[217] Death, resurrection, judgment; &c.
[218] This contradicts verse 254 of this Súra. Muslims explain it thus. We accept all prophets and as regards faith in them make no difference, though as regards dignity we recognize the distinction indicated in the 254th verse.
[219] That is, the Jews and Christians, on whom, it is said by the Muslim Commentators, many strict ceremonial observances were incumbent. The word often used to express the idea of the burdensome nature of ceremonial observance is taklilíf, trouble. Practically, Muslims are not free from these "loads," a fact which finds expression in the word used for a pious man—a mukhallif, one who has to take trouble in the way of performing religious duties.
[220] In Madras, a branch of the pomegranate tree is usually stuck in.
[221] The name of the mother is here inserted. The mother's name is chosen in preference to that of the father, as there can be no doubt as to the maternity of the child. For the same reason it is said that at the Last Day each man will be summoned as such an one, son of such a mother. This simple fact reveals a sad state of morals, or, at least, a disbelief in the virtue of women.
[222] The idea is that the reward of this act is transferred to the person on whose behalf it is made.
[223] Súra ii. 256.
[224] There are others who maintain that this is a mukham statement and cannot therefore be abrogated. They hold that it must be restricted to the aged and to persons who have chronic diseases. Tafsír-i-Husainí, p. 30. Tafsír-i-Faiz-ul-Karím, p. 120.
[225] Burton says that, when in the disguise of a Musalmán doctor he was in Cairo making preparations for the Hajj, he had but one patient who would break his fast to save his life. All the others refused though death should be the consequence.
[226] "The former are called Zakát, either because they increase a man's store by drawing down a blessing on him and produce in his soul the virtue of liberality, or because they purify the remaining part of one's substance from pollution and the soul from the filth of avarice; the latter are called Sadqa because they are a proof of a man's sincerity in the worship of God." Sale's Preliminary Discourse, Section iv.