Page:Judaism and Islam, a prize essay - Geiger - 1898.pdf/31

 COMPLAINT AGAINST THE JEWS. 13

the sense of the evil one," l So that he was obliged to substitute " andhurna," which also means " look on us." 2 Further instead of hifctat 3, "forgiveness", they said probably " Khatiat" 4," "Sin." Jalalu'd-din 5 gives ano- ther variation and says that instead of the required word hubbat", love, the Jews said "habbat fi sh'airat" i.e., A grain in an ear of barley." Then they changed the salutation " As-salam 'alaika" 6 i.e., " Peace be upon thee", into " As-sam 'alaika" ? which means " Mischief on thee," 8 and this is the ground of Muhammad's complaint in Surah Iviii. 9. Such occurrences, though they led later to a great hatred on his part towards the Jews, must at first, while he still had a hope of converting them, have induced him to try all possible means to conciliate them ; for they

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1 3H ra." Jalalu'd-din says (Maracci in loco) :

&jfiji\ yw <__v* 6&3\ &i> yfc j " And this is among the Jews a word of reproach meaning folly."

3 tijfif Quran II. 98, IV. 48. 49. 3 1L VII, 161, 162, II. 55, 56.

5 Jalalu'd-din (Maracci.)

"habbat "i.e. love.

o a ^a. " habbat fi sh'aicafc " i,e. a grain in an ear of barley, 6

On this Elpherar comments as follows :



The meaning "death" which Elpherar here assigns to the word *\ is quite foreign to it, as is also " contempt", which is more appropriate for f>)*>. The commentators appear, therefore, to have had in mind the Hebrew

word DDj which with fT]&n understood would mean " poison."