ENTITLED, THE CAVE;p REVEALED AT MECCA.q
IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.
PRAISE be unto GOD, who hath sent down unto his servant the book of the
Korân, and hath not inserted therein any crookedness,
but hath made it a straight rule: that he should threaten a grievous
punishment unto the unbelievers, from his presence; and should bear good
tidings unto the faithful, who work righteousness, that they should receive an
excellent reward, namely, paradise, wherein they shall remain forever:
l See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. III. p. 50.
m Literally, on their chins.
n The infidels hearing Mohammed say, O GOD, and O Merciful, imagined
the Merciful was the name of a deity different from GOD, and that he preached
the worship of two; which occasioned this passage. See chapter 7, p. 123.
o Neither so loud, that the infidels may overhear thee, and thence take
occasion to blaspheme and scoff; nor so softly as not to be heard by the
assistants. Some suppose that by the word prayer, in this place, is meant the
reading of the Korân.
p The chapter is thus inscribed because it makes mention of the cave
wherein the seven sleepers concealed themselves.
q Some except one verse, which begins thus, Behave thyself with
constancy, &c.
and that he should warn those who say, GOD hath begotten issue;
of which matter they have no knowledge, neither had their fathers. A
grievous saying it is, which proceedeth from their mouths: they speak no other
than a lie.
Peradventure thou wilt kill thyself with grief after them, out of thy
earnest zeal for their conversion, if they believe not in this new revelation
of the Koran.
Verily we have ordained whatsoever is on the earth for the ornament
thereof, that we might make trial of men, and see which of them excelleth in
works:
and we will surely reduce whatever is thereon to dry dust.
Dost thou consider that the companions of the cave,r and Al Rakim,s were
one of our signs, and a great miracle?
When the young men took refuge in the cave, they said, O LORD, grant us
mercy from before thee, and dispose our business for us to a right issue.
10 Wherefore we struck their ears with deafness, so that they slept without
disturbance in the cave for a great number of years:
then we awaked them, that we might know which of the two partiest was
more exact in computing the space which they had remained there.
We will relate unto thee their history with truth. Verily they were
young men who had believed in their LORD: and we had abundantly directed them:
and we fortified their hearts with constancy when they stood before the
tyrant; and they said, Our LORD is the LORD of heaven and earth: we will by no
means call on any god besides him; for then should we surely utter an
extravagance.
These our fellow people have taken other gods, besides him; although they
bring no demonstrative argument for them: and who is more unjust than he who
deviseth a lie concerning GOD?
And they said the one to the other, When ye shall separate yourselves
from them, and from the deities which they worship, except GOD,u fly into the
cave: your LORD will pour his mercy on you abundantly, and will dispose your
business for you to advantage.
r These were certain Christian youths, of a good family in Ephesus,
who, to avoid the persecution of the emperor Decius, by the Arab writers
called Decianus, hid themselves in a cave, where they slept for a great number
of years.1
This apocryphal story (for Baronius2 treats it as no better, and Father
Marracci3 acknowledges it to be partly false, or at least doubtful, though he
calls Hottinger a monster of impiety, and the off-scum of heretics, for
terming it a fable4), was borrowed by Mohammed from the Christian traditions,5
but has been embellished by him and his followers with several additional
circumstances.6
s What is meant by this word the commentators cannot agree. Some will
have it to be the name of the mountain, or the valley, wherein the cave was;
some say it was the name of their dog; and others (who seem to come nearest
the true signification) that it was a brass plate, or stone table, placed near
the mouth of the cave, on which the names of the young men were written.
There are some, however, who take the companions of al Rakîm to be
different from the seven sleepers; for they say the former were three men who
were driven by ill weather into a cave for shelter, and were shut in there by
the falling down of a vast stone, which stopped the cave's mouth; but on their
begging GOD'S mercy, and their relating each of them a meritorious action
which they hoped might entitle them to it, were miraculously delivered by the
rock's rending in sunder to give them passage.7
t viz., Of the sleepers themselves, or others, who were divided in
opinion as to the length of their stay in the cave.
u For they, like other idolaters, worshipped the true GOD and idols
also.8
1 Al Beidâwi, Jallalo'ddin, &c. 2 In Martyrol. ad 27 Julii.
3 In Alcor. p. 425. et in Prodr. part. 4, p. 103.
4 Hotting. Hist. Orient. p. 40. 5 Vide Greg. Turon. et Simeon.
Metaphrast. 6 Vide D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient. p. 189.
7 Al Beidâwi, ex trad Noomân Ebn Bashir. 8 Idem.
And thou mightest have seen the sun, when it had risen, to decline from
their cave towards the right hand, and when it went down, to leave them on the
left hand:x and they were in the spacious part of the cave.y This was one of
the signs of GOD. Whomsoever GOD shall direct, he shall be rightly directed:
and whomsoever he shall cause to err, thou shalt not find any to defend, or to
direct.
And thou wouldest have judged them to have been awake,z while they were
sleeping; and we caused them to turn themselves to the right hand, and to the
left.a And their dogb stretched forth his forelegs in the mouth of the cave:
if thou hadst come suddenly upon them, verily thou wouldest have turned thy
back and fled from them, and thou wouldest have been filled with fear at the
sight of them.c
And so we awaked them from their sleep, that they might ask questions of
one another. One of them spake and said, How long have ye tarried here? They
answered, We have tarried a day, or part of a day. The others said, Your LORD
best knoweth the time ye have tarried:d and now send one of you with this your
money into the city;e and let him see which of its inhabitants hath the best
and cheapest food, and let him bring you provision from him; and let him
behave circumspectly, and not discover you to any one.
Verily if they come up against you, they will stone you, or force you to
return to their religion; and then shall ye not prosper forever.
x Lest it should be offensive to them, the cave opening towards the
south.1
y i.e., In the midst of it, where they were incommoded neither by the
heat of the sun nor the closeness of the cave.2
z Because of their having their eyes open, or their frequent turning
themselves from one side to the other.3
a Lest their lying so long on the ground should consume their flesh.4
b This dog had followed them as they passed by him when they fled to
the cave, and they drove him away; whereupon GOD caused him to speak, and he
said, I love those who are dear unto God; go to sleep therefore, and I will
guard you. But some say, it was a dog belonging to a shepherd who followed
them, and that the dog followed the shepherd; which opinion is supported by
reading, as some do, câlebohom, their dog's master instead of calbohom, their
dog.5 Jallalo'ddin adds, that the dog behaved as his masters did, in turning
himself, in sleeping, and in waking.
The Mohammedans have a great respect for this dog, and allow him a place
in paradise with some other favourite brutes; and they have a sort of proverb
which they use in speaking of a covetous person, that he would not throw a
bone to the dog of the seven sleepers; nay, it is said that they have the
superstition to write his name, which they suppose to be Katmîr (though some,
as is observed above, think he was called al Rakîm), on their letters which go
far, or which pass the sea, as a protection, or kind of talisman, to preserve
them from miscarriage.6
c For that GOD had given them terrible countenances; or else because of
the largeness of their bodies, or the horror of the place.
It is related that the Khalif Moâwiyah, in an expedition he made against
Natolia, passed by the cave of the seven sleepers, and would needs send
somebody into it, notwithstanding Ebn Abbâs remonstrated to him the danger of
it, saying, That a better man than him (meaning the prophet) had been
forbidden to enter it, and repeated this verse; but the men the Khaliff sent
in had no sooner entered the cave, than they were struck dead by a burning
wind.7
d As they entered the cave in the morning, and waked about noon, they
at first imagined they had slept half a day, or a day and a half at most; but
when they found their nails and hair grown very long, they used these words.8
e Which some commentators suppose was Tarsus.
1 Idem. 2 Idem. 3 Idem. 4 Idem,
Jallalo'ddin. 5 Idem. 6 La Roque, Voy. de l'Arabie Heur.
p. 74. Vide D'Herbel. ubi sup. 7 Al Beidâwi. 8 Idem.
20 And so we made their people acquainted with what had happened to them;
that they might know that the promise of GOD is true, and that there is no
doubt of the last hour;f when they disputed among themselves concerning their
matter.g And they said, Erect a building over them: their LORD best knoweth
their condition. Those who prevailed in their affair answered, We will surely
build a chapel over them.h
Some say, The sleepers were three; and their dog was the fourth;i and
others say, They were five; and their dog was the sixth;j guessing at a secret
matter: and others say, They were seven; and their dog was the eighth.k Say,
My LORD best knoweth their number: none shall know them, except a few.
Wherefore dispute not concerning them, except with a clear disputation,
according to what hath been revealed unto thee: and ask not any of the
Christians concerning them.
Say not of any matter, I will surely do this to-morrow; unless thou add,
If GOD please.l And remember thy LORD, when thou forgettest,m and say, My
LORD is able to direct me with ease, that I may draw near unto the truth of
this matter rightly.
And they remained in their cave three hundred years, and nine years
over.n
Say, GOD best knoweth how long they continued there: unto him are the
secrets of heaven and earth known; do thou make him to see and to hear.o The
inhabitants thereof have no protector besides him; neither doth he suffer any
one to have a share in the establishment or knowledge of his decree.
f The long sleep of these young men, and their waking after so many
years, being a representation of the state of those who die, and are
afterwards raised to life.
g i.e., Concerning the resurrection; some saying that the souls only
should be raised, others, that they should be raised with the body; or,
concerning the sleepers, after they were really dead; one saying, that they
were dead, and another, they were only asleep: or else concerning the erecting
a building over them, as it follows in the next words; some advising a
dwelling-house to be built there, and others a temple.1
h When the young man who was sent into the city, went to pay for the
provision he had bought, his money was so old, being the coin of Decianus,
that they imagined he had found a treasure, and carried him before the prince,
who was a Christian, and having heard his story, sent some with him to the
cave, who saw and spoke to the others: after which they fell asleep again and
died; and the prince ordered them to be buried in the same place, and built a
chapel over them.
i This was the opinion of al Seyid, a Jacobite Christian of Najrân.
j Which was the opinion of certain Christians, and particularly of a
Nestorian prelate.
k And this is the true opinion.2
l It is said, that when the Koreish, by the direction of the Jews, put
the three questions above mentioned to Mohammed, he bid them come to him the
next day, and he would give them an answer, but added not, if it please God;
for which reason he had the mortification to wait above ten days before any
revelation was vouchsafed him concerning those matters, so that the Koreish
triumphed, and bitterly reproached him as a liar: but at length Gabriel
brought him directions what he should say; with this admonition, however, that
he should not be so confident for the future.3
m i.e., Give the glory to him, and ask pardon for thy omission, in case
thou forget to say, If it please God.
n Jallalo'ddin supposes the whole space was three hundred solar years,
and that the odd nine are added to reduce them to lunar years.
Some think these words are introduced as spoken by the Christians, who
differed among themselves about the time; one saying it was three hundred
years, and another, three hundred and nine years.4 The interval between the
reign of Decius, and that of Theodosius the younger, in whose time the
sleepers are said to have awaked, will not allow them to have slept quite two
hundred years; though Mohammed is somewhat excusable, since the number
assigned by Simeon Metaphrastes5 is three hundred and seventy-two years.
o This is an ironical expression, intimating the folly and madness of
man's presuming to instruct GOD.6
1 Idem. 2 Idem, Jallalo'ddin. 3 Al Beidâwi.
4 Idem. 5 Ubi sup.
6 Al Beidâwi. Jallalo'ddin
Read that which hath been revealed unto thee, of the book of thy LORD,
without presuming to make any change therein:p there is none who hath power to
change his words; and thou shalt not find any to fly to, besides him, if thou
attempt it.
Behave thyself with constancy towards those who call upon their LORD
morning and evening, and who seek his favor; and let not thine eyes be turned
away from them, seeking the pomp of this life;q neither obey him whose heart
we have caused to neglect the remembrance of us,r and who followeth his lusts,
and leaveth the truth behind him.
And say, The truth is from your LORD; wherefore let him who will,
believe, and let him who will, be incredulous. We have surely prepared for
the unjust hell fire, the flame and smoke whereof shall surround him like a
pavilion: and if they beg relief, they shall be relieved with water like
molten brass, which shall scald their faces: O how miserable a potion, and how
unhappy a couch!
As to those who believe, and do good works, we will not suffer the reward
of him who shall work righteousness to perish;
30 for them are prepared gardens of eternal abode,s which shall be watered
by rivers; they shall be adorned therein with bracelets of gold, and they
shall be clothed in green garments of fine silk and brocades, reposing
themselves therein on thrones. O how happy a reward, and how easy a couch!
And propound unto them as a parable two men:t on the one of whom we had
bestowed two vineyards, and had surrounded them with palm-trees, and had
caused corn to grow between them. Each of the gardens brought forth its fruit
every season, and failed not at all;
and we caused a river to flow in the midst thereof: and he had great
abundance. And he said unto his companion by way of debate, I am superior to
thee in wealth, and have a more powerful family.
And he went into his garden,u being guilty of injustice against his own
soul, and said, I do not think that this garden will decay forever;
neither do I think that the last hour will come: and although I should
return unto my LORD, verily I shall find a better garden than this in
exchange.u
And his companion said unto him, by way of debate, Dost thou not believe
in him who created thee of the dust, and afterwards of seed; and then
fashioned thee into a perfect man?
But as for me, GOD is my LORD; and I will not associate any other deity
with my LORD.
p As the unbelievers would persuade thee to do.1
q That is, Despise not the poor believers because of their meanness,
nor honour the rich because of their wealth and grandeur.
r The person more particularly intended here, it is said, was Ommeya
Ebn Khalf, who desired Mohammed to discard his indigent companions, out of
respect to the Koreish. See chapter 6 p. 93.
s Literally of Eden. See chapter 9, p. 142, 143.
t Though these seem to be general characters only, designed to
represent the different end of the wicked, and of the good; yet it is
supposed, by some, that two particular persons are here meant. One says they
were two Israelites and brothers, who had a considerable sum left them by
their father, which they divided between them; and that one of them, being an
unbeliever, bought large fields and possessions with his portion, while the
other, who was a true believer, disposed of his to pious uses; but that in the
end, the former was ruined, and the latter prospered. Another thinks they
were two men of the tribe of Makhzûm: the one named al Aswad Ebn Abd'al
Ashadd, an infidel; and the other Abu Salma Ebn Abd'allah, the husband of Omm
Salma (whom the prophet married after his death), and a true believer.2
u Carrying his companion with him, out of ostentation, and to mortify
him with the view of his large possessions.3
x Vainly imagining that his prosperity was not so much the free gift of
GOD, as due to his merit.4
1 Iidem. 2 Al Beidâwi. 3 Idem. 4
Idem
And when thou enterest thy garden, wilt thou not say, What GOD pleaseth
shall come to pass; there is no power but in GOD alone? Although thou seest
me to be inferior to thee in wealth and number of children,
my LORD is well able to bestow on me a better gift than thy garden, and
to shoot his arrows against the same from heaven, so that it shall become
barren dust;
or its water may sink deep into the earth, that thou canst not draw
thereof.
40 And his possessions were encompassed with destruction, as his companion
had forewarned him; wherefore he began to turn down the palms of his hands out
of sorrow and regret for that which he had expended thereon; for the vines
thereof were fallen down on their trails: and he said, Would to GOD that I had
not associated any other deity with my LORD!
And he had no party to assist him besides GOD, neither was he able to
defend himself against his vengeance.
In such case protection belongeth of right unto GOD alone; he is the best
rewarder, and the best giver of success.
And propound to them a similitude of the present life. It is like water
which we send down from heaven; and the herb of the earth is mixed therewith,
and after it hath been green and flourishing, in the morning it becometh dry
stubble, which the winds scatter abroad: and GOD is able to do all things.
Wealth and children are the ornament of this present life: but good
works, which are permanent, are better in the sight of thy LORD, with respect
to the reward, and better with respect to hope.
50 On a certain day we will cause the mountains to pass away,y and thou
shalt see the earth appearing plain and even; and we will gather mankind
together, and we will not leave any one of them behind.
And they shall be set before thy LORD in distinct order, and he shall say
unto them, Now are ye come unto us naked, as we created you the first time:
but ye thought that we should not perform our promise unto you.
And the book wherein every one's actions are recorded shall be put into
his hand; and thou shalt see the wicked in great terror, because of that which
is written therein, and they shall say, Alas for us! what meaneth this book?
it omitteth neither a small action nor a great one, but it compriseth the
same; and they shall find that which they have wrought, present before their
eyes: and thy LORD will not deal unjustly with any one.
Remember when we said unto the angels, Worship ye Adam: and they all
worshipped him, except Eblis,z who was one of the genii,a and departed from
the command of his LORD. Will ye therefore take him and his offspring for
your patrons besides me, notwithstanding they are your enemies? Miserable
shall such a change be to the ungodly!
I called not them to be present at the creation of the heavens and of the
earth, nor at the creation of themselves, neither did I take those seducers
for my assistants.
y For being torn up by the roots, they shall fly in the air, and be
reduced to atoms.1
z See chapter 2, p. 5, and chapter 7, p. 105, &c.
a Hence some imagine the genii are a species of angels: others suppose
the devil to have been originally a genius, which was the occasion of his
rebellion, and call him the father of the genii, whom he begat after his
fall;2 it being a constant opinion among the Mohammedans, that the angels are
impeccable, and do not propagate their species.3
1 Idem. See Prelim. Disc. Sect. IV. p. 64. 2 Jallalo'ddin,
&c. 3 See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. IV. p. 56, &c.
On a certain day, God shall say unto the idolaters, Call those whom ye
imagined to be my companions, to protect you: and they shall call them, but
they shall not answer them; and we will place a valley of destruction between
them:b
and the wicked shall see hell fire: and they shall know that they shall
be thrown into the same, and they shall find no way to avoid it.
And now have we variously propounded unto men, in this Koran, a parable
of every kind; but man cavilleth at most things therein.
Yet nothing hindereth men from believing, now a direction is come unto
them, and from asking pardon of their LORD, excepting that they wait until the
punishment of their predecessors come to be inflicted on them, or that the
chastisement of the next life come upon them publicly.
We send not our messengers, but to bear good tidings, and to denounce
threats. Those who believe not dispute with vain arguments, that they may
thereby render the truth of no effect; and they hold my signs, and the
admonitions which have been made them, in derision.
And who is more unjust than he who hath been acquainted with the signs of
his LORD, and retireth afar off from the same, and forgetteth that which his
hands have formerly committed? Verily we have cast veils over their hearts,
lest they should understand the Koran, and into their ears thickness of
hearing:
if thou invite them to the true direction, yet will they not therefore be
directed forever.
Thy LORD is gracious, endued with mercy; if he would have punished them
for that which they have committed, he would doubtless have hastened their
punishment: but a threat hath been denounced against them,c and they shall
find no refuge, besides him.
And those former citiesd did we destroy, when they acted unjustly; and we
gave them previous warning of their destruction.
And remember when Moses said unto his servant Joshua the son of Nun, I
will not cease to go forward, until I come to the place where the two seas
meet; or I will travel for a long space of time.e
60 But when they were arrived at the meeting of the two seas,f they forgot
their fish, which they had taken with them;g and the fish took its way freely
in the sea.h
b i.e., Between the idolaters and their false gods. Some suppose the
meaning is no more than that GOD will set them at variance and division.
c viz., Of their calamity at Bedr (for the Koreish are the infidels
here intended), or their punishment at the resurrection.1
d That is, the towns of the Adites, Thamûdites, Sodomites, &c.
e The original word properly signifies the space of eighty years and
upwards. To explain this long passage the commentators tell the following
story: They say that Moses once preaching to the people, they admired his
knowledge and eloquence so much, that they asked him whether he knew any man
in the world who was wiser than himself; to which he answered in the negative:
whereupon GOD, in a revelation, having reprehended him for his vanity (though
some pretend that Moses asked GOD the question of his own accord), acquainted
him that his servant al Khedr was more knowing than he; and, at Moses' request
told him he might find that person at a certain rock, where the two seas met;
directing him to take a fish with him in a basket, and that where he missed
the fish, that was the place. Accordingly Moses set out, with his servant
Joshua, in search of al Khedr; which expedition is here described.2
f viz., Those of Persia and Greece. Some fancy that the meeting of
Moses and al Khedr is here intended, as of the two seas of knowledge.3
g Moses forgot to inquire concerning it, and Joshua forgot to tell him
when he missed it. It is said that when they came to the rock, Moses falling
asleep, the fish, which was roasted, leaped out of the basket into the sea;
some add, that Joshua making the ablution at the fountain of life (of which
immediately), some of the water happened to be sprinkled on the fish, which
immediately restored it to life.1
h The word here translated freely, signifying also a pipe or arched
canal for conveyance of water, some have imagined that the water of the sea
was miraculously kept from touching the body of the fish, which passed through
it as under an arch.2
1 Al Beidâwi. 2 Idem, Al Zamakhshari, Al Bokhari, in Sonna,
&c. 3 Idem. 1 Idem.
2 Idem.
And when they had passed beyond that place, Moses said unto his servant,
Bring us our dinner; for now are we fatigued with this our journey.
His servant answered, Dost thou know what has befallen me? When we took
up our lodging at the rock, verily I forgot the fish: and none made me to
forget it, except Satan, that I should not remind thee of it. And the fish
took its way into the sea, in a wonderful manner.
Moses said, This is what we sought after. And they both went back,
returning by the way they came.
And coming to the rock they found one of our servants,i unto whom we had
granted mercy from us, and whom we had taught wisdom from before us.
And Moses said unto him, 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 bear with me:
for how canst thou patiently suffer those things, the knowledge whereof
thou dost not comprehend?
Moses replied, Thou shalt find me patient, if GOD please; neither will I
be disobedient unto thee in anything.
He said, If thou follow me, therefore, ask me not concerning anything,
until I shall declare the meaning thereof unto thee.
70 So they both went on by the sea-shore, until they went up into a ship;
and he made a hole therein.j And Moses said unto him, Hast thou made a hole
therein, that thou mightest drown those who are on board? now hast thou done a
strange thing.
He answered, Did I not tell thee that thou couldst not bear with me?
Moses said, Rebuke me not, because I did forget; and impose not on me a
difficulty in what I am commanded.
Wherefore they left the ship and proceeded, until they met with a youth;
and he slew him.k Moses said, Hast thou slain an innocent person, without his
having killed another? now hast thou committed an unjust action.
He answered, Did I not tell thee that thou couldest not bear with me?
Moses said, If I ask thee concerning anything hereafter, suffer me not to
accompany thee: now hast thou received an excuse from me.
i This person, according to the general opinion, was the prophet al
Khedr; whom the Mohammedans usually confound with Phineas, Elias, and St.
George, saying that his soul passed by a metempsychosis successively through
all three. Some, however, say his true name was Balya Ebn Malcân, and that he
lived in the time of Afridûn, one of the ancient kings of Persia, and that he
preceded Dhu'lkarnein, and lived to the time of Moses. They suppose al Khedr,
having found out the fountain of life and drunk thereof, became immortal; and
that he had therefore this name from his flourishing and continual youth.3
Part of these fictions they took from the Jews, some of whom also fancy
Phineas was Elias.4
j For al Khedr took an axe, and knocked out two of her planks.5
k By twisting his neck round, or dashing his head against a wall, or
else by throwing him down and cutting his throat.6
3 Idem. Vide D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient. Art. Khedher, Septemcastrens.
de Turcar. Moribus. Busbeq. Epist. I, p. 93, &c. Hotting. Hist. Orient. p. 58,
&c., 99, &c., 292, &c. 4 R. Levi Ben Gerson in Append. l. I, Reg. I,
27. 5 Al Beidâwi. 6 Idem
They went forwards, therefore, until they came to the inhabitants of a
certain city:l and they asked food of the inhabitants thereof; but they
refused to receive them. And they found therein a wall, which was ready to
fall down; and he set it upright.m Whereupon Moses said unto him, If thou
wouldest thou mightest doubtless have received a reward for it.
He answered, This shall be a separation between me and thee; but I will
first declare unto thee the signification of that which thou couldest not bear
with patience.
The vessel belonged to certain poor men,n who did their business in the
sea: and I was minded to render it unserviceable, because there was a kingo
behind them, who took every sound ship by force.
As to the youth, his parents were true believers; and we feared, lest he,
being an unbeliever, should oblige them to suffer his perverseness and
ingratitude:
80 wherefore we desired that their LORD might give them a more righteous
child in exchange for him, and one more affectionate towards them.p
And the wall belonged to two orphan youthsq in the city, and under it was
a treasure hidden which belonged to them; and their father was a righteous
man: and thy LORD was pleased that they should attain their full age, and take
forth their treasure, through the mercy of thy LORD, and I did not what thou
hast seen of mine own will, but by God's direction. This is the
interpretation of that which thou couldest not bear with patience.
The Jews will ask thee concerning Dhu'lkarnein.r Answer I will rehearse
unto you an account of him.
We made him powerful in the earth, and we gave him means to accomplish
everything he pleased. And he followed his way,
l This city was Antioch; or, as some rather think, Obollah, near Basra,
or else Bâjirwân in Armenia.1
m By only stroking it with his hand; though others say he threw it down
and rebuilt it.2
n They were ten brothers, five of whom were past their labour by reason
of their age.3
o Named Jaland Ebn Karkar, or Minwâr Ebn Jaland al Azdi.4
p It is said that they had afterwards a daughter, who was the wife and
the mother of a prophet; and that her son converted a whole nation.5
q Their names were Asram and Sarim.6
r Or, the two-horned. The generality of the commentators7 suppose the
person here meant to be Alexander the Great, or, as they call him, Iscander al
Rûmi, king of Persia and Greece; but there are very different opinions as to
the reason of this surname. Some think it was given him because he was king
of the East and of the West, or because he had made expeditions to both those
extreme parts of the earth; or else because he had two horns on his diadem, or
two curls of hair, like horns, on his forehead; or, which is most probable, by
reason of his great valour. Several modern writers8 rather suppose the
surname was occasioned by his being represented in his coins and statues with
horns, as the son of Jupiter Ammon; or else by his being compared by the
prophet Daniel to a he-goat;9 though he is there represented with but one
horn.10
There are some good writers, however, who believe the prince intended in
this passage of the Korân was not Alexander the Grecian, but another great
conqueror, who bore the same name and surname, and was much more ancient than
he, being contemporary with Abraham, and one of the kings of Persia of the
first race;11 or, as others suppose, a king of Yaman, named Asaab Ebn al
Râyesh.12
They all agree he was a true believer, but whether he was a prophet or
no, is a disputed point.
1 Idem. 2 Idem. 3 Idem. 4 Idem.
5 Idem. 6 Idem.
7 Idem, Al Zamakhshari, Jallalo'ddin, Yahya. 8 Scaliger, de Emend.
temp. L'Empereur, not. in Jachiad. Dan. viii. 5. Gol. in Alfrag. p. 58, &c.
9 Schickard. Tarikh Reg. Pers. p. 73. 10 See Dan. viii.
11 Abulfeda, Khondemir, Tarikh Montakhab, &c. Vide D'Herbel. Bibl.
Orient. Art. Escander. 12 Ex trad. Ebn Abbas. Vide Poc. Spec. p. 58.
until he came to the place where the sun setteth; and he found it to set
in a spring of black mud;s and he found near the same a certain people.t
And we said, O Dhu'lkarnein, either punish this people, or use gentleness
towards them.u
He answered, Whosoever of them shall commit injustice, we will surely
punish him in this world; afterwards shall he return unto his LORD, and he
shall punish him with a severe punishment.
But whosoever believeth, and doth that which is right, shall receive the
most excellent reward, and we will give him in command that which is easy.
Then he continued his way,
until he came to the place where the sun riseth;x and he found it to rise
on certain people, unto whom we had not given anything wherewith to shelter
themselves therefrom.y
90 Thus it was; and we comprehended with our knowledge the forces which
were with him.
And he prosecuted his journey from south to north,
until he came between the two mountains;z beneath which he found certain
people, who could scarce understand what was said.a
And they said, O Dhu'lkarnein, verily, Gog and Magog waste the land;b
shall we therefore pay thee tribute, on condition that thou build a rampart
between us and them?
He answered, The power wherewith my LORD has strengthened me is better
than your tribute: but assist me strenuously, and I will set a strong wall
between you and them.
Bring me iron in large pieces, until it fill up the space between the two
sides of these mountains. And he said to the workmen, Blow with your bellows,
until it make the iron red hot as fire. And he said further, Bring me molten
brass, that I may pour upon it.
s That is, it seemed so to him, when he came to the ocean, and saw
nothing but water.1
t An unbelieving nation, who were clothed in the skins of wild beasts,
and lived upon what the sea cast on shore.2
u For GOD gave Dhu'lkarnein his choice, either to destroy them for
their infidelity, or to instruct them in the true faith; or, according to
others, either to put them to the sword, or to take them captives: but the
words which follow confirm the former interpretation, by which it appears he
chose to invite them to the true religion, and to punish only the disobedient
and incredulous.
x i.e., That part of the habitable world on which the sun first rises.
y Who had neither clothes nor houses, their country not bearing any
buildings, but dwelt in holes underground, into which they retreated from the
heat of the sun.3 Jallalo'ddin says they were the Zenj, a black nation lying
south-west of Ethiopia. They seem to be the Troglodytes of the ancients.
z Between which Dhu'lkarnein built the famous rampart, mentioned
immediately, against the irruptions of Gog and Magog. These mountains are
situate in Armenia and Adherbijân, or, according to others, much more
northwards, on the confines of Turkestan.4 The relation of a journey taken to
this rampart, by one who was sent on purpose to view it by the Khalîf al
Wathec, may be seen in D'Herbelot.5
a By reason of the strangeness of their speech and their slowness of
apprehension; wherefore they were obliged to make use of an interpreter.6
b The Arabs call them Yajûi and Majûj, and say they are two nations or
tribes descended from Japhet the son of Noah, or, as others write, Gog are a
tribe of the Turks, and Magog of those of Gilân,7 the Geli and Gelæ of Ptolemy
and Strabo.8
It is said these barbarous people made their irruptions into the
neighbouring countries in the spring, and destroyed and carried off all the
fruits of the earth; and some pretend they were man-eaters.9
1 Al Beidâwi, Jallalo'ddin. 2 Iidem. 3 Iidem.
4 Al Beidâwi.
5 Bibl. Orient. Art. Jagiouge. 6 Al Beidâwi. 7 Idem.
Vide D'Herbel. ubi supra. 8 V. Gol. in Alfrag. p. 207. 9 Al
Beidâwi.
Wherefore, when this wall was finished, Gog and Magog could not scale it,
neither could they dig through it.c
And Dhu'lkarnein said, This is a mercy from my LORD:
but when the prediction of my LORD shall come to be fulfilled,d he shall
reduce the wall to dust; and the prediction of my LORD is true.
On that day we will suffer some of them to press tumultuously like waves
on others:e and the trumpet shall be sounded, and we will gather them in a
body together.
100 And we will set hell on that day before the unbelievers;
whose eyes have been veiled from my remembrance, and who could not hear
my words.
Do the unbelievers think that I will not punish them, for that they take
my servants for their protectors besides me? Verily we have prepared hell for
the abode of the infidels.
Say, Shall we declare unto you those whose works are vain,
whose endeavor in the present life hath been wrongly directed, and who
think they do the work which is right?
These are they who believe not in the signs of their LORD, or that they
shall be assembled before him; wherefore their works are vain, and we will not
allow them any weight on the day of resurrection.
This shall be their reward, namely, hell; for that they have disbelieved,
and have held my signs and apostles in derision.
But as for those who believe and do good works, they shall have the
gardens of paradise for their abode:
they shall remain therein forever; they shall wish for no change therein.
Say, If the sea were ink to write the words of my LORD, verily the sea
would fail, before the words of my LORD would fail; although we added another
sea like unto it as a further supply.
110 Say, Verily I am only a man as ye are. It is revealed unto me that your
GOD is one only GOD: let him therefore who hopeth to meet his LORD work a
righteous work; and let him not make any other to partake in the worship of
his LORD.
c The commentators say the wall was built in this manner. They dug
till they found water, and having laid the foundation of stone and melted
brass, they built the super-structure of large pieces of iron, between which
they laid wood and coals, till they equalled the height of the mountains; and
then setting fire to the combustibles, by the help of large bellows, they made
the iron red hot, and over it poured melted brass, which filling up the
vacancies between the pieces of iron, rendered the whole work as firm as a
rock. Some tell us that the whole was built of stones joined by cramps of
iron, on which they poured melted brass to fasten them.1
d That is, when the time shall come for Gog and Magog to break forth
from their confinement; which shall happen sometime before the resurrection.2
e These words represent either the violent irruption of Gog and Magog,
or the tumultuous assembly of all creatures, men, genii, and brutes, at the
resurrection.3
1 Idem, &c. 2 See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. IV. p. 63.
3 See ib. p. 67.