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 DARASA. 37

is very apt to degenerate and to "become a mere laying of stress on the unimportant, a searching for meanings where there are none, and for allusions which are. purely accidental. And so the word acquired a secondary mean- ing, viz., to trifle, to invent a meaning and force it into a passage. Compare the standing expression ! current among many who seek 2 the simple primary meaning. The word in this usage occurs in the Quran, particularly in the mouth of Muhammad's opponents ; though until now this fact has not been recognised. The obviously misunder- stood passage in Sura VI. 105 3 is thus explained, also that in VI. 157. 4 The former may be thus translated : " And when we variously explain our signs, they may say if they like : Thy explanations are far fetched, we will expound it to people of understanding " ; and the latter as follows : " Eest ye should say : the Scriptures were only sent down unto two peoples before us, but we turn away from their system of forced explanation" ; i.e., they have left the Scriptures to us so overlaid and distorted that we cannot follow them. It is remarkable that this word, which is not a usual one in the Quran, appears in this sense only in the sixth Sura where it occurs twice ; and this is evidence that just at the time of the composition of this Sura the word in its secondary meaning was used by some persons as a reproach to Muhammad. This observation furthermore^ might well serve to indicate the unity of this Sura. Rabbdni 5 teacher. This Rabbinical word is probably