Chapter 60

ENTITLED, THE STAR; REVEALED AT MECCA.

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.

BY the star,k when it setteth;l your companion Mohammed erreth not; nor is he led astray: neither doth he speak of his own will. It is no other than a revelation, which hath been revealed unto him. One mighty in power, endued with understanding, taught it him:m and he appearedn in the highest part of the horizon. Afterwards he approached the prophet,o and near unto him;

e See chapter 16, p. 199, &c. f See chapter 8, p. 128, &c. g This was one of the judgments which the idolatrous Meccans defied Mohammed to bring down upon them; and yet, says the text, if they should see a part of the heaven falling on them, they would not believe it till they were crushed to death by it.1 h i.e., At the first sound of the trumpet.2 i That is, besides the punishment to which they shall be doomed at the day of judgment, they shall be previously chastised by calamities in this life, as the slaughter at Bedr, and the seven years' famine, and also after their death, by the examination of the sepulchre.3 k Some suppose the stars in general, and others the Pleiades in particular, to be meant in this place. l Or, according to a contrary signification of the verb here used, when it riseth. m Namely, the angel Gabriel. n In his natural form, in which GOD created him, and in the eastern part of the sky. It is said that this angel appeared in his proper shape to none of the prophets, except Mohammed, and to him only twice: once when he received the first revelation of the Korân, and a second time when he took his night journey to heaven; as it follows in the text. o In a human shape.

1 Al Beidâwi. 2 See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. IV. p. 64. 3 Al Beidâwi.

until he was at the distance of two bows' lengthp from him, or yet nearer; 10 and he revealed unto his servant that which he revealed. The heart of Mohammed did not falsely represent that which he saw. Will ye therefore dispute with him concerning that which he saw?q He also saw him another time, by the lote-tree beyond which there is no passing:r near it is the garden of eternal abode. When the lote-tree covered that which it covered,s his eyesight turned not aside, neither did it wander: and he really beheld some of the greatest signs of his LORD.t What think ye of Allat, and Al Uzza, 20 and Manah, that other third goddess?u Have ye male children, and God female?x This, therefore, is an unjust partition. They are no other than empty names, which ye and your fathers have named goddesses. GOD hath not revealed concerning them anything to authorize their worship. They follow no other than a vain opinion, and what their souls desire: yet hath the true direction come unto them from their LORD. Shall man have whatever he wisheth for?y The life to come and the present life are GOD'S: and how many angels soever there be in the heavens, their intercession shall be of no avail, until after GOD shall have granted permission unto whom he shall please and shall accept. Verily they who believe not in the life to come give unto the angels a female appellation. But they have no knowledge herein: they follow no other than a bare opinion; and a bare opinion attaineth not anything of truth. 30 Wherefore withdraw from him who turneth away from our admonition, and seeketh only the present life. This is their highest pitch of knowledge. Verily thy LORD well knoweth him who erreth from his way; and he well knoweth him who is rightly directed. Unto GOD belongeth whatever is in heaven and earth: that he may reward those who do evil, according to that which they shall have wrought; and may reward those who do well, with the most excellent reward. As to those who avoid great crimes, and heinous sins, and are guilty only of lighter faults; verily thy LORD will be extensive in mercy towards them. He well knew you when he produced you out of the earth, and when ye were embryos in your mothers' wombs: wherefore justify not yourselves: he best knoweth the man who feareth him. What thinkest thou of him who turneth aside from following the truth,

p Or, as the word also signifies, two cubits' length. q But he saw it in reality. r This tree, say the commentators, stands in the seventh heaven, on the right hand of the throne of GOD; and is the utmost bounds beyond which the angels themselves must not pass; or, as some rather imagine, beyond which no creature's knowledge can extend. s The words seem to signify that what was under this tree exceeded all description and number. Some suppose the whole host of angels worshipping beneath it1 are intended, and others, the birds which sit on its branches.2 t Seeing the wonders both of the sensible and the intellectual world.3 u Those were three idols of the ancient Arabs, of which we have spoken in the Preliminary Discourse.4 As to the blasphemy which some pretend Mohammed once uttered, through inadvertence, as he was reading this passage, see chapter 22, p. 255. x See chapter 16, p. 199, &c. y i.e., Shall he dictate to GOD, and name whom he pleases for his intercessors, or for his prophet; or shall he choose a religion according to his own fancy, and prescribe the terms on which he may claim the reward of this life and the next?5

1 Al Beidâwi. 2 Jalallo'ddin. 3 Al Beidâwi. 4 Sect. I. p. 14, &c. 5 Al Beidâwi, Jallalo'ddin.

and giveth little, and covetously stoppeth his hand?z Is the knowledge of futurity with him, so that he seeth the same?a Hath he not been informed of that which is contained in the books of Moses, and of Abraham who faithfully performed his engagements? To wit: that a burdened soul shall not bear the burden of another; 40 and that nothing shall be imputed to a man for righteousness, except his own labor; and that his labor shall surely be made manifest hereafter, and that he shall be rewarded for the same with a most abundant reward; and that unto thy LORD will be the end of all things; and that he causeth to laugh, and causeth to weep; and that he putteth to death, and giveth life: and that he createth the two sexes, the male and the female, of seed when it is emitted; and that unto him appertaineth another production, namely, the raising of the dead again to life hereafter; and that he enricheth, and causeth to acquire possessions; 50 and that he is the LORD of the dog-star;b and that he destroyed the ancient tribe of Ad, and Thamud, and left not any of them alive; and also the people of Noah, before them; for they were most unjust and wicked: and he overthrew the cities which were turned upside down;c and that which covered them, covered them. Which, therefore, of thy LORD'S benefits, O man, wilt thou call in question? This our apostle is a preacher like the preachers who preceded him. The approaching day of judgment draweth near: there is none who can reveal the exact time of the same, besides GOD. Do ye, therefore, wonder at this new revelation, 60 and do ye laugh, and not weep, spending your time in idle diversions? But rather worship GOD, and serve him.

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