24 Ar. a Hanyf.  According to a tradition in Waquidi, fol. 255, Zaid (who died only five years before Muhammad received his first inspiration, and undoubtedly prepared the way for many of his subsequent announcements) adopted this term at the instance of a Christian and a Jew, who exhorted him to become a Hanyf.  Zaid having at this time renounced idolatry, and being unable to receive either Judaism or Christianity, “What,” said he, “is a Hanyf?” They both told him, it was the religion of Abraham, who worshipped nothing but God.  On this Zaid exclaimed, “O God, I bear witness that I follow the religion of Abraham.”  The root, whence Hanyf is derived, means generally to turn from good to bad, or vice versâ, and is equivalent to the verbs convert and pervert.

25 All Muhammadan commentators explain this verse as a prohibition to avenge the death of Hamza on the Meccans with too great severity.

SURA XXX.-THE GREEKS [LXXIV.]

Mecca.-60 Verses

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

ELIF.  Lam.  Mim.1 The Greeks have been defeated2

In a land hard by:  But after their defeat they shall defeat their foes,

In a few years.3 First and last is the affair with God.  And on that day shall the faithful rejoice

In the aid of their God:  He aideth whom He will; and He is the Mighty, the
Merciful.

It is the promise of God:  To his promise God will not be untrue:  but most men know it not.

They know the outward shews of this life present, but of the next life are they careless.

Have they not considered within themselves that God hath not created the Heavens and the Earth and all that is between them but for a serious end, and for a fixed term?  But truly most men believe not that they shall meet their Lord.

Have they never journeyed through the land, and seen what hath been the end of those who were before them?  Mightier were they than these in strength; and they broke up the land, and dwelt in it in greater numbers than they who dwell there now; and their apostles came to them with proofs of their mission:  and it was not God who would wrong them, but they wronged themselves.

Then evil was the end of the evil doers; because they had treated our signs as lies, and laughed them to scorn.

God bringth forth the creation-then causeth it to return again-then to Him shall ye come back.4

And on the day when the hour shall arrive, the guilty shall be struck dumb for despair,

And they shall have no intercessors from among the gods whom they have joined with God, and they shall deny the gods they joined with Him.

And on that day when the Hour shall arrive, shall men be separated one from another;

And as for those who shall have believed and done the things that are right, they shall enjoy themselves in a flowery mead;