plentifully as ye will; and enter the gate worshipping,
and say, Forgiveness! we will pardon you your sins,
and give increase unto the well-doers. But the
ungodly changed the expression into another, different
from what had been spoken unto them; and we sent down
upon the ungodly indignation from heaven, because
they had transgressed. And when Moses asked drink
for his people, we said, Strike the rock with thy rod;
and there gushed thereout twelve fountains according
to the number of the tribes, and all men knew their
respective drinking-place. Eat and drink of the
bounty of God, and commit not evil in the earth, acting
unjustly. And when ye said, O Moses, we will by
no means be satisfied with one kind of food; pray
unto thy Lord therefore for us, that he would produce
for us of that which the earth bringeth forth, herbs,
and cucumbers, and garlic, and lentils, and onions;
Moses answered, Will ye exchange that which is better,
for that which is worse? Get ye down into Egypt,
for there shall ye find what ye desire; and they were
smitten with vileness and misery, and drew on themselves
indignation from God. This they suffered, because
they believed not in the signs of God, and killed
the prophets unjustly; this, because they rebelled
and transgressed. Surely those who believe, and
those who Judaize, and Christians, and Sabeans, whoever
believeth in God, and the last day, and doth that
which is right, they shall have their reward with their
Lord; there shall come no fear on them, neither shall
they be grieved. Call to mind also when we accepted
your covenant, and lifted up the mountain of Sinai
over you, saying, Receive the law which we have given
you, with a resolution to keep it, and remember that
which is contained therein, that ye may beware.
After this ye again turned back, so that if it had
not been for God’s indulgence and mercy towards
you, ye had certainly been destroyed. Moreover,
ye know what befell those of your nation who transgressed
on the Sabbath day: We said unto them, Be ye changed
into apes, driven away from the society of men.
And we made them an example unto those who were contemporary
with them, and unto those who came after them, and
a warning to the pious. And when Moses said unto
his people, Verily God commandeth you to sacrifice
a cow;[28] they answered, Dost thou make a jest of
us? Moses said, God forbid that I should be one
of the foolish. They said, Pray for us unto thy
Lord, that he would show us what cow it is. Moses
answered, He saith, She is neither an old cow, nor
a young heifer, but of a middle-age between both:
do ye therefore that which ye are commanded.
They said, Pray for us unto the Lord, that he would
show us what color she is of. Moses answered,
He saith, She is a red cow, intensely red, her color
rejoiceth the beholders. They said, Pray for
us unto thy Lord, that he would further show us what
cow it is, for several cows with us are like one another,
and we, if God please, will be directed. Moses