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The Message of The Quran
translated and explained by

Muhammad Asad
Foreword

READ in the name of thy Sustainer, who has created -

created man out of a germ-cell!
Read - for thy Sustainer is the Most Bountiful One
who has taught [man] the use of the pen -
taught man what he did not know.

With these opening verses of the ninety-sixth surah - with an allusion to man's humble
biological origin as well as to his consciousness and intellect - began, early in the seventh
century of the Chnstian era, the revelation of the Qur'an to the Prophet Muhammad,
destined to continue during the twenty-three years of his ministry and to end, shortly
before his death, with verse 281 of the second surah:

And be conscious of the Day on which you shall be brought back unto
God,
whereupon every human being shall be repaid in full for what he has
earned,
and none shall be wronged;

Between these first and last verses (the first and the last in the chronological order of their
revelation)1 unfolds a book which, more than any other single phenomenon known to us,
has fundamentally affected the religious, social and political history of the world. No
other sacred scripture has ever had a similarly immediate impact upon the lives of the
people who first heard its message and, through them and the generations that followed
them, on the entire course of civilization. It shook Arabia, and made a nation out of its
perennially warring tribes; within a few decades, it spread its world-view far beyond the
confines of Arabia and produced the first ideological society known to man; through its
insistence on consciousness and knowledge, it engendered among its followers a spirit of
intellectual curiosity and independent inquiry, ultimately resulting in that splendid era of
learning and scientific research which distinguished the world of Islam at the height of its
cultural vigour; and the culture thus fostered by the Qur'an penetrated in countless ways
and by-ways into the mind of medieval Europe and gave rise to that revival of Western
culture which we call the Renaissance, and thus became in the course of time largely
responsible for the birth of what is described as the "age of science": the age in which we
are now living.

1 It is to be borne in mind that, in its final compilation, the

Qur'an is arranged in
 accordance with the inner requirements of its message as a whole,
and not in the
chronological order in which the individual surahs or passages were
revealed.

All this was, in the final analysis, brought about by the message of the Qur'an: and it was
brought about through the medium of the people whom it inspired and to whom it
supplied a basis for all their ethical valuations and a direction for all their worldly
endeavours: for, never has any book - not excluding the Bible - been read by so many
with a comparable intensity and veneration; and never has any other book supplied to so
many, and over so long a span of time, a similarly comprehensive answer to the question,
"How shall I behave in order to achieve the good life in this world and happiness in the
life to come?" However often individual Muslims may have misread this answer, and
however far many of them may have departed from the spirit of its message, the fact
remains that to all who believed and believe in it, the Qur'an represents the ultimate
manifestation of God's grace to man, the ultimate wisdom, and the ultimate beauty of
expression: in short, the true Word of God.

This attitude of the Muslims towards the Qur'an perplexes, as a rule, the Westerner who
approaches it through one or another of the many existing translations. Where the
believer, reading the Qur'an in Arabic, sees beauty, the non-Muslim reader often claims
to discern "crudeness"; the coherence of the Qur'anic world-view and its relevance to the
human condition escape him altogether and assume the guise of what, in Europe's and
America's orientalist literature, is frequently described as "incoherent rambling";2 and
passages which, to a Muslim, are expressive of sublime wisdom, often sound "flat" and
"uninspiring" to the Western ear. And yet, not even the most unfriendly critics of the
Qur'an have ever denied that it did, in fact, provide the supreme source of inspiration - in
both the religious and cultural senses of this word - to innumerable millions of people
who, in their aggregate, have made an outstanding contribution to man's knowledge,
civilization and social achievement. How can this paradox be explained?

2. Thus, for instance, Western critics of the Qur'an frequently point

to the allegedly
"incoherent" references to God - often in one and the same phrase
- as "He", "God",
"We" or "I", with the corresponding changes of the pronoun from
"His" to "Ours" or
"My", or from "Him" to "Us" or "Me". They seem to be unaware of
the fact that these
changes are not accidental, and not even what one might describe
as "poetic licence",
but are obviously deliberate, a linguistic device meant to stress
the idea that God is
not a "person" and cannot, therefore, be really circumscribed by
the pronouns applicable
to finite beings.

It cannot be explained by the too-facile argument, so readily accepted by many modern

Muslims, that the Qur'an has been "deliberately misrepresented" by its Western
translators. For, although it cannot be denied that among the existing translations in
almost all of the major European languages there is many a one that has been inspired by
malicious prejudice and - especially in earlier times - by misguided "missionary" zeal,
there is hardly any doubt that some of the more recent translations are the work of earnest
scholars who, without being actuated by any conscious bias, have honestly endeavoured
to render the meaning of the Arabic original into this or that European language; and, in
addition, there exist a number of modern translations by Muslims who, by virtue of their
being Muslims, cannot by any stretch of the imagination be supposed to have
"misrepresented" what, to them, was a sacred revelation. Still, none of these translations -
whether done by Muslims or by non-Muslims - has so far brought the Qur'an nearer to
the hearts or minds of people raised in a different religious and psychological climate and
revealed something, however little, of its real depth and wisdom. To some extent this
may be due to the conscious and unconscious prejudice against Islam which has pervaded
Western cultural notions ever since the time of the Crusades - an intangible heritage of
thought and feeling which has left its mark on the attitude towards all things Islamic on
the part not only of the Western "man in the street" but also, in a more subtle manner, on
the part of scholars bent on objective research. But even this psychological factor does
not sufficiently explain the complete lack of appreciation of the Qur'an in the Western
world, and this in spite of its undeniable and ever-increasing interest in all that concerns
the world of Islam.

It is more than probable that one of the main reasons for this lack of appreciation is to be
found in that aspect of the Qur'an which differentiates it fundamentally from all other
sacred scriptures: its stress on reason as a valid way to faith as well as its insistence on
the inseparability of the spiritual and the physical (and, therefore, also social) spheres of
human existence: the inseparability of man's daily actions and behaviour, however
"mundane", from his spirltual life and destiny. This absence of any division of reality into
"physical" and "spiritual" compartments makes it difficult for people brought up in the
orbit of other religions, with their accent on the "supernatural" element allegedly inherent
in every true religious experience, to appreciate the predominantly rational approach of
the Qur'an to all religious questions. Consequently, its constant interweaving of spiritual
teachings with practical legislation perplexes the Western reader, who has become
accustomed to identifying "religious experience" with a thrill of numinous awe before
things hidden and beyond all intellectual comprehension, and is suddenly confronted with
the claim of the Qur'an to being a guidance not only towards the spiritual good of the
hereafter but also towards the good life - spiritual, physical and social - attainable in this
world. In short, the Westerner cannot readily accept the Qur'anic thesis that all life, being
God-given, is a unity, and that problems of the flesh and of the mind, of sex and
economics, of individual righteousness and social equity are intimately connected with
the hopes which man may legitimately entertain with regard to his life after death. This,
in my opinion, is one of the reasons for the negative, uncomprehending attitude of most
Westerners towards the Qur'an and its teachings. But still another - and perhaps even
more decisive - reason may be found in the fact that the Qur'an itself has never yet been
presented in any European language in a manner which would make it truly
comprehensible.
When we look at the long list of translations - beginning with the Latin works of the high
Middle Ages and continuing up to the present in almost every European tongue - we find
one common denominator between their authors, whether Muslims or non-Muslims: all
of them were - or are - people who acquired their knowledge of Arabic through academic
study alone: that is, from books. None of them, however great his scholarship, has ever
been familiar with the Arabic language as a person is familiar with his own, having
absorbed the nuances of its idiom and its phraseology with an active, associative response
within himself, and hearing it with an ear spontaneously attuned to the intent underlying
the acoustic symbolism of its words and sentences. For, the words and sentences of a
language - any language - are but symbols for meanings conventionally, and
subconsciously, agreed upon by those who express their perception of reality by means of
that particular tongue. Unless the translator is able to reproduce within himself the
conceptual symbolism of the language in question - that is, unless he hears it "sing" in his
ear in all its naturalness and immediacy - his translation will convey no more than the
outer shell of the literary matter to which his work is devoted, and will miss, to a higher
or lesser degree, the inner meaning of the original: and the greater the depth of the
original, the farther must such a translation deviate from its spirit.

No doubt, some of the translators of the Qur'an whose works are accessible to the
Western public can be described as outstanding scholars in the sense of having mastered
the Arabic grammar and achieved a considerable knowledge of Arabic literature; but this
mastery of grammar and this acquaintance with literature cannot by itself, in the case of a
translation from Arabic (and especially the Arabic of the Qur'an), render the translator
independent of that intangible communion with the spirit of the language which can be
achieved only by living with and in it.

Arabic is a Semitic tongue: in fact, it is the only Semitic tongue which has remained
uninterruptedly alive for thousands of years; and it is the only living language which has
remained entirely unchanged for the last fourteen centuries. These two factors are
extremely relevant to the problem which we are considering. Since every language is a
framework of symbols expressing its people's particular sense of life-values and their
particular way of conveying their perception of reality, it is obvious that the language of
the Arabs - a Semitic language which has remained unchanged for so many centuries -
must differ widely from anything to which the Western mind is accustomed. The
difference of the Arabic idiom from any European idiom is not merely a matter of its
syntactic cast and the mode in which it conveys ideas; nor is it exclusively due to the
well-known, extreme flexibility of the Arabic grammar arising from its peculiar system
of verbal "roots" and the numerous stem-forms which can be derived from these roots;
nor even to the extraordinary richness of the Arabic vocabulary: it is a difference of spirit
and life-sense. And since the Arabic of the Qur'an is a language which attained to its full
maturity in the Arabia of fourteen centuries ago, it follows that in order to grasp its spirit
correctly, one must be able to feel and hear this language as the Arabs felt and heard it at
the time when the Qur'an was being revealed, and to understand the meaning which they
gave to the linguistic symbols in which it is expressed.
We Muslims believe that the Qur'an is the Word of God, revealed to the Prophet
Muhammad through the medium of a human language. It was the language of the
Arabian Peninsula: the language of a people endowed with that peculiar quick-wittedness
which the desert and its - feel of wide, timeless expanses bestows upon its children: the
language of people whose mental images, flowing without effort from association to
association, succeed one another in rapid progression and often vault elliptically over
intermediate - as it were, "self-understood" - sequences of thought towards the idea which
they aim, conceive or express. This ellipticism (called ijaz by the Arab philologists) is an
integral characteristic of the Arabic idiom and, therefore, of the language of the Qur'an -
so much so that it is impossible to understand its method and inner purport without being
able to reproduce within oneself, instinctively, something of the same quality of elliptical,
associative thought. Now this ability comes to the educated Arab almost automatically,
by a process of mental osmosis, from his early childhood: for, when he learns to speak his
tongue properly, he subconsciously acquires the mould of thought within which it has
evolved and, thus, imperceptibly grows into the conceptual environment from which the
Arabic language derives its peculiar form and mode of expression. Not so, however, the
non-Arab who becomes acquainted with Arabic only at a mature age, in result of a
conscious effort, that is, through study: for, what he acquires is but a ready-made,
outward structure devoid of that intangible quality of ellipticism which gives to the
Arabic idiom its inner life and reality.

This does not, however, mean that a non-Arab can never understand Arabic in its true
spirit: it means no more and no less than that he cannot really master it through academic
study alone, but needs, in addition to philological learning, an instinctive "feel" of the
language. Now it so happens that such a "feel" cannot be achieved by merely living
among the modern Arabs of the cities. Although many of them, especially the educated
ones, may have subconsciously absorbed the spirit of their language, they can only rarely
communicate it to an outsider - for the simple reason that, however high their linguistic
education, their daily speech has become, in the course of centuries, largely corrupted and
estranged from pristine Arabic. Thus, in order to obtain the requisite "feel" of the Arabic
language, a non-Arab must have lived in long and intimate association with people whose
daily speech mirrors the genuine spirit of their language, and whose mental processes are
similar to those of the Arabs who lived at the time when the Arabic tongue received its
final colouring and inner form. In our day, such people are only the bedouin of the
Arabian Peninsula, and particularly those of Central and Eastern Arabia. For,
notwithstanding the many dialectical peculiarities in which their speech may differ from
the classical Arabic of the Qur'an, it has remained - so far - very close to the idiom of the
Prophet's time and has preserved all its intrinsic characteristics.3 In other words,
familiarity with the bedouin speech of Central and Eastern Arabia - in addition, of course,
to academic knowledge of classical Arabic - is the only way for a non-Arab of our time to
achieve an intimate understanding of the diction of the Qur'an. And because none of the
scholars who have previously translated the Qur'an into European languages has ever
fulfilled this prerequisite, their translations have remained but distant, and faulty, echoes
of its meaning and spirit.

3 It is to be noted that under the impact of modern economic

circumstances, which have
 radically changed the time-honoured way of life of the bedouin and
brought them, by means
of school education and the radio, into direct contact with the
Levantine culture of the
cities, the purity of their language is rapidly disappearing and
may soon cease to be a
living guide to students of the Arabic tongue.

THE WORK which I am now placing before the public is based on a lifetime of study
and of many years spent in Arabia. It is an attempt - perhaps the first attempt - at a really
idiomatic, explanatory rendition of the Qur'anic message into a European language.

None the less, I do not claim to have "translated" the Qur'an in the sense in which, say,
Plato or Shakespeare can be translated. Unlike any other book, its meaning and its
linguistic presentation form one unbreakable whole. The position of individual words in a
sentence; the rhythm and sound of its phrases and their syntactic construction, the manner
in which a metaphor flows almost imperceptibly into a pragmatic statement, the use of
acoustic stress not merely in the service of rhetoric but as a means of alluding to
unspoken but clearly implied ideas: all this makes the Qur'an, in the last resort, unique
and untranslatable - a fact that has been pointed out by many earlier translators and by all
Arab scholars. But although it is impossible to "reproduce" the Qur'an as such in any
other language, it is none the less possible to render its message comprehensible to
people who, like most Westerners, do not know Arabic at all or - as is the case with most
of the educated non-Arab Muslims - not well enough to find their way through it unaided.

To this end, the translator must be guided throughout by the linguistic usage prevalent at
the time of the revelation of the Qur'an, and must always bear in mind that some of its
expressions - especially such as relate to abstract concepts - have in the course of time
undergone a subtle change in the popular mind and should not, therefore, be translated in
accordance with the sense given to them by post-classical usage. As has been pointed out
by that great Islamic scholar, Muhammad 'Abduh,4 even some of the renowned,
otherwise linguistically reliable Qur'an - commentators have occasionally erred in this
respect; and their errors, magnified by the inadequacy of modern translators, have led to
many a distortion, and sometimes to a total incomprehensibility, of individual Qur'anic
passages in their European renditions.

4 The reader will find in my explanatory notes frequent references to

views held by Muhammad
'Abduh (1849-1905). His imporiance in the context of the modern
world of Islam - can never
be sufficiently stressed. It may be stated without exaggeration
that every single trend
in contemporary Islamic thought can be traced back to the
influence, direct or indirect,
of this most outstanding of all modern Islamic thinkers. The
Qur'an-commentary planned
and begun by him was interrupted by his death in 1905; it was
continued (but unfortunately
also left incomplete) by his pupil Rashid Rida under the title
Tafsir al-Manar, and has
 been extensively used by me. See also Rashid Rida, Ta'rikh al-
Ustadh al-Imam ash-Shaykh
Muhammad 'Abduh (Cairo l35~l367 H.), the most authoritative
biography of 'Abduh hitherto
published, as well as C. C. Adams, Islam and Modernism in Egypt
(London 1933).

Another (and no less important) point which the translator must take fully into account is
the ijaz of the Qur'an: that inimitable ellipticism which often deliberately omits
intermediate thought-clauses in order to express the final stage of an idea as pithily and
concisely as is possible within the limitations of a human language. This method of ijaz
is, as I have explained, a peculiar, integral aspect of the Arabic language, and has reached
its utmost perfection in the Qur'an. In order to render its meaning into a language which
does not function in a similarly elliptical manner, the thought-links which are missing -
that is, deliberately omitted - in the original must be supplied by the translator in the form
of frequent interpolations between brackets; for, unless this is done, the Arabic phrase
concerned loses all its life in the translation and often becomes a meaningless jumble.

Furthermore, one must beware of rendering, in each and every case, the religious terms
used in the Qur'an in the sense which they have acquired after Islam had become
"institutionalized" into a definite set of laws, tenets and practices. However legitimate
this "institutionalization" may be in the context of Islamic religious history, it is obvious
that the Qur'an cannot be correctly understood if we read it merely in the light of later
ideological developments, losing sight of its original purport and the meaning which it
had - and was intended to have - for the people who first heard it from the lips of the
Prophet himself. For instance, when his contemporaries heard the words islam and
muslim, they understood them as denoting man's "self-surrender to God" and "one who
surrenders himself to God", without limiting these terms to any specific community or
denomination - e.g., in 3:67, where Abraham is spoken of as having "surrendered himself
unto God" (kana musliman), or in 3:52, where the disciples of Jesus say, "Bear thou
witness that we have surrendered ourselves unto God (bi-anna muslimun)". In Arabic,
this original meaning has remained unimpaired, and no Arab scholar has ever become
oblivious of the wide connotation of these terms. Not so, however, the non-Arab of our
day, believer and non-believer alike: to him, islam and muslim usually bear a restricted,
historically circumscribed significance, and apply exclusively to the followers of the
Prophet Muhammad. Similarly, the terms kufr ("denial of the truth") and kafir ("one who
denies the truth") have become, in the conventional translations of the Qur'an,
unwarrantably simplified into "unbelief" and "unbeliever" or "infidel", respectively, and
have thus been deprived of the wide spiritual meaning which the Qur'an gives to these
terms; Another example is to be found in the conventional rendering of the word kitab,
when applied to the Qur'an, as "book": for, when the Qur'an was being revealed (and we
must not forget that this process took twenty-three years), those who listened to its
recitation did not conceive of it as a "book" - since it was compiled into one only some
decades after the Prophet's death but rather, in view of the derivation of the noun kitab
from the verb kataba ("he wrote" or, tropically, "he as a "divine writ" or a "revelation".
The same holds true with regard to the Qur'anic use of this term in its connotation of
earlier revealed scriptures: for the Qur'an often stresses the fact that those earlier
instances of divine writ have largely been corrupted in the course of time, and that the
extant holy "books" do not really represent the original revelations. Consequently, the
translation of ahl al-kitab as "people of the book" is not very meaningful; in my opinion,
the term should be rendered as "followers of earlier revelation".

In short, if it is to be truly comprehensible in another language, the message of the Qur'an

must be rendered in such a way as to reproduce, as closely as possible, the sense which it
had for the people who were as yet unburdened by the conceptual images of later Islamic
developments: and this has been the overriding principle which has guided me throughout
my work.

With the exception of two terms, I have endeavoured to circumscribe every Qur'anic
concept in appropriate English expressions - an endeavour which has sometimes
necessitated the use of whole sentences to convey the meaning of a single Arabic word.
The two exceptions from this rule are the terms al-qur'an and surah, since neither of the
two has ever been used in Arabic to denote anything but the title of this particular divine
writ and each of its sections or "chapters", respectively: with the result that it would have
been of no benefit whatsoever to the reader to be presented with "translations" of these
two terms.5

5 Etymologically, the word al-qur'an is derived from the verb qara'a

("he read" or "recited"),
and is to be understood as "the reading [par excellence]", while
the noun surah might be
rendered as "a step [leading to another step]" and - tropically -
as "eminence in degree"
(cf. Lane IV, 1465). It should be noted, however, that when the
noun qur'an appears without
the definite article al, it usually has its primary meaning of
"recitation" or "discourse",
and may be rendered accordingly.

Apart from these linguistic considerations, I have tried to observe consistently two
fundamental rules of interpretation.

Firstly, the Qur'an must not be viewed as a compilation of individual injunctions and
exhortations but as one integral whole: that is, as an exposition of an ethical doctrine in
which every verse and sentence has an intimate bearing on other verses and sentences, all
of them clarifying and amplifying one another. Consequently, its real meaning can be
grasped only if we correlate every one of its statements with what has been stated
elsewhere in its pages, and try to explain its ideas by means of frequent cross-references,
always subordinating the particular to the general and the incidental to the intrinsic.
Whenever this rule is faithfully followed, we realize that the Qur'an is - in the words of
Muhammad 'Abduh - "its own best commentary"

Secondly, no part of the Qur'an should be viewed from a purely historical point of view:
that is to say, all its references to historical circumstances and events - both at the time of
the Prophet and in earlier times - must be regarded as illustrations of the human condition
and not as ends in themselves. Hence, the consideration of the historical occasion on
which a particular verse was revealed - a pursuit so dear, and legitimately so, to the hearts
of the classical commentators - must never be allowed to obscure the underlying purport
of that verse and its inner relevance to the ethical teaching which the Qur'an, taken as a
whole, propounds.

In order to bring out, to the best of my ability, the many facets of the Qur'anic message, I
have found it necessary to add to my translation a considerable number of explanatory
notes. Certain observations relating to the symbolism of the Qur'an as well as to its
eschatology are separately dealt with in Appendix I at the end of this work. In both the
notes and the appendices I have tried no more than to elucidate the message of the Qur'an
and have, to this end, drawn amply on the works of the great Arab philologists and of the
classical commentators. If, on occasion, I have found myself constrained to differ from
the interpretations offered by the latter, let the reader remember that the very uniqueness
of the Qur'an consists in the fact that the more our worldly knowledge and historical
experience increase, the more meanings, hitherto unsuspected, reveal themselves in its
pages.

The great thinkers of our past understood this problem fully well. In their commentaries,
they approached the Qur'an with their reason: that is to say, they tried to explain the
purport of each Qur'anic statement in the light of their superb knowledge of the Arabic
language and of the Prophet's teachings - forthcoming from his sunnah - as well as by the
store of general knowledge available to them and by the historical and cultural
experiences which had shaped human society until their time. Hence, it was only natural
that the way in which one commentator understood a particular Qur'anic statement or
expression differed occasionally - and sometimes very incisively - from the meaning
attributed to it by this or that of his predecessors. In other words, they often contradicted
one another in their interpretations: but they did this without any animosity, being fully
aware of the element of relativity inherent in all human reasoning, and of each other's
integrity. And they were fully aware, too, of the Prophet's profound saying, "The
differences of opinion (ikhtilaf) among the learned men of my community are [an
outcome of] divine grace (rahmah)" - which clearly implies that such differences of
opinion are the basis of all progress in human thinking and, therefore, a most potent
factor in man's acquisition of knowledge.

But although none of the truly original, classical Qur'an-commentators ever made any
claim to "finality" concerning his own interpretations, it cannot be often enough stressed
that without the work of those incomparably great scholars of past centuries, no modern
translation of the Qur'an - my own included - could ever be undertaken with any hope of
success; and so, even where I differ from their interpretations, I am immeasurably
indebted to their learning for the impetus it has given to my own search after truth.

AS REGARDS the style of my translation, I have consciously avoided using unnecessary

archaisms, which would only tend to obscure the meaning of the Qur'an to the
contemporary reader. On the other hand, I did not see any necessity of rendering the
Qur'anic phrases into a deliberately "modern" idiom, which would conflict with the spirit
of the Arabic original and jar upon any ear attuned to the solemnity inherent in the
concept of revelation. With all this, however, I make no claim to having reproduced
anything of the indescribable rhythm and rhetoric of the Qur'an. No one who has truly
experienced its majestic beauty could ever be presumptuous enough to make such a claim
or even to embark upon such an attempt.

And I am fully aware that my rendering does not and could not really "do justice" to the
Qur'an and the layers upon layers of its meaning: for,

if all the sea were ink for my Sustainer's words,

the sea would indeed be exhausted ere my Sustainer's
words are exhausted. (Qur'an 18:109).
The First Surah
Al-Fatihah (The Opening)
Mecca Period

THIS SURAH is also called Fatihat al-Kitab ("The Opening of the Divine Writ"), Umm
al-Kitab ("The Essence of the Divine Writ"), Surat al-Hamd ("The Surah of Praise"),
Asas al-Qur'an ("The Foundation of the Qur'an"), and is known by several other names as
well. It is mentioned elsewhere in the Qur'an as As-Sab' al-Mathani ("The Seven Oft-
Repeated [Verses]") because it is repeated several times in the course of each of the five
daily prayers. According to Bukhari, the designation Umm al-Kitab was given to it by the
Prophet himself, and this in view of the fact that it contains, in a condensed form, all the
fundamental principles laid down in the Qur'an: the principle of God's oneness and
uniqueness, of His being the originator and fosterer of the universe, the fount of all life-
giving grace, the One to whom man is ultimately responsible, the only power that can
really guide and help; the call to righteous action in the life of this world ("guide us the
straight way"); the principle of life after death and of the organic consequences of man's
actions and behaviour (expressed in the term "Day of Judgment"); the principle of
guidance through God's message-bearers (evident in the reference to "those upon whom
God has bestowed His blessings") and, flowing from it, the principle of the continuity of
all true religions (implied in the allusion to people who have lived - and erred - in the
past); and, finally, the need for voluntary self-surrender to the will of the Supreme Being
and, thus, for worshipping Him alone. It is for this reason that this surah has been
formulated as a prayer, to be constantly repeated and reflected upon by the believer. "The
Opening" was one of the earliest revelations bestowed upon the Prophet. Some
authorities (for instance, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib) were even of the opinion that it was the very
first revelation; but this view is contradicted by authentic Traditions quoted by both
Bukhari and Muslim, which unmistakably show that the first five verses of surah 96
("The Germ-Cell") constituted the beginning of revelation. It is probable, however, that
whereas the earlier revelations consisted of only a few verses each, "The Opening" was
the first surah revealed to the Prophet in its entirety at one time: and this would explain
the view held by 'Ali.

1:1

In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace:1

1:2

ALL PRAISE is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds,2 (1:3) the Most
Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace, (1:4) Lord of the Day of Judgment!

1:5

Thee alone do we worship; and unto Thee alone do we turn for aid.
1:6

Guide us the straight way (1:7) the way of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed Thy
blessings,3 not of those who have been condemned [by Thee], nor of those who go
astray!4

1 According to most of the authorities, this invocation (which occurs

at the beginning of every
surah with the exception of surah 9) constitutes an integral part
of "The Opening" and is,
therefore, numbered as verse 1. In all other instances, the
invocation "in the name of God"
precedes the surah as such, and is not counted among its verses. -
Both the divine epithets
rahman and rahim are derived from the noun rahmah, which signifies
"mercy", "compassion",
"loving tenderness" and, more comprehensively, "grace". From the
very earliest times, Islamic
scholars have endeavoured to define the exact shades of meaning
which differentiate the two
terms. The best and simplest of these explanations is undoubtedly
the one advanced by Ibn
al-Qayyim (as quoted in Manar I,48): the term rahman circumscribes
the quality of abounding
grace inherent in, and inseparable from, the concept of God's
Being, whereas rahim expresses
the manifestation of that grace in, and its effect upon, His
creation - in other words, an
aspect of His activity.

2 In this instance, the term "worlds" denotes all categories of

existence both in the physical
and the spiritual sense. The Arabic expression rabb - rendered by
me as "Sustainer" -
embraces a wide complex of meanings not easily expressed by a
single term in another language.
It comprises the ideas of having a just claim to the possession of
anything and, consequently,
authority over it, as well as of rearing, sustaining and fostering
anything from its inception
to its final completion. Thus, the head of a family is called rabb
ad-dar ("master of the house")
because he has authority over it and is responsible for its
maintenance; similarly, his wife
is called rabbat ad-dar ("mistress of the house"). Preceded by the
definite article al, the
designation rabb is applied, in the Qur'an, exclusively to God as
the sole fosterer and
sustainer of all creation - objective as well as conceptual - and
therefore the ultimate
source of all authority.

3 i.e., by vouchsafing to them prophetic guidance and enabling them

to avail themselves thereof.
 4 According to almost all the commentators, God's "condemnation"
(ghadab, lit., "wrath") is
synonymous with the evil consequences which man brings upon
himself by wilfully rejecting
God's guidance and acting contrary to His injunctions. Some
commentators (e.g., Zamakhshari)
interpret this passage as follows: "... the way of those upon whom
Thou hast bestowed Thy
blessings - those who have not been condemned [by Thee], and who
do not go astray": in
other words, they regard the last two expressions as defining
"those upon whom Thou hast
bestowed Thy blessings". Other commentators (e.g., Baghawi and Ibn
Kathir) do not subscribe
to this interpretation - which would imply the use of negative
definitions - and understand
the last verse of the surah in the manner rendered by me above. As
regards the two categories
of people following a wrong course, some of the greatest Islamic
thinkers (e.g., Al-Ghazali
or, in recent times, Muhammad 'Abduh) held the view that the
people described as having
incurred "God's condemnation" - that is, having deprived
themselves of His grace - are those
who have become fully cognizant of God's message and, having
understood it, have rejected it;
while by "those who go astray" are meant people whom the truth has
either not reached at all,
or to whom it has come in so garbled and corrupted a form as to
make it difficult for them
to recognize it as the truth (see 'Abduh in Manar 1,68 ff.).
The Second Surah
Al-Baqarah (The Cow)
Medina Period

THE TITLE of this surah is derived from the story narrated in verses 67-73. It is the first
surah revealed in its entirety after the Prophet's exodus to Medina, and most of it during
the first two years of that period; verses 275-281, however, belong to the last months
before the Prophet's death (verse 281 is considered to be the very last revelation which he
received).

Starting with a declaration of the purpose underlying the revelation of the Qur'an as a
whole - namely, man's guidance in all his spiritual and worldly affairs - Al-Baqarah
contains, side by side with its constant stress on the necessity of God-consciousness,
frequent allusions to the errors committed by people who followed the earlier revelations,
in particular the children of Israel. The reference, in verse 106, to the abrogation of all
earlier messages by that granted to the Prophet Muhammad is of the greatest importance
for a correct understanding of this surah and indeed of the entire Qur'an. Much of the
legal ordinances provided here (especially in the later part of the surah) - touching upon
questions of ethics, social relations, warfare, etc.- are a direct consequence of that pivotal
statement. Again and again it is pointed out that the legislation of the Qur'an corresponds
to the true requirements of man's nature, and as such is but a continuation of the ethical
guidance offered by God to man ever since the beginning of human history. Particular
attention is drawn to Abraham, the prophet-patriarch whose intense preoccupation with
the idea of God's oneness lies at the root of the three great monotheistic religions; and the
establishment of Abraham's Temple, the Ka'bah, as the direction of prayer for "those who
surrender themselves to God" (which is the meaning of the word musliman, sing.
muslim), sets a seal, as it were, on the conscious self-identification of all true believers
with the faith of Abraham.

Throughout this surah runs the five-fold Qur'anic doctrine that God is the self-sufficient
fount of all being (al-qayyum); that the fact of His existence, reiterated by prophet after
prophet, is accessible to man's intellect; that righteous living - and not merely believing -
is a necessary corollary of this intellectual perception; that bodily death will be followed
by resurrection and judgment; and that all who are truly conscious of their responsibility
to God "need have no fear, and neither shall they grieve".

In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace:

2:1

Alif. Lam. Mim.1

2:2
HIS DIVINE WRIT - let there be no doubt about it is [meant to be] a guidance for all the
God-conscious2 (2:3) who believe in [the existence of] that which is beyond the reach of
human perception,3 and are constant in prayer, and spend on others out of what We
provide for them as sustenance;4 (2:4) and who believe in that which has been bestowed
from on high upon thee, [O Prophet,] as well as in that which was bestowed before thy
time:5 for it is they who in their innermost are certain of the life to come!

1 Regarding the possible significance of the single letters called

al-muqatta 'at, which
occur at the beginning of some surahs of the Qur'an, see Appendix
II, where the various
theories bearing on this subject are discussed.

2 The conventional translation of muttaqi as "God-fearing" does not

adequately render
the positive content of this expression - namely, the awareness of
His all-presence
and the desire to mould one's existence in the light of this
awareness; while the
interpretation adopted by some translators, "one who guards himself
against evil" or
"one who is careful of his duty", does not give more than one
particular aspect of
the concept of God-consciousness.

3 Al-ghayb (commonly, and erroneously, translated as "the Unseen")

is used in the Qur'an
to denote all those sectors or phases of reality which lie beyond
the range of human
perception and cannot, therefore, be proved or disproved by
scientific observation or
even adequately comprised within the accepted categories of
speculative thought: as,
for instance, the existence of God and of a definite purpose
underlying the universe,
life after death, the real nature of time, the existence of
spiritual forces and their
interaction, and so forth. Only a person who is convinced that the
ultimate reality
comprises far more than our observable environment can attain to
belief in God and, thus,
to a belief that life has meaning and purpose. By pointing out
that it is "a guidance
for those who believe in the existence of that which is beyond
human perception", the
Qur'an says, in effect, that it will - of necessity - remain a
closed book to all whose
minds cannot accept this fundamental premise.

4 Ar-rizq ("provision of sustenance") applies to all that may be of

benefit to man, whether
it be concrete (like food, property, offspring, etc.) or abstract
(like knowledge, piety,
etc.). The "spending on others" is mentioned here in one breath
with God-consciousness and
 prayer because it is precisely in such selfless acts that true
piety comes to its full
fruition. It should be borne in mind that the verb anfaqa (lit.,
"he spent") is always
used in the Qur'an to denote spending freely on, or as a gift to,
others, whatever the
motive may be.

5 This is a reference to one of the fundamental doctrines of the

Qur'an: the doctrine
of the historical continuity of divine revelation. Life - so the
Qur'an teaches us - is
not a series of unconnected jumps but a continuous, organic
process: and this law applies
also to the life of the mind, of which man's religious experience
(in its cumulative sense)
is a part. Thus, the religion of the Qur'an can be properly
understood only against the
background of the great monotheistic faiths which preceded it, and
which, according to
Muslim belief, culminate and achieve their final formulation in the
faith of Islam.

2:5

It is they who follow the guidance [which comes] from their Sustainer; and it is they, they
who shall attain to a happy state!

2:6

BEHOLD, as for those who are bent on denying the truth6 - it is all one to them whether
thou warnest them or dost not warn them: they will not believe. (2:7) God; has sealed
their hearts and their hearing, and over their eyes is a veil;7 and awesome suffering awaits
them.

2:8

And there are people who say, "We do believe in God and the Last Day," the while they
do not [really] believe. (2:9) They would deceive God and those who have attained to
faith - the while they deceive none but themselves, and perceive it not. (2:10) In their
hearts is disease, and so God lets their disease increase; and grievous suffering awaits
them because of their persistent lying.8

6 In contrast with the frequently occurring term al-kafirun ("those

who deny the truth"),
the use of the past tense in alladhina kafaru indicates conscious
intent, and is,
therefore, appropriately rendered as "those who are bent on denying
the truth". This
interpretation is supported by many commentators, especially
Zamakhshari (who, in his
 commentary on this verse, uses the expression, "those who have
deliberately resolved upon
their kufr"). Elsewhere in the Qur'an such people are spoken of as
having "hearts with
which they fail to grasp the truth, and eyes with which they fail
to see, and ears with
which they fail to hear" (7:179). - For an explanation of the terms
kufr ("denial of
the truth"), kafir ("one who denies the truth"), etc., see note 4
on 74:10, where this
concept appears for the first time in Qur'anic revelation.

7 A reference to the natural law instituted by God, whereby a person

who persistently
adheres to false beliefs and refuses to listen to the voice of
truth gradually loses
the ability to perceive the truth, "so that finally, as it were, a
seal is set upon
his heart" (Raghib). Since it is God who has instituted all laws
of nature - which, in
their aggregate, are called sunnat Allah ("the way of God") - this
"sealing" is
attributed to Him: but it is obviously a consequence of man's free
choice and not an
act of "predestination". Similarly, the suffering which, in the
life to come, is in
store for those who during their life in this world have wilfully
remained deaf and
blind to the truth, is a natural consequence of their free choice
- just as happiness
in the life to come is the natural consequence of man's endeavour
to attain to
righteousness and inner illumination. It is in this sense that the
Qur'anic references
to God's "reward" and "punishment" must be understood.

8 i.e., before God and man - and to themselves. It is generally

assumed that the people to
whom this passage alludes in the first instance are the hypocrites
of Medina who, during
the early years after the hijrah, outwardly professed their
adherence to Islam while
remaining inwardly unconvinced of the truth of Muhammad's message.
However, as is always
the case with Quranic allusions to contemporary or historical
events, the above and the
following verses have a general, timeless import inasmuch as they
refer to all people
who are prone to deceive themselves in order to evade a spiritual
commitment.

2:11
And when they are told, "Do not spread corruption on earth," they answer, "We are but
improving things!" (2:12) Oh, verily, it is they, they who are spreading corruption - but
they perceive it not?9

2:13

And when they are told, "Believe as other people believe," they answer, "Shall we
believe as the weak-minded believe?" Oh, verily, it is they, they who are weak-minded -
but they know it not!

2:14

And when they meet those who have attained to faith, they assert, "We believe [as you
believe]"; but when they find themselves alone with their evil impulses,10 they say,
"Verily, we are with you; we were only mocking!"

9 It would seem that this is an allusion to people who oppose any

"intrusion" of religious
considerations into the realm of practical affairs, and thus -
often unwittingly, thinking
that they are "but improving things" - contribute to the moral and
social confusion
referred to in the subsequent verse.

10 Lit., "their satans" (shayatin, pl. of shaytan). In accordance

with ancient Arabic usage,
this term often denotes people "who, through their insolent
persistence in evildoing
(tamarrud), have become like satans" (Zamakhshari): an
interpretation of the above verse
accepted by most of the commentators. However, the term shaytan -
which is derived from
the verb shatana, "he was [or 'became'] remote [from all that is
good and true]"
(Lisan al-'Arab, Taj al-'Arus) - is often used in the Qur'an to
describe the "satanic"
(i.e., exceedingly evil) propensities in man's own soul, and
especially all impulses which
run counter to truth and morality (Raghib).

2:15

God will requite them for their mockery,11 and will leave them for a while in their
overweening arrogance, blindly stumbling to and fro: (2:16) [for] it is they who have
taken error in exchange for guidance; and neither has their bargain brought them gain,
nor have they found guidance [elsewhere].

2:17
Their parable is that of people who kindle a fire: but as soon as it has illumined all around
them, God takes away their light and leaves them in utter darkness, wherein they cannot
see: (2:18) deaf, dumb, blind - and they cannot turn back.

2:19

Or [the parable] of a violent cloudburst in the sky, with utter darkness, thunder and
lightning: they put their fingers into their ears to keep out the peals of thunder, in terror of
death; but God encompasses [with His might] all who deny the truth. (2:20) The lightning
well-nigh takes away their sight; whenever it gives them light, they advance therein, and
whenever darkness falls around them, they stand still.

And if God so willed, He could indeed take away their hearing and their sight:12 for,
verily, God has the power to will anything.

11 Lit., "God will mock at them". My rendering is in conformity with

the generally accepted
interpretation of this phrase.

12 The obvious implication is: "but He does not will this" - that is,
He does not preclude
the possibility that "those who have taken error in exchange for
guidance" may one day
perceive the truth and mend their ways. The expression "their
hearing and their sight"
is obviously a metonym for man's instinctive ability to discern
between good and evil
and, hence, for his moral responsibility. - In the parable of the
"people who kindle a
fire" we have, I believe, an allusion to some people's exclusive
reliance on what is
termed the "scientific approach" as a means to illumine and explain
all the imponderables
of life and faith, and the resulting arrogant refusal to admit that
anything could be
beyond the reach of man's intellect. This "overweening arrogance",
as the Qur'an terms
it, unavoidably exposes its devotees - and the society dominated by
them - to the
lightning of disillusion which "well-nigh takes away their sight",
i.e., still further
weakens their moral perception and deepens their "terror of death".

2:21

O MANKIND! Worship your Sustainer, who has created you and those who lived before
you, so that you might remain conscious of Him (2:22) who has made the earth a resting-
place for you and the sky a canopy, and has sent down water from the sky and thereby
brought forth fruits for your sustenance: do not, then, claim that there is any power that
could rival God,13 when you know [that He is One].
2:23

And if you doubt any part of what We have, bestowed from on high, step by step, upon
Our servant [Muhammad],14 then produce a surah of similar merit, and call upon any
other than God to bear witness for you15 - if what you say is true! (2:24) And if you
cannot do it - and most certainly you cannot do it - then be conscious of the fire whose
fuel is human beings and stones16 which awaits all who deny the truth!

13 Lit., "do not give God any compeers" (andad, pl. of nidd ). There
is full agreement among
all commentators that this term implies any object of adoration to
which some or all of God's
qualities are ascribed, whether it be conceived as a deity "in its
own right" or a saint
supposedly possessing certain divine or semi-divine powers. This
meaning can be brought out
only by a free rendering of the above phrase.

14 i.e., the message of which the doctrine of God's oneness and

uniqueness is the focal point.

By the use of the word "doubt" (rayb), this passage is meant to

recall the opening sentence
of this surah : "This divine writ - let there be no doubt about
it...", etc. The
gradualness of revelation is implied in the grammatical form
nazzalna - which is important
in this context inasmuch as the opponents of the Prophet argued
that the Qur'an could not
be of divine origin because it was being revealed gradually, and
not in one piece (Zamakhshari).

15 Lit., "come forward with a surah like it, and call upon your
witnesses other than God" -
namely, "to attest that your hypothetical literary effort could be
deemed equal to any part
of the Qur'an." This challenge occurs in two other places as well
(10:38 and 11:13, in
which latter case the unbelievers are called upon to produce ten
chapters of comparable
merit); see also 17:88.

16 This evidently denotes all objects of worship to which men turn

instead of God -
their powerlessness and inefficacy being symbolized by the
lifelessness of stones -
while the expression "human beings" stands here for human actions
deviating from the
way of truth (cf. Manar 1,197): the remembrance of all of which is
bound to increase
the sinner's suffering in the hereafter, referred to in the Qur'an
as "hell".

2:25
But unto those who have attained to faith and do good works give the glad tiding that
theirs shall be gardens through which running waters flow. Whenever they are granted
fruits therefrom as their appointed sustenance, they will say, "It is this that in days of yore
was granted to us as our sustenance!" - for they shall be given something that will recall
that [past].17 And there shall they have spouses pure, and there shall they abide.

2:26

Behold, God does not disdain to propound a parable of a gnat, or of something [even] less
than that.18 Now, as for those who have attained to faith, they know that it is the truth
from their Sustainer - whereas those who are bent on denying the truth say, "What could
God mean by this parable?"

In this way does He cause many a one to go astray, just as He guides many a one aright:
but none does He cause thereby to go astray save the iniquitous, (2:27) who break their
bond with God after it has been established [in their nature],19 and cut asunder what God
has bidden to be joined, and spread corruption on earth: these it is that shall be the losers.

17 Lit., "something resembling it". Various interpretations, some of

them of an esoteric and
highly speculative nature, have been given to this passage. For the
manner in which I have
translated it, I am indebted to Muhammad 'Abduh (in Manar I,232 f.),
who interprets the phrase,
"It is this that in days of yore was granted to us as our
sustenance" as meaning: "It is this
that we have been promised during our life on earth as a requital
for faith and righteous deeds."
In other words, man's actions and attitudes in this world will be
mirrored in their "fruits",
or consequences, in the life to come - as has been expressed
elsewhere in the Qur'an in the
verses, "And he who shall have done an atom's weight of good, shall
behold it; and he who shall
have done an atom's weight of evil, shall behold it" (99:7-8). As
regards the reference
to "spouses" in the next sentence, it is to be noted that the term
zawj (of which azwaj is
the plural) signifies either of the two components of a couple -
that is, the male as
well as the female.

18 Lit., "something above it", i.e., relating to the quality of

smallness stressed here -
as one would say, "such-and-such a person is the lowest of people,
and even more than
that" (Zamakhshari). The reference to "God's parables", following
as it does immediately
upon a mention of the gardens of paradise and the suffering through
hell-fire in the
life to come, is meant to bring out the allegorical nature of this
imagery.
 19 The "bond with God" (conventionally translated as "God's
covenant") apparently refers here
to man's moral obligation to use his inborn gifts - intellectual as
well as physical -
in the way intended for them by God. The "establishment" of this
bond arises from the
faculty of reason which, if properly used, must lead man to a
realization of his own
weakness and dependence on a causative power and, thus, to a
gradual cognition of God's
will with reference to his own behaviour. This interpretation of
the "bond with God" seems
to be indicated by the fact that there is no mention of any
specific "covenant" in either
the preceding or the subsequent verses of the passage under
consideration. The deliberate
omission of any explanatory reference in this connection suggests
that the expression
"bond with God" stands for something that is rooted in the human
situation as such, and
can, therefore, be perceived instinctively as well as through
conscious experience: namely,
that innate relationship with God which makes Him "closer to man
than his neck-vein"
(50:16). For an explanation of the subsequent reference to "what
God has bidden to be
joined", see surah 13, note 43.

2:28

How can you refuse to acknowledge God, seeing that you were lifeless and He gave you
life, and that He will cause you to die and then will bring you again to life, whereupon
unto Him you will be brought back?

2:29

He it is who has created for you all that is on earth, and has applied His design to the
heavens and fashioned them into seven heavens;20 and He alone has full knowledge of
everything.

2:30

AND LO!21 Thy Sustainer said unto the angels: "Behold, I am about to establish upon
earth one who shall inherit it."22

They said: "Wilt Thou place on it such as will spread corruption thereon and shed blood -
whereas it is we who extol Thy limitless glory, and praise Thee, and hallow Thy name?"

[God] answered: "Verily, I know that which you do not know."

20 The term sama' ("heaven" or "sky") is applied to anything that is

spread like a canopy above
 any other thing. Thus, the visible skies which stretch like a vault
above the earth and form,
as it were, its canopy, are called sama: and this is the primary
meaning of this term in the
Qur'an; in a wider sense, it has the connotation of "cosmic
system". As regards the "seven
heavens", it is to be borne in mind that in Arabic usage - and
apparently in other Semitic
languages as well - the number "seven" is often synonymous with
"several" (see Lisan al-'Arab),
just as "seventy" or "seven hundred" often means "many" or "very
many" (Taj al-'Arus). This,
taken together with the accepted linguistic definition that "every
sama' is a sama' with
regard to what is below it" (Raghib), may explain the "seven
heavens" as denoting the
multiplicity of cosmic systems. - For my rendering of thumma, at
the beginning of this
sentence, as "and", see surah 7, first part of note 43.

21 The interjection "lo" seems to be the only adequate rendering, in

this context, of the
particle idh, which is usually - and without sufficient attention
to its varying uses in
Arabic construction - translated as "when". Although the latter
rendering is often justified,
idh is also used to indicate "the sudden, or unexpected, occurrence
of a thing"
(cf. Lane 1, 39), or a sudden turn in the discourse. The subsequent
allegory, relating as
it does to the faculty of reason implanted in man, is logically
connected with the preceding
passages.

22 Lit., "establish on earth a successor" or a "vice-gerent". The term khalffah - derived

from the verb khalafa, "he succeeded [another] " - is used in this allegory to denote man's
rightful supremacy on earth, which is most suitably rendered by the expression "he shall
inherit the earth" (in the sense of being given possession of it). See also 6:165, 27:62 and
35:39, where all human beings are - spoken of as khala'if al-ard.

2:31

And He imparted unto Adam the names of all things;23 then He brought them within the
ken of the angels and said: "Declare unto Me the names of these [things], if what you say
is true."24

2:32

They replied: "Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! No knowledge have we save that which
Thou hast imparted unto us. Verily, Thou alone art all-knowing, truly wise."

2:33
Said He: "O Adam, convey unto them the names of these [things]."

And as soon as [Adam] had conveyed unto them their names, [God] said: "Did I not say
unto you, 'Verily, I alone know the hidden reality of the heavens and the earth, and know
all that you bring into the open and all that you would conceal'?"

2:34

And when We told the angels, "Prostrate yourselves before Adam!"25 - they all prostrated
themselves, save Iblis, who refused and gloried in his arrogance: and thus he became one
of those who deny the truth.26

23 Lit., "all the names". The term ism ("name") implies, according to
all philologists,
an expression "conveying the knowledge [of a thing] ... applied to
denote a substance
or an accident or an attribute, for the purpose of distinction"
(Lane IV, 1435): in
philosophical terminology, a "concept". From this it may
legitimately be inferred that
the "knowledge of all the names" denotes here man's faculty of
logical definition and,
thus, of conceptual thinking. That by "Adam" the whole human race
is meant here becomes
obvious from the preceding reference, by the angels, to "such as
will spread corruption
on earth and will shed blood", as well as from 7:11.

24 Namely, that it was they who, by virtue of their purity, were

better qualified to
"inherit the earth".

25 To show that, by virtue of his ability to think conceptually, man

is superior in this
respect even to the angels.

26 For an explanation of the name of the Fallen Angel, see surah 7,

note 10. The fact of
this "rebellion", repeatedly stressed in the Qur'an, has led some
of the commentators to
the conclusion that he could not have been one of the angels, since
these are incapable
of sinning: "they do not bear themselves with false pride... and
they do whatever they
are bidden to do" (16:49-50). As against this, other commentators
point to the Qur'anic
phrasing of God's command to the angels and of Iblis' refusal to
obey, which makes it
absolutely clear that at the time of that command he was indeed one
of the heavenly host.
Hence, we must assume that his "rebellion" has a purely symbolic
significance and is,
in reality, the outcome of a specific function assigned to him by
God
 (see note 31 on 15:41).

2:35

And We said: "O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife in this garden,27 and eat freely thereof,
both of you, whatever you may wish; but do not approach this one tree, lest you become
wrongdoers."28

2:36

But Satan caused them both to stumble therein, and thus brought about the loss of their
erstwhile state.29 And so We said: "Down with you, [and be henceforth] enemies unto
one another; and on earth you shall have your abode and your livelihood for a while!"30

27 Lit., "the garden". There is a considerable difference of opinion

among the commentators as
to what is meant here by "garden": a garden in the earthly sense,
or the paradise that awaits
the righteous in the life to come, or some special garden in the
heavenly regions? According
to some of the earliest commentators (see Manar I, 277), an earthly
abode is here alluded to -
namely, an environment of perfect ease, happiness and innocence. In
any case, this story of
Adam is obviously one of the allegories referred to in 3:7.

28 This tree is alluded to elsewhere in the Qur'an (20: 120) as "the

tree of life eternal",
and in the ...

29 Lit., "brought them out of what they had been in": i.e., by
inducing them to eat the
fruit of the forbidden tree.

30 With this sentence, the address changes from the hitherto-observed

dual form to the plural:
a further indication that the moral of the story relates to the
human race as a whole.
See also surah 7, note 16.

2:37

Thereupon Adam received words [of guidance] from his Sustainer, and He accepted his
repentance: for, verily, He alone is the Acceptor of Repentance, the Dispenser of Grace.
(2:38) [For although] We did say, "Down with you all from this [state]," there shall, none
the less, most certainly come unto you guidance from Me: and those who follow My
guidance need have no fear, and neither shall they grieve; (2:39) but those who are bent
on denying the truth and giving the lie to Our messages - they are destined for the fire,
and therein shall they abide.

2:40
O CHILDREN of Israel!31 Remember those blessings of Mine with which I graced you,
and fulfil your promise unto Me, [whereupon] I shall fulfil My promise unto you; and of
Me, of Me stand in awe!

31 This passage connects directly with the preceding passages in that

it refers to the
continuous guidance vouchsafed to man through divine revelation.
The reference to the
children of Israel at this point, as in so many other places in the
Qur'an, arises
from the fact that their religious beliefs represented an earlier
phase of the monotheistic
concept which culminates in the revelation of the Qur'an.

2:41

Believe in that which I have [now] bestowed from on high, confirming the truth already
in your possession, and be not foremost among those who deny its truth; and do not
barter away My messages for a trifling gain;32 and of Me, of Me be conscious!

2:42

And do not overlay the truth with falsehood, and do not knowingly suppress the truth;33
(2:43) and be constant in prayer, and spend in charity,34 and bow down in prayer with all
who thus bow down.

32 A reference to the persistent Jewish belief that they alone among

all nations have been
graced by divine revelation. The "trifling gain" is their
conviction that they are "God's
chosen people" - a claim which the Qur'an consistently refutes.

33 By "overlaying the truth with falsehood" is meant the corrupting

of the Biblical text, of
which the Qur'an frequently accuses the Jews (and which has since
been established by objective
textual criticism), while the "suppression of the truth" refers to
their disregard or
deliberately false interpretation of the words of Moses in the
Biblical passage, "The Lord
thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee,
of thy brethren like
unto me; unto him ye shall hearken" (Deuteronomy xviii, 15), and
the words attributed to
God Himself, "I will raise them up a prophet from among thy
brethren, like unto thee, and
will put My words in his mouth" (Deuteronomy xviii, 18). The
"brethren" of the children
of Israel are obviously the Arabs, and particularly the musta'ribah
("Arabianized") group
among them, which traces its descent to Ishmael and Abraham: and
since it is to this group
 that the Arabian Prophet's own tribe, the Quraysh, belonged, the
above Biblical passages
must be taken as referring to his advent.

34 In Islamic Law, zakah denotes an obligatory tax, incumbent on

Muslims, which is meant to
purify a person's capital and income from the taint of selfishness
(hence the name). The
proceeds of this tax are to be spent mainly, but not exclusively,
on the poor. Whenever,
therefore, this term bears the above legal implication, I translate
it as "the purifying dues".
Since, however, in this verse it refers to the children of Israel
and obviously implies only
acts of charity towards the poor, it is more appropriate to
translate it as "almsgiving"
or "charity". I have also adopted this latter rendering in all
instances where the term
zakah, though relating to Muslims, does not apply specifically to
the obligatory tax as
such (e.g., in 73:20, where this term appears for the first time in
the chronology of
revelation).

2:44

Do you bid other people to be pious, the while you forget your own selves - and yet you
recite the divine writ? Will you not, then, use your reason?

2:45

And seek aid in steadfast patience and prayer: and this, indeed, is a hard thing for all but
the humble in spirit, (2:46) who know with certainty that they shall meet their Sustainer
and that unto Him they shall return.

2:47

O children of Israel! Remember those blessings of Mine with which I graced you, and
how I favoured you above all other people; (2:48) and remain conscious of [the coming
of] a Day when no human being shall in the least avail another, nor shall intercession be
accepted from any of them, nor ransom taken from them,35 and none shall be succoured.

2:49

And [remember the time] when We saved you from Pharaoh's people, who afflicted you
with cruel suffering, slaughtering your sons and sparing [only] your women36 - which
was an awesome trial from your Sustainer; (2:50) and when We cleft the sea before you,
and thus saved you and caused Pharaoh's people to drown before your very eyes; (2:51)
and when We appointed for Moses forty nights [on Mount Sinai], and in his absence you
took to worshipping the [golden] calf, and thus became evildoers: (2:52) yet, even after
that, We blotted out this your sin, so that you might have cause to be grateful.37

35 The "taking of ransom ('adl)" is an obvious allusion to the

Christian doctrine of vicarious
redemption as well as to the Jewish idea that "the chosen people" -
as the Jews considered
themselves - would be exempt from punishment on the Day of
Judgment. Both these ideas are
categorically refuted in the Qur'an.

36 See Exodus i, 15-16, 22.

37 The story of the golden calf is dealt with at greater length in

7:148 ff. and 20:85 ff.
Regarding the crossing of the Red Sea, to which verse 50 above
alludes, see 20:77-78 and
26:63-66, as well as the corresponding notes. The forty nights (and
days) which Moses
spent on Mount Sinai are mentioned again in 7:142.

2:53

And [remember the time] when We vouchsafed unto Moses the divine writ - and [thus] a
standard by which to discern the true from the false38 - so that you might be guided
aright; (2:54) and when Moses said unto his people: "O my people! Verily, you have
sinned against yourselves by worshipping the calf; turn, then in repentance to your Maker
and mortify yourselves;39 this will be the best for you in your Maker's sight."

And thereupon He accepted your repentance: for, behold, He alone is the Acceptor of
Repentance, the Dispenser of Grace.

2:55

And [remember] when you said, "O Moses indeed we shall not believe thee unto we see
God face to face!" - whereupon the thunderbolt of punishment40 overtook you before
your very eyes.

2:56

But We raised you again after you had been as dead,41 so that you might have cause to be
grateful.

38 Muhammad 'Abduh amplifies the above interpretation of al-furqan

(adopted by Tabari,
Zamakhshari and other great commentators) by maintaining that it
applies also to "human
reason, which enables us to distinguish the true from the false"
(Manar 111, 160),
apparently basing this wider interpretation on 8:41, where the
battle of Badr is described
 as yawm al-furqan ("the day on which the true was distinguished
from the false"). While
the term furgdn is often used in the Qur'an to describe one or
another of the revealed
scriptures, and particularly the Qur'an itself, it has undoubtedly
also the connotation
pointed out by 'Abduh: for instance, in 8:29, where it clearly
refers to the faculty of
moral valuation which distinguishes every human being who is truly
conscious of God.

39 Lit., "kill yourselves" or, according to some commentators, "kill

one another". This
literal interpretation (probably based on the Biblical account in
Exodus xxxii, 26-28)
is not, however, convincing in view of the immediately preceding
call to repentance and
the subsequent statement that this repentance was accepted by God.
I incline, therefore,
to the interpretation given by 'Abd al-Jabbar (quoted by Razi in
his commentary on this
verse) to the effect that the expression "kill yourselves" is used
here in a metaphorical
sense (majazan), i.e., "mortify yourselves".

40 The Qur'an does not state what form this "thunderbolt of

punishment" (as-sa'iqah) took.
The lexicographers give various interpretations to this word, but
all agree on the element
of vehemence and suddenness inherent in it (see Lane IV, 1690).

41 Lit., "after your death". The expression mawt does not always
denote physical death. Arab
philologists - e.g., Raghib - explain the verb mata (lit., "he
died") as having, in
certain contexts, the meaning of "he became deprived of sensation,
dead as to the senses";
and occasionally as "deprived of the intellectual faculty,
intellectually dead"; and sometimes
even as "he slept" (see Lane VII, 2741).

2:57

And We caused the clouds to comfort you with their shade, and sent down unto you
manna and quails. [saying,] "Partake of the good things which We have provided for you
as sustenance."

And [by all their sinning] they did no harm unto Us - but [only] against their own selves
did they sin.

2:58

And [remember the time] when We said: "Enter this land,42 and eat of its food as you
may desire abundantly; but enter the gate humbly and say, 'Remove Thou from us the
burden of our sins',43 [whereupon] We shall forgive you your sins, and shall amply
reward the doers of good."

2:59

But those who were bent on evildoing substituted another saying for that which had been
given them:44 and so We sent down upon those evildoers a plague from heaven in requital
for all their iniquity.

42 The word qaryah primarily denotes a "village" or "town", but is

also used in the sense of
"land". Here it apparently refers to Palestine.

43 This interpretation of the word hittah is recorded by most of the

lexicographers
(cf. Lane II, 592) on the basis of what many Companions of the
Prophet said about it
(for the relevant quotations, see Ibn Kathir in his commentary on
this verse). Thus,
the children of Israel were admonished to take possession of the
promised land
("enter the gate") in a spirit of humility (lit., "prostrating
yourselves"), and
not to regard it as something that was "due" to them.

44 According to several Traditions (extensively quoted by Ibn

Kathir), they played, with a
derisive intent, upon the word hittah, substituting for it
something irrelevant or meaningless.
Muhammad 'Abduh, however, is of the opinion that the "saying"
referred to in verse 58 is
merely a metaphor for an attitude of mind demanded of them, and
that, correspondingly, the
"substitution" signifies here a wilful display of arrogance in
disregard of God's command
(see Manar I, 324 f.).

2:60

And [remember] when Moses prayed for water for his people and We replied, "Strike the
rock with thy staff!" - whereupon twelve springs gushed forth from it, so that all the
people knew whence to drink.45 [And Moses said:] "Eat and drink the sustenance
provided by God, and do not act wickedly on earth by spreading corruption."

2:61

And [remember] when you said: "O Moses, indeed we cannot endure but one kind of
food; pray, then, to thy Sustainer that He bring forth for us aught of what grows from the
earth - of its herbs, its cucumbers, its garlic, its lentils, its onions."
Said [Moses]: "Would you take a lesser thing in exchange for what is [so much] better?46
Go back in shame to Egypt, and then you can have what you are asking for!"47

And so, ignominy and humiliation overshadowed them, and they earned the burden of
God's condemnation: all this, because they persisted in denying the truth of God's
messages and in slaying the prophets against all right: all this, because they rebelled
[against God], and persisted in transgressing the bounds of what is right.48

45 i.e., according to their tribal divisions.

46 i.e., "Would you exchange your freedom for the paltry comforts
which you enjoyed in
your Egyptian captivity?" In the course of their wanderings in the
desert of Sinai, many
Jews looked back with longing to the comparative security of their
life in Egypt, as has
been explicitly stated in the Bible (Numbers xi), and is, moreover,
evident from Moses'
allusion to it in the next sentence of the above Qur'anic passage.

47 The verb habata means, literally, "he went down a declivity"; it

is also used figuratively
in the sense of falling from dignity and becoming mean and abject
(cf. Lane VIII, 2876).
Since the bitter exclamation of Moses cannot be taken literally,
both of the above meanings
of the verb may be combined in this context and agreeably
translated as "go back in shame
to Egypt".

48 This passage obviously refers to a later phase of Jewish history.

That the Jews actually
did kill some of their prophets is evidenced, for instance, in the
story of John the Baptist,
as well as in the more general accusation uttered, according to the
Gospel, by Jesus:
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and
stonest them which are sent
unto thee" (Matthew xxiii, 37). See also Matthew xxiii, 34-35, Luke
xi, 51 - both of which,
refer to the murder of Zachariah - and I Thessalonians ii, 15. The
implication of continuity
in, or persistent repetition of, their wrongdoing transpires from
the use of the auxiliary
verb kanu in this context.

2:62

VERILY, those who have attained to faith [in this divine writ], as well as those who
follow the Jewish faith, and the Christians, and the Sabians49 - all who believe in God and
the Last Day and do righteous deeds - shall have their reward with their Sustainer; and no
fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve.50
2:63

AND LO! We accepted your solemn pledge, raising Mount Sinai high above you,51 [and
saying;] "Hold fast with [all your] strength unto what We have vouchsafed you, and bear
in mind all that is therein, so that you might remain conscious of God!"

49 The Sabians seem to have been a monotheistic religious group

intermediate between
Judaism and Christianity. Their name (probably derived from the
Aramaic verb tsebha',
"he immersed himself [in water]") would indicate that they were
followers of John the
Baptist - in which case they could be identified with the
Mandaeans, a community which
to this day is to be found in Iraq. They are not to be confused
with the so-called
"Sabians of Harran", a gnostic sect which still existed in the
early centuries of Islam,
and which may have deliberately adopted the name of the true
Sabians in order to obtain
the advantages accorded by the Muslims to the followers of every
monotheistic faith.

50 The above passage - which recurs in the Qur'an several times -

lays down a fundamental
doctrine of Islam. With a breadth of vision unparalleled in any
other religious faith,
the idea of "salvation" is here made conditional upon three
elements only: belief in God,
belief in the Day of Judgment, and righteous action in life. The
statement of this doctrine
at this juncture - that is, in the midst of an appeal to the
children of Israel - is
warranted by the false Jewish belief that their descent from
Abraham entitles them to
be regarded as "God's chosen people".

51 Lit., "and We raised the mountain (at-tur) above you": i.e.,

letting the lofty mountain bear
witness, as it were, to their solemn pledge, spelled out in verse
83 below. Throughout my
translation of the Qur'an, I am rendering the expression at-tur as
"Mount Sinai", since it
is invariably used in this sense alone.

2:64

And you turned away after that! And had it not been for God's favour upon you and His
grace, you would surely have found yourselves among the lost; (2:65) for you are well
aware of those from among you who profaned the Sabbath, whereupon We said unto
them, "Be as apes despicable!" - (2:66) and set them up as a warning example for their
time and for all times to come, as well as an admonition to all who are conscious of
God.52
2:67

AND LO! Moses said unto his people: "Behold, God bids you to sacrifice a cow."53 They
said: "Dost thou mock at us?" He answered: "I seek refuge with God against being so
ignorant!"54

2:68

Said they: "Pray on our behalf unto thy Sustainer that He make clear to us what she is to
be like." [Moses] replied: "Behold, He says it is to be a cow neither old nor immature, but
of an age in-between. Do, then, what you have been bidden!"

2:69

Said they: "Pray on our behalf unto thy Sustainer that He make clear to us what her
colour should be." [Moses] answered: "Behold; He says it is to be a yellow cow, bright of
hue, pleasing to the beholder."

2:70

Said' they: "Pray on our behalf unto thy Sustainer that He make clear to us what she is to
be like, for to us all cows resemble one another; and then, if God so wills, we shall truly
be guided aright!"

2:71

[Moses] answered: "Behold, He says it is to be a cow not broken-in to plough the earth or
to water the crops, free of fault, without markings of any other colour."

Said they: "At last thou hast brought out the truth!" - and thereupon they sacrificed her,
although they had almost left it undone.55

52 For the full story of the Sabbath-breakers, and the metaphorical

allusion to "apes",
see 7:163-166. The expression ma bayna yadayhd, rendered here as
"their time", is
explained in surah 3, note 3.

53 As is evident from verse 72, the story related in this and the
subsequent passages
almost certainly refers to the Mosaic law which ordains that in
certain cases of unresolved
murder a cow should be sacrificed, and the elders of the town or
village nearest to the
place of the murder should wash their hands over it and declare,
"Our hands have not shed
this blood, neither have our eyes seen it" - whereupon the
community would be absolved of
collective responsibility. For the details of this Old Testament
ordinance, see Deuteronomy
 xxi, 1-9.

54 Lit., "lest I be one of the ignorant". The imputation of mockery

was obviously due to the
fact that Moses promulgated the above ordinance in very general
terms, without specifying
any details.

55 i.e., their obstinate desire to obtain closer and closer

definitions of the simple commandment
revealed to them through Moses had made it almost impossible for
them to fulfil it. In his
commentary on this passage; Tabari quotes the following remark of
Ibn 'Abbas: "If [in the
first instance] they had sacrificed any cow chosen by themselves,
they would have fulfilled
their duty; but they made it complicated for themselves, and so God
made it complicated
for them." A similar view has been expressed, in the same context,
by Zamakhshari. It
would appear that the moral of this story points to an important
problem of all (and,
therefore, also of Islamic) religious jurisprudence: namely, the
inadvisability of trying
to elicit additional details in respect of any religious law that
had originally been given
in general terms - for, the more numerous and multiform such
details become, the more
complicated and rigid becomes the law. This point has been acutely
grasped by Rashid Rida,
who says in his commentary on the above Qur'anic passage (see Manar
I, 345 f.): "Its
lesson is that one should not pursue one's [legal] inquiries in
such a way as to make laws
more complicated ... This was how the early generations [of
Muslims] visualized the problem.
They did not make things complicated for themselves - and so, for
them, the religious law
(din) was natural, simple and liberal in its straightforwardness.
But those who came later
added to it [certain other] injunctions which they had deduced by
means of their own
reasoning (ijtihad); and they multiplied those [additional]
injunctions to such an extent
that the religious law became a heavy burden on the community." For
the sociological reason
why the genuine ordinances of Islamic Law - that is, those which
have been prima facie
laid down as such in the Qur'an and the teachings of the Prophet -
are almost always devoid
of details, I would refer the reader to my book State and
Government in Islam (pp. 11 ff.
and passim). The importance of this problem, illustrated in the
above story of the cow - and
correctly grasped by the Prophet's Companions - explains why this
surah has been entitled
"The Cow". (See also 5 : 101 and the corresponding notes 120-123.)
2:72

For, O children of Israel, because you had slain a human being and then cast the blame
for this [crime] upon one another - although God will bring to light what you would
conceals56 - (73) We said: "Apply this [principle] to some of those [cases of unresolved
murder]:57 in this way God saves lives from death and shows you His will, so that you
might [learn to] use your reason."58

2:74

And yet, after all this, your hearts hardened and became like rocks, or even harder: for,
behold, there are rocks from which streams gush forth; and, behold, there are some from
which, when they are cleft, water issues; and, behold, there are some that fall down for
awe of God59. And God is not unmindful of what you do!

56 See note 53 above. The use of the plural "you" implies the
principle of collective, communal
responsibility stipulated by Mosaic Law in cases of murder by a
person or persons unknown.
God's bringing the guilt to light obviously refers to the Day of
Judgment.

57 The phrase idribuhu bi-ba'diha can be literally translated as

"strike him [or "it"]
with something of her [or "it"]" - and this possibility has given
rise to the fanciful
assertion by many commentators that the children of Israel were
commanded to strike the
corpse of the murdered man with some of the flesh of the sacrificed
cow, whereupon he was
miraculously restored to life and pointed out his murderer! Neither
the Qur'an, nor any
saying of the Prophet, nor even the Bible offers the slightest
warrant for this highly
imaginative explanation, which must, therefore, be rejected - quite
apart from the fact
that the pronoun hu in idribahu has a masculine gender, while the
noun nafs (here translated
as "human being") is feminine in gender: from which it follows that
the imperative
idribuhu cannot possibly refer to nafs. On the other hand, the verb
daraba (lit.,
"he struck") is very often used in a figurative or metonymic sense,
as, for instance, in
the expression daraba fi'l-ard ("he journeyed on earth"), or daraba
'sh-shay' bi'sh-shay'
("he mixed one thing with another thing"), or daraba mathal ("he
coined a similitude" or
"propounded a parable" or "gave an illustration"), or 'ala darb
wahid ("similarly applied"
or "in the same manner"), or duribat 'alayhim adh-dhillah
("humiliation was imposed on them"
 or "applied to them"), and so forth. Taking all this into account,
I am of the opinion that
the imperative idribuhu occurring in the above Qur'anic passage
must be translated as
"apply it" or "this" (referring, in this context, to the principle
of communal responsibility).
As for the feminine pronoun ha in ba'diha ("some of it"), it must
necessarily relate to
the nearest preceding feminine noun - that is, to the nafs that has
been murdered, or the
act of murder itself about which (fiha) the community disagreed.
Thus, the phrase idribuhu
bi-ba'diha may be suitably rendered as "apply this [principle] to
some of those [cases of
unresolved murder]": for it is obvious that the principle of
communal responsibility for
murder by a person or persons unknown can be applied only to some
and not to all such cases.

58 Lit., "God gives life to the dead and shows you His messages"
(i.e., He shows His will by
means of such messages or ordinances). The figurative expression
"He gives life to the dead"
denotes the saving of lives, and is analogous to that in 5:32. In
this context it refers to
the prevention of bloodshed and the killing of innocent persons
(Manor 1, 351), be it through
individual acts of revenge, or in result of an erroneous judicial
process based on no more
than vague suspicion and possibly misleading circumstantial
evidence.

59 For an explanation of this allusion, see 7:143. The simile of "the

rocks from which streams
gush forth" or "from which water issues" serves to illustrate its
opposite, namely, dryness
and lack of life, and is thus an allusion to the spiritual
barrenness with which the Qur'an
charges the children of Israel.

2:75

CAN YOU, then, hope that they will believe in what you are preaching60 - seeing that a
good many of them were wont to listen to the word of God and then, after having
understood it, to pervert it knowingly?61 (2:76) For, when they meet those who have
attained to faith. they say, "We believe [as you believe]" - but when they find themselves
alone with one another, they say. "Do you inform them of what God has disclosed to you,
so that they might use it in argument against you, quoting the words of your Sustainer?62
Will you not then, use your reason?"

2:77
Do they not know, then, that God is aware of all that they would conceal as well as of all
that they bring into the open? (2:78) And there are among them unlettered people who
have no real knowledge of the divine writ,63 [following] only wishful beliefs and
depending on nothing but conjecture.

2:79

Woe, then, unto those who write down, with their own hands, [something which they
claim to be] divine writ, and then say. "This is from God," in order to acquire a trifling
gain thereby;64 woe, then, unto them for what their hands have written, and woe unto
them for all that they may have gained!

60 Here the Muslims are addressed. In the early period of Islam - and
especially after their
exodus to Medina, where many Jews were then living - the Muslims
expected that the Jews,
with their monotheistic beliefs, would be the first to rally to the
message of the Qur'an:
a hope that was disappointed because the Jews regarded their own
religion as a kind of
national heritage reserved to the children of Israel alone, and did
not believe in the
necessity - or possibility - of a new revelation.

61 Cf. Jeremiah xxiii, 26 - "Ye have perverted the words of the

living God".

62 Lit., "before [or "in the sight of"] your Sustainer". Most of the
commentators '
(e.g , Zamakhshari, Baghawi, Razi) agree in that the expression
"your Sustainer" stands
here for "that which your Sustainer has revealed", namely, the
Biblical prophecy relating
to the: coming. of a prophet "from among the brethren" of the
children of Israel, and
that, therefore, the above phrase implies an argument on the basis
of the Jews' own
scriptures. (See also note 3} above).

63 In this case, the Old Testament.

64 The reference here is to the scholars responsible for corrupting

the text of the Bible
and thus misleading their ignorant followers. The "trifling gain"
is their feeling of
pre-eminence as the alleged "chosen people".

2:80

And they say, "The fire will most certainly not touch us for more than a limited number
of days."65 Say [unto them]: "Have you received a promise from God - for God never
breaks His promise - or do you attribute to God something which you cannot know?"
2:81

Yea! Those who earn evil and by their sinfulness are engulfed - they are destined for the
fire, therein to abide; (2:82) whereas those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds -
they are destined for paradise, therein to abide.

2:83

AND LO! We accepted this solemn pledge from [you,] - the children of Israel:66 "You
shall worship none but God; and you shall do good unto your parents and kinsfolk, and
the orphans, and the poor; and you shall speak unto all people in a kindly way; and you
shall be constant in prayer; and you shall spend in charity."

And yet, save for a few of you, you turned away: for you are obstinate folk!68

65 According to popular Jewish belief, even the sinners from among

the children of Israel will
suffer only very limited punishment in the life to come, and will
be quickly reprieved by
virtue of their belonging to "the chosen people": a belief which
the Qur'an rejects.

66 In the preceding passages, the children of Israel have been

reminded of the favours that
were bestowed on them. Now, however, the Qur'an - reminds them of
the fact that the way
of righteousness has indeed been shown to them by means of explicit
social and moral
injunctions: and this reminder flows directly from the statement
that the human condition
in the life to come depends exclusively on the manner of one's life
in this world, and
not on one's descent.

67 see note 34 above.

68 The Old Testament contains many allusions to the waywardness and

stubborn rebelliousness
of the children of Israel - e.g., Exodus xxxii, 9, xxxii, 3, xxxiv,
9; Deuteronomy by,
6-8, 23-24, 27.

2:84

And lo! We accepted your solemn pledge that you would not shed one another's blood,
and would not drive one another from your homelands - whereupon you acknowledged it;
and thereto you bear witness [even now]. (2:85) And yet, it is you who slay one another
and drive some of your own people from their homelands, aiding one another against
them in sin and hatred; but if they come to you as captives, you ransom them - although
the very [act of] driving them away has been made unlawful to you!69
Do you, then, believe in some parts of the divine writ and deny the truth of other parts?
What, then, could be the reward of those among you who do such things but ignominy in
the life of this world and, on the Day of Resurrection, commitment to most grievous
suffering? For God is not unmindful of what you do.

2:86

All who buy the life of this world at the price of the life to come - their suffering shall not
be lightened, nor shall they be succoured!

2:87

For, indeed, We vouchsafed unto Moses the divine writ and caused apostle after apostle
to follow him;70 and We vouchsafed unto Jesus, the son of Mary, all evidence of the
truth, and strengthened him with holy inspiration.71 [Yet] is it not so that every time an
apostle came unto you with something that was not to your liking, you gloried in your
arrogance, and to some of them you gave the lie, while others you would slay?72

2:88

But they say, "Our hearts are already full of knowledge."73 Nay, but God has rejected
them because of their refusal to acknowledge the truth: for, few are the things in which
they believe.74

69 This is a reference to the conditions prevailing at Medina at the

time of the Prophet's
hijrah. The two Arab tribes of Medina - Al-Aws and Khazraj - were,
in pre-Islamic times
permanently at war with one another; and out of the three Jewish
tribes living there -
the Banu Qaynuqa', Banu 'n-Nadir and Banu Qurayzah - the first-
named two were allied
with Khazraj, while the third was allied with Al-Aws. Thus, in the
course of their
warfare, Jew would kill Jew in alliance with pagans ("aiding one
another in sin and
hatred"): a twofold crime from the viewpoint of Mosaic Law.
Nevertheless, they would
subsequently ransom their mutual captives in obedience to that very
same Law - and it
is this glaring inconsistency to which the Qur'an alludes in the
next sentence.

70 Lit., "We caused him to be followed, after his time, by [all] the
other apostles":
a stress upon the continuous succession of prophets among the Jews
(see Tabari, Zamakhshari,
Razi, Ibn Kathir), which fact deprives them of any excuse of
ignorance.
 71 This rendering of ruh al-qudus (lit., "the spirit of holiness") is
based on the recurring
use in the Qur'an of the term ruh in the sense of "divine
inspiration". It is also recorded
that the Prophet invoked the blessing of the ruh al-qudus on his
Companion, the poet Hassan
ibn Thabit (Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Da'ud and Tirmidhi): just as the
Qur'an (58: 22) speaks of
all believers as being "strengthened by inspiration (rah) from
Him".

72 Lit., "and some you are slaying". The change from the past tense
observed throughout
this sentence to the present tense in the verb taqtulun ("you are
slaying") is meant to
express a conscious intent in this respect and, thus, a persistent,
ever-recurring trait
in Jewish history (Manor I, 377), to which also the New Testament
refers (Matthew xxiii,
34-35, 37), and I Thessalonians ii, 15).

73 Lit., "our hearts are repositories [of knowledge]"- an allusion to

the boast of the Jews that
in view of the religious knowledge which they already possess, they
are in no need of any
further preaching (Ibn Kathir, on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas;
identical explanations are
mentioned by Tabari and Zamakhshari).

74 i.e., all their beliefs are centred on themselves and their

alleged "exceptional" status
in the sight of God.

2:89

And whenever there came unto them a [new] revelation from God, confirming the truth
already in their possession - and [bear in mind that] aforetime they used to pray for
victory over those who were bent on denying the truth -: whenever there came unto them
something which they recognized [as the truth], they would deny it. And God's rejection
is the due of all who deny the truth.

2:90

Vile is that [false pride] for which they have sold their own selves by denying the truth of
what God has bestowed from on high, out of envy that God should bestow aught of His
favour upon whomsoever He wills of His servants:75 and thus have they earned the
burden of God's condemnation, over and over. And for those who deny the truth there is
shameful suffering in store.

2:91
For when they are told, "Believe in what God has bestowed from on high," they reply,
"We believe [only] in what has been bestowed on us" - and they deny the truth of
everything else, although it be a truth confirming the one already in their possession. Say
"Why, then, did you slay God's prophets aforetime, if you were (truly] believers?"76

2:92

And indeed, there came unto you Moses with all evidence of the truth - and thereupon in
his absence, you took to worshipping the (golden] calf, and acted wickedly.

2:93

And, lo, We accepted your solemn pledge, raising Mount Sinai high above you, [saying,]
"Hold fast with [all your] strength unto what We have vouchsafed you, and hearken unto
it!" [But] they say, "We have heard, but we disobey"77 - for their hearts are filled to
overflowing with love of the [golden] calf because of their refusal to acknowledge the
truth.78

Say: "Vile is what this [false] belief of yours enjoins upon you - if indeed you are
believers!"

2:94

Say: "If an afterlife with God is to be for you alone, to the exclusion of all other people,79
then you should long for death - if what you say is true!"

2:95

But never will they long for it, because [they are aware] of what their hands have sent
ahead in this world: and God has full knowledge of evildoers. (2:96) And thou wilt most
certainly find that they cling to life more eagerly than any other people, even more than
those who are bent on ascribing divinity to other beings beside God: every one of them
would love to live a thousand years, although the grant of long life could not save him
from suffering [in the hereafter]: for God sees all that they do.

2:97

SAY [O Prophet]: "Whosoever is an enemy of Gabriel" - who, verily, by God's leave, has
brought down upon thy heart this [divine writ] which confirms the truth of whatever there
still remains [of earlier revelations], and is a guidance and a glad tiding for the believers -
: (2:98) "whosover is an enemy of God and His angels and His message-bearers,
including Gabriel and Michael, [should know that,] verily, God is the enemy of all who
deny the truth."80

75 i.e., out of envy that God should bestow revelation upon anyone
but a descendant of Israel -
in this particular instance, upon the Arabian Prophet, Muhammad.
 76 A reference to their assertion that they believe in what has been
revealed to them - i.e.,
the Law of Moses, which obviously prohibits the killing not only of
prophets but of any
innocent human being. See also the concluding sentences of verses
61 and 87, and the
corresponding notes.

77 It is obvious that they did not actually utter these words; their
subsequent behaviour,
however, justifies the above metonymical expression.

78 Lit., "into their hearts has been instilled the calf because of
their denial of the truth":
i.e., as soon as they turned away from the genuine message
propounded by Moses, they fell
into worshipping material goods, symbolized by the "golden calf".

79 An allusion to the Jewish belief that paradise is reserved for the

children of Israel
alone (cf. verse III of this surah ).

80 According to several authentic Traditions, some of the learned men

from among the Jews of
Medina described Gabriel as "the enemy of the Jews", and this for
three reasons: firstly,
all the prophecies of the misfortune which was to befall the Jews
in the course of their
early history were said to have been transmitted to them by
Gabriel, who thus became in
their eyes a "harbinger of evil" (in contrast to the angel Michael,
whom they regarded as
a bearer of happy predictions and, therefore, as their "friend");
secondly, because the
Qur'an states repeatedly that it was Gabriel who conveyed its
message to Muhammad,
whereas the Jews were of the opinion that only a descendant of
Israel could legitimately
claim divine revelation; and, thirdly, because the Qur'an -
revealed through Gabriel -
abounds in criticism of certain Jewish beliefs and attitudes and
describes them as
opposed to the genuine message of Moses. (For details of these
Traditions, see Tabari,
Zamakhshari, Baghawi, Razi, Baydawi, Ibn Kathir.) As regards my
rendering of ma bayna
yadayhi in verse 97 as "whatever there still remains of earlier
revelations", see
surah 3, note 3.

2:99

For, clear messages indeed have We bestowed upon thee from on high; and none denies
their truth save the iniquitous.
2:100

Is it not so that every time they made a promise [unto God], some of them cast it aside?
Nay, indeed: most of them do not believe.

2:101

And [even now,] when there has come unto them an apostle from God, confirming the
truth already in their possession, some of those who were granted revelation aforetime
cast the divine writ behind their backs as though unaware [of what it says],81 (2:102) and
follow [instead] that which the evil ones used to practice during Solomon's reign - for it
was not Solomon who denied the truth, but those evil ones denied it by teaching people
sorcery82 -; and [they follow] that which has come down through the two angels in
Babylon, Harut and Mirut - although these two never taught it to anyone without first
declaring, "We are but a temptation to evil: do not, then, deny [God's] truth!"83 And they
learn from these two how to create discord between a man and his wife; but whereas they
can harm none thereby save by God's leave, they acquire a knowledge that only harms
themselves and does not benefit them - although they know; indeed, that he who acquires
this [knowledge] shall have no share in the good of the life to come.84 For, vile indeed is
that [art] for which they have sold their own selves - had they but known it!

81 The divine writ referred to here is the Torah. By disregarding the

prophecies relating to
the coming of the Arabian Prophet, contained in Deuteronomy xviii,
15, 18 (see note 33 above),
the Jews rejected, as it were, the whole of the revelation granted
to Moses (Zamakhshari;
also 'Abduh in Manar I, 397).

82 The expression ash-shayatin, here rendered as "the evil ones",

apparently refers to human
beings, as has been pointed out by Tabari, Razi, etc., but may also
allude to the evil,
immoral impulses within man's heart (see note 10 on verse 14 of
this surah). The above
parenthetic sentence constitutes the Qur'anic refutation of the
Biblical statement that
Solomon had been guilty of idolatrous practices (see I Kings xi, 1-
10), as well as of the
legend that he was the originator of the magic arts popularly
associated with his name.

83 This "declaration" circumscribes, metonymically, man's moral duty

to reject every attempt
at "sorcery" inasmuch as - irrespective of whether it succeeds or
fails - it aims at
subverting the order of nature as instituted by God. - As regards
the designation of
Harut and Marut, most of the readings of the Qur'an give the
spelling malakayn ("the
two angels"); but it is authentically recorded (see Tabari,
Zamakhshari, Baghawi, Razi,
 etc.) that the great Companion of the Prophet, Ibn 'Abbas, as well
as several learned men
of the next generation - e.g., Al-Hasan al-Basri, Abu'l-Aswad and
Ad-Dahhak - read it as
malikayn ("the two kings"). I myself incline to the latter reading;
but since the other
is more generally accepted, I have adopted it here. Some of the
commentators are of the
opinion that, whichever of the two readings is followed, it ought
to be taken in a metaphorical
sense, namely, "the two kingly persons", or "the two angelic
persons": in this they rely
on a saying of Ibn 'Abbas to the effect that Harut and Marut were
"two men who practiced
sorcery in Babylon" (Baghawi; see also Manar I, 402). At any rate,
it is certain that from
very ancient times Babylon was reputed to be the home of magic
arts, symbolized in the
legendary persons - perhaps kings - Harut and Marut; and it is to
this legend that the
Qur'an refers with a view to condemning every attempt at magic and
sorcery, as well as
all preoccupation with occult sciences in general.

84 The above passage does not raise the question as to whether there
is an objective
truth in the occult phenomena loosely described as "magic", or
whether they are based on
self-deception: The intent here is no more and no less than to warn
man that any attempt
at influencing the course of events by means which - at least in
the mind of the person
responsible for it to have a "supernatural" connotation is a
spiritual offence, and
must inevitably result in a most serious damage to their author's
spiritual status.

2:103

And had they but believed and been conscious of Him, reward from God would indeed
have brought them good - had they but known it!

2:104

O YOU who have attained to faith! Do not say [to the Prophet], "Listen to us," but rather
say, "Have patience with us," and hearken [unto him], since grievous suffering awaits
those who deny the truth.85

2:105

Neither those from among the followers of earlier revelation who are bent on denying the
truth, nor those who ascribe divinity to other beings beside God, would like to see any
good86 ever bestowed upon you from on high by your Sustainer; but God singles out for
His grace whom He wills - for God is limitless in His great bounty.

2:106

Any message which, We annul or consign to oblivion We replace with a better or a

similar ones.87 Dost thou not know that God has the power to will anything? (2:107) Dost
thou not know that God's is the dominion over the heavens and the earth, and that besides
God you have none to protect you or bring you succour?

85 This admonition, addressed in the first instance to the

contemporaries of the Prophet,
has - as so often in the Qur'an - a connotation that goes far
beyond the historical
circumstances that gave rise to it. The Companions were called upon
to approach the
Prophet with respect and to subordinate their personal desires and
expectations to the
commandments of the Faith revealed through him: and this injunction
remains valid for
every believer and for all times.

86 i.e., revelation - which is the highest good. The allusion here is

to 1he unwillingness of
the Jews and the Christians to admit that revelation could have
been bestowed on any community
but their own.

87 The principle laid down in this passage - relating to the

supersession of the Biblical
dispensation by that of the Qur'an - has given rise to an erroneous
interpretation by many
Muslim theologians. The word ayah ("message") occurring in this,
context is also used to
denote a "verse;" of the Qur'an (because every one of these verses
contains a message).
Taking this restricted meaning of the term ayah, some scholars
conclude from the above passage
that certain verses of the Qur'an have been "abrogated" by God's
command before the
revelation of the Qur'an was completed. Apart from the fancifulness
of this assertion -
which calls to mind the image of a human author correcting, on
second thought, the proofs
of his manuscript - deleting one passage and replacing it with
another - there does not
exist a single reliable Tradition to the effect that the Prophet
ever, declared a verse of
the Qur'an to have been "abrogated". At the root of the so-called
"doctrine of abrogation"
may lie the inability of some of the early commentators to
reconcile one Qur'anic passage
with another: a difficulty which was overcome by declaring that one
of the verses in
 question had been "abrogated". This arbitrary procedure explains
also why there is no
unanimity whatsoever among the upholders of the "doctrine of
abrogation" as to which, and
how many, Qur'an verses have been affected by it; and, furthermore,
as to whether this
alleged abrogation implies a total elimination of the verse in
question from the context
of the Qur'an, or only a cancellation of the specific ordinance or
statement contained in it.
In short, the "doctrine of abrogation" has no basis whatever in
historical fact, and must
be rejected. On the other hand, the apparent difficulty in
interpreting the above Qur'anic
passage disappears immediately if the term ayah is understoood,
correctly, as "message",
and if we read this verse in conjunction with the preceding one,
which states that the Jews
and the Christians refuse to accept any revelation which might
supersede that of the Bible:
for, if read in this way, the abrogation relates to the earlier
divine messages and not to
any part of the Qur'an itself.

2:108

Would you, perchance, ask of the Apostle who has been sent unto you what was asked
aforetime of Moses? But whoever chooses to deny the [evidence of the] truth, instead of
believing in it,88 has already strayed from the right path.

2:109

Out of their selfish envy, many among the followers of earlier revelation would like to
bring you back to denying the truth after you have attained to faith - [even] after the truth
has become clear unto them. None the less, forgive and forbear, until God shall make
manifest His will: behold, God has the power to will anything.

2:110

And be constant in prayer, and render the purifying dues; for, whatever good deed you
send ahead for your own selves, you shall find it with God: behold, God sees all that you
do.

2:111

AND THEY claim,89 "None shall ever enter paradise unless he be a Jew" - or, "a
Christian". Such are their wishful beliefs! Say: "Produce an evidence for what you are
claiming,90 if what you say is true!"

88 Lit.. "whoever takes a denial of the truth in exchange for belief"

- i.e., whoever
 refuses to accept the internal evidence of the truth of the
Qur'anic message and demands,
instead, an "objective" proof of its divine origin (Manor I, 416
f.).- That which was "asked
of Moses aforetime" was the demand of the children of Israel to
"see God face to face"
(cf. 2:55). The expression rendered by me as "the Apostle who has
been sent unto you"
reads literally, "your Apostle", and obviously refers to the
Prophet Muhammad whose
message supersedes the earlier revelations.

89 This connects with verse 109 above: "Many among the followers of
earlier revelation would
like to bring you back to denying the truth", etc.

90 Lit., "produce your evidence" - i.e.. "from your own scriptures".

2:112

Yea, indeed: everyone who surrenders his whole being unto God,91 and is a doer of good
withal, shall have his reward with his Sustainer; and all such need have no fear, and
neither shall they grieve.92

2:113

Furthermore, the Jews assert, "The Christians have no valid ground for their beliefs,"
while the Christians assert, "The Jews have no valid ground for their beliefs" - and both
quote the divine writ! Even thus, like unto what they say, have [always] spoken those
who were devoid of knowledge;"93 but it is God who will judge between them on
Resurrection Day with regard to all on which they were wont to differ.94

91 Lit., "who surrenders his face unto God". Since the face of a
person is the most expressive
part of his body, it is used in classical Arabic to denote one's
whole personality, or
whole being. This expression, repeated in the Qur'an several times,
provides a perfect
definition of islam, which derived from the root-verb aslama, "he
surrendered himself" -
means "self-surrender [to God]";: and it is in this sense that the
terms islam and muslim
are used throughout the Qur'an. (For a full discussion of this
concept, see my note on
68:35, where the expression muslim occurs for the first time in the
chronological order
of revelation.)

92 Thus, according to the Qur'an, salvation is not reserved for any

particular "denomination",
but is open to everyone who consciously realizes the oneness of
God, surrenders himself
 to His will and, by living righteously, gives practical effect to
this spiritual attitude.

93 An allusion to all who assert that only the followers of their own
denomination shall
partake of God's grace in the hereafter.

94 In other words, "God will confirm the truth of what was true [in
their respective beliefs]
and show the falseness of what was false [therein]" (Muhammad
'Abduh in Manar I, 428).
The Qur'an maintains throughout that there is a substantial element
of truth in all
faiths based on divine revelation, and that their subsequent
divergencies are the result
of "wishful beliefs" (2:111) and of a gradual corruption of the
original teachings.
(See also 22: 67-69.)

2:114

Hence, who could be more wicked than those who bar the mention of God's name from
[any of] His houses of worship and strive for their ruin, [although] they have no right to
enter them save in fear [of God]?95 For them, in this world, there is ignominy in store;
and for them, in the life to come, awesome suffering.

2:115

And God's is the east and the west: and wherever you turn, there is God's countenance.
Behold, God is infinite, all-knowing.

2:116

And yet some people assert, "God has taken unto Himself a son!" Limitless is He in His
glory!96 Nay, but His is all that is in the heavens and on earth; all things devoutly obey
His will. (2:117) The Originator is He of the heavens and the earth: and when He wills a
thing to be, He but says unto it, "Be" - and it is.

2:118

AND [only] those who are devoid of knowledge say, "Why does God not speak unto us,
nor is a [miraculous] sign shown to us?" Even thus, like unto what they say, spoke those
who lived before their time97 their hearts are all alike. Indeed, We have made all the signs
manifest unto people who are endowed with inner certainty.

2:119

Verily, We have sent thee [O Prophet] with the truth, as a bearer of glad tidings and a
warner: and thou shalt not be held accountable for those who are destined for the blazing
fire.
2:120

For, never will the Jews be pleased with thee nor yet the Christians, unless thou follow
their own creeds. Say: "Behold, God's guidance is the only true guidance." And, indeed,
if thou shouldst follow their errant views after all the knowledge that has come unto thee,
thou wouldst have none to protect thee from God, and none to bring thee succour.

2:121

Those unto whom We have vouchsafed the divine writ [and who] follow it as it ought to
be followed98- it is they who [truly] believe in it; whereas all who choose to deny its truth
- it is they, they who are the losers!

95 It is one of the fundamental principles of Islam that every

religion which has belief in God
as its focal point must be accorded full respect, however much one
may disagree with its
particular tenets. Thus, the Muslims are under an obligation to
honour and protect any
house of worship dedicated to God, whether it be a mosque or a
church or a synagogue
(cf. the second paragraph of 22:40); and any attempt to prevent the
followers of another
faith from worshipping God according to their own lights is
condemned by the Qur'an as
a sacrilege. A striking illustration of this principle is
forthcoming from the Prophet's
treatment of the deputation from Christian hijran in the year 10 H.
They were given free
access to the Prophet's mosque, and with his full consent
celebrated their religious
rites there, although their adoration of Jesus as "the son of God"
and of Mary as "the
mother of God" was fundamentally at variance with Islamic beliefs
(see Ibn Sa'd I/I, '84 f.).

96 I.e., far from any imperfection such as would be implied in the

necessity (or logical
possibility) of having "progeny" either in a literal or a
metaphorical sense. The
expression subhana - applied exclusively to God - connotes His
utter remoteness from
any imperfection and any similarity, however tenuous, with any
created being or thing.

97 I.e., people who were not able to perceive the intrinsic truth of
the messages conveyed to
them by the prophets, but rather insisted on a miraculous
"demonstration" that those messages
really came from God, and thus failed to benefit from them. - This
verse obviously connects
with verse 108 above and, thus, refers to the objections of the
Jews and the Christians to
the message of the Qur'an. (See also note 29 on 74:52.)
Another random document with
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 208. Vit. S. Comgalli, c. 44. Comgall is said in his life to have
visited Britain in the seventh year after the foundation of the
monastery of Bangor, and, as it was founded in the year 559, this
brings us to the year 565.

209. Adamnan, B. ii. c. 36.

210. In octavo anno regni ejus baptizatus est sancto a Columba.—

Chron. Picts and Scots, p. 7.

211. The visit of Columcille to Brude, and this incident which

follows, is contained in the Advocates’ Library MS. only.

212. Whitley Stokes’s Gaedelica, 2d edit., p. 131. The word Tuath

is left untranslated, as it means both a territory and a tribe, as well
as the people generally.

213. Dr. Todd’s Life of Saint Patrick, p. 451. Book of Armagh, in

Betham’s Antiquarian Researches, vol. ii. p. xxvii.

214. Petrie, Hist. Ant. of Tara Hill, p. 34.

215. Ib. p. 169.

216. O’Curry’s Lectures, vol. ii. p. 198.

217. Stokes’s Gaedelica, p. 133.

218. Stokes’s Gaedelica, p. 131.

219. Contigit vero in illo anno idolatriæ sollempnitatem quam

gentiles incantationibus multis et magicis inventionibus aliis idolatriæ
superstitionibus, congregatis etiam regibus, satrapis, ducibus,
principibus, et optimatibus populi insuper, et magis, incantatoribus,
auruspicibus, et omnis artis omnisque doni inventoribus, doctoribus,
ut vocatis ad Loigairum.—Betham, Ant. Res., ii. App. p. v.

220. Ib. p. viii.

 221. Ib. p. xxix.

222. Et venit ad illos cum viiii. Magis induti vestibus albis cum
hoste magico.—Ib., Ap. p. xxxi.

223. O’Connor, Script. Hib. Prolegomena, vol. i. p. xxii.

224. Cormac’s Gloss., Ir. Ar. Socy., p. 94. The gloss adds ‘verbi
gratia, figura solis.’ Is it possible that this can refer to the cup-
markings on stones and rocks?

225. O’Curry’s Lectures on MS. Materials, App. p. 527.

226. Chronicle of the Picts and Scots, p. 31.

227. Chron. Picts and Scots, pp. 37, 41, 42.

228. Ib., p. 45.

229. Misc. Irish Arch. Socy., p. 12. Dr. Todd, in his notes to the
Irish Nennius, p. 144, translates Sreod by ‘sneezing;’ and the last
line he renders ‘nor on the noise of clapping of hands.’—Life of S.
Pat., p. 122.

230. Adamnan, B. ii. c. 34.

231. Leabhar Breac, Part i. p. 137; Part ii. p. 198. The old Irish
word for Druid is in the singular Drui; nom. plural, Druadh or
Druada; gen. plural, Druad. The modern form is Draoi, Draoite,
Draoit.

232. Adamnan, B. i. c. 33.

233. Ib., B. ii. c. 33.

234. Adamnan, B. ii. c. 10.

235. Ib., B. ii. c. 35.

 236. Adamnan, B. iii. c. 9.

237. Petrie, Ant. of Tara Hill, p. 123.

238. This Dr. John Stuart has most conclusively shown in the very
able papers in the appendix to his preface to the Sculptured Stones
of Scotland, vol. ii. It is to be regretted that these valuable essays
have not been given to the public in a more accessible shape.

239. Dr. Todd, in a note as to the meaning of the word Beltine,

says, ‘This word is supposed to signify “lucky fire,” or “the fire of the
god Bel” or Baal. The former signification is possible; the Celtic word
Bil is good or lucky; tene or tine, fire. The other etymology, although
more generally received, is untenable.—Petrie on Tara, p. 84. The
Irish pagans worshipped the heavenly bodies, hills, pillar stones,
wells, etc. There is no evidence of their having had any personal
gods, or any knowledge of the Phœnician Baal. This very erroneous
etymology of the word Beltine is, nevertheless, the source of all the
theories about the Irish Baal-worship, etc.’—Life of Saint Patrick, p.
414.

240. Dr. John Hill Burton was the first to expose the utterly
fictitious basis on which the popular conceptions of the so-called
Druidical religion rests, and he has done it with much ability and
acuteness in an article in the Edinburgh Review for July 1863, and in
his History of Scotland, vol. i. chap. iv. But he undoubtedly carries
his scepticism too far when he seems disposed to deny the existence
among the pre-Christian inhabitants of Scotland and Ireland of a
class of persons termed Druids. Here he must find himself face to
face with a body of evidence which it is impossible, with any truth or
candour, to ignore.

241. Adamnan, B. iii. c. 15.

242. Ib., B. i. c. 27.

243. Adamnan, B. ii. c. 43.

 244. Chron. Picts and Scots, p. 67.

245. Chron. Picts and Scots, p. 83.

246. This account of Aidan’s consecration is contained in the older

Life by Cummine, and repeated by Adamnan, B. iii. c. 6. In Smith’s
Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, the author of the article
Coronation says,—‘Aidan was made king by him on the celebrated
Stone of Destiny, taken afterwards from Iona to Dunstaffnage, and
thence to Scone,’ and refers to Adamnan; but there is not a syllable
about the stone in Adamnan. For its removal from Iona to
Dunstaffnage there is no authority whatever, and that from
Dunstaffnage to Scone is part of the exploded fable originated by
Hector Boece. The subject is fully discussed in the author’s tract on
the ‘Coronation Stone.’

247. 575 Magna mordail, .i. conventio Drommacheta, in qua erant

Colum Cille ocus Mac Ainmireach.—An. Ult. It is three times referred
to by Adamnan, B. i. c. 38; B. ii. c. 6. He calls it ‘condictus regum.’

248. These lines are quoted in the old Irish Life as giving the
retinue with which Columba went to Iona; but Dallan Forgaill’s poem
relates to the convention of Drumceatt.

249. Amra Columcille by J. O’Beirne Crowe, pp. 9, 11, 15. The

same account is given in the Advocates’ Library MS. of the old Irish
Life, evidently taken from the Amra. The other tradition referred to
seems to be that in Adamnan. See B. i. c. 8, where this incident is
mentioned.

250. Amra Columcille, p. 15.

251. Ib., p. 13.

 CHAPTER IV.

THE FAMILY OF IONA.

What St. Twelve years had now elapsed since Columba

Columba had first set foot on the island of Iona, and he had
accomplished in already to a great extent accomplished the task
twelve years; and
meaning of the he had set before him. He had founded his
expression monastery in the island, as the central point of
“Family of Iona.” his mission; and the exhibition of the Christian
life, as alone it was possible to present it in the
state of society which prevailed among these pagan tribes, as a
colony of tonsured monks following a monastic rule, had its usual
effect in influencing the population of the adjacent districts. He had
converted and baptized the most powerful monarch that ever
occupied the Pictish throne, and secured his friendship and support;
and this was soon followed by the whole nation ostensibly professing
the Christian faith. He had succeeded in re-establishing the Irish
colony of Dalriada in the full possession of its territories, and
obtained from the Ardri, or supreme king of Ireland, the recognition
of its independence. He now found himself occupying a position of
great influence and authority both in Ireland and Scotland—as the
founder of numerous monasteries in the former, and as the
acknowledged head of the Christian Church in the latter. Adamnan
tells us that he had founded monasteries within the territories both
of the Picts and of the Scots of Britain, who are separated from each
other by the great mountain range of Drumalban.[252] These
monasteries, as well as those which he had founded in Ireland,
regarded the insular monastery of Iona as the mother church, and
as having, as such, a claim to their obedience; and became subject
to her jurisdiction, while their inmates constituted the great monastic
fraternity which was termed the Muintir Iae, or family of Iona, in the
extended sense of the term. Adamnan mentions only a few of these
monasteries, and gives no details which might enable us to fix the
exact date of their foundation; though we can gather from his
narrative that some of them existed during the earlier years of his
mission, and all must, of course, have been founded at some period
during the thirty-four years of his life in Iona.
Monasteries Among the islands in which he founded
founded in the monasteries, the two most important are those
islands. termed by Adamnan ‘Ethica terra’ and ‘Insula
Hinba,’ or ‘Hinbina:’ the former has been conclusively identified with
the low-lying and fertile island of Tiree, the Tireth, or ‘land of corn,’
which lies about twenty miles to the north-west of Iona, and whose
dim outline would be barely seen on the horizon were it not for the
elevated promontory of Ceannavara at the south end of the island.
The name Hinba or Hinbina seems to designate the group of islands
called the Garveloch Isles, situated in the centre of the great channel
which separates the island of Mull from the mainland of Lorn, and
which were the Imbach, or ‘sea-surrounded.’ The most westerly of
the four islands which constitute this group is termed Elachnave and
Eilean na Naomh, or the Island of Saints. It is a grassy island rising
to a considerable height, and has at the west side a small and
sheltered bay, on the lower ground facing which are a fountain,
called St. Columcille’s Well, and the foundations of what must have
been a monastic establishment, near which are the remains of two
beehive cells.[253] It is probable that on these two islands were
founded the two earliest monasteries by Brendan before they were
lost to the Scots of Dalriada by the defeat of the year 560, by which
event they were probably swept away. In the year 565 Comgall of
Bangor, who had come to the assistance of Columba on his first visit
to King Brude, erected a monastery at a certain village in the land of
Heth, or Tiree, where he is said in his Life to have abode some time;
and that too was ruined by the Picts. We are told in his Life that,
‘one day when Comgall was working in the field, he put his white
hood over his garment; and about the same time a number of
heathen plunderers from the Picts came to that village to carry away
everything that was there, whether man or beast. Accordingly when
the heathen robbers came to Comgall, who was labouring in the
field, and saw his white hood over his cape, thinking that this white
hood was Comgall’s Deity, they were deterred from laying hands on
him, for fear of his God. However, they carried off to their ship the
brethren of Comgall and all their substance.’ The pirates are of
course shipwrecked through the prayers of the Saint, and gave back
their plunder; but afterwards Comgall was conducted back to Ireland
by a company of holy men.[254] This took place during the interval of
fourteen years between the defeat of the Dalriads in 560 and their
re-establishment in 574; and during this period the islands around
Iona, which had been occupied by the Scots and from which they
were driven by the Picts, seem to have formed a sort of debateable
ground with a mixed population of Scots and Picts, who carried on a
kind of guerilla warfare with each other; and any Christian
establishments which existed among them would form points of
attack for the heathen Picts. Thus we have here Pictish sea-robbers
attacking the monastery in Tiree; and Adamnan tells us of a noted
pirate of the royal tribe of Gabhran, and therefore a Scot, called
Johan, son of Conall, whose seat appears to have been the rude fort
which gave the name of Dunchonell to one of the Garvelochs, and
whom we find plundering in the district of Ardnamurchan.[255] He
also tells us of a robber, Erc, the Druid’s son, who resided in
Colonsay, and who plunders in the island of Mull.
Of Columban monasteries in Tiree, Adamnan mentions two. One
he calls ‘Campus Lunge,’ or the plain of Lunge. It was situated near
the shore over-against Iona, and had a portus, or harbour, which is
probably the little creek or bay still known as Portnaluing; and the
site of the monastery has been identified with that of Soroby on the
south-east side of the island, where a large churchyard with some
old tombstones and an ancient cross are the only remains of an
ecclesiastical establishment. The monastery is frequently mentioned
by Adamnan. It seems to have been founded at an early period, and
was under the charge of Baithen, afterwards the successor of
Columba in the abbacy of Iona.[256] The second is termed by
Adamnan Artchain, and said to have been founded by Findchan, one
of Columba’s monks, whose name also appears in Kilfinichen in the
island of Mull.[257] The island, too, which he calls Hinba, is repeatedly
mentioned by Adamnan, and seems also to have been an early
foundation. He tells us that at one time Columba sent Ernan, his
uncle, an aged priest, to preside over the monastery he had founded
many years before in that island;[258] and it seems to have been
especially connected with the penitential discipline of the order, and
a place of retirement for those who wished to lead a more solitary
life. Thus, we find Columba on one occasion visiting Hinba, and
ordering that the penitents should enjoy some indulgence in respect
of food, which one of the penitents in that place, a certain Neman,
refused to accept.[259] Again, one of the brethren, Virgnous, after
having lived for some time in the monastery of Iona, resolved to
spend the rest of his life in Hinba, and led the life of an anchorite for
twelve years in the hermitage of Muirbulcmar.[260] The church and
the house occupied by Columba are mentioned by Adamnan, and it
is not impossible that the hermitage here referred to yet exists in
one of the two beehive cells, which is still entire.[261] Here, too, he
tells us that four holy founders of monasteries came from Ireland to
visit Columba, whom they found in Hinba. These were Comgall of
Bangor and Cainnech of Achaboe, the two who had accompanied
him in his first visit to King Brude, Brendan of Clonfert, and that
Cormac for whom, when on a voyage in search of a solitary island in
which to found a hermitage, he asked King Brude to secure the
protection of the ruler of the Orkneys. This meeting must have taken
place before the year 577, when Brendan died. They are termed by
Adamnan ‘founders of monasteries,’ and he probably means here
monasteries in Scotland; for Cormac is not known to have founded
any monastery in Ireland, where he was superior of the monastery
of Durrow, founded by Columba shortly before he began his mission
in Iona; but in Galloway the church of Kirkcormac probably takes its
name from him. The other three had all founded monasteries in
Scotland—Brendan one in Tiree, and another probably in the island
belonging to the Garveloch group, called Culbrandon; Comgall, in
Tiree; while Cainnech founded several monasteries in Scotland. In
his Life he is said to have lived in Heth, or Tiree, where the remains
of a church called Cillchainnech still exist. He was also in Iona,
where the remains of a burying-ground are still called Cillchainnech.
He is also said to have dwelt at the foot of a mountain in the
Drumalban range, referring, no doubt, to the church of
Laggankenney, at the east end of Loch Laggan, and two islands are
mentioned, Ibdone and Eninis, or the ‘island of birds,’ one or other
of which was probably the island now called Inchkenneth, on the
west side of Mull.[262] Adamnan mentions one other island
monastery, that of Elena, of which one of Columba’s twelve
followers, Lugneus Mocumin, became superior—probably Eilean
Naomh on the west coast of Isla; and two monasteries on the
mainland, one called Cella Diuni, of which Cailtan was superior, on
the lake of the river Aba, which is probably Lochawe; and the other
called Kailleauinde, of which Finten was superior, and which may be
Killundine in the old parish of Killintag in Morvern.[263] A few of
Columba’s other foundations in western districts and islands can be
traced by their dedications to him. In the island of Skye, where he is
mentioned by Adamnan as having been twice, in the very
remarkable ruins on an island in a loch now drained, called Loch
Chollumcille, in the north of Skye. Also, on an island in the river of
Snizort, one which was of old called Sanct Colme’s kirk in Snizort;
and one on a small island in the bay of Portree, called Eilean
Columcille.[264] The church in Canna too bore his name. In Morvern
one of the two old parishes was called Cillcholumchille, and within
the limits of Dalriada, on the mainland, were a few churches bearing
the same name.
Monasteries Of churches founded during his life, and no
founded during doubt in connection with him by others, three
St. Columba’s life were sufficiently prominent to be occasionally
by others in the
islands. mentioned in the Irish Annals. The first was that
of Lismore, founded on the long grassy island of
Lismore, lying between the coast of Lorn and that of Morvern, by
Lugadius, or Moluoc, a bishop. He is termed by Angus the Culdee,
under June 25th, ‘Lamluoc the pure, the bright, the pleasant, the
sun of Lismore;’ and the gloss adds, ‘that is, Moluoc of Lismore in
Alban.’ His death is recorded by Tighernac in 592.[265] He is said by
the Breviary of Aberdeen to have been a disciple of Brendan; but it
is more probable that he was attached to Columba, as his pedigree
takes him up to Conall Gulban, the ancestor of Columba and the
founder of the tribe to which he belonged.[266] The name of
Kilmaluog in Lismore still commemorates his church there. The
second of these monasteries is that of Cinngaradh, or Kingarth, a
church in the south end of the island of Bute, which was founded by
Cathan, who also was a bishop. He was of the race of the Irish Picts,
and the contemporary and friend of Comgall and Cainnech;[267] and
from him were named the churches termed Cillchattan. The third
was founded in the island of Egea, or Egg, which, with its strangely-
shaped hill called the Scuir of Egg, can be seen from the north end
of Iona. The founder was Donnan. He is commemorated by Angus
the Culdee in his Felire, on the 17th of April, as ‘Donnan of cold Eig,’
to which the gloss adds, ‘Eig is the name of an island which is in
Alban, and in it is Donnan. This Donnan went to Columcille to make
him his Anmchara, or soul-friend; upon which Columcille said to him,
I shall not be soul-friend to a company of red martyrdom, for thou
shalt come to red martyrdom and thy people with thee; and it was
so fulfilled;’[268] and in his Litany he invokes the ‘fifty-four who
suffered martyrdom with Donnan of Ega.’[269] This would place the
settlement in the island of Egg in the lifetime of Columba, and
probably during the interval between the defeat and death of Gabran
in 560 and the succession of Aidan in 574, when it required no great
gift of prophecy to anticipate such a fate for a Christian
establishment in one of the group of islands which were at the time
the scene of warfare between the two nations, though this fate did
not in fact overtake them till some time after. The churches termed
Cill Donnan were either founded by him or dedicated to him. The
numerous churches in the west Highlands bearing the names of
Cillmaluag, Cillchattan, and Cilldonnan show that these were centres
of missionary work.
Monasteries Of the monasteries which must have been
founded by founded by Columba in the Pictish territories east
Columba and of the Drumalban range Adamnan gives us no
other among the account, nor does he even mention any by name;
northern Picts. but of the foundation of one we have an
instructive account in the Book of Deer, which shows that they
extended as far as the Eastern Sea. The tradition of the foundation
of the churches of Aberdour in Banffshire and of Deer in the district
of Buchan are thus given. ‘Columcille and Drostan, son of Cosgrach,
his pupil, came from Hi, or Iona, as God had shown to them, unto
Abbordoboir, or Aberdour, and Bede the Cruithnech, or Pict, was
Mormaer of Buchan before them; and it was he that gave them that
cathair, or town, in freedom for ever from Mormaer and Toisech.
They came after that to the other town; and it was pleasing to
Columcille, because it was full of God’s grace, and he asked of the
Mormaer—viz., Bede—that he should give it him, and he did not give
it; and a son of his took an illness after refusing the clerics, and he
was nearly dead. Then the Mormaer went to entreat the clerics that
they should make prayer for the son, that health should come to
him, and he gave in offering to them from Cloch in tiprat to Cloch
pette mic Garnait. They made the prayer, and health came to him.
Then Columcille gave to Drostan that cathair, and blessed it, and left
as his word “Whosoever should come against it, let him not be
many-yeared victorious.” Drostan’s tears came on parting with
Columcille. Said Columcille, “Let Dear be its name
[270]
henceforward.”’ In this traditional account preserved by the
monks of Deer, we have a type of the mode in which these
monasteries, or Christian colonies, were settled among the heathen
tribes—the grant of a cathair, or fort, by the head of the tribe, and
its occupation by a colony of clerics,—which is quite in accordance
with what we learn as to the settlements of this monastic church in
Ireland. The church of Rosmarkyn, now Rosemarky, on the northern
shore of the Moray Firth, and that of Muirthillauch, or Mortlach, in
the vale of the Fiddich, were dedicated to Moluog of Lismore, and
were probably founded by him, as was that of Kildonan in
Sutherland, by Donnan.
A.D. 584-597. In 584 an event happened which appears to
Monasteries have opened up an additional field for Columba’s
founded by missionary labour. This was the death of his
Columba among steady friend and supporter King Brude, who died
the southern in that year.[271] Adamnan seems to be at a loss
Picts.
to account for death having been allowed to
overtake King Brude while the powerful intercession of the great
saint might have been exercised on his behalf, and attributes it to
the disappearance of a mysterious crystal which Columba had
blessed, and which, when dipped in water, was believed to impart to
it a curative virtue. It was preserved among the king’s treasures, but
could not be found, though sought for in the place where it was kept
on the day when King Brude died in his palace near the river Ness.
[272]
His successor was Gartnaidh, son of Domelch, who belonged to
the nation of the southern Picts, and appears to have had his royal
seat at Abernethy, on the southern bank of the Tay, near its junction
with the river Earn. The only fact recorded of his reign is that he
built the church of Abernethy two hundred and twenty-five years
and eleven months before the church of Dunkeld was built by King
Constantin.[273] The statement is so specific, that it seems to embody
a fragment of real history contained in some early chronicle, and
places the date of the foundation of Abernethy during the first ten
years of Gartnaidh’s reign. The nation of the southern Picts had, as
we have seen, been converted early in the previous century by
Ninian; and the Pictish Chronicle attributes the foundation of the
church of Abernethy to an early King Nectan, who reigned from 457
to 481; but the Christianity established among them had no
permanence, and they gradually fell off, till hardly even the
semblance of a Christian church remained. What King Gartnaidh did,
therefore, was to found a new monastic church where the earlier
church had been, which, like it, was dedicated to St. Bridget of
Kildare, and this not only took place during Columba’s life, but is, in
the ancient tract called the Amra Columcille, directly attributed to his
preaching, for in alluding to his death it contains this line: ‘For the
teacher is not, who used to teach the tuatha, or tribes, of Toi;’ and
the gloss upon it is, ‘The teacher who used to teach the tribes who
were around Tai. It is the name of a river in Alban;’ and again, ‘He
subdued the mouths of the fierce who were at Toi with the will of
the king,’ which is thus glossed: ‘He subdued the mouths of the
fierce with the Ardrig, or supreme king of Toi; though it was what
they wished—to say evil, so it is a blessing they used to make, ut
fuit Balam.’[274] Gartnaidh is here called the supreme king of Toi, or of
the Tay, and the people whom Columba taught, the tribes about the
Tay, which leaves little doubt that the church of Abernethy on the
banks of the Tay, at this time the chief seat of government, had
been refounded in connection with his mission to the southern Picts.
In this work Columba had also the assistance of his friend Cainnech,
whose Pictish descent would render his aid more effective. Cainnech
appears to have founded a monastery in the east end of the
province of Fife, not far from where the river Eden pours its waters
into the German Ocean at a place called Rig-Monadh, or the royal
mount, which afterwards became celebrated as the site on which the
church of St. Andrews was founded, and as giving to that church its
Gaelic name of Kilrimont. In the notice of Cainnech on 11th October
in the Martyrology of Angus the Culdee, the following gloss is added:
‘And Achadh-bo is his principal church, and he has a Recles, or
monastery, at Cill Rig-monaig in Alban. Once upon a time, when
Cainnech went to visit Finnin, he asked him for a place of residence.
I see no place here now, said Finnin, for others have taken all the
places up before thee. May there be a desert place there, said
Cainnech, that is, in Alban;’[275] and this seems to be alluded to in
the Life of Cainnech when it is said, ‘Afterwards the Irish saints sent
messengers to Cainnech, having learnt that he was living as a hermit
in Britain; and Cainnech was then brought from his hermitage
against his will.’[276] The churches dedicated to Moluog, to Drostan,
to Machut the pupil of Brendan, and to Cathan, and the church
founded at Dunblane by Blaan of Cinngaradh, the son of King Aidan
and nephew of Cathan,[277] show the spread of the Columban Church
in the territory of the southern Picts.
Visit of Saint In the latter years of his life we find Columba
Columba to residing for a few months in the midland part of
Ireland. Ireland, and visiting the brethren who dwelt in
the celebrated monastery of Clonmacnois. His reception there shows
the estimation in which he was now held. ‘As soon as it was known
that he was near, all flocked from their little grange farms near the
monastery, and, along with those who were within it, ranged
themselves with enthusiasm under the Abbot Alither; then,
advancing beyond the enclosure of the monastery, they went out as
one man to meet Columba, as if he were an angel of the Lord;
humbly bowing down, with their faces to the ground, in his
presence, they kissed him most reverently, and, singing hymns of
praise as they went, they conducted him with all honour to the
church. Over the saint, as he walked, a canopy made of wood was
supported by four men walking by his side, lest the holy abbot
Columba should be troubled by the crowd of brethren pressing upon
him.’[278] In 593 Columba completed thirty years of his missionary
work in Britain, and this seems to have given him a foreboding of his
coming end;[279] but he survived four years longer, and then his
thirty-four years’ pilgrimage in Britain was brought to its close with
his life.
Last day of his The touching narrative which both his
life. biographers, Cummene and Adamnan, give of his
last days has been often quoted; but it presents such a charming
picture of what his life in the island was, that it may well be
repeated here. In the year 597 Columba had reached his seventy-
seventh year, and towards the end of May in that year, says
Cummene, the man of God, worn with age and carried in a car, goes
to visit the working brethren, who were, adds Adamnan, then at
work on the western side of the island, and addresses them, saying,
‘During the Paschal solemnities in the month of April just past I
could have desired to depart to Christ, but lest a joyous festival
should be turned for you into mourning my departure has been
deferred,’ Hearing these words, the brethren, or, as Adamnan calls
them, the beloved monks, were greatly afflicted. The man of God,
however, as he sat in his car, turned his face towards the east and
blessed the island with its insular inhabitants. After the words of
blessing, the saint was carried back to his monastery. On Sunday the
second of June we find him celebrating the solemn offices of the
eucharist, when, as his eyes were raised to heaven, the brethren
observed a sudden expression of rapture on his face, which he
explained to them was caused by his seeming to see an angel of the
Lord looking down upon them within the church and blessing it, and
who, he believed, had been sent on account of the death of some
one dear to God, or, as Adamnan expresses it, ‘to demand a deposit
dear to God, by which he understood was meant his own soul, as a
deposit intrusted to him by God.’
Columba seems to have had a presentiment that the following
Saturday would be his last day on earth, for, having called his
attendant Diormet, he solemnly addressed him—‘This day is called in
the sacred Scriptures the Sabbath, a day of rest; and truly to me this
day will be a day of rest, for it is the last of my life, and in it I shall
enter into my rest after the fatigues of my labours; and this night
preceding Sunday I shall go the way of my fathers, for Christ already
calls me, and thus it is revealed to me.’ These words saddened his
attendant, but the father consoled him. Such is Cummene’s short
narrative. Adamnan, who amplifies it, states that Columba had gone
with his attendant Diormet to bless the nearest barn, which was
probably situated close to the mill and not far from the present
ruins. When the saint entered it, he blessed it and two heaps of
winnowed corn that were in it, and gave thanks in these words,
saying, ‘I heartily congratulate my beloved monks that this year also,
if I am obliged to depart from you, you will have a sufficient supply
for the year.’ According to Adamnan, it was in answer to a remark
which this called forth from his attendant that he made the
revelation to him, which he made him promise on his bended knees
that he would not reveal to any one before his death. Adamnan then
introduces after it the incident that Columba, in going back to the
monastery from the barn, rested half-way at a place where a cross
which was afterwards erected, and was standing to his day fixed into
a millstone, might be observed at the side of the road; and there
came to him a white pack-horse, the same that used, as a willing
servant, to carry the milk vessels from the cowshed to the
monastery. It came up to the saint, and, strange to say, laid its head
on his bosom and began to utter plaintive cries and, like a human
being, to shed copious tears on the saint’s bosom, foaming and
greatly wailing. The attendant, seeing this, began to drive the
weeping mourner away; but the saint forbade him, saying, ‘Let it
alone, as it is so fond of me—let it pour out its bitter grief into my
bosom. Lo! thou, as thou art a man and hast a rational soul, canst
know nothing of my departure hence, except what I myself have just
told you, but to this brute beast devoid of reason the Creator himself
hath evidently in some way made it known that its master is going
to leave it;’ and saying this the saint blessed the work-horse, which
turned away from him in sadness.
According to both Cummene and Adamnan, he then went out,
and, ascending the hillock which overhangs the monastery,[280] he
stood for some little time on its summit, and, uplifting his hands, he
blessed his monastery; and, looking at its present position and
future prospects, he uttered a prophecy, the terms of which
Adamnan alone adds: ‘Small and mean though this place is, yet it
shall be held in great and unusual honour, not only by the kings of
the Scots with their people, but also by the rulers of foreign and
barbarous nations and by their subjects; the saints also of other
churches even shall regard it with no common reverence.’ After this,
both biographers tell us, descending from the hill and returning to
the monastery, he sat in his cell and transcribed the Psalter. When
he came to that verse of the thirty-third Psalm (the thirty-fourth of
our version) where it is written, ‘They that seek the Lord shall want
no manner of thing that is good.’—‘Here,’ he said, ‘I think I can write
no more: let Baithen write what follows.’ Having thus written the
verse at the end of the page, he entered the holy church in order to
celebrate the nocturnal vigils of the Lord’s Day; and, as soon as they
were over, he returned to his cell and spent the rest of the night on
his bed, where he had for his couch the bare ground, or, as
Adamnan says, a bare flag, and for his pillow a stone. While reclining
there, he commended his last words to his sons, or, as Adamnan
says, to the brethren. ‘Have peace always and unfeigned charity
among yourselves. The Lord, the Comforter of the good, will be your
helper; and I, abiding with Him, will intercede for you that He may
provide for you good things both temporal and eternal.’ Having said
these words, St. Columba became silent. Then, as soon as the bell
rang at midnight, rising hastily, he went to the church, and, running
more quickly than the rest, he entered alone and knelt down in
prayer beside the altar. Diormet, his attendant, however, following
more slowly, saw from a distance the whole interior of the church
filled at the same moment with a heavenly light; but, when he drew
near to the door, the same light, which had also been seen by some
of the brethren, quickly disappeared. Diormet, however, entering the
church, cried out in a mournful voice, ‘Where art thou, father?’ and,
feeling his way in the darkness, the lights not having yet been
brought in by the brethren, he found the saint lying before the altar;
and raising him up a little, and sitting down beside him, he laid his
holy head on his bosom. Meantime the rest of the brethren ran in,
and, beholding their father dying, whom living they so loved, they
burst into lamentations. The saint, however, his soul having not yet
departed, opened wide his eyes and looked around him from side to
side as if seeing the holy angels coming to meet him. Diormet then,
raising his right hand, urged him to bless the brethren; but the holy
father himself moved his hand at the same time as well as he was
able, and, having thus signified to them his holy benediction, he
immediately breathed his last. His face still remained ruddy and
brightened in a wonderful way from the heavenly vision: so that he
had the appearance not so much of one dead as of one that
sleepeth.’[281]
‘In the meantime,’ as both biographers inform us, ‘after the
departure of his saintly soul, the matin hymns being finished, his
sacred body was carried, the brethren chanting psalms, from the
church to his cell, where his obsequies were celebrated with all due
honour for three days and as many nights; and when these praises
of God were finished, his holy body, wrapped in fine clean linen
cloths’ and, Adamnan adds, placed in a coffin, or tomb,[282] prepared
for it, was buried with all due veneration. The stone which St.
Columba had used as a pillow was placed, as a kind of monument,
at his grave, where it still stood in Adamnan’s day. His obsequies,
which lasted three days and nights, were confined to the inhabitants
of the island alone; for there arose a storm of wind without rain,
which blew so violently during the whole time that no one could
cross the sound in his boat;[283] but immediately after the interment
the wind ceased and the storm was quelled, so that the whole sea
became calm.
Character of St. Columba died on Sunday morning the 9th of
Columba. June in the year 597,[284] and left behind him an
imperishable memory in the affections and veneration of the people
whom he first brought over to the Christian faith. It is unfortunately
the fate of all such men who stand out prominently from among
their fellows and put their stamp upon the age in which they lived,
that, as the true character of their sayings and doings fades from
men’s minds, they become more and more the subject of spurious
traditions, and the popular mind invests them with attributes to
which they have no claim. When these loose popular traditions and
conceptions are collected and become imbedded in a systematic
biography, the evil becomes irreparable, and it is no longer possible
to separate in popular estimation the true from the spurious. This
has been peculiarly the case with Columba, and has led to a very
false estimate of his character. It has been thus drawn by a great
writer, in language at least of much eloquence:—‘He was vindictive,
passionate, bold, a man of strife, born a soldier rather than a monk,
and known, praised and blamed as a soldier—so that even in his
lifetime he was invoked in fight; and continued a soldier, insulanus
miles, even upon the island rock from which he rushed forth to
preach, convert, enlighten, reconcile and reprimand both princes and
nations, men and women, laymen and clerks. He was at the same
time full of contradictions and contrasts—at once tender and
irritable, rude and courteous, ironical and compassionate, caressing
and imperious, grateful and revengeful—led by pity as well as by
wrath, ever moved by generous passions, and among all passions
fired to the very end of his life by two which his countrymen
understand the best, the love of poetry and the love of country.
Little inclined to melancholy when he had once surmounted the
great sorrow of his life, which was his exile; little disposed, save
towards the end, to contemplation or solitude, but trained by prayer
and austerities to triumphs of evangelical exposition; despising rest,
untiring in mental and manual toil, born for eloquence, and gifted
with a voice so penetrating and sonorous that it was thought of
afterwards as one of the most miraculous gifts that he had received
of God; frank and loyal, original and powerful in his words as in his
actions—in cloister and mission and parliament, on land and on sea,
in Ireland as in Scotland, always swayed by the love of God and of
his neighbour, whom it was his will and pleasure to serve with an
impassioned uprightness. Such was Columba.’[285] Or rather, such is
the Columba of popular tradition, described in the beautiful and
forcible language of his most eloquent biographer; but much of this
character is based upon very questionable statements, and, as the
facts which appear to sanction it do not stand the test of critical
examination, so the harder features of his character disappear in the
earlier estimates of it. Adamnan says of him, ‘From his boyhood he
had been brought up in Christian training, in the study of wisdom,
and by the grace of God had so preserved the integrity of his body
and the purity of his soul, that, though dwelling on earth, he
appeared to live like the saints in heaven. For he was angelic in
appearance, graceful in speech, holy in work, with talents of the
highest order and consummate prudence; he lived during thirty-four
years an island soldier. He never could spend the space even of one
hour without study, or prayer, or writing, or some other holy
occupation. So incessantly was he engaged night and day in the
unwearied exercise of fasting and watching, that the burden of each
of these austerities would seem beyond the power of all human
endurance. And still, in all these, he was beloved by all; for a holy
joy ever beaming on his face revealed the joy and gladness with
which the Holy Spirit filled his inmost soul.’[286]
Dallan Forgaill, in the ancient tract called the Amra Choluimchille,
speaks of him in the same strain. He describes his people mourning
him who was ‘their souls’ light, their learned one—their chief from
right—who was God’s messenger—who dispelled fears from them—
who used to explain the truth of words—a harp without a base
chord;—a perfect sage who believed Christ—he was learned, he was
chaste—he was charitable—he was an abounding benefit of guests—
he was eager—he was noble—he was gentle—he was the physician
of the heart of every sage—he was to persons inscrutable—he was a
shelter to the naked—he was a consolation to the poor;—there went
not from the world one who was more continual for the
remembrance of the cross.’[287] There is no trace here of those darker
features of vindictiveness, love of fighting, and the remorse caused
by its indulgence; nor do the events of his life, as we find them
rather hinted at than narrated, bear out such an estimate of it. He
was evidently a man of great force of character and determined zeal
in effecting his purpose—one of those master-minds which influence
and sway others by the mere force of contact; but he could not have
been the object of such tender love and implicit devotion from all
who came under the sphere of his influence, if the softer and more
amiable features pictured in these earlier descriptions of him had not
predominated in his character.
Three peculiarities he had, which led afterwards to a belief in his
miraculous powers. One was his sonorous voice. Dallan Forgaill tells
us

The sound of his voice, Columcille’s,

Great its sweetness above every company;
To the end of fifteen hundred paces—
Vast courses—it was clear.[288]

Adamnan includes this among his miraculous gifts, and adds that to
those who were with him in the church his voice did not seem louder
than that of others; and yet, at the same time, persons more than a
mile away heard it so distinctly that they could mark each syllable of
the verses he was singing, for his voice sounded the same whether
far or near! He gives us another instance of it. Columba was
chanting the evening hymns with a few of his brethren, as usual,
near King Brude’s fortress, and outside the king’s fortifications, when
some ‘Magi,’ coming near to them, did all they could to prevent
God’s praises being sung in the midst of a pagan nation. On seeing
this, the saint began to sing the 44th Psalm; and, at the same
moment, so wonderfully loud, like pealing thunder, did his voice
become, that king and people were struck with terror and
amazement.[289] Another trait, which was ascribed to prophetic
power, was his remarkable observation of natural objects and skill in
interpreting the signs of the weather in these western regions.
Dallan Forgaill says: ‘Seasons and storms he perceived, that is, he
used to understand when calm and storm would come—he
harmonised the moon’s cocircle in regard to course—he perceived its
race with the branching sun—and sea course, that is, he was skilful
in the course of the sea—he would count the stars of heaven.’[290]
When Adamnan tells us that Baithene and Columban asked him to
obtain from the Lord a favourable wind on the next day, though they
were to sail in different directions, and how he promised a south
wind to Baithene next morning till he reached Tiree, and told
Columban to set out for Ireland at the third hour of the same day,
‘for the Lord will soon change the wind to the north,’[291] it required
no more than great skill in interpreting natural signs to foretell a
south wind in the morning and the return breeze three hours after.
The third quality was a remarkable sagacity in forecasting probable
events, and a keen insight into character and motives. How tales
handed down of the exercise of such qualities should by degrees
come to be held as proofs of miraculous and prophetic power, it is
not difficult to understand.
Primacy of Iona After Columba’s death, the monastery of Iona
and successors of appears to have been the acknowledged head of
St. Columba. all the monasteries and churches which his
mission had established in Scotland, as well as of those previously
founded by him in Ireland. To use the words of Bede, ‘This
monastery for a long time held the pre-eminence over most of those
of the northern Scots, and all those of the Picts, and had the
direction of their people,’[292] a position to which it was entitled, as
the mother church, from its possession of the body of the patron
saint.[293] Of the subsequent abbots of Iona who succeeded Columba
in this position of pre-eminency, Bede tells us that, ‘whatever kind of
person he was himself, this we know of him for certain, that he left
successors distinguished for their great charity, divine love and strict
attention to their rules of discipline; following, indeed, uncertain
cycles in their computation of the great festival (of Easter), because,
far away as they were out of the world, no one had supplied them
with the synodal decrees relating to the Paschal observance; yet
withal diligently observing such works of piety and charity as they
could find in the Prophetic, Evangelic and Apostolic writings.’[294]
A.D. 597-599. According to the law which regulated the
Baithene, son of succession to the abbacy in these Irish
Brendan. monasteries, it fell to the tribe of the patron saint
to provide a successor; and Baithene, the cousin and confidential
friend and associate of Columba, and superior of his monastery of
Maigh Lunge in Tiree, who was also of the northern Hy Neill, and a
descendant of Conall Gulban, became his successor, ‘for,’ says the
Martyrology of Donegal, ‘it was from the men of Erin the abbot of I
was chosen, and he was most frequently chosen from the men of
Cinel Conaill.’ He appears to have been designated by Columba
himself as his successor, and to have been at once acknowledged by
the other Columban monasteries; for Adamnan tells us that Finten,
the son of Tailchen, had resolved to leave Ireland and go to Columba
in Iona. ‘Burning with that desire,’ says Adamnan, ‘he went to an old
friend, the most prudent and venerable cleric in his country, who
was called in the Scotic tongue Columb Crag, to get some sound
advice from him. When he had laid open his mind to him, he
received the following answer: “As thy devout wish is, I feel, inspired
by God, who can presume to say that thou shouldst not cross the
sea to Saint Columba?” At the same moment two monks of Columba
happened to arrive; and when they remarked about their journey,
they replied, “We have lately come across from Britain, and to-day
we have come from Daire Calgaich,” or Derry. “Is he well,” says
Columb Crag, “your holy father Columba?” Then they burst into
tears, and answered, with great sorrow, “Our patron is indeed well,
for a few days ago he departed to Christ.” Hearing this, Finten and
Columb and all who were there present fell on their faces on the
ground and wept bitterly. Finten then asked, “Whom did he leave as
his successor?” “Baithene, his disciple,” they replied. And we all cried
out, “It is meet and right.” Columb said to Finten, “What wilt thou do
now, Finten?” He answered, “With God’s permission, I will sail over
to Baithene, that wise and holy man; and if he receive me, I will
take him as my abbot.”’[295] Baithene enjoyed the abbacy, however,
for two years only, and died in the year 599, on the same day of the
year as Saint Columba, on which day his festival was likewise held.
[296]

A.D.599-605. His successor was Laisren, son of Feradhach,

Laisren, son of who was also a descendant of Conall Gulban, and
Feradhach. had been superior of Durrow during Columba’s
life. It was in his time that the discussion commenced between the
Roman and the Irish Church regarding the proper time for keeping
Easter. The mission of Columbanus to Gaul in the year 590, and that
of Augustine to Britain in 597, had now brought the Roman Church
in contact with the British and Irish Churches, and this—the most
salient point of difference between them—became at once the
subject of a contest for the enforcement of uniformity on the one
part, and the maintenance of their ancient customs, to which the
Celtic mind clings with peculiar tenacity, on the other. Augustine, on
his death in 604, was succeeded by one of his companions, named
Laurentius; and this prelate, Bede tells us, ‘did not only attend to the
charge of the new church that was gathered from the English
people, but also regarded with pastoral solicitude the old natives of
Britain, and likewise the people of the Scots who inhabit the island
of Ireland adjacent to Britain. For observing that the practice and
sentiments of the Scots in their own country, and also those of the
Britons in Britain itself, were contrary to church order in many
things, particularly because they used not to celebrate the solemnity
of Easter at the proper time, but supposed, as we have shown
above, that the day to be observed in commemoration of the Lord’s
resurrection was included in the week from the fourteenth to the
twentieth day of the moon, he, in conjunction with his fellow-
bishops, wrote them a letter of exhortation, beseeching and
entreating them to keep the bond of peace and Catholic observances
with that church of Christ which is extended all over the world. The
beginning of his letter is here given: “To our lords and most dear
brethren the bishops or abbots throughout all Scotia (or Ireland),
Laurentius, Mellitus and Justus, bishops, the servants of the servants
of God. When the Apostolic See, according to her practice in all the
world, stationed us in these western parts to preach to the pagan
nations here, and so it came to pass that we entered into this island
which is called Britain, before we were acquainted with it, supposing
that they walked in the ways of the universal church, we felt a very
high respect for the Britons as well as the Scots, from our regard to
their sanctity of character; but when we came to know the Britons,
we supposed the Scots must be superior to them. However, we have
learned from Bishop Daganus coming into this island and Abbot
Columbanus coming into Gaul, that the Scots differ not at all from
the Britons in their habits. For Bishop Daganus, when he came to us,
would not take meat with us, no, not so much as in the same
lodging where we were eating.”’[297] This letter does not appear to
have had any effect; but it shows the spirit in which the two
churches came into contact with each other.
A.D. 605-623. Laisren died in the following year.[298] His
Fergna Brit, son successor was Fergna Brit, or the Briton. From
of Failbhe. what he derived this epithet it is impossible to
say, for certain it is that he also was of the tribe of the patron saint
and a descendant of Conall Gulban. He had apparently been a pupil
in the monastery of Iona during Columba’s life, and Adamnan
mentions him as Virgnous—the Latin form of Fergna—‘a youth of
good disposition, and afterwards made by God superior of this
church in which I, though unworthy, now serve.’[299] In his time we
again hear of two of the three great island monasteries which are
specially mentioned in the Irish Annals. In 611 Tighernac records the
death of Neman, bishop of Lismore; and in 617 of Donnan of Egg
having been burnt on the fifteenth day before the kalends of May, or
17th April, with his martyr clerics.[300] The tale of their martyrdom is
thus told in the gloss upon the Martyrology of Angus the Culdee
already quoted. It says, ‘Donnan then went with his muintir, or
monastic family, to the Gallgaedalu, or Western Isles, and they took
up their abode there, in a place where the sheep of the queen of the
country were kept. This was told to the queen. Let them all be killed,
said she. That would not be a religious act, said her people. But they
were murderously assailed. At this time the cleric was at mass. Let
us have respite till mass is ended, said Donnan. Thou shalt have it,
said they. And when it was over, they were slain every one of them,’
The Calendar of Marian Gorman has the following commemoration:
‘Donnan the great with his monks. Fifty-two were his congregation.
There came pirates of the sea to the island in which they were, and
slew them all. Eig is the name of that island.’[301] The island of Egg is
the most easterly of a group of islands lying between the
promontory of Ardnamurchan and the island of Skye. It faces a wild
and rugged district on the mainland, extending from Ardnamurchan
to Glenelg, still known by the name of the Garbhcriochan, or rough
bounds. The Christian religion appears to have as yet hardly
penetrated the western districts north of Ardnamurchan, as is
indicated by the dedications of their churches. The island of Egg was
probably at this time connected with this district as a pasture island
reserved for their flocks of sheep; and, while the people would seem
to have been favourable to the little Christian colony established in
the island by Donnan, the rule had passed into the hands of a queen
who was still pagan and employed pirates to destroy them, who
burnt the wooden church in which they were celebrating the
eucharist, and the whole community accordingly perished. We have
also at this time a slight trace of the Columban Church in the eastern
districts of the northern Picts in the Irish Annals, which record in 616
the death of Tolorggain or Talarican, who is associated in the Scotch
Calendars with the Church of Fordyce on the south shore of the
Moray Firth, and who gives his name to the great district of
Cilltalargyn, or Kiltarlity, in the district of the Aird, extending from
the river Ness to the bounds of Ross-shire.[302]
The only other event which took place while Fergna Brit was abbot
was one which was destined to lead to a great extension of the
Columban Church. In the year 617 there arrived at Iona some young
and noble Angles of Bernicia. They were the sons of Aidilfrid, king of
Bernicia, who, while still pagan, as were his people, had been slain
by Aeduin, king of Deira. Bede tells us that his sons, with many of
the youth of the nobility, took refuge among the Scots or Picts,
where they lived in banishment during the whole of Aeduin’s reign,
‘and,’ says Bede, ‘were there catechised according to the doctrine of
the Scots, and regenerated by the grace of baptism.’[303] Many of
them were no doubt sent to the monastery of Iona to receive this
catechetical instruction, and among them was certainly Osuald, the
second son of Aidilfrid, who was at that time about thirteen years
old, and who, we are expressly told, with his followers had, ‘when in
banishment, received the sacraments of baptism among the seniors
of the Scots,’ by whom those of the monastery of Iona are meant.
He appears to have remained there during the rest of Fergna’s
tenure of the abbacy, and the first ten years of that of his successor.
A.D. 623-652. Fergna died in the year 623,[304] and was
Segine, son of succeeded by Segine, son of Fiachna and nephew
Fiachna. of Laisren the third abbot, who of course also
belonged to the tribe of the patron saint, the race of Conall Gulban.
The presidency of Segine over the family of Iona was chiefly
remarkable for two great events in two opposite directions. One was
the extension of the Columban Church into the Anglic kingdom of
Northumbria; the other, that a large section of the Irish Church
conformed to Rome: and both events appear to have taken place at
the same time.
A.D. 634. At the time that the sons of Aidilfrid fled from
Extension of the face of King Aeduin, the latter and his people
Columban Church were still pagans; but the king having married
to Northumbria.
the daughter of the Christian king of Kent, in the
eleventh year of his reign he was converted to Christianity by the
preaching of Paulinus, who had been ordained bishop by Archbishop
Justus of Canterbury, and accompanied the queen to York. Aeduin
was baptized at York on Easter Sunday in the year 627, ‘in the
church of Saint Peter the apostle, which he himself had there built of
timber whilst he was being catechised and instructed in order to
receive baptism. In that city also he appointed the see for the
bishopric of his instructor and bishop, Paulinus.’[305] The people of
the two provinces of Bernicia and Deira followed their king, and
ostensibly embraced Christianity. As soon as the news reached Rome
that the nation of the Northumbrians with their king had been, by
the preaching of Paulinus, converted to the faith of Christ, Honorius
I., who was at that time Pope, sent the ‘pallium’ to Paulinus, and at
the same time wrote letters of exhortation to King Aeduin, exhorting
him with fatherly charity that his people should persist in and profess
the faith of truth which they had received.[306] When this letter
reached York, King Aeduin had been slain, the heathen Penda of
Mercia and the apostate Caedwalla of Wales were in possession of
the country, the infant Christian Church was trampled under foot,
and Paulinus, with his ‘pallium,’ had fled back to Kent. After a year, in
which the land had been given up to paganism, Osuald, who was
now thirty years old, and to whom the right to the Anglic throne had
opened by the death of his brother Ainfrid, invaded Northumbria,
and won his kingdom by the battle of the Heavenly Field, at
Denisburn, near Hexham. His first object was to restore the Christian
Church which had been swept away; and for this purpose he
naturally turned to the church where he himself had been trained in
the Christian faith. As Bede tells us, ‘He sent to the seniors of the
Scots, among whom himself and his fellow-soldiers, when in
banishment, had received the sacrament of baptism, desiring they
would send him a bishop, by whose instructions and ministry the
Anglic nation which he governed might be taught the advantages of
faith in the Lord and receive its sacraments. Nor were they slow in
granting his request, but sent him Bishop Aidan, a man of singular
meekness, piety and moderation.’[307] Bede further tells us that ‘it is
reported that when King Osuald had asked a bishop of the province
of the Scots to minister the word of faith to him and his nation,
there was first sent another man of more austere disposition, who,
after preaching for some time to the nation of the Angles and
meeting with no success, and being disregarded by the Anglic
people, returned home, and in an assembly of the seniors reported
that he had not been able to do any good in instructing that nation
he had been sent to preach to, because they were untameable men,
and of a stubborn and barbarous disposition. They, as is testified, in
a great council seriously debated what was to be done, being
desirous of the good of the nation in the matter which it demanded,
and grieving that they had not received the preacher sent to them.
Then said Aidan, who was also present in the council, to the priest
then spoken of, “I am of opinion, brother, that you were more severe
to your unlearned hearers than you ought to have been, and did not
at first, conformably to the apostolic discipline, give them the milk of
more gentle doctrine, till, being by degrees nourished with the Word
of God, they should be capable of greater perfection, and be able to
practise God’s sublimer precepts.” Having heard these words, all who
sat with him, turning on him their eyes, began diligently to weigh
what he had said, and presently concluded that he deserved to be
made a bishop, and ought to be sent to instruct the unbelievers and
unlearned, since he was found to be endowed with the grace of a
singular discretion, which is the mother of other virtues; and
accordingly, being ordained, they sent him to preach.’[308] Bede adds
that ‘most of those that had come to preach were monks, and that
Bishop Aidan was himself a monk of the island called Hii, whose
monastery for a long time held the pre-eminence over almost all
those of the northern Scots, and all those of the Picts;’ and again,
‘that from the aforesaid island, and from this college of monks, was
Aidan sent to instruct the province of the Angles in Christ, having
received the episcopal grade. At this time Segine, abbot and priest,
presided over that monastery.’ There can therefore be little doubt
that the great council was held in Iona under the presidency of
Abbot Segine; and it would almost appear that he himself had gone
personally to Northumbria on the failure of the first mission, as
Adamnan refers to a conversation which he says Abbot Failbe
solemnly declared that he himself heard between King Osuald and
Abbot Segine after the battle of the Heavenly Field had been fought.
[309]

As the first missionary sent had been a priest, and the result of
Aidan’s interposition was that all declared him worthy of the
episcopate, there can be little doubt that, as we have already had
occasion to show, the distinction of the orders and the superiority of
the episcopal grade were fully recognised. By the custom of the
Scottish Church, only one bishop was necessary for the consecration
of another bishop. That there were bishops in the Columban Church
we know, for Bede tells us that ‘all the province, and even the
bishops, were subject to the abbot of Iona;’ and, as we have seen,
two of the monasteries subject to Iona—Lismore and Cinngaradh, or
Kingarth—had episcopal heads. There may have been an especial
reason why it should be better that Aidan should have episcopal
orders, which did not exist in the case of the Columban monasteries;
for, as the head of a remote church, he might have to ordain priests
from among his Anglic converts; while the Columban Church had
Ireland at its back as a great storehouse of clerics, both bishops and
priests. When, therefore, it is said that he received the episcopal
grade, no doubt a bishop had been called in to consecrate him. But
though he was thus enabled to exercise episcopal functions, in other
respects the organisation of the church thus introduced into
Northumbria, both with respect to jurisdiction and to its monastic
character, was the same as that of the Columban Church at home;
for, instead of fixing his episcopal seat at York, he followed the
custom of the monastic church by selecting a small island near the
Northumbrian coast, bearing the Celtic name of Inis Metcaud,[310] but
known to the Angles as Lindisfarne, as the site of his monastery,
which he was to rule as episcopal abbot. Bede tells us that, ‘on the
arrival of the bishop, the king appointed him his episcopal see in the
isle of Lindisfarne, as he himself desired; which place, as the tide
flows and ebbs, twice a day is enclosed by the waves of the sea like
an island, and again, twice in the day, when the shore is left dry,
becomes contiguous to the land,’—a very apt description of the
island, which is now called Holy Island; and Bede adds, in his Life of
Cudberct, ‘And let no man marvel that in this same island of
Lindisfarne, which is of very small extent, there should be, as we
mentioned above, the seat of a bishop, and, at the same time, as we
now state, the residence of an abbot and monks. For so it is, in
truth. For one and the same habitation of the servants of God
contains both at the same time. Yea, all whom it contains are
monks; for Aidan, who was the first bishop of this place, was a
monk, and was always wont to lead a monastic life, with all his
people. Hence, after him, all the bishops of that place until this day
exercise the episcopal functions in such sort, that, while the abbot,
who is chosen by the bishop with the consent of the brethren,
governs the monastery, all the priests, deacons, chanters, readers
and the other ecclesiastical orders, with the bishop himself, observe
in all things the monastic rule.’[311] This Northumbrian church was
therefore an exact counterpart of the monastic church of which Iona
was the head; and Bede bears a noble testimony to its efficiency as