P. [33]. The Fātihah, or “Opening” chapter, so called because it is placed at the beginning of the authorised arrangement of the Korān. It is the Paternoster of Islam, and is repeated many times in the five daily prayers of the Muslims, and on every solemn occasion.
The Mekka Speeches.
II.—The Rhetorical Period.
P. [39]. The Kingdom. Say: i.e. God bids Mohammad say. It must never be forgotten that Mohammad is only supposed to recite what God wrote in the Preserved Book (see [note to p. 26]) before the world began.
P. [41]. The Moon.—Sign, i.e. miracle, which Mohammad insistently declared his inability to work.
The Summoner: the archangel Isrāfīl.
Called it a lie, i.e. denied the doctrine of one God and of a Day of Judgment.
P. [42]. Ad: an ancient Arab people, destroyed in prehistoric days. See Lane: Selections from the Kur-ān, 60-62.
Thamūd: another tribe, which experienced a similar fate. See Lane, ibid.