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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1[55] Who is more unjust than he who, being 1 This passage is aimed at the Qurais. The ‘course of those of yore’ is the punishment inflicted on the ‘people of Noah, Lot,’ &c. for similar acts of misbelief, and ‘the torment’ is said to refer to their losses at the battle of Bedr. XVIII, s5-63. THE CHAPTER OF THE CAVE. 2I reminded of the signs of his Lord, turns away therefrom, and forgets what his hands have done before ? verily, we will place veils upon their hearts lest they should understand, and dulness in their ears | And if thou shouldst call them to the guidance, they will not be guided then for ever. But thy Lord is forgiving, endowed with mercy ; were He to punish them for what they have earned He would have hastened for them the torment. Nay rather, they have their appointed time, and shall never find a refuge beside Him. These cities, we destroyed them when they were unjust; and for their destruction we set an appointed time. And when Moses said to his servant, ‘I will not cease until I reach the confluence of the two seas, or else I will go on for years}.’ [60] But when they reached the confluence of the two? they forgot their fish, and it took its way in the sea with a free course. And when they had passed by, he said to his servant, ‘Bring us our dinners, for we have met with toil from this journey of ours.’ Said he, ‘What thinkest thou? when we resorted to the rock, then, verily, I forgot the fish, but it was only Satan who made me forget it, lest I should remember it; and it took its way in the sea wondrously!’ Said he, ‘This is what we were searching for *’ So they turned back upon their footsteps, following them up. 1 The word used signifies a space of eighty years and upwards. 3 Literally, ‘of their intermediate space.’ > See Part II, note 3, p. 23. 22 THE QuR’AN. XVIII, 64-46. Then they found a servant of our servants, to whom we had given mercy from ourselves, and had taught him knowledge from before us. [65] Said Moses to him, ‘Shall I follow thee, so that thou mayest teach me, from what thou hast been taught, the right way ?’ said he, ‘ Verily, thou canst never have patience with me. How canst thou be patient in what thou comprehendest no knowledge of?’ He said, ‘Thou wilt find me, if God will, patient; nor will I rebel against thy bidding.’ He said, ‘ Then, if thou followest me, ask me not about anything until I begin for them the mention of it.’ [70] So they set out until when they rode? in the bark, he scuttled it. Said he, ‘ Hast thou scuttled it to drown its crew ? Thou hast produced a strange thing.’ Said he, ‘ Did I not tell thee, verily, thou canst never have patience with me ?’ Said he, ‘Rebuke me not for forgetting, and impose not on me a difficult command.’ So they set out until they met a boy, and he killed him. And he (Moses) said, ‘Hast thou killed a pure person without (his killing) a person? thou hast produced an unheard-of thing.’
2And he (Moses) said, ‘Hast thou killed a pure person without (his killing) a person? thou hast produced an unheard-of thing.’ Said he, ‘Did I not tell thee, verily, thou canst not have patience with me?’ [75] Said he, ‘If I ask thee about anything after it, then do not accompany me. Now hast thou arrived at my excuse.’ So they set out until when they came to the people of a city; and they asked 1 That is, embarked. All nautical metaphors in Arabic being taken from camel riding. The Arabs do not call the camel ‘the ship of the desert,’ but they call a ship ‘the riding camel of the sea. XVUI, 76-81. THE CHAPTER OF THE CAVE, 23 the people thereof for food; but they refused to entertain them. And they found therein a wall which wanted! to fall to pieces, and he set it upright. Said (Moses), ‘ Hadst thou pleased thou mightst certainly have had a hire for this.’ Said he, ‘This is the parting between me and thee. I will give thee the interpretation of that with which thou couldst not have patience. As for the bark it belonged to poor people, who toiled on the sea, and I wished to damage it, for behind it was a king who seized on every bark? by force. And as for the youth, his parents were believers, and we feared lest he should impose upon them rebellion and misbelief. [80] So we desired that their Lord would give them in exchange a better one than him in purity, and nearer in filial affection. And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan youths in the city, and beneath it was a treasure belonging to them both, and their father was a righteous man, and their Lord desired that they should reach puberty, and then take out their treasure as a mercy from thy Lord; and I did it not on my own bidding. That is the interpretation of what thou couldst not have patience with %.’ ' The expression wanted to fall is colloquial in Arabic as well asin English. BaidfAvt says, ‘the expression wanting to is in this case figuratively used for being on the point of.’ 3 That is, every whole or sound ship. * For this legend there appears to be no ancient authority whatever; the Mohammedan commentators merely expand it, and say that El ‘Hidsr (a mythical personage, who is identified with the prophet Elias, St. George, and the prime minister of Alexander the Great) had disappeared in search of the water of immortality. Moses was inspired to search for him, and told that he would find him by a rock where two seas met, and where he should lose a fish 24 ' THE Qur’An., XVIII, 82-92. And they will ask thee about Duu ’] Qarn4in}, say, ‘I will recite to you a mention of him; verily, we stablished for him in the earth, and we gave him a way to everything; and he followed a way until when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it setting in a black muddy spring ?, and he found thereat a people.’
3[85] We said, ‘O Dau ’] Qarnain! thou mayest either torment these people, or treat them well.’ Said he, ‘As for him who does wrong, I will torment him, then shall he be sent back to his Lord, and He will torment him with an unheard-of torment ; but as for him who believes and acts aright, for him is an excellent reward, and we will tell him our easy bidding.’ Then he followed a way until when he reached the rising of the sun, he found it rise upon a people to whom we had given no shelter therefrom. [90] So! And we comprehended the knowledge of what (forces) he had with him. Then he followed a way until when he ‘reached the point between the two mountains, he found below them both a people who could scarcely under- which he was directed to take with him. Moses’ servant in the legend is Joshua, and the mysterious young man who guided him is generally supposed to be El ‘Hidfr himself, rendered immortal and supernaturally wise by having found and drunk of the water of life. 1 Literally, ‘the two horned;’ this personage is generally supposed to be Alexander the Great, who is so represented on his coins. The Mohammedan histories of him, however, contain so many gross anachronisms, making him, for instance, a contemporary with Moses, Abraham, &c., that it is probable they may have confused him with some much more ancient traditional conqueror. 2 Probably, as Baidhavi suggests, the ocean, which, with its dark waters, would remind an Arab of such a pool. . XVIII, 92-99. THE CHAPTER OF THE CAVE, 25 stand speech. They said, ‘O Dxu 11 Qarndin! verily, Yaghg and Magtg? are doing evil in the land. Shall we then pay thee tribute, on condition that thou set between us and them a rampart ?’ He said, ‘What my Lord hath established me in is better ; so help me with strength, and I will set between you and them a barrier. [95] ‘ Bring me pigs of iron until they fill up the space between the two mountain sides.’ Said he, ‘Blow until it makes it a fire.’ Said he, ‘ Bring me, that I may pour over it, molten brass?,’ So they? could not scale it, and they could not tunnel it. Said he, ‘This is a mercy from my Lord; but when the promise of my Lord comes to pass, He will make it as dust, for the promise of my Lord is true.’ And we left some of them to surge on that day‘ over others, and the trumpet will be blown, and we will gather them together. 1 Gog and Magog. The people referred to appear to be tribes of the Turkomans, and the rampart itself has been identified with some ancient fortifications extending from the west coast of the Caspian to the Pontus Euxinus. The word translated mountains is the same as that translated rampart a little further on. I have, in rendering it mountains, followed the Mohammedan commentators, whose view is borne out by the subsequent mention of mountain sides.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1[55] Who is more unjust than he who, being 1 This passage is aimed at the Qurais. The ‘course of those of yore’ is the punishment inflicted on the ‘people of Noah, Lot,’ &c. for similar acts of misbelief, and ‘the torment’ is said to refer to their losses at the battle of Bedr. XVIII, s5-63. THE CHAPTER OF THE CAVE. 2I reminded of the signs of his Lord, turns away therefrom, and forgets what his hands have done before ? verily, we will place veils upon their hearts lest they should understand, and dulness in their ears | And if thou shouldst call them to the guidance, they will not be guided then for ever. But thy Lord is forgiving, endowed with mercy ; were He to punish them for what they have earned He would have hastened for them the torment. Nay rather, they have their appointed time, and shall never find a refuge beside Him. These cities, we destroyed them when they were unjust; and for their destruction we set an appointed time. And when Moses said to his servant, ‘I will not cease until I reach the confluence of the two seas, or else I will go on for years}.’ [60] But when they reached the confluence of the two? they forgot their fish, and it took its way in the sea with a free course. And when they had passed by, he said to his servant, ‘Bring us our dinners, for we have met with toil from this journey of ours.’ Said he, ‘What thinkest thou? when we resorted to the rock, then, verily, I forgot the fish, but it was only Satan who made me forget it, lest I should remember it; and it took its way in the sea wondrously!’ Said he, ‘This is what we were searching for *’ So they turned back upon their footsteps, following them up. 1 The word used signifies a space of eighty years and upwards. 3 Literally, ‘of their intermediate space.’ > See Part II, note 3, p. 23. 22 THE QuR’AN. XVIII, 64-46. Then they found a servant of our servants, to whom we had given mercy from ourselves, and had taught him knowledge from before us. [65] Said Moses to him, ‘Shall I follow thee, so that thou mayest teach me, from what thou hast been taught, the right way ?’ said he, ‘ Verily, thou canst never have patience with me. How canst thou be patient in what thou comprehendest no knowledge of?’ He said, ‘Thou wilt find me, if God will, patient; nor will I rebel against thy bidding.’ He said, ‘ Then, if thou followest me, ask me not about anything until I begin for them the mention of it.’ [70] So they set out until when they rode? in the bark, he scuttled it. Said he, ‘ Hast thou scuttled it to drown its crew ? Thou hast produced a strange thing.’ Said he, ‘ Did I not tell thee, verily, thou canst never have patience with me ?’ Said he, ‘Rebuke me not for forgetting, and impose not on me a difficult command.’ So they set out until they met a boy, and he killed him. And he (Moses) said, ‘Hast thou killed a pure person without (his killing) a person? thou hast produced an unheard-of thing.’
2And he (Moses) said, ‘Hast thou killed a pure person without (his killing) a person? thou hast produced an unheard-of thing.’ Said he, ‘Did I not tell thee, verily, thou canst not have patience with me?’ [75] Said he, ‘If I ask thee about anything after it, then do not accompany me. Now hast thou arrived at my excuse.’ So they set out until when they came to the people of a city; and they asked 1 That is, embarked. All nautical metaphors in Arabic being taken from camel riding. The Arabs do not call the camel ‘the ship of the desert,’ but they call a ship ‘the riding camel of the sea. XVUI, 76-81. THE CHAPTER OF THE CAVE, 23 the people thereof for food; but they refused to entertain them. And they found therein a wall which wanted! to fall to pieces, and he set it upright. Said (Moses), ‘ Hadst thou pleased thou mightst certainly have had a hire for this.’ Said he, ‘This is the parting between me and thee. I will give thee the interpretation of that with which thou couldst not have patience. As for the bark it belonged to poor people, who toiled on the sea, and I wished to damage it, for behind it was a king who seized on every bark? by force. And as for the youth, his parents were believers, and we feared lest he should impose upon them rebellion and misbelief. [80] So we desired that their Lord would give them in exchange a better one than him in purity, and nearer in filial affection. And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan youths in the city, and beneath it was a treasure belonging to them both, and their father was a righteous man, and their Lord desired that they should reach puberty, and then take out their treasure as a mercy from thy Lord; and I did it not on my own bidding. That is the interpretation of what thou couldst not have patience with %.’ ' The expression wanted to fall is colloquial in Arabic as well asin English. BaidfAvt says, ‘the expression wanting to is in this case figuratively used for being on the point of.’ 3 That is, every whole or sound ship. * For this legend there appears to be no ancient authority whatever; the Mohammedan commentators merely expand it, and say that El ‘Hidsr (a mythical personage, who is identified with the prophet Elias, St. George, and the prime minister of Alexander the Great) had disappeared in search of the water of immortality. Moses was inspired to search for him, and told that he would find him by a rock where two seas met, and where he should lose a fish 24 ' THE Qur’An., XVIII, 82-92. And they will ask thee about Duu ’] Qarn4in}, say, ‘I will recite to you a mention of him; verily, we stablished for him in the earth, and we gave him a way to everything; and he followed a way until when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it setting in a black muddy spring ?, and he found thereat a people.’
3[85] We said, ‘O Dau ’] Qarnain! thou mayest either torment these people, or treat them well.’ Said he, ‘As for him who does wrong, I will torment him, then shall he be sent back to his Lord, and He will torment him with an unheard-of torment ; but as for him who believes and acts aright, for him is an excellent reward, and we will tell him our easy bidding.’ Then he followed a way until when he reached the rising of the sun, he found it rise upon a people to whom we had given no shelter therefrom. [90] So! And we comprehended the knowledge of what (forces) he had with him. Then he followed a way until when he ‘reached the point between the two mountains, he found below them both a people who could scarcely under- which he was directed to take with him. Moses’ servant in the legend is Joshua, and the mysterious young man who guided him is generally supposed to be El ‘Hidfr himself, rendered immortal and supernaturally wise by having found and drunk of the water of life. 1 Literally, ‘the two horned;’ this personage is generally supposed to be Alexander the Great, who is so represented on his coins. The Mohammedan histories of him, however, contain so many gross anachronisms, making him, for instance, a contemporary with Moses, Abraham, &c., that it is probable they may have confused him with some much more ancient traditional conqueror. 2 Probably, as Baidhavi suggests, the ocean, which, with its dark waters, would remind an Arab of such a pool. . XVIII, 92-99. THE CHAPTER OF THE CAVE, 25 stand speech. They said, ‘O Dxu 11 Qarndin! verily, Yaghg and Magtg? are doing evil in the land. Shall we then pay thee tribute, on condition that thou set between us and them a rampart ?’ He said, ‘What my Lord hath established me in is better ; so help me with strength, and I will set between you and them a barrier. [95] ‘ Bring me pigs of iron until they fill up the space between the two mountain sides.’ Said he, ‘Blow until it makes it a fire.’ Said he, ‘ Bring me, that I may pour over it, molten brass?,’ So they? could not scale it, and they could not tunnel it. Said he, ‘This is a mercy from my Lord; but when the promise of my Lord comes to pass, He will make it as dust, for the promise of my Lord is true.’ And we left some of them to surge on that day‘ over others, and the trumpet will be blown, and we will gather them together. 1 Gog and Magog. The people referred to appear to be tribes of the Turkomans, and the rampart itself has been identified with some ancient fortifications extending from the west coast of the Caspian to the Pontus Euxinus. The word translated mountains is the same as that translated rampart a little further on. I have, in rendering it mountains, followed the Mohammedan commentators, whose view is borne out by the subsequent mention of mountain sides.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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