he turned unto you, for he is easy to be reconciled, and merciful. And when ye said, O Moses, we will not believe thee, until we see God manifestly; therefore a punishment came upon you, while ye looked on; then we raised you to life after ye had been dead, that peradventure ye might give thanks." And we caused clouds to overshadow you, and manna and quails to descend upon you, saying, Eat of the good things which we have given you for food: and they injured not us, but injured their own souls. And when we said, Enter into this city, and eat of the provisions thereof plentifully as ye will; and enter the gate worshiping, and say, Forgiveness! we will pardon you your sins, and give increase unto the welldoers. But the ungodly changed the expression into another, different from what had been spoken unto them; and we sent down upon the ungodly indignation from heaven, because they had transgressed. And when Moses asked drink for his people, we said, Strike the rock with thy rod; and there gushed thereout twelve fountains according to the number of the tribes, and all men knew their respective drinking-place. Eat and drink of the bounty of God, and commit not evil in the earth, acting unjustly. And when ye said, O Moses, we will by no means be satisfied with one kind of food; pray unto thy Lord, therefore for us, that he would produce for us of which the earth bringeth forth, herbs, and cucumbers, and garlic, and lentils, and onions; Moses answered, Will ye exchange that which is better for that which is worse? Get ye down into Egypt, for there shall ye find what ye desire: and they were smitten with vileness and misery, and drew on themselves indignation from God. This they suf fered, because they believed not in the signs of God, and killed the prophets unjustly; this, because they rebelled and transgressed.

Surely those who believe, and those who Judaize, and

5 The persons here meant are said to have been seventy men, who were made choice of by Moses, and heard the voice of God talking with him. But not being satisfied with that, they demanded to see God; whereupon they were all struck dead by lightning, and on Moses's intercession restored to life.

6

Christians, and Sabians, whoever believeth in God, and the last day, and doth that which is right, they shall have their reward with their Lord; there shall come no fear on them, neither shall they be grieved. Call to mind also when we accepted your covenant, and lifted up the mountain of Sinai over you, saying, Receive the law which we have given you, with a resolution to keep it, and remember that which is contained therein, that ye may beware. After this ye again turned back, so that if it had not been for God's indulgence and mercy toward you, ye had certainly been destroyed.

Moreover ye know what befell those of your nation who transgressed on the Sabbath day,' We said unto them, Be ye

• From these words, which are repeated in the fifth chapter, several writers have wrongly concluded that the Mohammedans hold it to be the doctrine of their prophet that every man may be saved in his own religion, provided he be sincere and lead a good life. It is true, some of their doctors do agree this to be the purport of the words; but then they say the latitude hereby granted was soon revoked, for that this passage is abrogated by several others in the Koran, which expressly declare that none can be saved who is not of the Mohammedan faith, and particularly by those words of the third chapter, "Whoever followeth any other religion than Islam (i.e., the Mohammedan) it shall not be accepted of him, and at the last day he shall be of those who perish." However, others are of opinion that this passage is not abrogated, but interpret it differently, taking the meaning of it to be that no man, whether he be a Jew, a Christian, or a Sabian, shall be excluded from salvation, provided he quit his erroneous religion and become a Moslem, which they say is intended by the following words, "Whoever believeth in God and the last day, and doth that which is right."

7 The story to which this passage refers is as follows. In the days of David some Israelites dwelt at Ailah, or Elath, on the Red Sea, where on the night of the Sabbath the fish used to come in great numbers to the shore, and stay there all the Sabbath, to tempt them; but the night following they returned into the sea again. At length some of the inhabitants, neglecting God's command, caught fish on the Sabbath, and dressed and ate them; and afterward cut canals from the sea, for the fish to enter, with sluices, which they shut on the Sabbath, to prevent their return to the sea. The other part of the inhabitants, who strictly observed the Sabbath, used both persuasion and force to stop this impiety, but to no purpose, the offenders growing only more and more obstinate; whereupon David cursed the Sabbath-breakers, and God transformed them into apes. It is said that one going to see a friend of his that was among them, found him in the shape of an ape, moving his eyes about wildly; and asking him whether he was not such a one, the

changed into apes, driven away from the society of men. And we made them an example unto those who were contemporary with them, and unto those who came after them, and a warning to the pious. And when Moses said unto his people, Verily God commandeth you to sacrifice a cow; they answered, Dost thou make a jest of us? Moses said, God for

They said, Pray for

bid that I should be one of the foolish. us unto thy Lord, that he would show us what cow it is. Moses answered, He saith, She is neither an old cow, nor a young heifer, but of a middle age between both: do ye therefore that which ye are commanded. They said, Pray for us unto thy Lord, that he would show us what color she is of. Moses answered, He saith, She is a red cow, intensely red, her color rejoiceth the beholders. They said, Pray for us unto thy Lord, that he would further show us what cow it is, for several cows with us are like one another, and we, if God please, will be directed. Moses answered, He saith, She is a cow not broken to plow the earth, or water the field, a sound one; there is no blemish in her. They said, Now hast thou brought the truth. Then they sacrificed her; yet they wanted little of leaving it undone. And when ye slew a man, and contended among yourselves concerning him, God brought forth to light that which ye concealed. For we said, Strike the dead body with part of the sacrificed cow: so God raiseth the dead to life, and showeth you his signs, that peradventure ye may understand. Then were your hearts hardened after this, even as stones, or exceeding them in hardness: for from stones have rivers bursted forth, others have been rent in sunder, and water hath issued from them, and others have fallen down for fear of God. But God is not regardless of that which ye do. Do ye therefore desire that the Jews should believe you? yet a part of them heard the word of God, and then perverted it, after they had understood it, against their own conscience. And when they meet the true believers, ape made a sign with his head that it was he; whereupon the friend said to him, "Did not I advise you to desist?" at which the ape wept. They add that these unhappy people remained three days in this condition, and were afterward destroyed by a wind which swept them all into the sea.

they say, We believe: but when they are privately assembled together, they say, Will ye acquaint them with what God hath revealed unto you, that they may dispute with you concerning it in the presence of your Lord? Do ye not therefore understand? Do not they know that God knoweth that which they conceal as well as that which they publish?

But there are illiterate men among them, who know not the book of the law, but only lying stories, although they think otherwise. And woe unto them who transcribe corruptly the book of the law with their hands, and then say, This is from God: that they may sell it for a small price. Therefore woe unto them because of that which their hands have written; and woe unto them for that which they have gained. They say, The fire of hell shall not touch us but for a certain number of days. Answer, Have ye received any promise from God to that purpose? for God will not act contrary to his promise: or do ye speak concerning God that which ye know not? Verily whoso doth evil, and are encompassed by his iniquity, they shall be the companions of hell fire, they shall remain therein forever: but they do believe and do good works, they shall be the companions of paradise, they shall continue therein forever. Remember also, when we accepted the covenant of the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall not worship any other except God, and ye shall show kindness to your parents and kindred, and to orphans, and to the poor, and speak that which is good unto men, and be constant at prayer, and give alms. Afterward ye turned back, except a few of you, and retired afar off. And when we accepted your covenant, saying, Ye shall not shed your brother's blood, nor dispossess one another of your habitations. Then ye confirmed it, and were witnesses thereto. Afterward ye were they who slew one another, and turned several of your brethren out of their houses, mutually assisting each other against them with injustice and enmity; but if they come captives unto you, ye redeem them: yet it is equally unlawful for you to dispossess them. Do ye therefore believe in part of the book of the law, and reject other parts thereof? But whoso among you doth this shall have no other reward than shame

in this life, and on the day of resurrection they shall be sent to a most grievous punishment; for God is not regardless of that which ye do.

These are they who have purchased this present life at the price of that which is to come; wherefore their punishment shall not be mitigated, neither shall they be helped. We formerly delivered the book of the law unto Moses, and caused apostles to succeed him, and gave evident miracles to Jesus the son of Mary, and strengthened him with the holy spirit. Do ye therefore, wherever an apostle cometh unto you with that which your souls desire not, proudly reject him, and accuse some of imposture, and slay others? The Jews say, Our hearts are uncircumcised: but God hath cursed them with their infidelity, therefore few shall believe. And when a book came unto them from God, confirming the scriptures which were with them, although they had before prayed for assistance against those who believed not, yet when that came unto them which they knew to be from God, they would not believe therein: therefore the curse of God shall be on the infidels. For a vile price have they sold their souls, that they should not believe in that which God hath sent down; out of envy, because God sendeth down his favors to such of his servants as he pleaseth: therefore they brought on themselves indignation on indignation; and the unbelievers shall suffer an ignominious punishment. When one saith unto them, Believe in that which God hath sent down: they answer, We believe in that which hath been sent down unto us: and they reject what hath been revealed since, although it be the truth, confirming that which is with them. Say, Why therefore have ye slain the prophets of God in times past, if ye be true believers? Moses formerly came unto you with evident signs, but ye afterward took the calf for your god and did wickedly. And when we accepted your covenant, and lifted the mountain of Sinai over you, saying, Receive the law which we have given you, with a resolution to perform it, and hear; they said, We have heard, and have rebelled: and they were made to drink down the calf into their hearts for their unbelief. Say, A grievous thing hath your faith commanded you,