being unbelievers.-These verses containing the history of Noah are [part] of the announcements of the things unseen which we reveal unto thee, O Mohammad. Thou didst not know them, nor did thy people, before this. Therefore be patient, as Noah was; for the prosperous issue is for those who fear. (Chap. xi. vv. 47-51.) § X. OF 'A'D AND THAMOOD. 1. And we sent unto the former [tribe of] 'A'd* their brother Hood. He said, O my people, worship God: assert his unity. Ye have no other deity than Him. Will ye not then fear Him, and believe ?-The chiefs who disbelieved among his people answered, Verily we see thee to be in a foolish way, and verily we esteem thee one of the liars with respect to the apostolic commission. He replied, O my people, there is no folly in me; but I am an apostle from the Lord of the worlds. I bring unto you the messages of my Lord, and I am unto you a counsellor, entrusted with the apostolic office. Do ye wonder that an admonition hath come unto you from your Lord by the tongue of a man from among you, that he may warn you? And remember how He hath appointed you vicegerents in "'A'd was an ancient and potent tribe of Arabs, [respecting whom, see the Introduction, § i. ¶ 12,] and zealous idolators. They chiefly worshipped four deities, Sáķiyeh, Ḥáfiḍhah, Rázikah, and Sálimeh; the first, as they imagined, supplying them with rain, the second preserving them from all dangers abroad, the third providing food for their sustenance, and the fourth restoring them to health when afflicted with sickness; according to the signification of the several names."-(Sale.) +"Generally supposed to be the same person with Heber." (Idem.) 1 Abu-l-Fida. 2 Vide D'Herbel. Bibl. Orient. art. Houd. the earth after the people of Noah, and increased you in tallness of stature. (For the tall among them was a hundred cubits, and the short among them sixty.) Remember then the benefits of God, that ye may prosper. They said, art thou come unto us that we may worship God alone, and relinquish what our fathers worshipped? Then bring upon us that punishment with which thou threatenest us, if thou be of those who speak truth.— He replied, Punishment and indignation from your Lord have become necessary for you. Do ye dispute with me concerning names which ye and your fathers have given to idols which ye worship, concerning which (that is, the worship of which) God hath not sent down any convincing proof? Then await ye the punishment. I am with you, of those who await that, for your accusing me of falsehood. And the unprofitable wind was sent upon them. But we delivered him (namely, Hood) and them who were with him (of the believers) by our mercy; and we cut off the uttermost part of those who charged our signs with falsehood, and who were not believers. (Chap. vii. vv. 63–70.) ¶ 2. And we sent unto the tribe of Thamood* their brother Sáleḥ. He said, O my people, worship God. Ye have no other deity than Him. A miraculous proof of my veracity hath come unto you from your Lord, this she-camel of God being a sign unto you. [He had caused her, at their demand, to come forth from the heart of a rock.] Therefore let her feed in God's earth, and do her no harm, lest a painful punishment seize * "Thamood was another tribe of the ancient Arabs who fell into idolatry." (Sale.) See the introduction, § i. ¶ 13. "El Beyḍáwee deduces his genealogy thus :-" Şáleh, the son of 'Obeyd, the son of Asaf, the son of Másikh, the son of 'Obeyd, the son of Hádhir, the son of Thamood." (Idem.)—But see again the Introduction, § i. ¶ 13. And remember how He hath appointed you you. vicegerents in the earth after [the tribe of] 'A'd,* and given you a habitation in the earth: ye make yourselves, on its plains, pavilions wherein ye dwell in summer, and cut the mountains into houses wherein ye dwell in winter. Remember then the benefits of God, and do not evil in the earth, acting corruptly.-The chiefs who were elated with pride, among his people, said unto those who were esteemed weak, namely, to those who had believed among them, Do ye know that Sáleh hath been sent unto you from his Lord? They answered, Yea: verily we believe in that wherewith he hath been sent. Those who were elated with pride replied, Verily we disbelieve in that wherein ye have believed. And the she-camel had a day to water; and they had a day; and they became weary of this. And they hamstrung the she-camel (Kudár [the son of Sálif] doing so by their order, and slaying her with the sword)† and they impiously transgressed the command of their Lord, and said, O Sáleḥ, bring upon us that punish "The tribe of Thamood dwelt first in the country of the 'A'dites, but their numbers increasing, they removed to the territory of Hejr," as stated in the introduction. (Sale.) + "This extraordinary camel frighting the other cattle from their pasture, a certain rich woman, named 'Oneyzeh Umm-Ghánim, having four daughters, drest them out, and offered one Kudár his choice of them, if he would kill the camel. Whereupon he chose one, and, with the assistance of eight other men, hamstrung and killed the dam, and, pursuing the young one, which fled to the mountain, killed that also, and divided his flesh among them. Others tell the story somewhat differently, adding Sadakah Bint-El-Mukhtár, as a joint conspiratress with 'Oneyzeh, and pretending that the young one was not killed." (Idem.) "Defying the vengeance with which they were threatened; because they trusted in their strong dwellings hewn in the rocks, saying that the tribe of 'A'd perished only because their houses were not built with sufficient strength." (Idem.) 1 Abu-l-Fida. 2 El-Beyḍáwee. Vide D'Herbel. ubi supra. 3 El-Kisáee, ment with which thou threatenest us for killing her, if thou be [one] of the apostles. And the violent convulsion (a great earthquake, and a cry from heaven*) assailed them, and in the morning they were in their dwellings prostrate and dead. So he turned away from them, and said, O my people, I have brought unto you the message of my Lord, and given you faithful counsel; but ye loved not faithful counsellors. (Chap. vii. vv. 71-77.) * "Like violent and repeated claps of thunder; which some say was no other than the voice of the angel Gabriel,1 which rent their hearts.2 It is said that after they had killed the camel, Sáleḥ told them that on the morrow their faces should become yellow, the next day red, and the third day black; and that on the fourth, God's vengeance should light on them and that the first three signs happening accordingly, they sought to put him to death; but God delivered him, by sending him into Palestine." (Idem.) 1 See Intr. § i. ¶ 13. 2 Abu-l-Fida; and El-Beyḍáwee. 3 El-Beyḍáwee, |