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saying, Verily Satan hath afflicted me with calamity and pain.

|| (41) And it was said unto him, Strike the earth with R thy foot; which when he had done, a fountain sprang up, and it was said to him, This is for thee to wash in, to refresh thee, and to drink. (42) And we restored unto him his family, and as many more with them, through our mercy; and for an admonition unto those who are endued with understanding. (43) And we said unto him, Take a handful of rods in thy hand, and strike thy wife therewith; and break not thine oath. Verily we found him a patient person: (44) how excellent a servant was he! for he was one who frequently turned himself unto ՂԱՏ. (45) Remember also our servants Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, who were men strenuous and prudent. (46) Verily we purified them with a perfect purification, through the remembrance of the life to come; (47) and they were in our sight elect and good men. (48) And remember Ismail, and Elisha, and Dhu'l Qifl; for all these were

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to wash in.

(41) This.. "Some say there were two springs, one of hot water, wherein he bathed, and the other of cold, of which he drank."-Sale, Baidhawi.

(43) A handful of rods. "The original not expressing what this handful was to consist of, one supposes it was to be only a handful of dry grass or of rushes, and another that it was a branch of a palm-tree."-Sale.

Strike thy wife. "The commentators are not agreed what fault Job's wife had committed to deserve this chastisement: we have mentioned one opinion already (see chap. xxi. 83, note). Some think it was only because she stayed too long on an errand."

Thine oath, viz., to beat his wife with one hundred stripes if he should recover. He fulfilled his oath by giving her one blow with a bundle containing one hundred small rods. Hence his "patience!" (46) Through the remembrance, &c. "Or, as the words may be interpreted, according to al Zamakhsharí, We have purified them, or peculiarly destined and fitted them for Paradise." "Sale.

(48) See note on chap. vi. 87.

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Dhul Qifl. "Al Baidhawi here takes notice of another tradition concerning this prophet, viz., that he entertained and took care of a hundred Israelites, who fled to him from a certain slaughter: from which action he probably had the surname of Dhu'l Qifl given him; the primary signification of the verb qafala being to maintain or take care of another. If a conjecture might be founded on this

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SULS.

good men. (49) This is an admonition. Verily the pious shall have an excellent place to return unto, (50) namely, gardens of perpetual abode, the gates whereof shall stand open unto them. (51) As they lie down therein, they shall there ask for many sorts of fruits, and for drink; (52) and near them shall sit the virgins of Paradise, refraining their looks from beholding any besides their spouses, and of equal age with them. (53) This is what ye are promised at the day of account.

(54) This is our provision, which shall not fail. (55) This shall be the reward of the righteous. But for the transgressors is prepared an evil receptacle, (56) namely, hell: they shall be cast into the same to be burned, and a wretched couch shall it be. (57) This let them taste, to wit, scalding water, and corruption flowing from the bodies of the damned, (58) and divers other things of the same kind. (59) And it shall be said to the seducers, This troop which was guided by you shall be thrown together with you headlong into hell: they shall not be bidden welcome; for they shall enter the fire to be burned. (60) And the seduced shall say to their seducers, Verily ye shall not be bidden welcome ye have brought it upon us; and a wretched abode is hell. (61) They shall say, O LORD, doubly increase the torment of him who hath brought this punishment upon us in the fire of hell. (62) And the infidels shall say, Why do we not see the men whom we numbered among the wicked, (63) and whom we received with scorn? Or do our eyes miss them? (64) Verily this is a truth, to wit, the disputing of the inhabitants of hell-fire. (65) Say, O Muhammad, unto the idolaters,

tradition, I should fancy the person intended was Obadiah, the governor of Ahab's house (1 Kings xviii. 4)."—Sale.

See also note on chap. xxi. 85.

(49-54) See notes on chaps. iii. 15, 196, and ix. 73.
(52) Equal age, i.e., "about thirty or thirty-three."-Sale.
See also Prelim. Disc., p. 158.

Verily I am no other than a warner; and there is no god except the one only GOD, the Almighty,

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(66) The LORD of heaven and earth, and of whatsoever R 14. is between them; the mighty, the forgiver of sins. (67) Say, It is a weighty message (68) from which ye turn aside. (69) I had no knowledge of the exalted princes when they disputed concerning the creation of man: (70) (it hath been revealed unto me only as a proof that I am a public preacher :) (71) when thy LORD said unto the angels, Verily I am about to create man of clay: (72) when I shall have formed him, therefore, and shall have breathed my spirit into him, do ye fall down and worship him. (73) And all the angels worshipped him in general, (74) except Iblís, who was puffed up with pride, and became an unbeliever. (75) God said unto him, O Iblís, what hindereth thee from worshipping that which I have created with my hands? (76) Art thou elated with vain pride? or art thou really one of exalted merit? (77) He answered, I am more excellent than he thou hast created me of fire, and thou hast created him of clay. (78) God said unto him, Get thee hence, therefore; for thou shalt be driven away from mercy; (79) and my curse shall be upon thee until the day of judgment. (80) He replied, O LORD, respite me, therefore, until the day of resurrection. (81) God said, Verily thou shalt be one of those who are respited (82) until the day of the deter

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(65) A warner. See notes on chaps. ii. 119, iii. 184, and vi. 109. (69) Exalted princes, i.e., the angels, who disputed about the creation of man.

Revealed unto me only, &c. Sale adds the words as a proof, to fill up the ellipsis. Rodwell translates, "Revealed to me only, because," &c., which is better. The Tafsir-i-Raufi translates it thus, "Revealed to me for no other reason than because I am a public preacher." Thus early we find Muhammad presenting his revelations as proof of his prophetic office. These stories he undoubtedly learned from Jews or Christian slaves, and yet he here distinctly claims to have learned them by inspiration, i.e., from God through the medium of the Angel Gabriel. I leave his Christian apologists to reconcile this fact with their theory of his honesty.

(71-85) See notes on ii. 30-34, vii. 11–19, and xv. 28–39.

VOL. III.

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mined time. (83) Iblis said, By thy might do I swear, I will surely seduce them all, (84) except thy servants who shall be peculiarly chosen from among them. (85) God said, It is a just sentence; and I speak the truth: I will surely fill hell with thee, and with such of them as shall follow thee, altogether. (86) Say unto the Makkans, I ask not of you any reward for this my preaching: neither am I one of those who assume a part which belongs not to them. (87) The Qurán is no other than an admonition unto all creatures: (88) and ye shall surely know what is delivered therein to be true, after a season.

(88) After a season, i.e., at death or the resurrection, or at the triumph of Islám.-Tafsír-i-Raufi.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

ENTITLED SURAT AL ZAMR (THE TROOPS).

Revealed at Makkah.

INTRODUCTION.

THE title given to this chapter is taken from the statement of vers. 71-73, that the Muslims and the infidels should be conducted to heaven and hell "by troops."

suras.

As to its contents, this chapter differs little from other Makkan There is the usual assertion of prophetic claims on the part of the Prophet; the usual declamation against idolatry, with threats of divine wrath against the impenitent; the usual reference to former prophets, and the destruction of their unbelieving hearers; and finally, the usual emphatic testimony to the great doctrine of the resurrection, and the contrasted condition of true believers and the infidels after the judgment-day.

An important point of interest in this chapter is the reiterated claim of Muhammad to have been appointed a prophet and to have received the Qurán in order to exhibit "the pure religion" of God (see vers. 1-3, 14-16, 42, and 56). Everywhere Muhammad appears as simply a preacher of the truth of Islám (ver. 23) and a witness against the idolaters of Makkah (ver. 40).

Probable Date of the Revelations.

All authorities agree that this chapter originated at Makkah before the Hijra, excepting ver. 54, or vers. 54-56, or vers. 54-61, which some Muslim authorities regard as Madínic. A few writers assign vers. 13 and 24 also to Madína.

The story of Al Wahshi and other malefactors, given by the commentators on the authority of tradition to explain ver. 54, may be true (in which case the passage must be Madinic; but I confess to

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