4 2 2 A l K O R A N . C h a p . 5 1 .
ing a load of rain > •, by the Jhips running fwiftly in the Tea b and by the
angels who diftribute things neceffary for tbefupport of all creatures' : verily
that wherewith ye are threatened is certainly true ; and the lafi_ judgment
will furely come. By the heaven furnilhed with pathsd; ye widely differ
in what ye fay'. He will be turned afide from the faith, who fhall be
turned afide by the divine decree. Curfed be the liars who wade, in deep
waters of ignorance, neglefting their falvation. They ask, When will the
day of judgment come ? On that day fhall they be burned in hell fire -, dnd
it fhall be faid unto them, Tafte your punilhment; this is what ye demanded
to be haftened. But the pious fhall dwell among gardens and fountains,
receiving that which their L ord fhall give them ; becaufe they were righteous
doers before this day. They flept but a fmall part of the night' -, and early in the
morning they asked pardon of God; and a due portion of their wealth was
given unto him who asked, and unto him who was forbidden by Jhameto ask.
There are figns of the divine power and goodnefs in the earth, unto men of found
underftanding -, and alfo in your own felves : will ye not therefore confider ?
Your fuftenance is in the heaven; and alfo that which ye are promifed'.
* Wherefore by the L ord of heaven and earth I fwear that this is. certainly
the truth-, according to what yourfelves fpeakh. Hath not the ftory of
A b ic ah am ’ s honoured guefts 1 come to thy knowledge? When they went
in unto him, and faid, Peace: he anfwered, Peace-, faying within himfelf,
Thefe are unknown people. And he went privately unto his family, and
brought a fatted calf. And he fet it before them, and when he faw they
touched it not, he faid, Do ye not eat ? And he began to entertain a fear of
them, They faid, Fear notk: and they declared unto him the promife of a
wife youth. And his wife drew near with exclamation, and fhe fmeSte her
face ‘, and faid, I am an old woman, and barren. The angels anfwered,
XlPVII. Thus faith thy L ord : verily he is the wife, the knowing. * And Abraham
faid
a By the clouds bearing a load of rain j] Or,
By thé women bearing a burthen in their womb,
or the winds bearing the clouds, &c.
b By the Jhips running fwiftly in the fea j] Or,
By the winds pajjing fwiftly in the air, or the
ftars ntoving fwiftly in their courfes, (3V.
c By the angels who diftribute things, &c.] Or,
By the winds which diftribute the rain, &c.
d By the heavens furnifhed with paths;] i. e.
The paths or - orbs of the ftars; or the ftreaks
which appear in the sky like paths, being thin
and extended clouds.
e Ye widely differ in what ye fay;] Concerning
Mohammed, or the Koran,, or ,the refurre&ion
and day of judgment; fpeaking variotjfly. and
inconfiftently of them.
f ‘they Jlept but a fmall part of the night;]
Spending the greater part in prayer, and religious
meditation.
%Your fuftenance is in the heaven.; and alfo that
which ye are promifed j] i. e. Your food cometh
from above, whence proceedeth the change of
feafons and rain : and your future reward is alfo
there, that is to fay, in paradife, which is litu-
ate above the feven heavens.
h According to what yourfelves fpeak j] That is,
Without any doubt or referved meaning, as ye
affirm a truth unto one another.
* See chap. 11. p. 1S2, and chap. 15. p. 212.
k They faid, Fear not.] Some add, That to
remove Abraham's fear, Gabriel, who was one
of thefe ftrangers, touched the calf with his
wing, and it immediately rofe up and walked to
its dam ; upon which Abraham knew them to be
the meflengers of G od 1 .
. 1 And Jhe fmote her face ;] This, fome pretend,
ihe did for fhame; becaufe Ihe felt her courfes
coming upon her.
C h a p . 51. A l K O R A N . 423
faid unto them, What is your errand, therefore, O meflengers of God ? They
anfwered, Verily we are fent unto a wicked people: that we may fend down
upon them ftones of baked clay, marked from thy L ord, for the definition
of tr.anfgreffors. And we brought forth the true believers who were in the
city : but we found not therein more than one family of Modems. And
we overthrew the fame, and left a fign therein unto thofe who dread the
fevere chaffifement of God. In M oses alfo was a fign : when we fent him
unto P haraoh with manifeft power. But he turned back, with his princes,
faying, This man is a forcerer, or a madman. Wherefore we took him
and his forces, and caff them, into the fea: and he was one worthy of re-
prehenfion. And in the tribe of A d alfo was a fign : when we fent. againft
them a deftroying winda -, it touched not ought, whereon it came, but it
rendred the fame as a thing rotten and reduced to dufl. In T hamud like-
wife was a fign : when it was faid unto them, Enjoy yourfelves for a time11.
But they infolently tranfgreflfed the command of their L ord : wherefore a
terrible noife from heaven affailed them, while they looked on ' ; and they were
not able to ftand on their feet, neither did they fave themfelves from definition.
And the people of N oah did we defiroy before thefe: for they
were a people who enormoufly tranfgreffed. We have built the heaven with
might; and we have given it a large extent: and we have ftretched forth
the earth beneath -, and how evenly have we fpread the fame ! And of every
thing have we created two kinds i, that peradventure ye may confider.
Fly, therefore, unto G od ; verily I am a public Warner unto you, from
him. And fet not up another god with the true G od : verily \ am a public
warner unto you, from him. In like manner there came no apoftle unto
their predecefiors, but they faid, This man is a magician, or a madman.
Have they bequeathed this behaviour fucceffively the one to the other ? Yea;
they are a people who enormoufly tranfgrefs. Wherefore withdraw from
them-,'and thou fhalt not be blameworthy in fo doing. Yet continue to
admonilh : for admonition profiteth the true believers. I have not created genii
and men for any other end than that they fhould ferve me. I require not any
fuftenance from them ; neither will I that they feed me. Verily G od is" he
who provideth for all creatures v poffeffed of mighty power. Unto thofe
who fhall injure our apoftle fhall be given a portion like unto the portion of
thofe who behaved like them in times paft -, and they fhall not with the fame
to be haftened. Woe, therefore, to the unbelievers, becaufe of their day
with which they are threatened 1
a See chap. 7. p. 123, csf/. I d Two kinds»] _As for example :. male, and feb
For a time;] i. e. For three days. See chap, male; the heaven, and the earth; the fun, and the
11. p.182. moon ; light, and darknefs j plains, and mounc
While they looked on j] For this calamity tains j winter, and fummer ; fweet, and bitter,
happened in the day time. & V 1.