Homer Eon Flint - "The Lord of Death and the Queen of Life"

Horatio Alger - "Helping Himself"

Annie Besant - "An Introduction to Yoga"

Vivia Hemphill - "Down the Mother Lode"

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Books: The Koran

U >> Unknown >> The Koran




1 Al Beidâwi. 2 Idem, Jallalo'ddin. 3 See cap. 81.
4 Al Beidâwi.
5 Idem.


They also say, These cattle and fruits of the earth are sacred; none
shall eat thereof but who we pleaset (according to their imagination); and
there are cattle whose backs are forbidden to be rode on, or laden with
burdens;u and there are cattle on which they commemorate not the name of GOD
when they slay them;x devising a lie against him; God shall reward them for
that which they falsely devise.
140 And they say, That which is in the bellies of these cattley is allowed
to our males to eat, and is forbidden to our wives: but if it prove abortive,
they they are both partakers thereof.z God shall give them the reward of
their attributing these things to him: he is knowing and wise.
They are utterly lost who have slain their children foolishly,a without
knowledge;b and have forbidden that which GOD hath given them for food,
devising a lie against GOD. They have erred, and were not rightly directed.
He it is who produceth gardens of vines, both those which are supported
on trails of wood, and those which are not supported,c and palm-trees, and the
corn affording various food, and olives, and pomegranates, alike and unlike
unto one another. Eat of their fruit, when they bear fruit, and pay the due
thereof on the day whereon ye shall gather it;d but be not profuse,e for GOD
loveth not those who are too profuse.
And God hath given you some cattle fit for bearing of burdens, and some
fit for slaughter only. Eat of what GOD hath given you for food; and follow
not the steps of Satan, for he is your declared enemy.
Four pairf of cattle hath God given you; of sheep one pair, and of goats
one pair. Say unto them, Hath God forbidden the two males, of sheep and of
goats, or the two females; or that which the wombs of the two females contain?
Tell me with certainty, if ye speak truth.
And of camels hath God given you one pair, and of oxen one pair. Say,
Hath he forbidden the two males of these, or the two females; or that which
the wombs of the two females contain?g Were ye present when GOD commanded you
this? And who is more unjust than he who deviseth a lie against GOD,h that he
may seduce men without understanding? Verily GOD directed not unjust people.

t That is, those who serve our idols, and are of the male sex; for the
women were not allowed to eat of them.6
u Which they superstitiously exempted from such services, in some
particular cases, as they did the Bahîra, the Sâïba, and the Hâmi.7
x See c. 5, p. 73.
y That is, the foetus or embryos of the Bahîra and the Sâïba, which
shall be brought forth alive.
z For if those cattle cast their young, the women might eat thereof as
well as the men.
a See above, note r.
b Not having a due sense of GOD'S providence.
c Or, as some choose to interpret the words, Trees or plants which are
planted by the labour of man, and those which grow naturally in the deserts
and on mountains.
d That is, give alms thereof to the poor. And these alms, as al
Beidâwi observes, were what they used to give before the Zacât, or legal alms,
was instituted, which was done after Mohammed had retired from Mecca, where
this verse was revealed. Yet some are of another opinion, and for this very
reason will have the verse to have been revealed at Medina.
e i.e., Give not so much thereof in alms as to leave your own families
in want, for charity begins at home.
f Or, literally, eight males and females paired together; that is, four
of each sex, and two of every distinct kind.
g In this passage Mohammed endeavours to convince the Arabs of their
superstitious folly in making it unlawful, one while, to eat the males of
these four kinds of cattle; another while, the females; and at another time,
their young.1
h The person particularly intended here, some say, was Amru Ebn Lohai,
king of Hejâz, a great introducer of idolatry and superstition among the
Arabs.2

6 Idem. 7 See cap. 5, p. 86, and Prelim. Disc. Sect. V.
1 Al Beidâwi. 2 Idem. See Prelim. Disc. p. 15, and Pocock
Spec. p. 80.


Say, I find not in that which hath been revealed unto me anything
forbidden unto the eater, that he eat it not, except it be that which dieth of
itself, or blood poured forth,i or swine's flesh: for this is an abomination:
or that which is profane, having been slain in the name of some other than of
GOD. But whoso shall be compelled by necessity to eat of these things, not
lusting, nor wilfully transgressing, verily thy LORD will be gracious unto him
and merciful.
Unto the Jews did we forbid every beast having an undivided hoof; and of
bullocks and sheep, we forbade them the fat of both; except that which should
be on their backs, or their inwards,k or which should be intermixed with the
bone.l This have we rewarded them with, because of their iniquity; and we are
surely speakers of truth.
If they accuse thee of imposture, say, Your LORD is endued with extensive
mercy; but his severity shall not be averted from wicked people.
The idolaters will say, If GOD had pleased, we had not been guilty of
idolatry, neither our fathers; and pretend that we have not forbidden them
anything. Thus did they who were before them accuse the prophets of
imposture, until they tasted our severe punishment. Say, Is there with you
any certain knowledge of what ye allege, that ye may produce it unto us? Ye
follow only a false imagination; and ye utter only lies.
150 Say, therefore, Unto GOD belongeth the most evident demonstration; for
if he had pleased, he had directed you all.
Say, Produce your witnesses, who can bear testimony that GOD hath
forbidden this. But if they bear testimony of this, do not thou bear
testimony with them, nor do thou follow the desires of those who accuse our
signs of falsehood, and who believe not in the life to come, and equalize
idols with their LORD.
Say, Come;m I will rehearse that which your LORD hath forbidden you; that
is to say, that ye be not guilty of idolatry, and that ye show kindness to
your parents, and that ye murder not your children for fear lest ye be reduced
to poverty; we will provide for you and them; and draw not near unto heinous
crimes,n neither openly nor in secret; and slay not the soul which God hath
forbidden you to slay, unless for a just cause.o This hath he enjoined you
that ye may understand.
And meddle not with the substance of the orphan, otherwise than for the
improving thereof, until he attain his age of strength: and use a full
measure, and a just balance. We will not impose a task on any soul beyond its
ability. And when ye pronounce judgment observe justice, although it be for
or against one who is near of kin, and fulfil the covenant of GOD. This hath
God commanded you, that ye may be admonished;

i That is, fluid blood; in opposition to what the Arabs suppose to be
also blood, but not fluid, as the liver and the spleen.3
k See Levit. vii. 23, and iii. 16.
l viz., The fat of the rumps or tails of sheep, which are very large in
the east, a small one weighing ten or twelve pounds, and some no less than
threescore.
m This and the two following verses Jallalo'ddin supposes to have been
revealed at Medina.
n The original word signifies peculiarly fornication and avarice.
o As for murder, apostacy, or adultery.4

3 Al Beidâwi, Jallalo'ddin. 4 Al Beidâwi.


and that ye may know that this is my right way: therefore follow it, and
follow not the path of others, lest ye be scattered from the path of God.
This hath he commanded you that ye may take heed.
We gave also unto Moses the book of the law; a perfect rule unto him who
should do right, and a determination concerning all things needful, and a
direction, and mercy; that the children of Israel might believe the meeting of
their LORD.
And this book which we have now sent down is blessed; therefore follow
it, and fear God that ye may obtain mercy:
lest ye should say, The scriptures were only sent down unto two peoplep
before us; and we neglected to peruse them with attention:q
or lest ye should say, If a book of divine revelations had been sent down
unto us, we would surely have been better directed than they.r And now hath a
manifest declaration come unto you from your LORD, and a direction and mercy:
and who is more unjust than he who deviseth lies against the signs of GOD, and
turneth aside from them? We will reward those who turn aside from our signs
with a grievous punishment, because they have turned aside.
Do they wait for any other than that the angels should come unto them, to
part their souls from their bodies; or that thy LORD should come to punish
them; or that some of the signs of thy LORD should come to pass, showing the
day of judgment to be at hand?s On the day whereon some of thy LORD'S signs
shall come to pass, its faith shall not profit a soul which believed not
before, or wrought not good in its faith.t Say, Wait ye for this day; we
surely do wait for it.
160 They who make a division in their religion,u and become sectaries, have
thou nothing to do with them; their affair belongeth only unto GOD. Hereafter
shall he declare unto them that which they have done.
He who shall appear with good works, shall receive a tenfold recompense
for the same; but he who shall appear with evil works, shall receive only an
equal punishment for the same; and they shall not be treated unjustly.
Say, Verily my LORD hath directed me into a right way, a true religion,
the sect of Abraham the orthodox; and he was no idolater.
Say, Verily my prayers, and my worship, and my life, and my death are
dedicated unto GOD, the LORD of all creatures: he hath no companion. This
have I been commanded: I am the first Moslem.x

p That is, the Jews and the Christians.
q Either because we knew nothing of them, or did not understand the
language wherein they were written.
r Because of the acuteness of our wit, the clearness of our
understanding, and our facility of learning sciences-as appears from our
excelling in history, poetry, and oratory, notwithstanding we are illiterate
people.5
s Al Beidâwi, from a tradition of Mohammed, says that ten signs will
precede the last day, viz., the smoke, the beast of the earth, an eclipse in
the east, another in the west, and a third in the peninsula of Arabia, the
appearance of anti-Christ, the sun's rising in the west, the eruption of Gog
and Magog, the descent of Jesus on earth, and fire which shall break forth
from Aden.1
t For faith in the next life will be of no advantage to those who have
not believed in this; nor yet faith in this life without good works.
u That is, who believe in part of it, and disbelieve other parts of it,
or who form schisms therein. Mohammed is reported to have declared that the
Jews were divided into seventy-one sects, and the Christians into seventy-two;
and that his own followers would be split into seventy-three sects; and that
all of them would be damned, except only one of each.2
x See before, p. 90.

5 Idem. 1 See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. IV. p. 62, &c.
2 Al Beidâwi.


Say, shall I desire any other LORD besides GOD? since he is the LORD of
all things; and no soul shall acquire any merits or demerits but for itself;
and no burdened soul shall bear the burden of another.y Moreover unto your
LORD shall ye return; and he shall declare unto you that concerning which ye
now dispute.
It is he who hath appointed you to succeed your predecessors in the
earth, and hath raised some of you above others by various degrees of worldly
advantages, that he might prove you by that which he hath bestowed on you.
Thy LORD is swift in punishing; and he is also gracious and merciful.


_______



CHAPTER VII

ENTITLED, AL ARAF;z REVEALED AT MECCA.a

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.

AL. M. S.b A book hath been sent down unto thee: and therefore let there
be no doubt in thy breast concerning it; that thou mayest preach the same, and
that it may be an admonition unto the faithful.
Follow that which hath been sent down unto you from your LORD; and follow
no guides besides him: how little will ye be warned!
How many cities have we destroyed; which our vengeance overtook by
night,c or while they were reposing themselves at noon-day!d And their
supplication, when our punishment came upon them,
was no other than that they said, Verily we have been unjust.
We will surely call those to an account, unto whom a prophet hath been
sent; and we will also call those to account who have been sent unto them.
And we will declare their actions unto them with knowledge; for we are
not absent from them.
The weighing of men's actions on that day shall be just;e and they whose
balances laden with their good works shall be heavy, are those who shall be
happy;
but they whose balances shall be light, are those who have lost their
souls, because they injured our signs.
And now have we placed you on the earth, and have provided you food
therein: but how little are ye thankful!
10 We created you, and afterwards formed you; and then said unto the
angels, Worship Adam; and they all worshipped him, except Eblis, who was not
one of those who worshipped.f
God said unto him, What hindered thee from worshipping Adam, since I had
commanded thee? He answered, I am more excellent than he: thou hast created
me of fire, and hast created him of clay.

y This was revealed in answer to the pressing instances of the
idolaters, who offered to take the crime upon themselves, if Mohammed would
conform to their worship.3
z Al Arâf signifies the partition between paradise and hell, which is
mentioned in this chapter.1
a Some, however, except five or eight verses, begin at these words, And
ask them concerning the city, &c.
b The signification of those letters the more sober Mohammedans confess
GOD alone knows. Some, however, imagine they stand for Allah, Gabriel,
Mohammed, on whom be peace.
c As it did the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, to whom Lot was
sent.
d As happened to the Midianites, to whom Shoaib preached.
e See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. IV. p. 69.
f See chapter 2, p. 5, &c.

3 Idem. 1 See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. IV. p. 74.


God said, Get thee down therefore from paradise; for it is not fit that
thou behave thyself proudly therein: get thee hence; thou shalt be one of the
contemptible.
He answered, Give me respite until the day of resurrection.
God said, Verily thou shalt be one of those who are respited.g
The devil said, Because thou hast depraved me, I will lay wait for men in
thy strait way;
then will I come upon them from before, and from behind, and from their
right hands, and from their left;h and thou shalt not find the greater part of
them thankful.
God said unto him, Get thee hence, despised, and driven far away: verily
whoever of them shall follow thee, I will surely fill hell with you all:
but as for thee, O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife in paradise; and eat of
the fruit thereof wherever ye will; but approach not this tree, lest ye become
of the number of the unjust.
And Satan suggested to them both, that he would discover unto them their
nakedness, which was hidden from them; and he said, Your LORD hath not
forbidden you this tree, for any other reason but lest ye should become
angels, or lest ye become immortal.
20 And he sware unto them, saying, Verily I am one of those who counsel you
aright.
And he caused them to fall through deceit.i And when they had tasted of
the tree, their nakedness appeared unto them;k and they began to join together
the leaves of paradise,l to cover themselves. And their LORD called to them,
saying, Did I not forbid you this tree: and did I not say unto you, Verily
Satan is your declared enemy?
They answered, O LORD, we have dealt unjustly with our own souls; and if
thou forgive us not, and be not merciful unto us, we shall surely be of those
who perish.
God said, Get ye down, the one of you an enemy unto the other; and ye
shall have a dwelling-place upon the earth, and a provision for a season.
He said, Therein shall ye live, and therein shall ye die, and from thence
shall ye be taken forth at the resurrection.
O children of Adam, we have sent down unto you apparel,m to conceal your
nakedness, and fair garments; but the clothing of piety is better. This is one
of the signs of God; that peradventure ye may consider.

g As the time till which the devil is reprieved is not particularly
expressed, the commentators suppose his request was not wholly granted; but
agree that he shall die, as well as other creatures, at the second sound of
the trumpet.2
h i.e., I will attack them on every side that I shall be able. The
other two ways, viz., from above and from under their feet, are omitted, say
the commentators, to show that the devil's power is limited.3
i The Mohammedan gospel of Barnabas tells us that the sentence which
GOD pronounced on the serpent for introducing the devil into paradise4 was,
that he should not only be turned out of paradise, but that he should have his
legs cut off by the angel Michael, with the sword of GOD; and that the devil
himself, since he had rendered our first parents unclean, was condemned to eat
the excrements of them and all their posterity; which two last circumstances I
do not remember to have read elsewhere. The words of the manuscript are
these: Y llamó [Dios] a la serpiente, y a Michael, aquel que tiene la espada
de Dios, y le dixo; Aquesta sierpe es acelerada, echala la primera del
parayso, y cortale las piernas, y si quisiere caminar, arrastrara la vida por
tierra. Y llamó à Satanas, el qual vino riendo, y dixole; Porque tu reprobo
has engañado a aquestos, y los has hecho immundos? Yo quiero que toda
immundicia suya, y de todos sus hijos, en saliendo de sus cuerpos entre por tu
boca, porque en verdad ellos haran penitencia, y tu quedaras harto de
immundicia.
k Which they had not perceived before; being clothed, as some say, with
light, or garments of paradise, which fell from them on their disobedience.
Yahya imagines their nakedness was hidden by their hair.5
l Which it is said were fig-leaves.6
m Not only proper materials, but also ingenuity of mind and dexterity
of hand to make use of them.7

2 Al Beidâwi. See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. IV. p. 65, and D'Herbelot,
Bibl. Orient. Art. Eblis. 3 Al Beidâwi.
4 See the notes to cap. 2, p. 5. 5 Idem. 6 Idem.
7 Idem.


O children of Adam, let not Satan seduce you, as he expelled your parents
out of paradise, by stripping them of their clothing, that he might show them
their nakedness: verily he seeth you, both he and his companions, whereas ye
see not them.n We have appointed the devils to be patrons of those who believe
not:
and when they commit a filthy action, they say, We found our fathers
practising the same; and GOD hath commanded us to do it. Say, Verily GOD
commandeth not filthy actions. Do ye speak concerning GOD that which ye know
not?
Say, My LORD hath commanded me to observe justice; therefore set your
faces to pray at every place of worship, and call upon him, approving unto him
the sincerity of your religion. As he produced you at first, so unto him
shall ye return. A part of mankind hath he directed; and a part hath been
justly led into error, because they have taken the devils for their patrons
besides GOD, and imagine they are rightly directed.
O children of Adam, take your decent apparel at every place of worship,o
and eat and drink,p but be not guilty of excess; for he loveth not those who
are guilty of excess.
30 Say, Who hath forbidden the decent apparel of GOD, which he hath
produced for his servants, and the good things which he hath provided for
food? Say, these things are for those who believe, in this present life, but
peculiarly on the day of resurrection.q Thus do we distinctly explain our
signs unto people who understand.
Say, Verily my LORD hath forbidden filthy actions, both that which is
discovered thereof, and that which is concealed, and also iniquity, and unjust
violence; and hath forbidden you to associate with GOD that concerning which
he hath sent you down no authority, or to speak of GOD that which ye know not.
Unto every nation there is a prefixed term; therefore when their term is
expired, they shall not have respite for an hour, neither shall they be
anticipated.
O children of Adam, verily apostles from among you shall come unto you,
who shall expound my signs unto you: whosoever therefore shall fear God and
amend, there shall come no fear on them, neither shall they be grieved.
But they who shall accuse our signs of falsehood, and shall proudly
reject them, they shall be the companions of hell fire; they shall remain
therein forever.
And who is more unjust than he who deviseth a lie concerning GOD, or
accuseth his signs of imposture? Unto these shall be given their portion of
worldly happiness, according to what is written in the book of God's decrees,
until our messengersr come unto them, and shall cause them to die; saying,
Where are the idols which ye called upon, besides GOD? They shall answer,
They have disappeared from us. And they shall bear witness against themselves
that they were unbelievers.

n Because of the subtlety of their bodies, and their being void of all
colour.8
o This passage was revealed to reprove an immodest custom of the pagan
Arabs, who used to encompass the Caaba naked, because clothes, they said, were
the signs of their disobedience to GOD.1 The Sonna orders that, when a man
goes to prayers, he should put on his better apparel, out of respect to the
divine majesty before whom he is to appear. But as the Mohammedans think it
indecent, on the one hand, to come into GOD'S presence in a slovenly manner,
so they imagine, on the other, that they ought not to appear before him in
habits too rich or sumptuous, and particularly in clothes adorned with gold or
silver, lest they should seem proud.
p The sons of Amer, it is said, when they performed the pilgrimage to
Mecca, used to eat no more than was absolutely necessary, and that not of the
more delicious sort of food neither, which abstinence they looked upon as a
piece of merit, but they are here told the contrary.2
q Because then the wicked, who also partook of the blessings of this
life, will have no share in the enjoyments of the next.
r viz., The angel of death and his assistants.

8 Jallalo'ddin. 1 idem, al Beidâwi. 2 Idem.


God shall say unto them at the resurrection, Enter ye with the nations
which have preceded you, of genii and of men, into hell fire; so often as one
nation shall enter, it shall curse its sister,s until they shall all have
successively entered therein. The latter of them shall say of the former of
them: O LORD, these have seduced us; therefore inflict on them a double
punishment of the fire of hell. God shall answer, It shall be doubled unto
all:t but ye know it not:
and the former of them shall say unto the latter of them, Ye have not
therefore any favor above us; taste the punishment for that which ye have
gained.
Verily they who shall charge our signs with falsehood, and shall proudly
reject them, the gates of heaven shall not be opened unto them,u neither shall
they enter into paradise, until a camel pass through the eye of a needle,x and
thus will we reward the wicked doers.
Their couch shall be in hell, and over them shall be coverings of fire;
and thus will we reward the unjust.
40 But they who believe, and do that which is right (we will not load any
soul but according to its ability,) they shall be the companions of paradise;
they shall remain therein forever.
And we will remove all grudges from their minds;y rivers shall run at
their feet, and they shall say, Praised be GOD, who hath directed us unto this
felicity, for we should not have been rightly directed, if GOD had not
directed us; now are we convinced by demonstration that the Apostles of our
LORD came unto us with truth. And it shall be proclaimed unto them, This is
paradise, whereof ye are made heirs, as a reward for that which ye have
wrought.
And the inhabitantsz of paradise shall call out to the inhabitants of
hell fire, saying, Now have we found that which our LORD promised us to be
true: have ye also found that which your LORD promised you to be true? They
shall answer, Yea. And a criera shall proclaim between them, The curse of GOD
shall be on the wicked;
who turn men aside from the way of GOD, and seek to render it crooked,
and who deny the life to come.