little while’ ; and we vere the inheritors o f their wealth'., . But. thy L ord
did^.'riot deftroy thofe. cities, until he had lent unto their capital an apoftle
to rehearfe our figns unto them : neither did we deftroy thofe cities, unlefs
their inhabitants were injurious to their apoftle. The things which are given
you, are the provifions of this prefent life, and the pomp thereof; but that
which is with G o d , is better and more durable: will ye not therefqre under-
ftand ? Shall he then, unto whom we have promifed an excellent promife
o f fu tu r e happinefs, and who fhall attain the fame, he as he on whom we
have bellowed the provifionof this prefent life, and who, on the day ofre-
furreftion, fh a ll he one of thofe who are delivered up to eternal punifhment ?
On that day G od fhall call unto them, and fhall fay, Where are my partners,
which ye, imagined to be fo ? And they upon whom the fentence of
damnation fhall be jutlly pronounced, fhall anfwer, Thefe, O L ord, are
thofe whom we . feduced ; we 'feduced them as we alfo. had been feduc.ed:
hut now we clearly quit them, and turn unto thee. They did not wor-
fbip us, hut their own tufts ". And it fhall be faid unto the idolaters. Call
now upon thofe whom ye affociated with G od : and they fhall call upon
them, but they fhall not anfwer them; and they fhall fee the punifhment prepared
fo r them, and fh a ll wifh that they had fubmitted to be direfted.
On that day G od fhall call unto them, and fhall fay, What anfwer did ye
return to our meffengers ? But they fhall not be able to give an account
the reof on that dayd; neither fhall they afk one another fo r information,
Howbeit whofo fhall repent and believe, and fhall do that which is right,
may expeft to be happy. Thy L ord createth what he pleafeth ; and choofeth
freely: but they have no free choice. Praife be unto G od ; and far be he
removed from the idols which they affociate with him ! Thy L ord knowetli
both the fe cr et malice which their breafts conceal, and the open hatred which they
difeover. He is G o d ; there is no G od but he! Unto him if the praife
due, both in this life and in that which is to come : unto him doth judgment
belong ; and before him fhall ye be affembled at the laft day. Say,
What think ye ? If G od fhould cover you with perpetual, night, until the
day of refurreftion; what god, betides G o d , would bring you light? Will
ye not therefore hearken ? Say, What think ye ? If G od fhould give you
continual day, until the day of refurreftion ; what god, befides G od, would
brine you night, that ye might reft therein ? Will ye not therefore confi-
der ? Of his mercy he hath made for you the night and the day, that ye
may reft in the one, and may feek to obtain provifion fo r your fellies‘of
his abundance, by your indufiry, in the o th e r ; and that ye may give thanks.
On a certain day G od fhall call unto .them, and fhall fay. Where are my
-partners, which ye imagined to Jh are the divine power with me ? And we
» Xjnlefifar a little white ;].Thatis, Tor a day,'
or a few hours only, while travellers ftay there
to reft and refrefti themfclvcs ; or, as the ori-
oinal' may alfo fignify, unleft by a few inhabitants:
fotne of thofe ancient cities and'dwellings being
utterly defolate, and others thinly inhabited,
* IVe were the inheritors o f their wealth;] There
being none left jo enjoy it after them,
y See chap, ip.' p, 169.
& .They ifia ll not be able .to give, on. ,account
thereof;] Literally,1 The account thereof {ball be
dark unto them» for thé'cöhftëfnatióq they lhall
tbeji be under, will render them ftupid, and un-
'ablë'to return an anfwer.
williproduce a witnels out of every nation’; and-will.fay, Bring hither your
proof 'of whàt ye havé ajfèrted. ■ And they fhall know that the right is G o d ’ s
done ’, and the deities which they have devifed fhall abandon them. K a r u n
was of the people of M oses b ; but he behaved infolently towards them : for
we had given him fo much treafure, that his keys would have loaded feveral
ftrong men c. When his people faid unto him, Rejoice hot immoderately ; for
God loveth not thofe who rejoice.in their riches immoderately : but feek to attain,
by .means of the wealth which G od hath given thee, the future manfion o f
paradife d. And forget not thy portion in this world ; but be thou bounteous
unto others, as G od hath been bounteous unto thee : and feek not to aft corruptly
in the earth ; for G o d loveth not the corrupt doers. He anfwered,
I have received thefe riches, only becaufe of the knowledge which is with me
Did he not know that G od had already deftroyed, before him, feveral generations,
who were mightier than he in ftrength, and had amaffed more abun-
T
a A witnefs out o f every nation»] viz. The
prophet who lhall have been lent to each na-
tion.
b Karun was o f the people o f Mofes;] The
commentators fay, Karun was the (on of Yejhar
(or Izhar) the uncle óf Mofes ; and confequent-
ly make him the fame with the Korah of the
feriptures. This perfon is reprefented by them
as the moft beautiful of the Ifraelites, and lo far
furpaffing them all in opulency, that the
riches of Karun have become a proverb. The
Mohammedans are indebted to the Jews for this
laft circumftance, to which they have added feveral
other fables: for they'tell us that he built
a large palace overlaid with gold, the doors
whereof were of malfy gold; that he became
lo infolènt, becaufe of his immenfe riches, as to
raife a fedition againft Mofes; tho’ fome pretend
the occafipn of his rebellion to have been his
unwillingnefs to give alms, as Mofes had commanded
; that one day, when that prophet was
preaching to the people, and, among other
laws which he publilhed, declared that adulterers
fhould'be fl;oned, Karun asked him, what if he
fhould be found guilty'óf the fame crime ? to
which Mofes ’anfwered, that fiT fuch cafe he
would fuffer thé fame punifhment-; and thereupon
Karun produced a harlot, whom he had
hired to fwear that Mofes had lain with her, and
charged him publickly with i t ; but onMofes's adjuring
the woman to fpeak the truth, her refo-
lution failed her, and fhe confeffed that flie was
fuborned by Karun to accufe him wrongfully;
that then G od directed Mofes, who had com-
1 Abu’lfeda, J allalo’ddin, ^ /B eidawi
Ribl. Orient. Art. Carun. 3 Luke xvi.
1 .Jallalo’ddin, ^ / J 3eidawi.
2 - dance
plained to him of this ufage, to command the
earth what, he pleafed, and it fhould obey
him; whereupon he faid, O earth, fwallow them
up / and that immediately the earth opened under
Karun and his- confederates, and fwallowed
them up, with his palace and all his riches
There,goes a tradition, that as Karun funk gradually
into the ground, fir ft to his- knees, then
to his waift, then to his ne&c, btf cried out four
feveral times; O Mofes, have mercy on me ! but
that Mofes continued to fay, O earth, fw allow
them up, till at laft he wholly difappeared: upon
which G od faid to Mofes, Thou h'adjl 'no mercy
on Karun, tho' he asked pardon o f thee four times ',
but I would have had compafjton on him, i f he had
•asked pardon o f me but once:z.
c Several men;] The original wprd properly
fignifies any number of perfons from ten to forty.
Some pretend thefe keys were a fufficient
load for feventy men; and Abulfeda fays forty
mules ufed to be employed to carry them.
d This paflage is parallel to that in the New
Teftament, Make to yourfelves friends o f the
mammon o f unrighteoufnefs; that when ye fa il,
they may receive you into everlafting habitations 3.
e Becaufe o f the knowledge which is with me ;1
For fome fay he was the moft learned of all the
Ifraelites, and the beft verfed in the law, after“
Mofes and Aaron; others pretend he was skilled
in chymiftry, or in merchandizing, or other
arts of gain; and others fuppofe (as the Jews
alfo fable 4,) that he found out the treafures of
Jofeph in Egypt5.,
, & c . * A l Betdawi. V . D ’H er b e l .
^ -F. iR: G hedal. Shalfh. hakkab. p. 13.