Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Footnotes

1. al-Amali, as-Sadūq

2. al-`Ayyashi

3. al-`Ayyashi

4. at-Tafsīr, Furat ibn Ibrahīm

5. al-Khisal

6. al-Khisal

7. al-Khisal

8. al-Kafī

9. at-Tafsīr, Furat ibn Ibrahīm

10. at-Tawhīd

11. al-Khisal

12. Muslim

13. al-Amalī, as-Sadūq

Suratul Baqarah: Verses 49-61

(٤٩) وَإِذْ نَجَّيْنَاكُم مِّنْ آلِ فِرْعَوْنَ يَسُومُونَكُمْ سُوَءَ الْعَذَابِ يُذَبِّحُونَ أَبْنَاءكُمْ وَيَسْتَحْيُونَ نِسَاءكُمْ وَفِي ذَلِكُم بَلاء مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ عَظِيمٌ

(٥٠) وَإِذْ فَرَقْنَا بِكُمُ الْبَحْرَ فَأَنجَيْنَاكُمْ وَأَغْرَقْنَا آلَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَأَنتُمْ تَنظُرُونَ

(٥١) وَإِذْ وَاعَدْنَا مُوسَى أَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلَةً ثُمَّ اتَّخَذْتُمُ الْعِجْلَ مِن بَعْدِهِ وَأَنتُمْ ظَالِمُونَ

(٥٢) ثُمَّ عَفَوْنَا عَنكُمِ مِّن بَعْدِ ذَلِكَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

(٥٣) وَإِذْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ وَالْفُرْقَانَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ

(٥٤) وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَى لِقَوْمِهِ يَا قَوْمِ إِنَّكُمْ ظَلَمْتُمْ أَنفُسَكُمْ بِاتِّخَاذِكُمُ الْعِجْلَ فَتُوبُواْ إِلَى بَارِئِكُمْ فَاقْتُلُواْ أَنفُسَكُمْ ذَلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ عِندَ بَارِئِكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ

(٥٥) وَإِذْ قُلْتُمْ يَا مُوسَى لَن نُّؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّى نَرَى اللَّهَ جَهْرَةً فَأَخَذَتْكُمُ الصَّاعِقَةُ وَأَنتُمْ تَنظُرُونَ

(٥٦) ثُمَّ بَعَثْنَاكُم مِّن بَعْدِ مَوْتِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

(٥٧) وَظَلَّلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْغَمَامَ وَأَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَنَّ وَالسَّلْوَى كُلُواْ مِن طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ وَمَا ظَلَمُونَا وَلَـكِن كَانُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ

(٥٨) وَإِذْ قُلْنَا ادْخُلُواْ هَـذِهِ الْقَرْيَةَ فَكُلُواْ مِنْهَا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمْ رَغَداً وَادْخُلُواْ الْبَابَ سُجَّداً وَقُولُواْ حِطَّةٌ نَّغْفِرْ لَكُمْ خَطَايَاكُمْ وَسَنَزِيدُ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

(٥٩) فَبَدَّلَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ قَوْلاً غَيْرَ الَّذِي قِيلَ لَهُمْ فَأَنزَلْنَا عَلَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ رِجْزاً مِّنَ السَّمَاء بِمَا كَانُواْ يَفْسُقُونَ

(٦٠) وَإِذِ اسْتَسْقَى مُوسَى لِقَوْمِهِ فَقُلْنَا اضْرِب بِّعَصَاكَ الْحَجَرَ فَانفَجَرَتْ مِنْهُ اثْنَتَا عَشْرَةَ عَيْناً قَدْ عَلِمَ كُلُّ أُنَاسٍ مَّشْرَبَهُمْ كُلُواْ وَاشْرَبُواْ مِن رِّزْقِ اللَّهِ وَلاَ تَعْثَوْاْ فِي الأَرْضِ مُفْسِدِينَ

(٦١) وَإِذْ قُلْتُمْ يَا مُوسَى لَن نَّصْبِرَ عَلَىَ طَعَامٍ وَاحِدٍ فَادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُخْرِجْ لَنَا مِمَّا تُنبِتُ الأَرْضُ مِن بَقْلِهَا وَقِثَّآئِهَا وَفُومِهَا وَعَدَسِهَا وَبَصَلِهَا قَالَ أَتَسْتَبْدِلُونَ الَّذِي هُوَ أَدْنَى بِالَّذِي هُوَ خَيْرٌ اهْبِطُواْ مِصْراً فَإِنَّ لَكُم مَّا سَأَلْتُمْ وَضُرِبَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الذِّلَّةُ وَالْمَسْكَنَةُ وَبَآؤُوْاْ بِغَضَبٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَانُواْ يَكْفُرُونَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ وَيَقْتُلُونَ النَّبِيِّينَ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ ذَلِكَ بِمَا عَصَواْ وَّكَانُواْ يَعْتَدُونَ

And when We delivered you from Pharaoh's people, who subjected you to severe torment, killing your sons and sparing your women, and in this there was a great trial from your Lord (49).

And when We parted the sea for you, so We saved you and drowned the followers of Pharaoh while you watched by (50).

And when We appointed (a time of) forty nights with Mūsa, then you took the calf (for a god) after him and you were unjust (51) ;

then We pardoned you after that so that you might give thanks (52).

And when We gave Mūsa the book and the distinction that you might walk aright (53).

And when Mūsa said to his people: “O my peo­ple! you have surely been unjust to yourselves by taking the calf (for a god), therefore turn to your Creator (penitently) and kill your people, that is best for you with your Creator; so He turned to you (mercifully),for surely He is the Oft­returning (with mercy), the Merciful” (54).

And when you said: “O Mūsa! we will not believe in you until we see Allah manifestly, ” so the punishment overtook you while you looked on (55);

then We raised you up after your death that you may give thanks (56).

And We made the clouds to give shade over you and We sent to you manna and quails: Eat of good things that We have given you; and they did not do Us any harm, but they did harm their own selves (57).

And when We said: “Enter this city, then eat from it a plen­teous (food)wherever you wish, and enter the gate making obeisance, and say, forgiveness, We will forgive you your wrongs and give more to those who do good (to others) (58).

But those who were unjust changed it for a saying other than that which had been spoken to them, so We sent up­on those who were unjust a pestilence from heaven, be­cause they transgressed (59).

And when Mūsa prayed for drink for his people, We said: “Strike the rock with your staff.” So there gushed from it twelve springs; each tribe knew its drinking place: “Eat and drink of the provisions of Allah and do not act corruptly in the land, making mis­chief” (60).

And when you said: “O Mūsa! we cannot bear with one food, therefore pray to your Lord on our behalf to bring forth for us out of what the earth grows, of its herbs and its cucumbers and its garlic and its lentils and its onions. He said: “Will you exchange that which is better for that which is worse? Enter a city, so you will have what you ask for. ” And abasement and humiliation were brought down upon them and they returned with Allah's wrath; this was so because they disbelieved in the signs of Allah and killed the prophets unjustly; this was so because they disobeyed and exceeded the limits (61).

Commentary

Qur’an:and sparing your women: They left your women alive in order that they (i.e. the women) might serve them.“al-Istihya ” ' (الاستحيآء) means to wish someone to remain alive. The word may also mean: They behaved indecently with the women until they (i.e. the women) lost their modesty.

“Yasūmūnakum” (يسومونكم) translated here as “they subjected you to”, literally means, they imposed upon you.

Qur’an:And when We parted the sea for you: al-Farq (الفرْق) is opposite ofal-jam' (الجَمْع); the words mean to separate and to gather, respectively.

The same is the case ofal-fasl (الفَصْل) vis-a-vis“al-wasl ”(الوَصْل). To separate the sea means to part its water.“Bikum ” (بِكُم), translated here as “for you”, may also mean, “Soon on your entering the sea”.

Qur’an:And when We appointed (a time of) forty days with Mūsa: The same event has been described in Chapter 7 in these words:

And We appointed with Mūsa a time of thirty nights and completed them with ten(more), so the appointed time of his Lord was complete, forty nights (7 :142).

This verse mentions the total duration of the two promises together, as a tradition says.

Qur’an:therefore turn to your Creator (penitently):al-Bari' (الباريء) is one of the beautiful names of Allah, as Allah says:

He is Allah, the Creator, the Maker, the Fashioner; His are the most beautiful names. .(59:24).

This name has been used three times in the Qur'an: twice in the verse under discussion and once in Chapter 59, quoted just above. Perhaps Allah used this name here because it was most suitable in the context of the event described.

While it is nearer in meaning to al-Khaliq (الخالق = the Creator) andal-Mūjid (الموجِد = the Inventor), it is derived from bara'a, yabra'u,bar'an (بَرَءَ يَبْرَءُ بَرَءً = he separated, he separates, to separate).

Allah thus separates His creation from in­existence, or He separates man from the earth. This name in this context conveys the following idea: No doubt it is very hard to repent by killing your own people. But Allah, Who now orders you to destroy yourselves by killing, is the same God who had created you. He was pleased to create you when it was good for you; and now He has decreed that you should kill your own people, and this order too is good for you.

How can He decide anything for you except that which is good, and He is your Maker and Creator. The phrase, “your Creator”, points to a special relation which they have with Him, and it emphasizes the fact that the given command is not for revenge; it is based on divine love, in order to purify them.

Qur’an: that is best for you with your Creator: This and the preceding verses (that enumerate their transgressions and sins) are addressed to the whole Jewish nation, although the sins were committed by only some groups of them and not by all. Obviously it is because they were very much united as a nation; if one did a thing, others were pleased with it.

It was because of this feeling of their national unity that one group's action is attributed to the whole nation. Otherwise, not all the Israelites had killed the prophets, nor had all of them indulged in the calf-worship, or committed other sins mentioned herein.

It proves that the order, “kill your people”, actually meant, kill some of your people, i.e., the calf-worshippers. It may also be inferred from the

words, “you have surely been unjust to yourselves by taking the calf for worship”, and the words, “that is best for you with your Creator” (which apparently is the final part of the speech of Mūsa).

The words, “so He turned to you (mercifully)”, prove that their repentance was accepted. Tradition says that their repent­ance was accepted and sin forgiven when only a few of them had been killed.

This forgiveness before the order was fully complied with shows that the command was given as a trial. The case is somewhat similar to the dream of Ibrahīm (a.s.) and his being told to sacrifice Isma'ī1; before he could reach the ultimate stage, he was told,

O Ibrahīm! You have indeed made the vision come true (37:104 -105).

Likewise, Mūsa (a.s.) told his people “turn to your Creator (penitently) and kill your people, that is best for you with your Creator”, and Allah confirmed the order, yet He took the killing of some as equal to the execution of all, and informed them that their repentance was accepted, “so He turned to you (mercifully)”.

Qur’an:a pestilence from heaven: “ar-Rijz ” (الرجز = punishment).

Qur’an:do not act corruptly: “La ta'thaw ” (لا تعثَوا) is derived fromal-`ayth andal-`athy (العيْث، العَثى) it means the biggest chaos and mischief.

Qur’an:and its cucumbers and its garlic: “al-Khiyar ” (الخِيار) is cucumber; “al-fum” الفوم) is garlic or wheat.

Qur’an:and they returned with Allah's wrath: “Ba'ū ” (باءوا = they returned).

Qur’an:this was so because they disbelieved: It gives the rea­son of preceding statement; and the next sentence, “this was so because they disobeyed and exceeded the limits” is the reason of that reason. Their disobedience and perennial excesses caused them to reject the signs of Allah and kill the prophets. Allah says in another verse:

Then evil was the end of those who did evil, because they rejected the signs of Allah and used to mock them (30:10).

How was the disbelief caused by disobedience? One of the coming Tradition explains it.

Tradition

Abū Ja'far (a.s.) said about the words of Allah: and when We appointed (a time of) forty nights with Mūsa: “It was thirty nights in the (divine) knowledge and measure, then some­thing else happened (to show that it was not the final decree) and Allah added ten more; and in this way the appointed time of his Lord, the first and the last, was completed forty days.”1

The author says: This tradition supports what we have mentioned earlier that the forty was the total of the two ap­pointed times.

`Alī (a.s.) said about the words of Allah:and when Mūsa said to his people: “0 my people! you have surely been unjust to yourselves. . ”:

“They asked Mūsa: `How should we repent?' He said: `Some of you should kill the others.'

Thereupon, they took the knives and everyone started killing (the others), even his brother, father and son, without caring, by God! whom he killed. (It continued) till seventy thousand of them were killed. Then Allah revealed to Mūsa:`Tell them to stay their hands;' and he who was killed was forgiven and he who remained, his repentance was accepted. ” 2

The Imam said: “Mūsa (a.s.) went to the appointed place and time, and then came back to his people; and they had started worshipping the calf; then he told them:'O my people! you have surely been unjust to yourselves by taking the calf (for worship), therefore turn to your Creator (penitently) and kill your people, that is best for you with your Creator.'

They asked him: `How should we kill our people?' Mūsa said to them: `Tomorrow every­one of you should come to Baytu '1-Maqdis3 with a knife or a piece of iron or a sword; when I ascend the pulpit of the Children of Israel you should all keep your faces hidden, so that nobody should recognize the other at his side; then you should kill each other.' Thus seventy thousand of those who had worshipped the calf assembled in Baytu '1-Maqdis.

When Musa finished praying with them and ascended the pulpit, they started killing each other. (This continued) until Jibrīl came down and said: `Now tell them, O Mūsa! to stop killing (each other), because Allah has ac­cepted their repentance.'

And (by that time) ten thousand of them had been killed. And Allah revealed:that is best for you with your Creator; so He turned to you (mercifully),for surely His is Oft­returning (with mercy),the Merciful. ” 4

The author says: According to this tradition, the sentence, “that is best for you with your Creator”, was said by Mūsa (a.s.) and was also used in the divine speech. In this way, Allah con­firmed the word of Mūsa (a.s.), and made it clear that what had actually happened - the execution of ten thousand calf-worship­pers - was all that was intended from the very beginning; and that the order of Musa was carried out in full, and not partially.

According to what appears from the wording of Mūsa (a.s.) , it was best for them if all of them were killed; but only some of them got killed, not all. By repeating the same words, Allah made it clear that what Mūsa (a.s.) had meant from the words, “the best for you”, was not the execution of all.

The same at-Tafsīr says about the words of Allah:and We made the clouds to give shade over you: “When Mūsa crossed the sea with the Israelites, they landed at a desert. They said: 'O Mūsa! you have really destroyed and killed us, by bringing us from an inhabited land to a desert where there is, either any shadow or tree nor even water.'

At daytime a cloud appeared over them to protect them from the sun; and at right, manna came down to them, settling on leaves, trees and stones, and they ate it; and at dinner time roasted birds fell on their dinner­-spread, and when they finished eating and drinking, the birds (became alive and) flew away.

And Mūsa had a stone which he used to place in the midst of the station (of the caravan), striking it with his walking-stick and, lo! Twelve springs gushed from it, as Allah described, every spring going to the station of a particular tribe - and they were twelve tribes.”5

Abu l-Hasan al-Madī (a.s.) said about the words of Allah:and they did not do Us any harm but they did harm their own selves: “Surely Allah is too powerful and too unassailable to be harmed or to ascribe any harm to Himself.

But He has joined us to Himself and took any injustice done to us as an injustice done to Him, and treated our love as His love; then He revealed it in a (verse of the) Qur'an to His Prophet, and said: and they did not do Us any harm, but they did harm their own selves. The narrator says: “I said, `This is the revelation?' He said, `Yes.”6

The author says: Nearly the same thing has been narrated from al-Baqir (a.s.).

”. . too unassailable to be harmed ”: It is the explanation of the Qur'anic expression, “they did not do Us any harm”; the next sentence, “or to ascribe any harm to Himself”, rejects also the opposite proposition. Allah can neither be harmed nor does He do any injustice Himself. Why did the narrator ask the ques­tion, “This is the revelation?”

Obviously, for a negative sentence to be plausible there should be a real or hypothetic possibility of a positive connection between the subject and its predicate. We do not say, “This wall does not see”. Why? Because wall has no possible connection with seeing. Now, Allah can have no possible connection at all with injustice or oppression.

Therefore, the sentence, “they did not do Us any harm”, would seem a super­fluous and implausible assertion, because there was no need for saying that Allah could not be harmed nor did He harm anyone - unless it was meant to convey some fine point to the listeners.

And that point is this: Great persons often speak on behalf of their servants and dependants; likewise, Allah in this verse is speak­ing on behalf of Muhammad and his progeny (peace be on them all), joining them to Himself in this declaration.

as-Sadiq (a.s.) recited the verse:this was so because they disbelieved in the signs of Allah and killed the prophets unjustly; this was so because they disobeyed and exceeded the limits, and then said:

“By God, they did not hit them with their hands, nor did they kill them with their swords; but they heard their talks and announced it (to their enemies); so the prophets were caught on that charge and killed; this was the killing, the exceeding the limit and the disobedience.”7

The author says: A similar tradition from the same Imam is found in al-Kafi. Apparently, the Imam inferred it from the words, “this was so because they disobeyed . .” Needless to say that murder, and especially of the prophets, and rejection of the signs of Allah cannot be termed as mere disobedience.

It should be the other way round. But if we take the disobedience to mean disclosing the secrets then it would be perfectly right to say that they killed the prophets, because they (disobeyed them and) did not keep their

secrets and thus delivered them into the hands of their enemies who killed them.

Footnotes

1. al-`Ayyashī

2. ad-Durru 'l-manthūr

3. Mūsa was called to the Mount Sini'i and given Torah while the Israel­ites were still in the wilderness. And it was at that time that the events in question took place. They had not entered Palestine at that time and Baytu '1-Maqdis was not built yet. Therefore, the word “Baytu '1-Maqdis” used in this tradition must mean the tent which Mūsa erected for divine worship.

4. at-Tafsīr, al-Qummi

5. at-Tafsīr, al-Qummi

6. al- Kafi

7. al-`Ayyashī

Suratul Baqarah: Verses 62

(٦٢) إنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَالَّذِينَ هَادُواْ وَالنَّصَارَى وَالصَّابِئِينَ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحاً فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلاَ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ

Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabaeans, whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve (62).

Commentary

The verse first mentions the believers, and then says, “who­ever believes in Allah . .” The context shows that the latter phrase refers to the real belief, the true iman, and that the word, “those who believe”, (mentioned at first) refers to those who call themselves believers.

The verse says that Allah gives no im­portance to names, like the believers, the Jews, the Christians or the Sabaeans. One cannot get a reward from Allah, nor can he be saved from punishment, merely by giving oneself good titles, as they, for example, claim that:

no one will enter the Garden except he who was a Jew or a Christian (2:111).

The only criterion, the only standard, of honour and happiness is the real belief in Allah and the Day of Resurrection, accompanied by good deeds. It should be noted that Allah did not say, 'who­ever of them believes'; otherwise it would have accorded some recognition to these titles, and would have implied that there was, after all, some benefit in acquiring these names.

This theme has been repeatedly expounded in the Qur'an. The honour and felicity depend entirely on true and sincere servitude; no name, no adjective, can do any good unless it is backed by correct belief and good deeds.

This rule is applicable to all human beings, right from the prophets to the lowest rank. Look how Allah praises His prophets with all beautiful and excel­lent attributes, and then says:

and if they had set up others (with Him) certainly what they did would have become ineffectual for them (6:88).

Also, He describes the high status and great prestige of the Holy Prophet and his companions, and then ends it with these words:

Allah has promised those among them who believe and do good, forgiveness and a great reward (48:29).

Ponder on the significance of the phrase “among them”.

Then we find that Allah had given a man some of His signs but he went astray:

and if We had pleased, We would certainly have exalted him thereby, but he clung to the earth and followed his low desire . (7:176).

There are many verses clearly showing that the honour and respect with Allah depends on reality, not on appearance.

Tradition

Salman al-Farisi said:“I asked the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) about the people of that religion which I followed (prior to Islam), and I described their (way

of) prayer and worship. Then it was revealed: Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews. . ” 1

The author says: Various other Tradition with different chains of narrators, say that this verse was revealed about the people of Salman.

Ibn Faddal said: “I asked ar-Rida (a.s.) why“an-Nasara” (النصارى = the Christians) were given that name. He said: “Because they were from a village calledan-Nasirah (الناصرة = Nazarath) in Syria.2 Maryam and `Isa settled there after they returned from Egypt.”3

The author says: We shall comment on this tradition when writing on the stories of `Isa (a.s.) in Chapter 3 (The House of `Imran), God willing.

The same tradition says that“al-Yahūd” (اليهود = the Jews) got this name because they are descended from Yahūda, son of Ya'qūb.4

The Imam said: “The Sabaeans are a people, neither Zoroas­trian nor Jews, neither Christians nor Muslims; they worship the stars and planets.5

The author says: It is idol-worship of a special type; they worshipped only the idols of the stars, while others worshipped whatever idol caught their fancy.

A Historical Discussion

Abū Rayhan at-Bīrūnī writes in his book al- 'atharu 'l-­baqiyah:

“The earliest known among them (i.e., the claimants of prophethood was Yudhasaf.6 He appeared in India at the end of the first year of the reign of Tahmurth; and he brought the Persian script. He called to the Sabaean religion, and a great many people followed him.

The Bishdadian kings and some of the Kayanis who resided in Balkh held the sun, the moon, the stars and the planets together with other elements in high esteem and believed that these luminaries were very sacred.

It continued until Zoroas­ter appeared at the end of the thirtieth year of Peshtasav's reign. The remnants of those Sabaeans are now in Harran, from which they have got their new name, Harraniyyah.

Also it is said that this nomenclature refers to Haran, son of Tarukh (Terah) and brother of Ibrahīm (a.s.), as he allegedly was one of their religious leaders and its staunchest follower.

“Ibn Sancala, the Christian, has written a book against Sabaeans. In that book he has attributed many ridiculous things to this Haran. For example, he describes the Sabaeans' belief about Ibrahīm (a.s.) in these words:

“Ibrahīm (a.s.) was removed from their community because a white spot had appeared on his foreskin, and the Sabaeans believed that a person having a white spot was unclean, and avoided mixing with such person. To remove that defect, Ibrahīm cut his foreskin, i.e. circumcised himself. Then he entered one of the temples; and lo! an idol called out to him:

“O Ibrahīm! You went away from us with one defect and came back with two; get out and do not ever come back to us.” Ibrahīm was enraged; he smashed the idols; and went out. After some time, he felt remorse for what he had done, and decided to sacrifice his son on the altar of Jupiter, as it was

their custom to kill their children to please the deities. When Jupiter was convinced of the sincerity of his repentance, it sent a lamb to him to slaughter in place of his son.”

” 'Abdu '1-Masīh ibn Ishaq al-Kindī wrote a book in reply of a book by 'Abdullah ibn Isma'īl al-Hashimī. In that book `Abdu '1-Masīh writes about the Sabaeans:

”'It is generally believed that they indulge in human sacrifice, although nowadays they cannot do so openly. But so far as our own information goes, they are monotheists who believe that God is free from every defect and evil, they describe God in negative, not positive, terms; for example, they say:

Allah can­not be defined or seen, He is not unjust or oppressive. According to them, the beautiful divine names may be used for God, but only in an allegorical sense, because no divine attribute can truly describe the reality.

They believe that the management of all affairs is done and controlled by the sky and the heavenly bodies; the sky and those bodies are living things having the characteristics of speech, hearing and sight.

They revere the light and the lumin­aries. One of their legacies is the dome above the niche in the Umayyid mosque of Damascus; it was their prayer house, and at that time even the Greeks and the Romans followed the same religion. Then it came under Jewish control and they turned it into a synagogue. Later, the Christians took it over and converted it into a church.

Then came the Muslims, and they changed it into a mosque. The Sabaeans had their numerous places of wor­ships, and their idols were named after various names of the sun, and shaped with fixed patterns, as has been described by Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi in his book, The Houses of Worship.

For ex­ample, there was the temple of Ba'lbak which housed the idol of the sun; of Qiran, which was related to the moon and built in the moon's shape, like a shawl worn over head and shoulders. And there is a village nearby, Salamsīn by name; it is a corruption of its original name, صنَم سين (Sanam Sīn = the idol of the moon).

Likewise, another village is called Tara'ūz, that is, the gate of Venus. They do also claim that the Ka'bah and its idols be­longed to them, and that the Meccan idol-worshippers were of the Sabaean religion. According to them the idols, Lat and `Uzza, re­presented Saturn and Venus.

They have many prophets in their hierarchy, most of them being the Greek philosophers, for ex­ample, Hermes of Egypt, Agadhimun, Walles, Pythagoras and Babaswar (maternal grandfather of Plato) and many others like them.

Some of them do not eat fish - lest it be spume; nor poultry, because it is always hot. Also, they do not use garlic, because it creates headache and burns the blood and semen (which is the source of continuity of the human race); and they avoid beans, because it dulls the intelligence and also because it had first sprouted in a human skull.

They observe three compulsory prayers: at sunrise (eightrak `at ); at noon (fiverak `at ) ; and at the third hour of the night.

”'They prostrate three times in each rak `ah. Also, they observe two optional prayers - at the second and ninth hours of the day.

” `They pray with taharah and wudu '; they take bath after janabah; but they do not circumcise their children because they have not been told to do so. Most of their laws concerning marital and penal codes are like thesharī `ah of Islam; while the rules about touching a dead body are similar to Torah's.

They offer sacrifices to the stars, their idols and the temples; the sacrificial animals are killed by the priests and witch-doctors, who read in it the future of the man who offers the sacrifice and answer to his questions.

” 'Hermes is sometimes called ldris, who is mentioned in Torah as Akhnukh. Some of them say that Yudhasaf was Hermes.

” 'Some others have said that the present-day Varraniyyah are not the real Sabaeans; rather these are mentioned in the books as heathens and idolators. The Sabaeans were those Israelites who stayed behind at Babylon when their majority returned to Jeruselem in the reigns of Cyrus and Artaxerxes.

They were favourably disposed to Zoroastrian beliefs, as well as to the religion of Nebuchadnezzar. What resulted from this exercise was a mixture of Judaism and Zoroastrianism - like the Samaritans of Syria.

Most of them are found in Wasit and the rural areas of Iraq around Ja'far and Jamidah; they trace their genealogy to Enosh, son of Seth. They criticize and oppose the Harraniyyah and their religion. With exception of a few things, there is no similarity between the two religions: The Sabaeans face towards the North Pole in their prayers, while the Harraniyyah face to­wards the South Pole.

” 'Some people of the book have said that Methuselah had a son (other than Lamech), named Sabī, whom the Sabaeans have descended from. The people, before the sharī`ah spread and before Yudhasaf appeared on the scene, followed Samanian beliefs; they lived in the eastern part of the world and worshipped idols.

Their remnants are found in India, China and Taghazghaz, and the people of Khurasan call them Shamnan. Their relics, places of worship and idols are seen in eastern Khurasan adjoining India. They believe in eternity of the universe and transmigration of soul. According to them, the sky is falling down in an endless vacuum, and that is why it is moving round and round.'

“According to some writers, a group of them rejects the theory of eternity of the universe and says that it came into being one million year ago.”

The author says: All the above description has been taken from the book of al-Biruni. The opinion, attributed to some writers, that Sabaeans' religion was a mixture of Judaism and Zoroastrianism flavoured with some elements of Harraniyyah's beliefs, seems better suited in this context; after all, the verse obviously enumerates the groups which followed a divinely ­inspired religion.

Footnotes

1. ad-Durru 'l-manthūr

2. In those days, all the land now divided into Syria, Jordan, Lebnon and Palestine, was called Syria or Greater Syria.

3. Ma`ani '1-akhbar

4. Ma`ani '1-akhbar

5. at-Tafsir , al-Qummi

6. It is now almost certain that Yudhasaf is a corruption of Budhastav, the title of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Bhuddhism.