eive and merciful ? G od hath allowed -you the diffolution of your oaths *:
and G od is your matter -, and he is. knowing and wife. When the prophet
intruded as a fecret unto one of his wives,a certain accident s and when fhe
difclofed the fame, and G od made it known unto him he acquainted her
with part of what Jhe had done, and forbore to upbraid her with .the .other
cart thereof. And when he had acquainted her therewith, fhe faid, Who
v hath
occafion. Mohammed having lain with a ilave ing Mohammed's concubine Mary i viz. that
of h “ named Man, of Coptic extraft, (who after her mailer’s death no account was had
had been fent him l a prefent by al Mokawka:, of her or the fon which fte had born him, but
eovernour of Egypt,) on the day which was due both were fent away mto Egypt, and no mention
to Xelha, or fo Hafsa, and, as feme fay, on made ofe.ther ever after among them a and then
ayejaa, vf „ ---- j he fuppofes ( for he feldom .is at a lofs.for a fuppofition)
th&t Ayejha, out of the hatred which fhe
bore her, procured o f her father', who fucceedcd
the impojlor in the government, to have her thus
difpofed of 6. But it being certain, by the general
confent of .allihe eaftern writers, that Mary
continued in Arabia,fill her death, which happened
at Medina, about five years after that of
her matter, and was büried in the ufual burying-
place there, called al Bakz, and that her fon
died before his father, it has been asked, whence
the doilor had this 7 ? I anfwer, That I guefs
he had it partly from Abtflfaragius, according
to the printed edition of whofe work, the
Mary we are fpeaking of, is faid to have been
fent with her fitter Sbirin ( not with' her fon)
to Alexandria by al Mokawkas 8: though I make
no doubt but we ought in that pafTage to read
min, ^/roOT, inftead of ila, to; ( notwithstanding
» 'the manufepipt copies of this author ufed by
Dr. Pc cock, the editor, and alfo a very fair one
in my own pofleffion,agree in the latter reading;)
Ayejha, — —-j - .
Hafsa's own. bed, while fhe was abfent; and
this coming to Hafsa's knowledge, fhe took it
extreamly ill, and reproached her husband io
Sharply, that, to pacify her, lie promifed, with
an oath, never to touch the maid again and
to free him from the.obligation of this promife,
was the defign of the chapter. |
I cannot here avoid obferving, as a learned
writer * has done before me, that Dr. Prideaux
hasftrangely mifreprefented this pafTage. For having
given the ftory of the prophet’s amour with
his maid Mary, a little embellifhed, he proceeds
to tell us, that in this chapter Mohammed
brings in G od allowing him, and all his
Modems, to lie with their maids when they
will, notwithftanding their wives: ( whereas
the words relate to the prophet only , who
wanted not any new permiffion for that pur-
pofe, becaufe it was a privilege already granted
him3, though to none elfe-:) and then, to fhew
what ground he had for his affertion, adds, that
the firft words of the chapter are, Oprophet, why
M id tohat G od hath allowed thee, and that the fentence ought to run. thus, quam
that thou mayeft pleafe thy wives? G od hath (viz. Mariam) unacumforcre Shinna ab Alex-
granted unto you to lie with your maid fervants A. and™ m,Jeratu\ Mokawkas
Which laft words are not to be found here, or a God hath allowed you the dtjjilution of your
y “ |jam " oaths;] Which«« ----------- j---- , . .. .By having appointed an expiation for
elfewhere in the Koran, and contain amallow-
ance -of what is exprefly forbidden therein ’ ;
though the doftor has thence taken occafion to
make feme • refleflions which might as well
have been fpared. I .fhall fay nothing to aggravate
the matter; but leave the reader to
imagine what this reverend divine would have
faid of a Mohammedan, if he had caught him
tripping in the like manner.
Having digreffed fo far, I Will venture to add
a word, or two, in order to acoount for one cir-
. cumftance which. Dr. Prideaux relates concernthat
purpofe 9 : or, as the words may be tranf-
lated, God hath .allowed you to ufe an exception
in your oaths, 1 that ■ is, to add the words, if
it pleafe. G an ; in which cafe a man is exoufed
from guilt if he perform not his oath io . The
pafTage, though direiled to all the Mojlems in general,
Teems to be particularly defigned for quieting
th,e prophet’s confcience in regard to the
oath abovementioned: but A l Beidatoi approves
not this opinion, becaufe fuch an oath
was to be looked upon as an inconfiderate one,
and required no expiation.
i lidem, T al L A l . Y ahva. I G agnirr, not. ad Abulf. vit. Mob. p. i;o . 1 See chap. 33.
a , a8 jag *?RiD.LifecfM ab.p. 113. 1 S e e chap. i 7 . p . 230. chap.^.8 f.6^ and chap,
i f p . 287, &c. 6 P aid- Life ofMah. p. 114. 19 | Gnouiun,ubifupra. ■
ABU’LfARAG. Hift. Dynaß. p- !$$■ 9 See ‘hap. J-f. 94-
A l Beidawi.
hath difeovered this unto thee ? He anfwered, The knowing, the fagacious G od
hath difeovered it unto me a. If ye both be turned unto G od (for your hearts
have fwerved ) it is well': but if ye join againft him, verily G od is his patron ;
and G a b r i e l , and the good man among the faithful, and the angels alfo are his
affiftants b. If he divorce you, his L ord can eafily give him in exchange
other wives better than you, women refigned unto G od , true believers, devout,
penitent, obedient, given to fatting, both fuch as have been known by other
men, and virgins. O true believers, fave your fouls, and thbfe of yom families,
from the fire whofe fewel is men and ftones, over which are fet angels fierce
and terrible 0; who difobey not G od in what he hath commanded them,
but perform what they are commanded. O unbelievers, excufe not yourfel-ves
this day ; ye fhall furely be rewarded for what ye have doned. O true believers,
turn unto G od with a fincere repentance: peradventure your L ord
will do away from you your evil deeds, and will .admit you into gardens,
through which rivers flow; on the day whereon G od will not put to lhame
the prophet, or thofe who believe with him: their light fhall run before
them, and on their right hands', and they fhall fay, L o r d , make our light
perfedt, and forgive us; for thou art almighty. O prophet, attack the infidels
with arms, and the hypocrites with arguments; and treat them with feverity:
their abode fhall be hell, and an ill journey Jhallit be thither. G od propoundeth
as a fimilitude unto the unbelievers, the wife of N o a h , and the wife of L o t :
they were under two of our righteous fervants, and they deceived them both f ;
N n n where-
• When the prophet intruded as a fecret unto one
of his wives a certain accident, &c. ] When Mohammed
found that Hafsa knew of his having
injured her, or Ayefipa, by lying with his concubine
Mary on the day due to one of them, he
defired her to keep the affair fecret, prpmifing,
at the fame time, that he would not meddl^ with
Mary any more; and foretold her, as a piece
of news which might footh her vanity, that
Abu Beer and Omar fliould fucceed him in the
government of his people. Hafsa, however,
could not conceal this from Ayejha, with whom
fhe lived in ftriil friendfhip, but acquainted her
with the whole matter: whereupon the prophet,
perceiving, probably by Ayejha's behaviour,
that his fecret had been difeovered, upbraided
Hafsa with her betraying him, telling her that
G od had revealed it to him ; and not only divorced
her, but feparated him from all his other
wives for a whole month, which time he fpent
in the apartment of Mary. In a fliort time, notwithftanding,
he took Hafsa again, by the direction,
as he gave out, of the angel Gabriel; who
commended her for her frequent fatting and other
exercifes of devotion, affuring him likewife that
fhe fhould be one of his wives in paradife 1.
b I f ye both, &c.] This fentence is direiled
to Hafsa and Ayejha', the pronouns and verbs of
the fecond peffon being in the dual number.
c See chap. 74. and the Prelim. Difc. §. IV.
P - 9 2-
d O unbelievers, &c. ] Thefe words will be
fpoken to the infidels at the laft day.
e See chap. 57. p. 438.
f The wife c/'Noah, and the wife of Lot, (Ac.]
Who were both unbelieving women, but deceived
their refpeilive husbands by their hypo-
crify. Noah's wife, named Waila, -endeavour- -
ed to perfuade the people her husband was dif-*
trailed; and Lot's w ife , whofe name was
Wdhela ( though fome writers giye this name to
the other, and that of Waila to the latter,) wa's
in confederacy with the men of Sodom, and ufed
to give them notice when any ftrangers came to
lodge vrfth him, by a fign of fmoke by day,
and of fire by night *.