Thanksgiving
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1 See before, p. 128, and c. 33. them, Abu Becr was for releasing them on their paying ransom, saying, that they were near relations to the prophet, and GOD might possibly forgive them on their repentance; but Omar was for striking off their heads, as professed patrons of infidelity. Mohammed did not approve of the latter advice, but observed that Abu Becr resembled Abraham, who interceded for offenders, and that Omar was like Noah, who prayed for the utter extirpation of the wicked antediluvians; and thereupon it was agreed to accept a ransom from them and their fellow-captives. Soon after which, Omar, going into the prophetÕs tent, found him and Abu Becr weeping, and, asking them the reason of their tears, Mohammed acquainted him that this verse had been revealed, condemning their ill-timed lenity towards their prisoners, and that they had narrowly escaped the divine vengeance for it, adding that, if GOD had not passed the matter over, they had certainly been destroyed to a man, excepting only Omar and Saad Ebn Moadh, a person of as great severity, and who was also for putting the prisoners to death.1 Yet did not this crime go absolutely unpunished neither: for in the battle of Ohod the Moslems lost seventy men, equal to the number of prisoners taken at Bedr, 2 which was so ordered by GOD, as a retaliation or atonement for the same. a i.e., Of the ransom which ye have received of your prisoners. For it seems, on this rebuke, they had some scruple of conscience whether they might convert it to their own use or not.3 b That is, if ye repent and believe, GOD will make you abundant retribution for the ransom ye have now paid. It is said that this passage was revealed on the particular account of al Abb‰s, who, being obliged by Mohammed, though his uncle, to ransom both himself and his two nephews, Okail and Nawfal Ebn al Hareth, complained that he should be reduced to beg alms of the Koreish as long as he lived. Whereupon Mohammed asked him what was become of the gold which he delivered to Omm al Fadl when he left Mecca, telling her that he knew not what might befall him in the expedition, and therefore, if he lost his life, she might keep it herself for the use of her and her children? Al Abb‰s demanded who told him this, to which Mohammed replied that GOD had revealed it to him. And upon this al Abb‰s immediately professed Isl‰mism, declaring that none could know of that affair except GOD, because he gave her the money at midnight. Some years after, al Abb‰s reflecting on this passage, confessed it to be fulfilled; for he was then not only possessed of a large substance, but had the custody of the well Zemzem, which, he said, he preferred to all the riches of Mecca.4 c By not paying the ransom agreed on. d And shall consequently inherit one anotherÕs substance, preferably to their relations by blood. And this, they say, was practised for some time, the Moh‰jerin and Ans‰rs being judged heirs to one another, exclusive of the deceasedÕs other kindred, till this passage was abrogated by the following: Those who are related by blood shall be deemed the nearest of kin to each other. 1 Idem. 2 See c. 3, p. 46. 3 Al Beid‰wi. 4 Idem. Vide DÕHerbel. Bibl. Orient. Art. Abb‰s. e The reason why the chapter had this title appears from the first verse. Some, however, give it other titles, and particularly that of Repentance, which is mentioned immediately after. It is observable that this chapter alone has not the auspicatory form, In the name of the most merciful GOD, prefixed to it; the reason of which omission, as some think, was, because these words imply a concession of security, which is utterly taken away by this chapter, after a fixed time; wherefore some have called it the chapter of Punishment; others say that Mohammed (who died soon after he had received this chapter), having given no direction where it should be placed, nor for the prefixing the Bismillah to it, as had been done to the other chapters; and the argument of this chapter bearing a near resemblance to that of the preceding, his companions differed about it, some saying that both chapters were but one, and together made the seventh of the seven long ones, and others that they were two distinct chapters; whereupon, to accommodate the dispute, they left a space between them, but did not interpose the distinction of the Bismillah.1 It is agreed that this chapter was the last which was revealed; and the only one, as Mohammed declared, which was revealed entire and at once, except the hundred and tenth. Some will have the two last verses to have been revealed at Mecca. f Some understand this sentence of the immunity or security therein granted to the infidels for the space of four months; but others think that the words properly signify that Mohammed for the space of four months; but others think that the words properly signify that Mohammed is here declared by GOD to be absolutely free and discharged from all truce or league with them, after the expiration of that time;2 and this last seems to be the truest interpretation. MohammedÕs thus renouncing all league with those who would not receive him as the apostle of GOD, or submit to become tributary, was the consequence of the great power to which he was now arrived. But the pretext he made use of was the treachery he had met with among the Jewish, and idolatrous ArabsÐscarce any keeping faith with him, except Banu Damra, Banu Ken‰na, and a few others.3 g These months were Shaw‰l, DhuÕlkaada, DhuÕlhajja, and Moharram; the chapter being revealed in Shaw‰l. Yet others compute them from the tenth of DhuÕlhajja, when the chapter was published at Mecca, and consequently make them expire on the tenth of the former Rab”.4 h viz., The tenth of DhuÕlhajja, when they slay the victims at Mina; which day is their great feast, and completes the ceremonies of the pilgrimage. Some suppose the adjective greater is added here to distinguish the pilgrimage made at the appointed time from lesser pilgrimages, as they may be called, or visitations of the Caaba, which may be performed at any time of the year; or else because the concourse at the pilgrimage this year was greater than ordinary, both Moslems and idolaters being present at it. The promulgation of this chapter was committed by Mohammed to Ali, who rode for that purpose on the prophetÕs slit-eared camel from Medina to Mecca; and on the day above mentioned, standing up before the whole assembly at al Akaba, told them that he was the 1 Al Beid‰wi, JallaloÕddin, Yahya, &c. 2 Idem. 3 Idem. 4 Idem, al Zamaksh., JallaloÕddin. messenger of the apostle of GOD unto them. Whereupon they asking him what was his errand, he read twenty or thirty verses of the chapter to them, and then said, I am commanded to acquaint you with four things: I. That no idolater is to come near the temple of Mecca after this year; 2. That no man presume to compass the Caaba naked for the future;5 3. That none but true believers shall enter paradise; and 4. That public faith is to be kept.6 i So that notwithstanding Mohammed renounces all league with those who had deceived him, he declares himself ready to perform his engagements to such as had been true to him. k Either within or without the sacred territory. l That is, you shall give him a safe-conduct, that he may return home again securely, in case he shall not think fit to embrace Mohammedism. m These are the persons before excepted. n As did the Koreish in assisting the tribe of Becr against those of Khoz‰ah,7 and laying a design to ruin Mohammed, without any just provocation; and as several of the Jewish tribes did, by aiding the enemy, and endeavouring to oblige the prophet to leave Medina, as he had been obliged to leave Mecca.8 5 See before, cap. 7, p. 107. 6 Al Beid‰wi. Vide Abulfed. Vit. Moh. p. 127, &c. 7 See the Prelim. Disc. p. 42. 8 Al Beid‰wi. o viz., Those of Khoz‰ah; or, as others say, certain families of Yaman and Saba, who went to Mecca, and there professed Mohammedism, but were very injuriously treated by the inhabitants; whereupon they complained to Mohammed, who bade them take comfort, for that joy was approaching.1 p These words are to warn the believers from having too great a confidence in their own merits, and likewise to deter the unbelievers; for if the faithful will but perhaps be saved, what can the others hope for?2 q This passage was revealed on occasion of some words of al Abb‰s, MohammedÕs uncle, who, when he was taken prisoner, being bitterly reproached by the Moslems, and particularly by his nephew Ali, answered: You rip up our ill actions, but take no notice of our good ones; we visit the temple of Mecca, and adorn the Caaba with hangings, and give drink to the pilgrims (of Zemzem water, I suppose) and free captives.3 r Or shall punish you. Some suppose the taking of Mecca to be here intended.4 s This battle was fought in the eighth year of the Hejra, in the valley of Honein, which lies about three miles from Mecca towards T‰yef, between Mohammed, who had an army of twelve thousand men, and the tribes of Haw‰zen and Thak”f, whose forces did not exceed four thousand. The Mohammedans, seeing themselves so greatly superior to their enemies, made sure of the victory; a certain person, whom some suppose to have been the prophet himself, crying out, These can never be overcome by so few. But GOD was so highly displeased with this con- 1 Idem. 2 Idem. 3 Idem. 4 Idem fidence, that in the first encounter the Moslems were put to flight,5 some of them running away quite to Mecca, so that none stood their ground except Mohammed himself, and some few of his family; and they say the prophetÕs courage was so great, that his uncle al Abb‰s, and his cousin Abu Sofi‰n Ebn al Hareth, had much ado to prevent his spurring his mule into the midst of the enemy, by laying hold of the bridle and stirrup. Then he ordered al Abb‰s, who had the voice of a Stentor, to recall his flying troops; upon which they rallied, and the prophet throwing a handful of dust against the enemy, they attacked them a second time, and by the divine assistance gained the victory.6 t For the valley being very deep, and encompassed by craggy mountains, the enemy placed themselves in ambush on every side, attacking them in the straits and narrow passages, and from behind the rocks, with great advantage.1 u The original word is Sak”nat, which the commentators interpret in this sense; but it seems rather to signify the divine presence, or Shechinah, appearing to aid the Moslems.2 x As to the number of these celestial auxiliaries, the commentators differ; some say they were five thousand, some eight thousand, and others sixteen thousand.3 y Besides a great number of proselytes who were gained by this battle, Mohammed, on their request, was so generous as to restore the captives (which were no less than six thousand) to their friends, and offered to make amends himself to any of his men who should not be willing to part with his prisoners; but they all consented to it.4 z Which was the ninth year of the Hejra. In consequence of this prohibition, neither Jews nor Christians, nor those of any other religion, are suffered to come near Mecca to this day. a This promise, says al Beid‰wi, was fulfilled by GODÕS sending plenty of rain, and disposing the inhabitants of Teb‰la and Jorash, two towns in Yaman, to embrace Isl‰m, who thereupon brought sufficient provisions to MohammedÕs men; and also by the subsequent coming in of the Arabs from all quarters to him. b That is, who have not a just and true faith in these matters; but either believe a plurality of gods, or deny the eternity of hell torments,5 or the delights of paradise as described in the Kor‰n. For as it appears by the following words, the Jews and Christians are the persons here chiefly meant. c This I think the true meaning of the words an yadin, which literally signify by or out of hand, and are variously interpreted: some supposing they mean that the tribute is to be paid readily, or by their own hands and not by another; or that tribute is to be exacted of the rich only, or those who are able to pay it, and not of the poor; or else that it is to be taken as a favour that the Mohammedans are satisfied with so small an imposition, &c.6 That the Jews and Christians are, according to this law, to be admitted to protection on payment of tribute, there is no doubt: though the Mohammedan doctors differ as to those of other religions. It is said that Omar at first refused to accept tribute from a Magian, till AbdÕalrahm‰n Ebn Awf assured him that Mohammed himself had granted protection to a Magian, and ordered that the professors of that religion should be included among the people of the book, or those who found their religion on some book which they suppose to be of divine original. And it is the more received opinion that these three religions only ought to be tolerated on the condition of paying tribute: others, however, admit the Sabians also. Abu Han”fa 5 See Prid. Life of Mahomet, p. 96, &c. Hotting. Hist. Orient. p. 271, &c. DÕHerbel. Bibl. Orient. p. 601. 6 Al Beid‰wi, JallaloÕddin, Abulfeda, Vit. Moh. p. 112, &c. 1 Ebn Ishak. 2 See cap. 2, p. 27, note k. 3 Al Beid‰wi. 4 Idem. 5 See cap. 2, p. 10, and cap. 3, p. 34. 6 Vide al Beid‰wi. supposed people of any religion might be suffered, except the idolatrous Arabs; and Malec excepted only apostates from Mohammedism. The least tribute that can be taken from every such person, is generally agreed to be a din‰r or about ten shillings, a year; nor can he be obliged to pay more unless he consent to it; and this, they say, ought to be laid as well on the poor as on the rich.1 But Abu Han”fa decided that the rich should pay forty-eight dirhems (twenty, and sometimes twenty-five, of which made a din‰r) a year; one in middling circumstances half that sum; and a poor man, who was able to get his living, a quarter of it: but that he who was not able to support himself should pay nothing.2 d This grievous charge against the Jews the commentators endeavour to support by telling us that it is meant of some ancient heterodox Jews, or else of some Jews of Medina; who said so for no other reason than for that the law being utterly lost and forgotten during the Babylonish captivity, Ezra, having been raised to life after he had been dead one hundred years,3 dictated the whole anew to the scribes, out of his own memory; at which they greatly marvelled, and declared that he could not have done it unless he were the son of GOD.4 Al Beid‰wi, adds that the imputation must be true, because this verse was read to the Jews, and they did not contradict it; which they were ready enough to do in other instances. That Ezra did thus restore not only the Pentateuch, but also the other books of the Old Testament, by divine revelation, was the opinion of several of the Christian fathers, who are quoted by Dr. Prideaux,5 and of some other writers;6 which they seem to have first borrowed from a passage in that very ancient apocryphal book, called (in our English Bible) the second book of Esdras.7 Dr. Prideaux8 tells us that herein the fathers attributed more to Ezra than the Jews themselves, who suppose that he only collected and set forth a correct edition of the scriptures, which he laboured much in, and went a great way in the perfecting of it. It is not improbable, however, that the fiction came originally from the Jews, though they be now of another opinion, and I cannot fix it upon them by any direct proof. For, not to insist on the testimony of the Mohammedans (which yet I cannot but think of some little weight in a point of this nature), it is allowed by the most sagacious critics that the second book of Ezra was written by a Christian indeed,9 but yet one who had been bred a Jew, and was intimately acquainted with the fables of the Rabbins;10 and the story itself is perfectly in the taste and way of thinking of those men. e See the chap. 3, p. 39, note e. f By taking of bribes, says al Beid‰wi; meaning, probably, the money they took for dispensing with the commands of GOD, and by way of commutation. 1 Vide Reland. de Jure Militari Mohammedanor. p. 17 and 50. 2 Al Beid‰wi. 3 See cap. 2, p. 28. 4 Al Beid‰wi, al Zamakhshari, &c. 5 Connect. part i. l. 5, p. 329. 6 Athanasius junior, in Synopsi S. Script. tom. ii. p. 86. Leontius Byzantin. de Sectis, p. 428. 7 Cap. xiv. 20, &c. 8 Loco citat. 9 See 2 Esdras ii. 43Ð47; and vii. 28, &c. 10 Vide Dodwelli Dissert. Cyprian. Dissert. 4, ¤ 2. WhistonÕs Essay on the Apostolical Constit. p. 34, 76, and 304, &c.; et Fabricii Codic. Apocryph. Novi Test. part ii. p. 936, &c. g According to this passage, the intercalation of a month every third or second year, which the Arabs had learned of the Jews, in order to reduce their lunar years to solar years, is absolutely unlawful. For by this means they fixed the time of the pilgrimage and of the fast of Ramad‰n to certain seasons of the year which ought to be ambulatory.1 h viz., The preserved table. i See the Prelim. Discourse, Sect. VII. k For it is not reasonable that you should observe the sacred months with regard to those who do not acknowledge them to be sacred, but make war against you therein.2 l This was an invention or innovation of the idolatrous Arabs, whereby they avoided keeping a sacred month, when it suited not their conveniency, by keeping a profane month in its stead; transferring, for example, the observance of Moharram to the succeeding month Safar. The first man who put this in practice, they say, was Jon‰da Ebn Awf, of the tribe of Ken‰na.3 These ordinances relating to the months were promulgated by Mohammed himself at the pilgrimage of valediction.4 m As did Jon‰da, who made public proclamation at the assembly of pilgrims, that their gods had allowed Moharram to be profane, whereupon they observed it not; but the next year he told them that the gods had ordered it to be kept sacred.5 n viz., In the expedition of Tabžc, a town situate about half-way between Medina and Damascus, which Mohammed undertook against the Greeks, with an army of thirty thousand men, in the ninth year of the Hejra. On this expedition the Moslems set out with great unwillingness, because it was undertaken in the midst of the summer heats, and at a time of great drought and scarcity; whereby the soldiers suffered so much, that this army was called the distressed army: besides, their fruits were just ripe, and they had much rather have stayed to have gathered them.6 o See chap. 5, p. 80. p That is, having only Abu Becr with him. q See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. II. p. 39. r See before, p. 137, note u. s Who, as some imagine, guarded him in the cave. Or the words may relate to the succours 1 See Prid. Life of Mahomet, p. 65, &c., and the Prelim. Disc. Sect. IV. and VII. 2 See cap. 2, p. 20. 3 Al Beid‰wi, JallaloÕddin. Vide Poc. Spec. p. 323, and the Prelim. Disc. Sect. VII. 4 Abulfeda, Vit. Moh. p. 132. 5 Al Beid‰wi. 6 Idem, JallaloÕddin. Vide Abulfeda, Vit. Moh. p. 123. from heaven which Mohammed pretended to have received in several encounters; as at Bedr, the war of the ditch, and the battle of Honein. t i.e., Whether the expedition be agreeable or not; or whether ye have sufficient arms and provisions or not; or whether ye be on horseback or on foot, &c. u That is, had there been no difficulties to surmount in the expedition of Tabžc, and the march thither had been short and easy, so that the plunder might have cost them little or no trouble, they would not have been so backward. x For Mohammed excused several of his men, on their request, from going on this expedition; as AbdaÕllah Ebn Obba and his hypocritical adherents, and also three of the Ans‰rs, for which he is here reprehended. y i.e., With the women and children, and other impotent people. z As they did at the battle of Ohod.1 a By obliging me to go, against my will, on an expedition, the hardships of which may tempt me to rebel or to desert. It is related that one Jadd Ebn Kais said that the Ans‰rs well knew he was much given to women, and he dared not trust himself with the Greek girls; wherefore he desired he might be left behind, and he would assist them with his purse.2 b Discovering their hypocrisy by their backwardness to go to war for the promotion of the true religion. c That is, we took care to keep out of harmÕs way by staying at home. 1 See cap. 3, p. 45, &c. 2 Al Beid‰wi. d i.e., Either by some signal judgment from heaven, or by remitting their punishment to the true believers. e viz., Staunch Moslems. f Hypocritically concealing their infidelity, lest ye should chastise them, as ye have done the professed infidels and apostates; and yet ready to avow their infidelity, when they think they may do it with safety. g This person was AbuÕl Jow‰dh the hypocrite, who said Mohammed gave them away among the keepers of sheep only; or, as others suppose, Ebn DhiÕlkhowaisara, who found fault with the prophetÕs distribution of the spoils taken at Honein, because he gave them all among the Meccans, to reconcile and gain them over to his religion and interest.3 h See what is said as to this point in the Prelim. Disc. Sect. IV. i The commentators make a distinction between these two words in the original, fak”r and mesk”n; one, they say, signifies him who is utterly destitute both of money and means of livelihood; the other, one who is in want indeed, but is able to get something towards his own support. But to which of the two words either of these different significations properly belongs, the critics differ. k That is, who were lately enemies to the faithful, but have now embraced Mohammedism, and entered into amity with them. For Mohammed, to gain their hearts and confirm them in his religion, made large presents to the chief of the Koreish out of the spoils at Honein, as has been just now mentioned.4 But this law they say became of no obligation when the Mohammedan faith was established, and stood not in need of such methods for its support. l i.e., He hears everything that we say; and gives credit to all the stories that are carried to him. m Giving credit to nothing that may do you hurt. 3 Idem. Vide Abulfeda. Vit. Moh. p. 118, 119. 4 Abulfeda, ibid. Yüklə 2,27 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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