190 The CORÂN
CXIII.—SURA III., v. 80[81].

سورة آل عمران

وَإِذْ أَخَذَ اللّهُ مِيثَاقَ النَّبِيِّيْنَ لَمَا آتَيْتُكُم مِّن كِتَابٍ وَحِكْمَةٍ ثُمَّ جَاءكُمْ رَسُولٌ مُّصَدِّقٌ لِّمَا مَعَكُمْ لَتُؤْمِنُنَّ بِهِ وَلَتَنصُرُنَّهُ ألخ

And (call to mind) when God made a covenant with the prophets, (saying) This verily is the book and the wisdom which I have given unto you; thereafter shall come an Apostle attesting the truth of that (Scripture) which is with you; ye shall surely believe is him, and assist him.

This professes to be a command given by God to the former prophets, to believe on Mahomet when he should arise, and to assist him. And in this prophetic command, how is Mahomet described? Simply as "the Apostle who should attest that (Scripture) which hey had with them." The great mark by which Jews and Christians were to recognize the coming prophet, was that he would give his attestation to the Divine Scriptures " with them," i.e. then extant in their lands.

"One who attests that which is with you of the Book and wisdom, meaning Mahomet;"— مصدقا لما معكم من الكتاب والحكمة وهو محمد —Jelalooddeen

CXIV.—SURA III., v. 83[84].

سورة آل عمران

قُلْ آمَنَّا بِاللّهِ وَمَا أُنزِلَ عَلَيْنَا وَمَا أُنزِلَ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالأَسْبَاطِ وَمَا أُوتِيَ مُوسَى وَعِيسَى وَالنَّبِيُّونَ مِن رَّبِّهِمْ لاَ نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّنْهُمْ وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ

TESTIMONY TO THE HOLY SCRIPTURES 191

[Say (O Muhammad): We believe in Allah and that which is revealed unto us and that which was revealed unto Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and that which was vouchsafed unto Moses and Jesus and the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have surrendered. — Pickthal's Translation]

The same, nearly word for word, as Art. LXXXI., quod vide.

CXV.—SURA III., v. 93[-94].

سورة آل عمران

كُلُّ الطَّعَامِ كَانَ حِـلاًّ لِّبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ إِلاَّ مَا حَرَّمَ إِسْرَائِيلُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ مِن قَبْلِ أَن تُنَزَّلَ التَّوْرَاةُ قُلْ فَأْتُواْ بِالتَّوْرَاةِ فَاتْلُوهَا إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
فَمَنِ افْتَرَىَ عَلَى اللّهِ الْكَذِبَ مِن بَعْدِ ذَلِكَ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ

All food was lawful to the Children of Israel, excepting that which Israel made unlawful to himself, before the Tourât was revealed. Say,—Bring hither the Tourât, and read it, if ye be true. And whoever contriveth a lie concerning God after that, surely they are the transgressors.

In a discussion with the Jews of Medîna as to the eating of certain kinds of flesh forbidden by the Jewish Law, (Commentators suppose that it was Camels' flesh,) Mahomet supported his argument by saying that the prohibition against certain kinds of flesh dated only from the Tourât, or Pentateuch; and that in the time of Abraham, and in all time prior to the giving of the Law by Moses, there was no flesh forbidden at all excepting that which Jacob,