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l This city was Antioch; or, as some rather think, Obollah, near Basra,
or else Bâjirwân in Armenia.1
m By only stroking it with his hand; though others say he threw it down
and rebuilt it.2
n They were ten brothers, five of whom were past their labour by reason
of their age.3
o Named Jaland Ebn Karkar, or Minwâr Ebn Jaland al Azdi.4
p It is said that they had afterwards a daughter, who was the wife and
the mother of a prophet; and that her son converted a whole nation.5
q Their names were Asram and Sarim.6
r Or, the two-horned. The generality of the commentators7 suppose the
person here meant to be Alexander the Great, or, as they call him, Iscander al
Rûmi, king of Persia and Greece; but there are very different opinions as to
the reason of this surname. Some think it was given him because he was king
of the East and of the West, or because he had made expeditions to both those
extreme parts of the earth; or else because he had two horns on his diadem, or
two curls of hair, like horns, on his forehead; or, which is most probable, by
reason of his great valour. Several modern writers8 rather suppose the
surname was occasioned by his being represented in his coins and statues with
horns, as the son of Jupiter Ammon; or else by his being compared by the
prophet Daniel to a he-goat;9 though he is there represented with but one
horn.10
There are some good writers, however, who believe the prince intended in
this passage of the Korân was not Alexander the Grecian, but another great
conqueror, who bore the same name and surname, and was much more ancient than
he, being contemporary with Abraham, and one of the kings of Persia of the
first race;11 or, as others suppose, a king of Yaman, named Asaab Ebn al
Râyesh.12
They all agree he was a true believer, but whether he was a prophet or
no, is a disputed point.

1 Idem. 2 Idem. 3 Idem. 4 Idem.
5 Idem. 6 Idem.
7 Idem, Al Zamakhshari, Jallalo'ddin, Yahya. 8 Scaliger, de Emend.
temp. L'Empereur, not. in Jachiad. Dan. viii. 5. Gol. in Alfrag. p. 58, &c.
9 Schickard. Tarikh Reg. Pers. p. 73. 10 See Dan. viii.
11 Abulfeda, Khondemir, Tarikh Montakhab, &c. Vide D'Herbel. Bibl.
Orient. Art. Escander. 12 Ex trad. Ebn Abbas. Vide Poc. Spec. p. 58.

until he came to the place where the sun setteth; and he found it to set
in a spring of black mud;s and he found near the same a certain people.t
And we said, O Dhu'lkarnein, either punish this people, or use gentleness
towards them.u
He answered, Whosoever of them shall commit injustice, we will surely
punish him in this world; afterwards shall he return unto his LORD, and he
shall punish him with a severe punishment.
But whosoever believeth, and doth that which is right, shall receive the
most excellent reward, and we will give him in command that which is easy.
Then he continued his way,
until he came to the place where the sun riseth;x and he found it to rise
on certain people, unto whom we had not given anything wherewith to shelter
themselves therefrom.y
90 Thus it was; and we comprehended with our knowledge the forces which
were with him.
And he prosecuted his journey from south to north,
until he came between the two mountains;z beneath which he found certain
people, who could scarce understand what was said.a
And they said, O Dhu'lkarnein, verily, Gog and Magog waste the land;b
shall we therefore pay thee tribute, on condition that thou build a rampart
between us and them?
He answered, The power wherewith my LORD has strengthened me is better
than your tribute: but assist me strenuously, and I will set a strong wall
between you and them.
Bring me iron in large pieces, until it fill up the space between the two
sides of these mountains. And he said to the workmen, Blow with your bellows,
until it make the iron red hot as fire. And he said further, Bring me molten
brass, that I may pour upon it.

s That is, it seemed so to him, when he came to the ocean, and saw
nothing but water.1
t An unbelieving nation, who were clothed in the skins of wild beasts,
and lived upon what the sea cast on shore.2
u For GOD gave Dhu'lkarnein his choice, either to destroy them for
their infidelity, or to instruct them in the true faith; or, according to
others, either to put them to the sword, or to take them captives: but the
words which follow confirm the former interpretation, by which it appears he
chose to invite them to the true religion, and to punish only the disobedient
and incredulous.
x i.e., That part of the habitable world on which the sun first rises.
y Who had neither clothes nor houses, their country not bearing any
buildings, but dwelt in holes underground, into which they retreated from the
heat of the sun.3 Jallalo'ddin says they were the Zenj, a black nation lying
south-west of Ethiopia. They seem to be the Troglodytes of the ancients.
z Between which Dhu'lkarnein built the famous rampart, mentioned
immediately, against the irruptions of Gog and Magog. These mountains are
situate in Armenia and Adherbijân, or, according to others, much more
northwards, on the confines of Turkestan.4 The relation of a journey taken to
this rampart, by one who was sent on purpose to view it by the Khalîf al
Wathec, may be seen in D'Herbelot.5
a By reason of the strangeness of their speech and their slowness of
apprehension; wherefore they were obliged to make use of an interpreter.6
b The Arabs call them Yajûi and Majûj, and say they are two nations or
tribes descended from Japhet the son of Noah, or, as others write, Gog are a
tribe of the Turks, and Magog of those of Gilân,7 the Geli and Gelæ of Ptolemy
and Strabo.8
It is said these barbarous people made their irruptions into the
neighbouring countries in the spring, and destroyed and carried off all the
fruits of the earth; and some pretend they were man-eaters.9

1 Al Beidâwi, Jallalo'ddin. 2 Iidem. 3 Iidem.
4 Al Beidâwi.
5 Bibl. Orient. Art. Jagiouge. 6 Al Beidâwi. 7 Idem.
Vide D'Herbel. ubi supra. 8 V. Gol. in Alfrag. p. 207. 9 Al
Beidâwi.

Wherefore, when this wall was finished, Gog and Magog could not scale it,
neither could they dig through it.c
And Dhu'lkarnein said, This is a mercy from my LORD:
but when the prediction of my LORD shall come to be fulfilled,d he shall
reduce the wall to dust; and the prediction of my LORD is true.
On that day we will suffer some of them to press tumultuously like waves
on others:e and the trumpet shall be sounded, and we will gather them in a
body together.
100 And we will set hell on that day before the unbelievers;
whose eyes have been veiled from my remembrance, and who could not hear
my words.
Do the unbelievers think that I will not punish them, for that they take
my servants for their protectors besides me? Verily we have prepared hell for
the abode of the infidels.
Say, Shall we declare unto you those whose works are vain,
whose endeavor in the present life hath been wrongly directed, and who
think they do the work which is right?
These are they who believe not in the signs of their LORD, or that they
shall be assembled before him; wherefore their works are vain, and we will not
allow them any weight on the day of resurrection.
This shall be their reward, namely, hell; for that they have disbelieved,
and have held my signs and apostles in derision.
But as for those who believe and do good works, they shall have the
gardens of paradise for their abode:
they shall remain therein forever; they shall wish for no change therein.
Say, If the sea were ink to write the words of my LORD, verily the sea
would fail, before the words of my LORD would fail; although we added another
sea like unto it as a further supply.
110 Say, Verily I am only a man as ye are. It is revealed unto me that your
GOD is one only GOD: let him therefore who hopeth to meet his LORD work a
righteous work; and let him not make any other to partake in the worship of
his LORD.

c The commentators say the wall was built in this manner. They dug
till they found water, and having laid the foundation of stone and melted
brass, they built the super-structure of large pieces of iron, between which
they laid wood and coals, till they equalled the height of the mountains; and
then setting fire to the combustibles, by the help of large bellows, they made
the iron red hot, and over it poured melted brass, which filling up the
vacancies between the pieces of iron, rendered the whole work as firm as a
rock. Some tell us that the whole was built of stones joined by cramps of
iron, on which they poured melted brass to fasten them.1
d That is, when the time shall come for Gog and Magog to break forth
from their confinement; which shall happen sometime before the resurrection.2
e These words represent either the violent irruption of Gog and Magog,
or the tumultuous assembly of all creatures, men, genii, and brutes, at the
resurrection.3

1 Idem, &c. 2 See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. IV. p. 63.
3 See ib. p. 67.

CHAPTER XIX.

ENTITLED, MARY;g REVEALED AT MECCA.g

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.

C. H. Y. A. S.h A COMMEMORATION of the mercy of thy LORD towards his
servant Zacharias.i
When he called upon his LORD, invoking him in secret,
and said, O LORD, verily my bones are weakened, and my head is become
white with hoariness,
and I have never been unsuccessful in my prayers to thee, O LORD.
But now I fear my nephews, who are to succeed after me, for my wife is
barren:
wherefore, give me a successor of my own body from before thee; who may
be my heir, and may be an heir of the family of Jacob;k and grant, O LORD,
that he may be acceptable unto thee.
And the angel answered him, O Zacharias, verily we bring thee tidings of
a son, whose name shall be John;
we have not caused any to bear the same name before him.l
Zacharias said, LORD, how shall I have a son, seeing my wife is barren,
and I am now arrived at a great age,m and am decrepit?
10 The angel said, So shall it be: thy LORD saith, This is easy with me;
since I created thee heretofore, when thou wast nothing.
Zacharias answered, O LORD, give me a sign. The angel replied, Thy sign
shall be that thou shalt not speak to men for three nights, although thou be
in perfect health.
And he went forth unto his people, from the chamber, and he made signs
unto them,n as if he should say, Praise ye God in the morning and in the
evening.
And we said unto his son, O John, receive the book of the law, with a
resolution to study and observe it. And we bestowed on him wisdom, when he
was yet a child,

f Several circumstances relating to the Virgin Mary being mentioned in
this chapter, her name was pitched upon for the title.
g Except the verse of Adoration.
h See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. III. p. 46, 47.
i See chapter 3. p. 36, &c.
j These were his brother's sons, who were very wicked men, and
Zacharias was apprehensive lest, after his death, instead of confirming the
people in the true religion, they should seduce them to idolatry.1 And some
commentators imagine that he made this prayer in private, lest his nephews
should overhear him.
k viz., In holiness and knowledge; or in the government and
superintendence of the Israelites. There are some who suppose it is not the
patriarch who is here meant, but another Jacob, the brother of Zacharias, or
of Imrân Ebn Mâthân, of the race of Solomon.2
l For he was the first who bore the name of John, or Yahya (as the
Arabs pronounce it); which fancy seems to be occasioned by the words of St.
Luke misunderstood, that none of Zacharias's kindred was called by that name:3
for otherwise John, or, as it is written in Hebrew, Johanan, was a common name
among the Jews.
Some expositors avoid this objection, by observing that the original
word samiyyan signifies, not only one who is actually called by the same name,
but also one who by reason of his possessing the like qualities and
privileges, deserves, or may pretend to the same name.
m The Mohammedan traditions greatly differ as to the age of Zacharias
at this time; we have mentioned one already:4 Jallalo'ddin says, he was an
hundred and twenty, and his wife ninety-eight; and the Sonna takes notice of
several other opinions.
n Some say he wrote the following words on the ground.

1 Al Beidâwi, Jallalo'ddin. 2 Iidem. 3 Luke i. 61.

and mercy from us, and purity of life;o and he was a devout person, and
dutiful towards his parents, and was not proud or rebellious.
Peace be on him the day whereon he was born, and the day whereon he shall
die, and the day whereon he shall be raised to life.
And remember in the book of the Koran the story of Mary; when she retired
from her family to a place towards the east,p
and took a veil to conceal herself from them; and we sent our spirit
Gabriel unto her, and he appeared unto her in the shape of a perfect man.q
20 She said, I fly for refuge unto the merciful God, that he may defend me
from thee: if thou fearest him, thou wilt not approach me.
He answered, Verily I am the messenger of thy LORD, and am sent to give
thee a holy son.
She said, How shall I have a son, seeing a man hath not touched me, and I
am no harlot?
Gabriel replied, So shall it be: thy LORD saith, This is easy with me;
and we will perform it, that we may ordain him for a sign unto men, and a
mercy from us: for it is a thing which is decreed.
Wherefore she conceived him;r and she retired aside with him in her womb
to a distant place;s
and the pains of child-birth came upon her near the trunk of a palm-
tree.t She said, Would to GOD I had died before this, and had become a thing
forgotten, and lost in oblivion.
And he who was beneath her called to her,u saying, be not grieved; now
hath GOD provided a rivulet under thee;

o Or, as the word also signifies, The love of alms-deeds.
p viz., To the eastern part of the temple; or to a private chamber in
the house, which opened to the east: whence, says al Beidâwi, the Christians
pray towards that quarter.
There is a tradition, that when the virgin was grown to years of
puberty, she used to leave her apartment in the temple, and retire to
Zacharias's house to her aunt, when her courses came upon her; and so soon as
she was clean, she returned again to the temple: and that at the time of the
angel's visiting her, she was at her aunt's on the like occasion, and was
sitting to wash herself, in an open place, behind a veil to prevent her being
seen.1 But others more prudently suppose the design of her retirement was to
pray.2
q Like a full-grown but beardless youth. Al Beidâwi, not contented
with having given one good reason why he appeared in that form, viz., to
moderate her surprise, that she might hear his message with less shyness,
adds, that perhaps it might be to raise an emotion in her, and assist her
conception.
r For Gabriel blew into the bosom of her shift, which he opened with
his fingers,3 and his breath reaching her womb, caused the conception.4 The
age of the Virgin Mary at the time of her conception was thirteen, or, as
others say, ten; and she went six, seven, eight, or nine months with him,
according to different traditions; though some say the child was conceived at
its full growth of nine months, and that she was delivered of him within an
hour after.5
s To conceal her delivery, she went out of the city by night, to a
certain mountain.
t The palm to which she fled, that she might lean on it in her travail,
was a withered trunk, without any head or verdure, and this happened in the
winter season; notwithstanding which it miraculously supplied her with fruits
for her refreshment;6 as is mentioned immediately.
It has been observed, that the Mohammedan account of the delivery of the
Virgin Mary very much resembles that of Latona, as described by the poets,7
not only in this circumstance of their laying hold on a palm-tree8 (though
some say Latona embraced an olive-tree, or an olive and a palm, or else two
laurels), but also in that of their infants speaking; which Apollo is fabled
to have done in the womb.9
u This some imagine to have been the child himself; but others suppose
it was Gabriel who stood somewhat lower than she did.10 According to a
different reading this passage may be rendered, And he called to her from
beneath her, &c. And some refer the pronoun, translated her, to the palm-
tree; and then it should be beneath it, &c.

1 Yahya, Al Beidâwi. 2 Al Zamakh. 3 Yahya.
4 Jallalo'ddin, Al Beidâwi.
5 Al Beidâwi, Yahya. 6 Iidem, Al Zamakh. 7 Vide Sikii not.
in Evang. Infant. p. 9, 21, &c. 8 Homer. Hymn. in Apoll.
Callimach. Hymn. in Delum. 9 Callimach. ibid. See Kor. chapter 3,
p. 57. 10 Al Beidâwi, Jallalo'ddin.

and do thou shake the body of the palm-tree, and it shall let fall ripe
dates upon thee ready gathered.x
And eat, and drink, and calm thy mind.y Moreover, if thou see any man,
and he question thee,
say, Verily I have vowed a fast unto the Merciful: wherefore I will by no
means speak to a man this day.z
So she brought the child to her people, carrying him in her arms. And
they said unto her, O Mary, now hast thou done a strange thing:
O sister of Aaron,a thy father was not a bad man, neither was thy mother
a harlot.
30 But she made signs unto the child to answer them; and they said, How
shall we speak to him, who is an infant in the cradle?
Whereupon the child said, Verily I am the servant of GOD;b he hath given
me the book of the gospel, and hath appointed me a prophet.
And he hath made me blessed, wheresoever I shall be; and hath commanded
me to observe prayer, and to give alms, so long as I shall live;
and he hath made me dutiful towards my mother, and hath not made me proud
or unhappy.
And peace be on me the day whereon I was born, and the day whereon I
shall die, and the day whereon I shall be raised to life.
This was JESUS, the son of Mary; the Word of truth,c concerning whom they
doubt.
It is not meet for GOD, that he should have any son; GOD forbid! When he
decreeth a thing, he only saith unto it, Be; and it is.
And verily GOD is my LORD and your LORD; wherefore, serve him: this is
the right way.
Yet the sectaries differ among themselves concerning Jesus; but woe be
unto those who are unbelievers, because of their appearance at the great day.
Do thou cause them to hear, and do thou cause them to see,d on the day
whereon they shall come unto us to be judged: but the ungodly are this day in
a manifest error.
40 And do thou forewarn them of the day of sighing, when the matter shall
be determined, while they are now sunk in negligence, and do not believe.
Verily we will inherit the earth, and whatever creatures are therein;e
and unto us shall they all return.

x And accordingly she had no sooner spoken it than the dry trunk
revived, and shot forth green leaves, and a head loaded with ripe fruit.
y Literally, thine eye.
z During which she was not to speak to anybody, unless to acquaint them
with the reason of her silence: and some suppose she did that by signs.
a Several Christian writers think the Korân stands convicted of a
manifest falsehood in this particular, but I am afraid the Mohammedans may
avoid the charge;1 as they do by several answers. Some say the Virgin Mary
had really a brother named Aaron, who had the same father, but a different
mother; others suppose Aaron the brother of Moses is here meant, but say Mary
is called his sister, either because she was of the Levitical race (as by her
being related to Elizabeth, it should seem she was), or by way of comparison;
others say that it was a different person of that name who was contemporary
with her, and conspicuous for his good or bad qualities, and that they likened
her to him either by way of commendation of of reproach,2 &c.
b These were the first words which were put into the mouth of JESUS, to
obviate the imagination of his partaking of the divine nature, or having a
right to the worship of mankind, on account of his miraculous speaking so soon
after his birth.3
c This expression may either be referred to JESUS, as the Word of GOD;
or to the account just given of him.
d These words are variously expounded; some taking them to express
admiration4 at the quickness of those senses in the wicked, at the day of
judgment, when they shall plainly perceive the torments prepared for them,
though they have been deaf and blind in this life; and others supposing the
words contain a threat to the unbelievers, of what they shall then hear and
see; or else a command to Mohammed to lay before them the terrors of that
day.5
e i.e., Alone surviving, when all creatures shall be dead and
annihilated. See chapter 15, p. 192.

1 See chapter 3, p. 34, 35. 2 Al Zamakh., Al Beidâwi.
Jallalo'ddin, Yahya, &c. 3 Al Beidâwi, &c.
4 See chapter 18, p. 220. 5 Al Beidâwi.

And remember Abraham in the book of the Koran; for he was one of great
veracity, and a prophet.
When he said unto his father, O my father,f why dost thou worship that
which heareth not, neither seeth, nor profiteth thee at all?
O my father, verily a degree of knowledge hath been bestowed on me, which
hath not been bestowed on thee: wherefore follow me; I will lead thee into an
even way.
O my father, serve not Satan; for Satan was rebellious unto the Merciful.
O my father, verily I fear lest a punishment be inflicted on thee from
the Merciful, and thou become a companion of Satan.
His father answered, Dost thou reject my gods, O Abraham? If thou
forbear not, I will surely stone thee: wherefore leave me for a long time.
Abraham replied, Peace be on thee: I will ask pardon for thee of my LORD;
for he is gracious unto me.
And I will separate myself from you, and from the idols which ye invoke
besides GOD; and I will call upon my LORD; it may be that I shall not be
unsuccessful in calling on my LORD, as ye are in calling upon them.
50 And when he had separated himself from them, and from the idols which
they worshipped besides GOD,g we gave him Isaac and jacob; and we made each of
them a prophet,
and we bestowed on them, through our mercy, the gift of prophecy, and
children and wealth; and we caused them to deserve the highest commendations.h
And remember Moses in the book of the Koran: for he was sincerely
upright, and was an apostle and a prophet.
And we called unto him from the right side of Mount Sinai, and caused him
to draw near, and to discourse privately with us.i
And we gave him, through our mercy, his brother Aaron a prophet, for his
assistant.
Remember also Ismael in the same book; for he was true to his promise,j
and was an apostle, and a prophet.
And he commanded his family to observe prayer, and to give alms; and he
was acceptable unto his LORD.
And remember Edrisk in the same book; for he was a just person, and a
prophet:
and we exalted him to a high place.l
These are they unto whom GOD hath been bounteous, of the prophets of the
posterity of Adam, and of those whom we carried in the ark with Noah; and of
the posterity of Abraham, and of Israel, and of those whom we have directed
and chosen. When the signs of the Merciful were read unto them, they fell
down, worshipping, and wept:

f See chapter 6, p. 95, &c.
g By flying to Harrân, and thence to Palestine.
h Literally, We granted them a lofty tongue of truth.
i Or, as some expound it, And we raise him on high; for, say they, he
was raised to so great an elevation, that he heard the creaking of the pen
writing on the table of GOD'S decrees.1
j Being celebrated on that account; and particularly for his behaving
with that resignation and constancy which he had promised his father, on his
receiving GOD'S command to sacrifice him;2 for the Mohammedans say it was
Ismael, and not Isaac, whom he was commanded to offer.
k Or Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah, who had that surname from
his great knowledge; for he was favoured with no less than thirty books of
divine revelations, and was the first who wrote with a pen, and studied the
sciences of astronomy and arithmetic, &c.3
The learned Bartolocci endeavours to show, from the testimonies of the
ancient Jews, that Enoch, surnamed Edris, was a very different person from the
Enoch of Moses, and many ages younger.4
l Some understand by this the honour of the prophetic office, and his
familiarity with GOD; but others suppose his translation is here meant: for
they say that he was taken up by GOD into heaven at the age of three hundred
and fifty, having first suffered death, and been restored to life; and that he
is now alive in one of the seven heavens, or in paradise.5