J. F. Campbell Collection > Koran: or, Alcoran of Mohammed

32 AL KORAN. cuAr. n.
dead ? And God caused him to die for an hundred years, and aftenvarda
raised him to life. And God said, How long hast thou tarried lierel He
answered, A day, or part of a day. God said, Nay, thou hast tarried here
a hundred years. Now look on thy food and thy ch-ink, they are not yet
corrupted ; and look on thine ass : and this have we done that we might make
thee a sign unto men. And look on the bones of thine, ass, how we raise
them, and afterwards clothe them with flesh. And when this was shown
unto him, he said, I know that God is able to do all things. And when
Abraham said, Lord, show me how thou ^dlt raise the dead;^ God said,
Dost thou not yet believe ? He answered, Yea, but / ask this that my
heart may rest at ease. God said, take therefore four birds, and divide
them;^ then lay a part of them on every mountain; then call them, and
they shall come swiftly unto thee : and know that God is mighty and wise.
The similitude of those who lay out their substance for advancing the
religion of God, is as a grain of corn, which jH'oduceth seven eara, and in
every ear an hundred grains; for God giveth twofold unto whom he
pleaseth : God is bounteous and wise. They who lay out their substance
for the religion of God, and aftei-wards follow not what they have so laid out*
by reproaches or mischief,^ they shall have their reward with their Lord ;
upoH them shall no fear come, neither shall they be grieved. A fail- speech,
and to forgive,* is better than alms followed by mischief God is rich and
merciful. O true believers, make not your alms of none effect by reproach-
ing, or mischief, as he who layeth out what he hath to appear unto men to
men to give alms, and believeth not in God and the last day. The like-
ness of such a one is as a flint covered with earth, on which a violent rain
falleth, and leaveth it hard. They cannot prosper in any thing which
they have gained, for God directeth not the unbelieving people. And the
caused him to die, and he remained in that condition 100 years ; at the end of which
God restored him to life, and he found a basket of figs and a cruise of wine he had
with him, not in the least spoiled or corrupted, but his ass was dead, the bones only
remaining; and these, while the prophet looked on, were raised and clothed with flesh,
becoming an ass again, which being inspired with life, began immediately to bray.'
This apocryphal story may perhaps have taken its rise from Nehemiah's viewing
of the ruins of Jerusale^n.*
» The occasion of tiiis request of Abraham is said to have been on a doubt pro-
posed to him by the devil, in human form, how it was possible for the several parts
of the corpse of a, man which lay on the sea-shore, and had been partly devoured
by the wild beasts, the birds, and the fish, to be brought together at the resurrection.*
y These birds, according to the commentators, were an eagle (a dove, say others),
a peacock, a raven, and a cock ; which Abraham cut to pieces, and mingled their
flesh and feathers together, or, as some tell us, pounded all ia a mortar, and dividing
the mass into four parts, laid them on so many mountains, but kept the heads, which
he had preserved whole, in his hand. Then he called them each by their name, and
immediately one part flew to the other, till they all recovered their first shape, and
then came to be joined to their respective heads.*
This seems to be taken from Abraham's sacrifice of birds mentioned by Moses,^
with some additional circumstances.
* t. e. Either by reproaching the person whom they have relieved, with what they
have done for him; or by exposing his poverty to his prejudice.^
* "Humanity in words and actions is better than alms after injustice." — Savary.
» Jallalo'ddin, Yahya, &c. See Ji'Herbel. BibL Orient. Art. Ozair. * Nehem.
ii. 12, &c. * See D'Herbelot, p. 13. * Jallalo'ddin. Sec D' Herbelot, ubi supra.
' Gea XV. ^ Jallaloddin.