180 The CORÂN

persons in the Trinity. This probably arose from the worship paid to the Virgin by the Eastern Churches, and from the statements of Mahomet's Jewish followers,—themselves imperfectly acquainted with Christianity. Had the true doctrine regarding the Virgin Mary been rightly placed before Mahomet, together with that of the spiritual and eternal generation of the Son of God, and shown to be necessarily deducible from the legitimate construction of the Scriptures acknowledged by him to be inspired, could he have refused to approve those doctrines?

CV.—SURA III., v. 2[-4].

سورة آل عمران

اللّهُ لا إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ
نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقاً لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَأَنزَلَ التَّوْرَاةَ وَالإِنجِيلَ
مِن قَبْلُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَأَنزَلَ الْفُرْقَانَ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بِآيَاتِ اللّهِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ وَاللّهُ عَزِيزٌ ذُو انتِقَامٍ

God ! there is no God but He, the living, the eternal. 
He hath caused to descend upon thee the Scripture in truth, attesting that (Scripture) which is before it: and He sent down the Tourât and the Gospel from before for the guidance of mankind: and He sent down the Forcân (i.e the Distinction). 
Verily they that reject the signs (or Revelations) of God, to them shall be a fearful punishment. And God is mighty, a God of vengeance.

The Tourât and the Gospel were sent by God as 'a guide to mankind';— هدي للناس . Immediately after

TESTIMONY TO THE HOLY SCRIPTURES 181

the enumeration of these Scriptures, it is added that for those who reject the signs (i.e. revelations) of God, there is in store a fearful punishment.

Let the Mussulman, then, as well as the Jew and Christian, beware of rejecting any of the Signs and Revelations of this "GOD OF VENGEANCE," lest they render themselves obnoxious to His wrath, and the subjects of "a fearful punishment."

 CVI.—SURA III., v. 19.

سورة آل عمران

وَمَا اخْتَلَفَ الَّذِينَ أُوْتُواْ الْكِتَابَ إِلاَّ مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءهُمُ الْعِلْمُ بَغْيًا بَيْنَهُمْ

And those to whom the book was given, did not fall to variance until after that the knowledge (of Divine truth) came unto them, wickedly among themselves.

See previous passages of the same purport.

 CVII.—SURA III., v. 23[-24].

سورة آل عمران

أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ أُوْتُواْ نَصِيبًا مِّنَ الْكِتَابِ يُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى كِتَابِ اللّهِ لِيَحْكُمَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ يَتَوَلَّى فَرِيقٌ مِّنْهُمْ وَهُم مُّعْرِضُونَ
ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَالُواْ لَن تَمَسَّنَا النَّارُ إِلاَّ أَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَاتٍ وَغَرَّهُمْ فِي دِينِهِم مَّا كَانُواْ يَفْتَرُونَ