and G od is knowing, and wife. If two parties of the believers contend
with one another, do ye endeavour to compote the matter between them: and
if the one of them offer an infuk unto the 'other, fight againft that party
which offered the infult, until.they return unto the judgment of G od s and
if they do return, make peace between them with equity : and aft with
juftice •, for G od loveth thofe who aft juftly*. Verily the true believers are
brethren : wherefore reconcile your brethren ; and fear G od, that ye may
obtain mercy. O true believers, let not men laugh other men to fcorn ;
who peradventure may be better than themfelves : neither let women
laugh other women to fcorn ; who may poffibly be better than themfelves.
Neither defame one another •, nor call one another by opprobrious appellations.
An ill name it is to be charged with wickednefs, after having embraced the
faith: and whofo repenteth not, they will be the unjuft doers b. O true
believers, carefully avoid entertaining a fufpicion of another: for fome fuf-
picions are a crime. Inquire not too curioufly into other mens failings:
neither let the one of you fpeak ill of another in his abfcence. Would
any of you defire to eat the flefli of his dead brother? Surely ye would abhor
it. And fear G od : for G od is eafy to be reconciled, and merciful: O
men, verily we have created you of a male and a female; and we have
diftributed you into nations, and tribes, that ye might know one another.
Verily the moft honourable of you, in the fight of G od, is the moft pious
of you: and G od is wife ami knowing, The A r a b s of the defart' fay, We
believe. Anfwer, Ye do by no means believebut fay, We have embraced
Is l am d : for the faith hath not yet entred into your hearts. If ye obey
G o d and his apoftle, he will not defraud you of any part of the merit of your
works : for G od is inclined to forgive, and merciful. Verily the true believers
are thofe only who believe in G o d . and hjs apoftle, and afterwards
doubt not; and who employ their fubftance and their perfons in the defence
of G od’ s true religion : thefe are they who fpeak fincerely. Say, Will
ye
* If two forties of the believers contend, Sees ']
This verfe is fuppofed to have been occafioned
by a fray, which happened between the tribes of
alAws and al Kbazraj. Some relate, that the
prophet one day riding on an ats, as he paffed
near Abdallah Ebn Obba, the afs chanced to ftale,
at which Ebn Obba flopped his nofe; and Ebn
Rawaha faid to him, By G od, the pifs of bis
afs ftnells fweeter than thy. musk: whereupon a
quarrel enfued between their followers, and they
came to blows, tho’ they flruck one another only
with their hands and flippers, or with palm-
branches x.
b Neither let women laugh other women to fcorn,
&c.] It is faid that this verfe was revealed on
account of Sofiya Bint fioyai, one of the prophet’s
wives; who came to her husband and
complained that the women faid to her, O thou
Jewefs, the. daughter of a Jew and of a Jewefs:
to which he anfvvered, Canfi thou not fay, Aaron
is my father 1 and" Mofes is my uncle, and Mo-
*hammed is my .husband 2 ?
c The Arabs, of the.defart, &c.] Thefe were
certain of the, tribe of AJad, who came to Medina
in a year of fcarcity, and having profeffed
Mohammedifm, told the prophet that they had
brought all their goods and their families, and
would not oppofe him, as fome other tribes had
done: and this they faid to obtain a part of the
alms, and to upbraid.him with their having embraced
his religion and party 3.
d Anfwer, Ye do by no means believe: but fay, We
have embraced Iflam.] That is, Ye are not fin-
cere believers, but outward profefTors only of the
true religion.
3 Jidem. 3 ^ /Beid a wi, See Prid. Life of Mahom- p> 11if &c. 3 Idem.
ye inform G od concerning your religion * ? But G od knoweth whatever is
m heaven and in earth: for G od is omnifeient. They upbraid .thee that
they have embraced Is l a m . Anfwer, Upbraid me not with your
having embraced Is l am : rather G od upbraideth you, that he hath
direffed you to the faithb; if ye fpeak fincerely. Verily G od knoweth
the ftcrets of heaven and earth: and G od beholdeth that which ye do.
a W ill ye inform G od concerning your religionf] you to the fa ith ;] The obligation being not on
i. e. Will ye pretend to deceive him, by faying God’s fide, but on yours, for that he has fa-
ye are true believers ? voured you fo far as to guide you into the true
b G od upbraideth you, that he hath directed faith, if ye are fincere believers.
C H A R L.
Intitled, K ; revealed at Mecca.
In the name of the moft merciful God.
Ka. By the glorious K oran : verily they wonder that a preacher from
among themfelves is come unto them; and the unbelievers fay, This
is a wonderful thing: after we fhall be dead, and become duft, Jhall we return
to life ? This is a return remote from thought. Now we know what
the earth confumeth of them $ and with us is a book which keepeth an
account thereof ■ But they cha'rge falffiood on the truth, after it hath come
unto them : wherefore they are plunged in a confufed bufinefsb. Do they
not look up to the heaven above them, and confsder how we have raifed it
and adorned it ; and that there ate no flaws therein ? We have alfo
fpread forth the earth, and thrown thereon mountains firmly rooted c : and
we caufe every beautiful kind of vegetables to fpring up therein ; for a fub-
jeift of meditation, and • an admonition unto every man who turneth unto us.
And we fend down rain as a bleffing from heaven, whereby we caufe gardens
to fpring forth, and the grain of harveft, and tall palm-trees having branches
laden with dates hanging one above another, as a provifion for mankind;
and we thereby quicken a dead country : fo Jhall be the coming forth of the
dead from their graves. The people of N oah, and thofe who dwelt at A l
R ass*, andTHAMUD, and A d, and P haraoh accufed the prophets of im-
pofture bsfore the M eScans ; and alfo the brethren of L ot, and the inha-
Hhh 2 bitants
* Some imagine that this letter is defigned to knowing what certainly to affirm of the Koran ;
exprefs thh mountain Kdf, which feveral cailern calling it fometimes a piece of poetry, at other
writers fancy encompafles the whole world1, times a piece of forcery, and at other times apiece
Others fay it Hands for Kada al amr, i. e. The of divination, ffc.
matter is decreed, viz. the chaftifement of the c See chap. t6. p. 21c, and chap. 31. p. 335.
infidels. See the Prelim. Difc. §. III. p. 59, f .■ d See chap. 25. p. 299.
b They are plunged in a cotijufsd bufinefs;] Not
1 y . D'Herbbl. B ill. Orient. Art. Caf. a A l Beidav/i. Ja l l a l .