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1 Al Masudi. 2 Abu'l Hasan al Becri in Korân. 3 Al
Beidâwi, Al Zamakh., Yahya.
4 Al Beidâwi 5 Ebn Shohnah. 6 Al Beidâwi.

Moreover thy LORD will be favorable unto those who have fled their
country, after having suffered persecution,c and had been compelled to deny
the faith by violence, and who have since fought in defence of the true
religion, and have persevered with patience; verily unto these will thy LORD
be gracious and merciful, after they shall have shown their sincerity.
On a certain day shall every soul come to plead itself,d and every soul
shall be repaid that which it shall have wrought; and they shall not be
treated unjustly.
GOD propoundeth as a parable a citye which was secure and quiet, unto
which her provisions came in abundance from every side; but she ungratefully
denied the favor of GOD: wherefore GOD caused her to taste the extreme famine,
and fear, because of that which they had done.
And now is an apostle come unto the inhabitants of Mecca from among
themselves; and they accuse him of imposture: wherefore a punishment shall be
inflicted on them, while they are acting unjustly.
Eat of what GOD hath given you for food, that which is lawful and good;
and be thankful for the favors of GOD, if ye serve him.
He hath only forbidden you that which dieth of itself, and blood, and
swine's flesh, and that which hath been slain in the name of any, besides
GOD.f But unto him who shall be compelled by necessity to eat of these
things, not lusting nor wilfully transgressing, GOD will surely be gracious
and merciful.
And say not that wherein your tongues utter a lie; This is lawful, and
this is unlawful;g that ye may devise a lie concerning GOD: for they who
devise concerning GOD shall not prosper.
They shall have small enjoyment in this world, and in that which is to
come they shall suffer a grievous torment.
Unto the Jews did we forbid that which we have told thee formally:h and
we did them no injury in that respect; but they injured their own souls.i
120 Moreover thy LORD will be favorable unto those who do evil through
ignorance, and afterwards repent and amend: verily unto these will thy LORD be
gracious and merciful, after their repentance.
Abraham was a model of true religion, obedient unto GOD, orthodox, and
was not an idolater:j
he was also grateful for his benefits: wherefore God chose him, and
directed him into the right way.
And we bestowed on him good in this world; and in the next he shall
surely be one of the righteous.
We have also spoken unto thee, O Mohammed, by revelation, saying, Follow
the religion of Abraham, who was orthodox, and was no idolater.

c As did Ammâr, who made one in both the flights. Some, reading the
verb with different vowels, render the last words, after having persecuted the
true believers; and instance in al Hadrami, who obliged a servant of his to
renounce Mohammedism, by force, but afterwards, together with that servant
professed the same faith, and fled for it.1
d That is, Every person shall be solicitous for his own salvation, not
concerning himself with the condition of another, but crying out, My own soul,
my own soul!2
e This example is applied to every city which having received great
blessings from GOD, becometh insolent and unthankful, and is therefore
chastised by some signal judgment; or rather to Mecca in particular, on which
the calamities threatened in this passage, viz. both famine and sword, were
inflicted.3
f See chapter 5, p. 73.
g Allowing what GOD hath forbidden, and superstitiously abstaining from
what he hath allowed. See chapter 6, p. 101, &c.
h viz., In the 6th chapter, p. 103.
i i.e., They were forbidden things which were in themselves
indifferent, as a punishment for their wickedness and rebellion.
j This was to reprehend the idolatrous Koreish, who pretended that they
professed the religion of Abraham.

1 Idem. 2 Idem. 3 Idem.

The sabbath was only appointed unto those who differed with their prophet
concerning it;k and thy LORD will surely judge between them, on the day of
resurrection, as to that concerning which they differed.
Invite men unto the way of thy LORD, by wisdom, and mild exhortation; and
dispute with them in the most condescending manner: for thy LORD well knoweth
him who strayeth from his path, and he well knoweth those who are rightly
directed.
If ye take vengeance on any, take a vengeance proportionable to the wrong
which hath been done you;l but if ye suffer wrong patiently, verily this will
be better for the patient.m
Wherefore, do thou bear opposition with patience; but thy patience shall
not be practicable, unless with GOD'S assistance. And be thou not grieved on
account of the unbelievers; neither be thou troubled for that which they
subtilely devise; for GOD is with those who fear him, and are upright.

_______

CHAPTER XVII.

ENTITLED, THE NIGHT JOURNEY;n REVEALED AT MECCA.

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.

PRAISE be unto him who transported his servant by night, from the sacred
temple of Mecca to the farther temple of Jerusalem,p the circuit of which we
have blessed, that we might show some of our signs; for God is he who heareth,
and seeth.

k These were the Jews; who being ordered by Moses to set apart Friday
(the day now observed by the Mohammedans) for the exercise of divine worship,
refused it, and chose the sabbath-day, because on that day GOD rested from his
works of creation: for which reason they were commanded to keep the day they
had chosen in the strictest manner.1
l This passage is supposed to have been revealed at Medina, on occasion
of Hamza, Mohammed's uncle, being slain at the battle of Ohod. For the
infidels having abused his dead body, by taking out his bowels, and cutting
off his ears and his nose, when Mohammed saw it, he swore that if God granted
him success, he would retaliate those cruelties on seventy of the Koreish; but
he was by these words forbidden to execute what he had sworn, and he
accordingly made void his oath.2 Abu'lfeda makes the number on which Mohammed
swore to reek his vengeance to be but thirty:3 but it may be observed, by the
way, that the translator renders the passage in that author, GOD hath revealed
unto me that I shall retaliate, &c., instead of, If GOD grant me victory over
the Koreish, I will retaliate, &c., reading Laïn adhharni, for adhfarni; GOD,
far from putting this design into the prophet's head by a revelation,
expressly forbidding him to put it in execution.
m Here, says al Beidâwi, the Korân principally points at Mohammed, who
was of all men the most conspicuous for meekness and clemency.
n The reason of this inscription appears in the first words. Some
entitle the chapter, The children of Israel.
o Some except eight verses, beginning at these words, It wanted little
but that the infidels had seduced thee, &c.
p From whence he was carried through the seven heavens to the presence
of GOD, and brought back again to Mecca the same night.
This journey of Mohammed to heaven is so well known that I may be
pardoned if I omit the description of it. The English reader may find it in
Dr. Prideaux's Life of Mahomet,1 and the learned in Abu'lfeda,2 whose
annotator has corrected several mistakes in the relation of Dr. Prideaux, and
in other writers.
It is a dispute among the Mohammedan divines, whether their prophet's
night-journey was really performed by him corporally, or whether it was only a
dream or vision. Some think the whole was no more than a vision; and allege
and express tradition of Moâwiyoh,3 one of Mohammed's successors, to that
purpose. Others suppose he was carried bodily to Jerusalem, but no farther;
and that he ascended thence to heaven in spirit only. But the received
opinion is, that it was no vision, but that he was actually transported in the
body to his journey's end; and if any impossibility be objected, they think it
a sufficient answer to say, that it might easily be effected by an omnipotent
agent.4

1 Idem, Jallalo'ddin. 2 Iidem. 3 Abu'lf. Vit. Moh. n.
68. 1 Page 43, &c. See also Morgan's Mahometism Explained, vol. 2
2 Vit. Moham. cap. 19. 3 Vide ibid, c. 18. 4 Al
Beidâwi.

And we gave unto Moses the book of the law, and appointed the same to be
a direction unto the children of Israel, commanding them, saying, Beware that
ye take not any other patron besides me.
O posterity of those whom we carried in the ark with Noah:q verily he was
a grateful servant.
And we expressly declared unto the children of Israel in the book of the
law, saying, Ye will surely commit evil in the earth twice,r and ye will be
elated with great insolence.
And when the punishment threatened for the first of those transgressions
came to be executed, we sent against you our servants,s endued with exceeding
strength in war, and they searched the inner apartments of your houses; and
the prediction became accomplished.
Afterwards we gave you the victory over them,t in your turn, and we
granted you increase of wealth and children, and we made you a more numerous
people,
saying, If ye do well, ye will do well to your own souls; and if ye do
evil, ye will do it unto the same. And when the punishment threatened for
your latter transgression came to be executed, we sent enemies against you to
afflict you,u and to enter the temple, as they entered it the first time, and
utterly to destroy that which they had conquered.

q The commentators are put to it to find out the connection of these
words with the foregoing. Some think the accusative case is here put for the
vocative, as I have translated it: and others interpret the words thus, Take
not for your patrons besides me, the posterity of those, &c., meaning, mortal
men.
r Their first transgression was their rejecting the decisions of the
law, their putting Isaiah to death,5 and their imprisoning of Jeremiah:6 and
the second, was their slaying of Zachariah and John the Baptist, and their
imagining the death of JESUS.7
s These were Jalût, or Goliah, and his forces;8 or Sennacherib the
Assyrian; or else Nebuchadnezzar, whom the eastern writers called Bakhtnasr
(which was however only his surname, his true name being Gudarz, or Raham),
the governor of Babylon under Lohorasp, king of Persia,9 who took Jerusalem,
and destroyed the temple.
t By permitting David to kill Goliah; or by the miraculous defeat of
Sennacherib's army; or for that GOD put it into the heart of Bahman the son of
Isfandiyar, when he succeeded his grandfather Lohorasp, to order Kiresh, or
Cyrus, then governor of Babylon, to send home the Jews from their captivity,
under the conduct of Daniel; which he accordingly did, and they prevailed
against those whom Bakhtnasr had left in the land.10
u Some imagine the army meant in this place was that of Bakhtnasr;11
but others say the Persians conquered the Jews this second time, by the arms
of Gudarz (by whom they seem to intend Antiochus Epiphanes), one of the
successors of Alexander at Babylon. It is related that the general in this
expedition, entering the temple, saw blood bubbling up on the great altar, and
asking the reason of it, the Jews told him it was the blood of a sacrifice
which had not been accepted of GOD; to which he replied, that they had not
told him the truth, and ordered a thousand of them to be slain on the altar;
but the blood not ceasing, he told them that if they would not confess the
truth, he would not spare one of them; whereupon they acknowledged it was the
blood of John: and the general said, Thus hath your Lord taken vengeance on
you; and then cried out, O John, my LORD and thy LORD knoweth what hath
befallen thy people for thy sake; wherefore let thy blood stop, by GOD'S
permission, lest I leave not one of them alive; upon which the blood
immediately stopped.12
These are the explications of the commentators, wherein their ignorance
in ancient history is sufficiently manifest; though perhaps Mohammed himself,
in this latter passage, intended the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.

5 Id. m. 6 Jallalo'ddin. 7 Iidem. 8
Jallalo'ddin, Yahya. 9 Al Zamakhshari, Al Beidâwi. 10
Iidem. 11 Yahya, Jallalo'ddin 12 Al Beidâwi.

Peradventure your LORD will have mercy on you hereafter: but if ye return
to transgress a third time, we also will return to chastise you;x and we have
appointed hell to be the prison of the unbelievers.
Verily this Koran directeth unto the way which is most right, and
declareth unto the faithful,
10 who do good works, that they shall receive a great reward;
and that for those who believe not in the life to come, we have prepared
a grievous punishment.
Man prayeth for evil, as he prayeth for good;y for man is hasty.z
We have ordained the night and the day for two signs of our power:
afterwards we blot out the sign of the night, and we cause the sign of the day
to shine forth, that ye may endeavor to obtain plenty from your LORD by doing
your business therein, and that ye may know the number of years, and the
computation of time; and everything necessary have we explained by a
perspicuous explication.
The fatea of every man have we bound about his neck;b and we will produce
unto him, on the day of resurrection, a book wherein his actions shall be
recorded: it shall be offered him open,
and the angels shall say unto him, Read thy book; thine own soul will be
a sufficient accountant against thee, this day.c
He who shall be rightly directed, shall be directed to the advantage only
of his own soul; and he who shall err shall err only against the same: neither
shall any laden soul be charged with the burden of another. We did not punish
any people, until we had first sent an apostle to warn them.
And when we resolved to destroy a city, we commanded the inhabitants
thereof, who lived in affluence, to obey our apostle; but they acted corruptly
therein: wherefore the sentence was justly pronounced against that city; and
we destroyed it with an utter destruction.
And how many generations have we consumed since Noah? for thy LORD
sufficiently knoweth and seeth the sins of his servants.
Whosoever chooseth this transitory life, we will bestow on him therein
beforehand that which we please; on him, namely, whom we please: afterwards
will we appoint him hell for his abode; he shall be thrown into the same to be
scorched, covered with ignominy, and utterly rejected from mercy.

x And this came accordingly to pass; for the Jews being again so wicked
as to reject Mohammed, and conspire against his life, God delivered them into
his hands; and he exterminated the tribe of Koreidha, and slew the chiefs of
al Nadîr, and obliged the rest of the Jewish tribes to pay tribute.1
y Out of ignorance, mistaking evil for good; or making wicked
imprecations on himself and others, out of passion and impatience.
z Or inconsiderate, not weighing the consequence of what he asks.
It is said that the person here meant is Adam, who, when the breath of
life was breathed into his nostrils, and had reached so far as his navel,
though the lower part of his body was, as yet, but a piece of clay, must needs
try to rise up, and got an ugly fall by the bargain. But others pretend the
passage was revealed on the following occasion. Mohammed committed a certain
captive to the charge of his wife, Sawda bint Zamáa, who, moved with
compassion at the man's groans, unbound him, and let him escape: upon which
the prophet, in the first motions of his anger, wished her hand might fall
off; but immediately composing himself, said aloud, O God, I am but a man:
therefore turn my curse into a blessing.2
a Literally, the bird, which is here used to signify a man's fortune or
success; the Arabs, as well as the Greeks and Romans, taking omens from the
flight of birds, which they supposed to portend good luck, if they flew from
the left to the right, but if from the right to the left, the contrary; the
like judgment they also made when certain beasts passed before them.
b Like a collar, which he cannot by any means get off. See the Prelim.
Disc. Sect. IV p. 80.
c See ibid. p. 20.

1 Idem. 2 Jallalo'ddin

20 But whosoever chooseth the life to come, and directeth his endeavor
towards the same, being also a true believer; the endeavor of these shall be
acceptable unto God.
On all will we bestow the blessings of this life, both on these and on
those, of the gift of thy LORD; for the gift of thy LORD shall not be denied
unto any.
Behold, how we have caused some of them to surpass others in wealth and
dignity: but the next life shall be more considerable in degrees of honour,
and greater in excellence.
Set not up another god with the true GOD, lest thou sit down in disgrace,
and destitute.
Thy LORD hath commanded that ye worship none besides him; and that ye
show kindness unto your parents, whether the one of them, or both of them
attain to old age with thee.d Wherefore, say not unto them, Fie on you!e
neither reproach them, but speak respectfully unto them
and submit to behave humblye towards them, out of tender affection and
say, O LORD, have mercy on them both, as they nursed me when I was little.
Your LORD well knoweth that which is in your souls; whether ye be men of
integrity:
and he will be gracious unto those who sincerely return unto him.
And give unto him who is of kin to you his due,f and also unto the poor,
and the traveller. And waste not thy substance profusely:
for the profuse are brethren of the devils:g and the devil was ungrateful
unto his LORD.
30 But if thou turn from them, in expectation of the mercy which thou
hopest from thy LORD;h at least, speak kindly unto them.
And let not thy hand be tied up to thy neck; neither open it with an
unbounded expansion,i lest thou become worthy of reprehension, and be reduced
to poverty.
Verily thy LORD will enlarge the store of whom he pleaseth, and will be
sparing unto whom he pleaseth; for he knoweth and regardeth his servants.
Kill not your children for fear of being brought to want; we will provide
for them and for you; verily the killing them is a great sin.
Draw not near unto fornication; for it is wickedness, and an evil way.
Neither slay the soul which GOD hath forbidden you to slay, unless for a
just cause;k and whosoever shall be slain unjustly, we have given his heir
power to demand satisfaction;l but let him not exceed the bounds of moderation
in putting to death the murderer in too cruel a manner, or by revenging his
friend's blood on any other than the person who killed him; since he is
assisted by this law.m

d That is, receiving their support and maintenance from thee.
e Literally, Lower the wing of humility, &c.
f That is, friendship and affection, and assistance in time of need.
g Prodigality, and squandering away one's substance in folly or luxury,
being a very great sin. The Arabs were particularly guilty of extravagance in
killing camels, and distributing them by lot, merely out of vanity and
ostentation; which they are forbidden by this passage, and commanded to bestow
what they could spare on their poor relations, and other indigent people.1
h That is, If thy present circumstances will not permit thee to assist
others, defer thy charity till GOD shall grant thee better ability.
i i.e., Be neither niggardly nor profuse, but observe the mean between
the two extremes, wherein consists true liberality.2
j See chapter 6, p. 101 and 103, and chapter 81.
k The crimes for which a man may justly be put to death are these:
apostasy, adultery and murder.3
l It being at the election of the heir, or next of kin, either to take
the life of the murderer or to accept of a fine in lieu of it.4
m Some refer the pronoun he to the person slain, for the avenging whose
death this law was made; some to the heir, who has a right granted him to
demand satisfaction for his friend's blood;1 and others to him who shall be
slain by the heir, if he carry his vengeance too far.2

1 Al Beidâwi. 2 Idem. 3 Idem. 4 See
chapter 2, p. 19. 1 Yahya.
2 Vide Al Beidâwi.

And meddle not with the substance of the orphan, unless it be to improve
it, until he attain his age of strength:n and perform your covenant; for the
performance of your covenant shall be inquired into hereafter.
And give full measure, when you measure aught; and weigh with a just
balance. This will be better, and more easy for determining every man's due.o
And follow not that whereof thou hast no knowledge;p for the hearing, and
the sight, and the heart, every of these shall be examined at the last day.
Walk not proudly in the land, for thou canst not cleave the earth,
neither shalt thou equal the mountains in stature.
40 All this is evil, and abominable in the sight of thy LORD.
These precepts are a part of the wisdom which they LORD hath revealed
unto thee. Set not up any other god as equal unto GOD, lest thou be cast into
hell, reproved and rejected.
Hath your LORD preferably granted unto you sons, and taken for himself
daughters from among the angels?q Verily in asserting this ye utter a
grievous saying.
And now have we used various arguments and repetitions in this Koran,
that they may be warned: yet it only rendereth them more disposed to fly from
the truth.
Say unto the idolaters, If there were other gods with him, as ye say,
they would surely seek an occasion of making some attempt against the
possessor of the throne:r
GOD forbid! and far, very far, be that from him which they utter!
The seven heavens praise him, and the earth, and all who are therein:
neither is there anything which doth not celebrate his praise; but ye
understand not their celebration thereof: he is gracious and merciful.
When thou readest the Koran, we place between thee and those who believe
not in the life to come a dark veil;
and we put coverings over their hearts, lest they should understand it,
and in their ears thickness of hearing.
And when thou makest mention, in repeating the Koran, of thy LORD only,s
they turn their backs, flying the doctrine of his unity.
50 We well know with what design they hearken, when they hearken unto thee,
and when they privately discourse together: when the ungodly say, Ye follow no
other than a madman.
Behold! what epithets they bestow on thee. But they are deceived;
neither can they find any just occasion to reproach thee.
They also say, After we shall have become bones and dust, shall we surely
be raised a new creature?

n See chapter 4, p. 53, 54.
o Or, more advantageous in the end.3
p i.e., Vain and uncertain opinions, which thou hast not good reason to
believe true, or at least probable. Some interpret the words, Accuse not
another of a crime whereof thou hast no knowledge; supposing they forbid the
bearing false witness, or the spreading or giving credit to idle reports of
others.4
q See chapter 16, p. 199.
r i.e., They would in all probability contend with GOD for superiority,
and endeavour to dethrone him, in the same manner as princes act with one
another on earth.
s Not allowing their gods to be his associates, nor praying their
intercession with him.

3 Idem. Al Zamakh. 4 Iidem.

Answer, Be ye stones, or iron, or some creature more improbable in your
opinions to be raised to life. But they will say, Who shall restore us to
life? Answer, He who created you the first time: and they will wag their
heads at thee, saying, When shall this be? Answer, Peradventure it is nigh.
On that day shall GOD call you forth from your sepulchres, and ye shall
obey, with celebration of his praise;t and ye shall think that ye tarriedu but
a little while.
Speak unto my servants, that they speak mildly unto the unbelievers, lest
ye exasperate them; for Satan soweth discord among them, and Satan is a
declared enemy unto man.
your LORD well knoweth you; if he pleaseth, he will have mercy on you,
or, if he pleaseth, he will punish you:x and we have not sent thee to be a
steward over them.
Thy LORD well knoweth all persons in heaven and on earth.y We have
bestowed peculiar favors on some of the prophets, preferably to others; and we
gave unto David the psalms.z
Say, Call upon those whom ye imagine to be gods besides him; yet they
will not be able to free you from harm, or to turn it on others.
Those whom ye invoke,a do themselves desire to be admitted to a near
conjunction with their LORD; striving which of them shall approach nearest
unto him: they also hope for his mercy, and dread his punishment; for the
punishment of thy LORD is terrible.
60 There is no city but we will destroy the same before the day of
resurrection, or we will punish it with a grievous punishment. This is
written in the book of our eternal decrees.
Nothing hindered us from sending thee with miracles, except that the
former nations have charged them with imposture. We gave unto the tribe of
Thamud, at their demand, the she-camel visible to their sight: yet they dealt
unjustly with her:b and we send not a prophet with miracles, but to strike
terror.
Remember when we said unto thee, Verily thy LORD encompasseth men by his
knowledge and power. We have appointed the vision which we showed thee,c and
also the treed cursed in the Koran, only for an occasion of dispute unto men,
and to strike them with terror; but it shall cause them to transgress only the
more enormously.