after know who is in a manifeft error. Say, What think ye? If your
water be in the morning fwallowed up by the earth, who will give you
clear and running water ?
C HA P . LXVIII.
Intitled, The Pen; revealed at Mecca.
In the name o f the moft merciful G od.
N' a By the pen, and what they write”, thou, O M o h am m e d , through
• the grace of thy L ord, art not diftrafted. Verily there is-prepared.
tor thee an everlafting reward : for thou art of a noble difpofitionc. -Thou
thalt fee, and the infidels fhall fee, which of you are bereaved of your fenfes.
Verily thy L ord well knoweth him who wandereth from his path; and he
well knoweth thofe who are rightly directed: wherefore obey not thofe who
charge thee with impoftute. They defire that, thou (houldeft be eafy with
them, and they will be eafy with thee d. But obey not any who is a common
fwearer, a defpicable fellow, a defamer, going about with (lander, who
forbiddeth that which is good, who is alfo a tranfgrefibr, a wicked perfon,
cruel, and befides this, of fpurious birthe: although he be pofiefied of wealth
and many children : when our figns are rehearfed unto him, he faith, They
are
» This letter is fometimes made the title of the
chapter, but its meaning is coiifeiTedly uncertain.
They who fuppofe it ftands for the word Nun, are
not agreed as to its fignification in this place;
for .it is not only the name of the letter N in
Arabic, but fignifies alfo an inkborn, and a fijh:
fome are of opinion the former fignification is
the moil proper here, as confonant to what is
immediately mentioned of the pen, and writing,
and, confidering that the blood of certain JiJb is‘
good ink, not inconfiflent with the latter figni-'
fication; which is, however, preferred by others,
faying that either the whole fpecies of Jijh in general
is thereby-intended, or thefifh which fwallowed
Jonas, (who is mentioned in this chapter,)
or elfe that vaft one called Behemoth, fancied to
fupport the earth, in particular. Thofe who ac-
quiefce in none of the foregoing explications, have
invented others of their own, and imagine this
charadler ftands for the table of Go oh decrees,
or one of the rivers in paradife, &c. 1.
b By the pen, and what they write s J Some un-
derftandthefe words generally, and others of the
peri with which G od’s decrees are written on the
preferved table, and of the angels who regifter
the fame.
e O f a noble difpofition','] In that thou haft
born with fo much patience and refignation the
wrongs and infults of thy people, which have
been greater than thofe offered to any apoftle
before thee *.
d They defire that thou Jhouldefi be eafy with them,
and they w ill be eafy with thee ; ] i. e. I f thou
wilt let them alone in their idolatry and other
wicked pra&ices, they will ceafe to revile and
perfecute thee.
e Obey not any common fwearer, See. ] The perfon
at whom this paffage was particularly levelled,
is generally fuppofed to have been Mohammed's
inveterate enemy al Wal'td Ebn al Mogheira,
whom, to compleat his charadler, he calls
bafiard, becaufe al Nfpgheira did not own him
for
J A l Z a m a k h . A l B e id aw j , Y a h y a . * A l B e i d aw j « 3 Idem, J a l l a l ..
are fables of the ancients. We will ftigmatize him on the nofe •. Verily we
have tried the Meccans b, as we formerly tried the owners of the garden ';
when they fwore that they would gather the fruit thereof ‘ in the morning,
and added not the exception, i f it pleafe God : wherefore a furrounding de-
Jlruflion from thy L o r d encompaffed it, while they fiept; and in the-morning
it became like a garden whofe fruits had been gathered °. And they
called the one to the other as they rofe in the morning, faying, Go out ^arly to
your plantation, if ye intend to gather the fruit thereof: fo they went on,
whifpering to one another, No poor man (hall enter the garden upon you,
this day. And they went forth early, with a determined purpofe. And when
they faw the garden hlafted and deftroyed, they faid, We have certainly mif-
takenour way: hut when they found it to he their own garden, they cried, Verily
we are not permitted f to reap the f ru it thereof. The worthier of them
faid, Did I not fay unto you, Will ye not give praife unto" G o d ? They
anfwered, Praife be unto our L o r d ! Verily we have been unjuft doers. And
they began to blame one another8, and they faid, Wo be unto us! verily
we have been tranjgrefibrs: peradventure our L ord will give us in- exchange
a better garden than this: and we earneftly befeech our L o rd to pardon
us. Thus is the chaftifement of this life; but the chaftifement of the next fhall
he more grievous -, if they had known it, they wouldhavetaken heed. Verily for the
pious are prepared, with their L ord, gardens of delight. Shall we deal with the
Modems,
for his fon, till he was eighteen years of age 1.
Some, however, think it was al Akhrias Ebn
Shoraik, who was really of the tribe of Tbakif
though reputed to be of that o f Zahra V
* We willftigmatize him on the nofe; ] Which
being the moft confpicuous part of the face, a
mark fet thereon is attended with the utmoft ignominy.
It is faid that this prophetical menace
was actually, made good, al Walid having his
nofe flit by a fword, at the battle of Bedr, the
mark of which wound he carried with him to
his grave 3.
b We have tried the Meccans;■ ] By affli&ing
them with a grievous, famine., See chap. 23. p.
284, 285.
c The owners of .the garden, See. ] This garden
was a plantation of palm-trees, about two pa-
rafangs from Sanaa, belonging to a certain charitable
man, who, when he gathered his dates,
ufed to give public notice to the poor, and to
leave them fuch of the fruit as the knife miffed,'
or was blown down by the wind, or fell befide
the cloth fpread under the tree to receive i t :
after his death,* his fons, who were then become
matters of the garden, apprehending they
fliould come to want i f they followed their father’s
example, agreed to gather the fruit early in
the morning,when the poor could have no notice
of the matter : but when they came to execute
their purpofe, they found, to their gfeat grief
and furprize, that their plantation had been,.de-
ftroyed in the night +.
^ That-they would gather the fru it thereof; ]
Literally, that they would cut it i the manner of
gathering dates being toicut the clutters off* with
a.knife. Marracci fuppofes they intended to cut
down the trees, and de^roy the plantation; which,
as he obfervesj renders the* ftory ridiculous and
abfurd.
e Like a garden whofe fruits had been gathered',]
Or, as the original may alfo be rendred,
like a dark night-, it being burnt- up and
black. #
f The fame expreffion is ufed, chap r6 p
436.
8 began to blame one another; ] For one
advifed this expedition, another approved of
it, a third,gave confent by his filence, but the
fourth was abfolutely againft i t 5.