[a] This title was given to this chapter, because it chiefly treats of matters relating to women; as, marriages, divorces, dower, prohibited degrees, &c.

[b] By whom ye beseech one another;] Saying, I beseech thee for God’s sake. ^[1]

[1] Al Beidawi.

[c] Women] Literally, the wombs.

[d] Render them not in exchange bad for good;] That is, take not what ye find of value among their effects to your own use, and give them worse in its stead.

[e] And if ye fear that ye shall not act with equity towards orphans of the female sex, &c.] The commentators understand this passage differently. The true meaning seems to be as it is here translated; Mohammed advising his followers that if they found they should wrong the female orphans under their care, either by marrying them against their inclinations, ought, by reason of their having already several wives, they should rather choose to marry other women, to avoid all occasion of sin ^[2] . Others say that when this passage was revealed, many of the Arabians, fearing trouble and temptation, refused to take upon them the charge of orphans, and yet multiplied wives to a great excess, and used them ill; or, as others write, gave themselves up to fornication; which occasioned this passage. And according to these, its meaning must be either that if they feared they could not act justly towards orphans, they had as great reason to apprehend they could not deal equitably with so many wives, and therefore are commanded to marry but a certain number; or else, that since fornication was a crime as well as wronging of orphans, they ought to avoid that also, by marrying according to their abilities ^[3]

[2] Idem.

[3] Idem, Al Beidawi.

[f] Or the slaves which ye shall have acquire.] For slaves requiring not so large a dower, nor so good and plentiful a maintenance as free women, a man might keep several of the former, as easily as one of the latter.

[a] And examine the orphans, &c.] i.e. Try whether they be well grounded in the principles of religion, and have sufficient prudence for the management of their affairs. Under this expression is also comprehended the duty of a curator’s instructing his pupils in those respects.

[b] Until they attain the age of marriage;] Or age of maturity, which is generally reckoned to be fifteen; a decision supported by a tradition of their prophet, tho’ Abu Hanîfah thinks eighteen the proper age ^[1] .

[1] Al Beidawi.

[c] Because they grow up,] i.e. Because they will shortly be of age to receive what belongs to them.

[d] According to what shall be reasonable;] That is, no more than what shall make sufficient recompense for the trouble of their education.

[e] Women ought to have a part of what theirparents and kindred leave.] This law was given to abolish a custom of the pagan Arabs, who suffered not women or children to have any part of their husband’s or father’s inheritance, on pretence that they only should inherit who were able to go to war ^[2] .

[2] Idem.

[f] Let them speak that which is convenient;] viz. Either to comfort the children, or to assure the dying father they shall be justly dealt by ^[3] .

[3] Idem.

[g] A male shall have as much as the share of two females.] This is the general rule to be followed in the distribution of the estate of the deceased, as may be observed in the following cases ^[4] .

[4] V. Prelim. Disc. §. VI.

[h] If there be above two in number, they shall have two third parts, &c.] Or if there be two and no more, they will have the same share.

[i] And the remaining third part, or the remaining moiety of the estate, which is not here expressly disposed of, if the deceased leaves behind him no son, nor a father, goes to the public treasury. It must be observed that Mr. Selden is certainly mistaken when, in explaining this passage of the Korân, he says, that where there is a son and an only daughter, each of them will have a moiety ^[5] : for the daughter can have a moiety but in one case only, that is, where there is no son; for if there be a son, she can have but a third, according to the above-mentioned rule.

[5] Selden, de Success. ad Leges Ebræor. l. 1, c. 1.

[k] His mother shall have the third part;] And his father consequently the other two-thirds ^[6] .

[6] Al Beidawi.

[a] The legacies.] By legacies in this and the following passages, are chiefly meant those bequeathed to pious uses; for the Mohammedans approve not of a person’s giving away his substance from his family and near relations on any other account.

[b] For this may happen by contract, or on some other special occasion.

[c] Each of them two shall have a sixth part, &c.] Here, and in the next case, the brother and sister are made equal sharers, which is an exception to the general rule, of giving a male twice as much as a female; and the reason is said to be because of the smallness of the portions, which deserve not such exactness of distribution; for in other cases the rule holds between brother and sister, as well as other relations ^[1] .

[1] See this chap. near the end.

[d] Whoredom] Either adultery or fornication.

[e] Imprison them - till death release them, &c.] Their punishment, in the beginning of Mohammedism, was to be immured till they died, but afterwards this cruel doom was mitigated, and they might avoid it by undergoing the punishment ordained in its stead by the Sonna, according to which the maidens are to be scourged with a hundred stripes, and to be banished for a full year; and the married women to be stoned ^[2] .

[2] Jallalo’ddin.

[f] And if two of you commit the like wickedness, &c.] The commentators are not agreed whether the text speaks of fornication or sodomy. Al Zamakhshari, and from him, al Beidâwi, supposes the former is here meant: but Jallalo’ddin is of opinion that the crime intended in this passage must be committed between two men, and not between a man and a woman; not only because the pronouns are in the masculine gender, but because both are ordered to suffer the same slight punishment, and are both allowed the same repentance and indulgence; and especially for that a different and much severer punishment is appointed for the women in the preceding words. Abu’l Kâsem Hebatallah takes simple fornication to be the crime intended, and that this passage is abrogated by that of the 24th chapter, where the man and the woman who shall be guilty of fornication are ordered to be scourged with a hundred stripes each.

[g] Punish them both;] The original is, Do them some hurt or damage: by which some understand that they are only to reproach them in public ^[1] , or strike them on the head with their slippers ^[2] (a great indignity in the east), tho’ some imagine they may be scourged ^[3] .

[1] Jallalo’ddin, Yahya, Abul Kâsem Habatallah , Al Beidawi.

[2] Jallalo’ddin, Al Beidawi.

[3] Al Beidawi.

[a] It is not lawful for you to be heirs of women against their will.] It was customary among the pagan Arabs, when a man died, for one of his relations to claim a right to his widow, which he asserted by throwing his garment over her; and then he either married her himself, if he thought fit, on assigning her the same dower that her former husband had done, or kept her dower and married her to another, or else refused to let her marry unless she redeemed herself by quitting what she might claim of her husband’s goods ^[4] . This unjust custom is abolished by this passage.

[4] Idem.

[b] Nor to hinder them from marrying others.] Some say these words are directed to husbands who used to imprison their wives without any just cause, and out of covetousness, merely to make them relinquish their dower or their inheritance ^[5] .

[5] Idem.

[c] A manifest crime.] Such as disobedience, ill behaviour, immodesty, and the like ^[6] .

[6] Idem.

[d] If ye be desirous to exchange a wife for another wife, &c.] That is, by divorcing one, and marrying another.

[e] A talent] i.e. Ever so large a dower.

[f] See chap. 2. p. 27.

[g] Ye are also forbidden to take to wife two sisters.] The same was also prohibited by the Levitical law ^[7] .

[7] Levit. xviii. 18.

[h] Ye are also forbidden to take to wife free women who are married, except those women whom ye shall possess as slaves.] According to this passage it is not lawful to marry a free woman that is already married, be she a Mohammedan or not, unless she be legally parted from her husband by divorce; but it is lawful to marry those who are slaves, or taken in war, after they shall have gone through the proper purifications, tho’ their husbands be living. Yet, according to the decision of Abu Hanîfah, it is not lawful to marry such whose husbands shall be taken, or in actual slavery with them ^[1] .

[1] Al Beidawi.

[a] Give them their reward;] That is, assign them their dower.

[b] It shall be no crime in you to make any other agreement among your selves, &c.] That is, either to increase the dower, or to abate some part or even the whole of it.

[c] Ye are the one from the other;] Being alike descended from Adam, and of the same faith ^[2] .

[2] Idem.

[d] The slaves, if guilty of adultery, they shall suffer half the punishment of the free women.] The reason of this is because they are not presumed to have had so good education. A slave, therefore, in such a case, is to have fifty stripes, and to be banished for half a year; but she shall not be stoned, because it is a punishment which cannot be inflicted by halves ^[3] .

[3] Idem.

[e] Of those who have gone before you;] viz. Of the prophets, and other holy and prudent men of former ages ^[4] .

[4] Jallalo’ddin. Al Beidawi.

[f] They who follow their lusts, &c.] Some commentators suppose that these words have a particular regard to the Magians, who formerly were frequently guilty of incestuous marriages, their prophet Zerdusht having allowed them to take their mothers and sisters to wife; and also to the Jews, who likewise might marry within some of the degrees here prohibited ^[5] .

[5] Al Beidawi.

[g] For man was created weak;] Being unable to refrain from women, and too subject to be led away by carnal appetites ^[6] .

[6] Idem, Jallalo’ddin.

[h] Consume not your wealth in vanity;] That is, employ it not in things prohibited by God; such as usury, extortion, rapine, gaming, and the like ^[7] .

[7] Iidem.

[i] Neither slay your selves;] Literally, slay not your souls; i.e. says Jallalo’ddin, by committing mortal sins, or such crimes as will destroy them. Others, however, are of opinion that self-murder, which the gentile Indians did, and still do, often practise in honour of their idols, or else the taking away the life of any true believer, is hereby forbidden ^[8] .

[8] Al Beidawi.

[a] See Wisdom xvi. 14, in the Vulgate.

[b] Grievous sins.] These sins al Beidâwi, from a tradition of Mohammed, reckons to be seven (equaling in number the sins called deadly by Christians), that is to say, idolatry, murder, falsely accusing modest women of adultery, wasting the substance of orphans, taking of usury, desertion in a religious expedition, and disobedience to parents. But Ebn Abbâs says they amount to near seven hundred; and others suppose that idolatry only, of different kinds, in worshipping idols or any creature, either in opposition to or jointly with the true God, is here intended; that sin being generally esteemed by Mohammedans, and in a few lines after declared by the Korân itself, to be the only one which God will not pardon ^[1] .

[1] Idem. See before, chap. 2. p. 11.

[c] Covet not that which God hath bestowed on some of you preferably to others;] Such as honour, power, riches, and other worldly advantages. Some, however, understand this of the distribution of inheritances according to the preceding determinations, whereby some have a larger share than others ^[2] .

[2] Idem, Jallalo’ddin.

[d] Unto the men shall be given a portion of what they shall have gained, &c.] That is, they shall be blessed according to their deserts; and ought, therefore, instead of displeasing God by envying of others, to endeavor to merit his favour by good works and to apply to him by prayer.

[e] Unto those with whom your right hands have made an alliance, give their part, &c.] A precept conformable to an old custom of the Arabs, that where persons mutually entered into a strict friendship or confederacy, the surviving friend should have a sixth part of the deceased’s estate. But this was afterwards abrogated, according to Jallalo’ddin and Al Zamakhshari, at least as to infidels. The passage may likewise be understood of a private contract, whereby the survivor is to inherit a certain part of the substance of him that dies first ^[3] .

[3] V. Al Beidawi.

[f] Because of those advantages wherein God hath caused the one to excel the other;] Such as superior understanding and strength, and the other privileges of the male sex, which enjoys the dignities in church and state, goes to war in defence of God’s true religion, and claims a double share of their deceased ancestors’ estates ^[4] .

[4] Idem.

[g] Both to preserve their husband’s substance from loss or waste, and themselves from all degrees of immodesty ^[5] .

[5] Idem, Jallalo’ddin.

[h] Remove them into separate apartments;] That is, banish them from your bed.

[i] And chastise them.] By this passage the Mohammedans are in plain terms allowed to beat their wives, in case of stubborn disobedience; but not in a violent or dangerous manner ^[6] .

[6] Al Beidawi.

[a] Send a judge, &c.] i.e. Let the magistrate first send two arbitrators or mediators, one on each side, to compose the difference, and prevent, if possible, the ill consequences of an open rupture.

[b] Your neighbor who is of kin to you;] Either of your own nation or religion.

[c] And conceal that which God of his bounty hath given them;] Whether it be wealth, knowledge, or any other talent whereby they may help their neighbour.

[d] God will not wrong any one even the weight of an ant;] Either by diminishing the recompense due to his good actions, or too severely punishing his sins. On the contrary, he will reward the former in the next life far above their deserts. The Arabic word dharra, which is translated an ant, signifies a very small sort of that insect, and is used to denote a thing that is exceeding small, as a mite.

[e] When we shall bring a witness out of each nation, &c.] When the prophet who was sent to each nation in particular, shall on the last day be produced to give evidence against such of them as refused to believe on him, or observed not the laws which he brought.

[f] Against these people.] That is, the Arabians, to whom Mohammed was, as he pretended, more peculiarly sent ^[1] .

[1] See before, c. 2. p. 17.

[g] Come not to prayers when ye are drunk, &c.] It is related, that before the prohibition of wine, Abd’alrahmân Ebn Awf made an entertainment, to which he invited several of the apostle’s companions; and after they had ate and drunk plentifully, the hour of evening prayer being come, one of the company rose up to pray, but being overcome with liquor, made a shameful blunder in reciting a passage of the Korân; whereupon to prevent the danger of any such indecency for the future, this passage was revealed ^[2] .

[2] Al Beidawi.

[h] Take sand and rub your faces and your hands therewith.] See the Prelim. Disc. §. IV.

[a] Those unto whom part of the scripture was delivered;] Meaning the Jews, and particularly their Rabbins.

[b] Who pervert words from their places;] That is (according to the commentators), who change the true sense of the pentateuch by dislocating passages, or by wresting the words according to their own fancies and lusts ^[1] . But Mohammed seems chiefly to intend here the Jews bantering of him in their addresses, by making use of equivocal words, seeming to bear a good sense in Arabic, but spoken by them in derision according to their acceptation in Hebrew; an instance of which he gives in the following words.

[1] Idem, Jallalo’ddin.

[c] Without understanding;] Literally, without being made to hear, or apprehend what we say.

[d] Look upon us;] The original word is Raïna, which being a term of reproach in Hebrew, Mohammed forbade their using to him ^[2] .

[2] See before, c. 2. p. 14.

[e] And regard us.] In Arabic, Ondhorna; which having no ill equivocal meaning, the prophet ordered them to use instead of the former.

[f] And render them as the back parts thereof;] That is, perfectly plain, without eyes, nose, or mouth. The original, however, may also be translated, and turn them behind, by wringing their necks backward.

[g] Those who transgressed on the sabbath day;] And were therefore changed into apes ^[3] .

[3] See before, c. 2. p. 9.

[h] The giving him an equal;] That is, idolatry of all kinds.

[i] To whom he pleaseth;] viz. To those who repent ^[4] .

[4] Al Beidawi.

[k] Those who justify themselves;] i.e. The Christians and Jews, who called themselves the children of God, and his beloved people ^[5] .

[5] Idem, Jallalo’ddin. See c. 5. not far from the beginning.

[k] A hair;] The original word signifies a little skin in the cleft of a date- stone, and is used to express a thing of no value.

[l] In false gods and idols;] The Arabic is, in Jibt and Taghût. The former is supposed to have been the proper name of some idol; but it seems rather to signify any false deity in general. The latter we have explained already ^[6] . It is said that this passage was revealed on the following occasion. Hoyai Ebn Akhtab and Caab Ebn al Ashraf ^[7] , two chief men among the Jews, with several others of that religion, went to Mecca, and offered to enter into a confederacy with the Koreish, and to join their forces against Mohammed. But the Koreish, entertaining some jealousy of them, told them, that the Jews pretended to have a written revelation from heaven, as well as Mohammed, and their doctrines and worship approached much nearer to what he taught, than the religion of their tribe; wherefore, said they, if you would satisfy us that you are sincere in the matter, do as we do, and worship our gods. Which proposal, if the story be true, these Jews complied with, out of their inveterate hatred to Mohammed ^[1] .

[6] See p. 31. note b.

[7] See before, p. 45. not. e.

[1] Al Beidawi.

[a] Shall they have a part of the kingdom, &c.] For the Jews gave out that they should be restored to their ancient power and grandeur ^[2] ; depending, it is to be presumed, on the victorious Messiah whom they expected.

[2] Idem.

[b] The smallest matter;] The original word properly signifies a small dent on the back of a date-stone, and is commonly used to express a thing of little or no value.

[c] Do they envy other men that which God of his bounty hath given them?] viz. The spiritual gifts of prophecy, and divine revelations; and the temporal blessings of victory and success, bestowed on Mohammed and his followers.

[d] We gave them a great kingdom.] Wherefore God will doubtless shew equal favour to this prophet (a descendant also of Abraham,) and those who believe on him ^[3] .

[3] Idem.

[e] Who believeth on him;] Namely, on Mohammed.

[f] God commandeth you to restore what ye are trusted with, to the owners;] This passage, it is said, was revealed on the day of the taking of Mecca, the primary design of it being to direct Mohammed to return the keys of the Caaba to Othmân Ebn Telha Ebn Abdaldâr, who had then the honour to be keeper of that holy place ^[4] , and not to deliver them to his uncle al Abbâs, who having already the custody of the well Zemzem, would fain have had also that of the Caaba. The prophet obeying the divine order, Othmân was so affected with the justice of the action, notwithstanding he had at first refused him entrance, that he immediately embraced Mohammedism; whereupon the guardianship of the Caaba was confirmed to this Othmân and his heirs for ever ^[5] .

[4] See Prideaux’s Life of Mahom. p. 2.

[5] Al Beidawi. See D’Herbel. Bibl. Orient. p. 220, 221.

[g] i.e. To the decision of the Korân.

[a] They desire to go to judgment before Taghût;] That is, before the tribunals of infidels. This passage was occasioned by the following remarkable accident. A certain Jew having a dispute with a wicked Mohammedan, the latter appealed to the judgment of Caab Ebn al Ashraf, a principal Jew, and the former to Mohammed. But at length they agreed to refer the matter to the prophet singly, who, giving it in favour of the Jew, the Mohammedan refused to acquiesce in his sentence, but would needs have it re-heard by Omar, afterwards Khalif. When they came to him, the Jew told him that Mohammed had already decided the affair in his favour, but that the other would not submit to his determination; and the Mohammedan confessing this to be true, Omar bid them stay a little, and fetching his sword, struck off the obstinate Moslem’s head, saying aloud, This is the reward of him who refuseth to submit to the judgment of God and his apostle. And from this action Omar had the surname of al Farûk, which alludes both to his separating that knave’s head from his body, and to his distinguishing between truth and falsehood ^[1] . The name of Taghût ^[2] , therefore, in this place, seems to be given to Caab Ebn al Ashraf.

[1] Jallalo’ddin, Al Beidawi. See D’Herbel. Bibl. Orient. p. 688, and Ockley’s Hist. of the Sarac. v. 1. p. 365.

[2] See before, p. 31.

[b] They will swear they intended no other than to do good, &c.] For this was the excuse of the friends of the Mohammedan whom Omar slew, when they came to demand satisfaction for his blood ^[3] .

[3] Al Beidawi.

[c] After they have injured their own souls;] viz. By acting wickedly, and appealing to the judgment of the infidels.

[d] Slay yourselves, or depart from your houses;] Some understand these words of their venturing their lives in a religious expedition; and others, of their undergoing the same punishments which the Israelites did for their idolatry in worshipping the golden calf ^[4] .

[4] Idem. See before, p. 7.

[e] Take your precaution;] i.e. Be vigilant, and provide yourselves with arms and necessaries.

[a] Who tarrieth behind, &c.] Mohammed here upbraids the hypocritical Moslems, who, for want of faith and constancy in their religion, were backward in going to war for its defence.

[b] As if there was no friendship between you and him;] i.e. As one who attendeth not to the public, but his own private interest. Or else these may be the words of the hypocritical Mohammedan himself, insinuating that he stayed not behind the rest of the army by his own fault, but was left by Mohammed, who chose to let the others share in his good fortune, preferably to him ^[1] .

[1] Al Beidawi.

[c] Who part with the present life in exchange for that which is to come;] By venturing their lives and fortunes in defence of the faith.

[d] Whether he be slain, or be victorious.] For no man ought to quit the field till he either fall a martyr or gain some advantage for the cause ^[2] .

[2] Idem.

[e] In defence of the weak, &c.] viz. Those believers who stayed behind at Mecca, being detained there either forcibly by the idolaters, or for want of means to fly for refuge to Medina. Al Beidâwi observes that children are mentioned here to shew the inhumanity of the Koreish, who persecuted even that tender age.

[f] O Lord bring us forth from this city, and grant us from before thee a protector, &c.] This petition, the commentators say, was heard. For God afforded several of them an opportunity and means of escaping, and delivered the rest at the taking of Mecca by Mohammed, who left Otâb Ebn Osaid governor of the city: and under his care and protection, those who had suffered for their religion became the most considerable men in the place.

[g] Taghût] See before, p. 31.

[h] Hast thou not observed those unto whom it was said, With-hold your hands from war, &c.] These were some of Mohammed’s followers, who readily performed the duties of their religion so long as they were commanded nothing that might endanger their lives.

[i] Our approaching end;] That is, a natural death.

[k] If evil befal them, they say, This is from thee;] As the Jews, in particular, who pretended that their land was grown barren, and provisions scarce, since Mohammed came to Medina ^[3] .

[3] Idem.

[a] Whatever evil befalleth thee, it is from thy self;] These words are not to be understood as contradictory to the preceding, That all proceeds from God; since the evil which befalls mankind, tho’ ordered by God, is yet the consequence of their own wicked actions.

[b] We have not sent thee to be a keeper over them;] Or, to take an account of their actions, for this is God’s part.

[c] If God’s mercy had not been upon you, ye had followed the devil, except a few of you;] That is, if God had not sent his apostle with the Korân to instruct you in your duty, ye had continued in idolatry and been doomed to destruction; except only those who, by God’s favour and their superior understanding, should have true notions of the divinity; such, for example, as Zeid Ebn Amru Ebn Nofail ^[1] and Waraka Ebn Nawfal ^[2] , who left idols, and acknowledged but one God, before the mission of Mohammed ^[3] .

[1] V. Millium, de Mohammedismo ante Moh. p. 311.

[2] See the Prelim. Disc. p. 43.

[3] Al Beidawi.

[d] And oblige not any to what is difficult except thy self;] It is said this passage was revealed when the Mohammedans refused to follow their prophet to the lesser expedition of Bedr, so that he was obliged to set out with no more than 70 ^[4] . Some copies vary in this place, and instead of la tokallafo, in the second person singular, read la nokallafo, in the first person plural, We do not oblige, &c. The meaning being, that the prophet only was under an indispensable necessity of obeying God’s commands, however difficult, but others might choose, tho’ at their peril.

[4] See before, ch. 3. p. 56.

[e] With a good intercession;] i.e. To maintain the right of a believer, or to prevent his being wronged.

[f] Salute the person with a better salutation;] By adding something farther. As when one salutes another by this form, Peace be unto thee, he ought not only to return the salutation, but to add, and the mercy of God and his blessing.

[g] Why are ye divided concerning the ungodly into two parties;] This passage was revealed, according to some, when certain of Mohammed’s followers, pretending not to like Medina, desired leave to go elsewhere, and, having obtained it, went farther and farther, till they joined the idolaters; or, as others say, on occasion of some deserters at the battle of Ohod; concerning whom the Moslems were divided in opinion whether they should be slain as infidels, or not.

[a] A people who are in alliance with you;] The people here meant, say some, were the tribe of Khozâah, or, according to others, the Aslamians, whose chief, named Helâl Ebn Owaimar, agreed with Mohammed, when he set out against Mecca, to stand neuter; or, as others rather think, Banu Becr Ebn Zeid ^[1] .

[1] Al Beidawi, Jallalo’ddin.

[b] Whose hearts forbid them to fight either against you, or their own people;] These, it is said, were the tribe of Modlaj, who came in to Mohammed, but would not be obliged to assist him in war ^[2] .

[2] Al Beidawi.

[c] Who desire to enter into confidence with you;] The person hinted at here were the tribes of Asad and Ghatfân, or, as some say, Banu Abdaldâr, who came to Medina and pretended to embrace Mohammedism, that they might be trusted by the Moslems, but when they returned, fell back to their old idolatry ^[3] .

[3] Idem.

[d] Unless it be by mistake;] That is, by accident and without design. This passage was revealed to decide the case of Ayâsh Ebn Abi Rabîa, the brother, by the mother’s side, of Abu Jahl, who meeting Hareth Ebn Zeid on the road, and not knowing that he had embraced Mohammedism, slew him ^[4] .

[4] Idem.

[e] And a fine to be paid to the family of the deceased;] Which fine is to be distributed according to the laws of inheritances given in the beginning of this chapter ^[5] .

[5] Idem.

[f] The freeing of a true believer And no fine shall be paid, because in such case his relations, being infidels and at open war with the Moslems, have no right to inherit what he leaves.

[g] He shall remain therein for ever;] That is, unless he repent. Others, however, understand not here an eternity of damnation (for it is the general doctrine of the Mohammedans that none who profess that faith shall continue in hell for ever) but only a long space of time ^[1] .

[1] Al Beidawi.

[a] Say not unto him who saluteth you, Thou art not a true believer;] On pretence that he only feigns to be a Moslem, that he might escape from you. The commentators mention more instances than one of persons slain and plundered by Mohammed’s men under this pretext, notwithstanding they declared themselves Moslems by repeating the usual form of words, and saluting them; for which reason this passage was revealed, to prevent such rash judgments for the future.

[b] Seeking the accidental goods of the present life;] That is, being willing to judge him an infidel, only that ye may kill and plunder him.

[c] Such were ye formerly, &c.] viz. At your first profession of Islamism, before ye had given any demonstrations of your sincerity and zeal therein.

[d] i.e. Not being disabled from going to war by sickness, or other just impediment. It is said that when the passage was first revealed there was no such exception therein, which occasioned Ebn Omm Mactûm, on his hearing it repeated, to object, And what tho’ I be blind? Whereupon Mohammed, falling into a kind of trance, which was succeeded by strong agitations, pretended he had received the divine direction to add these words to the text ^[2] .

[2] Idem.

[e] Those whom the angels put to death, &c.] These were certain inhabitants of Mecca, who held with the hare and ran with the hounds, for tho’ they embraced Mohammedism, yet they would not leave that city to join the prophet, as the rest of the Moslems did, but on the contrary went out with the idolaters, and were therefore slain with them at the battle of Bedr ^[3] .

[3] Idem, Jallalo’ddin.

[f] Being unable to fly, and compelled to follow the infidels to war.

[g] Was not God’s earth wide enough, that ye might fly to a place of refuge?;] As they did who fled to Ethiopia and to Medina.

[h] If death overtake him in the way;] This passage was revealed, says al Beidâwi, on account of Jondob Ebn Damra. This person being sick, was, in his flight, carried by his sons on a couch, and before he arrived at Medina, perceiving his end approached, he clapped his right hand on his left, and solemnly plighting his faith to God and his apostle, died.

[a] And let them stand behind you;] To defend those who are at prayers, and to face the enemy.

[b] Take your necessary precaution;] By keeping strict guard.

[c] Standing, and sitting, and lying on your sides;] That is, in such posture as ye shall be able ^[1] .

[1] See before, ch. 3. p. 58.

[d] Be not negligent in seeking out the unbelievers, &c.] This verse was revealed on occasion of the unwillingness of Mohammed’s men to accompany him in the lesser expedition of Bedr ^[2] .

[2] Al Beidawi.

[e] And be not an advocate for the fraudulent, &c.] Tima Ebn Obeirak, of the sons of Dhafar, one of Mohammed’s companions, stole a coat of mail from his neighbour, Kitâda Ebn al Nomân, in a bag of meal, and hid it at a Jew’s, named Zeid Ebn al Samîn; Tima, being suspected, the coat of mail was demanded of him, but he denying he knew anything of it, they followed the track of the meal, which had run out through a hole in the bag, to the Jew’s house, and there seized it, accusing him of the theft; but he producing witnesses of his own religion that he had it of Tima, the sons of Dhafar came to Mohammed and desired him to defend his companion’s reputation, and condemn the Jew; which he having some thoughts of doing, this passage was revealed, reprehending him for his rash intention, and commanding him to judge not according to his own prejudice and opinion, but according to the merit of the case ^[3] .

[3] Idem, Jallalo’ddin, Yahya.

[f] For God loveth not him who is a deceiver or unjust;] Al Beidâwi, as an instance of the divine justice, adds, that Tima, after the fact above mentioned, fled to Mecca, and returned to idolatry; and there undermining the wall of a house, in order to commit a robbery, the wall fell in upon him and crushed him to death.

[g] When they imagine by night a saying which pleaseth him not;] That is, when they secretly contrive means, by false evidence or otherwise, to lay their crimes on innocent persons.

[a] A part of them had studied to seduce thee;] Meaning the sons of Dhafar.

[b] And hath taught thee that which thou knewest not;] By instructing them in the knowledge of right and wrong, and the rules of justice.

[c] We will cause him to obtain that to which he is inclined;] viz. Error, and false notions of religion.

[d] The infidels invoke beside him only female deities;] Namely, Allât, al Uzza, and Menât, the idols of the Meccans; or the angels, whom they called the daughters of God ^[1] .

[1] See the Prelim. Disc. §. I. p 17; &c.

[e] A part cut off from the rest;] Or, as the original may be translated, a part destined or predetermined to be seduced by me.

[f] And they shall cut off the ears of cattle;] Which was done out of superstition by the old pagan Arabs. See more of this custom in the notes to the 5th chapter.

[g] And they shall change God’s creature;] Either by maiming it, or putting it to uses not designed by the Creator. Al Beidâwi supposes the text to intend not only the superstitious amputations of the ears and other parts of cattle, but the castration of slaves, the marking their bodies with figures, by pricking and dyeing them with wood or indigo (as the Arabs did and still do), the sharpening their teeth by filing; and also sodomy, and the unnatural amours between those of the female sex, the worship of the sun, moon, and other parts of nature, and the like.

[h] Besides God;] i.e. By leaving the service of God, and doing the works of the devil.

[a] It shall not be according to your desires, nor according to the desires of those who have received the scriptures;] That is, the promises of God are not to be gained by acting after your own fancies, nor yet after the fancies of the Jews or Christians, but by obeying the commands of God. This passage, they say, was revealed on a dispute which arose between those of the three religions, each preferring his own, and condemning the others. Some, however, suppose the persons here spoken to in the second person were not the Mohammedans, but the idolaters ^[1] .

[1] Al Beidawi, Jallalo’ddin, Yahya.

[b] Since God took Abraham for his friend;] Therefore the Mohammedans usually call that patriarch, as the scripture also does, Khalîl Allah, the Friend of God, and simply al Khalîl; and they tell the following story: That Abraham in a time of dearth sent to a friend of his in Egypt for a supply of corn; but the friend denied him, saying in his excuse, that tho’ there was a famine in their country also, yet had it been for Abraham’s own family, he would have sent what he desired, but he knew he wanted it only to entertain his guests and give away to the poor, according to his usual hospitality. The servants whom Abraham had sent on this message, being ashamed to return empty, to conceal the matter from their neighbours, filled their sacks with fine white sand, which in the east pretty much resembles meal. Abraham being informed by his servants, on their return of their ill success, the concern he was under threw him into a sleep; and in the meantime Sarah, knowing nothing of what had happened, opening one of the sacks, found good flour in it, and immediately set out about making of bread. Abraham awaking and smelling the new bread, asked her whence she had the flower? Why, says she, from your friend in Egypt. Nay, replied the Patriarch, it must have come from no other than my friend God Almighty ^[2] .

[2] Al Beidawi. See D’Herbel. Bibl. Orient. p. 14, & Morgan’s Mahometism Explained, V. 1. p. 132.

[c] They will consult thee concerning women;] i.e. As to the share they are to have in the distribution of the inheritances of their deceased relations; for it seems that the Arabs were not satisfied with Mohammed’s decision on this point, against the old customs.

[d] God instructeth you concerning them, &c.] i.e. He hath already made his will known unto you, by revealing the passages concerning inheritances in the beginning of this chapter.

[e] Neither will ye marry them;] Or the words may be rendered in the affirmative, and whom ye desire to marry. For the pagan Arabs used to wrong their female orphans in both instances; obliging them to marry against their inclinations, if they were beautiful or rich; or else not suffering them to marry at all, that they might keep what belonged to them ^[3] .

[3] Al Beidawi.

[f] And concerning weak infants;] That is, male children of tender years, to whom the Arabs, in the time of paganism, used to allow no share in the distribution of their parents estate ^[4] .

[4] See before, p. 61. not. c.

[g] If they agree the matter between themselves;] viz. By the wife’s remitting part of her dower or other dues.

[a] Men’s souls are naturally inclined to covetousness;] So that the woman, on the one side, is unwilling to part with any of her right; and the husband, on the other, cares not to retain one he has no affection for; or, if he should retain her, she can scarce expect he will use her in all respects as he ought ^[1] .

[1] Al Beidawi.

[b] Turn not from a wife with all manner of aversion;] i.e. Tho’ you cannot use her equally well with a beloved wife, yet observe some measures of justice towards her; for if a man is not able perfectly to perform his duty, he ought not, for that reason, entirely to neglect it ^[2] .

[2] Idem.

[c] Nor leave her like one in suspense;] Or like one that neither has a husband, nor is divorced and at liberty to marry elsewhere.

[d] God will satisfy them both, &c.] That is, either will bless them with a better and more advantageous match, or with peace and tranquility of mind ^[3] .

[3] Idem.

[e] God is self-sufficient;] Wanting the service of no creature.

[f] And will produce others, &c.] i.e. Either another race of men, or a different species of creatures.

[g] Believe in God and his apostle, &c.] It is said that Abda’llah Ebn Salâm and his companions told Mohammed that they believed in him, and his Korân, and in Moses, and the pentateuch, and in Ezra, but no farther; whereupon this passage was revealed, declaring that a partial faith is little better than none at all, and that a true believer must believe in all God’s prophets and revelations without exception ^[4] .

[4] Idem.

[h] They who believed and afterwards became infidels; and then believed again, and after that disbelieved, and again increased in infidelity;] These were the Jews, who first believed in Moses, and afterwards fell into idolatry by worshiping the golden calf; and tho’ they repented of that, yet in after ages rejected the prophets who were sent to them, and particularly Jesus, the son of Mary, and now filled up the measure of their unbelief by rejecting of Mohammed ^[5] .

[5] Idem.

[a] Declare unto the ungodly, &c.] Mohammed here means those who hypocritically pretended to believe in him but really did not, and by their treachery did great mischief to his party ^[1] .

[1] Al Beidawi.

[b] In the Koran;] Chap. 6.

[c] Were we not with you;] i.e. Did we not assist you? Therefore give us part of the spoil ^[2] .

[2] Idem.

[d] Were we not superior to you;] Would not our army have cut you off, if it had not been for our faint assistance, or rather desertion, of the Moslems, and our disheartening them ^[3] ?

[3] Idem.

[e] Unless a little;] That is, with the tongue, and not with the heart.

[f] Adhering neither unto these nor unto those;] Halting between two opinions, and being staunch friends neither to the Moslems nor the infidels.

[g] The hypocrites shall be in the lowest bottom of hell fire;] See the Preliminary Discourse, §. IV. p.92

[h] See c. 2. p. 34. not. b.

[a] They who have received the scriptures;] That is, the Jews; who demanded of Mohammed, as a proof of his mission, that they might see a book of revelations descend to him from heaven, or that he would produce one written in a celestial character, like the two tables of Moses.

[b] Shew us God visibly, &c.] See chap. 2. p. 7.
This story seems to be an addition to what Moses says of the seventy elders, who went up to the mountain with him, and with Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and saw the God of Israel ^[1] .

[1] Exod. xxiv. 9, 10, 11.

[c] See chap. 2. p. 6.

[d] See ibid. p. 7. not. a.

[e] See ibid. p. 9.

[f] See ibid. p. 7.

[g] Therefore for that, &c.] There being nothing in the following words of this sentence, to answer to the causal for that, Jallalo’ddin supposes something to be understood to complete the sense, as, therefore we have cursed them, or the like.

[h] And have spoken against Mary a grievous calumny;] By accusing her of fornication ^[2] .

[2] See the Kor. ch. 19, and that virulent book intitled Toldoth Jesu.

[i] Yet they slew him not, &c.] See chap. 3. p. 42, and the notes there.

[k] Who disagreed concerning him;] For some maintained that he was justly and really crucified; some insisted that it was not Jesus who suffered, but another who resembled him in the face, pretending the other parts of his body, by their unlikeness, plainly discovered the imposition; some said he was taken up into heaven; and others, that his manhood only suffered, and that his godhead ascended into heaven ^[3] .

[3] Al Beidawi.

[l] There shall not be one of those who have received the scriptures, who shall not believe in him, before his death;] This passage is expounded two ways.
Some, referring the relative his, to the first antecedent, take the meaning to be, that no Jew or Christian shall die, before he believes in Jesus: for they say, that when one of either of those religions is ready to breathe his last, and sees the angel of death before him, he shall then believe in that prophet as he ought, tho’ his faith will not then be of any avail. According to a tradition of Hejâj, when a Jew is expiring, the angels will strike him on the back and face, and say to him, O thou enemy of God, Jesus was sent as a prophet unto thee, and thou didst not believe on him; to which he will answer, I now believe him to be the servant of God: and to a dying Christian they will say, Jesus was sent as a prophet unto thee, and thou hast imagined him to be God, or the son of God; whereupon he will believe him to be the servant of God only, and his apostle.
Others, taking the above-mentioned relative to refer to Jesus, suppose the intent of the passage to be, that all Jews and Christians in general shall have a right faith in that prophet before his death, that is, when he descends from heaven and returns into the world, where he is to kill Antichrist, and to establish the Mohammedan religion, and a most perfect tranquility and security on earth ^[1] .

[1] Jallalo’ddin, Yahya, Al Zamakhshari, and Al Beidawi.

[a] He shall be a witness against them;] i.e. Against the Jews, for rejecting him; and against the Christians, for calling him God, and the Son of God ^[2] .

[2] Al Beidawi.

[b] See chap. 3. p. 42 and 47, and the notes there.

[c] Those among them who are well grounded in knowledge;] Abda’llah Ebn Salâm, and his companions ^[3] .

[3] Idem.

[d] Exceed not the just bounds in your religion;] Either by rejecting and contemning of Jesus as the Jews do; or raising him to an equality with God, as do the Christians ^[4] .

[4] Idem.

[a] Say not, There are three Gods;] Namely, God, Jesus, and Mary ^[1] . For the eastern writers mention a sect of Christians which held the Trinity to be composed of those three ^[2] ; but it is allowed that this heresy has been long since extinct ^[3] . The passage however, is equally levelled against the Holy Trinity, according to the doctrine of the orthodox Christians, who, as al Beidâwi acknowledges, believe the divine nature to consist of three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; by the Father understanding God’s essence; by the Son his knowledge, and by the Holy Ghost, his life.

[1] Al Beidawi, Jallalo’ddin, Yahya.

[2] Elmacin. p. 227. Eutych. p. 120. See the Prelim. Disc. §. II. p. 35.

[3] Ahmed Ebn Abd’al Halim.

[b] An evident proof and manifest light;] That is, Mohammed and his Korân.

[c] In the right way to him;] viz. Into the religion of Islâm, in this world, and the way to paradise in the next ^[4] .

[4] Al Beidawi.

[d] See the beginning of this chapter. p. 62.

[e] She shall have the half of what he shall leave;] And the other half will go to the public treasury.

[f] And he shall be heir to her;] That is, he shall inherit her whole substance.