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5 See Maracc. not. in loc. p. 511. 6 Vide Midrash, Yalkut
Shemuni, p. 11, f. 29, et Millium, de Mohammedismo ante Mohammed. p. 232.
7 Eccles. ii. 8 8 Al Beidâwi. Jallalo'ddin. 1 Idem.
2 See cap. 21, p. 247.
3 Al Beidâwi, Jallalo'ddin. 4 Vide Pocock. Spec. p. 59. 5 Al
Beidâwi, &c. Vide D'Herbel. Bibl. Orient. p. 182.
6 Ubi sup.

I found her and her people to worship the sun, besides GOD: and Satan
hath prepared their works for them, and hath turned them aside from the way of
truth (wherefore they are not rightly directed),
lest they should worship GOD, who bringeth to light that which is hidden
in heaven and earth, and knoweth whatever they conceal, and whatever they
discover.
GOD! there is no GOD but he; the LORD of the magnificent throne.
Solomon said, We shall see whether thou hast spoken the truth, or whether
thou art a liar.
Go with this my letter, and cast it down unto them; then turn aside from
them, and wait to know what answer they will return.
And when the Queen of Saba had received the letter,k she said, O nobles,
verily an honourable letter hath been delivered unto me;
30 it is from Solomon, and this is the tenor thereof: In the name of the
most merciful GOD,
Rise not up against me: but come and surrender yourselves unto me.l
She said, O nobles, advise me in my business: I will not resolve on
anything, until ye be witnesses and approve thereof.
The nobles answered, We are endued with strength, and are endued with
great prowess in war; but the command appertaineth unto thee: see therefore
what thou wilt command.m
She said, Verily kings, when they enter a city by force, waste the same,
and abase the most powerful of the inhabitants hereof: and so will these do
with us.
But I will send gifts unto them; and will wait for what further
information those who shall be sent shall bring back.
And when the queen's ambassador came unto Solomon,n that prince said,
Will ye present me with riches? Verily that which GOD hath given me is better
than what he hath given you: but ye do glory in your gifts.
Return unto the people of Saba. We will surely come unto them with
forces, which they shall not be able to withstand; and we will drive them out
from their city, humbled; and they shall become contemptible.
And Solomon said, O nobles, which of you will bring unto me her throne,
before they come and surrender themselves unto me?
A terrible geniuso answered, I will bring it unto thee, before thou arise
from thy place:p for I am able to perform it, and may be trusted.

k Jallalo'ddin says that the queen was surrounded by her army when the
lapwing threw the letter into her bosom; but al Beidâwi supposes she was in an
apartment of her palace, the doors of which were shut, and that the bird flew
in at the window. The former commentator gives a copy of the epistle somewhat
more full than that in the text; viz., From the servant of GOD, Solomon, the
son of David, unto Balkîs queen of Saba. In the name of the most merciful
GOD. Peace be on him who followeth the true direction. Rise not up against
me, but come and surrender yourselves unto me. He adds that Solomon perfumed
this letter with musk, and sealed it with his signet.
l Or, Come unto me and resign yourselves unto the divine direction, and
profess the true religion which I preach.
m i.e., Whether thou wilt obey the summons of Solomon, or give us
orders to make head against him.
n Bearing the presents, which they say were five hundred young slaves
of each sex, all habited in the same manner, five hundred bricks of gold, a
crown enriched with precious stones, besides a large quantity of musk, amber,
and other things of value.1 Some add that Balkîs, to try whether Solomon was
a prophet or no, dressed the boys like girls, and the girls like boys, and
sent him in a casket, a pearl not drilled, and an onyx drilled with a crooked
hole; and that Solomon distinguished the boys from the girls by the different
manner of their taking water, and ordered one worm to bore the pearl, and
another to pass a thread through the onyx.2 They also tell us that Solomon,
having notice of this embassy, by means of the lapwing, even before they set
out, ordered a large square to be enclosed with a wall built of gold and
silver bricks, wherein he ranged his forces and attendants to receive them.3
o This was an Ifrît, or one of the wicked and rebellious genii; and his
name, says al Beidâwi, was Dhacwân or Sakhr.
p i.e., From thy seat of justice. For Solomon used to sit in judgment
every day till noon.4

1 Jallalo'ddin 2 Al Beidâwi. 3 Jallalo'ddin.
4 Idem interp.

40 And one with whom was the knowledge of the scripturesq said, I will
bring it unto thee, in the twinkling of an eye.r And when Solomon saw the
throne placed before him, he said, This is a favor of my LORD, that he may
make trial of me, whether I will be grateful, or whether I will be ungrateful;
and he who is grateful is grateful to his own advantage, but if any shall be
ungrateful, verily my LORD is self-sufficient and munificent.
And Solomon said unto his servants, Alter her throne, that she may not
know it, to the end we may see whether she be rightly directed, or whether she
be one of those who are not rightly directed.
And when she was come unto Solomon,s it was said unto her, is thy throne
like this? She answered, As though it were the same. And we have had
knowledge bestowed on us before this, and have been resigned unto God.t
But that which she worshipped, besides GOD, had turned her aside from the
truth; for she was of an unbelieving people.
It was said unto her, Enter the palace.u And when she saw it, she
imagined it to be a great water; and she discovered her legs, by lifting up
her robe to pass through it.x Whereupon Solomon said unto her, Verily this is
a palace evenly floored with glass.
Then said the queen, O LORD, verily I have dealt unjustly with my own
soul; and I resign myself, together with Solomon, unto GOD, the LORD of all
creatures.y
Also we heretofore sent unto the tribe of Thamud their brother Saleh; who
said unto them, Serve ye GOD. And behold, they were divided into two parties,
who disputed among themselves.z
Saleh said, O my people why do ye hasten evil rather than good?a Unless
ye ask pardon of GOD, that ye may obtain mercy, ye are lost.

q This person, as is generally supposed, was Asaf the son of Barachia,
Solomon's Wazir (or Visir), who knew the great or ineffable name of GOD, by
pronouncing of which he performed this wonderful exploit.5 Others, however,
suppose it was al Khedr, or else Gabriel, or some other angel; and some
imagine it to have been Solomon himself.6
r The original is, Before thou canst look at any object, and take thy
eye off it. It is said that Solomon, at Asaf's desire, looked up to heaven,
and before he cast his eye downwards, the throne made its way underground, and
appeared before him.
s For, on the return of her ambassador, she determined to go and submit
herself to that prince; but before her departure, she secured her throne, as
she thought, by locking it up in a strong castle, and setting a guard to
defend it; after which she set out, attended by a vast army.7
t It is uncertain whether these be the words of Balkîs, acknowledging
her conviction by the wonders she had already seen; or of Solomon and his
people, acknowledging the favour of GOD, in calling them to the true faith
before her.
u Or, as some understand the word, the court before the palace, which
Solomon had commanded to be built against the arrival of Balkîs; the floor or
pavement being of transparent glass, laid over running water, in which fish
were swimming. Fronting this pavement was placed the royal throne, on which
Solomon sat to receive the queen.8
x Some Arab writers tell us Solomon had been informed that Balkîs's
legs and feet were covered with hair, like those of an ass, of the truth of
which he had hereby an opportunity of being satisfied by ocular demonstration.
y The queen of Saba having by these words professed Islâm, and
renounced idolatry, Solomon had thoughts of making her his wife; but could not
resolve to do it; till the devils had by a depilatory taken off the hair from
her legs.9 Some,10 however, will have it that she did not marry Solomon, but
a prince of the tribe of Hamdân.
z Concerning the doctrine preached by Saleh; one party believing on
him, and the other treating him as an impostor.
a i.e., Why do ye urge and defy the divine vengeance with which ye are
threatened, instead of averting it by repentance?

5 Jallalo'ddin. 6 Al Beidâwi. 7 Jallalo'ddin.
8 Idem, al Beidâwi
9 Jallalo'ddin. 10 Apud al Beidâwi

They answered, We presage evil from thee, and from those who are with
thee. Saleh replied, The evil which ye presage is with GOD:b but ye are a
people who are proved by a vicissitude of prosperity and adversity.
And there were nine men in the city, who acted corruptly in the earth,
and behaved not with integrity.
50 And they said unto one another, Swear ye reciprocally by GOD, that we
will fall upon Saleh and his family by night: and afterwards we will say unto
him who hath right to avenge his blood, We were not so much as present at the
destruction of his family; and we certainly speak the truth.
And they devised a plot against him: but we devised a plot against them;
and they perceived it not.
And see what was the issue of their plot:c we utterly destroyed them and
their whole people;
and these their habitations remain empty, because of the injustice which
they committed. Verily herein is a sign unto people who understand.
And we delivered those who believed, and feared God.
And remember Lot; when he said unto his people, Do ye commit a
wickedness, though ye see the heinousness thereof?
Do ye approach lustfully unto men, leaving the women? Ye are surely an
ignorant people.
But the answer of his people was no other than that they said, Cast the
family of Lot out of your city: for they are men who preserve themselves pure
from the crimes of which ye are guilty.
Wherefore we delivered him and his family, except his wife, whom we
decreed to be one of those who remained behind to be destroyed.
And we rained on them a shower of stones: and dreadful was the shower
which fell on those who had been warned in vain.d
60 Say, Praise be unto GOD; and peace be upon his servants whom he hath
chosen! Is GOD more worthy, or the false gods which they associate with him?
Is not he to be preferred, who hath created the heavens and the earth,
and sendeth down rain for you from heaven, whereby we cause delicious groves
to spring up? It is not in your power to cause the trees thereof to shoot
forth. Is there any other god partner with the true GOD? Verily these are a
people who deviate from the truth.
Is not he more worthy to be adored, who hath established the earth, and
hath caused rivers to flow through the midst thereof, and placed thereon
immovable mountains, and set a bar between the two seas?e Is there any other
god equal with the true GOD? Yet the greater part of them know it not.
Is not he more worthy who heareth the afflicted,f when he calleth upon
him, and taketh off the evil which distressed him: and who hath made you the
successors of your forefathers in the earth? Is there any other god who can
be equalled with the true GOD? How few consider these things!

b See chapter 7, p. 117, where the Egyptians in the same manner accuse
Moses as the cause of their calamities.
c It is related that Saleh, and those who believed on him, usually
meeting to pray in a certain narrow place between the mountains, the infidels
said, He thinks to make an end of us after three days,1 but we will be
beforehand with him; and that a party of them went directly to the straits
above mentioned, thinking to execute their design, but were terribly
disappointed; for, instead of catching the prophet, they were caught
themselves, their retreat being cut off by a large piece of rock, which fell
down at the mouth of the straits, so that they perished there in a miserable
manner.
d See chapter 7, p. 113, and chapter 11, p. 166.
e See chapter 25, p. 274. The word barzakh is not used here, but
another of equivalent import.
f Literally, Him who is driven by distress to implore GOD'S assistance.

1 See cap. 7, p. 113, note m.
28

Is not he more worthy who directeth you in the dark paths of the land and
of the sea; and who sendeth the winds driving abroad the clouds, as the
forerunners of his mercy!g Is there any other god who can be equalled with
the true God? Far be GOD from having those partners in his power, which ye
associate with him.
Is not he more worthy, who produceth a creature, and after it hath been
dead restoreth it to life; and who giveth you food from heaven and earth? Is
there any other god with the true GOD, who doth this? Say, Produce your proof
thereof, if ye speak truth.
Say, None either in heaven or earth knoweth that which is hidden, besides
GOD: neither do they understand
when they shall be raised.
However, their knowledge attaineth some notion of the life to come:h yet
they are in an uncertainty concerning the same; yea, they are blind as to the
real circumstances thereof.
And the unbelievers say, When we and our fathers shall have been reduced
to dust, shall we be taken forth from the grave?
70 Verily we have been threatened with this, both we and our fathers,
heretofore. This is no other than fables of the ancients.
Say unto them, pass through the earth, and see what hath been the end of
the wicked.
And be not thou grieved for them; neither be thou in any concern on
account of the plots which they are contriving against thee.
And they say, When will this threat be accomplished, if ye speak true?
Answer, Peradventure some part of that punishment, which ye desire to be
hastened may follow close behind you:
verily thy LORD is endued with indulgence towards mankind; but the
greater part of them are not thankful.
Verily thy LORD knoweth what their breasts conceal, and what they
discover:
and there is nothing hidden in heaven or on earth, but it is written in a
clear book.
Verily this Koran declareth unto the children of Israel most of those
points concerning which they disagree:i
and it is certainly a direction, and a mercy unto the true believers.
80 Thy LORD will decide the controversy between them, by his definitive
sentence: and he is the mighty, the wise.
Therefore, put thy trust in GOD; for thou art in the manifest truth.
Verily thou shalt not make the dead to hear, neither shalt thou make the
deaf to hear thy call to the true faith, when they retire and turn their
backs:
neither shalt thou direct the blind to extricate themselves out of their
error. Thou shalt make none to hear thee, except him who shall believe in our
signs: and they are wholly resigned unto us.
When the sentence shall be ready to fall upon them, we will cause a
beastk to come forth unto them from out of the earth, which shall speak unto
them:l verily men do not firmly believe in our signs.
On the day of resurrection we will assemble, out of every nation, a
company of those who shall have charged our signs with falsehood; and they
shall be prevented from mixing together,

g See chapter 7, p. 110, and chapter 25, p. 274.
h Or the words may be translated thus: Yea, their knowledge faileth as
to the life to come: yea, &c.
i Such as the comparing of GOD to sensible things, or to created
beings: the removing all imperfections from the description of the Divine
Being; the state of paradise and hell; the stories of Ezra and Jesus Christ,
&c.1
k The Mohammedans call this beast, whose appearance will be one sign of
the approach of the day of judgment, al Jassâsa, or the Spy. I have given the
description of her elsewhere;2 to which should be added that she is to have
two wings.
l Or, according to a different reading, viz., taclimohom instead of
tocallimohom, who shall wound them.3

1 Al Beidâwi. 2 Prelim. Disc. Sec. IV. p. 62, &c.
3 Vide ibid.

until they shall arrive at the place of judgment. And God shall say unto
them, Have ye charged my signs with falsehood, although ye comprehended them
not with your knowledge. Or what is it that ye were doing?
And the sentence of damnation shall fall on them, for that they have
acted unjustly: and they shall not speak in their own excuse.
Do they not see that we have ordained the night, that they may rest
therein, and the day giving open light? Verily herein are signs unto people
who believe.
On that day the trumpet shall be sounded; and whoever are in heaven and
on earth shall be struck with terror, except those whom GOD shall please to
exempt therefrom:m and all shall come before him in humble guise.
90 And thou shalt see the mountains, and shalt think them firmly fixed; but
they shall pass away, even as the clouds pass away. This will be the work of
GOD, who hath rightly disposed all things: and he is well acquainted with that
which ye do.
Whoever shall have wrought righteousness, shall receive a reward beyond
the desert thereof; and they shall be secure from the terror of that day;n
but whoever shall have wrought evil, shall be thrown on their faces into
hell fire. Shall ye receive the reward of any other than of that which ye
shall have wrought?
Verily I am commanded to worship the LORD of this territory of Mecca, who
hath sanctified the same: unto him belong all things. And I am commanded to
be a Moslem,
and to rehearse the Koran: he who shall be directed thereby will be
directed to his own advantage;
and to him who shall go astray, say, Verily I am a warner only. And say,
Praise be unto GOD! he will show you his signs,o and ye shall know them: and
thy LORD is not regardless of that which they do.

________

CHAPTER XXVIII.

ENTITLED, THE STORY;p REVEALED AT MECCA.q

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.

T. S. M.r THESE are the signs of the perspicuous book.
We will dictate unto thee, O Mohammed, some parts of the history of Moses
and Pharaoh, with truth; for the sake of people who believe.

m See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. IV. p. 65, &c. Some say the persons
exempted from this general consternation will be the angels Gabriel, Michael,
Israfil, and Izraël;1 others suppose them to be the virgins of paradise, and
the angels who guard that place, and carry GOD'S throne;2 and others will have
them to be the martyrs.3
n That is, from the fear of damnation, and the other terrors which will
disturb the wicked; not from the general terror or consternation before
mentioned.
o viz., The successes of the true believers against the infidels, and
particularly the victory of Bedr
p The title is taken from the 26th verse, where Moses is said to have
related the story of his adventures to Shoaib.
q Some except a verse towards the latter end, beginning with these
words: He who hath given thee the Korân for a rule of faith and practice, &c.
r See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. III. p. 46.

1 Jallalo'ddin, al Beidâwi. 2 Idem. 3 Ebn
Abbas.

Now Pharaoh lifted himself up in the land of Egypt; and he caused his
subjects to be divided into parties;s he weakened one party of them,t by
slaying their male children, and preserving their females alive; for he was an
oppressor.
And we were minded to be gracious unto those who were weakened in the
land, and to make them models of religion; and to make them the heirs of the
wealth of Pharaoh and his people,u
and to establish a place for them in the earth; and to show Pharaoh and
Haman,x and their forces, that destruction of their kingdom and nation by
them, which they sought to avoid.y
And we directed the mother of Moses by revelation, saying, give him suck:
and if thou fearest for him, cast him into the river; and fear not, neither be
afflicted; for we will restore him unto thee, and will appoint him one of our
apostles.z
And when she had put the child in the ark, and had cast it into the
river, the family of Pharaoh took him up; providence designing that he should
become an enemy, and a sorrow unto them. Verily Pharaoh and Haman, and their
forces were sinners.
And the wife of Pharaoh said, This child is a delight of the eye to me,
and to thee:a kill him not; peradventure it may happen that he may be
serviceable unto us; or we may adopt him for our son. And they perceived not
the consequence of what they were doing.
And the heart of the mother of Moses became oppressed with fear; and she
had almost discovered him, had we not armed her heart with constancy, that she
might be one of those who believe the promises of God.
10 And she said unto his sister, Follow him. And she watched him at a
distance; and they perceived it not.
And we suffered him not to take the breasts of the nurses who were
provided before his sister came up;b and she said, Shall I direct you unto
some of his nation, who may nurse him for you, and will be careful of him?
And, at their desire, she brought his mother to them. So we restored him
to his mother, that her mind might be set at ease, and that she might not be
afflicted; and that she might know that the promise of GOD was true: but the
greater part of mankind know not the truth.

s i.e., Either into companies, that they might the better attend his
order and perform the services he exacted of them; or into opposite factions,
to prevent their attempting anything against them, to deliver themselves from
his tyranny.1
t viz., The Israelites.
u See chapter 26, p. 278.
x This name is given to Pharaoh's chief minister; from whence it is
generally inferred that Mohammed has here made Haman, the favourite of
Ahasuerus king of Persia, and who indisputably lived many ages after Moses, to
be that prophet's contemporary. But how probable soever this mistake may seem
to us, it will be very hard, if not impossible, to convince a Mohammedan of
it; for, as has been observed in a parallel case,2 two very different persons
may bear the same name.3
y For Pharaoh had either dreamed, or been told by some diviners, that
one of the Hebrew nation should be the ruin of his kingdom; which prophecy is
supposed to have been the occasion of his cruelty to them.4 This circumstance
is owing to the invention of the Jews.5
z It is related that the midwife appointed to attend the Hebrew women,
terrified by a light which appeared between the eyes of Moses at his birth,
and touched with an extraordinary affection for the child, did not discover
him to the officers, so that his mother kept him in her house, and nursed him
three months; after which it was impossible for her to conceal him any longer,
the king then giving orders to make the searches more strictly.6
a This sudden affection or admiration was raised in them either by his
uncommon beauty, or by the light which shone on his forehead, or because, when
they opened the ark, they found him sucking his thumb, which supplied him with
milk.7
b See chapter 20, p. 235.

1 Al Beidâwi. 2 See p. 34, note x. 3 Vide Reland. de
Rel Moham. p. 217. 4 See cap. 7, p. 117. 5 Vide Shalshel.
hakkab, p. 11. et R. Eliez. pirke, c. 48 6 Al Beidâwi. See the notes
to cap. 20, p. 235.
7 Idem, Jallalo'ddin.

And when Moses had attained his age of full strength, and was become a
perfect man, we bestowed on him wisdom and knowledge: and thus do we reward
the upright.
And he went into the city, at a time when the inhabitants thereof
observed not what passed in the streets:c and he found therein two men
fighting; the one being of his own party, and the other of his enemies.d And
he who was of his party begged his assistance against him who was of the
contrary party; and Moses struck him with his fist, and slew him: but being
sorry for what had happened, he said, This is of the work of the devil;e for
he is a seducing and an open enemy.
And he said, O LORD, verily I have injured my own soul: wherefore forgive
me. So God forgave him; for he is ready to forgive, and merciful.
He said, O LORD, by the favors with which thou hast favored me, I will
not be an assistant to the wicked for the future.
And the next morning he was afraid in the city, and looked about him, as
one apprehensive of danger: and behold, he whom he had assisted the day before
cried out unto him for help a second time. But Moses said unto him, Thou art
plainly a quarrelsome fellow.
And when he sought to lay hold on him who was an enemy unto them both, he
said, O Moses, dost thou intend to kill me, as thou killedst a man yesterday?f
Thou seekest only to be an oppressor in the earth, and seekest not to be a
reconciler of quarrels.
And a certain mang came from the farther part of the city, running
hastily, and said, O Moses, verily the magistrates are deliberating concerning
thee, to put thee to death: depart therefore; I certainly advise thee well.
20 Wherefore he departed out of the city in great fear, looking this way
and that, lest he should be pursued. And he said, O LORD, deliver me from the
unjust people.
And when he was journeying towards Madian, he said, Peradventure my LORD
will direct me in the right way.h
And when he arrived at the water of Madian, he found about the well a
company of men, who were watering their flocks.
And he found, besides them, two women, who kept off their sheep at a
distance. And he said unto them, What is the matter with you? They answered,
We shall not water our flock, until the shepherds shall have driven away
theirs; for our father is an old man, stricken in years.
So Moses watered their sheep for them;i and afterwards retired to the
shade, saying, O LORD, verily I stand in need of the good which thou shalt
send down unto me.