414 K O R A N . C hap. 48.
a corrupt people. Whofo believeth not in Gop and his apoftle, verily 'we have
prepared burning fire for the unbelievers. Unto God belongetbx\\t kingdom
of heaven and earth : he forgiveth whom he pleafeth , and he punilheth
whom he pleafeth ; and God is inclined to forgive, and merciful. Thofe who
were left behind will fay, when ye go forth to take the fpoil % Suffer us
to follow you. They feek to change the word of G od b. Say, Ye fhall
by no .means follow us: thus hath G od faid heretofore. They will reply,
Nay; ye envy us a fhare o f the booty. But they are men of fmall underftand-
ing. Say unto the A rabs of the defart who were left behind, Ye fhall be
called forth againft a mighty and a warlike nation*: ye fhall fight againft
them, or they fhall profefs Islam. If ye obey, G od will give you a glorious
reward: but if ye turn back, . as ye turned back heretofore, he will
chaftife you with a grievous chaftifement. It fhall be no crime in the blind,
neither fhall it be a crime in the lame, neither fhall it be a crime j in the
lick, i f they go not fo r th to;war: and whofo fhall obey G od and his apoftle,
he fhall lead him into gardens beneath which rivers flows but whofo fhall
turn back, he will chaftife him with a grievous chaftifement. Now God was
well pleafed with the true believers, when they fware fidelity unto thee under
the treed s and he knew that which was in their hearts : wherefore he
fent down on them tranquillity o f mind', and rewarded them, with a fpeedy
vidtory f, and many fpoils which they took: for G od is mighty and wife.
G od promifed you many fpoils which ye fhould take s but he gave you
. thefe
3 When ye go forth to take the fpoil f] Viz. In
the expedition of Khaibar. The prophet returned
from al Hodeibiya in Dbu'lbajja, in the
6th year of the Hejra, and ftaid at Medina the
remainder of that month and the beginning of
Moharram, and then fet forward -againft the
Jews of Khaibar, with thofe only who had attended
him to al Hodeibiya j and having made
himfelf matter of the place, and all the cattles
and ftrong holds in that territory *, took fpoils
to a great value, which he divided among
them who were prefent at that expedition, and
-none elfe 2.
b The word of G od ;] Which was his promife
to thofe who attended theprophet to al Hodeibiya,
that he would make them amends for their miffing
of the plunder of Mecca at that time, by
giving them that of Kbaibar in lieu thereof.
'Some think the word here intended.to be that
paflage in the 9 th chapter 3, Ye Jhatl not go forth
with me for the future, See. which yet was plainly
revealed long after the taking of Khaibar, on
occafion of the expedition of Tabuc4.
f A mighty and warlike nation ;] Thefe were
Banu Honeifa, who. inhabited a l Yamama, and
were the followers of Mofeilama, Mohammed's
competitor; or any other of thofe tribes which
apoftatized from Mobammedifm 4 ; or, as others
rather fuppofe, the Perfians. o r the Greeks 6.
d When they fware fidelity unto thee under the
tree.'] Mohammedy when at al Hodeibiya,. fent
Jawwas Ebn Omeyya the Khozaite, to acquaint
the Meccans that he was come with a peaceable
intention, to viftt the temple; but they, on
fome jealoufy conceived, refufing to admit him,
the prophet fent Qthman Ebn Ajfan, whom they
imprifoned, and a report ran that he was flain:
whereupon- Mohammed called his men about
him, and they took an oath to be faithful to him,
even to death ; during which ceremony he fat
under a tree, fuppofed by fome to-have been an
Egyptian thorn, and by others a kind of iote-tree7.
c Tranquillity of mind;] The original word is
Sakinat, of which notice has been taken elfe-
wheres .
f A fpeedy> vittory;] Namely,-the fuccefs at
Khaibar; or, as fome rather imagine, the taking
of Mecca, See.
1 V. A b u l f . Vit. Moh.p. 87,0V. * ^ / B e idawi . 3 Pag. 160. 4 ^ / B e id awi .
''Idem. t 6 J a l l a lo ’ddin. 7 Idem, A l Reid aw.1,. V. A bul f . vit. Moh.p.86.
■ e fn.jiot. ad aap. 2. p.29. __—7
Chap. 48. A l K O R A -N . 415
thefe by "way of earneft: and he reftrained the hands of men from you*:
that the -fame may be a fign unto the true believers ; and that he may
guide you into-the right way. And he alfo promifeth you Other fpoils, which
ye have not yet been able to ta k e : but now hath God encompafied them
fo r you and God is almighty. If thfe unbelieving M e ccan s had fought
againft you, verily they had turned,their backs ; and they would not have found
a patron or protestor : according to the ordinance of-God, which hath been
put in execution heretofore againfi oppofers o f the prophets ij for thou fhalt
not find any change in the ordinance of God. I t was he who reftrained their
hands from you, and your hands from them, in the Valley of M ecca s after
that he had given you the vidtory over themb : and' God faw that
which ye did. Thefe are^they who believed not, and hindred you from'
vifiting the holy temple, and alfo hindred the offering, being detained, that
it fhould not arrive at the place where it ought to be facrificed '. Had ic
not been that ye might have trampled on divers true believers, both men
and women, whom ye knew not, being promifcuoujly affembled with the infidels,
and that a crime might therefore have lighted on you on their account,
without your knowledge, he had not reftrained your hands fr om
them: but this was done, that God , might lead whom he pleafeth into his ,
mercy. If they had been diftinguifhed from one another, we had fure-
ly chaftifed fuch of them as believed not, with a fevere chaftifement.
When the unbelievers had put in their hearts an 'afFedted precifenefs,
the precifenefs of ignorance, and God fent down his tranquillity on his
apoftle and on the true believers J ;
a And he reftrained the hands of men from youi]
i. e. The hands of thofe of Khaibar, of of their
fucceflors of the tribes1 of Afad and Ghatfan; or
of the iirhabrtans of Mecca,, by the pacification
qf a l Hodeibiya1.
b He reftrained their hands from you, and your
handsfrom them, &c.] Jallalo'ddin fays, thatfour-
fcoreofthe infidels, came privately to Mohammed's
camp at al Hodeibiya, with an intent to furprize
fome o f his men, but were taken and brought-
before the prophet; who pardoned them and-
ordered them to be fet at liberty : and this generous
attion was the occafion of the truce ftrück
up by the Koreijh with Mohammed; for thereupon
they fent Soha.il Ebn Amru and fome others, (and
not Arwa Ebn Mafud, as is faid, by miftake, in
another place 2 ; for his errand was an adtual
defiance,) to treat of peace.
A l Beidawi explains the paflage by another
ftory : telling us that Acrema Ebn Abi Jahl
marching from Mecca at the head of five hundred
men to al Hodeibiya, Mohammed fent againft him
KhaledEbn alWalid,with a detachment,who drove*
the infidels back to the innermoft part of Mecca,
(as the Word here tranflated valley properly figand
firmly fixed irr them the word of
piety,
nifies,) and then left them, out of refpedt to the
place.'
. And hindred the offering, being detained,-
that it Jbould not arrive at the place where it ought
to befacrificed.} Mohammed's intent, in the expedition
of al Hodeibiya, - being only to vilit the-
temple of Mecca in a peaceable manner, and- to*
offer a facrifice in the valley of Mina, according
to the eft-ablifhedwrites, he carried beafts
with him for that purpofe; but was not permitted
by the Koreijh either to enter the temple,-
or to go to Mina.
* When the unbelievers had put in their hearts
an affefted precifenefs, &c:} This paflage was-
occafioned by the lliffhe-fs of Sohail and his companions,
in wording the treaty concluded with
Mohammed: for when the prophet ordered AH to
begin with the form, In the name of the moft merciful
G o d , they objected to if, and infifted that
he fhould begin with this, In thy name, O G o d ;
which Mohammed fubmitted to, and proceeded
to dictate, Thefe are the conditions on which
Mohammed the apoftle of G od has made peace
with thofe of Mecca: to thisSohail again obj eft ed,
faying, I f we had acknowledged thee to be the
apofth