it not. ^And Tee what was the Hue of their plota : we utterly deftfoyed them
and their whole people; and thefe their habitations remain empty, becaufe of
the injuftice which they committed. Verily herein is a fign, unto people who
underftand. And we delivered thofe who believed, and feared God. And re-
member L o t ; when he faid unto his people, Do ye commit a wickednefs
though ye fee the bainoufnefs thereof? Do ye approach luftfully unto men"
XX. leaving the women ? Ye are furely an ignorant people. * But the anfwer of
his people was no other than that they faid, Call the family of L o t out of
your city : for they are men who preferve themfelves pure from the crimes of
which ye are guilty. Wherefore we delivered him and his family, except his
wife, whom we decreed to be one of thofe who remained behind to be'deftroy-
ed. And we rained on them a (hower of ftones : and dreadful was the fhower
which fell on thofe who had been warned in vain b / Say, Praife be unto God j
and peace be upon his fervants whom he hath chofen ! Is G o d more worthy, or
the falfe gods which they affociate with him? Is not he to be preferred, who
hath created the heavens and the earth, and fendeth down rain for you from
heaven, whereby we caufe delicious groves to fpring up ? It is not in your
power to caufe the trees thereof to fhoot forth. Is there any other god
partner with the true G o d ? Verily thefe are a people who deviate from the
truth. Is not he more worthy to be adored, who hath eftablifhed the earth, and
hath caufed rivers to flow through the midft thereof, and placed thereon immovable
mountains, and fet a bar between the two feas' ? Is there any other
god equal with the true G o d ? Yet the greater part of them know it not
Is not he more worthy who heareth the afflidtedd, when he calleth upon him,
and taketh off the evil which dijlrejfed him; and who hath made you the fuc-
ceffors of your forefathers in the earth? Is there any other god who can It
equalled with the true G o d ? How few confider thefe things ! Is not he more
worthy who diredleth you in the dark paths of the land and of the feaand
who fendeth the winds driving abroad the clouds, as the forerunners of his
mercy* ? Is there any other god who can be equalled with the true G o d ? F a r
be G o d from having thofe partners in his power, which ye afiociate with bin!
Is not he more worthy, who produceth a creature, and after it hath been dead
reftoreth it to life ; and who giveth you food from heaven and earth ? Is there
any other god with the true G o d , who doth this ? Say, Produce your proof
thereof, if ye fpeak truth. Say, None either in heaven or earth knoweth that
which
rock, which fell down at the mouth of the ftraits,
fo that they perifhed there in a miferable manner.
b See chap. 7. p. 126, and chap. 11. p- 184-
c See chap. 25. p. 300. The word barzakb
is not ufed here, but another of equivalent import.
A The afflifted;] Literally, Him who is driven
by diftrefs to implore G od’s afliftance.
f See chap. 7. p. 122, and chap. 25. p. 3°®’
a See what was the ijjue o f their plot;] It is
related that Saleh, and thofe who believed on
him, ufually meeting to pray in a certain narrow
place between the mountains, the infidels faid,
He thinks to make an end o f us after three days f ,
but we w ill be before-hand with him; and that a
party of them went dire&ly to the ftraits above-
mentioned, thinking to execute their defign, but
were terribly difappointed; for, inftead of catching
the prophet, they were caught themfelves,
their retreat being cut off by a large piece of
1 See thap. 7. p.. 125. not. c.
which is hidden, befides God: neither do they underftand when they ftiall
be raifed. However their knowledge attaineth fome notion of the life to
come*: yet-they are in an uncertainty concerning the fame; yea, they are
blind as to the real circumfiances thereof. And the unbelievers fay, When
we and our fathers lhall have been reduced to duft, Ihall we be taken forth
f r o m the grave? Verily we have been threatened with this, both we. and our
fathers, heretofore. This is no other, than fables of the ancients. Say unto
them, Pafs through the earth, and fee what hath been the end of the wicked.
And be not thou grieved for them ; neither be thou in any concern on account
of the plots which they are contriving againfi thee. And they fay,
When will this threat be accotnplijhed, if ye fpeak true ? Anfwer, Peradven-
ture fome part of that punijhment, which ye defire to be haftened, may follow
clofe behind you : verily thy L ord is endued with indulgence towards
mankind ; but the greater part of them are not thankful. Verily thy L ord
knoweth what their breafts conceal, and what they difcover : and there is nothing
hidden in heaven or on earth, but it is written in a clear book. Verily
this Koran declareth unto the children of I s r a e l mod of thole points concerning
which they difagreé b : and it is certainly a direction, and a mercy
unto the true believers. Thy L ord will decide the controverfy between them,
by his definitive fentence : and he is the mighty, the wife. Therefore put
thy truft in God ; for thou art in the manifeft truth. Vèrily thou fhalt not
make the dead to hear, neither fhalt thou make the deaf to hear thy call to
the true faith, when they retire and turn their backs : neither fhalt thou di-
reft the blind to extricate themfelves out of their error. Thou fhalt make none
to hear thee, except him who fhali believe in our figns : and they are wholly
refigned unto us: When the fentence fhali be ready to fall upon them, we
will caufe a beaftc to come forth unto them from out of the earth, which
fhali fpeak unto them d : verily men do not firmly believe in our figns. On
the day of refurreûion we will afTemble, out of every nation, a company
of thofe who fhali have charged our figns with falfhood ; and they fhali be
prevented from mixing together, until they fhali arrive at the place of judgment.
And God fhali fay unto thent, Have ye charged fny figns with falfhood, although
ye comprçhended them not with your knowledge? Or what; is .it that ye were
doing ? And the fentence of damnation fhali fall on them, for that they have
a tiled unjuftly : and they fhali not fpeak in their own excufe. Do they not
S f 2 ’ fee
* However their knowledge, attaineth fome no- , c A beafi ;] The Mohammedans call this beaft,
tion of the life to come: yet, &c.J Or the words whole-appearance will be-one- fign of the.ap-
may be tranflated- thus; Tea, their knowledge, proach of the day of judgment; a lja ffa fa for
faileth as to the life to come: yea, &c. the Spy. I have: given the defcription of her elfer
b Mojl o f thofe points concerning which, the, where'2 ; to which fhould be added, that Ihe is
difagree ;] Such as the comparing 'of God to to have two wings.
fenfible things, or to created beings ; the re- d Which Jhall fpeak unto them ;] Or, accord-
moving all imperfections from the defcription of ing to a different reading, {viz. taclimohom in-
the divine Being ; the Hate of paradife and hell Head of ncallimohom) who Jhall wound them 3.
the ftories of Ezra and Jesus C hrist, isle 1 •
’ A l Bsidawi, 1 Prelim, Di/c. §. IV. p. 79. & d ibid, p. S o . 3