ; and fend through the cities men to aflfemble and bring unto
thee every Ikilful magician. So the magicians were aflembled at an appointed
time, on a folemn day. And it was faid unto the people, Are ye
aflembled together ? Perhaps we may follow the magicians, if they do get the
viftory. And when the magicians were come, they faid unto P h a r a o h ,
Shall we certainly receive a reward, if we do get the viftory ? He anfwered,
Yea ; and ye fhall furely be of thofe who approach my perfon. M o s e s faid
unto them, Caft down what ye are about to caft down. Wherefore they
call down their ropes and their rods, and faid, By the might of P h a r a o h ,
verily we /hall be the conquerors. And M o s e s caft down his rod, and behold,
it fwallowed up that which they had caufed falfely to appear changed into
ferpents. Whereupon the magicians proftrated themfelves, worfhipping, and
faid, We believe in the L o r d of all creatures, the L o r d of M o s e s and of
A a r o n . P haraoh faid unto them, Have ye believed on him, before I
have
a I was one o f tbofe zobo erred;] Having killed
the Egyptian undefignedly.
b Tour apoftle is diftrafted;] Pbaraob, it feems,
thought Mofes had given but wild anfwers to
his queftion ; for he wanted to know theperfon
and true nature of the G od whofe mellenger
Mofes pretended to be; whereas he fpoke of his
works only. And becaufe this anfwer gave fo
little fatisfa&ion to the king, he is therefore fup-
pofed by' fome to have been a Dabrite, or one
who believed the eternity of the world 1.
c I f thou take any god befides me j] From this
and a parallel exprefiion in the 28th chapter, it is
inferred that Pbaraob claimed the worlhip of his
fubjedls, as due to his fupreme power.
J I w ill make tbee one o f tbofe who are imprifoned
;] Thefe words, fays a l Beidawi, were a
more terrible menace than if he had faid I w ill
imprifon tbee ; and gave Mofes to underftand that
he muft expedt to keep company with thofe
wretches whom the tyrant had thrown, as was
his cuftom, into a deep dungeon, where they
remained till they died.
1 Idem.