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128 The CORÂN

Christians of that day, contained evidence of the doctrine and claims of Mahomet. It clearly intimates that the Pentateuch and the Gospel were current amongst the Jews and Christians of Mahomet's time, "by" or "amongst them,"—عند همThose Scriptures are likewise spoken of here by God to Moses as that which would be an authoritative source of reference. It is therefore clear that the Sacred Scriptures, as possessed by the Jews and Christians generally in the 7th century were, according to the teaching of the Corân, authentic, genuine, and free from corruption.

LXII.—SURA VII., v. 160[159].

سورة الأعراف

وَمِن قَوْمِ مُوسَى أُمَّةٌ يَهْدُونَ بِالْحَقِّ وَبِهِ يَعْدِلُونَ

And of the people of Moses, there is a party that directeth with truth, and acteth justly by it.

Assuming for a moment the supposition to have been well founded, that an attempt had been made by some of the Jews to tamper with their Scriptures, and erase passages containing testimony to Mahomet, would the just and truthful Jews here spoken of have joined in such an attempt, or at all permitted it? Would not they at least have preserved, and handed down to posterity uncorrupted, the rolls of the Books of Moses? And as Mahomet appealed to certain supposed prophecies of himself, and other evidences favourable to his mission in those Scriptures, would not these pious Jews who embraced Islam have carefully

TESTIMONY TO THE HOLY SCRIPTURES 129

and religiously guarded, and handed down from father to son, copies of the true and genuine Tourât with these evidences and prophecies, as the most valuable proof of Mahomet's claims, and a complete justification of their own conduct in separating from their Jewish brethren and following Islâm. Assuredly they would, had it not been notorious that no such attempt at interpolation or erasure had ever been made by their brethren; and that the supposed prophecies of Mahomet existed just as much in the copies scrupulously preserved by the unconverted Jews, as in their own.

LXIII.—SURA VII., v. 168[167-169].

سورة الأعراف

وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكَ لَيَبْعَثَنَّ عَلَيْهِمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ مَن يَسُومُهُمْ سُوءَ الْعَذَابِ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَسَرِيعُ الْعِقَابِ وَإِنَّهُ لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
وَقَطَّعْنَاهُمْ فِي الأَرْضِ أُمَمًا مِّنْهُمُ الصَّالِحُونَ وَمِنْهُمْ دُونَ ذَلِكَ وَبَلَوْنَاهُمْ بِالْحَسَنَاتِ وَالسَّيِّئَاتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ
فَخَلَفَ مِن بَعْدِهِمْ خَلْفٌ وَرِثُواْ الْكِتَابَ يَأْخُذُونَ عَرَضَ هَـذَا الأدْنَى وَيَقُولُونَ سَيُغْفَرُ لَنَا وَإِن يَأْتِهِمْ عَرَضٌ مُّثْلُهُ يَأْخُذُوهُ أَلَمْ يُؤْخَذْ عَلَيْهِم مِّيثَاقُ الْكِتَابِ أَن لاَّ يِقُولُواْ عَلَى اللّهِ إِلاَّ الْحَقَّ وَدَرَسُواْ مَا فِيهِ وَالدَّارُ الآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لِّلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ أَفَلاَ تَعْقِلُونَ

And (call to mind) when thy Lord commanded that there should

           

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