The Alcoran of Mahomet, translated out of Arabique into French; by the sieur Du Ryer, Lord of Malezair, and resident for the King of France, at Alexandria. And newly Englished, for the satisfaction of all that desire to look into the Turkish vanities

CHAP. XIX. The Chapter of Mary, containing fourscore and eighteen Verses, written at Mecca.

IN the Name of God, gracious and merciful: God is the rewarder, conductor, (of the righteous) liberall, wise, true: Zachery, the servant of thy Lord remembred his grace, when he in secret prayed to his Lord, and said, Lord, my bones are become feeble, and mine head is white with old age; Lord, I was never rejected in my prayers, hear my petition, give me a son to succeed me, that may be mine heir, heir of the lineage of Jacob, and

be pleasing to thee. O Zachary! I declare unto thee, that thou shalt have a son, named John, no man hath yet been called by that name; he said, Lord, how shall I have a son, my wife is barren, and I am too old? It was answe∣red him, the thing shall be as I have said unto thee, it is easie to thy Lord; who created thee; he said, Lord give me some signe of the conception of my wife; he said to him, thou shalt not speak for three nights. Then went he out of his Oratory, and made signes to the people, to make their prayers evening and morning. Oh John! learn the Scripture with affection; We from his infancie gave him knowledge, clemency, charity, piety, affection to∣wards his father and mother, and not violence and diso∣bedience. We blessed the day of his nativity, the day that he shall dye, and the day that he shall rise again. Remem∣ber thou what is written of Mary, she retired towards the East, into a place farre remote from her kindred, and took a vaile to cover her, we sent her our Spirit in forme of a man; she was afraid, and said, God will preserve me from thee, if thou have his fear before thine eyes; hee said, oh Mary! I am the Messenger of God thy Lord, who shall give thee a Sonne, active, and prudent: She an∣swered, how shall I have a sonne without the touch of man? I desire not to be unchaste; he said, The thing shall be as I have told thee, it is facile to thy Lord; thy sonne shall be a token of the omnipotency of God, and of his speciall grace towards such as shall believe in his divine Majesty; She became with child, and retired some time, into a place remote from people, where she sustained the colours of Child-birth, at the foot of a Date-tree, and said, why am I not dead? wherefore am I not in the num∣ber of persons forgotten? The Angell said to her, afflict not thy selfe; God hath placed a brook under thee, shake the foot of this Palme, and the Dates shall fall, gather them up, eat and drink, and wash thine eyes, say unto them that thou shalt meet, that thou fastest, and hast made a vow not to speak to any one, untill thy fast be accom∣plished. Her parents met her while she bare her Infant,

and said unto her, oh Mary! behold a strange thing; oh sister of A••ron! thy father did not command thee to doe evill, neither was thy mother unchaste; She made signes to her infant to answer them; they said, how shall the in∣fant in the Cradle speak? Then her infant spake, and said, I am the servant of God, hee hath taught me the Scripture, hath made me a Prophet, blessed me in all places, and commanded me to pray unto him; hoe hath recommended to me purity through the whole course of my life, and to honour my father and mother; hee hath not made me either violent or malicious, praysed shall be the day of my birth, the day that I shall dye, and the day of my resurrection. Thus spake Jesus, the sonne of M••••y, with truth, of which ye doubt: God approveth not the discourse of them that say he hath a sonne; praised be God, when he willeth any thing, he saith, be thou, and it is; he is mine and your Lord, worship him, this is the right way; there be persons, who in this regard have been of different opinion, but misery is upon the incrudu∣lous, they shall be miserable at the day of Judgement. The Infidels are manifestly erroneous from the right way; If thou preach to them the torments of Hell and their ignorance, they will not hear thee. Wee are Lords of whatsoever is on Earth, and dispose of every thing at our pleasure, they shall be one day assembled before us to be judged. Remember thou what is written of Abraham, he was a righteous man, and a Prophet, he said to his Father, adore not what neither seeth; nor understandeth any thing, and that cannot be profitable; I know what ye know not, follow me, and I will conduct you into the right way; worship not the Devill, he is disobedient un∣to God; otherwise I fear that God may chastise you, and you may be in the number of the damned. He answered, oh Abraham! dost thou abhorre my Gods? unlesse thou change thy discourse, I will stone thee, depart from me for a long time; he said, May God inspire you, I will pray for you, he is exceeding good, and will hear my prayers; Whom will ye adore, when I shall be gone from

you? Worship God my Lord, and your prayers shall be heard; he departed from them, and worshipped one God: We gave him two sonnes, Iasaac, and Jacob, both Prophets, we conferred our grace upon him, with an elo∣quent and true tongue. Remember thou what is written of Moses he was a righteous man, our Prophet and Mes∣senger; we called him on the right side of the Mount Si∣nai, drew him neer unto us, and taught him our secrets; We through speciall g•••••• gave him a brother, named Aaron Remember thou what is written of Ismael, he ex∣actly observed what he promised, was a Prophet, and an Apostle of the Lord, preached purity, and recommended to men to make their prayers often, and was pleasing to his Lord. Remember thou what is written of Enoch, hee was a just man, and a Prophet, and we took him up to an exceeding high place. God gave his grace to these men, among the Prophets of the lineage of Adam, among them whom we caused to embarke with Noah, among those of the lineage of Abraham, and Israel, and among those that we assembled and guided into the right way. When the miracles of the mercifull were related to them, they fell prostrate, and adored him with tears in their eyes; their posterity forsook their footsteps, abandoned the Law, and followed their own appetites; but they shall be precipitated into Hell, except such as shall be converted, and do good works, they shall enter into Paradise, and no injustice shall be done to them, they shall enter into the garden of Eden; what the mercifull [God] doth promise, is infallible; they shall hear nothing spoken in Paradise that shall displease them, they shall hear the salutation of Angels, and morning and evening shall have what they desire; such is Paradise, which God giveth to his crea∣tures that have his fear before their eyes. I descend not from Heaven▪ but by the permission of the Lord, he is master of our actions in Heaven and Earth, and of whatsoever is between them, he hath not forgot thee, wor∣ship him, and persevere in thy adoration, knowest thou any person that is named, like him? Man saith, what,

shall I dye and rise again? He considereth not that God hath created him of nothing; I will one day assemble the Infidels, and Devils, I will cause them to appear at the gate of Hell upon their knees, and will cast upon them all manner of misery, because they have encreased their impiety towards their Lord. I know such as deserve to burn in Hell, they shall be thrown thither headlong, this is a most just sentence pronounced by the Lord. I will save the righteous, and forbid•••••• fidels to fall on their knees before Idols: when the unbelievers, and many of the faithfull heard my Commandements preached, they said among themselves, that they were in a better way then their neighbour; how many have we destroyed be∣for them, in past Ages, more rich then they, and hypo∣crites like unto them? Say unto them, God prolongeth the l••fe of the erroneous, that they may know their er∣rors, and learn the knowledge of the pains prepared for them, they shall understand who shall be the most misera∣ble; and who shall have been most weak in their faith, and least affectionate to the service of his divine Maje∣sty; God shall encrease their faith, who shall follow the right way; and such as be obedient to him, shall enjoy his grace. Hast thou considered the action of the wicked? They demand, if they shall have riches and children af∣ter their Resurrection? Would you know what shall be? would you capitulate with the mercifull? I will not do it; I will write all that they say, and will adde to their mise∣ries; I will give to them in this world, what they require, and they shall rise again naked (without treasure, and children.) They adored Idols, to have their protection. Certainly they erred in that adoration; they shall re∣nounce them, and be their enemies at the day of Judge∣ment. Seest thou not, how we have sent the Devils a∣gainst unbeliev••rs, to seduce them? Be not impatient to to see them punished, they shall be judged at the day ap∣pointed. Be thou mindfull of the day, when I shall assem∣ble all the righteous in the presence of God, and pr••cipi∣tate all the wicked into Hell; their prayers shall not be

heard, except such as have accomplished their promises to the mercifull. They have said, Do ye believe that God hath a Son? You utter a strange thing; it wanteth not much, but that Heaven and Earth open themselves, and that the Mountains fall, with their utter destruction. They call God, God the Son; God hath not to do with a Son; whatsoever is in Heaven and Earth, adore him; he know∣eth the accompt and number of all things of the world: Men shall appear before him at the day of Judgement, and the True-believers that shall do good works, shall be be∣loved of his divine Majesty. We have sent thee the Alcoran, written in thine own Language, that thou mayst pro∣claim the delights of Paradise, to them that fear me, and preach the torments of Hell to such as dispute with ob∣stinacy against the Faith. How many of the wicked have we destroyed in past ages? Hast thou heard speak of them? Hast thou heard mention of their memory?

Notes

• See Kitab el tenoir.
• Gelal∣din saith, •• that Ma∣homet complain∣eth to the Angel Ga∣briel for having been so long absent from him.
• See Gelal∣din.