him who hath beftowed on you that which ye know: he hath bellowed on
you cattle, and children, and gardens, and fprings of water. Verily I fear for
you the punifhment of a grievous day. They anfwered, It is equal unto
us whether thou admonilh us, or doll not admonilh us : this which thou
preacbeft is only a device of the ancients ; neither lhall we be punilhed for what
we have done. And they accufed him of impofture: wherefore we dellroyed
them. Verily herein was a fign: but the greater part of them believed not
Thy L o rd is the mighty, the merciful. The tribe of T h am u d alfo charged
the meflengers of G od with falfhood. When their brother S a l e h faid unto
them, Will ye not fear G od ? Verily I am a faithful meflenger unto you;
wherefore fear G o d , and obey me. I demand no reward of you for m
preaching unto you ; I expeSl my reward from no other than the L o r d of all
creatures. Shall ye be left for ever fecure in the pojfefiion of the things
which are here; among gardens, and fountains, and corn, and palm-trees,
whofe branches fheathe their flowers ? And will ye continue to cut habitations
for your felves out of the mountains, behaving with infolence a ? Fear G od,
and obey me ; and obey not the command of the tranfgreffors, who aft corruptly
in the earth, and reform not the fame. They anfwered, Verily thou
art diftrafted: thou art no other than a man like unto us : produce now feme
fign, if thou fpeakeft truth. S a l e h faid, This lhe-camel Jhall be a fign unto
you: lhe fhall have her portion of water, and ye lhall have your portion
of water alternately, on a fever al day appointed for youb; and do her no: hurt,
left the punifhment of a terrible day be inflifted on you. But they flew her;
and were made to repent of their impiety: for the punilhment which had beat
threatened overtook them. Verily herein was a fign; but the greater part
of them did not believe. Thy L o rd is the mighty, the merciful. The
people of L o t likewife accufed G od’ s meflengers of impofture. When their
brother L o t faid unto them, Will ye* not fear G od ? Verily I am a faithful
meflenger unto you: wherefore fear G o d , and obey me. I demand no reward
of you for my preaching: I expert my reward from no other than the L ord
of all creatures. Do ye approach unto the males among mankind, and leave
your wives which your L ord hath created for you ? Surely ye are people who
tranfgrefs. They anfwered, Unlefs thou defift, O L o t , thou lhalt certainty
be expelled our city. He faid, Verily I am yn'e of thole who abhor your
doings: O L o r d , deliver me, and my family, from that which they aft.
Wherefore we delivered him, and all his family •, except an old woman, his
wife, who perijhedamong thofe who remained behind: then we dellroyed the
reft ; and we rained on them a Ihower of ftones; and terrible was the Ihower
which fell on thofe who had been warned in vain. Verily herein was a fign ;
but the greater part of them did not-believe. Thy L o r d is the mighty,
the
* Behaving with infolence;] Or, as the original
word may alfo be rendred, Jhewing art and
ingenuity in your work.
b She Jhall have her portion o f water, and ye
jhall have your portion o f water alternately, on
a feveral day appointed for you ;J That is, They
were to have the ufe of the water by turns, the
camel drinking one day, and the fhamudites
drawing the other day; for when this camel
drank, fhe emptied the wells or brooks for that
day. .See chap. 7. p. 124.
the merciful. The inhabitants of the wood * alfo accufed G o d ’ s meflengers
of impofture. When S h o a ib faid unto them, Will ye not fear G od ? Verily
I am a faithful meflenger unto you : wherefore fear G o d , and obey me. I
alk no reward of you for my preaching : I expert my reward from no other
than the Lord of all creatures. Give juft meafure, and be not defrauders j and
weigh with an equal balance; and diminifh not unto men ought of their matters ■,
neither commit violence in the earth, afting corruptly. And fear him who
hath created you, and alfo the former generations. They anfwered, Certainly
thou art diftrafted : thou art no more than a man, like unto us ; and we do
furely efteem thee to be a liar. Caufe now a part of the heaven to fall upon
us, if thou fpeakeft truth. Shoaib faid, My L o r d bell knoweth that which
ye do. And they charged him with fallhood: wherefore the punilhment of
the day of the lhadowing cloud b overtook them ; and this was the punilh-
ment of a grievous day. Verily herein was a fign ; but the greater part of
them did not believe. Thy L o r d is the mighty, the merciful. This
book is certainly a revelation from the Lord of all creatures, which the faithful
fpiritc hath caufed to defcend upon thy heart, that thou mighteft be a preacher
to thy people, in the perfpicuous Arabic tongue: and it is born witnefs to in the
fcriptures of former ages. Was it not a fign unto them, that the wife men
among the children of I s r a e l knew it ? Had we revealed it unto any of the
foreigners, and he had read the fame unto them, yet they would not have believed
therein. Thus have we caufed obftinate infidelity to enter the hearts of
the wicked : they lhall not believe therein, until they fee a painful punilhment.
It lhall come fuddenly upon them, and they lhall not forefee it : and they
lhall fay, Shall we be relpited ? Do they therefore defire our punilhment to
be haftened d ? What thinkeft thou ? If we fuffer them to enjoy the advantage
of this life for feveral years, and afterwards that with which they are
threatened come upon them ; what will that which they have enjoyed profit
them ? We have dellroyed no city, but preachers were firft fent unto it, to
admonilh the inhabitants thereof •, neither did we treat them unjuftly. The devils
did not defcend with the K oran, as the infidels give out: it is not for their
purpofe, neither are they able to produce fuch a book ; for they are far removed
from hearing the difcourfe of the angels in heaven'. Invoke no other
god with the true G od, left thou become one of thofe who are doomed to
R r 2 I punilhment.
a See chap. 15. p. 213. Shoaib being not called
the brother of thefe people, which would have
preferved the conformity between thispafTage and
the preceding, it has been thought they were not
Midian iteS y but of another race: however we find
the prophet taxes them with the fame crimes as
he did thofe of Midian 1.
b The Jhadowing cloud.] G od firft plagued them
with fuch intolerable heat for feven days, that
all their waters were dried up; and then brought
a cloud over them, under whofe fliade they rai£
and were all deftroyed by a hot wind and fire
which proceeded from it 2.
c The fa ith ful fp ir it;] i e. Gabrieli who is
intrufted with the divine fecrets and revelations.
d Do they defire our punifhment to be haftened?]
The infidels were continually defying Mohammed
to bring fome fignal and miraculous deftruc-
tion on them, as a Ihower of ftones, £3V.
e See chap. 15. p. 211.