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A.L.M. The revelation [tanzil] of the Book, there is no doubt about it, is from the Lord of mankind. Or do they say: "He has invented it?" Nay, but it is the truth from thy Lord, that thou mayest warn a people to whom no warner has come before thee, that maybe they will submit to guidance.

Allah is He Who created the heavens and the earth and what is between them both in six days, then took His seat upon the Throne. Ye have no patron apart from Him and no intercessors. Will ye not then be reminded? He arranges the matter ¹ from the heaven to the earth, then it will mount up to Him on a Day the measure of which is a thousand years of those ye reckon. That is He Who knows the unseen and the seen, the Sublime, the Compassionate. Who made everything that He created very good, and commenced the creation of man with clay. Then He appointed that his posterity should issue from an extract from contemptible water.² Then He fashioned him and breathed into him of His spirit. Also He made for you hearing and seeing and hearts. How little thankful ye are!

But they say: "Is it that when we have lain hidden in the

¹ amr means "matter," "affair," but also means "command". In Sura 17, Ref. 14, we read that the mysterious Spirit belongs to the amr of Allah, and Sura 70 speaks of the angels and the Spirit mounting up to Allah in a day whose length is fifty thousand years, so it seems almost certain that the amr here, like the Rabbinic memra, is concerned with the Spirit of God.

² A common euphemism for the male semen.

earth we are going to be in a new creation?" Nay, but they are those who disbelieve in the meeting with their Lord, Say: "The angel of death will cause you to die, he who has been put in charge of you. Then to your Lord will ye be returned." Couldst thou but see, O Mohammed, when the sinners hang their heads in the presence of their Lord, and say: "O our Lord, we have seen, and we have heard, so send us back and we shall act righteously. We are indeed convinced." Had We willed We could have given every soul its guidance, but that saying from Me is true: "I shall assuredly fill Gehenna with jinn and men together," So taste ye the punishment. Because ye were forgetful of the meeting, on this Day of yours We are forgetful of you, so taste ye eternal punishment because of what ye have been doing. Only those believe in Our signs who when mention is made of them fall down doing obeisance, and give glory with praise of their Lord, and they do not show arrogance. As their sides are withdrawn from their couches they invoke their Lord in fear and in desire, and from the provision We have made for them they give in charity. No soul knows what coolness for the eyes has been reserved for them as a reward for what they have been doing. Shall then he who has been a believer be as he who has acted wickedly?¹ They shall not be alike. As for those who have believed and done righteous works, for them are gardens of resort as an abode, because of what they have been doing. But as for those who have acted wickedly, their resort will be the Fire. As often as they attempt to get out of it they will be sent back into it. To them it will be said: "Taste ye the punishment of the Fire which ye were counting as false." And, indeed, We shall make them taste the nearer punishment before the greater punishment that perchance they may return. And who does greater wrong than the one to whom are mentioned the signs of his Lord, then he turns from them? We, indeed, are going to take vengeance on the sinners.

¹ The commentators say that a particular individual, al-Walid b. Uqba, is pointed to in this verse, but this identification is doubtless only a later invention.

Now We gave Moses the Book—and be not thou in doubt about the meeting with Him—and We appointed it as guidance for the Children of Israel, And We appointed from among them leaders,¹ who should guide by Our command when they had themselves endured patiently and were convinced of Our signs. Truly thy Lord is He who will make distinction among them on the Day of Resurrection with regard to that on which they have been differing. Is it no guidance to them to remember how many generations before them We have destroyed, in whose dwelling-places they Walk? Truly, in that there are signs. Will they then not hearken? Have they not seen how We drive the water to the parched earth so that thereby We bring forth vegetation from which their cattle eat, as also they themselves? Will they then not observe? Yet they say: "When will this opening-up take place,² if ye are those who speak the truth?" Say: "On the day of the Opening-up their faith will not avail those who have disbelieved, nor will they be respited." So turn thou from them, O Mohammed, and wait in expectancy. They, indeed, are waiting expectantly.

² fath is from the root meaning "to open", and since it is a name of the Last Day it may mean the opening up of all matters preliminary to Judgement, fath also, however, came to be a word technically used for conquest, and is so used in particular for the conquest of Mecca in the year 8 A.H., so it is possible that this is a reference to the day when Muhammad will take Mecca, and the sudden change from unbelief to belief on that day will not avail those who have all the time disbelieved.

Allah's affair [amr] has come, so seek ye not to hasten it. Glory be to Him! Exalted be He above what they associate with Him! By the Spirit He sends down the angels concerning His affair [amr]¹ upon whom He wills among His servants, that they may warn. The fact is, there is no deity save Me, so show piety towards Me.

He created the heavens and the earth in truth. Exalted be He above what they associate with Him! He created man from a drop, yet behold! he is a manifest caviller. The cattle also He has created for you. In them are warmth and varied benefits, and of them ye may eat. In them there is also beauty for you when ye fetch them home and when ye take them out to pasture. Also they carry your heavy loads to a land ye would not be able to reach save by overtaxing yourselves. Your Lord is, indeed, kindly, compassionate. And He created horses, and mules, and asses, that ye may ride on them and that they may be an adornment. Also He creates things of which ye know not. It is for Allah to give direction on the way. Some turn aside from it, but had He willed He would have guided you all. He it is who has sent down water from the skies for you. Of it is your drink, and from it are the bushes on which ye pasture your flocks; By it He makes the grain to grow for you, and the olives, and the date-palms, and the grapevines, and all kinds of fruits. In that, indeed, is a sign for a people who will ponder. Also He has subjected to you ² the night and the day, and the sun and the moon and the stars, made subject by His command. In that, indeed, are signs for a people who are intelligent. And all the varied kinds of things He has multiplied in the land for you. In that, indeed, there is a sign for a people who will recollect. He it is who

¹ Here the Spirit concerned with Allah's amr is definitely connected with the sending of Allah's messengers, which the Moslem divines take as confirmation of their identification of the Spirit with Gabriel. In the Old Testament, however, it is the Spirit of God who is associated with the sending of the Prophets. Thus the Spirit of God came on Saul and he prophesied (I Samuel X, 10), and Isaiah says that the Lord God and His Spirit had sent him (Isaiah XLVIII, 16).

² sakhkhara means to make a thing subject so that it may serve. The idea is that Allah has made these things serve man usefully.

has made the sea subject so that from it ye may eat fresh flesh, and that ye may extract from it ornaments that ye can wear. And thou seest the ships ploughing along therein, and all this is so that ye may seek of His bounty, and maybe ye will be thankful. Also He cast mountains upon the earth lest it should move with you, and rivers and paths, that perchance ye might get guidance, And landmarks, though by the skies also they get guidance. Is then One Who creates as one who does not create? Will ye not recollect? Should ye attempt to number up Allah's favours ye would not be able to count them. Allah is indeed forgiving, compassionate, And Allah knows what ye keep secret and what ye make public. But those they invoke apart from Allah do not create a thing, for they themselves are created. Dead, not alive, they are not aware when they will be raised.

Your God is One God,¹ but those who do not believe in the Hereafter, their hearts are given to denial and they are arrogant. There is no doubt but that Allah knows what they keep secret and what they make public. He, indeed, loves not the arrogant. And when they are asked: "What is that which your Lord has sent down?" they say: "Tales of the ancients." This is so that they may bear their burdens completely on the Resurrection Day, and part of the burdens of those whom, without knowledge, they led astray.² Is not that which they will bear an evil thing? Those who preceded them made their stratagems, but Allah came at their building from the foundations, so that the roof over them fell in upon them, and the punishment came upon them from whence they were unaware. Then on the Day of Resurrection He will put them to shame, and will say: "Where are My associates over whom ye were causing divisions?" Those to whom the knowledge of true religion has been given will say: "Verily, the shame and the evil are today on the unbelievers." Those whom the

¹ This passage seems to be addressed to the People of the Book.

² This is in contradiction with the oft-repeated statement that no burdened soul will bear the burden of another. But that statement seems meant to exclude hope in a Redeemer who will take on himself the guilt of others, whereas here the meaning is that some of the guilt of those led astray, will be places on those who have led them astray.

angels take in death while they are wronging their own souls, and who make an offer of submission, saying: "We were not doing any evil," will hear in reply: "Nay, indeed, Allah has knowledge of what ye have been doing, So enter ye the gates of Gehenna, therein to abide for ever." So how bad is the abiding-place of the overweeningly proud!

To those who have shown piety it will be said: "What is this that your Lord has sent down?" They will say: "A good thing." For those who do well there is a fine reward in this world, nevertheless the dwelling of the Hereafter is better, and how excellent is the dwelling of those who show piety; Gardens of Eden which they will enter, beneath which rivers flow, in which they may have whatsoever they wish. Thus does Allah recompense those who show piety. To those whom the angels take in death while they are doing good to their own souls they will say: "Peace be upon you! Enter ye the Garden because of what ye have been doing." Do they expect anything other than that the angels will come to them, or that the command of thy Lord will comet Thus did those who preceded them act, and Allah wronged them not, but they were wronging their own souls. So the evil of what they had done finally reached them, and there encompassed them that of which they had been making jest. Those who have associated other deities with Allah say: "Had Allah willed we should not have worshipped anything apart from Him, neither we nor our fathers, and not a thing should we have declared unlawful apart from Him." Thus did those who preceded them act, but are the messengers responsible for anything more than a clear proclamations In every community We have raised up a messenger to say: "Worship ye Allah and avoid idolatry." So among them were some whom Allah guided and among them were some for whom error was the right thing. So journey in the land and see how the final out-

come was for those who counted the message false. If thou art anxious, O Mohammed, about their guidance, know that Allah does not guide those whom He sends astray, and for them there are no helpers.

Now they have sworn by Allah, the strongest oath they possess, that Allah will not raise up anyone who dies. Nay, but it is a promise He must bring true; yet most of the people do not know. His message comes that He may make clear to them that about which they differ, and that those who have disbelieved may know that they were speaking falsely. Our word to a thing when We have willed it is only that We say to it: "Be!", and it is.

For those who have emigrated¹ for Allah's sake after they had been treated unjustly, We shall assuredly provide an excellent place in this world, though the reward of the Hereafter is greater, did they but know, For those who patiently endure and put their trust in their Lord.

Before thee, O Mohammed, We have sent none but men to whom We gave revelation—so ask the people of the Reminder² if ye do not know—With evidential signs and Scriptures, and We have sent down to thee the reminder, that thou mayest make clear to the people what has been sent down to them, that perchance they may ponder. Are then those who have plotted evil things so sure that Allah will not make the earth sink with them, or that punishment will not come to them whence they are unaware? Or that He will not take them in their comings and goings? for they are not able to resist Him, Or that He will not take them by some terrifying thing? Yet your Lord is kindly, compassionate. Have they not looked at those things which Allah has created, whose shadows turn about from right to left, doing obeisance to Allah, while they are of no account? Whatever is in the heav-.

¹ These two verse are clearly Medinian and are intended to encourage more of the Prophet's followers to emigrate from Mecca to Medina.

² I.e., the Jews and Christians who have Scriptures. "Reminder" here, as in many other passages, is but another name for Scripture, one of whose main functions is to remind men of their Lord. In the next verse Mohammed's revelation is also called the "Reminder".

ens, and whatever animals are on earth, and the angels, do obeisance to Allah, and they are not arrogant. They fear their Lord Who is above them, and do what they are bidden.

Allah has said: "Take not for yourselves two deities"¹ — He is only One God— "Me, therefore, reverence Me.!" His is whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth, and His is the religion unceasingly. Will ye then show piety to other than Allah? Whatever favours ye have are from Allah: then, when trouble touches you, to Him ye are lowing like cattle. Then when He removes the trouble from you, behold! one party of you associates other deities with their Lord, That they may show their ingratitude for what We have given them. Enjoy yourselves then, for anon ye will know. And they appoint for that which they know not a share out of that with which We have provided them. By Allah, ye will most assuredly be questioned about what ye were inventing. And they appoint daughters for Allah—Glory be to Him! — yet they have what they long for.² So when one of them is given the announcement of a daughter his face is clouded with black looks and he is inwardly grieving; He hides himself from the people because of the evil of what has been announced to him. Shall he keep it with disgrace, or shall he bury it in the dust? Is not that which they judge an evil thing? For those who believe not in the Hereafter there is an evil similitude, but for Allah is the highest similitude, and He is the Sublime, the Wise. Were Allah to take men in their wrongdoing He would not leave on earth a beast, but He postpones them to a term appointed, and when their term has come they will not retard it an hour, nor will they advance it. They appoint for Allah what they themselves loathe,³ and their tongues set forth what is false, namely, that for them is the better lot. Yet there is no doubt but that for them is the Fire, and thereto will they be hastened. By Allah, We have sent messengers before thee to

¹ This is sometimes taken to be a warning against Zoroastrian dualism, but that is extremely unlikely.

² I.e., they have the sons they always desire but give Allah only daughters. Cf. Sura 53, Section 2.

³ Viz., daughters.

communities, but Satan made their works fair-seeming to them, so he is today their patron, and for them is painful punishment. And We have not sent down the Book to thee save that thou mightest make clear to them that about which they differ, and to be a guidance and a mercy to a people who believe.

Allah has sent down water from the skies and thereby quickened the earth after its deadness. In that, indeed, there is a sign to a people who will hearken. And, truly, for you in the cattle there is a lesson. We provide drink for you from what is in the bellies thereof, from between the filth and the blood, pure milk, a pleasing beverage for those who drink, And from the fruits of the date-palms and the grapevines from which ye take for yourselves intoxicating drink and excellent provision. In that, indeed, there is a sign for those who have intelligence. Also thy Lord has spoken by revelation to the bee, saying: "Take for thyself houses in the mountains and in the trees and in the hives men construct, Then eat from all the fruits and move humbly along the paths of thy Lord." From their bellies comes forth a drink of varied colour in which is healing for men. In that, indeed, there is a sign for those who ponder.

Allah has created you; then He will cause you to die, though among you are some who will be kept back till the most decrepit stage of life where one will not know a thing after having had knowledge. Allah, indeed, is knowing, powerful. And Allah has favoured some of you above others in the matter of provision; yet those who have been favoured do not impart of their provision to those whom their right hands possess [their slaves] so that they share equally therein. Is it then that they dispute Allah's boon? Allah has appointed for you wives from among yourselves, and from your wives has appointed you sons and helpers, and has provided for you

from the good things of the earth. Is it then that they will believe in the false and be ungrateful for Allah's boons? And they worship apart from Allah that which possesses not a thing in the heavens or the earth as provision for them, nor are they able to gain possession of such.

So do not set forth similitudes for Allah, for Allah knows and ye do not know. Allah has set forth a parable, a slave, possessed by a master, who has no power over anything, and one to whom We have given excellent provision from Ourselves, so that therefrom he disburses charity secretly and openly. Are they on an equality? Praise be to Allah! Nay, but most of them do not know. And Allah has set forth a parable of two men, one of whom is dumb, who has no power over anything and is a burden to his master, for no matter where he sends him he brings no good. Is he on an equality with one who enjoins what is equitable and is on a straight path? Allah's is the unseen of the heavens and the earth, and the matter of the Hour is as near as the twinkling of an eye, or even nearer. Allah, indeed, is powerful over everything. Allah has brought you forth from the bellies of your mothers ye not knowing anything, and has arranged hearing and seeing and hearts for you, that perchance ye might be thankful. Have they not looked at the birds under service in the sky's vault? No one holds them in hand save Allah. In that, indeed are signs for a people who will believe. Also Allah has appointed for you in your houses a habitation, and appointed for you houses from the skins of your flocks that ye may find them light of weight on the day you strike tents and on the day you set them up, and from their wool and their fur and their hair, furnishings and enjoyment for a while. And Allah has appointed for you, from that which He has created, things for shade, and from the mountains He has appointed for you places of shelter, and He has appointed for you garments which

will protect you from the heat, and garments which will protect you from your violence towards one another. Thus does He perfect His favor to you that perchance ye may be submissive. So if they turn their backs, thou, O Mohammed, art responsible only for a clear proclamation of the message. They recognize Allah's favor, then they deny it, and the most part of them are unbelievers.

On the day when We raise up from each people a witness, then no permission to speak will be given to those who disbelieve, and they will not be invited to make themselves acceptable. And when those who have done wrong see the punishment it will be lightened for them, nor will they be respited. When those who have associated other deities with Allah see their associate-gods, they will say: "O our Lord, these are our associate-gods whom we invoked instead of Thee." But the associate-gods will cast the words back at them saying: "Indeed, ye are speaking falsely." On the Day they will offer submission to Allah, and there will stray from them that which they were inventing. Those who have disbelieved and turned others from the path of Allah, for them We shall increase punishment on top of punishment because of the corruption they have been causing, And on the Day We shall raised up in each people a witness against them from among themselves. We have brought thee, O Mohammed, as a witness against these Meccans, and We have sent down to thee the Book as an explanation for everything, and a guidance and a mercy, and good tidings to those who submit themselves.

Allah, indeed, enjoins equity, and the doing of good, and giving to kinsfolk, and He forbids dishonorable conduct, and what is reproved, and iniquity. He admonishes you that maybe ye will be reminded. So fulfil Allah's covenant when ye have made a covenant, and break not an oath after ye have

pledged it, for ye have appointed Allah as surety over you. Truly, Allah knows what ye do. Be not like her who untwisted her spinning into threads after it had been strongly spun ¹, taking your oaths as but a pretence among yourselves, that one community may be more numerous than another. Resurrection He will most assuredly make clear to you that about which ye differ. Had Allah so willed He would have made you a single community, but He leads astray who He wills and guides who He wills, and ye will most assuredly be questioned about what ye have been doing. So do not take oaths as pretence among yourselves lest a foot slip after it has been firmly planted, and ye taste evil because ye have turned others from the path of Allah, and for you there is a mighty punishment. And do not purchase by Allah's covenant some paltry value. Verily, that which is with Allah is better for you, did ye but know. That which is with you will pass away, but what is with Allah abides, and We shall most assuredly recompense those who have patiently waited for their reward, rewarding them with the best of what they have been doing. Whosoever acts righteously, whether male or female, and is a believer, him We shall most assuredly quicken to a good life, and recompense him with the best of what he has been doing as his reward.

Now when thou recites the lesson [qur'an] , O Mohammed, take refuge with Allah from Satan the stoned.² The fact is, he has no authority over those who believe and who put their trust in their Lord. His authority is only over those who take him as their patron, and those who associate other deities with Him.

And when We substitute a verse in place of a verse ³ - and Allah well knows what He sends down - they say: "Thou art only an inventor of revelations." Nay, but the most part of

¹ Margoliouth has suggested that this is a reference to the story of Penelope.

² This is the basis for the custom, followed universally in Islam, of always saying: "I take refuge with Allah from Satan the stoned" before commencing any reading or recitation of the Koran. The epithet "stoned" doubtless derives from an ancient ritual of lapidation, but is commonly said to be a reminiscence of how Abraham drove Satan away with stones when he tried to tempt him not to sacrifice his son.

³ This is one of the three famous verses in the Koran which support the doctrine of Abrogation, the doctrine namely, that certain verses of the Koran abrogate others. This doctrine has had considerable importance in Moslem jurisprudence, and has given rise to a whole section of the Moslem Massora on "the Abrogating and the Abrogate" (an-Nasikh wa'l-Mansukh).

them do not know. Say: "The Spirit of Holiness brought it down from thy Lord with truth, in order that it might establish firmly those who believe, and be guidance and good tidings to those who submit themselves." We know that they are saying: "It is only a man who teaches him." The speech of him at whom they hint¹ is foreign, but this is dear Arabic speech. Verily those who do not believe in Allah's signs, Allah will not guide them, and for them is a painful punishment. The only ones who invent falsehood are those who do not believe in Allah's signs. Those are they who speak falsely.

Whosoever disbelieves in Allah after having been a believer — save one who is compelled to recant though his heart remains tranquil in the faith — but whosoever eases his breast by unbelief, on him is anger from Allah, and for him is a mighty punishment. That is because they have loved the life of this present world more than the Hereafter, and because Allah does not guide the unbelieving people. Those are they upon whose hearts and hearing and sight Allah has set a seal, and those are the careless ones. There is no doubt but that in the Hereafter they are the ones who lose. Then, verily, to those who emigrated after the trials they suffered, then strove hard and endured patiently, truly thy Lord after that is forgiving, compassionate.

On the Day when every soul will come making its plea for itself; each soul will be fully paid for the deeds it has done, and they will not be wronged.

Now Allah has set forth a parable: a town ² which was safe, tranquil, whose provision came to it abundantly from every place, but it was ungrateful for Allah's bounties, so Allah made it taste of the vesture of hunger and fear because of what its townsfolk had been doing. Then there came to them a messenger from among themselves, but they con-

¹ It is clear that the Prophet's opponents knew that there was some non-Arab in the community with whom Mohammed was in contact and from whom they suspected he was getting his Biblical stories. The Commentaries give a number of names in this connection. The Prophet's answer to the charge is a very curious one, for what foreigner could have lived in that community without being able to speak Arabic? The Spirit of Holiness in the previous verse has, of course, been identified with Gabriel, though it is an accurate translation of the Syriac for "Holy Spirit" in the Biblical sense.

² It is commonly thought that the reference here is to Mecca, so the punishment would be its capture by Mohammed in the year 7 A.H..

sidered him false, so the punishment took them while they were doing wrong.

So eat what is lawful and good of that with which Allah has provided you, and be thankful for Allah's bounty, if ye are those who worship Him. He has made forbidden to you only what has died of itself, blood, swine's flesh, and that which has been offered to any other than Allah,¹ but should anyone be compelled, not lusting for it nor wilfully transgressing, then truly Allah is forgiving, compassionate. And say not, in accordance with what your tongues would falsely assert: "This is lawful and this is forbidden," framing up falsehood against Allah. Truly, those who frame up falsehood against Allah will not prosper. A little enjoyment will be theirs, then for them is a painful punishment. To those who were Jews We made forbidden that which We formerly related to thee,² and We did not wrong them though they were wronging themselves. Then, truly, to those who in ignorance have wrought evil, then after that have repented and reformed, truly thy Lord, after that, is certainly forgiving, compassionate.

Verily Abraham was a community in himself;³ obedient to Allah, a Hanif, and was not one of those who associate other deities with Allah, but was Thankful for His bounties. He chose him and guided him to a straight path. And We gave him in this world an excellent portion, and in the Hereafter he will, indeed, be among the righteous. Then We spoke to thee by revelation, O Mohammed, saying: "Follow thou the religion ⁴ of Abraham, a Hanif, and one who was not of those who associate.

The Sabbath was instituted only for those who differed about it.⁵ Verily, thy Lord will deliver judgment between them on Resurrection Day in regard to that about which

¹ This is the same problem as that of the meat offered to idols with which St. Paul deals in I Corinthians X, 18 ff. The verb ahalla used here is the cognate of that in Hebrew which is familiar to us from the word Hallelujah. As an animal was sacrificed the name of a deity was pronounced as a Hallel, and Mohammed's followers are here warned against accepting meat over which any name other than that of Allah has been pronounced.

² The Jewish dietary restrictions are given in the passage now included in Sura 6.

³ umma is a community of people, and doubtless Abraham is here called an umma because of the promise in Genesis XXII, 17, 18. The word hanif has always been a puzzle. It is derived from the Syriac hampe, "heathen" but was apparently used by Mohammed to mean a monotheist.

⁴ milla, from the Syriac meltha, "word", is used to mean religion in the sense of a formulated set of religious principles. The word is familiar to us from the fact that under the Ottoman Empire the non-Moslem elements in the population of the Caliph's dominions were governed each as a separate milla. The word is used by Joseph in Sura 12 and occurs also in Sura 2 (Ref. 9).

⁵ The probabilities are that this refers to local disputing over the Jewish and Christian Sabbath.

they differ. Summon thou to the way of the Lord with wisdom and goodly admonition, and dispute with them in a most goodly manner. Verily, thy Lord well knows about him who errs from His way, and He well knows about those who submit to guidance. If ye Moslems exact vengeance,¹ then exact it to the measure it has been exacted from you; but truly if ye patiently endure, that is better for those who patiently endure. So, do thou, O Mohammed, patiently endur though thy patiently enduring is only through the favour of Allah, and grieve not over them, and be not narrowly distressed at the stratagems they plot. Allah is indeed with those who show piety and with those who are doers of good.

A.L.M. The Byzantines have been defeated ² In the part of the land, but they, after their defeat, will be victorious. In a few years. The affair is Allah's both before and after, at on that day the believers will rejoice In the help of Allah. He

¹ The commentators say that this verse refers to the desire of the Moslems to exact vengeance for the death of Hamza, the Prophet's uncle, who was slain at the battle of Uhud in the year 3 A.H..

² It is commonly held that this refers to one of the many conflicts in North Arabia between the Byzantines and their Arab allies, and the Sassanians and their Arab allies. As spelled in the textus receptus it mentions a Byzantine defeat and predicts their coming victory. According to the spelling in a variant reading of early date, however, it refers to a Byzantine victory and a prediction of their coming defeat. We have no means of deciding to what event the passage refers, and the suggestions of the commentators are but guesses. The mention of "the nearer part of the land", however, shows that it was a conflict on Arabian terrirory.

helps whom He will, and He is the Sublime, the Compassiontate.

It is Allah's promise, and Allah does not fail of His promise, though the most part of the people do not know. They know what is apparent of the life of this present world, but of the Hereafter they are negligent. Have they never pondered with themselves that Allah did not create the heavens and the earth and what is between them both save in truth and with a fixed period? Yet many of the people are disbelieving in the meeting with their Lord. Have they never journeyed in the land so that they might see how the final issue was for those before them who were mightier in strength than they are, who ploughed up the earth and cultivated it far more than they have cultivated it, to whom messengers came with evidential signs? So Allah was not one to wrong them but they were wronging themselves. Then the final issue for those who were evil was evil, because they counted Allah's signs false and were making them a jest. Allah originates a creature, then He makes it return to its original dust, then to Him will ye be brought back at the Last Day. And on the Day when the Hour arrives the sinners will be in despair, For there will be no intercessor for them from among the associate-gods, and they will be disbelieving in their associate-gods. On the Day when the Hour arrives, on that Day they will be separated out. As for those who believed and did works of righteousness, they will be in a meadow making joyful; But as for those who disbelieved, and counted false Our signs and the meeting in the Hereafter, such will be handed over to punishment.

So say: "Glory be to Allah!" when ye come to evening hour and when ye rise at morn, And say: "To Him be praise in the heavens and the earth!" both at twilight and when ye come to noon.¹ He brings forth the living from the dead, and brings forth the dead from the living, and He quickens

¹ These two verses are said to indicate four times for prayer daily, whereas in earlier passages in the Koran only morning and evening prayers are mentioned, with perhaps a suggestion of a third prayer period.

the earth after its deadness, and thus will ye be drawn forth. Among His signs is tile fact that He created you from dust, and then, lo! ye are men spreading yourselves abroad. Also among His signs is the fact that He created for you from yourselves wives that ye may dwell with them, and He instituted between you love and mercy. In that, indeed, there are signs for a people who will ponder. And among His signs are the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the differences among you in speech and in colour. In that, indeed, there are signs for those who know. And among His signs are your sleeping by night and by day, and your going in quest of His bounty. In that, indeed, there are signs for those who will hearken. And among His signs is the fact that He causes you to see the lightning with both fear and desire, and sends down from the skies water whereby He quickens the earth after its deadness. In that, indeed, there are signs for a people who have intelligence. And among His signs is the fact that the skies and the earth stand firm at His command. Then when He summons you from the earth with a summons, behold! ye will come forth. His are those who are in the heavens and the earth, all obedient to Him. He it is Who originates a creature, then makes it return to its original dust, and that is very easy for Him. His is the highest similitude in the heavens and the earth, and He is the Sublime, the Compassionate. He has set forth for you a similitude from yourselves. Do ye have from among those whom your right hands possess [i.e., your slaves] any associates in that with which We have provided you so that ye are on an equality therein? Do ye fear them as ye fear yourselves? Thus do We set out the signs for a people who have intelligence. Nay, but those who do wrong follow their own desires without knowledge. So Who will guide him whom Allah has sent astray, seeing that for them there are no helpers? So set thou thy face, O Mohammed, towards religion as a Hanif, Allah's creation according to which He

has created man, and there is no changing Allah's creation.¹ That is the right religion, though the most part of men do not know. So be ye such as turn in penitence to Him, and show ye piety and observe prayer, and be not of those who associate other deities with Allah, Of those who have divided up their religion and become sects, each party rejoicing in what they have of their own. But when some trouble touches the people they invoke their Lord, turning in penitence to Him. Then when He gives them to taste a mercy from Himself, lo! a group of them associate others with their Lord. That they may be ungrateful for that which We have given them. So take ye your enjoyment for anon ye will know. Or have We sent down to them some authority, and it speaks in favour of what they have been associating with Him? When We give the people to taste of some mercy of Ours they rejoice therein, but if some evil come upon them because of what their hands have sent forward, lo! they are stricken with despair. Have they not seen that Allah provides openhandedly for whom He wills, or gives limited measure?² In that, indeed, there are signs for a people who believe.

Give the kinsman that to which he has a right, and to the unfortunate and to the son of the way. That is better for those who desire Allah's face, and those are they who prosper. What ye give out at usury, that it may gain increase amidst the people's wealth, gains no increase with Allah, but what ye give as alms, desiring the face of Allah—those are they who make double gain.

Allah is the One Who created you, then made provision for you, then will put you to death, then will quicken you. Is there any among your associate-gods who can do anything such as that? Glory be to Him, and high exalted be He from that which they associate with Him! Corruption has appeared by land and by sea because of what the hands of people have

¹ Two different words for "creation" are used here, first fitra and then khalq. The verse is saying that the Hanif religion is the natural inborn religion of every man, with which he was created with an inborn impulse to eat and drink. Since Islam is identified with this inborn religion the claim is being made that it is the natural religion for mankind.

² See Sura 17, Section 4.

gained, that He may make them taste somewhat of what they have done, that perchance they may return. Say: "Journey ye in the land and see how the final issue was for those of former days, the most part of whom were associators."

Set thy face then, O Mohammed, to the right religion, before a Day arrives which naught can prevent Allah from bringing on. On that Day they will be divided into two groups: Whoso has disbelieved, on him will be his disbelief; and whoso have acted righteously are making things smooth for their own souls, That from His bounty He may recompense those who have believed and have done deeds of righteousness. The fact is, He loves not the unbelievers.

Also among His signs is the fact that He sends the winds as bringers of good tidings, and that He may give you to taste of His mercy, and that the ships may run along at His command, and that ye may go questing for His bounty, and maybe ye will be thankful.

Before thee, O Mohammed, We have sent messengers to their people; so they brought them the evidential signs, and We took vengeance on those who sinned, and it was a duty for Us to aid the believers.

Allah is the One who sends the winds ¹ so that they bring up a cloud which He spreads out in the skies just how He wills, and breaks it up so that thou seest the rain coming forth from the midst thereof. Then when He pours it down upon whom He wills of His servants, lo! they are full of joy, Even though they were before that—before it was sent down to them—in despair. So look at the traces of Allah's mercy, how He quickens the earth after its deadness. Truly that One is the quickener of the dead, and He is powerful over everything. But if We send a wind so that they see the vegetation gone

¹ This obviously follows on the second verse preceding, so there is a transposition here, and the preceding verse probably belongs with the next section.

yellow, nevertheless even after that they would continue unbelieving.

Yet indeed thou, O Mohammed, wilt not make the dead to hear, nor wilt thou make the deaf hear the summons when they turn away, turning their backs. Nor art thou going to guide the blind out of their error. Nor wilt thou make any hear save such as believe in Our signs, for they are submitting themselves.

Allah is the One Who has created you in weakness, then after weakness has appointed strength, then after strength has appointed weakness and grey-headedness. He creates what He wills, and He is the Knowing, the Powerful.¹

On the Day when the Hour arrives the sinners will swear they have not tarried in the grave more than an hour. Thus were they being involved in falsehood.² But those who have been given the knowledge and the faith will say: "Ye have tarried, according to what is written in Allah's Book, till the Day of the raising up, and this is the Day of the raising up, but ye were unknowing. On that Day their making excuses for themselves will not benefit those who have done wrong, and they will not be invited to make themselves acceptable.

Truly, We have set forth for the people in this Koran every kind of similitude, yet if thou bringest to them a verse those who disbelieve will certainly say: "Ye are only dealing in vanities." Thus does Allah set a seal upon the hearts of those who know not. So do thou, O Mohammed, bear up patiently. Verily the promise of Allah is true, so let not those who have no sure conviction make light of thee.

¹ This verse possibly should follow the last section but one, finishing off the signs-passage.

² The meaning seems to be that in this life they were so involved in false conceptions that it was quite natural they should similarly be involved in falsity at the Resurrection.

A.L.M. Those are the signs of the wise Book, A guidance and a mercy to those who do good, Who observe prayer and pay the legal alms, and have sure conviction about the Hereafter. Such are under guidance from their Lord, and those are they who will prosper.

Among the people there is one who will purchase an amusing tale that he may lead people astray from Allah's way without knowledge,¹ and take the way of Allah as a matter of jest. Those are they for whom is a shameful punishment. And when Our signs are recited to him he turns proudly away as though he heard them not, as though in his ears were a heaviness. So give him tidings of a painful punishment. Verily for those who believe and do works of righteousness, for them there are gardens of delight, In which they will eternally abide. This is Allah's true promise, and He is the Sublime, the Wise.

He created the heavens without any pillars that ye can see, and He cast mountains upon the earth lest it should move with

¹ The commentators say that this is a reference to one an-Nadr b. al-Harith who drew the people away from Mohammed's preaching by reciting to them the Persian histories of Rustum and Alexander the Great. Those threatened with punishment are those who make mock of Mohammed's message.

you, and scattered therein all kinds of beasts, and sent down from the skies water, so that We have caused to grow up therein every noble species of plant. This is Allah's creation, so show ye Me what those whom ye worship apart from Him have created. Nay, but the wrongdoers are in manifest error. Now We gave Luqman wisdom, saying: "Be thankful to Allah, for whosoever gives thanks gives thanks only to his own soul's good; and should anyone be grateful, why, Allah is rich, praiseworthy." And remember when Luqman ¹ said to his son; as he was admonishing him: "O my son, associate naught with Allah. Truly, association of other deities with Allah is a mighty wrong."

We have laid an injunction on man with regard to his two parents. His mother carried him in weakness on weakness, and his weaning was after two years. So be thankful to Me and to thy parents. To Me is the journey back.² But if they [i.e., thy parents] are importunate with thee that thou associate with Me that concerning which thou hast no knowledge, then obey them not. Nevertheless live in friendliness with them in this world as is right and proper, but follow thou the path of him who turns in penitence to Me. Then to Me is your return, and I shall assuredly inform you about what ye have been doing.

"O my son," said Luqman, "the fact is that even though it be but the weight of a grain of mustard seed, and should it be on a rock, or in the heavens, or in the earth, Allah will bring it to light. Allah, indeed, is gentle, well-informed. O my son, observe prayer, bid what is right and proper and forbid what is disapproved, and be patiently enduring under whatever befalls thee. Truly, that belongs to what determines affairs. And do not curl thy cheek at people in disdain, and walk not insolently in the land, for, indeed, Allah loves not any arrogant boaster. So steer a middle course in thy walking,

¹ Hirschfled has suggested that the name Luqman derives from Mohammed's informant misreading the name Solomon, in which case Luqman's instructions to his son would be a vague remembrance of the opening of the Book of Proverbs. In a text written in Syriac the name Solomon might possibly be misread as Luqman, but not in a Hebrew text.

² There two Medinan verses break in on Luqman's advice to his son, which continues in the next passage. Perhaps these verses belong at the end of the next passage.

and keep thy voice low, for truly the most displeasing of voices is the voice of asses.

Have ye not seen that Allah has subjected to your service whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth, and has caused His grace to abound towards you outwardly and inwardly? Yet among the people are those who dispute concerning Allah without any knowledge or guidance or enlightening Book, And when it is said to them: "Follow ye what Allah has sent down," they say: "Nay, but we shall follow that at which we found our fathers." What! even though Satan is summoning them to the punishment of as-Sa'ir?¹ But whosoever submits his face to Allah, while doing that which is good, he has laid hold on the firmest handle, although with Allah is the ultimate issue of affairs. And should anyone disbelieve, let not his disbelief grieve thee, O Mohammed. To Us is their returning and We shall inform them of that which they have done. Allah, indeed, has knowledge about the secrets of the hearts. We shall give them to enjoy a little, then We shall force them to a harsh punishment.

Shouldst thou ask them who created the heavens and the earth they would assuredly say: "Allah." Say: "Praise be to Allah!" Nay, but the most part of them do not know. Allah's is whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth. Allah, indeed, He is the Rich, the Praiseworthy. Were whatever trees are on the earth pens, and the sea an ocean of ink,² which seven seas thereafter swell, the words of Allah would not fail. Allah, indeed, is sublime, wise.

Your creation and your resurrection are as but that of a single person. Allah, indeed, is He Who hears, He Who sees. Hast thou not seen that Allah makes the night penetrate into the day and the day penetrate into the night, and has subjected to your service the sun and the moon, each running

¹ One of the names of Hell-fire. See Note 2 to Sura 84.

² See Sura 18, the last verse but one.

along to a fixed term, and that Allah is informed about what ye do? That is because Allah is the True One, and because what they invoke apart from Him is vain, and because Allah, He is the High One, the Great One. Hast thou not seen that the ships run in the sea by Allah's favour, that He may show you of His signs? Truly, in that there are signs for every truly patient, thankful one. When waves overshadow them like tent coverings they invoke Allah, making religion solely His, but when He brings them safely to shore, some of them are halting between two opinions, yet no one disputes about Our signs save every perfidious, ungrateful one.

O ye people! show piety towards your Lord, and fear a Day when no parent will make atonement for his child, nor a child atone in any way for his parent. Verily, the promise of Allah is true, so let nOt the life of this present world deceive you, and let not the Deceiver ¹ deceive you about Allah. With Allah, indeed, is knowledge of the Hour, for He sends down the gentle showers and He knows what is in the wombs, though no soul knows what it will gain on the morrow, nor does any soul know in what land it will die.² Allah, indeed, is knowing, informed.

¹ al-gahrur is one of the names of Satan.

² These characteristic examples of things which are beyond man's power to know, but which Allah well knows, are indications that He will also know all about when the Hour is to arrive. Some have suggested that we have a reminiscence of those "words of Agur" contained in Proverbs XXX, 18, 19.

A.L.R. These are the signs of the Book that makes clear. We have sent it down as an Arabic lesson [qur'an]. Maybe ye will understand. We are relating to thee, O Mohammed, one of the best of stories in revealing to thee this lesson, though before it thou wert one of the heedless.

When Joseph said to his father: "O my Father, I indeed have seen eleven stars and the sun and the moon. I saw them doing obeisance to me," Said he: "O my son, relate not thy vision to thy brethren, lest they plot against thee a stratagem. Verily, Satan is a manifest enemy to man. Thus is thy Lord choosing thee, and He will teach thee the interpretation of hard sayings, and will perfect His favour upon thee, and upon the House of Jacob, as He perfected it earlier on thy two fore fathers, Abraham and Isaac. Verily, thy Lord is knowing, wise." Now indeed in Joseph and his brethren were signs for those who question. When they said: "Joseph and his brother are dearer to our father than we are, though we are a band. Verily, our father is in manifest error. Kill ye Joseph, or drive him out of the country, then the face of your father will be free for you, and ye may be thereafter honest people," A speaker from among them said: "Kill ye not Joseph, but cast him into the bottom of a cistern.¹ One of the passing caravans will pick him up if ye do that." They said: "O our father, what is the matter with thee? Thou dost not trust us with Joseph although we are his sincere advisers. Send him with us tomorrow. He will enjoy himself and play, and we shall be watching over

¹ See Genesis XXXVII, 9, where however, this is the second of Joseph's dreams. The first dream may not have been told to Mohammed by his informant, or he may have omitted it in telling the story. The commentators, of course, know the name of all the eleven stars.

² A jubb is a large catchment cistern for water, such as are to be found along the caravan trails. The unidentified speaker was Reuben. Mohammed was always chary of using proper names so that it does not necessarily follow that he had forgotten the name. It will be noted that Benjamin is always "his brother" and is never mentioned by name.

him." Said he: "It assuredly grieves me that ye should go off with him, and I fear that the wolf may eat him while ye ‘are careless of him." They said: "Should the wolf eat him while we are a band, in that case we should indeed be losers." So when they went off with him, and agreed together to put him in the bottom of the cistern, then We spoke by revelation to him, saying: "Thou wilt most assuredly inform them of this matter of theirs at a time when they are not aware." Then in the evening they came to their father weeping. They said: "O our father, we went off to race one another and we left Joseph with our baggage, but the wolf ate him. Yet thou wouldst not be believing us even were we telling the truth." And they brought lying blood upon his shirt. Their father said: "Nay, indeed! your souls have enticed you into an affair; but patience is a seemly thing, and Allah is the One to be asked for help against what ye tell." Now a caravan came along, and they sent ahead their water-drawer, who let down his water-bucket. Said he: "O best of news! Here is a youth," and they concealed him as a piece of merchandise.¹ But Allah was well aware of what they were doing. So they sold him for a trilling price, some dirhams counted out, for they were but rough appraisers with regard to him. The Egyptian who bought him said to his wife: "Lodge him honourably, for it may be that he will be useful to us, or we may take him as a son." Thus did We make a place for Joseph in the land, and that was so that We might teach him the interpretation of hard sayings. Allah has the mastery over His affair, though the most part of the people do not know. Now when he reached his mature strength We gave him wisdom and knowledge. Thus do We reward those who do well. But she in whose house he was, lusted for his person. She locked the doors and said: "Come along!" Said he: "Allah forbid! Truly, my Lord² has lodged me in excellent fashion. Moreover, wrongdoers will not prosper." But she wanted him, and he had wanted

¹ The suggestion is that it was the rough camel-men who seized Joseph and concealed him amidst the baggage from the eyes of the leaders of the caravan. For this reason they had to sell him off cheaply on arrival in Egypt before they were found out. In Genesis XXVII, 28, it is his brothers who sell him to the Ishmaelites (=Midianites) and the Ishmaelites who sell him to Egypt.

² Others take this to refer not to Allah but to his Egyptian master, who he might quite naturally call his lord, as he does later.

her had it not been that he saw a demonstration of his Lord.¹ It was thus in order that We might turn from him evil and turpitude. He, indeed, was one of Our single-hearted servants. The two of them raced for the door, and she tore his shirt from behind. At the door they met her husband. Said she: "What is the recompense for one who has desired evil of thy household, unless it be that he be put in prison, or suffer a painful punishment?" Joseph said: "She lusted for my person." A witness ² from her household bore witness, saying: "If his shirt has been torn in front then she has told the truth and he is among the liars, But if his shirt has been torn from behind then she is lying and he is of those who tell the truth." So when he saw that his shirt had been torn from behind, he said: "This, indeed, is of your female scheming. Verily the scheming of you women is great. O Joseph, shun this. And do thou, O woman, seek pardon for thy sin, for thou hast indeed been among those who commit faults." Women in the city said: "The prince's wife lusts after her servant's person. He has made her sick with love. In our opinion she is in manifest error." Now when she heard of their plotting she sent them a message and prepared for them a banquet. When they came she gave to each one of them a knife. Then she said: "Come forth to them, O Joseph." When they saw him they were amazed at him and cut their hands. They said: "Allah forbid! This is no man. This is naught but a noble angel." She said: "That is the one with regard to whom ye were blaming me. I, indeed, did lust for his person but he abstained. Yet if he does not do what I bid him he will most assuredly be imprisoned and be one of the paltry ones." He said: "O my Lord, to me the prison is preferable to that to which they are inviting me. Yet if Thou dost not avert from me their scheming I shall act the youth with them, and shall be one of the ignorant." So his Lord answered him, and averted from him their scheming. He, indeed, is the Hearer, the

¹ The commentators know the Rabbinic legend of how he was saved from sinning by seeing an apparition of his old father.

¹ This, we are told, was a babe that was lying in its cradle, and this is said to be one of the four cases where infants in the cradle have spoken.

Knower. Then it seemed good to them, after they had seen the signs, to imprison him for a while. Now there entered the prison with him two youths. Said one of them: "As for me, I see myself pressing out wine." Said the other: "As for me, I see myself carrying on my head bread of which the birds are eating. Tell us its interpretation. We, indeed, consider thee one of those who do good." Said he: "No food with which ye are provided will come to you ere I have told you its interpretation before it comes to you. That is part of what my Lord has taught me. I, indeed, have forsaken the religion [milla] of a people who do not believe in Allah and who are disbelieving in the Hereafter, And I have followed the religion [milla] of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. It was not for us to associate anything with Allah. That is Allah's bounty to us and to the people, but the most part of the people do not render thanks. O my two prison companions, are various Lords better, or Allah, the One, the All-overcoming? What ye worship apart from Him are naught but names which ye and your fathers have named. Allah has sent down no authority for them. Wisdom is with Allah alone. He has given command that ye worship none but Himself. That is the right religion, but the most part of the people do not know. O my two prison companions; as for one of you, he will pour out wine for his lord; as for the other, he will be crucified and birds will eat from his head. Decreed is the matter about which ye made enquiry." Then he said to the one of them he thought was going to escape: "Mention me before thy lord." But Satan made him forget to mention him to his lord,¹ so he continued in prison for some years. Said the king: "I see in my dream seven fat cows which seven lean ones devour, and seven green ears of grain and others dried up. O courtiers, instruct me with regard to my vision, if ye are such as can expound visions." They said: "Confusions of dreams! We are not such as know about the interpretation of dreams."² Said the one of them

¹ The reference of the pronoun is ambiguous in the original. Some translate it: "So Satan caused him (i.e. Joseph) to forget the remembrance of his Lord (i.e. Allah), so he remained in prison some years" longer for the sin of putting his trust in man instead of Allah. The original story, however, had it that the released servant forgot to mention Joseph to Pharaoh till the incident of the dream reminded him of the dream-interpretations he had heard in prison.

² There is a hint of impatience as though the courtiers feel they are there for consultation on important matters of State, and are somewhat put out at being expected to explain tangled confusions of the ruler's dreams.

who had escaped, remembering after a time: "I will get you information as to its interpretation, so send me." Going to the prison he said: "O Joseph, O thou trusty one, instruct us about seven fat cows which seven lean ones devour, and seven green ears of grain and others dried up. Perchance I may return to the people that maybe they will know." Said he: "Seven years will ye sow according to custom, but what ye harvest leave in its ear, save a little from which ye may eat. Then there will come after that seven hard years which will devour what ye have laid up for them, save a little of what ye preserve in store. Then, after that, there will come a year in which the people will have abundant rain, and in which they will express the juice of grapes." Said the king: "Bring him to me." But when the messenger came to him, he said: "Return to thy lord, and ask him what was the matter with the women who cut their hands. My lord, indeed, knows about their scheming." The king said: "What is this affair of yours when ye lusted after Joseph's person?" They answered: "Allah forbid! We know no evil against him." The wife of the prince said: "Now has the truth come to light. It was I who lusted after his person, and he, indeed, is one of those who speak the truth. "That," said Joseph, "is that he may know that I not betray him in his absence, and that Allah guideth not the plotting of those who are betrayers. Yet I do not declare myself innocent. Verily, the soul has a natural inclination towards evil, save in so far as my Lord shows mercy. Truly, my Lord is forgiving, compassionate." Said the king: "Bring him to me! I appropriate him for myself." So when he spoke with him he said: "Behold, thou art today before us in a position established, secure." He said: "Appoint me over the storehouses of the land. I, indeed, am a knowing keeper." Thus did We make a place for Joseph in the land that he might settle down therein wheresoever he might desire. We make Our mercy alight on whom We will, and We allow not the

reward of those who do good to be lost. Nevertheless the reward of the Hereafter is better for those who believe and have been pious. Now when the days of famine arrived, Joseph's brethren came and entered to him, and he recognized them but they were ignorant of who he was. When he supplied them with their needed supplies, he said: "Bring me a brother of yours from your father. Do ye not see that I give full measure, and that I am the best of hosts? But if ye do not bring him to me there will be no measure for you with me, nor will ye draw near me." They said: "We shall beseech his father for him. We are those who will do it." He said to his servants: "Put their merchandise back in their packs. Maybe they will recognize it when they get back to their families, and maybe they will return." Now when they returned to their father they said: "O our father, measure is refused us, but send our brother along with us and we shall get measure, and we shall be sure guardians of him." Said he: "Shall I entrust you with him save as I entrusted you formerly with his brother? But Allah is the best guardian, and He is the most merciful of those who shew mercy." Then when they opened up their belongings they found that their merchandise had been returned to them. They said: "O our father, what more could we desire? This merchandise of ours has been returned to us, so we can supply our families, and preserve our brother, and get an extra camel-load of measure. That will be an easy measure." Said he: "Never will I send him with you until ye give me an assurance from Allah that ye will bring him back to me, unless ye are prevented." Then when they had given him their assurance, he said: "Allah is trustee over what ye say." He said: "O my sons, enter not in by a single gate, but enter by different gates. Yet I avail you naught against Allah. The judgment is with Allah alone. On Him have I set my trust, and on Him let those who trust set their trust." So when they entered according as their father had bidden them, it

availed them naught against Allah, though it satisfied a need in Jacob's soul; and he, indeed, was a possessor of knowledge because of what We had taught him, but the most part of the people do not know. When they entered to Joseph he took his brother to be with him, saying: "I, truly, am thy brother, so be not distressed at what they have been doing." Then when he prepared for them what they wanted prepared, he put the king's drinking-cup in his brother's saddlebag. Then a herald made cry: "O caravan! ye are surely thieves." Said they, as they approached them: "What do ye find missing?" They said: "We miss the king's goblet.¹ To him who brings it will be given a camel's load, and I am surety for that." They said: "By Allah, ye well know that we did not come to do evil in the land, and we are no thieves." They said: "And what will be the recompense for it if ye be lying?" They answered: "Let the recompense for it be that he in whose saddlebag it is found be himself the recompense for it. Thus would we recompense wrongdoers." He made a beginning with their packs before coming to his brother's pack. Then he drew it forth from his brother's pack. Thus did We work a scheme for Joseph. Because of the king's religion he could not have taken his brother, had not Allah so willed. We raise the ranks for whom We will, and above every possessor of knowledge there is One who knows. They said: "If he has stolen, nevertheless a brother of his stole before,² but Joseph kept it secret to himself and did not let it appear to them. He said: "Ye are in an evil spot, and Allah knows best about what ye tell." They said: "O prince, he has a father, a very old man, so take one of us in his stead. We, indeed, see that thou art one of those who do good." Said he: "Allah forbid that we should take anyone save him with whom we found our property, for otherwise we should be oppressors." So when they despaired of him they drew aside to take counsel in private. Said the eldest of them:³ "Know ye not that your father has

¹ suwa means an elegant goblet of gold or silver. Two verses back the word was siqaya, which might have been used for any kind of drinking vessel. sawa occurs only in this passage, and some think that it was not a drinking vessel, but the prince's divining cup.

² This charge that Joseph also in his youth had been guilty of theft is explained by the commentators in a way that absolves Joseph of any guilt. It may, however, be a reflection of a Midrashic legend, or it may be a confusion with the story of Rachel's stealing the teraphim, in which case the brothers are saying: "Well, it could be that he is a thief, for his mother was a thief." In this verse Joseph suggests that they are trying to get out of their plight by raking up an old scandal.

³ Judah. See Genesis XLIV.

taken an assurance against you from Allah, and how previously ye acted iniquitously with regard to Joseph? I shall never leave the land till my father gives me permission, or till Allah gives judgment for me, for He is the best of those who give judgment. Go back to your father and say: ‘O our father, thy son hath stolen, and we testify only to that which we know, nor could we have guarded against the unseen. So question the town in which we were, and the caravan in which we have come, for we, indeed, are those who speak the truth." This they did, but their father said: "Nay! but your souls have framed up a matter for you. Patient endurance, however, is a beautiful thing. Maybe Allah will bring them all to me together. He it is Who is the Knowing, the Wise." Then he turned from them and said: "O what grief is mine for Joseph!" And his eyes went white from sorrow,¹ and he was inwardly grieving. They said: "By Allah, thou wilt keep on making mention of Joseph till thou art become decrepit, or art become one of those about to perish." Said he: "I take my complaint of my sorrow and my grief to Allah alone, but I know from Allah what ye know not. O my sons, go and seek for news of Joseph and his brother, and despair not of Allah's mercy. None, indeed, despair of Allah's mercy save the unbelieving people." Then when they came in to Joseph they said: "O prince, distress has touched us and our households, and we have brought but scanty merchandise, but give us full measure, bestowing it as charity upon us, for Allah, indeed, recompenses those who give in charity." He said: "Know ye what ye did with Joseph and his brother when ye were ignorant of what ye were doing?" They said: "Art thou, can it be that thou art Joseph?" Said he: "I am Joseph, and this is my brother. Allah has been gracious to us. The fact is, if one shows piety and patiently endures: Allah lets not the reward of those who do good perish." They said: "By Allah, Allah has, indeed, given thee the preference over us, and we have

¹ I.e., the excessive weeping had caused him to go blind, and this blindness was cured by Joseph's miraculous shirt. It is still believed in the Orient that prolonged weeping causes a white integument to form over the eyes.

been those who were committing faults." Said he: "Let there be no blame upon you this day. Allah will forgive you, for He is the most merciful of those who shew mercy. Go ye with this shirt of mine ¹ and cast it on my father's face, and he will see again. And bring to me your households, all of them." When the caravan set out from Egypt their father said: "I should declare that I perceive the smell of Joseph, were it not that ye would think me doting." They said: "By Allah, there thou art at thine ancient error." But when the bearer of good tidings came he cast it on his face, so he saw again. Said he: "Did I not say to you: ‘I know from Allah what ye know not'? " They said: "O our father, ask pardon for us for our sins. We have been those who were committing faults." Said he: "Anon I shall ask pardon for you from my Lord. He it is Who is the Forgiving, the Merciful." When they entered to Joseph he took his two parents ² to be with him, and he said to the others: "Enter ye Egypt in safety, if Allah wills." Then he brought his two parents up to the throne. They all fell down before him doing obeisance. He said: "O my father, this is the interpretation of my dream heretofore. My Lord has made it come true. He has treated me well indeed, since he brought me out of prison, and has brought you from the desert, after Satan had stirred up strife between me and my brothers. My Lord, indeed, is kindly disposed in what He wills. He it is Who is the Knowing, the Wise. O my Lord, Thou hast given me dominion and taught me the interpretation of hard sayings. O Creator of the heavens and the earth, Thou art my guardian in this world and the next. Cause me to die as one who submits, and join me with the just."

This one of the announcements of the Unseen. We reveal it to thee, O Mohammed, for thou wast not with them when they agreed on their matter and were scheming. But the most part of the people, even though thou art urgent, are

¹ Both Jewish and Moslem legend have made much of this miraculous shirt of Joseph. There is little doubt that it derives from the "coat of many colors" of Genesis XXXVII, 3, but legend makes it a shirt that Adam brought with him from Paradise and which came down to the Patriarchs.

² Joseph's mother, of course, had long since passed away (Genesis XXXV, 19), but apparently that had not been made clear in the tale as Mohammed received it from his informants. Some have suggested that the reference is to Bilhah, but the Rabbinic legend which makes her appear before Joseph in Egypt is late.
There is a time interval between the events of this verse, in which he has his parents with his in private, and the next verse where they appear before him as he sits in his official seat of authority, where all who enter his presence must do obeisance. The verse does not mean that he took them in to see Pharaoh.

not believers. Yet thou askest no reward for it. It is naught but a reminder to mankind. How many a sign in the heavens and the earth they pass by, yet they are turning away from them. Most of them believe not in Allah without associating others with Him. Are they then secure from there coming up- on them a calamity of Allah's punishment, or from the Hour coming on them suddenly, when they are not aware? Say: "This is my way. I summon to Allah by way of clear proof, I and whosoever follows me. So glory be to Allah, lam not one of the associators." We have not sent before thee any save men of the townspeople to whom We gave revelation. Have they not travelled in the land and seen what the final issue was for those who preceded them? The abode of the Here after is better, indeed, for those who show piety. Will ye not then understand? Until the messengers were in despair and thought they were being counted as false, Our help came to them. Thus We rescue whomsoever We will, and Our violence is not to be turned back from the sinful people. Now, indeed, there has been in their story ¹ a lesson for such as are possessed of insight. It was not a tale newly invented, but a confirmation of that which is there present, and an explanation of everything, a guidance and a mercy to a people who believe.

¹ "Their story" must mean the story of Joseph and his brethren and refer back to the first verse of this section ("This is one of..."). As such it is said to be a confirmation of the Scripture account of Joseph in the hands of the People of the Book.

‘K.H.Y.'.S. A remembrance of the mercy of thy Lord to His servant Zachariah, When he called upon his Lord a secret calling. He said: "O my Lord, my bones have indeed grown weak within me, and my head has kindled a hoary white, yet never have I been unfortunate in prayer to Thee, O my Lord. But now I have fears as to kindred after me, since my wife has become barren, so do Thou grant me from Thyself a successor, Who will inherit from me, and inherit from the family of Jacob, and make him, O my Lord, one who is well-pleasing to Thee." Said the angel:¹ "O Zachariah, indeed I give thee good tidings of a youth (ghulam) whose name is John, We did not appoint for him such a name before.² Said he: "O my Lord, how shall I have a son, seeing that my wife has become barren, and I have already reached an advanced age?'' He said: "Thus it shall be. Thy Lord has said: ‘It is easy for Me. Why, I created thee before when thou wast not anything.'" He said: "O my Lord, appoint for me a sign." Said the angel: "Thy sign shall be that thou shalt not speak to the people for three days on end." Then he went out

¹ In spite of the insistence of the commentators that the Lord whom Zachariah addresses in the following verses is Allah, as well in the preceding verses, it must be Gabriel (cf. Luke 1, 19) who speaks here and in the second and third verses following. This ought to be clear from the fact that he tells Zachariah what his Lord has said about the matter. In the parallel account in Sura 3, it is angels who announce the good tidings of John, and there again it must be Gabriel who is addressed and who replies.

² This clearly represents the family objection to the introduction of a new name, as recorded in Luke 1, 61. It could not be, as many Muslims assert, a reference to the fact that Yahya, as it is pointed out in the textus receptus, was a name for John the Baptist unknown earlier that the Koran.

to his people from the sanctuary and spoke to them by signs, saying: "Give glory to Allah morning and evening." Said Allah: "O john, take the Book with strength,¹" and We gave him wisdom as a child, And grace from Ourselves, and purity, and he was pious, And dutiful towards both his parents, and never was he proud, disobedient. So peace be upon him the day he was born, the day he dies, and the day he will be raised alive!

And make mention in the Book,² O Mohammed, of Mary, when she went apart from her people to an eastern place, And set up for herself over against them a curtain. Then We sent to her Our Spirit, who for her took the shape of a comely human.³ She said: "I, indeed, take refuge with the Merciful from thee, if thou art pious." Said he: "I am only a messenger of thy Lord, sent to thee that I may give thee a pure son." She said: "How shall I have a child when no man has touched me, and I have never been unchaste?" Said he: "It shall be so. Thy Lord has said: ‘It is easy for Me, and truly We shall make him a sign to the people, and a mercy from Us. The matter has been decided.'" So she became pregnant with him and went apart with him to a remote place. Then the birth pangs drove her to a palm-tree trunk. She said: "O would that I had died etc this, and become forgotten, quite forgotten." Than one from beneath her called to her,⁴ saying: "Do not grieve. Thy Lord has set beneath thee a rivulet. So shake towards thyself the palm-tree trunk, it will let fall on thee fresh ripe dates, So eat and drink and be of good cheer, and shouldst thou perchance see anyone of human kind, then say: "Truly, I have vowed to the Merciful a fast, so I shall not speak today to any man." Then she brought him to her people, carrying him. They said: "O Mary, thou hast come with a strange thing. O sister of Aaron,⁵ thy father was no man of wickedness, nor was thy mother unchaste." So she pointed to him.

¹ This may refer to his mastery of the Old Testament Scriptures, or it may mean that in Mohammed's thought, John was one of those messengers who had a Book. There is but small likelihood that it is a reference to the Mandaean Book of John.

² This is a clear indication that the Prophet was now working up his revelation material into a Book form, which would be a Scripture for his community such as the Jews and the Christians had. The sentence is thus almost certainly from the Medinan period when the Prophet was busy at such a project.

³ In the Protoevangelium Jacobi, X there is an account of how Mary worked at the making of a curtain for the temple of the Lord; and it is specifically said that she did the work on this in her home, this curtain has here been interpreted to be a curtain to veil herself off from the people.

The commentators, of course, take "Out Spirit" to mean Gabriel, for he was the one who appeared before Mary in human form; but there is clearly a confusion here between Gabriel who made the announcement and the Holy Spirit who in the Gospel story (Luke 1, 35) was to come to her. In Sura 21 it is "Our Spirit" of which Allah breathes into Mary's womb, to produce Jesus, and there the reference to the Holy Spirit of the Gospels is clear.

In the nest verse, the last word is taqiy in Arabic, meaning "a pious person", "one who is God-fearing." The use of the word in this passage is a well-known problem of interpretation. But Taqiy is also used as a personal name. Some think that it is so used here, and that Mary thought that Gabriel, when he suddenly appeared, was a local "lady-killer" named Taqiy from whom she sought refuge from Allah. Others think that "if" here means "unless". The usual interpretation, however, is that she meant: "I take refuge with Allah from you, and if you are really a pious person you will respect my betaking myself to him.

⁴ The commentators are divided as to whether it was Gabriel, standing somewhat lower down, who called to her, or the newly born babe.

⁵ That is, Mohammed has confused Mary (=Maryam) the mother of Jesus, with Miriam (=Maryam) the sister of Moses and Aaron. This is confirmed by the last verse of Sura 66, where Mary is called the daughter of Amram; for in Exodus VI, 20, Amram is the father of Moses and Aaron.

They said: "How shall we speak with one who is in the cradle, a babe?" The babe said: "Truly, I am a servant of Allah. He has given me the Book and has made me a prophet, And made me blessed wherever I may be, and laid on me the obligation of prayer and legal alms, so long as I remain alive, And that I be dutiful to my mother. And He has not made me a proud, a wretched fellow, So peace be upon me the day I was born, the day I die, and the day I am raised alive!"

That is Jesus, son of Mary, a statement of the truth concerning a matter about which they are in doubt. It was not for Allah to take any son. Glory be to Him! When He determines a matter He has only to say to it: "Be!" and it is, And, verily, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. This is the straight path.

Now the sects came to differ among themselves, but woe to those who disbelieve, woe from the witness-place of a mighty Day! How quick they will be to hear, how quick to see, on the Day when they come to Us! But today the wrong-doers are in manifest error. So warn them of the Day of Sighing, when the matter is accomplished while they are in heedlessness. Yet they will not believe. It is We Who will inherit the earth and whosoever are upon it, and to Us will they be brought back.

And make mention in the Book, O Mohammed, of Abraham. He, indeed, was a trustworthy man, a prophet, When he said to his father: "O my father, why dost thou worship that which neither hears nor sees, and profits thee not a thing? O my father, truly there has come to me a certain knowledge that has not come to thee, so follow me. I shall guide thee on an even path. O my father, worship not Satan. Verily Satan has come to be in rebellion against the Merciful. O my father, I fear, indeed, that there may touch thee a punishment from

the Merciful, and that thou mayest become a vassal to Satan." He said: "Art thou averse to my gods, O Abraham? If thou dost not leave off I shall most assuredly stone thee. So begone from me for a season." Abraham said: "Peace be upon thee! I shall seek forgiveness for thee from my Lord. Truly, He has been gracious to me, But I shall separate myself from you people and that upon which ye call instead of Allah, and I shall call upon my Lord. Maybe I shall not be unhappy in calling upon my Lord." Then when he separated himself from them and from what they were worshipping instead of Allah, We gave him Isaac and Jacob, and each of them We made a prophet, And gave to them of Our mercy, and appointed for them a high tongue of truth.¹

And make mention, in the Book, of Moses. He, indeed, was single-hearted, and was a messenger, a prophet, And We summoned him from the right side of at-Tur,² and brought him near for private talk, And of Our mercy We gave him his brother Aaron as a prophet. And make mention in the Book of Ishmael. He was one who was true to his promise, and was a messenger, a prophet, And used to enjoin on his household prayer and legal alms, and with his Lord was one well-approved. And make mention, in the Book, of Idris.³ He, indeed, was a trustworthy person, a prophet, And We raised him up to a high place. These are they among the prophets of Adam's posterity to whom Allah has shown favour, and of those whom We carried with Noah, and of the posterity of Abraham and Israel,⁴ and of those whom We guided and whom We chose. When the signs of the Merciful are recited to them they fall prostrate, doing obeisance and weeping, But others came in succession after them who were unmindful of prayer and followed their lusts, so anon they will meet destruction. Save such as repent and believe and act righteously, for those will enter the Garden of Paradise, and

¹ As in Sura 26, Ref. 4, it may here also mean "a high reputation."

² Or "the mountain," as in Sura 20, Ref. 9.

³ Idris is usually taken to be the Biblical Enoch. This identification fits well enough, though there is reason to believe that he really represents Andreas, the pious cook of Alexander the Great.

⁴ Here and in Sura 3, Israel is the name of an individual, and is doubtless Jacob who, as the ancestor of the Children of Israel, is called Israel in Genesis XXXII, 28.

in naught will they be wronged: Gardens of Eden which the Merciful has promised to His servants in the Unseen. His promise has ever been fulfilled. They will not hear therein any foolish talk, but only "Peace," and therein they will have their provision morning and evening. That is the Garden which We have given to be inherited by Our servants, and by everyone who has been pious.

Said Gabriel: "We do not come down save by commandment of thy Lord. His is whatever is before us, whatever is behind us, and whatever in between them, and thy Lord is not forgetful; Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is between them both, so worship thou Him, and continue patiently in His service. Dost thou know any other with the same name as His?"

Now man says: "Is it that when I have died I shall anon be brought forth alive?" Does not man remember that We, in-deed, earlier created him when he was nothing? So, by thy Lord, We shall assuredly assemble them and the satans also. Then We shall also have them present kneeling around Ge-henna. Then We shall separate out from each party those of them who were most insolent in rebellion against the Merciful. Then, truly, We shall know best about those who are worthiest for roasting therein. There is no one among you but will go down to it: that, with thy Lord, is something settled, determined. Then We shall rescue those who have shown piety, but We shall leave the wrongdoers kneeling therein. Yet when Our signs are recited to them as evidential signs, those who disbelieve say to those who believe: "Which of the two parties has the best position and the finest ruling council?¹ But how many a generation have We destroyed before them, people who surpassed them in possessions and reputation? Say: "Whoso is in error let the Merciful give him an extension so that when they see what they are prom-

¹ The two parties here seem to be the Koreish who ruled over pagan Mecca, and the Moslems who were not beginning to be a recognizable body in the community, but a body made up of only the humbler folk whom the Koreish leaders despised. Nadiy might almost have been translated "Senate." It was the ruling Council or Assembly that directed the city affairs.

ised, whether it be the punishment or the Hour, then they will know who is hr the worse position and has the weakest army." Yet Allah will increase guidance for those who have submitted to guidance, and those things that remain, the righteous works, are better in thy Lord's sight in respect to reward and are a better issue.

Hast thou seen him,¹ O Mohammed, who disbelieved Our signs, and said: "I shall assuredly be given wealth and children?" Has he mounted up to the Unseen? or.has he taken some covenant from the Merciful? Nay, indeed, We shall write down what he says and lengthen out for him the punishment. We shall inherit from him that about which he speaks, and he will come to Us all by himself. Yet they take for themselves instead of Allah deities that these may be a strength to them. Nay, indeed, on the Day these false gods will disavow their worship and will be in opposition to them. Hast thou not seen, O Mohammed, that We have sent the satans on the unbelievers to incite them to evil? So be not thou in haste over them. We do but number to them a number of days, Till the Day when We assemble unto the Merciful those who show piety as a delegation, And drive the sinners to Gehenna as a herd.² They will have no power of intercession, save such of them as have taken a covenant with the Merciful. Yet they say: "The Merciful has taken for Himself a son." They have certainly brought a monstrous thing, At which the heavens are well-nigh rent asunder, and the earth is split open, and the mountains fall in fragments, That they ascribe to the Merciful a son. It were unseemly for the Merciful to take for Himself a son. There is no one either in the heavens or the earth but comes as a servant to the Merciful. Truly, He has counted them up and numbered them a number, And each of them will come to Him by himself on the Day of Resurrection. Verily, to those who have believed and

¹ The commentators, of course, know who this individual is, but their statements have little claim to be taken as historically valid.

² There is a contrast here between wafd in the preceding verse, which means an official delegation coming in orderly manner and received with due honor, and wird, which means a disorderly herd of cattle being driven down to a watering place.

done righteous works, to them the Merciful will vouchsafe love.

We have made it easy for thy tongue, O Mohammed, that by it thou gayest give good tidings to those who show piety, and by it warn a contentious people. How many a generation before them have We destroyed! Canst thou perceive a single one of them, or hear even a whisper of them?