Yet men dispute
concerning
God, though he is mighty
in power.
in power.
Warner - World's Best Literature - v15 - Kab to Les
Thou hast taught me that the name of death
Is to the just a glorious sound of joy!
But be my teacher still;
Become my genius there!
Translation of W. Taylor.
MY RECOVERY
ECOVERY,
R Though not for immortality designed, —
The Lord of life and death
Sent thee from heaven to me!
Had I not heard thy gentle tread approach,
Not heard the whisper of thy welcome voice,
Death had with iron foot
My chilly forehead pressed.
'Tis true, I then had wandered where the earths
Roll around suns; had strayed along the path
Where the maned comet soars
Beyond the armèd eye;
And with the rapturous, eager greet had hailed
The inmates of those earths and of those suns;
Had hailed the countless host
That throng the comet's disk;
Had asked the novice questions, and obtained
Such answers as a sage vouchsafes to youth;
Had learned in hours far more
Than ages here unfold !
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-
But I had then not ended here below
What, in the enterprising bloom of life,
Fate with no light behest
Required me to begin.
Recovery,- daughter of Creation too,
Though not for immortality designed, -
The Lord of life and death
Sent thee from heaven to me!
Translation of W. Taylor.
THE CHOIRS
D
EAR dream which I must ne'er behold fulfilled,
Thou beamy form, more fair than orient day,
Float back, and hover yet
Before my swimming sight!
Do they wear crowns in vain, that they forbear
To realize the heavenly portraiture ?
Shall marble hearse them all,
Ere the bright change be wrought?
Hail, chosen ruler of a freer world!
For thee shall bloom the never-fading song,
Who bidd'st it be,- to thee
Religion's honors rise.
Yes! could the grave allow, of thee I'd sing:
For once would inspiration string the lyre, -
The streaming tide of joy,
My pledge for loftier verse.
Great is thy deed, my wish. He has not known
What 'tis to melt in bliss, who never felt
Devotion's raptures rise
On sacred Music's wing;
Ne'er sweetly trembled, when adoring choirs
Mingle their hallowed songs of solemn praise,
And at each awful pause
The unseen choirs above.
Long float around my forehead, blissful dream!
I hear a Christian people hymn their God,
And thousands kneel at once,
Jehovah, Lord, to thee!
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The people sing their Savior, sing the Son;
Their simple song according with the heart,
Yet lofty, such as lifts
The aspiring soul from earth.
On the raised eyelash, on the burning cheek,
The young tear quivers; for they view the goal,
Where shines the golden crown,
Where angels wave the palm.
ong
Hush! the clear song wells forth. Now flows
Music, as if poured artless from the breast;
For so the Master willed
To lead its channeled course.
Deep, strong, it seizes on the swelling heart,
Scorning what knows not to call down the tear,
Or shroud the soul in gloom
Or steep in holy awe.
Borne on the deep, slow sounds, a holy awe
Descends. Alternate voices sweep the dome,
Then blend their choral force, -
The theme, Impending Doom;
Or the triumphal Hail to Him who rose,
While all the host of heaven o'er Sion's hill
Hovered, and praising saw
Ascend the Lord of Life.
One voice alone, one harp alone, begins;
But soon joins in the ever fuller choir.
The people quake. They feel
A glow of heavenly fire.
Joy, joy! they scarce support it. Rolls aloud
The organ's thunder, - now more loud and more,-
And to the shout of all
The temple trembles too.
Enough! I sink! The wave of people bows
Before the altar,— bows the front to earth;
They taste the hallowed cup,
Devoutly, deeply, still.
One day, when rest my bones beside a fane,
Where thus assembled worshipers adore,
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The conscious grave shall heave,
Its flowerets sweeter bloom;
And on the morn that from the rock He sprang,
When panting Praise pursues his way,
I'll hear — He rose again
Vibrating through the tomb.
Translation of W. Taylor.
FROM THE MESSIAH)
SY
(
EVEN times the thunder's stroke had rent the veil,
When now the voice of God in gentle tone
Was heard descending: “God is Love,” it spoke;
“Love, ere the worlds or their inhabitants
To life were called. In the accomplishment
Of this, my most mysterious, highest act,
Love am I still. Angels, ye shall behold
The death of earth's great Judge, the eternal Son;
And ye shall learn to know the Deity,
With adoration new to invoke his name.
Should not his arm uphold ye, at the sight
Of that dread day in terror ye would fade;
For finite are your forms! ” The voice now ceased.
Their holy hands the admiring angels clasped
In silent awe. A sign the Almighty made,
And in the face divine, Eloa read
The mandate given. To the celestial host
He cried, “Lift up your eyes to the Most High,
Ye chosen, favored children! Ye have longed
(God is your witness) to behold this day
Of his Messiah, this atoning day!
Shout, then, ye cherubim! behold your God;
The First and Last, the great Jehovah, deigns
To meet your wish. Yon seraph, messenger
From the eternal Son on your behalf,
Is to the altar sent. Had ye not been
Permitted thus to view the wondrous work
Of man's redemption, secret it had passed
In solitary, silent mystery.
But now, while sons of earth shall joyful sing
This day throughout eternity, our voice
In shouts shall join their chorus.
With glad eye
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Of piercing vision shall we contemplate
This mystery of atonement; clearer far
Shall we perceive it than the weeping band,
Who, though in error clouded, faithful still
Surround their Savior. Ah, what shall befall
His hardened persecutors! From life's book
Their names have long been blotted. Light divine
Jehovah grants alone to his redeemed;
No more with tears shall they behold the blood
For their atonement shed, but see its stream
Merge in the ocean of immortal life.
Oh, then in the soft lap of peace consoled,
The festival of light, and endless rest,
Triumphant shall they celebrate! Ye hosts
Of seraphim, and ye blest ransomed souls
Of righteous patriarchs, the jubilee,
The Sabbath of eternity, draws near!
Race after race of man shall thronging join
Your happy numbers, till, the reckoning filled,
The final doom pronounced, with glorious forms
All shall anew be clothed, and jointly taste
One universal bliss! Now, angels, haste!
Bid the seraphic guardians, who by God
To rule the spheres are stationed, straight prepare
To solemnize the great mysterious Day!
Ye patriarchs, from whom the Savior draws
His mortal lineage, to that sun repair
Which lights redemption's theatre! From thence
Ye may your great Redeemer view! A day
Jehovah sanctifies; a holy day
Greater than that which by your festal songs,
Ye mighty seraphim, was solemnized,
When, from creation pausing, God proclaimed
His primal Sabbath. Then, full well ye know,
Angelic powers, how bright young Nature smiled,
How fresh and lovely; how the morning stars,
With you, to their Creator homage paid.
Behold, a greater work the eternal Son
Will soon accomplish! Haste then, angels, haste!
Proclaim it through creation! Lo, the day
Of the Messiah's free obedience comes,
The Sabbath of the eternal covenant!
Eloa ceased. All Heaven in silence heard,
Their eyes uplifted toward the sanctuary.
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To Gabriel then a sign the Almighty made,
And swift the seraph to the throne advanced,
And secret charge received to bear behest
To Uriel, the sun's regent, and to those
Who o'er the earth bear rule, of high import,
Touching the Savior's death. Their golden seats
Meantime the high seraphic powers now left,
By Gabriel followed. Ere he yet approached
The mystic altar of the earth, his ear
Caught the deep murmured sighs, which low were
breathed,
In fervent wishes for the expected hour
Of man's salvation. There distinct arose
The voice of Adam, who through ages wept
His hapless fall. This was the altar seen
By him in Patmos, the high-favored seer
Of the new covenant: thence he heard the voice
Of martyred saints descend, whose plaintive cries
Mourned the delay of vengeance. Toward this spot
Gabriel advanced; when swift the first of men,
Eager to meet the coming seraph, flew.
A form impalpable of lustre clear
Enveloped Adam's spirit, beautiful
As that fair thought which the creative mind
In model imaged for the form of Man,
When, from the sacred earth of Paradise,
Fresh from his Maker's hand, youthful he sprung.
With radiant smile, which o'er his beaming brow
Celestial light diffused, Adam drew near,
And earnest spoke. «Hail, gracious messenger!
While I thy lofty mission heard, my soul
In joy was rapt. May I then view the form
Of manhood by the Savior worn, that form
Of mercy, in whose meek disguise he deigns
My fallen race to save! Show me the trace,
O seraph, of my Savior's earthly path:
My eye with awe shall view the distant track.
But may the first of sinners tread the spot
Whence the Messiah raised his face to heaven
And swore to ransom man ? Maternal earth,
How do I sigh once more to visit thee!
I, thy first habitant! Thy barren fields
By God's dread curse defaced, where now in garb
Of frail mortality, such earthly frame
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8705
As in the dust I left, the Savior walks,
Would lovelier meet mine eyes than thy bright plains,
Thou long-lost Paradise! ) Adam here paused.
To whom the seraph: “I will speak thy wish
To the Redeemer: should his will divine
Grant thy petition, he will summon thee
His lowliest humiliation to behold. ”
Now had the angelic host all quitted heaven,
Spreading to distant spheres their separate flight.
Gabriel alone descended to the earth,
Which by the neighboring stars, as each rolled by
Its splendid orb, was hailed with joyful shouts.
The salutations glad reached Gabriel's ear
In silver tones:– “Queen of the scattered worlds!
Object of universal gaze! Bright spot,
Again selected for the theatre
Of God's high presence! Blest spectatress thou
Of his Messiah's work of mystery! ”
Thus sung the spheres; and through the concave vast
Angelic voices echoed back the sounds.
Gabriel exulting heard, and swift in flight
Reached earth's dim surface. O'er her silent vales
Refreshing coolness and deep slumber hung
Yet undisturbed; dark clouds of mist still lay
Heaped heavily upon her mountain-tops.
Through the surrounding gloom Gabriel advanced
In search of the Redeemer. Deep within
A narrow cleft which rent the forked height
Of sacred Olivet, oppressed by thought
The Savior sleeping lay: a jutting rock
His resting-place. With reverence Gabriel viewed
His tranquil slumber, and in wonder gazed
On that hid majesty which man's frail form,
By union with the Godhead, had acquired.
Still on the Savior's face the traces beamed
Of grace and love; the smile of mercy there
Still lingered visible; still in his eye
A tear of pity hung. But faintly showed
Those outward tokens of his soul, now sunk
In sleep profound. So lies the blooming earth
In eve's soft twilight veiled; her beauteous face,
Scarce recognized, so meets the inquiring eye
Of some close-hovering seraph, while aloft
In the yet lonely sky, the evening star
XV-545
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Shoots her pale radiance, calling from his bower
The contemplative sage. After long pause,
Gabriel thus softly cried :-“O Thou, whose eye
Omniscient searches heaven! who hear'st my words,
Though wrapped in sleep thy mortal body lies!
I have fulfilled thy mission. While my course
Returning I pursued, a fervent prayer
Adam implored me to convey. Thy face,
O gracious Savior, he on earth would see!
Now must I hasten, by Jehovah sent
On glorious ministration. Be ye hushed,
All living creatures! Every moment's space
Of this swift-flying time, while here yet lies
The world's Creator, dearer must ye deem
Than ages passed in duteous zeal for man.
Be still, ye whispering winds, as o'er this hill
Of lonely graves ye sweep, or sighing breathe
Your gentlest melodies! Descend, ye clouds,
And o'er these shades drop coolness and repose,
Deep and refreshing! Wave not your dark heads,
Ye tufted cedars! Cease, ye rustling groves,
While your Creator sleeps! » The seraph's voice
In whispers low now sunk; and swift he flew
To join th' assembled watchers, who, with him
(The faithful ministers of God's high will)
Governed with delegated rule the earth.
Thither he hastened to proclaim the approach
Of man's atonement by his Savior paid.
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8707
THE KORAN
BY HENRY PRESERVED SMITH
K
JORAN, the well-known sacred book of the Mohammedans. The
word is variously written Coran, Kur'an, Qur'ân, or with
the article, Alcoran, Al-Koran, El-Qur'ân. It is derived
from a word meaning to chant, to recite, or to read aloud, especially
as an act of Divine service. Mohammed borrowed the word and the
idea from the preceding revealed religions, both of which made the
liturgical reading of their Scriptures a prominent part of public
worship. A single composition or chapter is called a Koran (x. 16),
and the whole body of revelations is the Koran. In one instance
(xv. 91) the word Koran is made to cover the whole body of revealed
books, including the Old and New Testaments as well as the book of
Mohammed.
The Koran is perhaps the most widely read book in the world.
It is the text-book in all Mohammedan schools. All Moslems know
large parts of it by heart. Devout Moslems read it through once a
month. Portions of it are recited in the five daily prayers, and the
recitation of the whole book is a meritorious work frequently per-
formed at solemn or festival anniversaries. What Arabic science
there is, has the Koran as its object; and the ambition of every
devout Moslem student is to apprehend the divine philosophy which
it is supposed to contain.
There is no reasonable doubt that the Koran is the work of Mo-
hammed. Its parts were published by him at intervals during the
more than twenty years of his activity as prophet. It is not clear
that all were immediately put on record, but the Prophet encouraged
his followers to commit them to heart. Some, however, were written
down on whatever material came to hand; for we are told that when
a collection of the whole was made, the parts were found “on leaves
of the palm, on white stones and the shoulder-blades of sheep and
camels, and in the breasts of men. ” This essential work of collec-
tion was done soon after the Prophet's death, by his amanuensis,
Zaid Ibn Thabit, at the command of the Caliph Abu Bekr. A few
years later, as divergent copies were circulated, the Caliph Othman
ordered a standard text to be made by three learned men; and when
this was completed, other copies were made to conform to it. This
received text has been transmitted without substantial variation to our
## p. 8708 (#324) ###########################################
8708
THE KORAN
own time, and probably represents correctly the work of Mohammed.
No insinuation against its accuracy was ever uttered by the surviving
comrades of the Prophet.
The Koran consists of chapters, each of which is called a Sura.
They vary in length from a single line to many pages. * There is
reason to think that the longer ones are made by putting together
compositions originally published at different times. In these chap-
ters, unity of thought or plan is difficult to discover.
The only
principle of arrangement for the book as a whole was to put the
longest Suras first and the shortest last: this from the second Sura
on,— the first place was given to the brief prayer called the Fatiha.
Mohammed disclaimed the title of poet. His earliest compositions,
however, have a certain rhythmic form; the verses being short, with
three or four accented syllables. All the verses of a single revelation
rhyme, and a change in the rhyme indicates a transition to a new
composition. The later chapters are also in rhyme; but as the verses
are much longer, the poetic effect is lost.
The fragmentary character of the Suras, and the lack of plan in
the arrangement of the book as a whole, throw great obstacles in the
way of the reader. Moreover, as is the case in many early books,
much is only obscurely expressed because the author expected to sup-
ply something by his own action in delivery. It is of the first import-
ance, therefore, to bring the various revelations into connection with
the life of Mohammed. Some help is given us here by the Tradi-
tions; but for the most part we are dependent on internal evidence.
It is evident at the first glance that the shorter Suras are rhapsodic
in character; gushes of emotion, coming from a man under religious
excitement. The longer compositions, on the other hand, are prosaic,
the result of reflection, frequently commonplace or trivial. With this
general criterion, and with the help of tradition, we can separate
roughly three periods of composition.
Those Suras which constitute the earliest group come last in
the arrangement of the received text. In them Mohammed appears
as a preacher of new truth. Himself much impressed by the doctrine
of the unity of God, he professes it fervently while protesting against
the idolatry of his countrymen. In the intensity of his emotion, he
strengthens his asseverations by oaths of strange import; as in the
following (Sura 100):-
1.
«By the galloping panting troops,
That strike fire from the rocks,
That make their attack at the dawn,
* The longest fills twenty-three pages of Flügel's Arabic text; the shortest
occupies less than the tenth part of a single page.
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8709
Whose feet raise a cloud of dust!
Verily, man is ungrateful to his Lord !
Himself must testify this.
Strong only in the love of earthly good!
Doth he not know that when what is in the
tombs is brought forth,
And what is in the breasts is brought to light,
On that day their Lord will know concerning them ? »
As is indicated at the close of this Sura, the coming Judgment
is a prominent thought of the Prophet at this period. It is in fact
alluded to in nearly every chapter, and is described in language
closely approaching the Biblical pictures of the Day of Jehovah. The
earth will shake violently and deliver up its dead; the mountains
will be reduced to dust, or become like wool; the moon will be rent
in twain; men and demons will be summoned to an account. After
this, the good will be welcomed to gardens in which flow perennial
streams, while the wicked will be consigned to the flame. These
predictions form the staple of the revelations of this period, as any
one will readily convince himself by reading from the seventy-third
Sura onward through the book. The repetitions show no great fer-
tility of imagination on the part of the author.
2. As Mohammed continued to preach, he discovered that his
mere announcement was not taken seriously by his hearers. They
refused to give up their false gods, and they scoffed at the idea of a
Judgment. He found it necessary to argue with them and to instruct
them. His argument was simply a more extended description of the
character of God, with an appeal to his power as shown in nature.
An example is the following (xiii. 10, ff. ):-
.
«God is the Knower of the secret and of the manifest, the Great, the
Exalted. It is the same to him whether one speak in secret or speak openly;
whether one conceal himself in the night or go abroad in the day. Each
man has companions before and behind, who watch him by the command of
God.
He it is who shows you the lightning, an object of fear and yet
of desire, and who brings up the heavy-laden clouds. The thunder chants his
praise; the angels also, moved by fear of him. He sends the thunderbolts and
strikes whom he will.
Yet men dispute concerning God, though he is mighty
in power. To him sincere prayer is to be made, and those who pray to
another than to him shall receive no answer, more than one who stretches out
his hand to the water to bring it to his mouth, when he is not within reach of
it. The prayer of the unbelievers is only a going astray. Yet to God what-
ever is in heaven or on earth bows down willingly or unwillingly —e
even the
shadows morning and evening. ”
In this same connection we find the argument from nature — where
God is described as sending down the rain which fills the streams;
## p. 8710 (#326) ###########################################
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THE KORAN
and in general we may say that the power and goodness of God in
creation and providence are a favorite theme.
For the historical material which he uses in this period, Mohammed
depends mainly on the Bible. He does not refuse stories from other
sources, as Arabic tradition. Whatever he uses he molds to his own
purpose so palpably that we do not need to read between the lines.
He has a scheme of history, according to which every epoch has.
had a prophet to preach the unity of God. The prophet has made
a few converts, but the mass of his people have been unbelieving.
The result has been a judgment of God upon the people, in which
all perish except the prophet and his followers. Noah and Moses
are favorite characters, because they can be fitted so easily into this
scheme. They are therefore brought into prominence a number of
times. So is Abraham, because he was the first of the true believers.
The destruction of Sodom and of the Arab tribes (of which tradition
tells) readily enforces the same lesson. Whatever the narrative may
be, we hear the voice of Mohammed warning and rebuking — whether
the ostensible person be Noah or Abraham or Moses. There is no-
where any interest in history for its own sake. The only exception
is the story of Joseph, where it almost seems as if the beauty of the
Biblical narrative had made the Prophet forget his main purpose.
It is impossible to quote here from this material. From the lit-
erary point of view it has little interest, both because of the promi-
nence of the purpose and because of its repetitions. Not only are
the same stories repeated,- they are interlarded with stereotyped
phrases which cover the author's barrenness of thought, or relieve
his embarrassment in the matter of rhyme.
3. With the emigration to Medina, Mohammed's circumstances
were entirely changed. He had been the proscribed preacher of a
persecuted sect. He now became the civil ruler as well as the reli-
gious leader of a devoted band of followers. The state of the com-
munity was such that this soon made him an autocrat over a growing
State. His thought was necessarily turned to matters of public policy.
He knew no distinction between State and church. The Koran em-
bodied the decrees of the civil ruler as well as the oracles of the
revealer of truth. Hence the third period shows a predominance
of legislative matter. The division of the booty, the treatment of
captives and renegades, the penalties for wrongs inflicted by the
believers on each other, measures to be taken for the common de-
fense - all these receive attention. The lesson of the victory at Bedr
is set forth for the encouragement of believers, and the mortification
of the defeat at Ohod is made to teach the danger of disobedience.
Even the personal affairs of the Prophet are treated in the Koran,
and God is made to rebuke the Bedawin for rude conduct, to scold
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8711
Mohammed's wives for their quarrels, to exculpate Ayesha when as-
sailed by slander, and to give the Prophet a dispensation from the
law imposed on other Moslems. All this is of great interest for the
historian and for the student of comparative law; but it has no place
in literature.
The Arabs affirm that the style of the Koran is perfection itself.
Mohammed himself challenged men and demons to produce anything
like it. As an article of faith, this cannot be shaken by criticism.
And it must be admitted that from its position as the Book of God,
the Koran has been a model for Arabic authors. In this respect its
importance is parallel to that of Luther's Bible, or to that of the
Authorized English Version. It fixed a standard, and is therefore
a classic.
The foreigner may hesitate to contradict the consensus of Arabic
opinion; but he can hardly fail to see that, judged by the best mod-
els of the world's literature, the Koran has many shortcomings. The
compositions are without plan. There is rarely an ordered sequence
of thought. The author often labors to express what he has to say.
Stock phrases are used to relieve the lack of fluency. Monotonous
repetitions of the same story testify to lack of invention. There are
passages of great beauty and force, but they make up only a small
part of the whole. Mohammed was not a master of style.
The translation of Sale, which has been published in numerous
editions, is still regarded as the best. Rodwell in his translation
(1861) attempts to arrange the Suras in chronological order. The
reader may be referred also to the article Mohammedanism in the
Encyclopædia Britannica' (Vol. xvi. , pages 597 ff. ) and the titles
Muhammed' and 'Qur'an' in Hughes's Dictionary of Islam.
(
Henry Preserved Smith .
SELECTIONS FROM THE KORAN
Translation of E. H. Palmer in (The Sacred Books of the East)
THE OPENING CHAPTER
I
THE name of the merciful and compassionate God.
Praise belongs to God, the Lord of the worlds, the mer-
ciful, the compassionate, the ruler of the Day of Judgment!
Thee we serve and thee we ask for aid. Guide us in the right
path, the path of those thou art gracious to; not of those thou
art wroth with, nor of those who err.
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THE CHAPTER OF THE NIGHT
IN The name of the merciful and compassionate God.
By the night when it veils!
And the day when it is displayed !
And by what created male and female!
Verily, your efforts are diverse!
But as for him who gives alms and fears God,
And believes in the best,
We will send him easily to ease!
But as for him who is niggardly,
And longs for wealth,
And calls the good a lie,
We will send him easily to difficulty!
And his wealth shall not avail him
When he falls down [into hell]!
Verily it is for us to guide;
And verily, ours are the hereafter and the former life!
And I have warned you of a fire that flames!
None shall broil thereon but the most wretched, who says it
is a lie and turns his back.
But the pious shall be kept away from it - he who gives his
wealth in alms, and who gives no favor to any one for the sake
of reward, but only craving the face of his Lord the most High;
in the end he shall be well pleased!
THE CHAPTER OF THE DAWN
In the name of the merciful and compassionate God.
By the dawn and ten nights!
And the single and the double!
And the night when it travels on!
Is there in that an oath for a man of common-sense ?
Hast thou not seen how thy Lord did with Ad ? — with Iram
of the columns ? the like of which has not been created in the
land ?
And Tharmud when they hewed the stones in the valley ?
And Pharaoh of the stakes ?
Who were outrageous in the land, and did multiply wicked-
ness therein, and thy Lord poured out upon them the scourge
of torment.
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8713
»
Verily, thy Lord is on a watch-tower! and as for man, when-
ever his Lord tries him and honors him and grants him favor,
then he says, “My Lord has honored me;) but whenever he
tries him and doles out to him his subsistence, then he says,
"My Lord despises me! ”
Nay, but ye do not honor the orphan, nor do ye urge each
other to feed the poor, and ye devouring the inheritance [of the
weak] with a general devouring, and ye love wealth with a com-
plete love!
Nay, when the earth is crushed to pieces, and thy Lord comes
with the angels, rank on rank, and hell is brought on that day,
-on that day shall man be reminded! but how shall he have a
reminder ?
He will say, “Would that I had something forward for my
life ! )
But on that day no one shall be tormented with a torment
like his, and no one shall be bound with bonds like his!
O thou comforted soul! return unto thy Lord well pleased and
well pleased with!
And enter amongst my servants and enter my Paradise !
THE CHAPTER OF THE MOST HIGH
IN The name of the merciful and compassionate God.
Celebrate the name of thy Lord most High, who created and
fashioned, and who decreed and guided, and who brings forth
the pasture, and then makes it dusky stubble!
We shall make thee recite, and thou shalt not forget, save
what God pleases. Verily, he knows the open and what is con-
cealed; and we will send thee easily to ease: wherefore remind,
for verily the reminder is useful.
But he who fears will be mindful: but the wretch will avoid
it; he will broil on the great fire, and then therein shall neither
die nor live!
Prosperous is he who purifies himself and remembers the
name of his Lord and prays!
Nay, but yet prefer the life of this world, while the hereafter
is better and more lasting.
Verily, this was in the books of yore, — the books of Abraham
and Moses.
## p. 8714 (#330) ###########################################
8714
THE KORAN
THE CHAPTER OF THE ZODIACAL SIGNS
IN THE name of the merciful and compassionate God.
By the heaven with its zodiacal signs!
And the promised day!
And the witness and the witnessed!
The fellows of the pit were slain;
And the fire with its kindling,
When they sat over it
And witnessed, that while, what they were doing with those
who believed.
And they took not vengeance on them save for their belief
in God, the mighty, the praiseworthy,
Who is the kingdoms of the heavens and the earth;
For God is witness over all!
Verily, those who make trial of the believers, men and women,
and do not repent, for them is the torment of hell, and for them
is the torment of the burning!
Verily, those who believe and act aright, for them are gardens
beneath which rivers flow,- that is the great bliss!
Verily, the violence of thy Lord is keen!
Verily, he produces and returns, and he is the forgiving, the
loving, the Lord of the glorious throne; the doer of what he
will!
Has there come to thee the story of the hosts of Pharaoh
and Tharmud ?
Nay, those who misbelieve do say it is a lie; but God is
behind them - encompassing!
Nay, it is a glorious Qur'an in a preserved tablet.
THE CHAPTER OF THE CLEAVING ASUNDER
IN THE name of the merciful and compassionate God.
When the heaven is cleft asunder,
And when the stars are scattered,
And when the seas gush together,
And when the tombs are turned upside down,
The soul shall know what it has sent on or kept back!
O man! what has seduced thee concerning thy generous Lord,
who created thee and fashioned thee, and gave thee symmetry,
and in what form he pleased composed thee?
## p. 8715 (#331) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8715
Nay, but ye call the judgment a lie! but over you are guard-
ians set, -noble, writing down! they know what ye do!
Verily, the righteous are in pleasure, and verily, the wicked
are in hell: they shall broil therein upon the Judgment Day; nor
shall they be absent therefrom!
And what shall make thee know what is Judgment Day?
Again, what shall make thee know what is the Judgment Day? a
day when no soul shall control aught for another; and the bidding
on that day belongs to God!
THE CHAPTER OF THOSE SENT
IN The name of the merciful and compassionate God.
By those sent in a series!
And by those who speed swiftly!
And by the dispensers abroad!
And by the separators apart !
And by those who instill the reminder, as an excuse or warn-
ing!
Verily, what ye are threatened with will surely happen!
And when the stars shall be erased!
And when the heaven shall be cleft!
And when the mountains be winnowed.
And when the Apostles shall have a time appointed for them!
For what day is the appointment made ?
For the day of decision! and what shall make thee know what
the decision is ?
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Have we not destroyed those of yore, and then followed them
up with those of the latter day? Thus do we with sinners.
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Did we not create you from contemptible water, and place
it in a sure depository unto a certain decreed term ? for we are
able, and well able too!
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Have we not made for them the earth to hold the living
and the dead ? and set thereon firm mountains reared aloft ? and
given you to drink water in streams?
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Go off to that which ye did call a lie! Go off to the shadow
of three columns, that shall not shade or avail against the flame!
## p. 8716 (#332) ###########################################
8716
THE KORAN
Verily, it throws off sparks like towers, -as though they were
yellow camels!
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
This is the day when they may not speak, — when they are
not permitted to excuse themselves!
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
This is the day of decision! We have assembled you with
those of yore: if ye have any stratagem, employ it now!
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Verily, the pious are amid shades and springs and fruit such
as they love. — «Eat and drink with good digestion, for that
which ye have done! ”
Verily, thus we do reward those who do well.
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Eat and enjoy yourselves for a little: verily, ye are sinners! ”
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
And when it is said to them, Bow down, they bow not down.
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie !
And in what new discourse after it will they believe ?
THE CHAPTER OF THE GINN
IN THE name of the merciful and compassionate God.
Say, “I have been inspired that there listened a company of
the ginn, and they said, “We have heard a marvelous Qur'an
that guides to the right direction; and we believe therein, and
we join no one with our Lord, for verily, he — may the majesty
of our Lord be exalted! — has taken to himself no consort nor
son.
« (And verily, a fool amongst us spake against God wide of
the mark!
« And we thought that men and ginn would never speak a
lie against God.
« (And there are persons amongst men who seek for refuge
with persons amongst the ginn; but they increase them in their
perverseness. And they thought, as ye thought, that God would
not raise up any one from the dead.
« (But we touched the heavens and found them filled with a
mighty guard and shooting stars; and we did sit in certain seats
thereof to listen; but whoso of us listens now finds a shooting
star for him on guard.
## p. 8717 (#333) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8717
some
are
« (And verily, we know not whether evil be meant for those
who are in the earth, or if their Lord means right by them.
« And of us are some who are pious, and of us are
who are otherwise: we are in separate bands.
« (And we thought that we could not frustrate God in the
earth, and could not frustrate him by flight.
« But verily, when we heard the guidance we believed the
rein, and he who believes in his Lord shall fear neither diminu-
tion nor loss.
« (And verily, of us some who are Muslims, and of us
some are trespassers: but those of us who are Muslims, they strive
after right direction; and as for the trespassers, they are fuel for
hell.
« And if they will go right upon the way, we will irrigate
them with copious water to try them thereby; and whoso turns
from the remembrance of his Lord, He will drive him to severe
torment. ) »
And [say] that the mosques are God's, and that ye should not
call any one with God, and that when God's servant stood up to
pray, they called out to him and well-nigh crowded upon him.
Say, "I only call upon my Lord, and I join no one with him. ”
Say, “Verily, I cannot control for you either harm or right
direction. ”
Say, “Verily, as for me none can protect me against God,
nor do I find any refuge beside him,- except delivering the
message from God and his errands; and whoso rebels against God
and his Apostle, verily for him is the fire of hell for them to
dwell therein for ever and for aye! ”
Until when they see what they are threatened with, then shall
they surely know who is most weak at helping and fewest in
numbers!
Say, « I know not if what ye are threatened with be nigh, or
if my Lord will set it for a term. He knows the unseen, and he
one know his unseen save such people as he is well
pleased with; for verily, he sends marching before him and be-
hind him a guard! That he may know that they have delivered
the errands of the Lord; for he compasses what they have, and
reckons everything by number.
DER WADLAKE,
(
lets no
## p.
Is to the just a glorious sound of joy!
But be my teacher still;
Become my genius there!
Translation of W. Taylor.
MY RECOVERY
ECOVERY,
R Though not for immortality designed, —
The Lord of life and death
Sent thee from heaven to me!
Had I not heard thy gentle tread approach,
Not heard the whisper of thy welcome voice,
Death had with iron foot
My chilly forehead pressed.
'Tis true, I then had wandered where the earths
Roll around suns; had strayed along the path
Where the maned comet soars
Beyond the armèd eye;
And with the rapturous, eager greet had hailed
The inmates of those earths and of those suns;
Had hailed the countless host
That throng the comet's disk;
Had asked the novice questions, and obtained
Such answers as a sage vouchsafes to youth;
Had learned in hours far more
Than ages here unfold !
## p. 8700 (#316) ###########################################
8700
FRIEDRICH GOTTLIEB KLOPSTOCK
-
But I had then not ended here below
What, in the enterprising bloom of life,
Fate with no light behest
Required me to begin.
Recovery,- daughter of Creation too,
Though not for immortality designed, -
The Lord of life and death
Sent thee from heaven to me!
Translation of W. Taylor.
THE CHOIRS
D
EAR dream which I must ne'er behold fulfilled,
Thou beamy form, more fair than orient day,
Float back, and hover yet
Before my swimming sight!
Do they wear crowns in vain, that they forbear
To realize the heavenly portraiture ?
Shall marble hearse them all,
Ere the bright change be wrought?
Hail, chosen ruler of a freer world!
For thee shall bloom the never-fading song,
Who bidd'st it be,- to thee
Religion's honors rise.
Yes! could the grave allow, of thee I'd sing:
For once would inspiration string the lyre, -
The streaming tide of joy,
My pledge for loftier verse.
Great is thy deed, my wish. He has not known
What 'tis to melt in bliss, who never felt
Devotion's raptures rise
On sacred Music's wing;
Ne'er sweetly trembled, when adoring choirs
Mingle their hallowed songs of solemn praise,
And at each awful pause
The unseen choirs above.
Long float around my forehead, blissful dream!
I hear a Christian people hymn their God,
And thousands kneel at once,
Jehovah, Lord, to thee!
## p. 8701 (#317) ###########################################
FRIEDRICH GOTTLIEB KLOPSTOCK
8701
The people sing their Savior, sing the Son;
Their simple song according with the heart,
Yet lofty, such as lifts
The aspiring soul from earth.
On the raised eyelash, on the burning cheek,
The young tear quivers; for they view the goal,
Where shines the golden crown,
Where angels wave the palm.
ong
Hush! the clear song wells forth. Now flows
Music, as if poured artless from the breast;
For so the Master willed
To lead its channeled course.
Deep, strong, it seizes on the swelling heart,
Scorning what knows not to call down the tear,
Or shroud the soul in gloom
Or steep in holy awe.
Borne on the deep, slow sounds, a holy awe
Descends. Alternate voices sweep the dome,
Then blend their choral force, -
The theme, Impending Doom;
Or the triumphal Hail to Him who rose,
While all the host of heaven o'er Sion's hill
Hovered, and praising saw
Ascend the Lord of Life.
One voice alone, one harp alone, begins;
But soon joins in the ever fuller choir.
The people quake. They feel
A glow of heavenly fire.
Joy, joy! they scarce support it. Rolls aloud
The organ's thunder, - now more loud and more,-
And to the shout of all
The temple trembles too.
Enough! I sink! The wave of people bows
Before the altar,— bows the front to earth;
They taste the hallowed cup,
Devoutly, deeply, still.
One day, when rest my bones beside a fane,
Where thus assembled worshipers adore,
## p. 8702 (#318) ###########################################
8702
FRIEDRICH GOTTLIEB KLOPSTOCK
The conscious grave shall heave,
Its flowerets sweeter bloom;
And on the morn that from the rock He sprang,
When panting Praise pursues his way,
I'll hear — He rose again
Vibrating through the tomb.
Translation of W. Taylor.
FROM THE MESSIAH)
SY
(
EVEN times the thunder's stroke had rent the veil,
When now the voice of God in gentle tone
Was heard descending: “God is Love,” it spoke;
“Love, ere the worlds or their inhabitants
To life were called. In the accomplishment
Of this, my most mysterious, highest act,
Love am I still. Angels, ye shall behold
The death of earth's great Judge, the eternal Son;
And ye shall learn to know the Deity,
With adoration new to invoke his name.
Should not his arm uphold ye, at the sight
Of that dread day in terror ye would fade;
For finite are your forms! ” The voice now ceased.
Their holy hands the admiring angels clasped
In silent awe. A sign the Almighty made,
And in the face divine, Eloa read
The mandate given. To the celestial host
He cried, “Lift up your eyes to the Most High,
Ye chosen, favored children! Ye have longed
(God is your witness) to behold this day
Of his Messiah, this atoning day!
Shout, then, ye cherubim! behold your God;
The First and Last, the great Jehovah, deigns
To meet your wish. Yon seraph, messenger
From the eternal Son on your behalf,
Is to the altar sent. Had ye not been
Permitted thus to view the wondrous work
Of man's redemption, secret it had passed
In solitary, silent mystery.
But now, while sons of earth shall joyful sing
This day throughout eternity, our voice
In shouts shall join their chorus.
With glad eye
## p. 8703 (#319) ###########################################
FRIEDRICH GOTTLIEB KLOPSTOCK
8703
Of piercing vision shall we contemplate
This mystery of atonement; clearer far
Shall we perceive it than the weeping band,
Who, though in error clouded, faithful still
Surround their Savior. Ah, what shall befall
His hardened persecutors! From life's book
Their names have long been blotted. Light divine
Jehovah grants alone to his redeemed;
No more with tears shall they behold the blood
For their atonement shed, but see its stream
Merge in the ocean of immortal life.
Oh, then in the soft lap of peace consoled,
The festival of light, and endless rest,
Triumphant shall they celebrate! Ye hosts
Of seraphim, and ye blest ransomed souls
Of righteous patriarchs, the jubilee,
The Sabbath of eternity, draws near!
Race after race of man shall thronging join
Your happy numbers, till, the reckoning filled,
The final doom pronounced, with glorious forms
All shall anew be clothed, and jointly taste
One universal bliss! Now, angels, haste!
Bid the seraphic guardians, who by God
To rule the spheres are stationed, straight prepare
To solemnize the great mysterious Day!
Ye patriarchs, from whom the Savior draws
His mortal lineage, to that sun repair
Which lights redemption's theatre! From thence
Ye may your great Redeemer view! A day
Jehovah sanctifies; a holy day
Greater than that which by your festal songs,
Ye mighty seraphim, was solemnized,
When, from creation pausing, God proclaimed
His primal Sabbath. Then, full well ye know,
Angelic powers, how bright young Nature smiled,
How fresh and lovely; how the morning stars,
With you, to their Creator homage paid.
Behold, a greater work the eternal Son
Will soon accomplish! Haste then, angels, haste!
Proclaim it through creation! Lo, the day
Of the Messiah's free obedience comes,
The Sabbath of the eternal covenant!
Eloa ceased. All Heaven in silence heard,
Their eyes uplifted toward the sanctuary.
## p. 8704 (#320) ###########################################
8704
FRIEDRICH GOTTLIEB KLOPSTOCK
To Gabriel then a sign the Almighty made,
And swift the seraph to the throne advanced,
And secret charge received to bear behest
To Uriel, the sun's regent, and to those
Who o'er the earth bear rule, of high import,
Touching the Savior's death. Their golden seats
Meantime the high seraphic powers now left,
By Gabriel followed. Ere he yet approached
The mystic altar of the earth, his ear
Caught the deep murmured sighs, which low were
breathed,
In fervent wishes for the expected hour
Of man's salvation. There distinct arose
The voice of Adam, who through ages wept
His hapless fall. This was the altar seen
By him in Patmos, the high-favored seer
Of the new covenant: thence he heard the voice
Of martyred saints descend, whose plaintive cries
Mourned the delay of vengeance. Toward this spot
Gabriel advanced; when swift the first of men,
Eager to meet the coming seraph, flew.
A form impalpable of lustre clear
Enveloped Adam's spirit, beautiful
As that fair thought which the creative mind
In model imaged for the form of Man,
When, from the sacred earth of Paradise,
Fresh from his Maker's hand, youthful he sprung.
With radiant smile, which o'er his beaming brow
Celestial light diffused, Adam drew near,
And earnest spoke. «Hail, gracious messenger!
While I thy lofty mission heard, my soul
In joy was rapt. May I then view the form
Of manhood by the Savior worn, that form
Of mercy, in whose meek disguise he deigns
My fallen race to save! Show me the trace,
O seraph, of my Savior's earthly path:
My eye with awe shall view the distant track.
But may the first of sinners tread the spot
Whence the Messiah raised his face to heaven
And swore to ransom man ? Maternal earth,
How do I sigh once more to visit thee!
I, thy first habitant! Thy barren fields
By God's dread curse defaced, where now in garb
Of frail mortality, such earthly frame
## p. 8705 (#321) ###########################################
FRIEDRICH GOTTLIEB KLOPSTOCK
8705
As in the dust I left, the Savior walks,
Would lovelier meet mine eyes than thy bright plains,
Thou long-lost Paradise! ) Adam here paused.
To whom the seraph: “I will speak thy wish
To the Redeemer: should his will divine
Grant thy petition, he will summon thee
His lowliest humiliation to behold. ”
Now had the angelic host all quitted heaven,
Spreading to distant spheres their separate flight.
Gabriel alone descended to the earth,
Which by the neighboring stars, as each rolled by
Its splendid orb, was hailed with joyful shouts.
The salutations glad reached Gabriel's ear
In silver tones:– “Queen of the scattered worlds!
Object of universal gaze! Bright spot,
Again selected for the theatre
Of God's high presence! Blest spectatress thou
Of his Messiah's work of mystery! ”
Thus sung the spheres; and through the concave vast
Angelic voices echoed back the sounds.
Gabriel exulting heard, and swift in flight
Reached earth's dim surface. O'er her silent vales
Refreshing coolness and deep slumber hung
Yet undisturbed; dark clouds of mist still lay
Heaped heavily upon her mountain-tops.
Through the surrounding gloom Gabriel advanced
In search of the Redeemer. Deep within
A narrow cleft which rent the forked height
Of sacred Olivet, oppressed by thought
The Savior sleeping lay: a jutting rock
His resting-place. With reverence Gabriel viewed
His tranquil slumber, and in wonder gazed
On that hid majesty which man's frail form,
By union with the Godhead, had acquired.
Still on the Savior's face the traces beamed
Of grace and love; the smile of mercy there
Still lingered visible; still in his eye
A tear of pity hung. But faintly showed
Those outward tokens of his soul, now sunk
In sleep profound. So lies the blooming earth
In eve's soft twilight veiled; her beauteous face,
Scarce recognized, so meets the inquiring eye
Of some close-hovering seraph, while aloft
In the yet lonely sky, the evening star
XV-545
## p. 8706 (#322) ###########################################
8706
FRIEDRICH GOTTLIEB KLOPSTOCK
Shoots her pale radiance, calling from his bower
The contemplative sage. After long pause,
Gabriel thus softly cried :-“O Thou, whose eye
Omniscient searches heaven! who hear'st my words,
Though wrapped in sleep thy mortal body lies!
I have fulfilled thy mission. While my course
Returning I pursued, a fervent prayer
Adam implored me to convey. Thy face,
O gracious Savior, he on earth would see!
Now must I hasten, by Jehovah sent
On glorious ministration. Be ye hushed,
All living creatures! Every moment's space
Of this swift-flying time, while here yet lies
The world's Creator, dearer must ye deem
Than ages passed in duteous zeal for man.
Be still, ye whispering winds, as o'er this hill
Of lonely graves ye sweep, or sighing breathe
Your gentlest melodies! Descend, ye clouds,
And o'er these shades drop coolness and repose,
Deep and refreshing! Wave not your dark heads,
Ye tufted cedars! Cease, ye rustling groves,
While your Creator sleeps! » The seraph's voice
In whispers low now sunk; and swift he flew
To join th' assembled watchers, who, with him
(The faithful ministers of God's high will)
Governed with delegated rule the earth.
Thither he hastened to proclaim the approach
Of man's atonement by his Savior paid.
## p. 8707 (#323) ###########################################
8707
THE KORAN
BY HENRY PRESERVED SMITH
K
JORAN, the well-known sacred book of the Mohammedans. The
word is variously written Coran, Kur'an, Qur'ân, or with
the article, Alcoran, Al-Koran, El-Qur'ân. It is derived
from a word meaning to chant, to recite, or to read aloud, especially
as an act of Divine service. Mohammed borrowed the word and the
idea from the preceding revealed religions, both of which made the
liturgical reading of their Scriptures a prominent part of public
worship. A single composition or chapter is called a Koran (x. 16),
and the whole body of revelations is the Koran. In one instance
(xv. 91) the word Koran is made to cover the whole body of revealed
books, including the Old and New Testaments as well as the book of
Mohammed.
The Koran is perhaps the most widely read book in the world.
It is the text-book in all Mohammedan schools. All Moslems know
large parts of it by heart. Devout Moslems read it through once a
month. Portions of it are recited in the five daily prayers, and the
recitation of the whole book is a meritorious work frequently per-
formed at solemn or festival anniversaries. What Arabic science
there is, has the Koran as its object; and the ambition of every
devout Moslem student is to apprehend the divine philosophy which
it is supposed to contain.
There is no reasonable doubt that the Koran is the work of Mo-
hammed. Its parts were published by him at intervals during the
more than twenty years of his activity as prophet. It is not clear
that all were immediately put on record, but the Prophet encouraged
his followers to commit them to heart. Some, however, were written
down on whatever material came to hand; for we are told that when
a collection of the whole was made, the parts were found “on leaves
of the palm, on white stones and the shoulder-blades of sheep and
camels, and in the breasts of men. ” This essential work of collec-
tion was done soon after the Prophet's death, by his amanuensis,
Zaid Ibn Thabit, at the command of the Caliph Abu Bekr. A few
years later, as divergent copies were circulated, the Caliph Othman
ordered a standard text to be made by three learned men; and when
this was completed, other copies were made to conform to it. This
received text has been transmitted without substantial variation to our
## p. 8708 (#324) ###########################################
8708
THE KORAN
own time, and probably represents correctly the work of Mohammed.
No insinuation against its accuracy was ever uttered by the surviving
comrades of the Prophet.
The Koran consists of chapters, each of which is called a Sura.
They vary in length from a single line to many pages. * There is
reason to think that the longer ones are made by putting together
compositions originally published at different times. In these chap-
ters, unity of thought or plan is difficult to discover.
The only
principle of arrangement for the book as a whole was to put the
longest Suras first and the shortest last: this from the second Sura
on,— the first place was given to the brief prayer called the Fatiha.
Mohammed disclaimed the title of poet. His earliest compositions,
however, have a certain rhythmic form; the verses being short, with
three or four accented syllables. All the verses of a single revelation
rhyme, and a change in the rhyme indicates a transition to a new
composition. The later chapters are also in rhyme; but as the verses
are much longer, the poetic effect is lost.
The fragmentary character of the Suras, and the lack of plan in
the arrangement of the book as a whole, throw great obstacles in the
way of the reader. Moreover, as is the case in many early books,
much is only obscurely expressed because the author expected to sup-
ply something by his own action in delivery. It is of the first import-
ance, therefore, to bring the various revelations into connection with
the life of Mohammed. Some help is given us here by the Tradi-
tions; but for the most part we are dependent on internal evidence.
It is evident at the first glance that the shorter Suras are rhapsodic
in character; gushes of emotion, coming from a man under religious
excitement. The longer compositions, on the other hand, are prosaic,
the result of reflection, frequently commonplace or trivial. With this
general criterion, and with the help of tradition, we can separate
roughly three periods of composition.
Those Suras which constitute the earliest group come last in
the arrangement of the received text. In them Mohammed appears
as a preacher of new truth. Himself much impressed by the doctrine
of the unity of God, he professes it fervently while protesting against
the idolatry of his countrymen. In the intensity of his emotion, he
strengthens his asseverations by oaths of strange import; as in the
following (Sura 100):-
1.
«By the galloping panting troops,
That strike fire from the rocks,
That make their attack at the dawn,
* The longest fills twenty-three pages of Flügel's Arabic text; the shortest
occupies less than the tenth part of a single page.
## p. 8709 (#325) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8709
Whose feet raise a cloud of dust!
Verily, man is ungrateful to his Lord !
Himself must testify this.
Strong only in the love of earthly good!
Doth he not know that when what is in the
tombs is brought forth,
And what is in the breasts is brought to light,
On that day their Lord will know concerning them ? »
As is indicated at the close of this Sura, the coming Judgment
is a prominent thought of the Prophet at this period. It is in fact
alluded to in nearly every chapter, and is described in language
closely approaching the Biblical pictures of the Day of Jehovah. The
earth will shake violently and deliver up its dead; the mountains
will be reduced to dust, or become like wool; the moon will be rent
in twain; men and demons will be summoned to an account. After
this, the good will be welcomed to gardens in which flow perennial
streams, while the wicked will be consigned to the flame. These
predictions form the staple of the revelations of this period, as any
one will readily convince himself by reading from the seventy-third
Sura onward through the book. The repetitions show no great fer-
tility of imagination on the part of the author.
2. As Mohammed continued to preach, he discovered that his
mere announcement was not taken seriously by his hearers. They
refused to give up their false gods, and they scoffed at the idea of a
Judgment. He found it necessary to argue with them and to instruct
them. His argument was simply a more extended description of the
character of God, with an appeal to his power as shown in nature.
An example is the following (xiii. 10, ff. ):-
.
«God is the Knower of the secret and of the manifest, the Great, the
Exalted. It is the same to him whether one speak in secret or speak openly;
whether one conceal himself in the night or go abroad in the day. Each
man has companions before and behind, who watch him by the command of
God.
He it is who shows you the lightning, an object of fear and yet
of desire, and who brings up the heavy-laden clouds. The thunder chants his
praise; the angels also, moved by fear of him. He sends the thunderbolts and
strikes whom he will.
Yet men dispute concerning God, though he is mighty
in power. To him sincere prayer is to be made, and those who pray to
another than to him shall receive no answer, more than one who stretches out
his hand to the water to bring it to his mouth, when he is not within reach of
it. The prayer of the unbelievers is only a going astray. Yet to God what-
ever is in heaven or on earth bows down willingly or unwillingly —e
even the
shadows morning and evening. ”
In this same connection we find the argument from nature — where
God is described as sending down the rain which fills the streams;
## p. 8710 (#326) ###########################################
8710
THE KORAN
and in general we may say that the power and goodness of God in
creation and providence are a favorite theme.
For the historical material which he uses in this period, Mohammed
depends mainly on the Bible. He does not refuse stories from other
sources, as Arabic tradition. Whatever he uses he molds to his own
purpose so palpably that we do not need to read between the lines.
He has a scheme of history, according to which every epoch has.
had a prophet to preach the unity of God. The prophet has made
a few converts, but the mass of his people have been unbelieving.
The result has been a judgment of God upon the people, in which
all perish except the prophet and his followers. Noah and Moses
are favorite characters, because they can be fitted so easily into this
scheme. They are therefore brought into prominence a number of
times. So is Abraham, because he was the first of the true believers.
The destruction of Sodom and of the Arab tribes (of which tradition
tells) readily enforces the same lesson. Whatever the narrative may
be, we hear the voice of Mohammed warning and rebuking — whether
the ostensible person be Noah or Abraham or Moses. There is no-
where any interest in history for its own sake. The only exception
is the story of Joseph, where it almost seems as if the beauty of the
Biblical narrative had made the Prophet forget his main purpose.
It is impossible to quote here from this material. From the lit-
erary point of view it has little interest, both because of the promi-
nence of the purpose and because of its repetitions. Not only are
the same stories repeated,- they are interlarded with stereotyped
phrases which cover the author's barrenness of thought, or relieve
his embarrassment in the matter of rhyme.
3. With the emigration to Medina, Mohammed's circumstances
were entirely changed. He had been the proscribed preacher of a
persecuted sect. He now became the civil ruler as well as the reli-
gious leader of a devoted band of followers. The state of the com-
munity was such that this soon made him an autocrat over a growing
State. His thought was necessarily turned to matters of public policy.
He knew no distinction between State and church. The Koran em-
bodied the decrees of the civil ruler as well as the oracles of the
revealer of truth. Hence the third period shows a predominance
of legislative matter. The division of the booty, the treatment of
captives and renegades, the penalties for wrongs inflicted by the
believers on each other, measures to be taken for the common de-
fense - all these receive attention. The lesson of the victory at Bedr
is set forth for the encouragement of believers, and the mortification
of the defeat at Ohod is made to teach the danger of disobedience.
Even the personal affairs of the Prophet are treated in the Koran,
and God is made to rebuke the Bedawin for rude conduct, to scold
## p. 8711 (#327) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8711
Mohammed's wives for their quarrels, to exculpate Ayesha when as-
sailed by slander, and to give the Prophet a dispensation from the
law imposed on other Moslems. All this is of great interest for the
historian and for the student of comparative law; but it has no place
in literature.
The Arabs affirm that the style of the Koran is perfection itself.
Mohammed himself challenged men and demons to produce anything
like it. As an article of faith, this cannot be shaken by criticism.
And it must be admitted that from its position as the Book of God,
the Koran has been a model for Arabic authors. In this respect its
importance is parallel to that of Luther's Bible, or to that of the
Authorized English Version. It fixed a standard, and is therefore
a classic.
The foreigner may hesitate to contradict the consensus of Arabic
opinion; but he can hardly fail to see that, judged by the best mod-
els of the world's literature, the Koran has many shortcomings. The
compositions are without plan. There is rarely an ordered sequence
of thought. The author often labors to express what he has to say.
Stock phrases are used to relieve the lack of fluency. Monotonous
repetitions of the same story testify to lack of invention. There are
passages of great beauty and force, but they make up only a small
part of the whole. Mohammed was not a master of style.
The translation of Sale, which has been published in numerous
editions, is still regarded as the best. Rodwell in his translation
(1861) attempts to arrange the Suras in chronological order. The
reader may be referred also to the article Mohammedanism in the
Encyclopædia Britannica' (Vol. xvi. , pages 597 ff. ) and the titles
Muhammed' and 'Qur'an' in Hughes's Dictionary of Islam.
(
Henry Preserved Smith .
SELECTIONS FROM THE KORAN
Translation of E. H. Palmer in (The Sacred Books of the East)
THE OPENING CHAPTER
I
THE name of the merciful and compassionate God.
Praise belongs to God, the Lord of the worlds, the mer-
ciful, the compassionate, the ruler of the Day of Judgment!
Thee we serve and thee we ask for aid. Guide us in the right
path, the path of those thou art gracious to; not of those thou
art wroth with, nor of those who err.
## p. 8712 (#328) ###########################################
8712
THE KORAN
THE CHAPTER OF THE NIGHT
IN The name of the merciful and compassionate God.
By the night when it veils!
And the day when it is displayed !
And by what created male and female!
Verily, your efforts are diverse!
But as for him who gives alms and fears God,
And believes in the best,
We will send him easily to ease!
But as for him who is niggardly,
And longs for wealth,
And calls the good a lie,
We will send him easily to difficulty!
And his wealth shall not avail him
When he falls down [into hell]!
Verily it is for us to guide;
And verily, ours are the hereafter and the former life!
And I have warned you of a fire that flames!
None shall broil thereon but the most wretched, who says it
is a lie and turns his back.
But the pious shall be kept away from it - he who gives his
wealth in alms, and who gives no favor to any one for the sake
of reward, but only craving the face of his Lord the most High;
in the end he shall be well pleased!
THE CHAPTER OF THE DAWN
In the name of the merciful and compassionate God.
By the dawn and ten nights!
And the single and the double!
And the night when it travels on!
Is there in that an oath for a man of common-sense ?
Hast thou not seen how thy Lord did with Ad ? — with Iram
of the columns ? the like of which has not been created in the
land ?
And Tharmud when they hewed the stones in the valley ?
And Pharaoh of the stakes ?
Who were outrageous in the land, and did multiply wicked-
ness therein, and thy Lord poured out upon them the scourge
of torment.
## p. 8713 (#329) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8713
»
Verily, thy Lord is on a watch-tower! and as for man, when-
ever his Lord tries him and honors him and grants him favor,
then he says, “My Lord has honored me;) but whenever he
tries him and doles out to him his subsistence, then he says,
"My Lord despises me! ”
Nay, but ye do not honor the orphan, nor do ye urge each
other to feed the poor, and ye devouring the inheritance [of the
weak] with a general devouring, and ye love wealth with a com-
plete love!
Nay, when the earth is crushed to pieces, and thy Lord comes
with the angels, rank on rank, and hell is brought on that day,
-on that day shall man be reminded! but how shall he have a
reminder ?
He will say, “Would that I had something forward for my
life ! )
But on that day no one shall be tormented with a torment
like his, and no one shall be bound with bonds like his!
O thou comforted soul! return unto thy Lord well pleased and
well pleased with!
And enter amongst my servants and enter my Paradise !
THE CHAPTER OF THE MOST HIGH
IN The name of the merciful and compassionate God.
Celebrate the name of thy Lord most High, who created and
fashioned, and who decreed and guided, and who brings forth
the pasture, and then makes it dusky stubble!
We shall make thee recite, and thou shalt not forget, save
what God pleases. Verily, he knows the open and what is con-
cealed; and we will send thee easily to ease: wherefore remind,
for verily the reminder is useful.
But he who fears will be mindful: but the wretch will avoid
it; he will broil on the great fire, and then therein shall neither
die nor live!
Prosperous is he who purifies himself and remembers the
name of his Lord and prays!
Nay, but yet prefer the life of this world, while the hereafter
is better and more lasting.
Verily, this was in the books of yore, — the books of Abraham
and Moses.
## p. 8714 (#330) ###########################################
8714
THE KORAN
THE CHAPTER OF THE ZODIACAL SIGNS
IN THE name of the merciful and compassionate God.
By the heaven with its zodiacal signs!
And the promised day!
And the witness and the witnessed!
The fellows of the pit were slain;
And the fire with its kindling,
When they sat over it
And witnessed, that while, what they were doing with those
who believed.
And they took not vengeance on them save for their belief
in God, the mighty, the praiseworthy,
Who is the kingdoms of the heavens and the earth;
For God is witness over all!
Verily, those who make trial of the believers, men and women,
and do not repent, for them is the torment of hell, and for them
is the torment of the burning!
Verily, those who believe and act aright, for them are gardens
beneath which rivers flow,- that is the great bliss!
Verily, the violence of thy Lord is keen!
Verily, he produces and returns, and he is the forgiving, the
loving, the Lord of the glorious throne; the doer of what he
will!
Has there come to thee the story of the hosts of Pharaoh
and Tharmud ?
Nay, those who misbelieve do say it is a lie; but God is
behind them - encompassing!
Nay, it is a glorious Qur'an in a preserved tablet.
THE CHAPTER OF THE CLEAVING ASUNDER
IN THE name of the merciful and compassionate God.
When the heaven is cleft asunder,
And when the stars are scattered,
And when the seas gush together,
And when the tombs are turned upside down,
The soul shall know what it has sent on or kept back!
O man! what has seduced thee concerning thy generous Lord,
who created thee and fashioned thee, and gave thee symmetry,
and in what form he pleased composed thee?
## p. 8715 (#331) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8715
Nay, but ye call the judgment a lie! but over you are guard-
ians set, -noble, writing down! they know what ye do!
Verily, the righteous are in pleasure, and verily, the wicked
are in hell: they shall broil therein upon the Judgment Day; nor
shall they be absent therefrom!
And what shall make thee know what is Judgment Day?
Again, what shall make thee know what is the Judgment Day? a
day when no soul shall control aught for another; and the bidding
on that day belongs to God!
THE CHAPTER OF THOSE SENT
IN The name of the merciful and compassionate God.
By those sent in a series!
And by those who speed swiftly!
And by the dispensers abroad!
And by the separators apart !
And by those who instill the reminder, as an excuse or warn-
ing!
Verily, what ye are threatened with will surely happen!
And when the stars shall be erased!
And when the heaven shall be cleft!
And when the mountains be winnowed.
And when the Apostles shall have a time appointed for them!
For what day is the appointment made ?
For the day of decision! and what shall make thee know what
the decision is ?
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Have we not destroyed those of yore, and then followed them
up with those of the latter day? Thus do we with sinners.
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Did we not create you from contemptible water, and place
it in a sure depository unto a certain decreed term ? for we are
able, and well able too!
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Have we not made for them the earth to hold the living
and the dead ? and set thereon firm mountains reared aloft ? and
given you to drink water in streams?
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Go off to that which ye did call a lie! Go off to the shadow
of three columns, that shall not shade or avail against the flame!
## p. 8716 (#332) ###########################################
8716
THE KORAN
Verily, it throws off sparks like towers, -as though they were
yellow camels!
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
This is the day when they may not speak, — when they are
not permitted to excuse themselves!
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
This is the day of decision! We have assembled you with
those of yore: if ye have any stratagem, employ it now!
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Verily, the pious are amid shades and springs and fruit such
as they love. — «Eat and drink with good digestion, for that
which ye have done! ”
Verily, thus we do reward those who do well.
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Eat and enjoy yourselves for a little: verily, ye are sinners! ”
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
And when it is said to them, Bow down, they bow not down.
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie !
And in what new discourse after it will they believe ?
THE CHAPTER OF THE GINN
IN THE name of the merciful and compassionate God.
Say, “I have been inspired that there listened a company of
the ginn, and they said, “We have heard a marvelous Qur'an
that guides to the right direction; and we believe therein, and
we join no one with our Lord, for verily, he — may the majesty
of our Lord be exalted! — has taken to himself no consort nor
son.
« (And verily, a fool amongst us spake against God wide of
the mark!
« And we thought that men and ginn would never speak a
lie against God.
« (And there are persons amongst men who seek for refuge
with persons amongst the ginn; but they increase them in their
perverseness. And they thought, as ye thought, that God would
not raise up any one from the dead.
« (But we touched the heavens and found them filled with a
mighty guard and shooting stars; and we did sit in certain seats
thereof to listen; but whoso of us listens now finds a shooting
star for him on guard.
## p. 8717 (#333) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8717
some
are
« (And verily, we know not whether evil be meant for those
who are in the earth, or if their Lord means right by them.
« And of us are some who are pious, and of us are
who are otherwise: we are in separate bands.
« (And we thought that we could not frustrate God in the
earth, and could not frustrate him by flight.
« But verily, when we heard the guidance we believed the
rein, and he who believes in his Lord shall fear neither diminu-
tion nor loss.
« (And verily, of us some who are Muslims, and of us
some are trespassers: but those of us who are Muslims, they strive
after right direction; and as for the trespassers, they are fuel for
hell.
« And if they will go right upon the way, we will irrigate
them with copious water to try them thereby; and whoso turns
from the remembrance of his Lord, He will drive him to severe
torment. ) »
And [say] that the mosques are God's, and that ye should not
call any one with God, and that when God's servant stood up to
pray, they called out to him and well-nigh crowded upon him.
Say, "I only call upon my Lord, and I join no one with him. ”
Say, “Verily, I cannot control for you either harm or right
direction. ”
Say, “Verily, as for me none can protect me against God,
nor do I find any refuge beside him,- except delivering the
message from God and his errands; and whoso rebels against God
and his Apostle, verily for him is the fire of hell for them to
dwell therein for ever and for aye! ”
Until when they see what they are threatened with, then shall
they surely know who is most weak at helping and fewest in
numbers!
Say, « I know not if what ye are threatened with be nigh, or
if my Lord will set it for a term. He knows the unseen, and he
one know his unseen save such people as he is well
pleased with; for verily, he sends marching before him and be-
hind him a guard! That he may know that they have delivered
the errands of the Lord; for he compasses what they have, and
reckons everything by number.
DER WADLAKE,
(
lets no
## p.
