44o A l K O R A N . C hap. 58.
ye may walk, and he will forgive you-, for G od is ready to forgive W mer-
c'fuT that thofe. who have received the fcriptures may know that they have
not p ower over any o f the favours of G od *, and that good is in the hand
Of G od ; he beftoweth the fame on whom he pleafeth, for G od is endued
with great beneficence.
on, though* be now abrogated by the promul- „r a . a J e t t „<
gation of IJlam *.
a That they have not power over, anyv of the
favours of G o o ; ] i. e. That they cannot ex-
peft to receive any of the Favours gboveipcnfi-
G od’s favours, particularly of the greateft of
them, the gift of prophecy, fo as^to appropriate
the fame to whom they pleafe *•
1 i^/'BEIDAWI. '* Idem.
C H A P. LVIII.
In tiiled, She whodifputed; revealed at M e d i n a '1.
Jn the name of the raoft merciful G od.
XXVIII '* X T o w hath God heard the fpeech of her who deputed with thee con
' ] \ cerning her, husband, and made her complaint unto G od g and G od
hath heard your mutual difeourfe: for G od both heareth and feeth. As t
thofe among^you who divorce their wives, by declaring that they w.U.there-
Ster regard® them as their mothers ; ht them know that theyg e not their mothers
They only are their mothers who brought them forth ; and they cer
tahily utter an unjuftifiable.faying, anda falihood: but G od is gracious ^ ready
to forgive. Thofe who divorce their wives by declaring that they will fot^the
a Some are of opinion that the firft ten verfes
o f this chapter, ending with thefe words, and fear
God, before whom ye Jball be affembled, were revealed
at Mecca, and the reft at Medina ■
b Her who difputed with thee concerning her
■ buchand, &c.] This was Kbawla bint Thalaba,
the wife of Awe Ebn alSamat, who being divorced
by her husband by a form in ufe among
thnr'Arabs in the time of ignorance, v iz . by
faying to her, Won art to me as the baeb of my
mother *, came to ask Mohammed's opinion whether
ahey were neecflarily obliged to a reparation
; and he told her that it was not lawful for
her to cohabit with her husband any more : to
. which fhe replying, that her husband had not
.put her away, the .prophet repeated his former
decifion, adding.that fitch-form of (peaking was
by general confent underftood to imply a perpetual
feparation. Upon this the woman being
greatly concerned becaufe of the fmallnefs
of her children, went home, and uttered her
complaint Jo God in prayer : and thereupon
this paflage was revealed 3, allowing a
man to take his wife again, notwithftanding.his
having pronounced the abovementioned form
of divorce, on doing certain afts of charity,
or mortification, by way of penance.
• They only are their mothers who brought them
forth',} And therefore no woman ought to be
■ placed in the fame degree of prohibition, except
thofe whom G od has joined with them, as
nurfing-mothers, and the wives of the prophet*.
I ■ * See chap. W p. 341- £ K | | B eidawi, Ja l la l . &c.
4 jpi JJeidawi. See chap. 4. P> 63. and ch. 33* P• 35°»
C h a:p . 58. Al KORA N. 441
future regard therti as their mothers, and afterwards would repair 1 what they
have faid, -jhall be obliged to free a captive1-, before they touch one another.
This is what ye are warned to perform: and G od is well apprized of that which
ye do.' And whofo findeth not a captive to redeem, Jhall obferve a faft of two
confecutive months, before they touch one another. And whofo fhall not be
able to faft that 'time, Jhall feed threefcore poor men. This is ordained
you, that ye may believe in G od and his apoftle. Thefe are the ftatutes of
G od : and for the unbelievers is prepared a grievous torment. Verily they
■ who oppofe G od and his apoftle, fhall be brought low, as the unbelievers
who preceded them were brought low. And now have we fent down mani-
feft figns: and an ignominious punifhment awaiteth the unbelievers. On a certain
day G od fhall raife them all to life, and fhall declare unto them that which
they have wrought. G od h<uh taken an exadt account thereof; but they have
forgotten the fame : and G od is witnefs over all things. Doft thou not perceive
that G od knoweth whatever is in heaven and in earth? There is no private
difeourfe among three perfons, but he is the fourth of them ; nor among five,
but he is the fixth of them ; neither among a fmaller number than this, nor a
larger, but he is with them, wherefoever they be : and he will declare unto them,
that which they have done, on the day of refurredtion ; for G od knoweth all
things. Haft thou not obferved thofe who have been forbidden to ufe clandeftine
difeourfe, but afterwards return to what they have been forbidden, and difeourfe
privily among themfelves of wickednefs, and enmity, and difobedi-
ence towards the apoftlec ? And when they come unto thee, they falute thee
with thatform offalutation wherewith G od doth not falute thee"; and they fay
among themfelves, by way of derifion, Would not G od punifh us for what
we fay, if this man were a prophet ? Hell Jhall be their fufficient punijh-
ment: they fhall go down into the fame to be burned; and an unhappy journey
Jhall it be! O true believers, when ye difeourfe privily together, difeourfe
not of wickednels, and enmity, and difobedience towards the apoftle ;
but difeourfe of juftice, and piety : and fear G o d , before whom ye fhall
be affembled. Verily the clandeftine difeourfe of the infidels proceedeth from
S atan, that he may grieve the true believers : but there , fhall be none to
hurt them in the leaft, unlefs by the permiflion of G od ; wherefore in
G od let the faithful truft. O true believers, when it is faid unto you Make
■T*?.i ,£l& ’ room
1 Would repair, &c.] This feeins to be here critical Mojlcms, who caballed privately together
the true meaning of the originalword, which againft Mohammed, and made figns to one another
properly fignifies to return, and is varioufly ex- when they faw the true believers: and this they
pounded by the Mohammedan doftors. continued to do, notwithftanding they were
* A captive; j Which captive, according to forbidden,
the moft received-decifion, ought to be a true. “ They falute thee with that form of faluta-
believer s as -is orderedfor the expiation of man- tin wherewith God doth not falute thee.} It feems
Jlu8j?e r ‘ : iff ' they ufed, inftead of A l faldm alciea, i. e.
I Thofe who have been forbidden to ufe clandeftine Peace be upon thee, to fay, A l fam nleica i. e.
difeourfe, See. ] That is, The Jews and hypo- Mifcbiefon thee, Sec 2.
1 See chap. 4. p. y%. * A l Beidawi, Ja l la l ,