answered, LORD, how shall I have a son, when old age hath overtaken me, and my wife is barren? The angel said, So GOD doth that which he pleaseth. (41) Zacharias answered, LORD, give me a sign. The angel said, Thy sign shall be, that thou shalt speak unto no man for three days, otherwise than by gesture: remember thy LORD often, and praise him evening and morning.

(42) And when the angels said, O Mary, verily GOD hath chosen thee, and hath purified thee, and hath chosen thee above all the women of the world: (43) O Mary, be devout towards thy LORD, and worship, and bow down with those who bow down. (44) This is a secret history: we reveal it unto thee, although thou wast not present with them when they threw in their rods to cast lots which of them should have the education of Mary;

the authority of Jalaluddin, that the wife of Zacharias was eightynine.

(41) Thy sign shall be, &c. This statement disagrees with that of Luke in two particulars (1) In duration of Zacharias's dumbness; and (2) in regarding this dumbness as merely a sign given in answer to prayer, and in no way a punishment for unbelief. The "three days," say the commentators, began with John's being conceived in his mother's womb.

Remember thy Lord often. speak the praise of God.

(42) The angels. Gabriel.

Zacharias's tongue was only free to

Compare Luke i. 28.

(43) Be devout, &c. This passage is also based on Christian tradition. See Rodwell's note.

Bow down, &c. The forms of worship ascribed to Jews in the Qurán are, as here, distinctively Muslim.

(44) When they threw in their rods. "When Mary was first brought to the Temple, the priests, because she was the daughter of one of their chiefs, disputed among themselves who should have the education of her. Zacharias insisted that he ought to be preferred because he had married her aunt; but the others not consenting that it should be so, they agreed to decide the matter by casting of lots; whereupon twenty-seven of them went to the river Jordan, and threw in their rods (or arrows without heads or feathers, such as the Arabs used for the same purpose), on which they had written some passages of the law, but they all sunk except that of Zacharias, which floated on the water; and he had thereupon the care of the child committed to him."-Sale, Jaláluádín.

The casting of lots, attributed here to the Jewish priests, is the same in spirit as that forbidden in chap. ii. 218.

neither wast thou with them when they strove among themselves. (45) When the angels said: O Mary, verily GOD sendeth thee good tidings, that thou shalt bear the Word proceeding from himself; (46) his name shall be CHRIST JESUS the son of Mary, honourable in this world and in the world to come, and one of those who approach near to the presence of GOD; and he shall speak unto men in the cradle, and when he is grown up; and he shall be one of the righteous: (47) she answered, LORD, how shall I have a son, since a man hath not touched me? the angel said, So GOD createth that which he pleaseth: when he decreeth a thing, he only saith unto it, Be, and it is: (48) GOD shall teach him the scripture, and wisdom, and the law, and the gospel; and shall appoint him his

(45) The son of Mary. See note on ver. 39. The phrase "Jesus, son of Mary," had become so stereotyped in Muhammad's mind, that he here puts it in the mouth of the angels when addressing Mary herself.

Christ Jesus. The Messiah Jesus. He is honourable in this world as a prophet, and in the next as an intercessor. Muslims, however, only regard him as the intercessor of his own followers, i.e., of those who lived during the period intervening between the times of Jesus and Muhammad.

(46) He shall speak . . . in the cradle. For his words see chap. xix. 28-34. The commentators tell many stories to illustrate this text. In regard to these Sale says:-"These seem all to have been taken from some fabulous traditions of the Eastern Christians, one of which is preserved to us in the spurious Gospel of the Infancy of Christ, where we read that Jesus spoke while yet in the cradle, and said to his mother, 'Verily I am Jesus the Son of God, the Word which thou hast brought forth, as the Angel Gabriel did declare unto thee; and my Father hath sent me to save the world.'"

When he is grown up. The original word (kúhlan) describes a person of between thirty and fifty years of age.

(47) Compare with Luke i. 34, &c., to see how far this comes short of attesting the former Scriptures.

(48) Scripture... wisdom ... law. . . gospel. The last two expressions describe more clearly the meaning of the first two. Jesus is said to have acquired a perfect knowledge of the law without any course of human instruction (Abdul Qadir).

A bird. "Some say it was a bat (Jalaluddin), though others suppose Jesus made several birds of different sorts (Al Thalabi).

This circumstance is also taken from the following fabulous tradition, which may be found in the spurious Gospel above men

apostle to the children of Israel; and he shall say, Verily I come unto you with a sign from your LORD; for will make before you, of clay, as it were the figure of a bird; then I will breathe thereon, and it shall become a bird, by the permission of GOD; and I will heal him that hath been blind from his birth; and the leper: and I will raise the dead by the permission of GOD: and I will prophesy unto you what ye eat, and what ye lay up for store in your houses. Verily herein will be a sign unto you, if ye believe. And (49) I come to confirm the law which was revealed before me, and to allow unto you as lawful part of that which hath been forbidden you and I come unto you with a sign from your LORD; therefore fear GOD, and obey me. (50) Verily GOD is my LORD, and your LORD; therefore serve him. This is

tioned. Jesus being seven years old, and at play with several children of his age, they made several figures of birds and beasts, for their diversion, of clay; and each preferring his own workmanship, Jesus told them that he would make his walk and leap; which accordingly, at his command, they did. He made also several figures of sparrows and other birds, which flew about or stood on his hands as he ordered them, and also ate and drank when he offered them meat and drink. The children telling this to their parents, were forbidden to play any more with Jesus, whom they held to be a sorcerer" (Evang. Infant.)—Sale.

By the permission of God. See note on ver. 39. The commentators, Baidhawi, &c., understand this phrase to have been added lest any one should suppose Jesus to be divine. See Sale.

What ye eat, &c. This would furnish evidence of the power of Jesus to reveal secrets. These miracles were the seal of prophecy to Je us, as were the verses (ayát = signs) of the Qurán to the prophetic claim of Muhammad.

(49) To confirm the law, i.e., Jesus attested the genuineness and credibility of the Jewish Scriptures. The language implies the presence of these Scriptures in the time of Jesus, as does similar language imply that the Christian Scriptures were present in the days of Muhammad.

Part of that .. forbidden you. "Such as the eating of fish that have neither fins nor scales, the caul and fat of animals, and camels' flesh, and to work on the Sabbath. These things, say the commentators, being arbitrary institutions in the law of Moses, were abrogated by Jesus, as several of the same kind instituted by the latter have been since abrogated by Muhammad.”—Sale, Jaláluddin.

the right way. (51) But when Jesus perceived their unbelief, he said, Who will be my helpers towards GOD? The apostles answered, We will be the helpers of GOD; we believe in GOD, and do thou bear witness that we are true believers. (52) O LORD, we believe in that which thou hast sent down, and we have followed thy apostle; write us down therefore with those who bear witness of him. (53) And the Jews devised a stratagem

As intimated in note on ver. 39, we here see that Muhammad's endeavour is to make Christ appear to be a prophet like himself. The mission, character, authority, and experience of all the prophets were none other than those assumed by Muhammad for himself.

(51) The apostles. The twelve disciples of Jesus are here likened to the companions and helpers of Muhammad.

"In Arabic al Hawáriyun, which word they derive from Hára, to be white, and suppose the apostles were so called either from the candour and sincerity of their minds, or because they were princes and wore white garments, or else because they were by trade fullers (Jalaluddin) According to which last opinion, their vocation is thus related: That as Jesus passed by the seaside, he saw some fullers at work, and accosting them, said, 'Ye cleanse these cloths, but cleanse not your hearts;' upon which they believed on him. But the true etymology seems to be from the Ethiopic verb Hawyra, to go; whence Hawárya signifies one that is sent, a messenger or apostle."-Sale.

The Tafsir-i-Raufi relates a story current among Muslims as to the calling of these disciples, to the effect that Jesus, being persecuted by the Jews, fled to Egypt. On the banks of the river Nile he found some fishermen, whom he invited to accept Islám and to become his followers, which they did.

(52) We believe on the gospel. We have followed the apostle, i.e., Jesus.

(53) Stratagem. This is better translated by Rodwell, plot. The plotting of the Jews was to kill Jesus; God plotted for his delivery. Sale remarks on this as follows:-"This stratagem of God's was the taking of Jesus up into heaven, and stamping his likeness on another person, who was apprehended and crucified in his stead. For it is the constant doctrine of the Muhammadans that it was not Jesus himself who underwent that ignominious death, but somebody else in his shape and resemblance (chap. iv. 156, 157). The person crucified some will have to be a spy that was sent to entrap him; others that it was one Titian, who by the direction of Judas entered in at a window of the house where Jesus was, to kill him; and others that it was Judas himself, who agreed with the rulers of the Jews to betray him for thirty pieces of silver, and led those who were sent to take him.

"They add, that Jesus, after his crucifixion in effigy, was sent

against him; but GOD devised a stratagem against them; and GOD is the best deviser of stratagems.

down again to the earth to comfort his mother and disciples, and acquaint them how the Jews were deceived; and was then taken up a second time into heaven.

"It is supposed by several that this story was an original invention of Muhammad's; but they are certainly mistaken; for several sectaries held the same opinion long before his time. The Basilidians, in the very beginning of Christianity, denied that Christ himself suffered, but that Simon the Cyrenean was crucified in his place. The Cerinthians before them, and the Carpocratians next (to name no more of those who affirmed Jesus to have been a mere man), did believe the same thing; that it was not himself, but one of his followers very like him that was crucified. Photius tells us that he read a book entitled, The Journeys of the Apostles, relating the acts of Peter, John, Andrew, Thomas, and Paul; and among other things contained therein, this was one, that Christ was not crucified, but another in his stead, and that therefore he laughed at his crucifiers, or those who thought they had crucified him.

"I have in another place mentioned an apocryphal Gospel of Barnabas, a forgery originally of some nominal Christians, but interpolated since by Muhammadans, which gives this part of the history of Jesus with circumstances too curious to be omitted. It is therein related, that the moment the Jews were going to apprehend Jesus in the garden, he was snatched up into the third heaven by the ministry of four angels, Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, and Uriel; that he will not die till the end of the world, and that it was Judas who was crucified in his stead, God having permitted that traitor to appear so like his master in the eyes of the Jews that they took and delivered him to Pilate; that this resemblance was so great that it deceived the Virgin Mary and the apostles themselves; but that Jesus Christ afterwards obtained leave of God to go and comfort them; that Barnabas having then asked him why the Divine Goodness had suffered the mother and disciples of so holy a prophet to believe even for one moment that he had died in so ignominious a manner, Jesus returned the following answer: 0 Barnabas, believe me that every sin, how small soever, is punished by God with great torment, because God is offended with sin. My mother therefore and faithful disciples, having loved me with a mixture of earthly love, the just God has been pleased to punish this love with their present grief, that they might not be punished for it hereafter in the flames of hell. And as for me, though I have myself been blameless in the world, yet other men having called me God and the son of God, therefore God, that I might not be mocked by the devils at the day of judgment, has been pleased that in this world I should be mocked by men with the death of Judas, making everybody believe that I died upon the cross. And hence it is that this mocking is still to continue till the coming of Muhammad, the messenger of God, who, coming into the world, will undeceive every one who shall believe in the law of God from this mistake.""