KORAN, COMMONLY CALLED The Alcoran of MOHAMMED, Tranflated into ENGLISH immediately from WITH EXPLANATORY NOTES, TAKEN FROM THE MOST APPROVED COMMENTATORS. TO WHICH IS PREFIXED, A Preliminary Discourse. VOL. I. By GEORGE SALE, Gent, Nulla falfa doctrina eft, quæ non aliquid veri permisceat, LONDON, Printed for L. HAWES, W. CLARKE, and R. COLLINS, at the Red Lion in Pater Nofter Row; and T. WILCOX, at Virgil's M DCC LXIV, RIGHT HONOURABLE JOHN Lord CARTERET, One of the LORDS of his Majesty's moft Honourable Privy Council. My LORD, OTWITHSTANDING the great honour and respect generally, and defervedly, paid to the memories of those who have founded states, or obliged a people by the inftitution of laws which have made them profperous and confiderable in the world, yet the legiflator of the Arabs has been treated in fo very different a manner, by all who acknowledge not his claim to a divine miffion, and by Chriftians especially, that, were not your Lordship's just discernment fufficiently known, I should think myself under a neceffity of making an apology for prefenting the following tranflation. THE remembrance of the calamities brought on fo many nations, by the conquefts of the Arabians, may poffibly raise fome indignation against him who formed them to empire; but this being equally applicable to all conquerors, could not, of itself, occafion all the deteftation with which the name of Mohammed is laden. He has given a new fyftem of religion, which has had still greater fuccefs than the arms of his followers, and, to establish this religion, made use of an impofture ; and, on this account, it is fuppofed that he must of neceffity have been a most abandoned villain; and his memory is become infamous. But, as Mohammed gave his Arabs the best religion he could, as well as the best laws, preferable, at least, to thofe of the ancient pagan lawgivers, I confefs I cannot fee why he deserves not equal refpect, though not with Mofes or Jefus Chrift, whofe laws came really from heaven, yet with Minos or Numa, notwithstanding notwithstanding the distinction of a learned writer, who seems to think it a greater crime to make use of an impofture to fet up a new religion, founded on the acknowledgment of one true God, and to destroy idolatry, than to use the fame means to gain reception to rules and regulations for the more orderly practice of heathenism already established. To be acquainted with the various laws and conftitutions of civilized nations, especially of those who flourish in our own time, is, perhaps, the most useful part of knowledge: wherein, though your Lordship, who shines with fo much diftinction in the nobleft affembly in the world, peculiarly excels; yet, as the law of Mohammed, by reafon of the odium it lies under, and the ftrangeness of the language in which it is written, has been fo much neglected, I flatter myself fome things in the following fheets may be new, even to a perfon of your Lordship's extenfive learning; and if what I have written may be any way entertaining or acceptable to your Lordship, I shall not regret the pains it has coft me. |