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CHAPTER XXIII.

ENTITLED, THE TRUE BELIEVERS; REVEALED AT MECCA.

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.

NOW are the true believers happy:
who humble themselves in their prayer,
and who eschew all vain discourse,
and who are doers of alms-deeds;
and who keep themselves from carnal knowledge of any women
except their wives, or the captives which their right hands possess (for
as to them they shall be blameless:
but whosoever coveteth any woman beyond these, they are transgressors):
and who acquit themselves faithfully of their trust, and justly perform
their covenant;
and who observe their appointed times of prayer:
10 these shall be the heirs,
who shall inherit paradise; they shall continue therein forever.
We formerly created man in a finer sort of clay;
afterwards we placed him in the form of seed in a sure receptacle:h
afterwards we made the seed coagulated blood; and we formed the
coagulated blood into a piece of flesh: then we formed the piece of flesh into
bones: and we clothed those bones with flesh: then we produced the same by
another creation.i Wherefore blessed be GOD, the most excellent Creator!j
After this shall ye die:
and afterwards shall ye be restored to life, on the day of resurrection.
And we have created over you seven heavens:k and we are not negligent of
what we have created.
And we send down rain from heaven, by measure; and we cause it to remain
on the earth: we are also certainly able to deprive you of the same.
And we cause gardens of palm-trees, and vineyards, to spring forth for
you by means thereof; wherein ye have many fruits, and whereof ye eat.
20 And we also raise for you a tree springing from Mount Sinai;l which
produceth oil, and a sauce for those who eat.

h viz., The womb.
i i.e., Producing a perfect man, composed of soul and body.
j See chapter 6, p. 97, note d.
k Literally, seven paths; by which the heavens are meant, because,
according to some expositors they are the paths of the angels and of the
celestial bodies: though the original word also signifies things which are
folded or placed like stories one above another, as the Mohammedans suppose
the heavens to be.
l viz., The olive. The gardens near this mountain are yet famous for
the excellent fruit-trees of almost all sorts which grow there.1

1 Vide Voyages de Thevenot, liv. 2, ch. 9.

Ye have likewise an instruction in the cattle; we give you to drink of
the milk which is in their bellies, and ye receive many advantages from them;
and of them do ye eat:
and on them, and on ships, are ye carried.m
We sent Noah heretofore unto his people, and he said, O my people, serve
GOD: ye have no GOD besides him; will ye therefore not fear the consequence of
your worshipping other gods?
And the chiefs of his people, who believed not, said, This is no other
than a man, as ye are: he seeketh to raise himself to a superiority over you.
If GOD had pleased to have sent a messenger unto you, he would surely have
sent angels: we have not heard this of our fore-fathers.
Verily he is no other than a man disturbed with frenzy: wherefore wait
concerning him for a time.
Noah said, O LORD, do thou protect me; for that they accuse me of
falsehood.
And we revealed our orders unto him, saying, Make the ark in our sight;
and according to our revelation. And when our decree cometh to be executed,
and the oven shall boil and pour forth water,
carry into it of every species of animals one pair; and also thy family,
except such of them on whom a previous sentence of destruction hath passed:n
and speak not unto me in behalf of those who have been unjust; for they shall
be drowned.
And when thou and they who shall be with thee shall go up into the ark,
say Praise be unto GOD, who hath delivered us from the ungodly people!
30 And say, O LORD, cause me to come down from this ark with a blessed
descent; for thou art the best able to bring me down from the same with
safety.
Verily herein were signs of our omnipotence; and we proved mankind
thereby.
Afterwards we raised up another generationo after them;
and we sent unto them an apostle from among them,p who said, Worship GOD:
ye have no GOD besides him; will ye therefore not fear his vengeance?
And the chiefs of his people, who believed not, and who denied the
meeting of the life to come, and on whom we had bestowed affluence in this
present life, said, This is no other than a man, as ye are; he eateth of that
whereof ye eat,
and he drinketh of that whereof ye drink:
and if ye obey a man like unto yourselves, ye will surely be sufferers.
Doth he threaten you that after ye shall be dead, and shall become dust
and bones, ye shall be brought forth alive from your graves?
Away, away with that ye are threatened with!
There is no other life besides our present life: we die, and we live; and
we shall not be raised again.
40 This is no other than a man, who deviseth a lie concerning GOD: but we
will not believe him.
Their apostle said, O LORD, defend me; for that they have accused me of
imposture.
God answered, After a little while they shall surely repent their
obstinacy.
Wherefore a severe punishment was justly inflicted on them, and we
rendered them like the refuse which is carried down by a stream. Away
therefore with the ungodly people!
Afterwards we raised up other generationsq after them.

m The beast more particularly meant in this place is the camel, which
is chiefly used for carriage in the east; being called by the Arabs, the land
ship, on which they pass those seas of sand, the deserts.
n See chapter 11, p. 160, &c.
o Namely, the tribe of Ad, or of Thamud.
p viz., The prophet Hûd, or Sâleh.
q As the Sodomites, Midianites, &c.

No nation shall be punished before their determined time;
neither shall they be respited after. Afterwards we sent our apostles,
one after another. So often as their apostle came unto any nation, they
charged him with imposture: and we caused them successively to follow one
another to destruction; and we made them only subjects of traditional stories.
Away therefore with the unbelieving nations!
Afterwards we sent Moses, and Aaron his brother, with our signs and
manifest power,
unto Pharaoh and his princes: but they proudly refused to believe on him;
for they were a haughty people.
And they said, Shall we believe on two men like unto ourselves; whose
people are our servants?
50 And they accused them of imposture: wherefore they became of the number
of those who were destroyed.
And we heretofore gave the book of the law unto Moses, that the children
of Israel might be directed thereby.
And we appointed the son of Mary, and his mother, for a sign: and we
prepared an abode for them in an elevated part of the earth,r being a place of
quiet and security, and watered with running springs.
O apostles, eat of those things which are good;s and work righteousness:
for I well know that which ye do.
This your religion is one religion;t and I am your LORD: wherefore fear
me.
But men have rent the affair of their religion into various sects: every
party rejoiceth in that which they follow.
Wherefore leave them in their confusion, until a certain time.u
Do they think that we hasten unto them the wealth and children which we
have abundantly bestowed on them,
for their good? But they do not understand.
Verily they who stand in awe, for fear of their LORD,
60 and who believe in the signs of their LORD,
and who attribute not companions unto their LORD;
and who give that which they give in alms, their hearts being struck with
dread, for that they must return unto their LORD:
these hasten unto good, and are foremost to obtain the same.
We will not impose any difficulty on a soul, except according to its
ability; with us is a book, which speaketh the truth; and they shall not be
injured.
But their hearts are drowned in negligence, as to this matter: and they
have works different from those we have mentioned; which they will continue to
do,
until when we chastise such of them as enjoy an affluence of fortune, by
a severe punishment,x behold, they cry aloud for help:

r The commentators tell us the place here intended is Jerusalem, or
Damascus, or Ramlah, or Palestine, or Egypt.1
But perhaps the passage means the hill to which the Virgin Mary retired
to be delivered, according to the Mohammedan tradition.2
s These words are addressed to the apostles in general, to whom it was
permitted to eat of all clean and wholesome food; and were spoken to them
severally at the time of their respective mission. Some, however, think them
directed particularly to the Virgin Mary and JESUS, or singly to the latter
(in which case the plural number must be used out of respect only), proposing
the practice of the prophets for their imitation. Mohammed probably designed
in this passage to condemn the abstinence observed by the Christian monks.3
t See chapter 21, p. 248.
u i.e., Till they shall be slain, or shall die a natural death.
x By which is intended either the overthrow at Bedr, where several of
the chief Korashites lost their lives; or the famine with which the Meccans
were afflicted, at the prayer of the prophet, conceived in these words, O GOD,
set thy foot strongly on Modar (an ancestor of the Koreish), and give them
years like the years of Joseph: whereupon so great a dearth ensued, that they
were obliged to feed on dogs, carrion, and burnt bones.4

1 Al Beidâwi, Jallalo'ddin. 2 See chapter 19, p. 228.
3 Al Beidâwi. 4 Idem.

but it shall be answered them, Cry not for help to-day: for ye shall not
be assisted by us.
My signs were read unto you, but ye turned back on your heels:
proudly elating yourselves because of your possessing the holy temple;
discoursing together by night, and talking foolishly.
70 Do they not therefore attentively consider that which is spoken unto
them; whether a revelation is come unto them which came not unto their fore-
fathers?
Or do they not know their apostle; and therefore reject him?
Or do they say, He is a madman? Nay, he hath come unto them with the
truth; but the greater part of them detest the truth.
If the truth had followed their desires, verily the heavens and the
earth, and whoever therein is, had been corrupted.y But we have brought them
their admonition; and they turn aside from their admonition.
Dost thou ask of them any maintenance for thy preaching? since the
maintenance of thy LORD is better; for he is the most bounteous provider.
Thou certainly invitest them to the right way:
and they who believe not in the life to come, do surely deviate from that
way.
If we had had compassion on them, and taken off from them the calamity
which had befallen them,z they would surely have more obstinately persisted in
their error, wandering in confusion.
We formerly chastised them with a punishment:a yet they did not humble
themselves before their LORD, neither did they make supplications unto him;
until, when we have opened upon them a door, from which a severe
punishmentb hath issued, behold they are driven to despair thereat.
80 It is God who hath created in you the senses of hearing and of sight,
that ye may perceive our judgments, and hearts, that ye may seriously consider
them: yet how few of you give thanks!
It is he who hath produced you in the earth; and before him shall ye be
assembled.
It is he who giveth life, and putteth to death; and to him is to be
attributed the vicissitude of night and day: do ye not therefore understand?
But the unbelieving Meccans say as their predecessors said:
they say, When we shall be dead, and shall have become dust and bones,
shall we really be raised to life?
We have already been threatened with this, and our fathers also
heretofore: this is nothing but fables of the ancients.
Say, Whose is the earth, and whoever therein is, if ye know?
They will answer, GOD'S. Say, Will ye not therefore consider?
Say, Who is the LORD of the seven heavens, and the LORD of the
magnificent throne?
They will answer, They are GOD'S. Say, Will ye not therefore fear him?
90 Say, In whose hand is the kingdom of all things; who protecteth whom he
pleaseth, but is himself protected of none; if ye know?
They will answer, In GOD'S. Say, How therefore are ye bewitched?

y That is, If there had been a plurality of gods, as the idolaters
contend:1 or, if the doctrine taught by Mohammed had been agreeable to their
inclinations, &c.
z viz., The famine. It is said that the Meccans being reduced to eat
ilhiz, which is a sort of miserable food made of blood and camels' hair, used
by the Arabs in time of scarcity, Abu Sofiân came to Mohammed, and said, Tell
me, I adjure thee by God and the relation that is between us, dost thou think
thou art sent as a mercy unto all creatures; since thou hast slain the fathers
with the sword and the children with hunger?2
a Namely, the slaughter at Bedr.
b viz., Famine; which is more terrible than the calamities of war.3
According to these explications, the passage must have been revealed at
Medina; unless it be taken in a prophetical sense.

1 See chapter 21, p. 243. 2 Al Beidâwi. 3 Idem.

Yea, we have brought them the truth; and they are certainly liars in
denying the same.
GOD hath not begotten issue; neither is there any other god with him:
otherwise every god had surely taken away that which he had created;c and some
of them had exalted themselves above the others.d Far be that from GOD, which
they affirm of him!
He knoweth that which is concealed, and that which is made public:
wherefore far be it from him to have those sharers in his honour which they
attribute to him!
Say, O LORD, If thou wilt surely cause me to see the vengeance with which
they have been threatened;
O LORD, set me not among the ungodly people:
for we are surely able to make thee see that with which we have
threatened them.
Turn aside evil with that which is better:e we well know the calumnies
which they utter against thee.
And say, O LORD I fly unto thee for refuge, against the suggestions of
the devils
100 and I have recourse unto thee, O LORD, to drive them away, that they be
not present with me.f
The gainsaying of the unbelievers ceaseth not until, when death
overtaketh any of them, he saith, O LORD, suffer me to return to life,
that I may do that which is right; in professing the true faith which I
have neglected.g By no means. Verily these are the words which ye shall
speak:
but behind them there shall be a bar,h until the day of resurrection.
When therefore the trumpet shall be sounded, there shall be no relation
between them which shall be regarded on that day; neither shall they ask
assistance of each other.
They whose balances shall be heavy with good works shall be happy; but
they whose balances shall be light are those who shall lose their souls, and
shall remain in hell for ever.i
The fire shall scorch their faces, and they shall writhe their mouths
therein for anguish:
and it shall be said unto them, Were not my signs rehearsed unto you; and
did ye not charge them with falsehood?
They shall answer, O LORD, our unhappiness prevailed over us, and we were
people who sent astray.
O LORD, take us forth from this fire: if we return to our former
wickedness, we shall surely be unjust.

c And set up a distinct creation and kingdom of his own.
d See chapter 17, p. 210.
e That is, By forgiving injuries, and returning of good for them: which
rule is to be qualified, however, with this proviso; that the true religion
receive no prejudice by such mildness and clemency.1
f To besiege me: or, as it may also be translated, That they hurt me
not.
g Or, as the word may also import, In the world which I have left; that
is, during the further term of life which shall be granted me, and from which
I have been cut off.2
h The original word barzakh, here translated bar, primarily signifies
any partition, or interstice, which divides one thing from another; but is
used by the Arabs not always in the same, and sometimes in an obscure sense.
They seem generally to express by it what the Greeks did by the word Hades;
one while using it for the place of the dead, another while for the time of
their continuance in that state, another while for the state itself. It is
defined by their critics to be the interval or space between this world and
the next, or between death and the resurrection; every person who dies being
said to enter into al barzakh; or, as the Greek expresses it, [Greek text].3
One lexicographer4 tells us that in the Korân it denotes the grave; but the
commentators on this passage expound it a bar, or invincible obstacle, cutting
off all possibility of return into the world, after death. See chapter 25,
where the word again occurs.
Some interpreters understand the words we have rendered behind them, to
mean before them (it being one of those words, of which there are several in
the Arabic tongue, that have direct contrary significations), considering al
Barzakh as a future space, and lying before, and not behind them.
i See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. IV., p. 69.

1 Idem. 2 Idem. 3 Vide Pocock. not. in Port. Mosis,
p. 248, &c., and the Prelim Disc. Sect. IV. p. 60.
4 Ebn Maruf, apud Gol. Lex. Arab. col. 254.

10 God will say unto them, Be ye driven away with ignominy thereinto: and
speak not unto me to deliver you.
Verily there were a party of my servants, who said, O LORD, we believe:
wherefore forgive us, and be merciful unto us; for thou art the best of those
who show mercy.
But ye received them with scoffs, so that they suffered you to forget my
admonition,j and ye laughed them to scorn.
I have this day rewarded them, for that they suffered the injuries ye
offered them with patience: verily they enjoy great felicity.
God will say, What number of years have ye continued on earth?
They will answer, We have continued there a day, or part of a day:k but
ask those who keep account.l
God will say, Ye have tarried but a while, if ye knew it.
Did ye think that we had created you in sport, and that ye should not be
brought again before us? Wherefore let GOD be exalted, the King, the Truth!
There is no GOD besides him, the LORD of the honourable throne. Whoever
together with the true GOD shall invoke another god, concerning whom he hath
no demonstrative proof, shall surely be brought to an account for the same
before his LORD. Verily the infidels shall not prosper.
Say, O LORD, pardon, and show mercy; for thou art the best of those who
show mercy.

_______

CHAPTER XXIV.

ENTITLED, LIGHT;m REVEALED AT MEDINA.

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.

THIS Sura have we sent down from heaven; and have ratified the same; and
we have revealed evident signs, that ye may be warned.
The whore, and the whoremonger, shall ye scourge with a hundred stripes.n
And let not compassion towards them prevent you from executing the judgment of
GOD;o if ye believe in GOD and the last day: and let some of the true
believers be witnesses of their punishment.p

j Being unable to prevail on you by their remonstrances, because of the
contempt wherein ye held them.
k The time will seem thus short to them in comparison to the eternal
duration of their torments, or because the time of their living in the world
was the time of their joy and pleasure; it being usual for the Arabs to
describe what they like as of short, and what they dislike, as of long
continuance.
l That is, the angels, who keep account of the length of men's lives
and of their works, or any other who may have leisure to compute; and not us,
whose torments distract our thoughts and attention.
m This title is taken from an allegorical comparison made between light
and GOD, or faith in him, about the middle of the chapter.
n This law is not to be understood to relate to married people, who are
of free condition; because adultery in such, according to the Sonna, is to be
punished by stoning.1
o i.e., Be not moved by pity, either to forgive the offenders, or to
mitigate their punishment. Mohammed was for so strict and impartial an
execution of the laws, that he is reported to have said, If Fâtema the
daughter of Mohammed steal, let her hand be struck off.2
p That is, Let the punishment be inflicted in public, and not in
private; because the ignominy of it is more intolerable than the smart, and
more likely to work a reformation on the offender. Some say there ought to be
three persons present at the least; but others think two, or even one, to be
sufficient.1

1 See chapter 4, p. 55 and 57. 2 Al Beidâwi.
1 Idem.

The whoremonger shall not marry any other than a harlot, or an
idolatress. And a harlot shall no man take in marriage, except a whoremonger,
or an idolater. And this kind of marriage is forbidden the true believers.q
But as to those who accuse women of reputation of whoredom,r and produce
not four witnesses of the fact,s scourge them with fourscore stripes, and
receive not their testimony forever; for such are infamous prevaricators;
excepting those who shall afterwards repent, and amend; for unto such
will GOD be gracious and merciful.
They who shall accuse their wives of adultery, and shall have no
witnesses thereof, besides themselves; the testimony which shall be required
of one of them shall be, that he swear four times by GOD that he speaketh the
truth:
and the fifth time that he imprecate the curse of GOD on him if he be a
liar.
And it shall avert the punishment from the wife, if she swear four times
by GOD that he is a liar;
and if the fifth time she imprecate the wrath of GOD on her, if he
speaketh the truth.t
10 If it were not for the indulgence of GOD towards you, and his mercy, and
that GOD is easy to be reconciled, and wise, he would immediately discover
your crimes.

q The preceding passage was revealed on account of the meaner and more
indigent Mohâjerins, or refugees, who sought to marry the whores of the
infidels, taken captives in war, for the sake of the gain which they made by
prostituting themselves. Some think the prohibition was special, and regarded
only the Mohâjerins before mentioned; and others are of opinion it was
general; but it is agreed to have been abrogated by the words which follow in
this chapter, Marry the single women among you; harlots being comprised under
the appellation of single women.2
It is supposed by some that not marriage, but unlawful commerce with
such women is here forbidden.
r The Arabic word, mohsinât, properly signifies women of unblamable
conduct; but to bring the chastisement after mentioned on the calumniator, it
is also requisite that they be free women, of ripe age, having their
understandings perfect, and of the Mohammedan religion. Though the word be of
the feminine gender, yet men are also supposed to be comprised in this law.
Abu Hanîfa was of opinion that the slanderer ought to be scourged in
public, as well as the fornicator; but the generality are against him.3
s See chapter 4, p. 55.
t In case both swear, the man's oath discharges him from the imputation
and penalty of slander, and the woman's oath frees her from the imputation and
penalty of adultery: but though the woman do swear to her innocence, yet the
marriage is actually void, or ought to be declared void by the judge: because
it is not fit they should continue together after they have come to these
extremities.4

2 Idem, Jallalo'ddin. 3 Idem. 4 Idem.

As to the party among you who have published the falsehood concerning
Ayesha,u think it not to be an evil unto you: on the contrary, it is better
for you.x Every man of them shall be punished according to the injustice of
which he hath been guilty;y and he among them who hath undertaken to aggravate
the samez shall suffer a grievous punishment.
Did not the faithful men, and the faithful women, when ye heard this,
judge in their own minds for the best; and say, This is a manifest falsehood?
Have they produced four witnesses thereof? wherefore since they have not
produced the witnesses, they are surely liars in the sight of GOD.
Had it not been for the indulgence of GOD towards you, and his mercy, in
this world and in that which is to come, verily a grievous punishment had been
inflicted on you, for the calumny which ye have spread: when ye published that
with your tongues, and spoke that with your mouths, of which ye had no
knowledge; and esteemed it to be light, whereas it was a matter of importance
in the sight of GOD.
When ye heard it, did ye say, It belongeth not unto us, that we should
talk of this matter: GOD forbid! this is a grievous calumny.
GOD warneth you, that ye return not to the like crime forever; if ye be
true believers.
And GOD declareth unto you his signs; for GOD is knowing and wise.
Verily they who love that scandal be published of those who believe,
shall receive a severe punishment
both in this world and in the next. GOD knoweth, but ye know not.
20 Had it not been for the indulgence of GOD towards you and his mercy, and
that GOD is gracious and merciful, ye had felt his vengeance.
O true believers, follow not the steps of the devil: for whosoever shall
follow the steps of the devil, he will command them filthy crimes, and that
which is unlawful. If it were not for the indulgence of GOD, and his mercy
towards you, there had not been so much as one of you cleansed from his guilt
forever: but GOD cleanseth whom he pleaseth; for GOD both heareth and knoweth.