Part 13

Relate _unto them_, in the book (_that is, the Ḳur-án_), _the history of_ Abraham. Verily he was a person of great veracity, a prophet. When he said unto his father _A´zar, who worshipped idols_, O my father, wherefore dost thou worship that which heareth not, nor seeth, nor averteth from thee aught, _whether of advantage or of injury_? O my father, verily [a degree] of knowledge hath come unto me, that hath not come unto thee: therefore follow me: I will direct thee into a right way. O my father, serve not the devil, _by obeying him in serving idols_; for the devil is very rebellious unto the Compassionate. O my father, verily I fear that a punishment will betide thee from the Compassionate, _if thou repent not_, and that thou wilt be unto the devil an aider, _and a companion in hell-fire_.—He replied, Art thou a rejector of my Gods, O Abraham, _and dost thou revile them_? If thou abstain not, I will assuredly assail thee _with stones or with ill words; therefore beware of me_, and leave me for a long time.—_Abraham_ said, Peace _from me_ be on thee! I will ask pardon for thee of my Lord; for He is gracious unto me: and I will separate myself from you and from what ye invoke instead of God; and I will call upon my Lord: perhaps I shall not be unsuccessful in calling upon my Lord, _as ye are in calling upon idols_.—And when he had separated himself from them, and from what they worshipped instead of God, _by going to the Holy Land_, We gave him _two sons, that he might cheer himself thereby, namely_, Isaac and Jacob; and each [of them] We made a prophet; and We bestowed upon them (_namely, the three_), of our mercy, _wealth and children_; and We caused them to receive high commendation.

(xix. 42-51.)

We gave unto Abraham his direction formerly, _before he had attained to manhood_; and We knew him _to be worthy of it_. When he said unto his father and his people, What are these images, to _the worship of_ which ye are devoted?—they answered, We found our fathers worshipping them, _and we have followed their example_. He said _unto them_, Verily ye and your fathers have been in a manifest error. They said, Hast thou come unto us with truth _in saying this_, or art thou of those who jest? He answered, Nay, your Lord (_the being who deserveth to be worshipped_) is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, who created them, _not after the similitude of anything pre-existing_; and I am of those who bear witness thereof. And, by God, I will assuredly devise a plot against your idols after ye shall have retired, turning your backs.—So, _after they had gone to their place of assembly, on a day when they held a festival_, he brake them in pieces _with an axe_, except the chief of them, _upon whose neck he hung the axe_; that they might return unto it (_namely, the chief_) _and see what he had done with the others_. They said, _after they had returned and seen what he had done_, Who hath done this unto our gods? Verily he is of the unjust.—_And some of them_ said, We heard a young man mention them _reproachfully_: he is called Abraham. They said, Then bring him before the eyes of the people, that they may bear witness _against him of his having done it_. They said _unto him, when he had been brought_, Hast thou done this unto our gods, O Abraham? He answered, Nay, this their chief did it: and ask ye them, if they [can] speak. And they returned unto themselves, _upon reflection_, and said _unto themselves_, Verily ye are the unjust, _in worshipping that which speaketh not_. Then they reverted to their obstinacy, _and said_, Verily thou knowest that these speak not: _then wherefore dost thou order us to ask them?_ He said, Do ye then worship, instead of God, that which doth not profit you at all, nor injure you _if ye worship it not_? Fy on you, and on that which ye worship instead of God! Do ye not then understand?—They said, Burn ye him, and avenge your gods, if ye will do _so_. _So they collected abundance of firewood for him, and set fire to it; and they bound Abraham, and put him into an engine, and cast him into the fire. But, saith God_, We said, O fire, be thou cold, and a security unto Abraham! _So nought of him was burned save his bonds: the heat of the fire ceased, but its light remained; and by God’s saying, Security,—Abraham was saved from dying, by reason of its cold._ And they intended against him a plot; but he caused them to be the sufferers.[212] And We delivered him and Lot, _the son of_ _his brother Haran, from El-´Eráḳ_, [bringing them] unto the land which we blessed for the peoples, _by the abundance of its rivers and trees, namely, Syria. Abraham took up his abode in Palestine, and Lot in El-Mu-tekifeh, between which is a day’s journey._ And _when Abraham had asked a son_, We gave unto him Isaac, and Jacob as an additional gift, _beyond what he had asked, being a son’s son_; and all of them We made righteous persons _and prophets_. And We made them models of religion who directed _men_ by Our command _unto Our religion_; and We commanded them by inspiration to do good works and to perform prayer and to give the appointed alms; and they served Us. And unto Lot We gave judgment and knowledge; and We delivered him from the city which committed filthy actions; for they were a people of evil, shameful doers; and We admitted him into our mercy; for he was [one] of the righteous.

(xxi. 52-75.)

Hast thou not considered him who disputed with Abraham concerning his Lord, because God had given him the kingdom? _And he was Nimrod._ When Abraham said, (_upon his saying unto him, Who is thy Lord, unto whom thou invitest us?_), My Lord is He who giveth life and causeth to die,—he replied, I give life and cause to die.—_And he summoned two men, and slew one of them, and left the other. So when he saw that he understood not_, Abraham said, And verily God bringeth the sun from the east: now do thou bring it from the west.—And he who disbelieved was confounded; and God directeth not the offending people.

(ii. 260.)

And Our messengers came formerly unto Abraham with good tidings _of Isaac and Jacob, who should be after him_. They said, Peace. He replied, _Peace be on you_. And he tarried not, but brought a roasted calf. And when he saw that their hands touched it not, he disliked them and conceived a fear of them. They said, Fear not: for we are sent unto the people of Lot, _that we may destroy them_. And his wife _Sarah_ was standing _serving them_, and she laughed, _rejoicing at the tidings of their destruction_. And we gave her good tidings of Isaac [Isḥáḳ]; and after Isaac, Jacob [Yaạḳoob]. She said, Alas! shall I bear a child when I am an old woman, _of nine and ninety years_, and when this my husband is an old man, _of a hundred or a hundred and twenty years_? Verily this [would be] a wonderful thing.—They said, Dost thou wonder at the command of God? The mercy of God and His blessings be on you, O people of the house (_of Abraham_)! for He is praiseworthy, glorious.—And when the terror had departed from Abraham, and the good tidings had come unto him, he disputed with Us (_that is, with Our messengers_) respecting the people of Lot; for Abraham was gentle, compassionate, repentant. _And he said unto them, Will ye destroy a city wherein are three hundred believers? They answered, No. He said, And will ye destroy a city wherein are two hundred believers? They answered, No. He said, And will ye destroy a city wherein are forty believers? They answered, No. He said, And will ye destroy a city wherein are fourteen believers? They answered, No. He said, And tell me, if there be in it one believer? They answered, No. He said, Verily in it is Lot. They replied, We know best who is in it. And when their dispute had become tedious, they said_, O Abraham, abstain from this _disputation_; for the command of thy Lord hath come _for their destruction_, and a punishment not [to be] averted is coming upon them.

(xi. 72-78.)

And when Our decree for _the destruction of the people of Lot_ came [to be executed], We turned them (_that is, their cities_) upside-down; _for Gabriel raised them to heaven, and let them fall upside-down to the earth_;[213] and We rained upon them stones of baked clay, sent one after another, marked with thy Lord, _each with the name of him upon whom it should be cast_: and they [are] not far distant from the offenders; _that is, the stones are not, or the cities of the people of Lot were not, far distant from the people of Mekkeh_.

(xi. 84.)

And [Abraham] said [after his escape from Nimrod], Verily I am going unto my Lord, who will direct me _unto the place whither He hath commanded me to go, namely, Syria. And when he had arrived at the Holy Land, he said_, O my Lord, give me _a son_ [who shall be one] of the righteous. Whereupon We gave him the glad tidings of a mild youth. And when he had attained to the age when he could work with him (_as some say, seven years; and some, thirteen_), he said, O my child, verily I have seen in a dream that I should sacrifice thee (_and the dreams of prophets are true; and their actions, by the command of God_); therefore consider what thou seest advisable _for me to do_. He replied, O my father, do what thou art commanded: thou shalt find me, if God please, [of the number] of the patient. And when they had resigned themselves, and he had laid him down on his temple, _in_ [the valley of] _Mind, and had drawn the knife across his throat_ (_but it produced no effect, by reason of an obstacle interposed by the divine power_), We called unto him, O Abraham, thou hast verified the vision. Verily thus do We reward the well-doers. Verily this was the manifest trial. And We ransomed him _whom he had been commanded to sacrifice_ (_and he was Ishmȧel_ [Ismá´eel] _or Isaac; for there are two opinions_)[214] with an excellent victim, _a ram from Paradise, the same that Abel had offered: Gabriel_ (_on whom be peace!_) _brought it, and the lord Abraham sacrificed it, saying, God is most great!_ And We left _this salutation_ [to be bestowed] on him by the latter generations, Peace [be] on Abraham! Thus do We reward the well-doers: for he was of our believing servants.

(xxxvii. 97-111.)

_Remember_ when Abraham said, O my Lord, show me how Thou will raise to life the dead.[215]—He said, Hast thou not believed? He answered, Yea: but _I have asked Thee_ that my heart may be at ease. He replied, Then take four birds and draw them towards thee, _and cut them in pieces and mingle together their flesh and their feathers_; then place upon each mountain _of thy land_ a portion of them, then call them _unto thee_: they shall come unto thee quickly: and know thou that God is mighty [and] wise.—_And he took a peacock and a vulture and a raven and a cock, and did with them as hath been described, and kept their heads with him, and called them; whereupon the portions flew about, one to another, until they became complete: then they came to their heads._

(ii. 262.)

_Remember_ when his Lord had tried Abraham by [certain] words, _commands and prohibitions_, and he fulfilled them, _God_ said _unto him_, I constitute thee a model of religion unto men.[216] He replied, And of my offspring _constitute models of religion_. [God] said, My covenant doth not apply to the offenders, _the unbelievers among them_.—And when We appointed the house (_that is, the Kaạbeh_) to be a place for the resort of men, and a place of security (_a man would meet the slayer of his father there and he would not provoke him_ [to revenge],) and [said], Take, _O men_, the station of Abraham (_the stone upon which he stood at the time of building the House_) as a place of prayer, _that ye may perform behind it the prayers of the two rek´ahs_[217] [which are ordained to be performed after the ceremony] _of the circuiting_ [of the Kaạbeh].—And We commanded Abraham and Ishmael, [saying], Purify my House (_rid it of the idols_) for those who shall compass [it], and those who shall abide _there_, and those who shall bow down and prostrate themselves.—And when Abraham said, O my Lord, make this _place_ a secure territory (_and God hath answered his prayer, and made it a sacred place, wherein the blood of man is not shed, nor is any one oppressed in it, nor is its game hunted_ [or shot], _nor are its plants cut or pulled up_), and supply its inhabitants with fruits _which hath been done by the transporting of Eṭ-Ṭáïf from Syria thither, when it_ [that is, the territory of Mekkeh] _was desert, without sown land or water_,[218] such of them as shall believe in God and the last day.—_He mentioned them peculiarly in the prayer agreeably with the saying of God, My covenant doth not apply to the offenders._—_God_ replied, And _I will supply_ him who disbelieveth: I will make him to enjoy _a supply of food in this world_, a little _while_: then I will force him, _in the world to come_, to the punishment of the fire; and evil shall be the transit.

(ii. 118-120.)

And _remember_ when Abraham was raising the foundations of the House[219] (_that is, building it_), together with Ishmael, _and they said_, O our Lord, accept of us _our building_; for Thou art the Hearer _of what is said_, the Knower _of what is done_. O our Lord, also make us resigned[220] unto Thee, and _make_ from among our offspring a people resigned unto Thee, and show us our rites (_the ordinances of our worship, or our pilgrimage_), and be propitious towards us; for Thou art the Very Propitious, the Merciful. (_They begged Him to be propitious to them, notwithstanding their honesty, from a motive of humility, and by way of instruction to their offspring._) O our Lord, also send unto them (_that is, the people of the House_) an apostle from among them (_and God hath answered their prayer by sending Moḥammad_), who shall recite unto them Thy signs (the Ḳur-án), and shall teach them the book (_the Ḳur-án_), and the knowledge _that it containeth_, and shall purify them _from polytheism_; for Thou art the Mighty, the Wise.—And who will be averse from the religion of Abraham but he who maketh his soul foolish, _who is ignorant that it is God’s creation, and that the worship of Him is incumbent on it; or who lightly esteemeth it and applieth it to vile purposes_; when We have chosen him in this world _as an apostle and a friend_, and he shall be in the world to come one of the righteous _for whom are high ranks?—And remember_ when his lord said unto him, Resign thyself:—he replied, I resign myself unto the Lord of the worlds.—And Abraham commanded his children to follow it (_namely, the religion_); and Jacob,_ his children; saying_, O my children, verily God hath chosen for you the religion _of El-Islám_;[221] therefore die not without your being Muslims.—_It was a prohibition from abandoning El-Islám and a command to persevere therein unto death._

(ii. 121-126.)

_When the Jews said, Abraham was a Jew, and we are of his religion,—and the Christians said the like_, [the following] _was revealed_:—O people of the Scripture, wherefore do ye argue respecting Abraham, _asserting that he was of your religion_, when the Pentateuch and the Gospel were not sent down but after him _a long time_? Do ye not then understand the _falsity of your saying_? So ye, O people, have argued respecting that of which ye have knowledge, _concerning Moses and Jesus, and have asserted that ye are of their religion_: then wherefore do ye argue respecting that of which ye have no knowledge, _concerning Abraham_? But God knoweth _his case_, and ye know _it_ not. Abraham was not a Jew nor a Christian: but he was orthodox, a Muslim [or one resigned], _a unitarian_, and he was not of the polytheists.

(iii. 58-60.)

_JACOB, JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN._

_Remember_, when Joseph [Yoosuf] said unto his father, O my father, verily I saw _in sleep_ eleven stars and the sun and the moon: I saw them making obeisance unto me. He replied, O my child, relate not thy vision to thy brethren, lest they contrive a plot against thee, _knowing its interpretation to be that they are the stars and that the sun is thy mother and the moon thy father_; for the devil is unto man a manifest enemy. And thus, _as thou sawest_, thy Lord will choose thee, and teach thee the interpretation of events, _or dreams_, and will accomplish his favour upon thee _by the gift of prophecy_, and upon the family of Jacob, as He accomplished it upon thy fathers before, Abraham and Isaac; for thy Lord is knowing [and] wise.—Verily in _the history of_ Joseph and his brethren are signs to the inquirers.—When they (_the brethren of Joseph_) said, _one to another_, Verily Joseph and his brother _Benjamin_ are dearer unto our father than we, and we are a number of men; verily our father is in a manifest error; slay ye Joseph, or drive him away into a _distant_ land; so the face of your father shall be directed alone unto you, _regarding no other_, and ye shall be after it a just people:—a speaker among them, _namely, Judah_, said, Slay not Joseph, but throw him to the bottom of the well; then some of the travellers may light upon him, if ye do _this_. _And they were satisfied therewith_. They said, O our father, wherefore dost thou not intrust us with Joseph, when verily we are faithful unto him? Send him with us tomorrow _into the plain_, that he may divert himself and sport; and we will surely take care of him.—He replied, Verily your taking him away will grieve me, and I fear lest the wolf devour him while ye are heedless of him. They said, Surely if the wolf devour him, when we are a number of men, we shall in that case be indeed weak. _So he sent him with them._ And when they went away with him, and agreed to put him at the bottom of the well, _they did so_.[222] _They pulled off his shirt, after they had beaten him and had treated him with contempt and had desired to slay him; and they let him down; and when he had arrived half-way down the well they let him fall, that he might die; and he fell into the water. He then betook himself to a mass of rock; and they called to him; so he answered them, imagining that they would have mercy upon him. They however desired to crush him with a piece of rock; but Judah prevented them._ And We said unto him by revelation, _while he was in the well (and he was seventeen years of age, or less), to quiet his heart_, Thou shalt assuredly declare unto them this their action, and they shall not know _thee at the time_.[223] And they came to their father at nightfall weeping. They said, O our father, we went to run races,[224] and left Joseph with our clothes, and the wolf devoured him; and thou wilt not believe us, though we speak truth. And they brought false blood upon his shirt. _Jacob_ said _unto them_, Nay, your minds have made a thing seem pleasant unto you, _and ye have done it_;[225] but patience is seemly, and God’s assistance is implored with respect to that which ye relate.

And travellers came _on their way from Midian (Medyen) to Egypt, and alighted near the well_;[226] and they sent their drawer of water,[227] and he let down his bucket _into the well: so Joseph caught hold upon it, and the man drew him forth; and when he saw him_, he said, O good news! This is a young man!—_And his brethren thereupon knew his case; wherefore they came unto him_, and they[228] concealed his case, _making him_ as a piece of merchandise; _for they said, He is our slave who hath absconded. And Joseph was silent, fearing lest they should slay him._ And God knew that which they did. And they sold him for a mean price, [for] some dirhems counted down, _twenty, or two-and-twenty_; and they were indifferent to him. _The travellers then brought him to Egypt, and he who had bought him sold him for twenty deenárs and a pair of shoes and two garments._ And the Egyptian who bought him, _namely, Ḳiṭfeer_,[229] said unto his wife _Zeleekha_, Treat him hospitably; peradventure he may be advantageous to us, or we may adopt him as a son. _For he was childless._ And thus We prepared an establishment for Joseph in the land _of Egypt_, to teach him the interpretation of events, _or dreams_; for God is well able to effect His purpose; but the greater number of men, _namely, the unbelievers_, know not _this_. And when he had attained his age of strength (_thirty years, or three-and-thirty_), We bestowed on him wisdom and knowledge _in matters of religion, before he was sent as a prophet_; for thus do We recompense the well-doers. (xii. 4-22.—_Then follows an account of his temptation by his mistress, Zeleekha._)

Then it seemed good unto them,[230] after they had seen the signs of _his innocence, to imprison him_. They will assuredly imprison him for a time, _until the talk of the people respecting him cease_. _So they imprisoned him._ And there entered with him into the prison two young men, _servants of the king, one of whom was his cup-bearer and the other was his victualler_. _And they found that he interpreted dreams; wherefore_ one of them, _namely, the cup-bearer_, said, I dreamed that I was pressing grapes: and the other said, I dreamed that I was carrying upon my head some bread, whereof the birds did eat: acquaint us with the interpretation thereof; for we see thee to be [one] of the beneficent.—He replied, There shall not come unto you any food wherewith ye shall be fed _in a dream_, but I will acquaint you with the interpretation thereof _when ye are awake_, before _the interpretation of_ it come unto you. This is _a part_ of that which my Lord hath taught me. Verily I have abandoned the religion of a people who believe not in God and who disbelieve in the world to come; and I follow the religion of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. It is not _fit_ for us to associate anything with God. This _knowledge of the unity_ [hath been given us] of the bounty of God towards us and towards mankind; but the greater number of men are not thankful. O ye two companions (_or inmates_) of the prison, are sundry lords better, or is God, the One, the Almighty? Ye worship not, beside Him, [aught] save names which ye and your fathers have given _to idols_, concerning which God hath not sent down any convincing proof. Judgment belongeth not [unto any] save unto God _alone_. He hath commanded that ye worship not [any] but Him. This is the right religion; but the greater number of men know not. O ye two companions of the prison, as to one of you, _namely, the cup-bearer_, he will serve wine unto his lord _as formerly_; and as to the other, he will be crucified, and the birds will eat from off his head.—_Upon this they said, We dreamed not aught. He replied_, The thing is decreed concerning which ye [did] ask a determination, _whether ye have spoken truth or have lied_. And he said unto him whom he judged to be the person who should escape of them two, _namely the cup-bearer_, Mention me unto thy Lord, _and say unto him, In the prison is a young man imprisoned unjustly.—And he went forth._ But the devil caused him to forget to mention _Joseph_ unto his lord:[231] so he remained in the prison some years: _it is said, seven; and it is said, twelve._