part of you. Therefore God rewarded you with affliction on affliction, that ye be not grieved hereafter for the spoils which ye fail of, nor for that which befalleth you, for GOD is well acquainted with whatever ye do. (155) Then he sent down upon you after affliction security; a soft sleep which fell on some part of you; but other part were troubled by their own souls; falsely thinking of GOD, a foolish imagination, saying, Will anything of the matter happen unto us? Say, Verily, the matter belongeth wholly unto GOD. They concealed in their minds what they declared not unto thee; saying, If anything of the matter had happened unto us, we had not been slain here. Answer, If ye had been in your houses, verily they would have gone forth to fight, whose slaughter was decreed, to the places where they died, and this came to pass that Gon might try what was in your breasts, and might discern what was in your hearts; for GOD knoweth the innermost parts of the breasts of men.

height, and took no heed of any one, while the prophet in your rear was calling to the fight.

Therefore God rewarded, &c., i.e., “God punished your avarice and disobedience by suffering you to be beaten by your enemies, and to be discouraged by the report of your prophet's death, that ye might be inured to patience under adverse fortune, and not repine at any loss or disappointment for the future."-Sale.

(155) He sent down... security. After the battle of Ohod the Muslims fell asleep. Some slept soundly and were refreshed, others were excited, indulging in wild imaginations, supposing themselves to be on the verge of destruction. So the commentators generally.

We had not been slain. The meaning is that they considered God to be against them because they had not secured any gain in the battle. They therefore said to themselves or one to another, "If God had assisted us according to his promise;" or, as others interpret the words, "If we had taken the advice of Abdullah Ibn Ubai Sulál, and had kept within the town of Madína, our companions had not lost their lives."-Sale, Jalaluddín.

Answer, if ye had been in your houses. See note on ver. 145. The teaching of this verse is decidedly fatalistic, and, taking it by itself, the only conclusion one could logically draw would be that Muhammad was a fatalist. But there are many passages asserting the freedom of the will. We regard Muhammad as having been strongly inclined to fatalism, owing to the emphasis which he laid upon the doctrine of God's absolute sovereignty. But being a man, his own

(156) Verily they among you who turned their backs on the day whereon the two armies met each other at Ohod, Satan caused them to slip for some crime which they had committed: but now hath God forgiven them; for GOD is gracious and merciful.

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|| (157) O true believers, be not as they who believed R 7 not, and said of their brethren when they had journeyed in the land or had been at war, If they had been with us, those had not died, nor had these been slain: whereas what befell them was so ordained that GOD might take it matter of sighing in their hearts. GOD giveth life and causeth to die: and GOD seeth that which ye do. (158) Moreover if ye be slain, or die in defence of the religion

consciousness of freedom asserted itself, and so he was saved from that "belief in an absolute predestination, which turns men into mere puppets, and all human life into a grim game of chess, wherein men are the pieces, moved by the invisible hand of but a single player, and which is now so general in Muhammadan countries" (R. B. Smith's Muhammad and Muhammadanism, pp. 191, 192.) And yet, while believing Muhammad much less a fatalist than his disciples, whose wild fanaticism is described so eloquently by Gibbon, yet we can by no means go the length of saying with Mr. Smith, that "there is little doubt that Muhammad himself, if the alternative had been clearly presented to him, would have had more in common with Pelagius than with Augustine, with Arminius than with Calvin." Muhammad was not a "consistent fatalist"no man ever was. Yet, notwithstanding his having "made prayer one of the four practical duties enjoined upon the faithful," and his constant use of language freely asserting the freedom of the will, there is such a multitude of passages in the Qurán which clearly make God the author of sin (chap. vii. 155, 179, 180; xv. 39-43; xvi. 95; xvii. 14-16, &c.), so many which assert the doctrine of absolute predestination, and all this so constantly confirmed by tradition, that the conclusion is irresistibly forced upon us that Muhammad is responsible for the fatalism of Islám.

(156) Satan caused them to slip, i.e., by tempting them to disobedience. For some crime, &c.- "For their covetousness in quitting their post to seize the plunder."

(157) Who believed not, i.e., the hypocrites of Madina who declined to fight at Ohod. Had journeyed, with a view to merchandise, or been at war for the cause of religion (Tafsir-i-Raufi). The sentiment of this and the two following verses is like that of vers. 139143; the hour of death is fixed for every man in the eternal decree of God, and those who die fighting for Islám shall be pardoned and accepted of God, and be made partakers of the joys of paradise.

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of GOD; verily pardon from GOD, and mercy, is better than what they heap together of worldly riches. (159) And if ye die or be slain, verily unto GOD shall ye be gathered. (160) And as to the mercy granted unto the disobedient from GOD, thou, O Muhammad, hast been mild towards them; but if thou hadst been severe and hardhearted, they had surely separated themselves from about thee. Therefore forgive them, and ask pardon for them: and consult them in the affair of war; and after thou hast deliberated, trust in GOD; for GOD loveth those who trust in him. (161) If GOD help you, none shall conquer you; but if he desert you, who is it that will help you after him? Therefore in GOD let the faithful trust. (162) It is not the part of a prophet to defraud, for he who

(160) If thou hadst been severe, &c. The policy of Muhammad in dealing with his followers is here distinctly announced. They had certainly merited severe punishment. But there were powerful adversaries in Madina who would have taken advantage of any attempt to enforce punishment of a severe nature. Besides, no slight shock to the new faith had been felt owing to the defeat, and it became a matter of the utmost importance to establish that faith. Hence the mild words, and the forgiveness so freely bestowed.

Let it be observed that all these mild words and expressions of forgiveness are set forth as coming from the mouth of God, and yet the same Divinity commends the mildness of the Prophet! Surely there is more of the politician than of the prophet here.

(162) It is not the part of a prophet to defraud. Sale says, on the authority of Baidhawi and Jalaluddin, that "this passage was revealed, as some say, on the division of the spoil at Badr, when some of the soldiers suspected Muhammad of having privately taken a scarlet carpet, made all of silk and very rich, which was missing. Others suppose the archers, who occasioned the loss of the battle of Ohod, left their station because they imagined Muhammad would not give them their share of the plunder; because, as it is related, he once sent out a party as an advanced guard, and in the meantime attacking the enemy, took some spoils which he divided among those who were with him in the action, and gave nothing to the party that was absent on duty."

The Tafsir-i-Raufi says the passage was occasioned by certain of the companions desiring a larger share of the booty than their weaker brethren. God here signifies that all are to be treated alike, and that partiality in the division of booty would be dishonest. This passage is regarded as vindicating the prophet from every charge of dishonesty.

defraudeth shall bring with him what he hath defrauded any one of, on the day of the resurrection. Then shall every soul be paid what he hath gained; and they shall not be treated unjustly. (163) Shall he therefore who followeth that which is well-pleasing unto God be as he who bringeth on himself wrath from GOD, and whose receptacle is hell? an evil journey shall it be thither. (164) There shall be degrees of rewards and punishments with GOD, for GOD seeth what they do. (165) Now hath GOD been gracious unto the believers when he raised up among them an apostle of their own nation, who should recite his signs unto them, and purify them, and teach them the book of the Quran and wisdom: whereas they were before in manifest error. (166) After a misfortune had befallen you at Ohod (ye had already obtained two equal advantages), do ye say, Whence

He who defraudeth shall bring, &c. "According to a tradition of Muhammad, whoever cheateth another will, on the day of judgment, carry his fraudulent purchase publicly on his neck."-Sale.

(164) There shall be degrees, &c. This explains the purport of ver. 163. God will reward his servants in accordance with their works. The brave companions (note, ver. 162) need not be troubled by an equal division of the booty. God will reward, for "God seeth what ye do." As indicated by Sale in his translation, this principle applies to punishments as well as to rewards.

(165) An apostle of their own nation. Sale, on the authority of Baidhawi, says some manuscripts have min anfasihim instead of min anfusihim, whence it would read, An apostle of the noblest among them, meaning the Quraish, of which tribe Muhammad was descended. I have not been able to find any copy of the Quran containing this reading. It is not likely that the spirit of Muhammad's inspiration would have made, at this time, any such invidious distinction between the tribes of Arabia, especially when as yet the Quraish were the mortal enemies of Muhammad. The expression is better understood as having reference to the Arabs in general. Purify them, i.e., from idolatry and evil customs, such as infanticide, &c.

And wisdom. Baidhawi understands this expression to refer to the Sunnat, or Book of Traditions.

(166) Two equal advantages. "In the battle of Badr, where he slew seventy of the enemy equalling the number of those who lost their lives at Ohod, and also took as many prisoners."-Sale. See notes on vers. 13 and 152.

cometh this? Answer, This is from yourselves: for GOD is almighty. (167) And what happened unto you, on the day whereon the two armies met, was certainly by the permission of GOD; (168) and that he might know the ungodly. It was said unto them, Come, fight for the religion of GOD, or drive back the enemy: they answered, If we had known ye went out to fight, we had certainly followed you. They were on that day nearer unto unbelief than they were to faith; they spake with their mouths what was not in their hearts: but GOD perfectly knew what they concealed; (169) who said of their brethren, while themselves stayed at home, If they had obeyed us, they had not been slain. Say, Then keep back death from yourselves, if ye say truth. (170) Thou shalt in nowise reckon those who have been slain at Ohod, in the cause of GOD, dead; nay, they are sustained alive

God is almighty, i.e., he could not suffer defeat, wherefore your reverse has been a punishment for your disobedience.

(168) That he might know the ungodly. See note on ver. 142. If we had known, &c. "That is, if we had conceived the least hope of success when ye marched out of Madína to encounter the infidels, and had not known that ye went rather to certain destruction than to battle, we had gone with you. But this Muhammad here tells them was only a feigned excuse; the true reason of their staying behind being their want of faith and firmness in their religion."-Sale, Baidhawi.

Rodwell translates this phrase, Had we known how to fight. This agrees with the various translations in Persian and Urdú. The meaning is, that the hypocrites feigned not to have known the Muslims were going out to fight. To this Muhammad replies in the remainder of the verse by telling them plainly that they lied.

(169) This verse gives the reason for the charge against the hypocrites in the previous verse. They are judged out of their own mouths.

Keep back death. See notes on vers. 145 and 155.

(170) Thou shalt in nowise reckon, &c. See note on chap. ii. 155. The crown of martyrdom was easily won. Even those slain because of their disobedience and covetousness (vers. 3, 122, 152, and 153, &c.) are now to be regarded as "alive with their God," and "rejoicing for what God of his favour hath granted them" (next verse). There is here a striking contrast between the teaching of the Qurán and the Word of God. It is the contrast between a counterfeit and the genuine article.