The Koran Part 153

Now have we sent down distinct signs.-And G.o.d guideth whom He will into the right path:

For there are who say "We believe on G.o.d and on the Apostle, and we obey;"

yet, after this, a part of them turn back.16 But these are not of the faithful.

And when they are summoned before G.o.d and His Apostle that He may judge between them, lo! a part of them withdraw:

But had the truth been on their side, they would have come to Him, obedient.

What! are they diseased of heart? Do they doubt? Are they afraid that G.o.d and His Apostles will deal unfairly with them? Nay, themselves are the unjust doers.

The words of the believers, when called to G.o.d and His Apostle that He may judge between them, are only to say, "We have heard, and we obey:" these are they with whom it shall be well.

And whoso shall obey G.o.d, and His Apostle, and shall dread G.o.d and fear Him, these are they that shall be the blissful.

And they have sworn by G.o.d, with a most solemn oath, that if thou give them the word, they will certainly march forth. Say: swear ye not: of more worth is obedience. Verily, G.o.d is well aware of what ye do.

SAY: Obey G.o.d and obey the Apostle. Suppose that ye turn back, still the burden of his duty is on him only, and the burden of your duty rests on you.

If ye obey Him, ye shall have guidance: but plain preaching is all that devolves upon the Apostle.

G.o.d hath promised to those of you who believe and do the things that are right, that He will cause them to succeed others in the land, as He gave succession to those who were before them, and that He will establish for them that religion which they delight in, and that after their fears He will give them security in exchange. They shall worship Me: nought shall they join with Me: And whoso, after this, believe not, they will be the impious.

But observe prayer, and pay the stated alms, and obey the Apostle, that haply ye may find mercy.

Let not the Infidels think that they can weaken G.o.d on His own Earth: their dwelling place shall be the Fire! and right wretched the journey!

O ye who believe! let your slaves, and those of you who have not come of age, ask leave of you, three times a day, ere they come into your presence;-before the morning prayer, and when ye lay aside your garments at mid-day, and after the evening prayer. These are your three times of privacy. No blame shall attach to you or to them, if after these times, when ye go your rounds of attendance on one another, they come in without permission. Thus doth G.o.d make clear to you His signs: and G.o.d is Knowing, Wise!

And when your children come of age, let them ask leave to come into your presence, as they who were before them asked it. Thus doth G.o.d make clear to you his signs: and G.o.d is Knowing, Wise.

As to women who are past childbearing, and have no hope of marriage, no blame shall attach to them if they lay aside their outer garments, but so as not to shew their ornaments. Yet if they abstain from this, it will be better for them: and G.o.d Heareth, Knoweth.

No crime17 shall it be in the blind, or in the lame, or in the sick, to eat at your tables: or in yourselves, if ye eat in your own houses, or in the houses of your fathers, or of your mothers, or of your brothers, or of your sisters, or of your uncles on the father's side, or of your aunts on the father's side, or of your uncles on the mother's side, or of your aunts on the mother's side, or in those of which ye possess the keys, or in the house of your friend. No blame shall attach to you whether ye eat together or apart.

And when ye enter houses, salute one another with a good and blessed greeting as from G.o.d. Thus doth G.o.d make clear to you His signs, that haply ye may comprehend them.

Verily, they only are believers who believe in G.o.d and His Apostle, and who, when they are with him upon any affair of common interest, depart not until they have sought his leave. Yes, they who ask leave of thee, are those who believe in G.o.d and His Apostle. And when they ask leave of Thee on account of any affairs of their own, then grant it to those of them whom thou wilt, and ask indulgence for them of G.o.d: for G.o.d is Indulgent, Merciful.

Address not the Apostle as ye address one another.18 G.o.d knoweth those of you who withdraw quietly from the a.s.semblies, screening themselves behind others.

And let those who transgress his command beware, lest some present trouble befall them, or a grievous chastis.e.m.e.nt befall them, hereafter.

Is not whatever is in the Heavens and the Earth G.o.d's? He knoweth your state; and one day shall men be a.s.sembled before Him, and He will tell them of what they have done: for G.o.d knoweth all things.

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1 With this verse commences the reference to the scandal against Ayesha, to which verses 6-9 read like a later addition. See His. 731 ff. Albuhari, pa.s.sim. Muslim ii. 628 ff. Tirm. 524. Tabari and Weil, p. 151.

2 Said to refer to Hilal ben Umaiya (Muslim i. 886. Tirm. 523. Annasai, 409 f. a.s.samarq.) who had accused his wife of adultery. Two of these commentators, however, give the name of another Muslim as the person intended.

3 Comp. Numb. v. ii, 31, with which Muhammad must have been acquainted.

4 The rumour of improper intimacy between Ayesha and Safwan Ibn El Moattal, during Muhammad's return from the expedition against the tribe of Mostaliq (an. Hej. 9), in which he was separated from her for an entire day, which she pa.s.sed in the company of Safwan, who had found her when accidentally left behind. Verses 4-26 were revealed shortly after the return.

5 Whose characters are cleared.

6 Abdallah Ibn Obba. (Abulf. p. 83.)

7 Comp. verse 10, 11 (n.).

8 Abubekr had been desirous to punish one of his relatives, Mestah, who had propagated the scandal against Ayesha, by refusing him gifts or alms.

9 "The very members of a man shall testify against him, for thus we read (Jer. xliii. 12), Ye are yourselves my witnesses saith the Lord." Chagiga, 16. Thaanith, 11a.

10 It was the custom in Arabia, before Islam, to enter houses without permission. Freyt. Einl. p. 216.

11 That is, the anklets. Comp. Isai. iii. 16, 18

12 On account of poverty.

13 Comp. Deut. xv. 12 15.

14 The meaning probably is, that the scandal raised against Ayesha resembled the scandal in the case of Joseph in Egypt, and of the Virgin Mary, detailed in previous suras.

15 An idea perhaps derived from Gen. i. 20, 21. Comp. Tr. Cholin, fol. 27a.

16 Verses 46-56 obviously refer to a period, perhaps that between the battle of Ohod and the end of the war of the Ditch, when Muhammad's prospects were overclouded and the confidence of his followers shaken.

17 This verse was intended to relieve the scruples of the Muslims, who.

following the superst.i.tious customs of the Arabs, thought that they ought not to admit the blind, etc. to their tables, to eat alone, or in a house of which they were entrusted with the key, etc.

18 Lit. make not the calling of the Apostle among you, like the calling of some of you to others, i.e., address him by some respectful and honourable t.i.tle. Thus in the Talmud, "It is forbidden to a disciple to call his Rabbi by name even when he is not in his presence;" and again: "Neither is he to salute his Rabbi, nor to return his salutation, in the same way that salutations are given and returned among friends." "Whoever despises the wise men hath no portion in the world to come." See Hilchoth Torah, c.5.

SURA LVIII.-SHE WHO PLEADED [CVI.]

MEDINA.-22 Verses

In the Name of G.o.d, the Compa.s.sionate, the Merciful

G.o.d hath heard the words of HER1 WHO PLEADED with thee against her husband, and made her plaint to G.o.d; and G.o.d hath heard your mutual intercourse: for G.o.d Heareth, Beholdeth.

As to those of you who put away their wives by saying, "Be thou to me as my mother's back" their mothers2 they are not; they only are their mothers who gave them birth! they certainly say a blameworthy thing and an untruth:

But truly, G.o.d is Forgiving, Indulgent.

And those who thus put away their wives, and afterwards would recall their words, must free a captive before they can come together again. To this are ye warned to conform: and G.o.d is aware of what ye do.

And he who findeth not a captive to set free, shall fast two months in succession before they two come together. And he who shall not be able to do so, shall feed sixty poor men. This, that he may believe in G.o.d and His Apostle. These are the statutes of G.o.d: and for the unbelievers is an afflictive chastis.e.m.e.nt!