piety *, anckth.ey were the molt worthy of the fame, and the moft deferying thereof:
for God knoweth all things. Now hath Gop in truth verified unto his,apoftle
the yifionb, wherein he faid ; Ye fhall furely enter the holy temple of Mecca,
if G od pleafe, in full fecurity having .‘your heads lhaved, and your hair
cutc : ye fhall not fear : for G od knoweth that which ye know not ; and
he hath appointed you, befides this, a fpeedy victory d. It is he who hath
fent his apoftle with the direction, and the religion of truth.-,. that he may
exalt the fame above every religion: and G od is a fufficient witnefs hereof.
M ohammedis the apoftle of God : and thofe wh.o .are with him are fierce
againft the unbelievers, hut compaftionate towards one another. Thou
mayeft fee them bowing down, proftrate, feeking a recompenfe.from God,
and his good will. Their figns are irt their' faces, being marks of frequent
proft ration. This is their defeription in the pentateuch, and their defeription
in the gofpel: they are as feed which putteth forth its ftalk, and ftrengtheneth
it, and fwelleth in the ear, and rifeth upon its ftem giving delight unto the
fower. Such are the Moflems deferibed to he: that the infidels may fwell with
indignation at them. God hhth promifed unto fuch of them a.s believe, and*do
good works, pardon and a great reward. v
apoftle of Gov we had not given thee any oppofition; ' companions entrdd Mecca in fecurity, with their
whereupon Mohammed ordered A li to write, as heads fhaven, and their hair cut. This dream,
ScA?//defired, Thefe are (he conditions which Mo- being imparted by the prophet to his followers,
hammed the fon ^Abdallah*, &c. But the Mo- occalioned a great deal of joy among them ;
jlems were fo difgpfted thereat, that they were and they fuppofed it would be"fulfilled that fame
on the point of breaking off the treaty, and had year: but when they faw the truce concluded,
fallen on the Meccans, had not G o d appeafed which fruftrated their expectation for that time,
and calmed their minds; as it follows in the they were deeply concerned whereupon this
text 1. paflage was revealed for their confolation, con*
The terms of this pacification were* that there firming the vifion, which was not to be ful-
Ihould be a truce for ten years; that any perfon filled till the year after, when Mohammed per-
might enter into league either with Mohammedy formed the vifitation diftinguifhed by the addi-
or with the Koreijh, as he fhould think fit,- and tion ofa l Kaid, or completion, becaufe he then
that Mohammed ftiould have the liberty to vifit compleated the vifitation of the former year, when
the ^temple of Mecca the next year, for three the Kor&ijb. not permitting him to enter Mecca,
days ^ he was obliged to kill his victims, and to ihave
a The word of piety ; J i. e. The Mohammedan himfelf at a l Hodeibiya *.
profeffion of faith j or the Bifmillah, and the ? Having your heads Jhaved, and your hair
words Mohammed the apoftle of G o d , which cut}] i. e. Some being ihaved, andothers hav-
were rejected by.the infidels. ing only their.hair cut.
b The vifion;] Or dream which Mohammed d A fpeedy viftory;] Viz. The taking of Khai-
had at Medina, before he fet out for al Ho- bar.
deibiya; wherein he dreamed that he and his
1 ^/Beidawi. V. ABm>?.vit.'Moh. p.Sj. 2
lidem• 3 A lBeidawi, Ja l la lo ’ddin.
V. A bulf. vit. Mob. p. 84» 87.
C H A P. XLIX.
Intitled, The inner Apartments; revealed at Medina,
In the name of the moft merciful G od.
OTrue believers, anticipate not any matter in the fight of G o d and
,his apoftle *: and fear G o d ; for G od both heareth and knoweth. O
true believers, raife not your voices above the voice of the prophetb; neither
fpeak loud unto him in difeourfe, as ye fpeak loud unto one another, left:
your works become vain, and ye perceive it not. Verily they who lower
their voices in the prefence of the apoftle of G o d , are thofe whofe hearts
G od hath difpofed unto piety : they fhall obtain pardon, and a great reward.
As to thofe who call unto thee from without the inner apartments
the greater part of them do not underftand the refpebl due to thee. If they
wait with patience, until thou come forth unto them, it will certainly be
better for them: but G od is inclined to forgive, and merciful. O true believers,.
if a wicked man come unto you with a tale, inquire ftridtly into
the truth thereof -, left ye hurt people through ignorance^ and afterwards repent
of what yeL have doned: and know that the apoftle of G o d is among
you: if he fhould obey you in many things, ye would certainly be guilty
of a crime, in leading him into a miftake. But G od hath made the faith a-
miable unto you, and hath prepared the fame in your hearts ; and hath
rendred infidelity, and iniquity, and difobedience hateful unto you. Thefe
are they who walk in the right way ; through mercy from G o d , and grace:
H h h and
4 Anticipate not any matter, &c.] That is, Do
not prefume to give.your own decifion in any
cafe, before ye have received the judgment of
G od and his apoftle.
b Raife not your voices above the voice of the
propbets] This verfe is faid to have been oc-
cafioned by a difpute between Abu Beer and
Omar, concerning the appointing of a governor
of a certain place j in which they raifed their
voices fo high, in the prefence of the apoftle,
that it was thought proper to forbid fuch indecencies
for the future 1 .
c Thofe who call unto thee from without the
inner apartments, &c.] Thefe, they fay, were
Oyeyna Ebn Hofein, and al Akra Ebn Hdbes; who
wanting to fpeak with Mohammed, when he was
fleeping at noon in his women’s apartment, had
the rudenefs to call out feveral timeslMohammed,
come forth to us*.
* I f a wicked man come unto you with a tale,
&c.] This paflage was occalioned, it is faid, by
the following accident. A l Walid Ebn Okba,
being fent by Mohammed to collect the alms from
the tribe of al Moftalek, when he faw them
come out to meet him in great numbers, grew
apprehenfive they defigned him fome mifehief,
becaufe of part enmity between him and them
in the time of ignorance, and immediately turned
back, and told the prophet they refufed to
pay their alms, and attempted to kill him;
upon which Mohammed was thinking to reduce
them- by force : but on fending Khaled Ebn al
Walid to them, he found his former meffenger
had wronged them, and that they continued
in their obedience3.