76 THE CORÂN.
V.—SURA XXXIX., v. 64[-65].

سورة الزمر

قُلْ أَفَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ تَأْمُرُونِّي أَعْبُدُ أَيُّهَا الْجَاهِلُونَ
وَلَقَدْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ وَإِلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ لَئِنْ أَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ وَلَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ

Say:—ah! do ye command me to worship any other than God? Oh ye fools!
and verily it hath been revealed to thee, and to those before thee, that if thou dost associate others with God, verily I will render vain thy work, and thou shalt surely be amongst the lost.

This pure doctrine, it is said, was revealed "to those before him," as well as to Mahomet himself:—that is, to the former prophets;أي من الرسل Baidhâwi.

This is a testimony to the purity of the doctrines revealed to the Prophets before Mahomet, as declared in their books extant in his time.

VI.—SURA LIV., v. 42.[43]

سورة القمر

أَكُفَّارُكُمْ خَيْرٌ مِّنْ أُوْلائِكُمْ أَمْ لَكُم بَرَاءةٌ فِي الزُّبُرِ

Are your unbelievers (Ye Meccans) better than those, (i. e. of the days of Noah, Lot, Moses, &c., just referred to;) or is there an immunity for you in the Scriptures?

الزبر — The Scriptures. "The Books," الكتب — Jelalooddeen.—"The heavenly, or divine books,"

 

TESTIMONY TO THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 77

الكتب سماوية Baidhâwi. The expression apparently points to existing Scriptures, to which the citizens of Mecca are referred as showing that there is no immunity in any of the inspired books for the unbeliever, or idolater. The passage is not important, but is introduced for completeness' sake.

VII.—SURA XXXIV., v. 6.

سورة سبأ

وَيَرَى الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ هُوَ الْحَقَّ وَيَهْدِي إِلَى صِرَاطِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ

And those, to whom knowledge hath been given, see that what hath been revealed unto thee from thy Lord, is truth, and guideth unto the straight and blessed way.

العلم The Knowledge, means acquaintance with the previous Revelations. "Those to whom knowledge hath been given," i.e., believers from amongst the Jews and Christians; مؤمنوا أهل الكتاب  — Jelalooddeen.

The meaning of the verse, confirmed by numerous similar passages to be quoted hereafter, is that those who possessed the inspired revelation contained in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, recognized, by the divine knowledge derived therefrom, the Corân to be also a true revelation.