Jesus, the son of Mary, said, O God our Lord, cause
a table to descend unto us from heaven, that the day
of its descent may become a festival day unto us,
unto the first of us, and unto the last of us, and
a sign from thee; and do thou provide food for us,
for thou art the best provider. God said, Verily
I will cause it to descend unto you; but whoever among
you shall disbelieve hereafter, I will surely punish
him with a punishment wherewith I will not punish any
other creature. And when God shall say unto Jesus,
at the last day, O Jesus, son of Mary, hast thou said
unto men, Take me and my mother for two gods, beside
God? He shall answer, Praise be unto thee! it
is not for me to say that which I ought not; if I
had said so, thou wouldst surely have known it:
thou knowest what is in me, but I know not what is
in thee; for thou art the knower of secrets. I
have not spoken to them any other than what thou didst
command me; namely, Worship God, my Lord and your
Lord: and I was a witness of their actions while
I stayed among them; but since thou hast taken me
to thyself, thou hast been the watcher over them;
for thou art witness of all things. If thou punish
them, they are surely thy servants; and if thou forgive
them, thou art mighty and wise. God will say,
This day shall their veracity be of advantage unto
those who speak truth; they shall have gardens wherein
rivers flow, they shall remain therein forever:
God hath been well pleased in them, and they have
been well pleased in him. This shall be great
felicity. Unto God belongeth the kingdom of heaven
and of earth, and of whatever therein is; and he is
almighty.
[Footnote 82: This title is taken from the Table,
which, towards the end of the chapter, is fabled to
have been let down from heaven to Jesus. It is
sometimes also called the chapter of Contracts, which
word occurs in the first verse.]
[Footnote 83: As camels, oxen, and sheep; and
also wild cows, antelopes, but not swine, nor what
is taken in hunting during the pilgrimage.]
[Footnote 84: The sacred months in the Mohammedan
calendar were the first, the seventh, the eleventh,
and the twelfth.]
[Footnote 85: A game similar to raffling, arrowheads
being used as counters.]
[Footnote 86: The Arabic word al Fatra
signifies the intermediate space of time between two
prophets, during which no new revelation or dispensation
was given; as the interval between Moses and Jesus,
and between Jesus and Mohammed, at the expiration
of which last, Mohammed pretended to be sent.]
[Footnote 87: But this punishment, according
to the Sonna, is not to be inflicted, unless the value
of the thing stolen amount to four dinars, or about
$10. For the first offence, the criminal is to
lose his right hand, which is to be cut off at the
wrist; the second offence, his left foot, at the ankle;
for the third, his left hand; for the fourth, his
right foot; and if he continue to offend, he shall
be scourged at the discretion of the judge.]