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

242 AI. KOKAN. cuAP. xvm.
gardens brought fortli its fruit every season, and failed not at all ; and wo
caused a river to flow in the midst thereof : and he had gi-eat abundance.
And he said unto his companion by way of debate, I am suj^erior to thee
in wealth, and have a moie powerful family. And he went into hia
garden,'^ being guilty of injustice against his own soul, and said, I do not
think that this garden will decay for ever ; neither do I think that the last
hour will come : and although I should return unto my Lokd, verily I shall
find a better garden than this in exchange.^ And his companion said unto
him, by way of debate. Dost thou not believe in him who created thee of
the dust, and afterwards of seed; and then fashioned thee into a perfect
man ? But as for me, God is my Lord ; and I will not associate any other
deity vrith. my Loud. And when thou enterest thy garden, wilt thou not
eay, What God pleaseth shall come to pass; there is no power but in God
alo7ie ? Although thou stAst me to be inferior to thee in wealth and
number of chikken, my Lokd is well able to bestow on me a better gift
than thy garden, and to shoot his arrows against the same from heaven, so
that it shall become barren dust ; or its water may sink deep into the ea/rth,
that thou canst not draw thereof And his possessions were encompassed
with destruction, as his companion had forewarned him; wherefore he began
to turn down the palms of his hands out of sorrow and regret for that which
he had expended thereon ; for the vines thereof were fallen down on their
trails : and he said, Would to God that I had not associated any other deity
with my Lord ! And he had no party to assist him besides God,* neither
was he able to defend himself against his vengeance. In such case protection
belongeth of right unto God alone; he is the best rewarder, and the best
giver of success. And propound to them a similitude of the present life.
It is like water which we send down from heaven ; and the herb of the
earth is mixed therewith, and after it hath been green andfluurishing, in the
morning it becometh diy stubble, which the winds scatter abroad; and
God is able to do all things. Wealth and children are the ornament of this
present life : but good works, which are permanent, are better in the sight
of thy Lord, with respect to the reward, and better with respect to hope.
On a cei tain day we will cause the mountains to pass away," and thou
Bhalt see the earth appearing plain and even; and we will gather mankind
particular persons are here meant. One says they were two Israelites and brothers,
who had a considerable sum left them by their father, which they divided between
them; and that one of them, being an unbeliever, bought large fields and possessions
with his portion, while the other, who was a true believer, disposed of his to pious
uses; but that in the end, the former was ruined, and the latter prospered. An-
other thinks they were two men of the tribe of Makhzum : the one named al Asw.ad
Ebn Abd'al Ashadd, an infidel; and the other Abu Salma Ebn Abd'allah, the
husband of 0mm Salma, (whom the prophet married after his death,) and a trua
believer.^
^ Carrying his companion with him, out of ostentation, and to mortify him with
the view of his large possession.'
' Vainly imagining that his prosperity was not so much the free gift of God, as
due to his merit.'
* " His numerous slaves stopped not the hand of the Almighty. He was unable
to defend himself." — Savory.
"" For being torn up by the roots, they shall fly in the air, and be reduced to atoms.'
^ Al Beidawi. * Idem. ' Idem. * Idem. See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. p. 68.