4-0Ö AI KD R A N . C h a p . 43.
unto you part of thofe things concerning which ye difagree: wherefore fear
G od, and obey me. Verily God is my L ord, and your L ord ; wherefore
worlhip him : this is the right way. And the confederated fedfs among them
fell to variance*: but woe unto thofe who have a&ed unjuftly, becaufe of the
punifhment of a grievous day. Do the..unbeliev ’.rs wait for any other than
the hour of judgment; that it may come upon them fuddenly, while they
forefee it not ? The intimate friends, on that day, flail he enemies unto one
another ; except the pious. O my fervants, there flail no fear come on you
this day, neither fhall ye be grieved s who have believed in our figns, and
have been Moflems: enter ye into paradife, ye and your wives, with great
joy. Difhes of gold fhall be carried round unto them, and cups without
handles.: and therein flail they enjoy whatever their fouls fhall defire, and
whatever their eyes .-fhall delight in: and ye fhall remain therein for ever.
This is .paradife, which ye have inherited as a reward for that which ye have
wrought. Therein fhall ye have fruits in abundance, of which ye fhall eat.
But the wicked fhall remain for ever in the torment of hell: it fhall not be
made lighter unto them ; and they flail- defpair therein. We deal not unjuftly
with them, hut. they deal unjuftly-with their own fouls. And they fhall call
aloud, faying, O Malec b, intercede for us that thy L ord would end us by
annihilation. He fhall anfwer', Verily ye fhall remain here forever. We
brought you the truth heretofore, but the greater part of you abhorred the
truth. .Have the infidels fixed on a method to circumvent our apofle ? Verily
we will fix on a method to circumvent them. Do they imagine that we hear not
their fecrets, and their private difcourfe ? Yeas and our mefiengers who attend
themd write down the fame. Say, If the Merciful had a fon, verily I would
he the firft of thofe who fhould worfhip him. Far be the L ord of heaven and
earth, the L ord of the throne, from that which they affirm of himI
Wherefore let them wade in their vanity, and divert themfelves, until they
arrive at their day with which they have been threatened. He who is God
in heaven, is God on earth alfo: and he is the wife, the knowing. And
blefied be he unto whom appertaineth the kingdom of heaven and earth,
and of whatever is between them s with whom is the knowledge of the laß
hour ; and before whom ye fhall be afiembled. They whom they invoke befides
him, have not the privilege to intercede for others; except thofe who bear
witnefs to the truth, and know the fame'. If thou afk them who hath created
them,
a The confederated feBs fe ll to variance j] This c He flsall anfwer i] Some fay that this anfwer
may be underftood either of the Jews in the will not be given till a thoufand * years after,
time of Jefus, who oppofed his dottrine, or of d Our mejfengers who attend them;] i. e. The
the Chrifiians fince, who have fallen into various guardian angels.
©pinions concerning him ; fome making him to e Except thofe who bear witnefs to the truth,
be God, others the Son of G od, and others, &c.] That is, to the dottrine of G od’s unity,
one of the perfons of the Trinity, &c 1. The exception comprehends Jefus, Ezra, and
b O Malec;] This the Mohammedans fuppofe the angels ; who will be admitted as intercelfors,
to be the name of the principal angel who has tho’ they have been worlhipped as gods
4he charge of hgll.
1 Idem, JallaL; 2 Iidem.
C ha p . 44. A l K t ) R A N . 4 01
them, they will furely anfwer, God. H ow therefore are they turned away to
the worflip of others ? God alfo heareth the faying of the prophet, O L ord,
verily thefe are people who believe not: and he anfwereth, Therefore turn afide
from them; and fay, Peace*: hereafter fhall they know theirfolly.
* See chap. 2$. p. joi. not. d.
C H A P . XLIV.
Intitled, Smoke 3; revealed at M e c c a 11.
In the name o f the moft merciful G od.
H. M '. By the perfpicuous book of the Koran •, verily we have fent
down the fame on a blefied night11, (for we had engaged fo to d o ,) on the
wherein is diftin&ly fent down the decree of every determined thing, as a
command from us ?. Verily we have ever ufed to fend apofiles with revelations,
at proper intervals, as a> mercy from thy L ord ; for it is he who heareth
and knoweth: the L ord of Heaven and earth, and of whatever it between
them 5 if ye.are men of Lure knowledge. There is no God but he: he giveth
life, and.he caufeth to die.; he is your L ord, and the L ord of your
fore-fathers. Yet do they amufe. themfelves with doubt. But obferve them
on the day whereon the heaven fhall produce a vifible fmoke, which fhall
cover mankind1: this will be a tormenting plague. They fla il fay, O L ord,
take this plague from off us : verily we will become true believers. How
F f f flould
* This word occurs within a few lines from
the beginning ©f the chapter.,
b Some except the verfe beginning, ;We w ill
take the plague off you a little, &c.
c See the Prel. Difc. §. III. p. 59, t$c.
d A bleffed night;] Generally fuppofed to be
that between the 23d. and 24th. of Ramadan.
See ib. p. 64. and chap. 97. and the notes there.
* The night whereon is diftijiBly fent down the
decree of every determined thing, &c.] For annually
on this night, as the Mohammedans are
taught, all the events of the enfuing year, with
refpe£t to life, and death, and the other affairs
of this world, are difpofed and fettled 1. Some,
however, fuppofe that thefe words refer only to
that particular night on which the Koran,
wherein are compleatly contained the divine determinations
in. refpcdt to religion and morality,
1 J ai^l a l o ’ d d in , ^ / B e i d a w i . * Iden 2am a kh . A l B e i d a w i , Y a h y a , J a l l a l .
Z am a k h . ^ / B e id aw i .
was fent down*: and according to this expofition
the paffage may be rendred, The night whereon
every determined ox adjudged matter was fent down.
f When the heavens Jhall produce a vifible fmoke,
&c.] The commentators differ in their expofir
tions of this paffage. Some think it fpoken of
a fmoke which feemed to fill the air, during the
famine which was inflidted on the Meccans in
Mohammed's time 3, and was fo thick, that tho*
they could hear, yet they could not fee one another+.
But, according to a tradition of A li, the
fmoke here meant is that which is to be one of
the previous figns of the day of judgment
and will fill the whole fpace from eaft to weft,
and laft for forty days. This fmoke, they fay,
will intoxicate the infidels, and iffue at their nofe,
ears, and pofteriors j but will very little-incommode
the true believers6.
3 See chap. 23. p. 284. not. c.
* See the Prel. Difc. §. IV. p. 81.
A HI
6 M