"They read," present or imperfect tense, "are reading," or "are in the habit of reading." These are the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, in current use among the Jews and Christians, which elsewhere are spoken of as "confirmed" or "attested" by the Corân.

It is not necessary to determine what is meant by "that which was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, and Jacob." It may probably signify the revelations made to them or respecting them, as recorded in the Books of Moses. It is to be noted, however, that the

expression used in reference to the patriarchs, ما أنزل —that which was revealed to them, differs from the phrase applied to the Scriptures which were "given" or "delivered" to the prophets: ما أوتي موسى وعيسى وما أوتي النبيون من ربهم أتي "that which was given unto Moses and Jesus, and that which was given unto the prophets from their Lord." The word أوتي is used only of a Book, Scripture, or Revelation, committed to writing, and so spoken of as given or delivered; whereas the former term, (نزل ) signifies the inspiration, or revelation, to man of the will of God, which may or may not be recorded.

The verse proceeds with a very important declaration of the necessity of belief in the Scriptures which "were given to Moses, to Jesus, and to the prophets from their Lord," equally with the Corân; to make no distinction between them; to honour, reverence and obey all, because all are held in the Corân to be equally the word of God. Why is it then that those who believe in the Corân neglect these sacred Scriptures, the observance of which is inculcated by their prophet as an indispensable condition of Islâm.