a leaf, but he knoweth it; neither is there a single grain in the dark parts of the earth, neither a green thing, nor a dry thing, but it is written in the perspicuous book. It is he who causeth you to sleep by night, and knoweth what ye merit by day; he also awaketh you therein, that the prefixed term of your lives may be fulfilled: then unto him shall ye return, and he shall declare unto you that which ye have wrought. He is supreme over his servants, and sendeth the guardian angels to watch over you, until, when death overtaketh one of you, our messengers cause him to die: and they will not neglect our commands. Afterwards shall they return unto God, their true LORD: doth not judgment belong unto him? he is the most quick in taking an account. Say, Who delivereth you from the darkness of the land, and of the sea, when ye call upon him humbly and in private, saying, Verily if thou deliver us from these dangers, we will surely be thankful? Say, God delivereth you from them, and from every grief of mind; yet afterwards ye give him companions. Say, He is able to send on you a punishment from above you, or from under your feet, or to engage you in dissension, and to make some of you taste the violence of others. Observe how variously we show forth our signs, that peradventure they may understand. This people hath accused the revelation which thou hast brought of falsehood, although it be the truth. Say, I am not a guardian over you: every prophecy hath its fixed time of accomplishment; and he will hereafter know it. When thou seest those who are engaged in cavilling at, or ridiculing our signs, depart from them, until they be engaged in some other discourse:* and if Satan cause thee to forget this precept, do not sit with the ungodly people after recollection. They who fear God are not at all accountable for them, but their duty is to remember that they may take heed to themselves. Abandon those who make their religion a sport and a jest; and whom the present life hath deceived: and admonish them by the Korán, that a soul becometh liable to destruction for that which it committeth: it shall have no patron nor intercessor besides GOD; and if it could pay the utmost price of redemption, it would not be accepted from it. They who are delivered over to perdition for that which a i. e. The preserved table, or register of God's decrees. See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. That is, the angel of death and his assistants.' See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. That is, the dangers and distresses. The Cufic copies read it in the third person, if he deliver us, &c. Returning to your old idolatry. That is, by storms from heaven, as he destroyed the unbelieving people of Noah, and of Lot, and the army of Abraha, the lord of the elephant. Either by drowning you, as he did Pharaoh and his host, or causing the earth to open and swallow you up, as happened to Korah, or (as the Mohammedans name him) Karun." "Fly from those who revile religion, until they change their discourse."-Savary. And therefore need not be troubled at the indecent and impious talk of the infidels; provided they take care not be infected by them. When the preceding passage was revealed, the Moslems told their prophet, that if they were obliged to rise up whenever the idolaters spoke irreverently of the Koran, they could never sit quietly in the temple, nor perform their devotions there; whereupon these words were added.“ See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. Al Beidâwi. 3 Idem. 4 Idem, Jallalo'ddin they have committed shall have boiling water to drink, and shall suffer a grievous punishment, because they have disbelieved. Say, Shall we call upon that, besides GOD, which can neither profit us, nor hurt us? and shal we turn back on our heels, after that God hath directed us; like him whom the devils have infatuated, wandering amazedly in the earth, and yet having companions who call him into the true direction, saying, Come unto us? Say, the direction of GoD is the true direction: we are commanded to resign ourselves unto the LORD of all creatures; and it is also commanded us, saying, Observe the stated times of prayer, and fear him; for it is he before whom ye shall be assembled. It is he who hath created the heavens and the earth in truth; and whenever he saith unto a thing, Be, it is. His word is the truth; and his will be the kingdom on the day whereon the trumpet shall be sounded: he knoweth whatever is secret, and whatever is public; he is the wise, the knowing. Call to mind when Abraham said unto his father Azer, Dost thou take images for gods?1 Verily I perceive that thou and thy people are in a manifest error. And thus did we show unto Abraham the kingdom of heaven and earth, that he might become one of those who firmly believe." And when See the Prelin. Disc. sect. iv. k This is the name which the Mohammedans give to Abraham's father, named in scripture Terah. However, some of their writers pretend that Azer was the son of Terah, and D'Herbelot says that the Arabs always distinguish them in their genealo gies as different persons; but that because Abraham was the son of Terah according to Moses, it is therefore supposed (by European writers) that Terah is the same with the Azer of the Arabs. How true this observation may be, in relation to some authors, I cannot say, but I am sure it cannot be true of all; for several Arab and Turkish writers expressly make Azer and Terah the same person. Azer, in ancient times, .was the name of the planet Mars, and the month of March was so called by the most ancient Persians; for the word originally signifying fire (as it still does), it was therefore given by them and the Chaldeans to that planet, which partaking, as was supposed, of a fiery nature, was acknowledged by the Chaldeans and Assyrians as a god or planetary deity, whom in old times they worshipped under the form of a pillar; whence Azer became a name among the nobility, who esteemed it honourable to be denominated from their gods, and is found in the composition of several Babylonish names. For these reasons a learned author supposes Azer to have been the heathen name of Terah, and that the other was given him on his conversion. Al Beidawi confirms this conjecture, saying that Azer was the name of the idol which he worshipped. It may be observed that Abraham's father is also called Zarah in the Talmud, and Athar by Eusebius. (The surname of Azer was given to him in consequence of his idolatry. It is derived from iazar, "O thou who art in error."-Savary.) That Azer or Terah was an idolater, is allowed on all hands; nor can it be denied, since he is expressly said in scripture to have served strange gods. The eastern authors unanimously agree that he was a statuary, or carver of idols; and he is represented as the first who made images of clay, pictures only having been in use before, and taught that they were to be adored as gods. However, we are told his employment was a very honourable one, and that he was a great lord, and in high favour with Nimrod, whose sonin-law he was, because he made his idols for him, and was excellent in his art. Some of the Rabbins say Terah was a priest, and chief of the order." That is, we gave him a right apprehension of the government of the world and of the heavenly bodies, that he might know them all to be ruled by God, by putting him on making the following reflections. 8 D'Herbel. ibid. * ΑΙ Kainat, &c. Vide etiam Pharhang Hyde, ibid. p. 63. 9 Idem, ib Epiphan. adv. Hær. lib. 1, p. 7, 8 supra, p. 63. D'IIerbel. ubi sp Tarîkh Montakhab. apud D'Herbel. Bibl. Orient. p. 12. the night overshadowed him, he saw a star, and he said, This is my LORD ;a but when it set, he said, I like not gods which set. And when he saw the moon rising, he said, This is my Lord; but when he saw it set, he said, Verily if my LORD direct me not, I shall become one of the people who go astray. And when he saw the sun rising, he said, This is my LORD, this is the greatest; but when it set, he said, O my people, verily I am clear of that which ye associate with God: I direct my face unto him who hath created the heavens and the earth; I am orthodox, and am not one of the idolaters. And his people disputed with him: and he said, Will ye dispute with me concerning GoD? since he hath now directed me, and I fear not that which ye associate with him, unless that my LORD willeth a thing; for my LORD comprehendeth all things by his knowledge: will ye not therefore consider? And how should I fear that which ye associate with God, since ye fear not to have associated with God that concerning which he hath sent down unto you no authority? which therefore of the two parties is the more safe, if ye understand aright? They who believe, and clothe not their faith with injustice, they shall enjoy security, and they are rightly directed. And this is our argument wherewith we furnished Abraham that he might make use of it against his people: we exalt unto degrees of wisdom and knowledge whom we please; for thy LORD is wise and knowing. And we gave unto them Isaac and Jacob; we directed 0 Since Abraham's parents were idolaters, it seems to be a necessary consequence that himself was one also in his younger years; the scripture not obscurely intimates as much; and the Jews themselves acknowledge it." At what age he came to the knowledge of the true God and left idolatry, opinions are various. Some Jewish writers tell us, he was then but three years old, and the Mohammedans likewise suppose him very young, and that he asked his father and mother several shrewd questions when. a child. Others, however, allow him to have been a middle-aged man at that time.* Maimonides, in particular, and R. Abraham Zacuth think him to have been forty years old, which age is also mentioned in the Korân. But the general opinion of the Mohammedans is, that he was about fifteen or sixteen. As the religion wherein Abraham was educated was the Sabian, which consisted chiefly in the worship of the heavenly bodies,' he is introduced examining their nature and properties, to see whether they had a right to the worship which was paid them or not; and the first which he observed was the planet Venus, or, as others will have it, Jupiter. This method of Abraham's attaining to the knowledge of the supreme Creator of all things is conformable to what Josephus writes, viz. That he drew his notions from the changes which he had cbserved in the earth and the sea, and in the sun and the moon, and the rest of the celestial bodies; concluding that they were subject to the command of a superior power, to whom alone all honour and thanks are due. The story itself is certainly taken from the Talmud. Some of the commentators, however, suppose this reasoning of Abraham with himself was not the first means of his conversion, but that he used it only by way of argument to convince the idolaters among whom he then lived. That is, I am not afraid of your false gods, which cannot hurt me, except God permitteth it, or is pleased to afflict me himself. By injustice, in this place, the commentators understand idolatry, or open rebellion against God. • Vide Josh. xxiv. 2, 14, and Hyde, ubi sup. p. 59. 3 Joseph. Ant. lib. 1, c. 7. Maimon. More Nev. part iii. c. 29, et Yad Hazzak, de Id. c. 1, &c. 1 Tanchuma. Talmud, Nedarim, 32, 1, et apud Maimon. Yad Hazz. ubi sup. 2 Vide D'Herbel Bibl. Orient. Art. Abraham. Maimon. ubi sup. R. Abr. Zacuth in Sefer Juchasin, Shalshel. hakkab, &c. Vide Hyde, ubi sup. pp. 60, 61, et Hotting. Smegma Orient. p. 290, &c. Genebr. in Chron See the Prelim. Disc. sect. i. p. 10. Al Beidâwi. Joseph. R Bechai, in Midrash. Vide Bartolocc. Bibl. Rabb. part i. Ant. lib. i. c. 7. 5. 640, t ૧ them both and Noah had we before directed, and of his posterity David and Solomon; and Job, and Joseph, and Moses, and Aaron: thus do we reward the righteous: and Zacharias, and John, and Jesus, and Elias; all of them were upright men: and Ismael, and Elisha, and Jonas," and Lot;* all these have we favoured above the rest of the world; and also divers of their fathers, and their issue, and their brethren; and we chose them, and directed them into the right way. This is the direction of GoD, he directeth thereby such of his servants as he pleaseth; but if they had been guilty of idolatry, that which they wrought would have become utterly fruitless unto them. Those were the persons unto whom we gave the scripture, and wisdom, and prophecy; but if these believe not therein, we will commit the care of them to a people who shall not disbelieve the same. Those were the persons whom God hath directed, therefore follow their direction. Say unto the inhabitants of Mecca, I ask of you no recompense for preaching the Koran; it is no other than an admonition unto all creatures. They make not a due estimation of GoD," when they say, GoD hath not sent down unto man anything at all: Say, Who sent down the book which Moses brought, a light and a direction unto men; which ye transcribe on papers, whereof ye publish some part, and great part whereof ye conceal? and ye have been taught by Mohammed what ye knew not, neither your fathers. Say, GOD sent it down: then leave them to amuse themselves with their vain discourse. This book which we have sent down is blessed; confirming that which was revealed before it; and is delivered unto thee that thou mayest preach it unto the metropolis of Mecca and to those who are round about it. And they who believe in the next life will believe therein, and they will diligently observe their times of prayer. Who is more wicked than he who forgeth a lie concerning God?* or • Some refer the relative his to Abraham, the person chiefly spoken of in this passage; some to Noah, the next antecedent, because Jonas and Lot were not (say they) of Abraham's seed: and others suppose the persons named in this and the next verse are to be understood as the descendants of Abraham, and those in the following verse as those of Noah." The Mohammedans say he was of the race of Esau. See chap. xxi. and xxxviii. • See chap. xxxvii. This prophet was the successor of Elias, and as the commentators will have it, the son of Okhtub; though the scripture makes him the son of Shaphat. See chap. x., xxi., and xxxvii. That is, the Koreish.' See chap. vii., &c. That is, they know him not truly, nor have just notions of his goodness and mercy towards man. The persons here meant, according to some commentators, are the Jews, and according to others, the idolaters." This verse and the two next, as Jallalo'ddin thinks, were revealed at Medina. By these words the Jews (if they were the persons meant) chiefly intended to deny the Koran to be of divine revelation: though they might in strictness insist that God never revealed, or sent down, as the Korân expresses it, any real composition or material writing from heaven, in the manner that Mohammed pretended his revelations were delivered, if we except only the decalogue; God having left to the inspired penman, not only the labour of writing, but the liberty, in a great measure at least, of putting the truths into their own words and manner of expression. Falsely pretending to have received revelations from him; as did Moseilama, al Aswad, al Ansi, and others. What can be more impious than to make God the accomplice of a falsehood?" Savary. • Al Beidawi. ' Idem. 2 * Idem. See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iii. d saith, This was revealed unto me; when nothing hath been revealed unto him? and who saith, I will produce a revelation like unto that which GOD hath sent down? If thou didst see when the ungodly are in the pangs of death, and the angels reach out their hands saying, Cast forth your souls; this day shall ye receive an ignominious punishment for that which ye have falsely spoken concerning GOD; and because ye have proudly rejected his signs. And now are ye come unto us alone,' as we created you at first, and ye have left that which we had bestowed on you, behind your backs; neither do we see with you your intercessors, whom ye thought to have been partners with God among you: now is the relation between you cut off, and what ye imagined hath deceived you. GOD causeth the grain and the date-stone to put forth: he bringeth forth the living from the dead, and he bringeth forth the dead from the living. This is God. Why therefore are ye turned away from him? He causeth the morning to appear; and hath ordained the night for rest, and the sun and the moon for the computing of time. This is the disposition of the mighty, the wise God. It is he who hath ordained the stars for you, that ye may be directed thereby in the darkness of the land and of the sea. We have clearly shown forth our signs, unto people who understand. It is he who hath produced you from one soul; and hath provided for you a sure receptacle and a repository. We have clearly shown forth our signs, unto people who are wise. It is he who sendeth down water from heaven, and we have thereby produced the springing buds of all things, and have thereout produced the green thing, from which we produce the grain growing in rows, and palm-trees from whose branches proceed clusters of dates hanging close together; and gardens of grapes, and olives, and pomegranates, both like and unlike to one another. Look on their fruits, when they bear fruit, Verily herein are signs, unto people who and their growing to maturity. As did Abdallah Ebn Saad Ebn Abi Sarah, who for some time was the prophet's amanuensis, and when these words were dictated to him as revealed, viz. We created man of a purer kind of clay, &c. cried out, by way of admiration, Blessed be God, the best Creator! and being ordered by Mohammed to write these words down also, as partof the inspired passage, began to think himself as great a prophet as his master. Whereupon he took upon himself to corrupt and alter the Korân according to his own fancy, and at length apostatizing, was one of the ten who were proscribed at the taking of Mecca, and narrowly escaped with life on his recantation, by the interposition of Othman Ebn Affan, whose foster-brother he was.' For some Arabs, it seems, had the vanity to imagine, and gave out, that if they pleased they could write a book nothing inferior to the Korân. See before, p. 104, note a. That is, without your wealth, your children, or your friends, which ye so much depended on in your lifetime. i. e. Naked and helpless. h Or false gods. Concerning the intercession of your idols, or the disbelief of future rewards and pun ishments. *See chap. iii. p. 38. *He is your Lord. How can he deceive you? He divideth the dawn from the dark. ness. He hath appointed the night for rest. The sun and the moon mark the course of time."-Savary. 1 Namely, in the loins of your fathers, and the wombs of your mothers. Korân, c. 25. Al Beidâwi. See the Prelim. Disc. end of sect. ii. "Al Beidâwi, * Vide Abu'lfed. Vide Moh. p. 109. |