this an oath formed withunderftanding? Haftthounot confidered how thy L ord
dealt with A d , the people of % adorried with lofty buildings \ the like
whereof hath riot been erefted in the land c; and with T h am u d , who hewed
the rocks in the valley dinto houfes *, and with P h a r a o h , the contriver of the
flakes': who had behaved infolently in the earth, and multiplied corruption
therein ? I Wherefore thy L o r d poured on them various kindsf of chaftife-
ment: for thy L ord is furely in a watch-tower, whence he obfervetb the allions
of men. Moreover man, when his L ord trieth him by profperity, and
honoureth him, and is bounteous unto him, faith, My L ord honoureth me:
but when he proveth him by affiiStions, and withholdeth his provifions from
him, he faith, My L o rd defpifeth me. By no means s: but ye honour not
the orphan, neither do ye excite one another to feed the poor ; and ye devour
a Irem ] Was the name of the territory or city
of the Adites, and of the garden mentioned in
the next note; which were fo called from Irem,
or Aram, the grandfather of Ad, their proge-
iiitdr. Some think Aram himfelf to be here
meant, and his name to be added to iignify the
ancient Adites, - his immediate defcendants, and
to diftinguifh them from the latter tribe of that
name 1 : but the adjective and relative joined to
the word are, in the original, of the feminine
gender, which feems to contradict this opinion.
b Adorned with lofty buildings; ] Or pillars.
Some imagine thefe words are ufed to exprefs
the great fize and ftrength of the qld Adites 2 ;
and then they fhould be tranflated, /who were
of enormous ftature. But the more exaét commentators
take the paflage to relate to the fumptu-
ous palace and delightful gardens built and macfe
by Shedddd the Son of Ad. For they fay Ad
left two fons, Shedddd and Sbeddid, who reigned
jointly after his deceafe, and extended their
power over the greater part of the world: but
Sheddid dying, hisr brother became foie monarch
; who, haying heard of the celeftial pa-
radije, made a garden, in imitation thereof, in
• the defarts of Aden, and called it Irem, after the
nime óf his great grandfather; when it w^s fi-
niflièd, he fet out, with a great attendance, to
take a view of i t ; but when they were come
within a day's journey of the place, they werfc
all deftfoyed by a terrible, noife from heaven.
A l BeidawiMs thaf one Abdallah EbnKéldbah
( whom, after D'Hirbelot, I t o e elCewhere
named Colabah 3) accidentally hit on this wonderful
place, as he was feeking a camel.
c The like whereof hath not been erefted in the
land','] I f we fuppofe the preceding words to
relate to the vafl ftature of the Adites, thefe
muft be tranflated, The like of whom have not
been created, &c.
d Who hewed the rocks in the valley; ] The
learned Greaves, in his tranilation of AbuTfeda's
defcription of Arabia 4, has falfly rendered thefe
words, .which are there quoted, £>uibus petrte
vallis refponfum dederunt, i. e. To whom the
rocks of the valley returned anfwer: which, flip
being made by fo great a man, I do not at all
wonder that la -Roque., and Petis de la Croix,
from whofe Latin vqrfipn, and with whofe af-
flftance,?/? Roque madeliis French tranilation of the
„aforefaid treatife, have been led into the fame
miftake, and rendered thofe words, A qui les
pierres de la valee rendireht reponfe 5. The
valley-here meant, fay the commentators 6, is
•Wadi ■'Ikora, lying about one days journey 7,
(not five and upwards, as Abiilfeda will have it )
from al-Hejr*
3 e See chap. 38. p.;37-2.
f Various kinds',’] The original word fignifies
-akmixture, and alfo a fcourge of platted thongs:
whence feme rfuppofe th 0 cbaftifement of this life
is here repreiented by a fcourge, and intimated
•to be as much lighter than'that of the next life,
■ as Jcouiiging is lighter than Heath 8.
g By no means; ] For worldly profperity or
adverfity is not a certain mark either -.of the fa-
.vouror disfavourof 'GbD.
* 27BEIDAWI, jwiL »!.. * litem. 'Sie the ‘Prelim. Dips. p. 3 •Prilim. Dj/i. p. 6.
4 Par « . It was ptiblijhed'iry Dr. 'H u d sb N, 'in the third m.oftbeGeegrapbia veteris:Scnpm.s
’Gr. minor. I 1 Defer. dei'Ardhie, Mips-wlafitite 'da Vopge de hfPaleJtm,. f o r L a R oque,
p, 6 j al la l . A I B z i & a w u c 7 E bn H awkal, -apud^ Abul f . ubt fupr* Geogr•
Nub.p. i io . P A l Be id aw i.
the inheritance of the •taeak a, with undiftinguilhing greedinels ; and ye love
riches, with much affeftion. By no means fhould ye do thus. When the earth
ihall be minutely ground to duft ; and thy L ord lhall come, and the angels rank
by rank; and hell, on that day, lhall be brought nigh B on that day lhall man
call to remembrance his evil deeds; but how Jhall remembrance avail him ?
He lhall fay, Would to G od that I had heretofore done good works in my
life-time c! On that day none lhall punilh with his punilhment j nor lhall any
bind 'with his bonds d. O thou foul which art- at reft e„ return unto thy
L o r d , well pleafed with thy reward, and well pleafing unto G od : enter a-
mong my fervants; and enter my paradife.
( a Ye devour the inheritance of the weak ; ] Not
fuffering women or young children to- have any
fhare in the inheritance of their husbands or parents.
See chap. 4. p. 61.
b And hell jhall be brought nigh » ] There is
a tradition thatrat the.laft day hell will be dragged
towards the tribunal by 70,000 halters,each halter
being hawled by 70,000 angels ; and that it
will come with great roaring and fury 1.
* In my life-time Or, For this my latter
life. „
d None Jhall punijh with his punijhpient, &c. ]
i. e. None fhall be able to pupiflj or to bind, as
G od fhall then punifh and bind thé wicked*2/
e O thou foul which art at reft \] Some ex- 1 Idem, J a lla l.
pound this of the foul which having, by purfu-
ing the concatenation of natural caufes, raifed it.
felf to the knowledge of that Being which
produced them, and exifts of iieceffity, refts
fully contented, or acquiefces in the knowledge of
him, and the contemplation of his perfections.
By this the reader will pbferve that the Mohammedans
are no ftrangers to 'Quietifm. Others,
however, underftand the words of the foul
which having attained the knowledge of the
truth, refts fatisfied, *and relies fecurely thereon,
undifturb.ed tjy. doubts ; or of the foul which is
feepre of its falvation, and free from fear or
iofrow 3/
•* Iidem. 3 A l B e i d a w i .
G H A P. XG.
Inttiled, The Territory ; revealed at M e e c a.
In the name of the moft merciful G od.
I Swear a by this territory b, ( and thou, O prophet, refideft in this territo-
ry c, ) and by the begetter, and that which he hath begotten verily we
have created man in mifery e. Doth he think that none ihall prevail
R r r 2 over
■ I fw ear',] Or, I will not fwear,t &c. See
^chap. 56. p. 436. not. f.
b This territory; ] Viz. The facred territory
of Mecca.
c And thou refideft in this territory; ] Or,
Thou jhalt be allowed to do what thou pleafeft in
this territory; ..the words, in this fenfe, [importing
a promife of that abfolute power which
Mohammed attained, on the taking of Mecca T
1 Idem.
d By the begetter, and that which he hath begotten',]
Some underftand thefe words generally ;
others of Adam, or Abraham, and of their off-
fpring, and of Mohammed in particular 2;
e We have created man 'in mifery; ] Or, to
trouble. This paflage was revealed to comfort
the prophet under the persecutions o f the
Koreijb 3. - .......... ' “ '
Id em , 33 IIddeemmi