ment ; but the life to come is the manfion of firm, continuance. Whoever work-
eth evil, fhall only be rewarded in equal proportion to the fame : but whoever
worketh good, whether male or female, and is a true believer, they fhall
enter paradife •, they fhall be provided for therein fuperabundantly. And, O
mv people, as for me, I invite you to falvationj but ye invite me to hell
fire • ye invite me to deny G o d , and to aflociate with him that whereof I
have no knowledge •, but I invite you to the moft mighty, the_ forgiver of
fins. There is no doubt but that the falfe gods to which ye invite me, deserve
not to be invoked, either in this world or in the next; and that we mull:
return unto G od ; and that the tranfgreffors fhall be the inhabitants of hell
fire • and ye fhall then remember what I now fay unto you. And I commit my
’ affair unto G od : for G od regardeth his fervants. Wherefore G od delivered
him from the evils which they had devifed •, and a grievous pumfhment en-
compaffed the people of P h a r a o h \ They fhall be expofed to the fire of
hell morning and evening”: and the day whereon the hour of judgment fhall
come, it fhall be faid unto them, Enter, O people of P h a r a o h , into a moft
fevere torment. And think on the time when the infidels fhall difpute together
in hell fire •, and the weak fhall fay unto thofe who behaved with arrogancec,
Verily we were your followers : will ye, therefore, relieve us from any part
of this fire? Thofe who behaved with arrogance fhall anfwer, Verily we are
all doomed to fuffer therein : for G od hath now judged between his fervants.
And they who fhall be in the fire, fhall fay unto the keepers of helld, Call ye
on your L o r d , that he would eafe us, for one day, from this punifhment.
They fhall anfwer, Did not your apoftles come unto you with evident proofs ?
They fhall fay, Yea. The keepers fhall reply, Do ye therefore call on G od :
but the calling of the unbelievers on him fhall be only in vain. We will furely
afiift our apoftles, and thofe who believe, in this prefent life, and on the day
whereon the witneffes fhall ftand forth : a day, whereon the excufe of tjje unbelievers
fhall not avail them; but a curfe fhall attend them, and a wretched
abode. We heretofore gave unto M oses a dire&ion: and we left as an inheritance
unto the children of Is r a e l the book of the law; a diredtion, and
an admonition to men of underftanding. Wherefore do thou, O prophet,
bear the infults of the infidels with patience ; for the promife of G od is truss
and ask pardon for thy fault | ; and celebrate the praife of thy L o r d , A
* J grievous punijhment encompajfed the people of
Pharaoh;] Some are of opinion that thofe who
were fent by Pharaoh to feize the true believer,
his kinfman, are the perfons more particularly
meant in this place : for they tell us, that the
faid believer fled to a mountain, where they
found him at prayers, guarded by the wild beafts,
which ranged themfelves- in order about him ;
and that his purfuers thereupon returned in a
great fright to their matter, who put them to
death for not performing his command *.
b qfhey fhall he expofed to hell fire morning and
evening ;] Some expound thefe words of the pTe*
vious punilhment they are doomed to fuffer, according
to a tradition of Ebn Mafud ; which informs
us, that their fouls are in the crqps of
black birds, which are expofjd to hell fire every
morning and evening until the day of judgment
*.
c See chap. 14. p. 207. riot. a.
d See chap. 74.
e Ask pardon for thy fault',] In being too backward
and negligent in advancing- the true religion,
for fear of the infidels 3.
1 A l B è i d a w i . * Idem. 3 Idem.
the evening and in the morning. As to thofe who impugn the figns of G od,
without any convincing proof which hath been revealed unto them, there is
nothing but pride in their breafts“; but they fhall not attain their defire:
wherefore fly for refuge unto G od ; for it is he who heareth and feeth. Verily
the creation of heaven and earth is more confiderable than the creation of man :
but the greater part of men do not underftand. The blind and the feeing fhall
not be held equal; nor they who believe and work righteoufnefs, and the evildoer
: how few revolve thefe things in their mind 1 The lajl hour will furely
come ; there is no doubt thereof: but the greater part of men believe it not.
Your L o r d faith, Call upon me; and I will hear you: but they who proudly
difdain my fervice, fhall enter with ignominy into hell. It is G od who hath
appointed the night for you to take your reft therein, and the day to give
you light: verily G od is endued with beneficence towards mankind ; but the
greater part of men do not give thanks. This is God, your L o r d ; the
Creator of all things: there is no G od befides him : how therefore are ye
turned afide from his worfhip ? Thus are they turned afide, who oppofe
the figns of God. It is G od who hath given you the earth for a liable
floor, and the heaven for a cieling: and who hath formed you, and made
your forms beautiful; and feedeth you with good things. This is G o d ,
your L o r d . Wherefore blefied be G od, the L o r d of all creatures 1 He is
the living God : there is no G od but he. Wherefore call upon him, exhibiting
unto him the pure religion. Praife be unto G o d , the Lord of all
creatures! Say, Verily I am forbidden to worfhip the deities which ye invoke,
befides G o d , after that evident proofs have come unto me from my
L ord ; and I am commanded to refign myfelf unto the L ord of all creatures.
It is he who firfi created you of duft, and afterwards of feed, and afterwards
of coagulated blood ; and afterwards brought you forth infants out of your
mother# wombs: then he permitteth you to attain your age of full ftrength,
and afterwards to grow old men, (but fome of you die before that age,) and
to arrive at the determined period of your lifeb; that peradventure ye may
underftand. It is he who giveth life, and caufeth to die: and when he de-
creeth a thing, he only faith unto it, Be, and it is. Doft thou not obferve
thofe who difpute againft the figns of G od, how they are turned afide from
the true faith ? They who charge with falfhood the book of the K oran , and
the other fenptures and revealed doftrines which we fent our former apoftles to
preach, fhall hereafter know their folly ; when the collars fhall be on their
necks, and the chains by which they fhall be dragged into hell: then fhall they
be burned in the fire. And it fhall be faid unto them, Where are the gods
which ye aflociated, befides G od ? They fhall anfwer, They have with-
. D d d 2 drawn
1 As to tbofe who impugn thef i r e s of G od, & c.] Ibis man is not our lord, hut the Meflias the fon
I This fentence may be underftood generally; Cho’ of David, wbofe kingdom w ill be extended over
it was revealed on account of the idolatrous fea and land1.
Meccans, or of the Jews, who faid of Mohammed, • b See chap. 22. p. 274,
1 Idem.