got their fish: Joshua forgot to take it up, on their departure; and Moses forgot to remind him; and it made its way in the sea by a hollow passage, God withholding the water from it. And when they had passed beyond that place, and proceeded until the time of the morning-meal on the following day, [Moses] said unto his young man, Bring us our morning-meal: we have experienced fatigue from this our journey. He replied, What thinkest thou? When we repaired to the rock to rest at that place, I forgot the fish, and none made me forget to mention it but the devil; and it made its way in the sea in a wonderful manner.-Moses said, That (namely our loss of the fish) is what we were desiring; for it is a sign unto us of our finding him whom we seek. And they returned by the way that they had come, following the footsteps, and came to the rock. And they found one of Our servants (namely ElKhidr1) unto whom We had granted mercy from Us (that is the gift of prophecy in the opinion of some, and the rank of a saint according to another opinion which most of the learned hold), and whom We had taught knowledge from Us respecting things unseen.—El-Bukháree hath related a tradition stating that Moses performed the office of a preacher among the children of Israel, and was asked who was the most knowing of men; to which he answered, I:-whereupon God blamed him for this, because he did not refer the

1 Also called El-Khadir. This mysterious person, whom the vulgar and some others regard as a prophet, and identify with Ilyás (Elias or Elijah), and whom some confound with St. George, was, according to the more approved opinion of the learned, a just man or saint, the Wezeer and counsellor of that equally doubtful personage Dhu-l-Karneyn, whose story has already been related in this volume. El-Khidr is said to have drunk of the Fountain of Life, by virtue of which he still lives, and will live till the day of judgment.

He is also said to appear frequently to Muslims in perplexity, and to be generally clad in green garments; whence, according to some, his name. -Sale states, in a note on this passage, that the Muslims usually confound El-Khidr with Phineas, as well as Elias and St. George, saying that his soul passed by a metempsychosis successively through all three; and he adds, that part of these fictions they took from the Jews, some of whom also fancy Phineas was Elias.

Moses said, O my He answered, Thou into a measuring

knowledge thereof to Him. And God said unto him by revelation, Verily I have a servant at the place where the two seas meet, and he is more knowing than thou, Lord, and how shall I meet with him? shalt take with thee a fish, and put it vessel, and where thou shalt lose the fish, there is he. So he took a fish, and put it into a vessel. Then he departed, and Joshua the son of Nun departed with him, until they came to the rock, where they laid down their heads and slept. And the fish became agitated in the vessel, and escaped from it, and fell into the sea, and it made its way in the sea by a hollow passage, God withholding the water from the fish sc that it became like a vault over it: and when Moses' companion awoke, he forgot to inform him of the fish.

Moses said unto him [namely El-Khiḍr], Shall I follow thee, that thou mayest teach me [part] of that which thou hast been taught, for a direction unto me? He answered, Verily thou canst not have patience with me. For how canst thou be patient with respect to that whereof thou comprehendest not the knowledge?—He replied, Thou shalt find me, if God please, patient; and I will not disobey any command of thine. He said, Then if thou follow me, ask me not respecting anything: but be patient until I give thee an account thereof. And Moses assented to his condition. And they departed, walking along the shore of the sea, until, when they embarked in the ship that passed by them, he (El-Khidr) made a hole in it, by pulling out a plank or two planks from it on the outside by means of an axe when it reached the middle of the sea. Moses said unto him, Hast thou made a hole in it that thou mayest drown its people? Thou hast done a grievous thing.-(But it is related that the water entered not the hole.) He replied, Did I not say that thou couldst not have patience with me? [Moses] said, Chastise me not for my forgetfulness, nor impose on me a difficulty in my case. And they departed, after they had gone forth from the vessel, walking on, until, when they found a boy who

had not attained the age of knowing right and wrong, playing with other children, and he was the most beautiful of them in countenance, and he (El-Khiḍr) slew him, Moses said unto him, Hast thou slain an innocent soul, without his having slain a soul? Thou hast done an iniquitous thing. -He replied, Did I not say that thou couldst not have patience with me? [Moses] said, If I ask thee concerning anything after this time, suffer me not to accompany thee. Now hast thou received from me an excuse for thy separating thyself from me.—And they departed [and proceeded] until, when they came to the people of a city (which was Antioch 1), they asked food of its people; but they refused to entertain them: and they found therein a wall, the height whereof was a hundred cubits, which was about to fall down; whereupon he (El-Khiḍr) set it upright with his hand. Moses said unto him, If thou wouldst, thou mightest have obtained pay for it, since they did not entertain us, notwithstanding our want of food. El-Khidr said unto him, This shall be a separation between me and thee; but before my separation from thee, I will declare unto thee the interpretation of that which thou couldst not bear with patience.

As to the vessel, it belonged to ten poor men,2 who pursued their business on the sea; and I desired to render it unsound; for there was behind them a king, an unbeliever, who took every sound vessel by force. And as to the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared that he would transgress against them rebelliously and impiously: for, according to a tradition related by Muslim, he was constituted by nature an unbeliever, and had he lived he had so acted; wherefore we desired that their Lord should create for them a better than he in virtue, and [one] more disposed than he to filial piety. And God created for them a daughter, who married a prophet, and gave birth to

1 Or, as some rather think, ElUbulleh, near El-Basrah, or else Bájarwán in Armenia.-S. (B.)

2 They were ten brothers, five of whom were past their labour by reason of their age.-S. (B.)

a

S

2

a prophet, by means of whom God directed a people to the right way. And as to the wall, it belonged to two orphan youths in the city, and beneath it was a treasure buried, of gold and silver, belonging to them; and their father was a righteous man; and thy Lord desired that they should attain their age of strength and take forth their treasure through the mercy of thy Lord. And I did it not (namely what hath been mentioned) of mine own will, but by direction of God. This is the interpretation of that which thou couldst not bear with patience. (Chap. xviii. 59-81.)

SAUL, DAVID, SOLOMON.

HAST thou not considered the assembly of the children of Israel after the death of Moses, when they said unto a prophet of theirs, namely Samuel, Set up for us a king, under whom we will fight in the way of God? He said unto them, If fighting be prescribed as incumbent on you, will ye, peradventure, abstain from fighting? They replied, And wherefore should we not fight in the way of God, since we have been expelled from our habitations and our children by their having been taken prisoners and slain?—The people of Goliath [Jáloot] had done thus unto them. But when fighting was commanded them, they turned back, excepting a few of them, who crossed the river with Saul [Táloot], as will be related. And God knoweth the offenders. And the prophet begged his Lord to send a king; whereupon he consented to send Saul. And their prophet said unto them, Verily God hath set up Saul as your king. They said, How shall he have the dominion over us, when we are more worthy of the dominion than he, (for he was not of the royal lineage, nor of the prophetic, and he was a tanner, or a tender of flocks or herds,) and he hath not been endowed with ample wealth? He replied, Verily God hath chosen him as king over you, and increased him in largeness of knowledge and of body, (for he was the wisest of the children of Israel at that time, and the most comely of them, and the most perfect of them in make,) and God giveth his kingdom unto whom He pleaseth; and God is ample in His beneficence, knowing with respect to him who is worthy of the kingdom.-And their prophet said unto them, when they demanded of him a sign