who were Tent by us., When he faid unto his people, Do ye not fear G od?
Do ye invoke Baal, and forfake the mod excellent Creator? Gon is
your L o r d , and the L ord of your fore-fathers. But they accufed him of
impofture : wherefore they fhall be delivered up to eternal punijhment ; except
the fincere fervants of G o d . And we left the following falutation to be
beftowed on him by the lateft pofterity, namely, Peace be on IlyasinM
Thus do we reward the righteous: for he was one of our faithful fervants.
And L o t -was alfo one of thofe who were fent by us. When we delivered
him and his whole family, except an old woman, his wife, who perijhed a-
mong thofe that remained behind: afterwards we deftroyed the othersk.
And ye, O people o f M e c c a , pafs by the places where they once dwelt, as ye
journey in the morning, and by night: will ye not therefore underhand?
Jonas was alfo one of thofe who were fent by us . When he fled d into the
loaded Ihip •, and thofe who were on board call: lots among themfelvesand
he was condemned ': and the fifh fwallowed him B j for he was worthy of
reprehenfion. And if he had not been owe of thofe who praifed G od h, verily
he had remained in the belly thereof until the day of refurredtion. And
we call: him on the naked Jhore, and he was fick ‘ : and we caufed a plant of
a gourdk to grow up over him ; .and we fent him to an hundred thouand
confound him with Phineas x, and fome-
times with Edris, or Enoch. Some fay he was
the fon of Yafin, and nearly related to Aaron ;
and others fuppofe him to have been a different
per fon. He was fent to the inhabitants of
Baalbet in Syria, the Heliopolis of the Greeks,
to reclaim them from the worfhip of their idol
Baal, or the fun, whofe name makes part of
that of the city, which was anciently called
Becc *.
a llyafim] The commentators do not well
know what to make of this word. Some think
it is the plural of Elias, or, as the Arabs write
it, Ilyas, and that both that prophet and his
followers, or thofe who refembled /him, are
meant thereby: others divide the word, and
read a l Yajin, i. e. the family of Yajin, who
was the father of Elias according to an opinion
mentioned above: and others imagine it
fignifies Mohammed, or the Koran, or fome other
book, of fcripture. But the moft probable con-
jefture is, that Ilyas and Ilydfin are the fame
name, or defign one and the fame perfon,
as Sinai and Sinin denote one and the fame
mountain ; the laft fyllable being added here,
to keep up the rhime, or cadence, at the clofe
o f the verfe.
b See chap. 7. p. 125, &c. and chap. 11. p.
183» &c.
1 See chap. 18 ./ . 245. not. a. 2 Ja l l a l .
p. 272. 1 A lB u d a w i . 6 Idem.
c See chap. 10. p. 174.
d See chap. 21. p. 272.
e They cafi lots j] A l Beidazvi fays the Ihip
flood (lock ftill, wherefore they concluded that
they had a fugitive fervant on board, and cad
lots to find him out.
f He was condemned»] i. e. He was taken by
the lot.
g The fijh fwallowed him ;]' When the lot fell
on Jonas, he cried out, I am the fugitive',
and immediately threw himfelf into the lea3.
h One of thofe who praifed G od ;] The words
feem to relate particularly to Jonas's fuppliqation
while in the whale’s belly !f.
* He was fick ;] By reafon of what he had
fuffered; his body becoming like that of a newborn
child1. It is faid that the fifh, after it
had fwallowed Jonas, fwam after the fhip with
its Head above water, that the prophet might
breathe; who continued to praife G od till the
fifh came to land, and vomited him out.
The opinions of the Mohammedan writers,
as to the time Jonas continued in the filh’s
belly, differ very much: fome fuppofe it was
a part of a day ; others three days, others feven,
others twenty, and others forty
’ k A gourd i] The original word properly fignifies
a plant which fpreads it felf upon the
ground, having no ereft ftalk or ftem to fup-
\ port
A l Beidawi. 3 Iidem. 4 See chap. 21.
fand perfons, or they were a greater number, and they believed : wherefore
we granted them to enjoy this life , for a feafon. Inquire of the
M e c c a n s whether thy L o r d hath daughters, and they fons * ? Have we
created the angels of the female fex ? and were they witnefies th e reof? Do
they not fay of their own falfe invention, G od hath begotten iffue ? and are
they not really liars? Hath he chofen daughters preferably to fons ? Ye
have noreafon to judge thus. Will ye not therefore be admonifhed ? Or have
ye a manifeft proof o f what ye fay ? Produce now your book o f revelations,
if ye fpeak truth. And they make him to be of kin unto the genii11;
whereas the genii know that they who affirm fuch things, fhall be delivered
up to eternal punijhment-, (far be that from G od, which they affirm o f h im !)
except the fincere fervants of G o d . Moreover ye and that which ye worfhip
fhall not feduce any concerning G o d , except him who is defined' to be burned
in hell. There is none of us, but hath an appointed place: we range
ourfelves in order, attending the commands o f G od -, and we celebrate the divine
praifec. The infidels faid, If we had been favoured with a book of
divine revelations, of thofe which were delivered to the ancients, we had
furely been fincere fervants of G od : yet now the K o r a n is revealed, they
believe not therein ; but hereafter fhall they know the conference o f their
unbelief. Our word hath formerly been given unto our fervants the apoftles;
that they lhould certainly be affifted againft the infidels, and that our armies
fhould furely be the conquerors. Turn afide therefore from them,
for a feafon: and fee the calamities which Jhall a jfiill them ; for they fhall
fee thy fu tu r e fuccefs and profperity. Do they therefore feek to haften our
vengeance ? Yerily when it fhall defcend into their courts, an evil morning
Jhall it be unto thofe who were warned in vain. Turn afide from them
therefore for a feafon ; and fee : hereafter fhall they fee thy fuccefs and their
punijhment. Praife be unto thy L o r d , the L o rd who is far exalted above
B b b 2 what
port i t ; and particularly a gourd: tho’ fome imagine
Jonas's plant to have been a fig ; and others
t-he fmall tree or fhrub called Mauz 1, which
bears very large leaves, and excellent fruit *.
The commentators add, that this plant withered
the next morning, and that Jonas being much
concerned at it, G od made a remonftrance to
him in behalf of the Ninivites, agreeable to what
is recorded in fcripture.
a See chap. 16. p. 218.
h The Genii i] That is, the angels, who are
alfo comprehended under the name of genii,
being a fpecies of them. Some fay that the
infidels went fo far as to affert that G od and
the devil were brothers 3 ; which blafphemous
cxpreifion may have been occafioned by the
magian notions.
c There is none of us, but hath an appointed
place, &c.] Thefe words are fuppofed to be
fpoken by the angels, difclaiming the worfhip
paid to them by the idolaters, and declaring
that they have each their ftation and office appointed
them by G od , whofe commands they
are at all times ready to execute, and whofe
praifes they continually fing. There are fome
expofitors, however, who think they are the
words of Mohammed and his followers; the
meaning being, that each of them has a place defined
for him in paradife, and that they are the
men who range themfelves in order before
G od, to worfhip and pray to him, and *vho
celebrate his praife, by rejedting every falfe notion
derogatory to the divine wifdom and
power.
1 Idem. 2 V. J. L eon. Defer. Afric. lib. 9. G a b . S i o n i t . ^ Urb. Oriejit. ad calcemGeogr.
Nub. p. 55. H o t t i n c e r . Hifi. Orient, p. 78, £pV. 3 ^ / B e i d a w i .