174 The CORÂN

Oh ye that believe! believe in God and in His prophet, and in the book which He hath revealed to His prophet, and in the book which He revealed from before; and whoever disbelieves in God, and in His angels, and in His books, and in His prophets, and in the last day, verily he hath wandered into a wide error.

This is a distinct command, which the follower of the Corân holds to proceed from God, directing every believer to believe not only in the Book brought by Mahomet, but likewise in the Books or Scriptures revealed before it; and whoever disbelieveth in them, or in any part thereof, ( أي ومن كفر بشي من ذلك Baidhâwi) is declared to have wandered into wide and dangerous error.

"Believe in God and in His Prophet, and in the Book which He hath revealed to His prophet, and in the Book which He revealed from before; that is, Be steadfast in the faith thereof, and perpetually rest thereupon, and believe in it with your hearts as ye believe in it with your lips;—or believe with a comprehensive faith which shall embrace all the Scriptures and Apostles, for the faith of a part is as no faith at all."

آمنوا بالله ورسوله والكتاب الذي نزل على رسوله والكتاب الذي أنزل من قبل أثبتوا على الأيمان بذلك ودوموا عليه وآمنوا به بقلوبكم كما آمنتم بلسانكم أو آمنوا إيماناً عاما يعم الكتب والرسل فإن الإيمان بالبعض كلا أيمان
Baidhâwi.

As to the parties addressed Baidhâwi has the following commentary:—"The Moslems are here addressed; or the hypocrites; or the believers from among the

TESTIMONY TO THE HOLY SCRIPTURES 175

people of the Book, according to the following tradition. Ibn Sallâm and his companions said,— 'Oh prophet of God! we believe in thee, and in thy Book, and in Moses, and the Tourât, and Ezra, and we disbelieve in all besides.' Then was this text revealed, viz.,—BELIEVE, &C."

خطاب للمسلمين أو المنافقين أو للمؤمنين من أهل الكتاب إذ روي ان ابن سلام وأصحابه قالوا يا رسول الله انا نؤمن بك وبكتابك وبموسى والتوراة وعزيز ونكفر بما سواه فنزلت آمنوا الخ

Whatever was the occasion of the passage, or whoever the particular parties addressed, the command is as universal and absolute as can be imagined. It intimates that God requires a belief in all the inspired Scripture, that is, not only in the Corân, but also in all the sacred books revealed before the Corân, those namely which are constantly referred to, as "with," or in the hands of, the Jews and Christians. The Jew is not to reject the Christian Scriptures:— the Christian is to receive not only the Jewish and Christian Scriptures but also the Corân;— the Moslem is to believe not only in the Corân, but in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures likewise. If he does not, he is declared to be in a wide and dangerous error.

What then are we to say of those Moslems in the present day who reject and disbelieve those Scriptures, and of the dangerous state in which they are declared by the Corân to be!