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

CHAP. v.. AL KORAIT. 113
or loaden with burdens ;^ and there are cattle on which they commemorate
not the name of GoD wlien Uiey slay them ;^ devising a lie against
him : God shall reward them for that which they falsely de-.-ise. And they
Bay, That which is in the bellies of these cattle" is allowed our males to eat
and is forbidden to our wives : but if it prove abortive, then they are both
partakers thereof* God shall give them the reward of their attributing
lliese things to him : he is knowing and wise. They are utterly lost who
have slain their children foolishly/ without knowledge ;' and have for-
bidden that which God hath given theiu for food, devising a lie against God.
They have erred, and were not rightly directed. He it is wlio produceth
gardens of vines, both those which are supported on trails of wood, and those
loldch are not supported,* and palm-trees, and the corn affording various
food, and olives, and pomegranates, alike and unlike unto one another.
Eat of their fruit, when they bear fruit, and pay tlie due thereof on the day
whereon ye shall gather it ;"* but be not profuse," for God luveth not those
who are too profuse. And God hath given you some cattle fit for bearing
of burdens, and some fit for slaughter only. Eat of what God hath given
you for food ; and follow not the steps of Satan, for he is your declared
enemy. Four pair ^ of cattle hath God given you ; of sheep one pair, and
of goats one pair. Say unto them, hath God forbidden the two males, of
sheep and of goats, or the two females ; or that which the wombs of the two
females contain ? Tell me with certainty, if ye speak truth. And of camels
hath God given you one pair, and of oxen one pair. Say, Hath he forbidden
the two males of these, or the two females ; or that which the wombs of the
two females contain 1" Were ye present when God commanded you this ?
And who is more unjust than he who deviseth a lie against God,' that he
may seduce men without understanding ] Verily God directeth not unjust
» Which they superstitiously exempted from such services, in some particular
cases ; as they did the Bahira. the Saiba, and the Hami.*
t See chap. 5.
" That is, the fcetus or embryos of the Bahira and the Saiba, which shall be
brought forth alive.
» For if those cattle cast their young, the women might eat thereof as well as the men.
y See p. 112, note p.
» Not having a due sense of God's providence.
'Or, as some choose to interpret the words, trees or plants which are planted by
the labour of man, and thofe which grow naturally in the deserts and on mountains.
^ That is, give alms thereof to the poor. And these alms, as al Beidawi observes,
were what they used to give before the Zacat, or legal alms, was instituted ; which
was done after Mohammed had retired from Mecca, where this verse was revealed.
Yet some are of another opinion, and for this very reason will have the verse to hava
been revealed at Medma.
•= i. e. Give not so much thereof in alms, as to leave your own families in want ;
for charity begins at home.
"i Or, literally, eight males and females paired together; that is, four of each sex,
and two of every distinct kind.
" In this passage Mohammed endeavours to convince the Arabs of their super-
stitious folly in making it unlawful, one while, to eat the males of these four kinds
of cattle ; another while, the females ; and at another time, their young.<*
'The person particularly intended here, some say, was Amru Ebn Lohai, king
of Hajaz, a great introducer of idolatry and superstition among the Arabs.^
* See chap. .5. p. 95, and Prelim. Disc. sect. v. « Al Beidawi. 7 Idem. See
Prelim. Disc. p. 14, and Pocock, spec. p. 80.