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s That is, the nation whose example betrayed them into their idolatry
and other wickedness.
t Unto those who set the example, because they not only transgressed
themselves, but were also the occasion of the others' transgression; and unto
those who followed them, because of their own infidelity and their imitating
an ill example.1
u That is, when their souls shall, after death, ascend to heaven, they
shall not be admitted, but shall be thrown down into the dungeon under the
seventh earth.2
x This expression was probably taken from our Saviour's words in the
gospel,3 though it be proverbial in the east.
y So that, whatever differences or animosities there had been between
them in their lifetime, they shall now be forgotten, and give place to sincere
love and amity. This Ali is said to have hoped would prove true to himself
and his inveterate enemies, Othmân, Telha, and al Zobeir.4
z Literally, the companions.
a This crier, some say, will be the angel Israfil.

1 Idem. 2 Jallalo'ddin. See the Prelim. Disc. ubi sup. p.
61. 3 Matth. xix. 24 4 Al Beidâwi.

And between the blessed and the damned there shall be a veil; and men
shall stand on Al Arâfb who shall know every one of them by their marks;c and
shall call unto the inhabitants of paradise, saying, Peace be upon you: yet
they shall not enter therein, although they earnestly desire it.d
And when they shall turn their eyes towards the companions of hell fire,
they say, O LORD, place us not with the ungodly people!
And those who stand on Al Arâf shall call unto certain men,e whom they
shall know by their marks, and shall say, What hath your gathering of riches
availed you, and that ye were puffed up with pride?
Are these the men on whom ye sware that GOD would not bestow mercy?f
Enter ye into paradise; there shall come no fear on you, neither shall ye be
grieved.g
And the inhabitants of hell fire shall call unto the inhabitants of
paradise, saying, Pour upon us some water, or of those refreshments which GOD
hath bestowed on you.h They shall answer, Verily GOD hath forbidden them unto
the unbelievers;
who made a laughing-stock and a sport of their religion, and whom the
life of the world hath deceived: therefore this day will we forget them, as
they did forget the meeting of this day, and for that they denied our signs to
be from God.
50 And now have we brought unto those of Mecca a book of divine
revelations: we have explained it with knowledge; a direction and mercy unto
people who shall believe.
Do they wait for any other than the interpretation thereof?i On the day
whereon the interpretation thereof shall come, they who had forgotten the same
before shall say, Now are we convinced by demonstration that the messengers of
our LORD came unto us with truth: shall we therefore have any intercessors,
who will intercede for us? or shall we be sent back into the world, that we
may do other works than what we did in our life-time? But now have they lost
their souls; and that which they impiously imagined hath fled from them.k
Verily, your LORD is GOD, who created the heavens and the earth in six
days; and then ascended his throne: he causeth the night to cover the day; it
succeedeth the same swiftly: he also created the sun and the moon, and the
stars, which are absolutely subject unto his command. Is not the whole
creation, and the empire thereof, his? Blessed be GOD, the LORD of all
creatures!

b Al Arâf is the name of the wall or partition which, as Mohammed
taught, will separate paradise from hell.5 But as to the persons who are to
be placed thereon the commentators differ, as has been elsewhere observed.6
c i.e., Who shall distinguish the blessed from the damned by their
proper characteristics; such as the whiteness and splendour of the faces of
the former, and the blackness of those of the latter.1
d From this circumstance, it seems that their opinion is the most
probable who make this intermediate partition a sort of purgatory for those
who, though they deserve not to be sent to hell, yet have not merits
sufficient to gain them immediate admittance into paradise, and will be
tantalized here for a certain time with a bare view of the felicity of that
place.
e That is, the chiefs and ringleaders of the infidels.2
f These were the inferior and poorer among the believers, whom they
despised in their lifetimes as unworthy of God's favour.
g These words are directed, by an apostrophe, to the poor and despised
believers above mentioned. Some commentators, however, imagine these and the
next preceding words are to be understood of those who will be confined in al
Arâf; and that the damned will, in return for their reproachful speech, swear
that they shall never enter paradise themselves; whereupon GOD of his mercy
shall order them to be admitted by these words.3
h i.e., Of the other liquors or fruits of paradise. Compare this
passage with the parable of Dives and Lazarus.
i That is, the event of the promises and menaces therein.
k See chapter 6, p. 90, note a.

5 See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. IV. p. 74. 6 See ibid.
1 Al Beidâwi. 2 Idem.
3 Idem

Call upon your LORD humbly and in secret; for he loveth not those who
transgress.l
And act not corruptly in the earth, after its reformation;m and call upon
him with fear and desire: for the mercy of GOD is near unto the righteous.
It is he who sendeth the winds, spread abroadn before his mercy,o until
they bring a cloud heavy with rain, which we drive into a dead country;p and
we cause water to descend thereon, by which we cause all sorts of fruits to
spring forth. Thus will we bring forth the dead from their graves;q that
peradventure ye may consider.
From a good country shall its fruit spring forth abundantly, by the
permission of its LORD; but from the land which is bad, it shall not spring
forth otherwise than scarcely. Thus do we explain the signs of divine
providence unto people who are thankful.
We formerly sent Noahr unto his people: and he said, O my people, worship
GOD: ye have no other GOD than him.s Verily I fear for you the punishment of
the great day.t
The chiefs of his people answered him, We surely perceive thee to be in a
manifest error.
He replied, O my people, there is no error in me; but I am a messenger
from the LORD of all creatures.
60 I bring unto you the messages of my LORD; and I counsel you aright: for
I know from GOD, that which ye know not.
Do ye wonder that an admonition hath come unto you from your LORD by a
manu from among you, to warn you, that ye may take heed to yourselves, and
that peradventure ye may obtain mercy?

l Behaving themselves arrogantly while they pray; or praying with an
obstreperous voice, or a multitude of words and vain repetitions.1
m i.e., After that GOD hath sent his prophets, and revealed his laws,
for the reformation and amendment of mankind.
n Or ranging over a large extent of land. Some copies, instead of
noshran, which is the reading I have here followed, have boshran, which
signifies good tidings; the rising of the wind in such a manner being the
forerunner of rain.
o That is, rain. For the east wind, says al Beidâwi, raises the
clouds, the north wind drives them together, the south wind agitates them, so
as to make the rain fall, and the west wind disperses them again.2
p Or a dry and parched land.
q See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. IV.
r Noah the son of Lamech, according to the Mohammedan writers, was one
of the six principal prophets,3 though he had no written revelations delivered
to him,4 and the first who appeared after his great-grandfather Edrîs or
Enoch. They also say he was by trade a carpenter, which they infer from his
building the ark, and that the year of his mission was the fiftieth, or, as
others say, the fortieth of his age.5
That Noah was a preacher of righteousness unto the wicked antediluvians
is testified by scripture.6 The eastern Christians say that when God ordered
Noah to build the ark, he also directed him to make an instrument of wood,
such as they make use of at this day in the east, instead of bells, to call
the people to church, and named in Arabic Nâkûs, and in modern Greek Semandra;
on which he was to strike three times every day, not only to call together the
workmen that were building the ark, but to give him an opportunity of daily
admonishing his people of the impending danger of the Deluge, which would
certainly destroy them if they did not repent.7
Some Mohammedan authors pretend Noah was sent to convert Zohâk, one of
the Persian kings of the first race, who refused to hearken to him; and that
he afterwards preached GOD's unity publicly.8
s From these words, and other passages of the Korân where Noah's
preaching is mentioned, it appears that, according to Mohammed's opinion, a
principal crime of the antediluvians was idolatry.9
t viz., Either the day of resurrection, or that whereon the Flood was
to begin.
u For, said they, if GOD had pleased, he would have sent an angel, and
not a man; since we never heard of such an instance in the times of our
fathers.10

1 Idem. 2 Idem. 3 See the Prelim. Disc. p. 59.
4 Vide Reland. de Relig. Moh. p. 34.
5 Al Zamakhshari. 6 2 Pet. ii. 5. 7 Eutych. Annal. p. 37.
8 Vide D'Herbal. Bibl. Orient. p. 675.
9 See c. 71, and the Prelim. Disc. Sect. I. p. 14. 10 Al Beidâwi.

And they accused him of imposture: but we delivered him and those who
were with him in the ark,x and we drowned those who charged our signs with
falsehood; for they were a blind people.
And unto the tribe of Ad we sent their brother Hûd.z He said, O my
people, worship GOD: ye have no other GOD than him; will ye not fear him?
The chiefs of those among his people who believed not,a answered, Verily
we perceive that thou art guided by folly; and we certainly esteem thee to be
one of the liars.
He replied, O my people, I am not guided by folly; but I am a messenger
unto you from the LORD of all creatures:
I bring unto you the messages of my LORD; and I am a faithful counsellor
unto you.
Do ye wonder that an admonition hath come unto you from your LORD, by a
man from among you, that he may warn you? Call to mind how he hath appointed
you successors unto the people of Noah,b and hath added unto you in stature
largely.c Remember the benefits of GOD, that ye may prosper.
They said, Art thou come unto us, that we should worship GOD alone, and
leave the deities which our fathers worshipped? Now bring down that judgment
upon us, with which thou threatenest us, if thou speakest truth.
Hud answered, Now shall there suddenly fall upon you from your LORD
vengeance and indignation. Will ye dispute with me concerning the names which
ye have named,d and your fathers; as to which GOD hath not revealed unto you
any authority? Do ye wait therefore, and I will be one of those who wait with
you.

x That is, those who believed on him, and entered into that vessel with
him. Though there be a tradition among the Mohammedans, said to have been
received from the prophet himself, and conformable to the scripture, that
eight persons, and no more, were saved in the ark, yet some of them report the
number variously. One says they were but six, another ten, another twelve,
another seventy-eight, and another four-score, half men and half women,1 and
that one of them was the elder Jorham,2 the preserver, as some pretend, of the
Arabian language.3
y Ad was an ancient and potent tribe of Arabs,4 and zealous idolaters.5
They chiefly worshipped four deities, Sâkia, Hâfedha, Râzeka and Sâlema; the
first, as they imagined, supplying them with rain, the second preserving them
from all dangers abroad, the third providing food for their sustenance, and
the fourth restoring them to health when afflicted with sickness,6 according
to the signification of the several names.
z Generally supposed to be the same person with Heber;7 but others say
he was the son of Abda'llah, the son of Ribâh, the son of Kholûd, the son of
Ad, the son of Aws or Uz, the son of Aram, the son of Sem.8
a These words were added because some of the principal men among them
believed on Hûd, one of whom was Morthed Ebn Saad.9
b Dwelling in the habitations of the antediluvians, who preceded them
not many centuries, or having the chief sway in the earth after them. For the
kingdom of Shedâd, the son of Ad, is said to have extended from the sands of
Alaj to the trees of Omân.10
c See the Prelim. Disc. p. 5.
d That is, concerning the idols and imaginary objects of your worship,
to which ye wickedly gave the names, attributes, and honour due to the only
true GOD.

1 Al Zamakhshari, Jallalo'ddin, Ebn Shohnah. 2 Idem. See the
Prelim. Disc. Sect I. p. 6. 3 Vide Pocock. Orat. Præfix. Carm.
Tograi. 4 See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. I. p. 5. 5 Abulfeda.
6 Vide D'Herbel. Bibl. Orient. Art. Houd.
7 See the Prelim. Disc. p. 5. 1 Al Beidâwi. 9 Idem.
10 Idem.

70 And we delivered him, and them who believed with him by our mercy; and
we cut off the uttermost part of those who charged our signs with falsehood,
and were not believers.e
And unto the tribe of Thamûd we sentf their brother Sâleh.g He said, O
my people, worship GOD: ye have no GOD besides him. Now hath a manifest proof
come unto you from your LORD. This she-camel of GOD is a sign unto you:h
therefore dismiss her freely, that she may feed in GOD's earth; and do her no
hurt, lest a painful punishment seize you.
And call to mind how he hath appointed you successors unto the tribe of
Ad, and hath given you a habitation on earth; ye build yourselves castles on
the plains thereof, and cut out the mountains into houses.i Remember
therefore the benefits of GOD, and commit not violence in the earth, acting
corruptly.
The chiefs among his people who were puffed up with pride, said unto
those who were esteemed weak, namely unto those who believed among them, Do ye
know that Sâleh hath been sent from his LORD? They answered, We do surely
believe in that wherewith he hath been sent.
Those who were elated with pride replied, Verily we believe not in that
wherein ye believe.

e The dreadful destruction of the Adites we have mentioned in another
place,1 and shall only add here some further circumstances of that calamity,
and which differ a little from what is there said; for the Arab writers
acknowledge many inconsistencies in the histories of these ancient tribes.2
The tribe of Ad having been for their incredulity previously chastised
with a three years' drought, sent Kail Ebn Ithar and Morthed Ebn Saad, with
seventy other principal men, to the temple of Mecca to obtain rain. Mecca was
then in the hands of the tribe of Amalek whose prince was Moâwiyah Ebn Becr;
and he, being without the city when the ambassadors arrived, entertained them
there for a month in so hospitable a manner that they had forgotten the
business they came about had not the king reminded them of it, not as from
himself, lest they should think he wanted to be rid of them, but by some
verses which he put into the mouth of a singing woman. At which, being roused
from their lethargy, Morthed told them the only way they had to obtain what
they wanted would be to repent and obey their prophet; but this displeasing
the rest, they desired Moâwiyah to imprison him, lest he should go with them;
which being done, Kail with the rest entering Mecca, begged of GOD that he
would send rain to the people of Ad. Whereupon three clouds appeared, a white
one, a red one, and a black one; and a voice from heaven ordered Kail to
choose which he would. Kail failed not to make choice of the last, thinking
it to be laden with the most rain; but when this cloud came over them, it
proved to be fraught with the divine vengeance, and a tempest broke forth from
it which destroyed them all.3
f Thamûd was another tribe of the ancient Arabs who fell into idolatry.
See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. I. p. 5.
g Al Beidâwi deduces his genealogy thus: Sâleh, the son of Obeid, the
son of Asaf, the son of Masekh, the son of Obeid, the son of Hâdher, the son
of Thamûd.4
h The Thamûdites, insisting on a miracle, proposed to Sâleh that he
should go with them to their festival, and that they should call on their
gods, and he on his, promising to follow that deity which should answer. But
after they had called on their idols a long time to no purpose, Jonda Ebn
Amru, their prince, pointed to a rock standing by itself, and bade Sâleh cause
a she-camel big with young to come forth from it, solemnly engaging that, if
he did, he would believe, and his people promised the same. Whereupon Sâleh
asked it of GOD, and presently the rock, after several throes as if in labour,
was delivered of a she-camel answering the description of Jonda, which
immediately brought forth a young one, ready weaned, and, as some say, as big
as herself. Jonda, seeing this miracle, believed on the prophet, and some few
with him; but the greater part of the Thamûdites remained, notwithstanding,
incredulous. Of this camel the commentators tell several very absurd stories:
as that, when she went to drink, she never raised her head from the well or
river till she had drunk up all the water in it, and then she offered herself
to be milked, the people drawing from her as much milk as they pleased; and
some say that she went about the town crying aloud, If any wants milk let him
come forth.5
i The tribe of Thamûd dwelt first in the country of the Adites, but
their numbers increasing, they removed to the territory of Hejr for the sake
of the mountains, where they cut themselves habitations in the rocks, to be
seen at this day.

1 Prelim. Disc. p. 5. 2 Al Beidâwi. Vide D'Herbelot, Bibl
Orient. Art. Houd. 3 See the Prelim. Disc. p. 5.
4 Abulfeda, al Zamakhshari. Vide D'Herbel. Bibl. Orient. Art. Sâleh.
5 See the Prelim. Disc. p. 6.

And they cut off the feet of the camel,k and insolently transgressed the
command of their LORD,l and said, O Sâleh, cause that to come upon us which
thou hast threatened us, if thou art one of those who have been sent by God.
Whereupon a terrible noise from heavenm assailed them; and in the morning
they were found in their dwellings prostrate on their breasts and dead.n
And Sâleh departed from them, and said,o O my people, now have I
delivered unto you the message of my LORD and I advised you well, but ye love
not those who advise you well.
And remember Lot,p when he said unto his people, Do ye commit a
wickedness, wherein no creature hath set you an example?
Do ye approach lustfully unto men, leaving the women? Certainly ye are
people who transgress all modesty.
80 But the answer of his people was no other than that they said the one to
the other, Expel themq your city; for they are men who preserve themselves
pure from the crimes which ye commit.
Therefore we delivered him and his family, except his wife; she was one
of those who stayed behind:r
and we rained a shower of stones upon them.s Behold therefore what was
the end of the wicked.

k This extraordinary camel frighting the other cattle from their
pasture, a certain rich woman named Oneiza Omm Ganem, having four daughters,
dressed them out and offered one Kedâr his choice of them if he would kill the
camel. Whereupon he chose one, and with the assistance of eight other men,
hamstrung and killed the dam, and pursuing the young one, which fled to the
mountain, killed that also and divided his flesh among them.1 Others tell the
story somewhat differently, adding Sadaka Bint al Mokhtâr as a joint
conspiratress with Oneiza, and pretending that the young one was not killed;
for they say that having fled to a certain mountain named Kâra, he there cried
three times, and Sâleh bade them catch him if they could, for then there might
be hopes of their avoiding the divine vengeance; but this they were not able
to do, the rock opening after he had cried, and receiving him within it.2
l Defying the vengeance with which they were threatened; because they
trusted in their strong dwellings hewn in the rocks, saying that the tribe of
Ad perished only because their houses were not built with sufficient
strength.3
m Like violent and repeated claps of thunder, which some say was no
other than the voice of the angel Gabriel,4 and which rent their hearts.5 It
is said that after they had killed the camel, Sâleh told them that on the
morrow their faces should become yellow, the next day red, and the third day
black, and that on the fourth GOD'S vengeance should light on them; and that
the first three signs happening accordingly, they sought to put him to death,
but GOD delivered him by sending him into Palestine.6
n Mohammed, in the expedition of Tabûc, which he undertook against the
Greeks in the ninth year of the Hejra, passing by Hejr, where this ancient
tribe had dwelt, forbade his army, though much distressed with heat and
thirst, to draw any water there, but ordered them if they had drunk of that
water to bring it up again, or if they had kneaded any meal with it, to give
it to their camels;7 and wrapping up his face in his garment, he set spurs to
his mule, crying out, Enter not the houses of those wicked men, but rather
weep, lest that happen unto you which befell them; and having so said, he
continued galloping full speed with his face muffled up, till he had passed
the valley.8
o Whether this speech was made by Sâleh to them at parting, as seems
most probable, or after the judgment had fallen on them, the commentators are
not agreed.
p The commentators say, conformably to the scripture, that Lot was the
son of Haran, the son of Azer or Terah, and consequently Abraham's nephew, who
brought him with him from Chaldea into Palestine, where they say he was sent
by GOD to reclaim the inhabitants of Sodom and the other neighbouring cities
which were overthrown with it, from the unnatural vice to which they were
addicted.9 And this Mohammedan tradition seems to be countenanced by the
words of the apostle, that this righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing
and hearinng vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful
deeds;10 whence it is probable that he omitted no opportunity of endeavouring
their reformation. The story of Lot is told with further circumstances in the
eleventh chapter.
q viz., Lot, and those who believe on him.
r See chap. II.
s See ibid.

1 Abulfeda. 2 Al Beidâwi. Vide D'Herbel. ubi supra.
3 Al Kessai. 4 See the Prelim. Disc. p. 6. 5
Abulfeda, al Beidâwi. 6 Al Beidâwi. 7 Abulfed. Vit. Moh. p.
124. 8 Al Bokhari. 9 Vide D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient. Art.
Loth. 10 2 Pet. ii. 8. 1 Gen. xxv. 2.

And unto Madiant we sent their brother Shoaib.u He said unto them, O my
people, worship GOD; ye have no GOD besides him. Now hath an evident
demonstrationx come unto you from your LORD. Therefore give full measure and
just weight, and diminish not unto men aught of their matters:y neither act
corruptly in the earth, after its reformation.z This will be better for you,
if ye believe.
And beset not every way, threatening the passenger;a and turning aside
from the path of GOD him who believeth in him, and seeking to make it crooked.
And remember, when ye were few, and God multiplied you: and behold, what hath
been the end of those who acted corruptly.
And if part of you believe in that wherewith I am sent, and part believe
not, wait patiently until GOD judge between us; for he is the best judge.
The chiefs of his people, who were elated with pride, answered, We will
surely cast thee, O Shoaib, and those who believe with thee, out of our city:
or else thou shalt certainly return unto our religion. He said, What, though
we be averse thereto?
We shall surely imagine a lie against GOD, if we return unto your
religion, after that GOD hath delivered us from the same: and we have no
reason to return unto it, unless GOD our LORD shall please to abandon us. Our
LORD comprehendeth every thing by his knowledge. In GOD do we put our trust.
O LORD do thou judge between us and our nation with truth; for thou art the
best judge.
And the chiefs of his people who believed not said, If ye follow Shoaib,
ye shall surely perish.
Therefore a storm from heavenb assailed them, and in the morning they
were found in their dwellings dead and prostrate.
90 They who accused Shoaib of imposture became as though they had never
dwelt therein; they who accused Shoaib of imposture perished themselves.
And he departed from them, and said, O my people, now have I performed
unto you the messages of my LORD; and I advised you aright: but why should I
be grieved for an unbelieving people.
We have never sent any prophet unto a city, but we afflicted the
inhabitants thereof with calamity and adversity, that they might humble
themselves.
Then we gave them in exchange good in lieu of evil, until they abounded,
and said, Adversity and prosperity formerly happened unto our fathers, as unto
us. Therefore we took vengeance on them suddenly, and they perceived it not
beforehand.