given any thing wherewith to shelter themselves therefrom. 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;" beneath which he found certain people, who could scarce understand what was said. And they said, O Dhu'lkarnein, verily Gog and Magog waste the land; 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. Wherefore, when this wall was finished, Gog and Magog could not scale it, neither could they dig through it. And Dhu'lkarnein said, This is a mercy from my LORD: but when the prediction of my LORD shall come to be fulfilled, 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: and the trumpet shall be sounded, and we will gather them in a body together. 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

Who had neither clothes nor houses, their country not bearing any buildings, but dwelt in holes under ground, into which they retreated from the heat of the sun. Jallalo'ddin says they were the Zenj, a black nation lying south-west of Ethiopia. They seem to be the Troglodytes of the ancients.

*“This narrative is true. We know all those who were with Alexander.”—Savary. Between which Dhu'lkarnein built the famous rampart, mentioned immediately, against the irruptions of Gog and Magog., These mountains are situate in Armenia and Adherbijan, or, according to others, much more northwards, on the confines of Turkestân. 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.

By reason of the strangeness of their speech and their slowness of apprehension; wherefore they were obliged to make use of an interpreter.

The Arabs call them Yajui 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 Gi'an the Geli and Gelæ of Ptolemy and Strabo.

It is said these barbarous people made their irruptions into the neighbouring countries in the spring, and destroyed and carried off the fruits of the earth; and some pretend they were man-eaters."

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 superstructure 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

That is, when the time shall come for Gog and Magog to break forth from their confinement; which shall happen some time before the resurrection."

These words represent either the violent irruption of Gog and Magog, or the tumul'uous assembly of all creatures, men, genii, and brutes, at the resurrection.

Al Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin. Al Beidawi. 1 Idem. • Al Beidâwi. ' Idem, &c.

• Al Beidâwi.

Vide

D'Herbel. ubi sup.

Bibl. Orient. Art. Jagiouge. • Vide Gol. in Alfrag. p. 207. See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. p. 58. * See ib. p. 62.

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 endeavour 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 for ever; 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 farther supply. 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.

CHAPTER XIX.

INTITLED, MARY;' REVEALED AT MECCA."

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.

C. H. Y. A. S. A commemoration of the mercy of thy LORD towards his servant Zacharias, When he called upon his LORD, invoking him in secret, and said, O LORD, verily my bones are weakened, and my head is become white with hoariness, and I have never been unsuccessful in my prayers to thee, O LORD. But now I fear my nephews, who are to succeed after me, for my wife is barren: wherefore, give me a successor of my own body from before thee; who may be my heir, and may be an heir of the family of Jacob; and grant, O LORD, that he may be acceptable unto thee. And the angel answered him, O Zacharias, verily we bring thee

"Before all his marvels had been celebrated."-Savary.

Several circumstances relating to the Virgin Mary being mentioned in this chapter, her name was pitched upon for the title. ("Peace be with her."-Savary.)

Except the verse of Adoration.

▾ See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iii. p. 42. ("K. H. I. A. S.”—Savary.)

* See chap. 3, p. 40, &c.

These were his brother's sons, who were very wicked men, and Zacharias was apprehensive, lest, after his death, instead of confirming the people in the true religion, they should seduce them to idolatry. And some commentators imagine that he made this prayer in private, lest his nephews should overhear him.

viz. In holiness and knowledge; or in the government and superintendence of the Israelites. There are some who suppose it is not the patriarch who is here meant, but another Jacob, the brother of Zacharias, or of Imrân Ebn Mâthán, of the race of Solomon.' ⚫ Iidem.

Al Beidâwi, Jallalo'ddin.

tidings of a son, whose name shall be John; we have not caused any to bear the same name before him. Zacharias said, LORD, how shall I have

a son, seeing my wife is barren, and I am now arrived at a great age,* and am decrepit? The angel said, So shall it be: thy LORD saith, This is easy with me; since I created thee heretofore, when thou wast nothing. Zacharias answered, O LORD, give me a sign. The angel replied, Thy sign shall be that thou shalt not speak to men for three nights, although thou be in perfect health. And he went forth unto his people, from the chamber, and he made signs unto them, as if he should say, Praise ye God in the morning and in the evening. And we said unto his son, O John, receive the book of the law, with a resolution to study and observe it. And we bestowed on him wisdom, when he was yet a child, and mercy from us, and purity of life; and he was a devout person, and dutiful towards his parents, and was not proud or rebellious. Peace be on him the day whereon he was born, and the day whereon he shall die, and the day whereon he shall be raised to life.g And remember in the book of the Koran the story of Mary; when she retired from her family to a place towards the east, and took a veil to conceal herself from them; and we sent our spirit Gabriel unto her, and he appeared unto her in the shape of a perfect man. She said, I fly for refuge unto the merciful God, that he

For he was the first who bore the name of John, or Yahya (as the Arabs pronounce it); which fancy seems to have been occasioned by the words of St. Luke misunderstood, that none of Zachariah's kindred was called by that name: for otherwise John, or, as it is written in Hebrew, Johanan, was a common name among the Jews.

Some expositors avoid this objection, by observing that the original word samiyyan sig. nifies, not only one who is actually called by the same name, but also one who, by reason of his possessing the like qualities and privileges, deserves, or may pretend to the same name. ***My wife is barren, and I am verging on decrepitude.”—Savary.

The Mohammedan traditions greatly differ as to the age of Zacharias at this time; we have mentioned one already : Jallalo'ddin says, he was an hundred and twenty, and his wife ninety-eight; and the Sonna takes notice of several other opinions.

"Thou shalt be dumb during three days, replied the angel."-Savary.

Some say he wrote the following words on the ground.

"John, read the scriptures with fervour."-Savary.

Or, as the word also signifies, The love of alms-deeds.

Peace was with him at his birth, and at his death, and it shall accompany him on

the day of resurrection."-Savary.

To the eastern part of the temple; or to a private chamber in the house, which opened to the east whence, says al Beidawi, the Christians pray towards that quarter.

:

There is a tradition, that when the virgin was grown to years of puberty, she used to leave her apartment in the temple, and retire to Zacharias's house, to her aunt, when her courses came upon her; and so soon as she was clean, she returned again to the temple; and that at the time of the angel's visiting her, she was at her aunt's on the like occasion, and was sitting to wash herself, in an open place, behind a veil, to prevent her being seen. But others more prudently suppose the design of her retirement was to pray."

From the remotest antiquity the women of eastern countries have been accustomed to cover the face. At present they never appear in public without being veiled. These veils are of muslin, and reach to the waist: two small apertures are made in them, that the wearer may see her way. Two causes may have contributed to introduce among the females of the East the custom of covering the face; the excessive heat, which would soon destroy the freshness of their complexions; and the excessive jealousy of the men, which cannot bear that they should be seen.-Savary.

́ Like a full-grown, but beardless youth. Al Beidawi not contented with having giver. one good reason why he appeared in that form, viz. to moderate her surprise, that she • Luke i. 61. * Page 40, note h. • Yahya, al Beidâwi.

T

8

⚫ Al Zamakk

may defend me from thee: if thou fearest him, thou wilt not approach me. He answered, Verily I am the messenger of thy LORD, and am sent to give thee a holy son. She said, How shall I have a son, seeing a man hath not touched me, and I am no harlot? Gabriel replied, So shall it be thy LORD saith, This is easy with me; and we will perform it, that we may ordain him for a sign unto men, and a mercy from us: for it is a thing which is decreed. Wherefore she conceived him ; and she retired aside with him in her womb to a distant place; and the pains of childbirth came upon her near the trunk of a palm-tree. She said, Would to God I had died before this, and had become a thing forgotten, and lost in oblivion. And he who was beneath her called to her, saying, Be not grieved: now hath God provided a rivulet under thee; and do thou shake the body of the palm-tree, and it shall let fall ripe dates upon thee, ready gathered.1 And eat, and drink, and calm thy mind. Moreover, if thou see any man, and he question thee, say, Verily I have vowed a fast unto the Merciful: wherefore I will by no means speak to a man this day." So she brought the child to her people, carrying him in her arms. And they said unto her, O Mary, now hast thou done a strange thing: O sister of Aaron," thy father was not a bad man, neither was thy mother a harlot. But she made

might hear his message with less shyness, adds, that perhaps it might be to raise an emotion in her, and assist her conception.

For Gabriel blew into the bosom of her shift, which he opened with his fingers, and his breath reaching her womb, caused the conception. The age of the Virgin Mary at the time of her conception was thirteen; or, as others say, ten; and she went six, seven, eight, or nine months with him, according to different traditions; though some say the child was conceived at its full growth of nine months, and that she was delivered of him within an hour after.3

To conceal her delivery she went out of the city by night to a certain mountain.

The palm to which she fled, that she might lean on it in her travail, was a withered trunk, without any head or verdure, and this happened in the winter season; notwithstanding which, it miraculously supplied her with fruits for her refreshment; as is mentioned immediately.

It has been observed, that the Mohammedan account of the delivery of the Virgin Mary very much resembles that of Latona, as described by the poets, not only in this circumstance of their laying hold on a palm-trees (though some say Latona embraced an olivetree, or an olive and a palm, or else two laurels), but also in that of their infants speaking; which Apollo is fabled to have done in the womb."

* "And she cried, Would to God that I had been dead, forgotten, and abandoned by mortals, before that I conceived."—Savary.

This some imagine to have been the child himself; but others suppose it was Gabriel, who stood somewhat lower than she did. According to a different reading, this passage may be rendered, And he called to her from beneath her, &c. And some refer the pronoun translated her, to the palm-tree: and then it should be beneath it, &c.

And, accordingly, she had no sooner spoken it, than the dry trunk revived, and shot forth green leaves, and a head laden with ripe fruit.

During which she was not to speak to any body, unless to acquaint them with the reason of her silence: and some suppose she did that by signs.

• Several Christian writers think the Korân stands convicted of a manifest falsehood in this particular, but I am afraid the Mohammedans may avoid the charge, as they do by several answers. Some say, the Virgin Mary had really a brother named Aaron, who had the same father, but a different mother: others suppose Aaron, the brother of Moses, is

1 Yahya. 2 Jallalo'ddin, Al Beidâwi.

Al Beidawi, Yahya. ⚫ lidem, Al Zamakh. * Vide Sikii not. in Evang. Infant. pp. 9, 21, &c. Homer. Hymn. in Apoll. Callimach. Hymn. in Delum. Callimach. ibid. See Kor. chap. 3, p. 41. Al Beidâwi, Jallalo'ddin. See chap. 3, p. 38.

signs unto the child to answer them; and they said, How shall we speak to him, who is an infant in the cradle? Whereupon the child said, Verily I am the servant of God; he hath given me the book of the gospel, and hath appointed me a prophet. And he hath made me blessed, wheresoever I shall be; and hath commanded me to observe prayer, and to give alms, so long as I shall live; and he hath made me dutiful towards my mother, and hath not made me proud or unhappy.* And peace be on me the day whereon I was born, and the day whereon I shall die, and the day whereon I shall be raised to life. This was Jesus the son of Mary; the Word of truth, concerning whom they doubt. It is not meet for GOD, that he should have any son: GOD forbid! When he decreeth a thing, he only saith unto it, Be; and it is. And verily GOD is my LORD, and your LORD; wherefore, serve him: this is the right way. Yet the sectaries differ among themselves concerning Jesus; but woe be unto those who are unbelievers, because of their appearance at the great day. Do thou cause them to hear, and do thou cause them to see," on the day whereon they shall come unto us to be judged: but the ungodly are this day in a manifest error. And do thou forewarn them of the day of sighing, when the matter shall be determined, while they are now sunk in negligence, and do not believe. Verily we will inherit the earth, and whatever creatures are therein; and unto us shall they all return. And remember Abraham in the book of the Korân; for he was one of great veracity, and a prophet. When he said unto his father, O my father, why dost thou worship that which heareth not, neither seeth, nor profiteth thee at all? O my father, verily a degree of knowledge hath been bestowed on me, which hath not been bestowed on thee: wherefore follow me; here meant, but say Mary is called his sister, either because she was of the Levitical race (as by her being related to Elizabeth it should seem she was), or by way of comparison: others say that it was a different person of that name who was contemporary with her, and conspicuous for his good or bad qualities, and that they likened her to him, either by way of commendation, or of reproach, &c.1

These were the first words which were put into the mouth of Jesus, to obviate the imagination of his partaking of the divine nature, or having a right to the worship of mankind, on account of his miraculous speaking so soon after his birth."

"He hath implanted filial piety in my heart, and has delivered me from pride, which is the companion of misery."-Savary.

This expression may be either referred to Jesus, as the Word of God; or to the account just given of him.

"God cannot have a son. Praise be unto his name! He commands, and that which existed not starts into life at his voice."-Savary.

These words are variously expounded: some taking them to express admiration' at the quickness of those senses in the wicked at the day of judgment, when they shall plainly perceive the torments prepared for them, though they have been deaf and blind in this life; and others supposing the words contain a threat to the unbelievers, of what they shall then hear and see; or else a command to Mohammed to lay before them the terrors of that day.* "What will they not hear, what will they not see, when they appear before our tribunal! Now they are in utter blindness."-Savary.

i. e. Alone surviving, when all creatures shall be dead and annihilated.-See chap. 15, p. 211.

* See chap. 6, p. 105, &c.

Al Zamakh. Al Beidâwi, Jallalo'ddin, Yahya, &c. chap. 18, p. 241. • Al Beidâwi.

"Al Beidâwi, &c.

• See