fac-similé réduire la fenêtre zoomer dans le manuscrit dézoomer dans le manuscrit galerie d'images
fac-similé fac-similé fac-similé fac-similé
Sale, 1734

CHAP. LIV.

Intitled, The Moon; revealed at Mecca.


In the name of the most merciful God.
THE hour of judgment approacheth; and the moon hath been split in sunder [a] : but if the unbelievers see a sign, they turn aside, saying, This is a powerful charm [b] . And they accuse thee, O Mohammed, of imposture, and follow their own lusts: but every thing will be immutably [429] fixed [a] . And now hath a message [b] come unto them, wherein is a determent from obstinate infidelity; the same being consummate wisdom: but warners profit them not; wherefore do thou withdraw from them. The day whereon the summoner shall summon mankind to an ungrateful business [c] , they shall come forth from their graves with downcast looks: numerous as locusts scattered far abroad; hastening with terror unto the summoner. The unbelievers shall say, This is a day of distress. The people of Noah accused that prophet of imposture, before thy people rejected thee: they accused our servant of imposture, saying, He is a madman; and he was rejected with reproach. He called, therefore, upon his Lord, saying, Verily I am overpowered; wherefore avenge me [d] . So we opened the gates of heaven, with water pouring down, and we caused the earth to break forth into springs; so that the water of heaven and earth met, according to the decree which had been established. And we bare him on a vessel composed of planks and nails; which moved forward under our eyes [e] : as a recompense unto him who had been ungratefully rejected. And we left the said vessel for a sign: but is any one warned thereby? And how severe was my vengeance, and my threatening! Now have we made the Koran easy for admonition: but is any one admonished thereby? Ad charged their prophet with imposture: but how severe was my vengeance, and my threatening! Verily we sent against them a roaring [f] wind, on a day of continued ill luck [g] ; it carried men away, as though they had been roots of palm trees forcibly torn up [h] . And how severe was my vengeance and my threatening! Now have we made the Koran easy for admonition: but is any one admonished thereby? Thamud charged the admonitions of their prophet with falsehood, and said, Shall we follow a single man among us? verily we should then be guilty of error, and preposterous madness: is the office of admonition committed unto him preferably to the rest of us? Nay; he is a liar, and an insolent fellow. But God said to Saleh, To morrow shall they know who is the liar, and the insolent person: for we will surely send [430] the she-camel for a trial of them [a] : and do thou observe them, and bear their insults with patience: and prophesy unto them that the water shall be divided between them [b] , and each portion shall be sat down to alternately. And they called their companion [c] : and he took a sword [d] , and slew her. But how severe was my vengeance, and my threatening! For we sent against them one cry of the angel Gabriel ; and they became like the dry sticks used by him who buildeth a fold for cattle [e] . And now have we made the Koran easy for admonition: but is any one admonished thereby? The people of Lot charged his preaching with falsehood: but we sent against them a wind driving a shower of stones, which destroyed them all except the family of Lot; whom we delivered early in the morning, through favour from us. Thus do we reward those who are thankful. And Lot had warned them of our severity in chastising; but they doubted of that warning. And they demanded his guests of him, that they might abuse them: but we put out their eyes [f] , saying, Taste my vengeance, and my threatening. And early in the morning a lasting punishment [g] surprised them. Taste, therefore, my vengeance, and my threatening. Now have we made the Koran easy for admonition: but is any one admonished thereby? The warning of Moses also came unto the people of Pharaoh; but they charged every one of our signs with imposture: wherefore we chastised them with a mighty and irresistible chastisement. Are your unbelievers, O Meccans, better than these? Is immunity from punishment promised unto you in the scriptures? Do they say, We are a body of men able to prevail against our enemies? The multitude shall surely be put to flight, and shall turn their back [h] . But the hour of judgment is their threatened time of punishment [i] : and that hour shall be more grievous and more bitter than their afflictions in this life. Verily the wicked wander in error, and shall be tormented hereafter in burning [431] flames. On that day they shall be dragged into the fire on their faces; and it shall be said unto them, Taste ye the touch of hell. All things have we created bound by a fixed decree: and our command is no more than a single word [a] , like the twinkling of an eye. We have formerly destroyed nations like unto you; but is any of you warned by their example? Every thing which they do is recorded in the books kept by the guardian angels: and every action, both small and great, is written down in the preserved table. Moreover the pious shall dwell among gardens and rivers, in the assembly of truth, in the presence of a most potent king.

notes originales réduire la fenêtre

[a] The moon hath been split in sunder.] This passage is expounded two different ways. Some imagine the words refer to a famous miracle supposed to have been performed by Mohammed; for it is said that, on the infidels demanding a sign of him, the moon appeared cloven in two [1] , one part vanishing, and the other remaining; and Ebn Masúd affirmed that he saw mount Harâ interpose between the two sections. Others think the preter tense is here used in the prophetic style for the future, and that the passage should be rendered, The moon shall be split in sunder: for this, they say, is to happen at the resurrection. The former opinion is supported by reading, according to some copies, wakad inshakka ’lkamaro, i.e. since the moon hath already been split in sunder; the splitting of the moon being reckoned by some to be one of the previous signs of the last day [2] .

[1] See a long and fabulous account of this pretended miracle in Gagnier, Vie de Mah. ch. 19.

[2] Al Zamakh. Al Beidawi.

[b] A powerful charm;] Or, as the participle here used may also signify, a continued series of magic, or, a transient magic illusion.

[a] Every thing will be immutably fixed;] Or will reach a final period of ruin or success in this world, and of misery or happiness in the next, which will be conclusive and unchangeable thenceforward for ever [1] .

[1] Al Beidawi.

[b] A message.] i.e. The Koran, containing stories of former nations which have been chastised for their incredulity, and threats of a more dreadful punishment hereafter.

[c] The day whereon the summoner shall summon mankind to an ungrateful business;] That is, when the angel Israfil shall call men to judgment.

[d] I am overpowered; wherefore avenge me.] This petition was not preferred by Noah till after he had suffered repeated violence from his people; for it is related that one of them having fallen upon him and almost strangled him, when he came to himself he said, O Lord, forgive them, for they know not what they do [2] .

[2] Idem.

[e] Under our eyes;] i.e. Under our special regard and keeping.

[f] A roaring;] Or, a cold wind.

[g] On a day of continued ill luck;] Viz. On a Wednesday. See chap. 41. p. 390. not. d.

[h] It carried men away, as they had been roots of palm-trees;] It is related that they sought shelter in the clefts of rocks, and in pits, holding fast by one another; but that the wind impetuously tore them away, and threw them down dead [3] .

[3] Idem

[a] See chap. 7. p. 124, &c.

[b] The water shall be divided between them;] That is, between the Thamudites and the camel. See chap. 26. p. 306. not. b.

[c] Their companion;] Namely, Kodâr Ebn Salef; who was not an Arab , but a stranger dwelling among the Thamudites. See chap. 7. p. 125. not. a.

[d] He took a sword;] Or, as the word also imports, He became resolute and daring.

[e] Like the dry sticks used by him who buildeth a fold for cattle;] The words may signify either the dry boughs with which, in the east, they make folds or enclosures, to fence their cattle from wind and cold; or the stubble and other stuff with which they litter them in those folds during the winter season.

[f] We put out their eyes;] So that their sockets became filled up even with the other parts of their faces. This, it is said, was done by one stroke of the wing of the angel Gabriel. See chap. 11. p. 183.

[g] A lasting punishment;] Under which they shall continue till they receive their full punishment in hell.

[h] The multitude shall surely be put to flight;] This prophecy was fulfilled by the overthrow of the Koreish at Bedr. It is related, from a tradition of Omar, that when this passage was revealed, Mohammed professed himself to be ignorant of its true meaning; but on the day of the battle of Bedr, he repeated these words as he was putting on his coat of mail [1] .

[1] Al Beidawi.

[i] The hour of judgment is their threatened time of punishment;] i.e. The time when they shall receive their full punishment; what they suffer in this world being only the forerunner or earnest of what they shall feel in the next.

[a] Our command is no more than a single word;] Viz. Kun, i.e. Be. The passage may also be rendered, The execution of our purpose is but a single act, exerted in a moment. Some suppose it refers to the business of the day of judgment [1] .

[1] Idem