dead to life, and will write down their works which they {hall have fent before
them, and their footfteps which they Jhall have left behind them 8; and every
thing do we fet down in a plain regifter. Propound unto them as an example
the inhabitants of the city of Antioch, when the apoftles of J esus came
thereto b: when we fent unto them two of the faid apoftlesc; but they charged
them with impofture. Wherefore we {Lengthened them with a third J. And
they faid, Verily vie are fent unto you by God. 'The inhabitants anfwered,
Ye afe no other than men, as we are-, neither hath the Merciful revealed
any thing unto you: ye only publilh a lye. The apoftles replied, Our L ord
knoweth that we are really fent unto you : and our duty is only public
preaching. Thofe of Antioch faid, Verily we prefage evil from you: if ye
defift not from preaching, we will furely ftone you, and a. painful punilhmenc
{hall be infli&ed on you by us. The apoftles anfwered, Yoirr evil prefage is
with yourfelves ' : although ye be warned, will ye perfift in your errors ?
Verily ye are a people who tranfgreis exceedingly. And a Certain man f came
haftily
2 And the fdotftefs which they Jhall have left
behind them ;] As their good or evil example,
do&rine, pVi
bWhen the apoftles of Jesus came to Antioch ;]
T o explain this paffage, the commentators tell
the following ftory;
The people of Antioch being idolaters, Jesus
fent two of his difciples thither to preach to
them : and when they drew near the city, they
found Habib furnamed al Najjar, or- the carpenter,
feeding Iheep, and acquainted him with
their errand; whereupon he asked them what
proof they had of their veracity, and they told
him they could cure the fick, and the blind, and
the lepers; and to demonftrate the truth of what
they faid, they laid their hands on a child of his,
who was lick, and immediately reftored him to
health. Habib was convinced by this miracle,
and believed ; after which they went into the city
and preached the worlhip of one true G od,
curing a great number of people of feveral in-
. ftrmities: but at length, the affair coming to
the prince’s ear, he ordered them to be impri-
foned, for endeavouring to feduce the people.
When Jesus heard of this, he fent another of
his difciples, generally fvppofed to have been
Simon Peter ; who coming to Antioch, and appearing
as a . zealous idolater, foon infinuated
himfelf into the favour of the inhabitants and of
their prince, , and at length took an opportunity
to defire the prince would order the two perfons,
who, as he was informed, had been put in pri-
fon for broaching new opinions, to be brought
before him to be examined; and accordingly
they were brought: when Peter, having pre-
vioufly warned them to take no notice that they
knew him, asked them Who fent them; to
which they anfwered, G od, who had created
all things, and had no companion: he then required
fome convincing proof of their million,
upon which they reftored a blind perfon to his
fight, and performed fome other miracles, with
which Peter feemed not to be fatified, for that,
according to fome, he did the \ery fame miracles
himfelf, but declared that if their God
could enable them to raife the dead, he would
believe them ; which condition the two apoftles
accepting, a lad was brought who had been dead
feven days, and at their prayer? he was railed
to life, and thereuponPeter acknowledged himfelf
convinced, and ran and demolifhed the
idols, a great many of the people following him,
and embracing the true faith; but thofe who believed
not, were deftroyed by the cry of the
angel Gabriel p
e We fent unto them two apoftles ;] Some fay
thefe two were John and Paul; but others name
different perfons.
d A third;] viz. Simon Peter.
e Tour evil prefage is with yourfelves ;j i. e.
I f any evil befal you, it will be the confequence
of your own obftinacy and unbelief. See chap.
27. P* 3l 3- not. h.
f A certain man;] This was Habib al Najjar,
whofe.martyrdom is here deferibed: his.tomb
is ftill fhewn near Antioch, and is much vifited
by the Mohammedans
haftily from the farther parts of the city, and faid, O my .people, follow the
meffengers of God ; follow him who demandeth not any reward of you: for
thefe are rightly directed. * What reafon have I that I Ihould not worfhip XXIII. •
him who hath created me ? for unto him {hall ye return. Shall I take other
gods befides him ? If the Merciful be pleafed to afflift me, their interceffion
will not avail me at all, neither can they deliver me: then {hould I be in a
manifeft error. Verily I believe in your L ord ; wherefore hearken unto me.
But they Jlonedhim: and as he died, it was faid unto him, Enter thou into
paradife. , And he faid, O that my people knew how merciful G od hath
been unto me! for he hath highly honoured me. And we fent not down
againft his people, after they had Jlain him, an army from heaven, nor the
other inftruments of deftrullion which we fent down' on unbelievers in former
daysa •• there was only one cry of Gabriel from heaven, and behold, they became
utterly extindh O the mifery of men! No apoftlecometh unto them,
but they laugh him to fcorn. Do they not confider how many generations
we have deftroyed before them ? Verily they lhall not return unto them : but
all of them in general Jhall be affembled before us. One lign of the refur-
rellion unto them is the dead earthb: we quicken the fame by the rain,
and produce thereout various forts of grain, of which they eat. And we
make therein gardens of palm-trees, and vines ; and we caufe fprings to gulh
forth in the fame : that they may eat of the fruits thereof, and of the labour
of their hands. -Will they not therefore give thanks ? Praife be unto him
who hath created all the different kinds, both of vegetables, which the earth
bringeth forth, and of their own fpecies, by forming the two fexes, and allb the
various forts of things which they know not. The night alfo is a fiern unto
them : we withdraw the day from the fame, and behold, they are covered
with darknefs : and the fun hafteneth to his place of reft c. This i-s the difpo-
fition of the mighty, the wife God. And for the moon have we appointed
I® certain manfionsd, until fhe change and return to be like the old branch of a
I palm-tree e. It is not expedient that the fun fhould overtake the moon in her
courfe -, neither doth the night outftrip the day : but each of thefe luminaries
tnoveth in a peculiar orbit. It is a fign alfo unto them, that we carry their
offspring in the {hip filled with merchandize 1 and that , we have made for
A a a 2 them
2 Nor the other inftruments of deftruElion, dred, The fun runneth his courfe without ceafin"
which we fent down on unbelievers in former and hath not a place of reft,
days;] As a deluge, or a fh'ower of ftones, or a d Certain manfions;] viz. Thefe are twenty
fuffocating wind, lAc. The words may alfo eight conftellations, through one of which the
be tranflated, Nor did we determine to fend down moon pafles every night, thence called the man-
fuch executioners o f our juftice. fions or houfes of the moon1.
b See chap. 29. p. 326. not. e. 'c Until fhe return to be like the branch of an
c The fun hafteneth to his place of reft;] That old palm-tree;] For when a palm-branch grows
is, he hafteneth to run his daily courfe : the fet- old, it lhrinks, and becomes crooked and yellow
ting of the fun refembling a traveller’s going to not ill reprefenting the appearance of the new
reft. Some copies vary in this place, and in- moon.
ftead of limoftakarrin laha, read la moftakarra laha; f That we carry their offspring in the fhip ftllaccording
to which the fentence Ihould be ren- ed with merchandize;] Some fuppofe that the
. « , „ , „ deliverance
1 See the Prelim. Difc. §. I. p. 31.