Now hath an Apostle come unto you from among yourselves:  your iniquities press heavily upon him.  He is careful over you, and towards the faithful, compassionate, merciful.

If they turn away, say:  God sufficeth me:  there is no God but He.  In Him put I my trust.  He is the possessor of the Glorious Throne!

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1 The “Immunity” is said by some commentators to have formed originally one Sura with the eighth, p.375, and that on this account the usual formula of invocation is not prefixed.  The Caliph Othman accounted for this omission of the Bismillah from the fact of this Sura having been revealed, with the exception of a few verses, shortly before the prophet’s death, who left no instructions on the subject. (Mishcat 1, p. 526.) The former verses from 1- 12, or, according to other traditions, from 1-40, were recited to the pilgrims at Mecca by Ali, Ann.  Hej. 9.

2 Lit. that ye cannot weaken God.

3 Shawâl, Dhu’lkaada, Dhu’lhajja, Muharram.  These months were observed by the Arabians previous to the time of Muhammad.

4 Al Abbas, Muhammad’s uncle, when taken prisoner, had defended his unbelief, and declared that he had performed these two important duties.  Beidh.

5 Or, shall issue his behest.

6 At the battle of Honein, a valley three miles from Mecca (A.H. 8), the Muhammadans, presuming upon the great superiority of their numbers, 12,000 men, over the enemy who were only 4000 strong, were seized with a panic throughout their ranks.  Order was restored and victory obtained through the bravery and presence of mind of Muhammad and his kindred.

7 The enemy attacked and routed you on all sides.

8 See ii. 249, p. 365.

9 Through the breaking off commercial relations.

10 Or, by right of subjection, Sale; in cash, Wahl.; all without exception, K. i.e. as if by counting hands.

11 Thus Hilchoth Melachim, vi. 4.  The Jews are commanded, in case of war with the Gentiles, to offer peace on two conditions:-that they become tributaries, and renounce idolatry.  Thus also chap. viii. 4.

12 The Muhammadan tradition is that Ezra was raised to life after he had been 100 years dead, and dictated from memory the whole Jewish law, which had been lost during the captivity, to the scribes.  That the Jews regarded Ezra as a son of God is due to Muhammad’s own invention.  See Sonna, 462 v.  H. v.  Purgstall’s Fundgruben des Orients, i. 288.  The Talmudists, however, use very exaggerated language concerning him.  Thus, Sanhedrin, 21, 22.  “Ezra would have been fully worthy to have been the lawgiver, if Moses had not preceded him.”  Josephus, Ant. xi. 5, 5, speaks of his high repute ([greek text]) with the people, and of his honourable burial.  Muhammad probably represents the Jews as having deified Ezra with the view of showing that they, as well as the Christians, had tampered with the doctrine of the Divine unity.