(117) and there is also a provision made for thee, that thou shalt not thirst therein, neither shalt thou be incommoded by heat. (118) But Satan whispered evil suggestions unto him, saying, O Adam, shall I guide thee to the tree of eternity and a kingdom which faileth not? (119) And they both ate thereof: and their nakedness appeared unto them; and they began to sew together the leaves of Paradise, to cover themselves. And thus Adam became disobedient unto his LORD, and was seduced. (120) Afterwards his LORD accepted him, on his repentance, and was turned unto him, and directed him. And (121) God said, Get ye down hence, all of you: the one of you shall be an enemy unto the other. (122) But hereafter shall a direction come unto you from me: and whosoever shall follow my direction shall not err, neither shall he be unhappy; (123) but whosoever shall turn aside from my admonition, verily he shall lead a miserable life, (124) and we will cause him to appear before us on the day of resurrection blind. (125) And he shall say, O LORD, why hast thou brought me before thee blind, whereas before I saw clearly? (126) God shall answer, Thus have we done, because our signs came unto thee, and thou didst forget them; and in the same manner shalt thou be forgotten this day. (127) And thus will we reward him who shall be negligent, and shall not believe in the signs of his LORD: and the punishment of the life to come shall be more severe, and more lasting, than the punishment of this life. (128) Are not the Makkans, therefore, acquainted how many generations we have destroyed before them; in whose dwellings they walk? Verily herein are signs unto those who are endued with understanding. || (129) And unless a decree had previously gone forth from thy LORD for their respite, verily their destruction had necessarily followed: but there is a certain time deter (124) Blind. See Prelim. Disc., p. 139. (128) In whose dwellings they walk. Seeing the footsteps of their destruction; as of the tribes of Ad and Thamud."—Sale. mined by God for their punishment. (130) Wherefore, do thou, O Muhammad, patiently bear that which they say; and celebrate the praise of thy LORD before the rising of the sun, and before the setting thereof, and praise him in the hours of the night, and in the extremities of the day, that thou mayest be well pleased with the prospect of receiving favour from God. (131) And cast not thine eyes on that which we have granted divers of the unbelievers to enjoy, namely, the splendour of this present life, that we may prove them thereby; for the provision of thy LORD is better and more permanent. (132) Command thy family to observe prayer; and do thou persevere therein. We require not of thee that thou labour to gain necessary provisions for thyself and family; we will provide for thee; for the prosperous issue shall attend on piety. (133) The unbelievers say, Unless he come unto us with a sign from his LORD, we will not believe on him. Hath not a plain declaration come unto them, of that which is contained in (130) Extremities of the day, i.e., "evening and morning, which times are repeated as the principal hours of prayer. But some suppose these words intend the prayer of noon; the first half of the day ending, and the second half beginning, at that time."-Sale, Baidhawi, Jalaluddin. Comp. chap. xxx. 16, 17, and consult note on chap. ii. 238. Muir (Life of Mahomet, vol. ii. 267, note) says the interpretation of the extremities of the day is in "order to reconcile the passage with the prescribed hours." The original does not favour Sale's idea that the principal hours are here repeated. (131) The splendour, i.e., " do not envy or covet their pomp and prosperity in this world."-Sale. See notes on chap. xv. 88. The provision of thy Lord, viz., "the reward laid up for thee in the next life; or the gift of prophecy, and the revelations with which God has favoured thee."- -Sale. (132) We will provide for thee. Muir applies this verse and the one preceding to the straitened circumstances of Muhammad just before the flight to Madína (Life of Mahomet, vol. ii. p. 231). "It is said that when Muhammad's family were in any strait or affliction, he used to order them to go to prayers, and to repeat this verse."-Sale, Baidhawi. (133) Hath not a plain declaration, &c. The plain meaning of this passage is, that the narratives of sacred history contained in the Quran are in accord with the sacred records of the Jewish Scriptures. There is not the slightest ground for the imagination of the com the former volumes of scripture, by the revelation of the Qurán? (134) If we had destroyed them by a judgment before the same had been revealed, they would have said at the resurrection, O LORD, how could we believe, since thou didst not send unto us an apostle, that we might follow thy signs, before we were humbled and covered with shame? (135) Say, Each of us wait the issue; wait, therefore; for ye shall surely know hereafter who have been the followers of the even way, and who hath been rightly directed. mentators (Tafsir-i-Hussaini, Abdul Qádir) that Muhammad alludes to the prophecies of the Old and New Testaments as referring to his mission. CHAPTER XXI. ENTITLED SURAT UL AMBAYA (THE PROPHETS). Revealed at Makkah. INTRODUCTION. THE circumstances of the Muslims at the time this chapter was written have, as usual, determined the style and matter of the "revelations." The Quraish, aided by the Jews, were now active in their resistance to the reformer at Makkah. They scoffed at his revelations, stigmatising them as "a confused heap of dreams," the offspring of sorcery; Muhammad was denounced as "a forger," and his boasted "incomparable" verses were regarded as the ordinary productions of a "poet" (ver. 5). It is not unreasonable to infer from the character of the persecution of the prophets in former ages described in this chapter, that the Quraish had already threatened Muhammad with violent measures, and were now quite ready to carry their threats into execution (comp. ver. 37 with vers. 66-68). The principal point in the stories of the prophets given here is that the blessing of God rests on the prophets, and that he delivers them out of the hands of their enemies, or avenges their death with dire judgments on their persecutors (see note on vers. 10-15). The case of Abraham, however, is given with considerable detail. This is one of the prophets with whom Muhammad frequently compared himself in the Qurán. If (with Muir, see note on ver. 18) we regard Muhammad and the Muslims as now exposed to that persecution of the Quraish which resulted in their flight to Madína, and keeping in mind that at this period Muhammad had determined to retire to Madína as soon as the way should be open, we may make the following comparison,-a comparison we believe to have been present in Muhammad's mind at that time-a comparison between Abraham and Muhammad : ABRAHAM. 1. Received a revelation for his people (the Chaldeans, ver. 52). 2. Reproaches his father and people for their idolatry (ver. 53). 3. Treats the national idols with contempt, and speaks against them (vers. 54-64). 4. Abraham is tolerated for a while, and hopes for reform (ver. 65). 5. The Chaldeans relapse into former habits and begin to persecute Abraham (ver. 66). 6. The Chaldeans seek Abraham's life (vers. 67, 68). 7. Abraham delivered by divine interference (vers. 69, 70). 8. Abraham and Lot delivered from the Chaldeans and brought into "a land of blessing." This chapter is also interesting as illustrating how much of Scripture knowledge Muhammad had already acquired, and how he now moulds it to suit his purpose, and how he presents it as a revelation from God, and as a proof of its own inspiration because agreeing, as he declared, with the former Scriptures. No stronger proof of the charge brought against him by the Quraish and the Jews that he was "a forger" could be produced, his forgery "to be palliated only by the miserable apology of a pious end " (see Muir's Life of Mahomet, vol. ii. p. 189). Probable Date of the Revelations. From what has already been said, we conclude that this chapter belongs to the latter part of the third stage or ninth year of Muhammad's mission at Makkah. Jaláluddín as Syúti (Itqán, 34) thinks ver. 7 to be of Madína origin. Principal Subjects. The judgment of careless and mocking Quraish near 66 a forger" The Makkan people regard Muhammad as The unbelieving cities and scoffers destroyed VERSES I-4 5 6 7,8 9 10 11-15 16, 17 18 |