Chapter 96

ENTITLED, THE DAYBREAK; REVEALED AT MECCA.x

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.

BY the daybreak, and ten nights;y by that which is double, and that which is single;z and by the night when it cometh on: is there not in this an oath formed with understanding? Hast thou not considered how thy LORD dealt with Ad, the people of Irem,a adorned with lofty buildings,b the like whereof hath not been erected in the land;c and with Thamud, who hewed the rocks in the valleyd into houses;

u Or, Except him who shall turn back, and be an infidel: and GOD shall also punish him &c. By which exception some suppose that power is here given to Mohammed to chastise obstinate infidels and apostates. x Some are of opinion this chapter was revealed at Medina. y That is, the ten nights of Dhu'lhajja, or the 10th of that month (whence some understand the daybreak mentioned just before, of the morning of that day, or of the preceding); or the nights of the 10th of Moharram; or, as others rather think, the 10th, 11th, and 12th of Dhu'lhajja; all which are days peculiarly sacred among the Mohammedans. z These words are variously interpreted. Some understand thereby all things in general; some, all created beings (which are said to have been created by pairs, or of two kinds),1 and the Creator, who is single; some, of the primum mobile, and the other orbs; some, of the constellations and the planets; some, of the nights before mentioned, taken either together or singly; and some, of the day of slaying the victims (the 10th of Dhu'lhajja), and of the day of Arafat, which is the day before, &c.2 a Was the name of the territory or city of the Adites, and of the garden mentioned in the next note; which were so called from Irem, or Aram, the grandfather of Ad, their progenitor. Some think Aaron himself to be here meant, and his name to be added to signify the ancient Adites, his immediate descendants, and to distinguish them from the latter tribe of that name:3 but the adjective and relative joined to the word are, in the original, of the feminine gender, which seems to contradict this opinion. b Or pillars. Some imagine these words are used to express the great size and strength of the old Adites;4 and then they should be translated, who were of enormous stature. But the more exact commentators take the passage to relate to the sumptuous palace and delightful gardens built and made by Sheddâd the son of Ad. For they say Ad left two sons, Sheddâd and Sheddîd, who reigned jointly after his decease, and extended their power over the greater part of the world; but Sheddîd dying, his brother became sole monarch; who, having heard of the celestial paradise, made a garden in imitation thereof, in the deserts of Aden, and called it Irem, after the name of his great-grandfather: when it was finished he set out, with a great attendance, to take a view of it; but when they were come within a day's journey of the place, they were all destroyed by a terrible noise from heaven. Al Beidâwi adds that one Abdallah Ebn Kelâbah (whom, after D'Herbelot, I have elsewhere named Colabah)5 accidentally hit on this wonderful place, as he was seeking a camel. c If we suppose the preceding words to relate to the vast stature of the Adites, these must be translated, The like of whom hath not been created, &c. d The learned Greaves, in his translation of Abulfeda's description of Arabia,6 has falsely rendered these words, which are there quoted, Quibus petroe vallis responsum dederunt, i.e., To whom the rocks of the valley returned answer: which slip being made by so great a man, I do not at all wonder that La Roque, and Petis de la Croix, from whose Latin version, and with whose assistance, La Roque made his French translation of the aforesaid treatise, have been led into the same mistake, and rendered those words, A qui les pierres de la valée rendirent réponse.1 The valley here meant, say the commentators,2 is Wâdi'lkora, lying about one day's journey3 (not five and upwards, as Abulfeda will have it) from al Hejr.

1 See cap. 51, p. 387. 2 Al Zamakh. 3 Al Beidâwi, Jallalo'ddin. 4 Idem. See the Prelim. Disc. p. 5. 5 Prelim. Disc. p. 5. 6 p. 43. It was published by Dr. Hudson, in the third vol. of the Geograhphiæ Veteris Scriptor. Gr. minor.

and with Pharaoh, the contriver of the stakes:e 10 who had behaved insolently in the earth, and multiplied corruption therein? Wherefore thy LORD poured on them various kindsf of chastisement: for thy LORD is surely in a watch-tower, whence he observeth the actions of men. Moreover man, when his LORD trieth him by prosperity, and honoureth him, and is bounteous unto him, saith, My LORD honoureth me; but when he proveth him by afflictions, and withholdeth his provisions from him, he saith, My LORD despiseth me. By no means:g but ye honour not the orphan, neither do ye excite one another to feed the poor; 20 and ye devour the inheritance of the weak,h with undistinguishing greediness, and ye love riches with much affection. By no means should ye do thus. When the earth shall be minutely ground to dust; and thy LORD shall come, and the angels rank by rank; and hell, on that day, shall be brought nigh:i on that day shall man call to remembrance his evil deeds; but how shall remembrance avail him? He shall say, Would to GOD that I had heretofore done good works in my lifetime!k On that day none shall punish with his punishment; nor shall any bind with his bonds.l O thou soul which art at rest,m return unto thy LORD, well pleased with thy reward, and well pleasing unto God: enter among my servants; 30 and enter my paradise.

e See chapter 38, p. 340. f The original word signifies a mixture, and also a scourge of platted thongs: whence some suppose the chastisement of this life is here represented by scourge, and intimated to be as much lighter than that of the next life, as scourging is lighter than death.4 g For worldly prosperity or adversity is not a certain mark either of the favour or disfavour of GOD. h Not suffering women or young children to have any share in the inheritance of their husbands or parents. See chapter 4, p. 54. i There is a tradition that at the last day hell will be dragged towards the tribunal by 70,000 halters, each halter being hauled by 70,000 angels, and that it will come with great roaring and fury.5 k Or, for this my latter life. l i.e., None shall be able to punish or to bind, as GOD shall then punish and bind the wicked.6 m Some expound this of the soul, which, having, by pursuing the concatenation of natural causes, raised itself to the knowledge of that Being which produced them, and exists of necessity, rests fully contented, or acquiesces in the knowledge of him, and the contemplation of his perfections. By this the reader will observe that the Mohammedans are no strangers to Quietism. Others, however, understand the words of the soul, which, having attained the knowledge of the truth, rests satisfied, and relies securely thereon, undisturbed by doubts; or of the soul which is secure of its salvation, and free from fear or sorrow.7

1 Descr. de l'Arabie, mise à la suite du Voyage de la Palestine, par La Roque, p. 35. 2 Jallalo'ddin, al Beidâwi. 3 Ebn Hawkal, apud Abulf. ubi sup. Geogr. Nub. p. 110. 4 Al Beidâwi. 5 Idem, Jallalo'ddin. 6 Idem. 7 Al Beidâwi