Karmata, came from Khûzistân to the villages near Cûfa, and there feigned great sanctity and strictness of life, and that God had enjoined him to pray fifty times a day, pretending also to invite people to the obedience of a certain Imâm of the family of Mohammed: and this way of life he continued till he had made a very great party, out of whom he chose twelve, as his apostles, to govern the rest, and to propagate his doctrines. But tho governor of the province, finding men neglected their work, and their husbandry in particular, to say those fifty prayers a day, seized the fellow, and having put him in prison, swore that he should die; which being overheard by a girl belonging to the governor, she, pitying the man, at night took the key of the dungeon from under her master's head as he slept, and having let the prisoner out, returned the key to the place whence she had it. The next morning the governor found the bird flown; and the accident being publicly known raised great admiration, his adherents giving it out that God had taken him into heaven. Afterwards he appeared in another province, and declared to a great number of people he had got about him, that it was not in the power of any to do him hurt; notwithstanding which, his courage failing him, he retired into Syria, and was not heard of any more. His sect, however, continued and increased, pretending that their master had manifested himself to be a true prophet, and had left them a new law, wherein he had changed the ceremonies and form of prayer used by the Moslems, and introduced a new kind of fast; and that he had also allowed them to drink wine, and dispensed with several things commanded in the Korân. They also turned the precepts of that oook into allegory; teaching that prayer was the symbol of obedience to their Imâm, and fasting that of silence, or concealing their dogmas from strangers; they also believed fornication to be the sin of infidelity; and the guilt thereof to be incurred by those who revealed the mysteries of their religion, or paid not a blind obedience to their chief. They are said to have produced a book, wherein was written (among other things), "In the name of the most merciful God. Al Faraj Ebn Othmân, of the town of Nasrâna, saith, that Christ appeared unto him in a human form, and said, Thou art the invitation: thou art the demonstration: thou art the camel thou art the beast: thou art John the son of Zacharias: thou art the Holy Ghost." From the year above mentioned the Karmatians, under several leaders, gave almost continual disturbance to the Khalifs and their Mohammedan subjects for several years; committing great disorders and outrages in Chaldea, Arabia, Syria, and Mesopotamia, and at length establishing a considerable principality, the power whereof was in its meridian in the reign of Abu Dhâher, famous for his taking of Mecca, and the indignities by him offered to the temple there, but which declined soon after his time, and came to nothing. To the Karmatians the Ismaelians of Asia were very near of kin, if they were not a branch of them: for these, who were also called at Molâhedah, or the impious, and by the writers of the history of the holy wars, Assassins, agreed with the former in many respects; such as their inveterate malice against those of other religions, and especially the Mohammedan; their unlimited obedience to their prince, at whose command they were ready for assassinations, or any other bloody and dangerous enterprise; their pretended attachment to a certain Imam of the house of Ali, &c. These Ismaelians, in the year 488, possessed themselves of al Jebál, in the Persian Irâk, under the conduct of Hasan Sabah; and that prince and his Apud Abulfar. p. 275. Ex Abulfar. ibid. Elmacino, p. 174, &c. Ebn Shohnah, Khondamir. Vide D'Herbel. Art. Carmath. 45.2. descendants enjoyed the same for a hundred and seventy-one years, till the whole race of them was destroyed by Holagu the Tartar." The Bâtenites, which name is also given to the Ismaelians by some authors, and likewise to the Karmatians,' were a sect which professed the same abominable principles, and were dispersed over several parts of the East. The word signifies Esoterics, or people of inward or hidden light or knowledge. Abu'l Teyyeb Ahmed, surnamed al Motanabbi, of the tribe of Jófa, is too famous on another account not to claim a place here. He was one of the most excellent poets among the Arabians, there being none besides Abu Temâm who can dispute the prize with him. His poetical inspiration was so warm and exalted, that he either mistook it, or thought he could persuade others to believe it to be prophetical, and therefore gave himself out to be a prophet indeed; and thence acquired his surname, by which he is generally known. His accomplishments were too great not to have some success; for several tribes of the Arabs of the deserts, particularly that of Kelâb, acknowledged him to be what he pretended. But Lûlû, governor of those parts for Akhshid king of Egypt and Syria, soon put a stop to the farther progress of this new sect, by imprisoning their prophet, and obliging him to renounce his chimerical dignity; which having done, he regained his liberty, and applied himself solely to his poetry, by means whereof he got very considerable riches, being in high esteem at the courts of several princes. Al Motanabbi lost his life, together with his son, on the bank of the Tigris, in defending the money which had been given him by Adado'ddawla, soltân of Persia, against some Arabian robbers who demanded it of him; with which money he was returning to Cûfa, his native city. This accident happened in the year 354.9 The last pretender to prophecy I shall now take notice of is one who appeared in the city of Amasia, in Natolia, in the year 638, and by his wonderful feats seduced a great multitude of the people there. He was by nation a Turkmân, and called himself Bâba, and had a disciple named Isaac, whom he sent about to invite those of his own nation to join him. Isaac accordingly, coming to the territory of Somesat, published his commission, and prevailed on many to embrace his master's sect, especially among the Turkmâns; so that at last he had six thousand horse at his heels, besides foot. With these Bâba and his disciples made open war on all who would not cry out with them, There is no God but God; Bâba is the apostle of God; and they put great numbers of Mohammedans, as well as Christians, to the sword in those parts; till at length both Mohammedans and Christians, joined together, gave them battle, and having entirely routed them, put them all to the sword, except their two chiefs, who, being taken alive, had their heads struck off by the executioner." I could mention several other impostors of the same kind, which have arisen among the Mohammedans since their prophet's time, and very near enough to complete the number foretold by him: but I apprehend the reader is by this time tired as well as myself, and shall therefore here conclude this discourse, which may be thought already too long for an introduction. Vide Abulfar. p. 505, &c. D'Herbel. p. 104, 437, 505, 620, and 784. 7 Vide Elmacin. p. 174, and 286. D'Herbel. p. 194. Vide Abulfar. p. 361, 374, 380, 483, Præf. in Opera Motanabbis MS. Vide D'Herbel. p. 638, &c. 10 Abulfar. p. 479. Lba Shohnah, D'Herbel. Art. Bâba. AL KORAN. CHAPTER I. INTITLED, THE PREFACE, OR INTRODUCTION;a REVEALED AT MECCA. IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.* b PRAISE be to GOD, the LORD of all creatures; the most merciful, the king of the day of judgment. Thee do we worship, and of thee do we beg assistance. Direct us in the right way, in the way of those to whom thou hast been gracious; not of those against whom thou art incensed, nor of those who go astray.° In Arabic al Fâtihat. This chapter is a prayer, and held in great veneration by the Mohammedans, who give it several other honourable titles; as the chapter of prayer, of praise, of thanksgiving, of treasure, &c. They esteem it as the quintessence of the whole Korân, and often repeat it in their devotions both public and private, as the Christians do the Lord's Prayer.1 "This formula is prefixed to all the chapters (with the exception of one). It is expressly recommended in the Korân. The Mohammedans pronounce it whenever they slaughter an animal, and at the commencement of their reading, and of all important actions. It is with them that which the sign of the cross is with Christians. Giaab, one of their celebrated authors, says that when these words were sent down from heaven, the clouds fled on the side of the east, the winds were lulled, the sea was moved, the animals erected their ears to listen, the devils were precipitated from the celestial spheres," &c.-Savary. The original words are Rabbi'lálamîna, which literally signify, Lord of the worlds; but alamîna, in this and other places of the Korân, properly means the three species of rational creatures, men, genii, and angels. Father Marracci has endeavoured to prove from this passage that Mohammed believed a plurality of worlds, which he calls the error of the Manichees, &c.: but this imputation the learned Reland has shown to be entirely groundless.3 Savary translates it "Sovereign of the worlds." • This last sentence contains a petition, that God would lead the supplicants into the true religion, by which is meant the Mohammedan, in the Korân often called the right way; in this place more particularly defined to be, the way of those to whom God hath been gracious, that is, of the prophets and faithful who preceded Mohammed; under which appellations are also comprehended the Jews and Christians, such as they were in the times of their primitive purity, before they had deviated from their respective institutions; not the way of the modern Jews, whose signal calamities are marks of the just anger of GOD against them for their obstinacy and 1 Vide Bobovium de Precib. Mohammed. p. 3, et seq. 2 In Prodromo ad Refut. Alcorani, part iv. p. 76, et in notis ad Alc. cap. 1. De Religione Mohammed. p. 262. CHAPTER II. INTITLED THE COW;a REVEALED PARTLY AT MECCA, AND PARTLY AT MEDINA. IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. A. L. M. There is no doubt in this book; it is a direction to the pious, who believe in the mysteries' of faith, who observe the appointed times of prayer, and distribute alms out of what we have bestowed on them; and who believe in that revelation, which hath been sent down unte thee, and that which hath been sent down unto the prophets before thee, and have firm assurance of the life to come: these are directed by their LORD, and they shall prosper. As for the unbelievers, it will be equal to them whether thou admonish them, or do not admonish them; they will not believe. GOD hath sealed up their hearts and their hearing; a dimness covereth their sight, and they shall suffer a grievous punishment. There are some who say, We believe in GOD, and the last day; but are not really believers; they seek to deceive GOD, and those who do believe, but they deceive themselves only, and are not sensible thereof. There is an infirmity in their hearts, and God hath increased that infirmity ;' and they shall suffer a most painful punishment, because they have disbelieved. When one saith unto them, Act not corruptly* in the earth ; disobedience; nor of the Christians of this age, who have departed from the true doctrine of Jesus, and are bewildered in a labyrinth of error. This is the common exposition of the passage; though al Zamakhshari, and some others, by a different application of the negatives, refer the whole to the true believers; and then the sense will run thus: The way of those to whom thou hast been gracious, against whom thou art not incensed, and who have not erred. Which translation the original will very well bear. d This title was occasioned by the story of the red heifer, mentioned pp. 9, 10. As to the meaning of these letters, see the preliminary discourse, sect. 3. The Arabic word is gheib, which properly signifies a thing that is absent, at a great distance, or invisible, such as the resurrection, paradise, and hell. And this is agreeable to the language of scripture, which defines faith to be the evidence of things not seen.5 The Mohammedans believe that God gave written revelations not only to Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed, but to several other prophets; though they acknowledge none of those which preceded the Korân to be now extant, except the Pentateuch of Moses, the Psalms of David, and the Gospel of Jesus; which yet they say were even before Mohammed's time altered and corrupted by the Jews and Christians; and therefore will not allow our present copies to be genuine. The original word al-ûkherat properly signifies the latter part of any thing, and by way of excellence the next life, the latter or future state after death; and is opposed to al-donya, this world; and al-oula, the former or present life. The Hebrew word ahharith, from the same root, is used by Moses in this sense, and is translated latter end. Mohammed, here and elsewhere, frequently imitates the truly inspired writers, in making God, by operation on the minds of reprobates, to prevent their conversion. This fatality or predestination, as believed by the Mohammedans, hath been sufficiently treated of in the preliminary discourse. Literally corrupt not in the earth, by which some expositors understand the Bowing of false doctrine, and corrupting people's principles. Jallalo'ddin. iv. 18, and v. 7. tanis, p. 34, &c. Al Beidawi, &c. Heb. xi. 1. See also Rom. xxiv. 25. 2 Cor. 7 Numb. xxiv. 20. Deut. viii. 16. they reply, Verily we are men of integrity. Are not they themselves corrupt doers? but they are not sensible thereof. And when one saith unto them, Believe ye as others believe; they answer, Shall we believe as fools believe? Are not they themselves fools? but they know it not. When they meet those who believe, they say, We do believe: but when they retire privately to their devils," they say, We really hold with you, and only mock at those people: GOD shall mock at them, and continue them in their impiety; they shall wander in confusion. These are the men who have purchased error at the price of true direction: but their traffic hath not been gainful, neither have they been rightly directed. They are like unto one who kindleth a fire," and when it hath enlightened all around him,P GOD taketh away their light and leaveth them in darkness, they shall not see; they are deaf, dumb, and blind, therefore will they not repent. Or like a stormy cloud from heaven, fraught with darkness, thunder, and lightning," they put their fingers in their ears, because of the noise of the thunder, for fear of death; GOD encompasseth the infidels: the lightning wanteth but little of taking away their sight; so often as it enlighteneth them, they walk therein, but when darkness cometh on them, they stand still; and if GOD so pleased, he would certainly deprive them of their hearing and their sight, for GOD is almighty. O men of Mecca, serve your Lord who hath created you, and those who have been before you: peradventure ye will fear him; who hath spread the earth as a bed for you, and the heaven as a covering, and hath caused water to descend from heaven, and thereby produced fruits for your sustenance. Set not up therefore any equals unto God, against your own knowledge. If ye be in doubt concerning that revelation which we have sent down unto our servant, produce a chapter like unto it, and call upon your witnesses, According to the explication in the preceding note, this word must be translated reformers, who promote true piety by their doctrine and example. The first companions and followers of Mohammed.8 The prophet, making use of the liberty zealots of all religions have, by prescription, of giving ill language, bestows this name on the Jewish rabbins and Christian priests; though he seems chiefly to mean the former, against whom he had by much the greater spleen. In this passage, Mohammed compares those who believed not in him to a man who wants to kindle a fire, but as soon as it burns up, and the flames give a light, shuts his eyes, lest he should see. As if he had said, You, O Arabians, have long desired a prophet of your own nation, and now I am sent unto you, and have plainly proved my mission by the excellence of my doctrine and revelation, you resist conviction, and refuse to believe in me; therefore shall God leave you in your ignorance. The sense seems to be here imperfect, and may be completed, by adding the words, he turns from it, shuts his eyes, or the like. That is of the believers, to whom the word their, being in the plural, seems to refer; though it is not unusual for Mohammed, in affectation of the prophetic style, suddenly to change the number against all rules of grammar. Here he compares the unbelieving Arabs to people caught in a violent storm. To perceive the beauty of this comparison, it must be observed, that the Mohammedan doctors say, this tempest is a type or image of the Korân itself: the thunder signifying the threats therein contained; the lightning, the promises; and the darkness, the mysteries. The terror of the threats makes them stop their ears, unwilling to hear truths so disagreeable; when the promises are read to them they attend with pleasure; but when any thing mysterious or difficult of belief occurs, they stand stock still, and will not submit to be directed. • Jallalo'ddin. |