themother. ctrhvmiencies. like óhtó it % .whereon they *i<fc,. If: we plaafe, fos|
drown them, and there, is noné.tofoelp them ; . neither are they, delivered, un-
lefs through our mercy, :and that they may enjoy life for a feafoni When it
is faid unto them, Fear that'which is before you,, and thatwhich is-behind
youb, that ye may obtain mercy,; they withdraw'from the'e :.{anó. thou doit
not. bring them one flgn, of thé figns.. of, their L o r d , but they turn afi'de
from the*Came. : And when it is.-faid,unco them, Give alms of that which
Gon hath beftow.ed an you ; the. unbeliéveb fay unto, thofe who believe, {p
way of mockery, Shall we feed him whom Gon can Teed, : if he. pleafeth'? ,-Verily
ye are in no other than a manifeft error. And they fay, When will this
promife of the refurremon be fulfilled, if ye fpeak truth ? They only wait for
one founding ,of the trumpet\ which lhall overtake,them while they are-.difpitt-,
ina together. ; and-they lhall bmafo raake. any difpofition::.«/ïfór
effeHs°neither lhall they return: to,their family. And the:trumpet lhall be,
founded again ‘ ; and behold, they -lhall come .forth born. .their: graves,'; and.
haften unto their L ord. Theyf lhalhfay.,!- Alas,for us,F who hath awakened
us from our bedf ? This is what the Merciful promifed us ; and his apoftles
fpoke the truth. It lhall be but one, found of the: trumpet,, and behold,
theyiT&d^ be all alfembled- before us. É On this day no foul lhall be unjuftly,
treated' in the'lleaft ; neither -lhall ye be rewarded,, but .according; to.-,what ye-
ihal'1 have wrought. On this day. the: inhabitants;of iparadife Jfhall.be wholly
taken up with joy they and their wivesJhcdl. refi:in lhady grbvesi -leaning
on-magnificent couches. There lhall: they; havoifruif,- and they Thall obtain
whatever they dhall defire. Peace Jh all be the word, fpoken unto iherighte-
ous, by a merciful L ord : but he Jh&ll fay unto, the wicked, Be ye leparated
this’ day, O ye wicked, ,from the righteous. Did.I,not command you, Q Tons
of A d am, . that ye. Ihould .not worlhip Sa t a n :; : becaufe,:he Biropen
enemy unt’o-you ?-. And did-I wtijay,. Worlhip t te r thip b the yighfcway ?
But now hath he.feduced a great multitude of you : did yehot thew.for'e.iin-. $
der-ftand ? This is hell, with which ye: were, threatened : bé ye call into
the fame this day, to be burned ; for that: ye ■ have been, unbelievers. I On
this day we will leal up their, mouths, that they JhaW not open them in. their
own defence ', and their hands' lhall fpeak. unto us, and their Teef ;lhalT bear
deliverance of; Met end his companions in the. G od could p'fovidefior.them, -as they,imagined,
art is here intended and then the words ihould. and did not, it was an argument that they, de-
betranflated - That we carried’ their progeny in ferved not his. favour fo well as themielves:
the ark filled with lining creatures. whereas G o'd permto feme to. be in-wanty to
» other, emenienties like Unto iti] As camels, try the rich and exercife. their charity. ■ m
which are the land-Jhipfi or lpfler: veffels and’, * See the Prelim. Difc. §,, IV. p,, 82, 83-
boats. and the notes to chapv 3,9. ■ I
b Fear that which if before you, and that which " See ibid. Raj ■ • - ' ■ v 1 V
behind iou ; 1 t *. The UUniihment of this, 1 Who hath awakened us, from, our led f} -Jot.-
world and of the,next. . . - they ih*ll deep, .during,the interval
e Shall we feed him whom G od can feed i f there two blafts o f ; the trumpet, and lhall ieel
he pleafes P] When the poor Mofiems asked alms no pain 1.
e f the richer Korefjb, they told, them that if.
witnefs of that which they have committeda. If we pleafed we could put out
their eyes, and they might run with emulation in the way they ufe to tak e ;
and how Ihould they fee their error ? And if we pleafed we could transform
them into other Jhapes, in their places .where they fihould be found-, and they
Ihould not be able to depart: neither ihould they repenth Unto whomfoever we
grant a long life, him do we caufe tefbow down bis body through age. Will
they not therefore underftahd ? We have not taught M o h am m ed the art of
poetry • ; nor is it expedient for him to fie a poet. This book is no other
than an admonition from God, and a perfpicuous K oran ; that he may warn
him who is-living d: and the fentence of condemnation will be juftly executed
on the unbelievers. Do they hot cdnfi.der that we have created for them,
among the things which our hands have wrought, cattle of feveral kinds, of
which they are poffeffors; - and that we have put the fame in fubjection under
them ? Some of them are for their riding ; and on fome of them do they feed:
and they.receive other advantages therefrom ; and of their milk do they drink.
Will-they not-, therefore, be thankful? They hake taken other gods, befides
G od, in hopes that they may be afiifted by them ; but they are not able to
give them any affiftance : yet are they a party of troops ready to defend them.
Let not their fpeech, therefore, grieve thee : we know tha.t which they privately
conceal, and that which they publickly difeover. Doth not man know
that we have created him of. feed ? yet behold, he is an open difputer againfi
their,efurreftion ; and he: propoundefh unto us a companion, and forgetteth
his creation. • He. faith, Who-lhall reftore bones to life, when they are rotten
' ? Anfwer, He lhall reftore .them to life, who produced them the firft
timer for. he is lkilled in every kind of creation : who giveth you fire out of
the green tree f, and behold, ye kindle your fewel from thence,' Is not he who
hath created .thebeavens and the earth,able. to create newcreatures like unto'
them ? Yea certainly/: for he b the wife Creator. His command, when he
v.-ilieth a thing, .».only that he, faith unto it, Be ; and it is,- Whyefore
praife be unto him, in whole hand is the kingdom of all things, and unto
whom ye lhall return at the lajl day.
1 .See the Prelim.. Difc-.. IV. p. 8$.
b I f we pleafed we could put out their eyes, &c.]
That is, They del'erve to be thus treated for
their infidelity and difobedience ; .but.we bear
with them out, of mercy, and grant them
refpit. , '
, ‘ We have not taught Mohammed the art of
poetryi] This is in anfwer to the infidels, who
pretended the Koran was only a poetical compofi-
tior).: / f.
d Him who is living,] i. e. Indued with un-
C H A P .
derftanding ; the liupid and carelefs being like
dead peffons 1.
c See chap. 16. p. 215. not. a.
f Who giveth you fire out of the green tree.]
The ufuai way of ftriki-ng fire in the eaft, is by
rubbing together two pieces of wood, one of
which is commonly of the tree called Markh,
and the other of that called Afar : and it will
fucceed even though the wood be green and
wet
' 1 xI/Beidawi. 1 V. Hyde, i t Ret. Pet. Petf . c. iy . p. 333, &c.