Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 6.djvu/389

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ⅩⅥ, 115-125.
the chapter of the bee.
263

you with, things lawful and good, and give thanks for the favours of God, if it be Him ye serve.

He has only forbidden you that which dies of itself, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that which is devoted to other than God ; but he who is forced, neither revolting nor transgressing, it is no sin for him : verily, God is forgiving and merciful.

And say not of the lie your tongues pronounce, ‘ This is lawful, and this is unlawful,’ forging against God a lie ; verily, those who forge against God a lie shall not prosper. A little enjoyment — then for them is grievous woe !

For those who are Jews we have forbidden what we have narrated to thee before[1]; we did not wrong them, but it was themselves they wronged.

120 Then, verily, thy Lord to those who have done evil in ignorance and then repented after that and done aright, — verily, thy Lord afterwards is forgiving and merciful.

Verily, Abraham was a high priest[2], a ′Hanîf, and was not of the idolaters : thankful for His favours ; He chose him and He guided him unto the right way.

And we gave him in this world good things ; and, verily, in the next he will be among the righteous.

Then we inspired thee, ‘ Follow the faith of Abraham, a ′Hanîf, for he was not of the idolaters.’

125 The Sabbath was only made for those who dispute thereon; but, verily, thy Lord will judge


  1. See p. 134.
  2. Some commentators take this word ummatan as equivalent to imâman, ‘antistes,’ and this interpretation I have followed. Others take it in its ordinary sense of ‘ nation ;’ but the use of the other epithets seems to favour the former interpretation.