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1 Jallalo'ddin. 2 Al Zamakhshari.

Moreover, GOD will not be ashamed to propound in a parable a gnat, or
even a more despicable thing:u for they who believe will know it to be the
truth from their LORD; but the unbelievers will say, What meaneth GOD by this
parable? he will thereby mislead many, and will direct many thereby: but he
will not mislead any thereby, except the transgressors,
who make void the covenant of GOD after the establishing thereof, and cut
in sunder that which GOD hath commanded to be joined, and act corruptly in the
earth; they shall perish.
How is it that ye believe not in GOD? Since ye were dead, and he gave
you life;x he will hereafter cause you to die, and will again restore you to
life; then shall ye return unto him.
It is he who hath created for you whatsoever is on earth, and then set
his mind to the creation of heaven, and formed it into seven heavens; he
knoweth all things.
When thy LORD said unto the angels, I am going to place a substitute on
earth;y they said, Wilt thou place there one who will do evil therein, and
shed blood? but we celebrate thy praise, and sanctify thee. GOD answered,
Verily I know that which ye know not;
and he taught Adam the names of all things, and then proposed them to the
angels, and said, Declare unto me the names of these things if ye say truth.
30 They answered, Praise be unto thee; we have no knowledge but what thou
teachest us, for thou art knowing and wise.
GOD said, O Adam, tell them their names. And when he had told them their
names, GOD said, Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of heaven and
earth, and know that which ye discover, and that which ye conceal?z
And when we said unto the angels, Worshipa Adam, they all worshipped him,
except Eblis, who refused, and was puffed up with pride, and became of the
number of unbelievers.b

u This was revealed to take off an objection made to the Korân by the
infidels, for condescending to speak of such insignificant insects as the
spider, the pismire, the bee, &c.3
x i.e., Ye were dead while in the loins of your fathers, and he gave
you life in your mothers wombs; and after death ye shall be again raised at
the resurrection.4
y Concerning the creation of Adam, here intimated, the Mohammedans have
several peculiar traditions. They say the angels, Gabriel, Michael, and
Israfil, were sent by God, one after another, to fetch for that purpose seven
handfuls of earth from different depths, and of different colours (whence some
account for the various complexion of mankind5); but the earth being
apprehensive of the consequence, and desiring them to represent her fear to
God that the creature he designed to form would rebel against him, and draw
down his curse upon her, they returned without performing God's command;
whereupon he sent Azraïl on the same errand, who executed his commission
without remorse, for which reason God appointed that angel to separate the
souls from the bodies, being therefore called the angel of death. The earth
he had taken was carried into Arabia, to a place between Mecca and Tayef,
where, being first kneaded by the angels, it was afterwards fashioned by God
himself into a human form, and left to dry6 for the space of forty days, or,
as others say, as many years, the angels in the meantime often visiting it,
and Eblis (then one of the angels who are nearest to God's presence,
afterwards the devil) among the rest; but he, not contented with looking on
it, kicked it with his foot till it rung and knowing God designed that
creature to be his superior, took a secret resolution never to acknowledge him
as such. After this, God animated the figure of clay and endued it with an
intelligent soul, and when he had placed him in paradise, formed Eve out of
his left side.7
z This story Mohammed borrowed from the Jewish traditions, which say
that the angels having spoken of man with some contempt when God consulted
them about his creation, God made answer that the man was wiser than they; and
to convince them of it, he brought all kinds of animals to them, and asked
them their names; which they not being able to tell, he put the same question
to the man, who named them one after another; and being asked his own name and
God's name, he answered very justly, and gave God the name of JEHOVAH1. The
angels' adoring of Adam is also mentioned in the Talmud.2
a The original word signifies properly to prostrate one's self till the
forehead touches the ground, which is the humblest posture of adoration, and
strictly due to GOD only; but it is sometimes, as in this place, used to
express that civil worship or homage, which may be paid to creatures.3
b This occasion of the devil's fall has some affinity with an opinion
which has been pretty much entertained among Christians,4 viz., that the
angels being informed of GOD'S intention to create man after his own image,
and to dignify human nature by CHRIST'S assuming it, some of them, thinking
their glory to be eclipsed thereby, envied man's happiness, and so revolted.

3 Yahya. 4 Jallalo'ddin. 5 Al Termedi, from a
tradition of Abu Musa al Ashari 6 Kor. c. 55. 7
Khondamir. Jallalo'ddin. Comment. in Korân, &c. Vide D'Herbelot, Biblioth.
Orient. p. 55. 1 Vide Rivin. Serpent. seduct. p. 56. 2 R.
Moses Haddarshan, in Bereshit rabbah. 3 Jallalo'ddin. 4
Irenæus, Lact. Greg. Nyssen. &c.

And we said, O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife in the garden,c and eat of
the fruit thereof plentifully wherever ye will; but approach not this tree,d
lest ye become of the number of the transgressors.
But Satan caused them to forfeit paradise,e and turned them out of the
state of happiness wherein they had been; whereupon we said, Get ye down,f the
one of you an enemy unto the other; and there shall be a dwelling-place for
you on earth, and a provision for a season.
And Adam learned words of prayer from his LORD, and GOD turned unto him,
for he is easy to be reconciled and merciful.
We said, Get ye all down from hence; hereafter shall there come unto you
a direction from me,g and whoever shall follow my direction, on them shall no
fear come, neither shall they be grieved;
but they who shall be unbelievers, and accuse our signsh of falsehood,
they shall be the companions of hell fire, therein shall they remain forever.
O children of Israeli, remember my favor wherewith I have favored you;
and perform your covenant with me, and I will perform my covenant with you;
and revere me: and believe in the revelation which I have sent down,
confirming that which is with you, and be not the first who believe not
therein, neither exchange my signs for a small price; and fear me.

c Mohammed, as appears by what presently follows, does not place this
garden or paradise on earth, but in the seventh heaven.5
d Concerning this tree or the forbidden fruit, the Mohammedans, as well
as the Christians, have various opinions. Some say it was an ear of wheat;
some will have it to have been a fig-tree, and others a vine.6 The story of
the Fall is told, with some further circumstances, in the beginning of the
seventh chapter.
e They have a tradition that the devil offering to get into paradise to
tempt Adam, was not admitted by the guard; whereupon he begged of the animals,
one after another, to carry him in, that he might speak to Adam and his wife;
but they all refused him except the serpent, who took him between two of his
teeth, and so introduced him. They add that the serpent was then of a
beautiful form, and not in the shape he now bears.7
f The Mohammedans say that when they were cast down from paradise, Adam
fell on the isle of Ceylon or Serendib, and Eve near Joddah (the port of
Mecca) in Arabia; and that after a separation of 200 years, Adam was, on his
repentance, conducted by the angel Gabriel to a mountain near Mecca, where he
found and knew his wife, the mountain being thence named Arafat; and that he
afterwards retired with her to Ceylon, where they continued to propagate their
species.8
It may not be improper here to mention another tradition concerning the
gigantic stature of our first parents. Their prophet, they say, affirmed Adam
to have been as tall as a high palm-tree;9 but this would be too much in
proportion, if that were really the print of his foot, which is pretended to
be such, on the top of a mountain in the isle of Ceylon, thence named Pico de
Adam, and by the Arab writers Rahûn, being somewhat above two spans long10
(though others say it is 70 cubits long, and that when Adam set one foot here,
he had the other in the sea)11; and too little, if Eve were of so enormous a
size, as is said, when her head lay on one hill near Mecca, her knees rested
on two others in the plain, about two musket-shots asunder.12
g GOD here promises Adam that his will should be revealed to him and
his posterity; which promise the Mohammedans believe was fulfilled at several
times by the ministry of several prophets, from Adam himself, who was the
first, to Mohammed, who was the last. The number of books revealed unto Adam
they say was ten.1
h This word has various significations in the Korân; sometimes, as in
this passage, it signifies divine revelation, or scripture in general;
sometimes the verses of the Korân in particular, and at other times visible
miracles. But the sense is easily distinguished by the context.
i The Jews are here called upon to receive the Korân, as verifying and
confirming the Pentateuch, particularly with respect to the unity of God and
the mission of Mohammed.2 And they are exhorted not to conceal the passages
of their law which bear witness to those truths, nor to corrupt them by
publishing false copies of the Pentateuch, for which the writers were but
poorly paid.3

5 Vide Marracc. in Alc. p. 24. 6 Vide ibid. p. 22.
7 Vide ibid. 8 D'Herbelot, Bib. Orient. p. 55.
9 Yahya. 10 Moncony's Voyage, part i. p. 372, &c. See Knox's
Account of Ceylon. 11 Anciennes Relations des Indes, &c. p. 3.
12 Moncony's, ubi sup. 1 Vide Hottinger Hist. Orient. p. 11. Reland.
de Relig. Mohammed, p. 21. 2 Yahya.
3 Jallalo'ddin.

Clothe not the truth with vanity, neither conceal the truth against your
own knowledge;
40 observe the stated times of prayer, and pay your legal alms, and bow
down yourselves with those who bow down.
Will ye command men to do justice, and forget your own souls? yet ye
read the book of the law: do ye not therefore understand?
Ask help with perseverance and prayer; this indeed is grievous unless to
the humble,
who seriously think they shall meet their LORD and that to him they shall
return.
O children of Israel, remember my favor wherewith I have favored you, and
that I have preferred you above all nations;
dread the day wherein one soul shall not make satisfaction for another
soul, neither shall any intercession be accepted from them, nor shall any
compensation be received, neither shall they be helped.
Remember when we delivered you from the people of Pharaoh, who grievously
oppressed you, they slew your male children, and let your females live:
therein was a great trial from your LORD.
And when we divided the sea for you and delivered you, and drowned
Pharaoh's people while ye looked on.k
And when we treated with Moses forty nights; then ye took the calfl for
your God, and did evil;
yet afterwards we forgave you, that peradventure ye might give thanks.
50 And when we gave Moses the book of the law, and the distinction between
good and evil, that peradventure ye might be directed.
And when Moses said unto his people, O my people, verily ye have injured
your own souls, by your taking the calf for your God; therefore be turned unto
your Creator, and slay those among you who have been guilty of that crime;m
this will be better for you in the sight of your Creator: and thereupon he
turned unto you, for he is easy to be reconciled, and merciful.
And when ye said, O Moses, we will not believe thee, until we see GOD
manifestly; therefore a punishment came upon you, while ye looked on;
then we raised you to life after ye had been dead, that peradventure ye
might give thanks.n

k See the story of Moses and Pharaoh more particularly related, chapter
vii. and xx. &c.
l The person who cast this calf, the Mohammedans say, was (not Aaron
but) al Sâmeri, one of the principal men among the children of Israel, some of
whose descendants it is pretended still inhabit an island of that name in the
Arabian Gulf.4 It was made of the rings5 and bracelets of gold, silver, and
other materials, which the Israelites had borrowed of the Egyptians; for
Aaron, who commanded in his brother's absence, having ordered al Sâmeri to
collect those ornaments from the people, who carried on a wicked commerce with
them, and to keep them together till the return of Moses; al Sâmeri,
understanding the founder's art, put them altogether into a furnace to melt
them down into one mass, which came out in the form of a calf.1 The
Israelites, accustomed to the Egyptian idolatry, paying a religious worship to
this image, al Sâmeri went farther, and took some dust from the footsteps of
the horse of the angel Gabriel, who marched at the head of the people, and
threw it into the mouth of the calf, which immediately began to low, and
became animated;2 for such was the virtue of that dust.3 One writer says that
all the Israelites adored this calf, except only 12,000.4
m In this particular, the narration agrees with that of Moses, who
ordered the Levites to slay every man his brother:5 but the scripture says,
there fell of the people that day about 3,000 (the Vulgate says 23,000) men;6
whereas the commentators of the Korân make the number of the slain to amount
to 70,000; and add, that GOD sent a dark cloud which hindered them from seeing
one another, lest the sight should move those who executed the sentence to
compassion.7
n The persons here meant are said to have been seventy men, who were
made choice of by Moses and heard the voice of GOD talking with him. But not
being satisfied with that, they demanded to see GOD; whereupon they were all
struck dead by lightning, and on Moses's intercession restored to life.8

4 Geogr. Nubiens. p. 45. 5 Kor. c. 7. 1 See
Exod. xxxii. 24. 2 Kor. c. 7.
3 Jallalo'ddin. Vide D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient. p. 650. 4 Abulfeda.
5 Exod. xxxii. 26, 27. 6 Ibid. 28.
7 Jallalo'ddin, &c. 8 Ismael Ebn Ali.

And we caused clouds to overshadow you, and manna and quailso to descend
upon you, saying, Eat of the good things which we have given you for food: and
they injured not us, but injured their own souls.
And when we said, Enter into this city,p and eat of the provisions
thereof plentifully as ye will; and enter the gate worshipping, and say,
Forgiveness!q we will pardon you your sins, and give increase unto the well-
doers.
But the ungodly changed the expression into another,r different from what
had been spoken unto them; and we sent down upon the ungodly indignation from
heaven,s because they had transgressed.
And when Moses asked drink for his people, we said, Strike the rockt with
thy rod; and there gushed thereout twelve fountainsu according to the number
of the tribes, and all men knew their respective drinking-place. Eat and
drink of the bounty of GOD, and commit not evil on the earth, acting unjustly.
And when ye said, O Moses, we will by no means be satisfied with one kind
of food; pray unto thy LORD therefore for us, that he would produce for us of
that which the earth bringeth forth, herbs and cucumbers, and garlic, and
lentils, and onions;x Moses answered, Will ye exchange that which is better,
for that which is worse? Get ye down into Egypt, for there shall ye find what
ye desire: and they were smitten with vileness and misery, and drew on
themselves indignation from GOD. This they suffered, because they believed
not in the signs of GOD, and killed the prophets unjustly; this, because they
rebelled and transgressed.

o The eastern writers say these quails were of a peculiar kind, to be
found nowhere but in Yaman, from whence they were brought by a south wind in
great numbers to the Israelites' camp in the desert.9 The Arabs call these
birds Salwâ, which is plainly the same with the Hebrew Salwim, and say they
have no bones, but are eaten whole.10
p Some commentators suppose it to be Jericho, others Jerusalem.
q The Arabic word is Hittaton, which some take to signify that
profession of the unity of GOD so frequently used by the Mohammedans, La ilâha
illa 'llaho, There is no god but GOD.
r According to Jallalo'ddin, instead of Hittaton, they cried Habbat fi
shaïrat-i.e., a grain in an ear of barley; and in ridicule of the divine
command to enter the city in an humble posture, they indecently crept in upon
their breech.
s A pestilence which carried off near 70,000 of them.11
t The commentators say this was a stone which Moses brought from Mount
Sinai, and the same that fled away with his garments which he laid upon it one
day while he washed; they add that Moses ran after the stone naked, till he
found himself, ere he was aware, in the midst of the people, who, on this
accident, were convinced of the falsehood of a report which had been raised of
their prophet, that he was bursten, or, as others write, an hermaphrodite.1
They describe it to be a square piece of white marble, shaped like a
man's head; wherein they differ not much from the accounts of European
travellers, who say this rock stands among several lesser ones, about 100
paces from Mount Horeb, and appears to have been loosened from the
neighbouring mountains, having no coherence with the others; that it is a huge
mass of red granite, almost round on one side, and flat on the other, twelve
feet high, and as many thick, but broader than it is high, and about fifty
feet in circumference.2
u Marracci thinks this circumstance looks like a Rabbinical fiction, or
else that Mohammed confounds the water of the rock at Horeb with the twelve
wells at Elim;3 for he says several who have been on the spot affirm there are
but three orifices whence the water issued.4 But it is to be presumed that
Mohammed had better means of information in this respect than to fall into
such a mistake; for the rock stands within the borders of Arabia, and some of
his countrymen must needs have seen it, if he himself did not, as it is most
probable he did. And in effect he seems to be in the right. For one who went
into those parts in the end of the fifteenth century tells us expressly that
the water issued from twelve places of the rock, according to the number of
the tribes of Israel; egressæ sunt aquæ largissimæ in duodecim locis petræ,
juxta numerum duodecim tribuum Israel.5 A late curious traveller6 observes
that there are twenty-four holes in the stone, which may be easily counted-
that is to say, twelve on the flat side, and as many on the opposite round
side, every one being a foot deep, and an inch wide; and he adds, that the
holes on one side do not communicate with those on the other, which a less
accurate spectator not perceiving (for they are placed horizontally, within
two feet of the top of the rock), might conclude they pierced quite through
the stone, and so reckon them to be but twelve.
x See Numb. xi. 5, &c.

9 See Psalm lxxviii. 26. 10 Vide D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient.
p. 477. 11 Jallalo'ddin.
1 Jallalo'ddin, Yahya. 2 Breydenbach, Itinerar. Chartâ m. p. 1.
Sicard, dans les Mémoires des Missions, vol. vii. p. 14. 3 Exod. xv.
27; Numb. xxxiii. 9. 4 Marracc. Prodr. part iv. p. 80. 5
Breydenbach, ubi sup. 6 Sicard, ubi sup.

Surely those who believe, and those who Judaize, and Christians, and
Sabians,y whoever believeth in GOD, and the last day, and doth that which is
right, they shall have their reward with their LORD; there shall come no fear
on them, neither shall they be grieved.
60 Call to mind also when we accepted your covenant, and lifted up the
mountain of Sinai over you,z saying, Receive the law which we have given you,
with a resolution to keep it, and remember that which is contained therein,
that ye may beware.
After this ye again turned back, so that if it had not been for GOD's
indulgence and mercy towards you, ye had certainly been destroyed. Moreover
ye know what befell those of your nation who transgressed on the sabbath day;a
We said unto them, Be ye changed into apes, driven away from the society of
men.
And we made them an example unto those who were contemporary with them,
and unto those who came after them, and a warning to the pious.

y From these words, which are repeated in the fifth chapter, several
writers7 have wrongly concluded that the Mohammedans hold it to be the
doctrine of their prophet that every man may be saved in his own religion,
provided he be sincere and lead a good life. It is true, some of their
doctors do agree this to be the purport of the words;1 but then they say the
latitude hereby granted was soon revoked, for that this passage is abrogated
by several others in the Korân, which expressly declare that none can be saved
who is not of the Mohammedan faith, and particularly by those words of the
third chapter, Whoever followeth any other religion than Islâm (i.e., the
Mohammedan) it shall not be accepted of him, and at the last day he shall be
of those who perish.2 However, others are of opinion that this passage is not
abrogated, but interpret it differently, taking the meaning of it to be that
no man, whether he be a Jew, a Christian, or a Sabian, shall be excluded from
salvation, provided he quit his erroneous religion and become a Moslem, which
they say is intended by the following words, Whoever believeth in GOD and the
last day, and doth that which is right. And this interpretation is approved
by Mr. Reland, who thinks the words here import no more than those of the
apostle, In every nation he that feareth GOD, and worketh righteousness, is
accepted with him;3 from which it must not be inferred that the religion of
nature, or any other, is sufficient to save, without faith in Christ.4
z The Mohammedan tradition is, that the Israelites refusing to receive
the law of Moses, GOD tore up the mountain by the roots, and shook it over
their heads, to terrify them into a compliance.5
a The story to which this passage refers, is as follows: In the days
of David some Israelites dwelt at Ailah, or Elath, on the Red Sea, where on
the night of the sabbath the fish used to come in great numbers to the shore,
and stay there all the sabbath, to tempt them; but the night following they
returned into the sea again. At length some of the inhabitants, neglecting
GOD'S command, catched fish on the sabbath, and dressed and ate them; and
afterward cut canals from the sea, for the fish to enter, with sluices, which
they shut on the sabbath, to prevent their return to the sea. The other part
of the inhabitants, who strictly observed the sabbath, used both persuasion
and force to stop this impiety, but to no purpose, the offenders growing only
more and more obstinate; whereupon David cursed the sabbath-breakers, and God
transformed them into apes. It is said that one going to see a friend of his
that was among them, found him in the shape of an ape, moving his eyes about
wildly; and asking him whether he was not such a one, the ape made a sign with
his head that it was he; whereupon the friend said to him, Did not I advise
you to desist? at which the ape wept. They add that these unhappy people
remained three days in this condition, and were afterwards destroyed by a wind
which swept them all into the sea.6

7 Selden, de Jure Nat. et Gent. sec. Hebr. l. 6, c. 12. Angel, a St.
Joseph. Gazophylac. Persic. p. 365. Nic. Cusanus in Cribratione Alcorani, l.
3, c. 2, &c. 1 See Chardin's Voyages, vol. ii. p. 326, 331.
2 Abu'lkasem Hebatallah de abrogante et abrogato. 3 Acts x.
35. 4 Vide Reland. de Rel. Moham. p. 128, &c. 5
Jallalo'ddin. 6 Abulfeda.

And when Moses said unto his people, Verily GOD commandeth you to
sacrifice a cow;b they answered, Dost thou make a jest of us! Moses said, GOD
forbid that I should be one of the foolish. They said, Pray for us unto thy
LORD, that he would show us what cow it is. Moses answered, He saith, She is
neither an old cow, nor a young heifer, but of a middle age between both: do
ye therefore that which ye are commanded.
They said, Pray for us unto thy LORD, that he would show us what colour
she is of. Moses answered, He saith, She is a red cow,c intensely red, her
colour rejoiceth the beholders.
They said, Pray for us unto thy LORD, that he would further show us what
cow it is, for several cows with us are like one another, and we, if GOD
please, will be directed.
Moses answered, He saith, She is a cow not broken to plough the earth, or
water the field, a sound one, there is no blemish in her. They said, Now hast
thou brought the truth. Then they sacrificed her; yet they wanted but little
of leaving it undone.d
And when ye slew a man, and contended among yourselves concerning him,
GOD brought forth to light that which ye concealed.
For we said, Strike the dead body with part of the sacrificed cow:e so
GOD raiseth the dead to life, and showeth you his signs, that peradventure ye
may understand.
Then were your hearts hardened after this, even as stones, or exceeding
them in hardness: for from some stones have rivers bursted forth, others have
been rent in sunder, and water hath issued from them, and others have fallen
down for fear of GOD. But GOD is not regardless of that which ye do.
70 Do ye therefore desire that the Jews should believe you? yet a part of
them heard the word of GOD, and then perverted it, after they had understood
it, against their own conscience.
And when they meet the true believers, they say, We believe: but when
they are privately assembled together, they say, Will ye acquaint them with
what GOD hath revealed unto you, that they may dispute with you concerning it
in the presence of your LORD? Do ye not therefore understand?
Do not they know that GOD knoweth that which they conceal as well as that
which they publish?