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ends, and directeth them to attain the same; ' and who produceth the pasture for cattle, and afterwards rendereth the same dry stubble of a dusky hue. We will enable thee to rehearse our revelations; and thou shalt not forget any part thereof, except what God shall please; for he knoweth that which is manifest, and that which is hidden. And we will facilitate unto thee the most easy way." Wherefore admonish thy people, if thy admonition shall be profitable unto them. Whoso feareth God, he will be admonished but the most wretched unbeliever will turn away therefrom; who shall be cast to be broiled in the greater fire of hell, wherein he shall not die, neither shall he live. Now hath he attained felicity, who is purified by faith, and who remembereth the name of his LORD, and prayeth. But ye prefer this present life: yet the life to come is better, and more durable. Verily this is written in the ancient books, the books of Abra ham and Moses.

CHAPTER LXXXVIII.

INTITLED, THE OVERWHELMING;' REVEALED AT MECCA.

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.

HATH the news of the overwhelming day of judgment reached thee? The countenances of some, on that day, shall be cast down; labouring and toiling: they shall be cast into scorching fire to be broiled: they shall be given to drink of a boiling fountain: they shall have no food, but of dry thorns and thistles: which shall not fatten, neither shall they satisfy hunger But the countenances of others, on that day, shall be joyful; well pleased with their past endeavour: they shall be placed in a lofty garden, wherein thou shalt hear no vain discourse: therein shall be a running fountain celestial gifts for every letter which is contained in the books sent from heaven, to Abra ham, Moses, and Mohammed. So say the Mohammedan theologians."-Savary. 9 Determining their various species, properties, ways of life, &c.'

Guiding the rational by their reason and also by revelation, and the irrational by in stinct, &c.

"He hath created and perfected his works. Eternal wisdom presideth over his decrees."-Savary.

• See chap. 75, p. 473.

i. e. Except such revelations as God shall think fit to abrogate, and blot out of thy memory. See chap. 2, p. 14, and chap. 75, p. 473.

"To retain the revelations communicated to thee by Gabriel: or, as some understand the words, We will dispose thee to the profession and strict observance of the most easy religion, that is, of Islam.

This is a name, or epithet of the last day; because it will suddenly overwhelm all creatures with fear and astonishment. It is also a name, or epithet, of hell fire.

i. e. Dragging their chains, and labouring through hell fire, as cameis labour through mud, &c. Or, Employing and fatiguing themselves in what shall not avail them."

"Hath any one depicted unto thee the gloomy veil? Those of whom the counte nance shall be covered by it shall be like unto hirelings exhausted by fatigue..'-Savary Such as the camels eat when green and tender. Some take the original word al Darı for the name of a thorny tree. (Savary is of this opinion.)

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therein shall be raised beds, and goblets placed before them, and cushions laid in order, and carpets ready spread. Do they not consider the camels," how they are created; and the heaven, how it is raised; and the moun tains, how they are fixed; and the earth, how it is extended? Wherefore warn thy people; for thou art a warner only thou art not impowered to act with authority over them. But whoever shall turn back, and disbelieve, GoD shall punish him with the greater punishment of the life t come. Verily unto us shall they return: then shall it be our part to brin them to account.

CHAPTER LXXXIX.

INTITLED, THE DAY-BREAK; REVEALED AT MECCA'

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.

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By the day-break, and ten nights; by that which is double, and that which is single; * and by the night when it cometh on: is there not in this an oath formed with understanding? Hast thou not considered how thy LORD dealt with Ad, the people of Irem, adorned with lofty buildings,'

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These animals are of such use, or rather necessity, in the east, that the creation of a species so wonderfully adapted to those countries is a very proper instance, to an Arabian, of the power and wisdom of God.

Some, however, think the clouds, (which the original word ibl also signifies.) are here Intended: the heaven being mentioned immediately after.

Or, Except him who shall turn back, and be an infidel; and God shall also punish him. &c. By which exception some suppose that power is here given to Mohammed to chastise obstinate infidels and apostates.

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Some are of pinion this chapter was revealed at Medina.

That is, The ten nights of Dhu'lhajja, or the tenth of that month, (whence some understand the day-break mentioned just before, of the morning of that day, or of the preceding;) or the nights of the 10th of Moharram; or as others rather think, the 10th, 11th, and 12th of Dhu'lhajji. All which are days peculiarly sacred among the Mohammedans.

These words are variously interpreted. Some understand thereby all things in general; some, all created beings, (which are said to have been created by pairs, or of two kinds,) and the creator, who is single: some, of the primum mobile, and the other orbs; some, of the constellations, and the planets; some, of the nights before mentioned, taken either together or singly; and some, of the day of slaying the victims, (the 10th of Dha'l hajja,) and of the day of Arafat, which is the day before, &c.'

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"By the union and the separation."-Savary.

Irem was the name of the territory or city of the Adites, and of the garden mentioned in the next note; which were so called from Irem, or Aram, the grandfather of Ad, their progenitor. Some think Aram himself to be here meant, and his name to be added to signify the ancient Adites, his immediate descendants, and to distinguish them from the latter tribe of that name: but the adjective and relative joined to the word are, in the original, of the feminine gender, which seems to contradict this opinion.

Or pillars. Some imagine these words are used to express the great size and strength of the old Adites;' and then they should be translated, who were of enormous stature. But the more exact commentators take the passage to relate to the sumptuous palace and delightful gardens built and made by Sheddâd the son of Ad. For they say Ad left two sons, Sheddad and Sheddîd, who reigned jointly after his decease, and extended their power over the greater part of the world: but Sheddîd dying, his brother became sole monarch; who having heard of the celestial paradise, made a garden, in imitation thereof, in the deserts of Aden, and called it Irem, after the name of his great-grandfather: when it was finished he set out, with a great attendance, to take a view of it; but when they were come within a • ⚫ Al Zamakh. • Al Beidâwi, Jallalo'ddin. 'liden

See chap. 5., p. 424. See the Prelim Disc. p. 5.

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the like whereof hath not been erected in the land; and with Thamud, who hewed the rocks in the valley into houses; and with Pharaoh, .he contriver of the stakes: who had behaved insolently in the earth, and multiplied corruption therein? Wherefore thy LORD poured on them various kinds of chastisement: for thy LORD is surely in a watch-tower, whence he observeth the actions of men. Moreover man, when his LORD trieth him by prosperity, and honoureth him, and is bounteous unto him, saith, My LORD honoureth me; but when he proveth him by afflictions, and withholdeth his provisions from him, he saith, My LORD despiseth me. By no means:1 but ye honour not the orphan, neither do ye excite one another to feed the poor; and ye devour the inheritance of the weak, with undistinguishing greediness, and ye love riches with much affection. By no means should ye do thus. When the earth shall be minutely ground to dust; and thy LORD shall come, and the angels rank by rank; and hell, on that day, shall be brought nigh: on that day shall man call to remembrance his evil deeds; but how shall remembrance avail him? He shall say, Would to GOD that I had heretofore done good works in my life-time! On that day uone shall punish with his punishment; nor shall any bind with his bonds.

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day's journey of the place, they were all destroyed by a terrible noise from heaven. Al Beidâwi adds that one Abdallah Ebn Kelâbah (whom, after D'Herbelot, I have elsewhere named Colabah") accidentally hit on this wonderful place, as he was seeking a camel.

If we suppose the preceding words to relate to the vast stature of the Adites, these must be translated, The like of whom have not been created, &c.

The learned Greaves, in his translation of Abu'lfeda's description of Arabia, has falsely rendered these words, which are there quoted, Quibus petræ vallis responsum dederunt, i. e. To whom the rocks of the valley returned answer: which slip being made by so great a man, I do not at all wonder that la Roque, and Petis de la Croix, from whose Latin version, and with whose assistance, la Roque made his French translation of the aforesaid treatise, have been led into the same mistake, and rendered these words, A qui les pierres de la vallée redirent réponse. The valley here meant, say the commentators, is Wâdi'lkora, lying about one day's journey,' (not five and upwards, as Abu'lfeda will have it) from al Hejr.

See chap. 38, p. 372.

* "Art thou ignorant how God took vengeance on the Adites; on the Iremites, whose stature equalled the height of columns; (the earth never bore men like unto them ;) on the Thamuds, who hewed the rocks into valleys; and on Pharaoh, who, surrounded by a splendid court, ruled Egypt haughtily."―Savary.

The original word signifies a mixture, and also a scourge of platted thongs: whence some suppose the chastisement of this life is here represented by a scourge, and intimated to be as much lighter than that of the next life, as scourging is lighter than death."

For worldly prosperity or adversity is not a certain mark either of the favour or disfavour of God.

Not suffering women or young children to have any share in the inheritance of their ausbands or parents. See chap. 4, p. 60.

↑ "Are not these your faults ?"-Savary.

"There is a tradition that at the last day hell will be dragged towards the tribunal by 70,000 halters, each halter being hawled by 70,000 angels; and that it will come with great roaring and fury.'

Or, For this my latter life.

P. e. None shall be able to punish or to bind, as God shall then punish and bind the wicked.

Prelim. Disc. p. 5.

Page 23. It was published by Dr. Hudson, in the third vol.

of the Geographiae veteris Scriptor. Gr. minor." Voyage de la Palestine, par La Roque, p. 35. apud Abulf. ubi sub. Geogr. Nub. p. 110. lidem.

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O thou soil which art at rest, return unto thy LORD, well pleased with thy reward, and well pleasing unto God: enter among my servants; and enter my paradise.

CHAPTER XC.

INTITLED, THE TERRITORY; REVEALED AT MECCA.*

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.

I SWEAR by this territory, (and thou, O prophet, residest in this territory,†) and by the begetter, and that which he hath begotten; verily we have created man in misery. Doth he think that none shall prevail over him? He saith, I have wasted plenty of riches. Doth he think that none seeth him? Have we not made him two eyes, and a tongue, and two lips; and shown him the two highways of good and evil? Yet he attempteth not the cliff. What shall make thee to understand what the cliff is? It is to free the captive; or to feed, in the day of famine, the orphan who is of kin, or the poor man who lieth on the ground. Whose doth this, and is one of those who believe, and recommend perseverance unto each other, and recommend mercy unto each other; these shall be the companions of the right hand. But they who shall disbelieve our signs shall be the companions of the left hand : above them shall be arched fire.

Some expound this of the soul which having, by pursuing the concatenation of natural causes, raised itself to the knowledge of that Being which produced them, and exists of necessity, rests fully contented, or acquiesces in the knowledge of him, and the contemplation of his perfections. By this the reader will observe that the Mohammedans are no strangers to Quietism. Others, however, understand the words of the soul which, having attained the knowledge of the truth, rests satisfied, and relies securely thereon, undisturbed >v doubts; or of the soul which is secure of its salvation, and free from fear or sorrow."

"The faithful who shall read this chapter devoutly, says Zamakhshari, shall enjoy the protection of heaven; at the day of resurrection, God will give them a safe-guard against his wrath."-Savary.

'Or, I will not swear, &c. See chap. 56, p. 437, note d. (Savary prefers this reading.) ⚫ viz. The sacred territory of Mecca.

'Or, Thou shalt be allowed to do what thou pleasest in this territory; the words, in this sense, importing a promise of that absolute power which Mohammed attained on the aking of Mecca.

"It is thy asylum."-Savary.

"Some understand these words generally; others of Adam, or Abraham, and of their offspring, and of Mohammed in particular.

Or, to trouble. This passage was revealed to comfort the prophet under the persecutions of the Koreish.'

Some expositors take a particular person to be here intended, who was one of Mohammed's most inveterate adversaries; as Al Walid Ebn al Mogheira: others suppose Abu'l Ashadd Ebn Calda to be the man: who was so very strong, that a large skin being spread under his feet, and ten men pulling at it, they could not make him fail, hough they tore the skin to pieces."

* In a vain and ostentatious manner; or, in opposing of Mohammed.

"We have made him experience the one and the other fortune. But we have not pat him to the last proof. What is that proof?"—Savary.

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CHAPTER XCI.

IN TITLED, THE SUN; REVEALED AT MECCA.*

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.

By the Sun, and its rising brightness; † by the moon, when she followeth him; by the day, when it showeth his splendour; by the night, when covereth him with darkness; by the heaven, and him who built it; by the earth, and him who spread it forth; by the soul, and him who completely formed it, and inspired into the same its faculty of distinguishing, and power of choosing, wickedness and piety: now is he who hath purified the same, happy; but he who hath corrupted the same, is miserable Thamud accused their prophet Saleh of imposture, through the excess of their wickedness: when the wretch among them was sent to slay the camel; and the apostle of GoD said unto them, Let alone the camel of God; and hinder not her drinking. But they charged him with imposture; and they slew her. Wherefore their LORD destroyed them, for their crime, and made their punishment equal unto them all: and he feareth not the issue thereof.

CHAPTER XCII.

INTITLED, THE NIGHT; REVEALED AT MECCA.

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD

By the night, when it covereth all things with darkness; by the day, when it shineth forth; || by his who hath created the male, and the female: verily your endeavour is different. Now whoso is obedient, and feareth God, and professeth the truth of that faith which is most excellent; unto him will we facilitate the way to happiness: but whoso shall be covetous, and shall be wholly taken up with this world, and shall deny the truth of that which is most excellent; unto him will we facilitate the way to misery;

* "The Mohammedan, says Zamakhshari, who shall devoutly read this chapter, shall be rewarded as if he had bestowed in alms all that the sun and the moon enlighten in their course."-Savary.

"By the sun, and its brilliant fires.”—Savary.

i. e. When she rises just after him, as she does at the beginning of the month; ot when she sets after him, as happens when she is a little past the full.

"By the night, which covereth his luminous countenance."-Savary.

vis. Kedâr Ebn Sâlef. See chap. 7, p. 124, and chap. 54, p. 430.

"God will fulfil all the desires of the faithful who shall read this chapter; he will pitigate for them the troubles of life, and will crown all their undertakings with success. 3uch is the opinion of the Mohammedan theologians."-Savary.

"By the day when it shineth with the purest radiance."-Savary.

"Your zeal shall have a different success."-Savary.

**He who giveth alms and who feareth God." -Savary.

• Al Beidawi.

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