The Mohammedan System of Theology/Chapter 1

by William Henry Neale

CHAPTER I.

 

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SUMMARY OF THE LIFE OF MOHAMMED: COMPRISING THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF THE GREAT EASTERN APOSTASY, WITH THE CAUSES THAT CONTRIBUTED TO ITS SUCCESS; THE STATE OF ISLAMISM ON THE DEATH OF ITS AUTHOR, AND UNDER HIS SUCCESSORS THE CALIPHS.

 

The Eastern world is fraught with recollections interesting to the scholar, the antiquarian, and the statesman, as being the earliest seat of empire, the cradle of the arts and sciences, which are conducive to the embellishment and comfort of society; the seat from whence colonies emigrated to people and form new states: its magnitude and population, natural advantages both of climate and soil, and political importance invite and repay the most diligent research into its history; but the religious aspect, which it wears, particularly fixes the attention, and awakens the sympathy of the Christian, whilst contrasting its present degeneracy with its former splendid condition: it was in this quarter where the grand scene of Revelation was gradually unfolded, where Patriarchs and Prophets lived, and in the fulness of time Jesus promulgated that religion, the sum and substance of former revelations, whose benign influence has meliorated the condition of mankind, and to whose sublime discoveries we are indebted for the clearest and most consolatory views of eternity.

The spectacle now exhibited by the Eastern world, is that of an affecting apostasy from the true faith, which has existed for more than twelve centuries, with a very injurious effect, and a marked and striking contrast to the beneficial operation of the Christian dispensation, The revolutions of empire read us an instructive lesson on the instability of human affairs; and it is with religious the same as civil privileges: if not suitably improved, they may be judicially withdrawn. Where are the once flourishing Churches of Africa, rendered famous by the labours of Origen? and what is now the state of the Eastern hemisphere, once so highly celebrated? These considerations may well excite us to watchfulness and diligent scrutiny of our principles and practices: we should note the causes which contributed to the downfall of others, that we may be better prepared to encounter and happily overcome the difficulties to which, under some form or other, all are alike exposed.

Mohammed, who was the principal actor in effecting this stupendous mental and political revolution, was born at Mecca, in Arabia Petræa, A.D. 569^[1], his father's name was Abdallah, and his mother was Amena, respectably connected, and allied to the tribe of Koreish, and the family of Hashem, the hereditary guardians of the Caaba, or temple at Mecca; whither devotees repaired, from high antiquity, to worship their Pagan deities. Early deprived of his father, whilst only in his second year, the care of himself and mother devolved upon his grand-father Abdal-Motalleb: the hand of death again severed the natural tie and rendered him an orphan: his grand-father also sunk under the weight of years, and transferred him to the care of his uncle Abu-Taleb, so that no very flattering prognostications could have been formed of his future celebrity. Abu-Taleb seems to have discharged his duty well, and designed him for commerce, a mode of lite held in high estimation among the Arabs, because that part of Arabia enjoyed no agricultural advantages, and the intercourse between states and the various necessities of life were supported and relieved by caravans or companies of trading merchants^[2], to which allusion is made in the writings of Moses. A world of controversy has been elicited concerning his early education: his followers, to enhance the reputation of their Prophet, maintain that he could neither read nor write, while the opponents of Islamism as strongly insist that such ignorance was more affected than real. Among the moderns, Gibbon strongly contends for the illiterateness of the Prophet, and White advocates the contrary side of the question.

At this distance of time at is impossible to ascertain satisfactorily the nature of his attainments, most likely they were similar to what those enjoyed in the same sphere with himself, his equals in society, though probably destitute of those advantages attainable by all ranks in our days; because the necessary arts of reading and writing were confined chiefly to the Christians and Jews, who are called People of the Book, and were rare qualifications amongst the independent tribes. Though Job, who was an Arabian, and prior to Mohammed by several centuries, understood letters^[3], yet the discovery had been subsequently lost; and the rude Cufic character was introduced only a few years anterior to the birth of Mohammed. Still, on whichever side of the question the balance may incline is not very material, because Mohammed had it in his power to procure any assistance that might be requisite.

But whatever educatory advantages or defects attended his infancy, the subject of this memoir was highly gifted by nature, inheriting a graceful person and commanding genius, superior to the age in which he lived, a combination of rare qualities joined with an enthusiasm of character which, when circumtances demanded, developed mental resources fully equal to all the occasions of his diversified career^[4].

The incidents of his early life are soon related and much to his credit. First, in the service of his uncle; and afterwards as factor to Khadijah, widow of one of the chief inhabitants of his native town, he negotiated in various places with such zeal, ability, and success as to secure the respect and attachment of his employers: his uncle, though never his convert, ever stood forward as his protector and shielded him from many dangers with which he was threatened by the Koreish; and he afterwards obtained the person and fortune of Khadijah, which rendered him equal in opulence with any in Mecca, and fully restored him to the station of his ancestors^[5].

During the whole of this union, notwithstanding a disparity of years on the side of his wife, the conduct of Mohammed appears not only to have been correct, but amiable and exemplary, and when subsequent events. placed unlimited power and indulgence within his reach, ingratitude to Khadijah cannot be reckoned amongst his vices. It is recorded that when Ayesha, in all the insolence of beauty, said, "Was not Khadijah old, and has not God given you a better in her place?" "No!" cried the grateful Mohammed, "there never was a kinder or a better woman. She trusted in me when men mocked at and despised me: she relieved my wants when I was poor and persecuted by the world: she was all devotion to my cause^[6]." Not only his observations at Mecca, the seat of ancient superstition, but extensive information derived from his transactions with the leading sects of the day, under their different modifications, whether Pagan, Jewish, or Christian, convinced him of the powerful influence of religion on the sentiments and practice of mankind: he observed also hostile feelings in sects differing from each other, and endless divisions of sentiment among those professing the same creed. The Unity of the Godhead also which forms the distinguishing feature of the Koran, seemed in his estimation almost obliterated or in danger of being lost^[7], as well by the idolatry of his countrymen in joining mediators with God as by certain obnoxious tenets, subversive of that grand truth imputed both to Jews and Christians.

Arabia, at this time, harboured a singular variety of sects, and offered a fine field for a religious or political experimentalist. Here Paganism flourished under various forms, the Jews had also flocked and established themselves here as in a place of security after their expulsion from Rome by the Emperor Adrian, and various sects of Christians, as they were successively crushed at Constantinople, fled hither for protection, carrying with them and broaching their respective tenets without molestation. Grievous as it may be, it is still important to note the unhappy heresies which have agitated at different times, the Church of Christ.

From a very early period, even during the life of the immediate disciples of our Lord, the Enemy was not backward in sowing tares: in the days of St. John, whose writings close the Canon of the New Testament, heresies had advanced to a considerable height, particularly those of Ebion and Cerinthus, and the several sects of Gnostics, which commenced with Simon Magus, and were continued and carried on by Valentinus and Basilides, Carpocrates and Menander. The Divinity of Jesus was denied by Ebion, according to Eusebius and Epiphanius, who asserted him to be a mere man, and to have had no existence before he was born of the Virgin Mary. The Gnostics had debased Christianity by intermixing with its pure doctrines the reveries of Jewish Cabbalists, the conceits of Pythagoras and Plato, and the Chaldæan philosophy, the genealogy of divine emanations and distinctions respecting the Person of Christ. Thus errors had been lamentably accumulating, The symptoms indicated a general decay and dereliction of first principles. The adoration of relics, the worship of images, saints and angels, transubstantiation, the deification of the Virgin Mary, amongst the Collyridian heretics, and purgatory, were the hateful offspring of this and the preceding centuries. Gregory the Great compares the Church to a rotten and leaky ship, hourly threatened with wreck. Ichabod, thy glory is departed, may be considered as a suitable emblem.

 

"I saw thy glory as a shooting star
Fall to the base earth from the firmament."

 

Various writings were current^[8] amongst the different sects, and interpolated to answer particular purposes, such as the Gospel of Cerinthus, or the Nazarenes, the Preaching and Revelation of Peter; the Gospel of Barnabas; the Prot-Evangelion of James, or the Gospel of the Birth of Mary, the Gospel of the Infancy of Christ, and many others, which were never generally acknowledged, and have now. sunk into merited obscurity and almost oblivion; but at that time they possessed a certain degree of weight and circulation.

Such a posture of affairs might suggest to the contemplative and ardent mind of Mohammed the desirableness of winning over the contending factions to some common principle of essential truth, such as the Unity of the God-head, which, according to his views, seemed dreadfully obscured, if not in danger of total extinction. What were his original motives we cannot say, perhaps, however, at first, the idea of subjugating so vast a portion of the globe might not have entered his mind: he could not, with certainty, calculate on a successful issue, with whatever purity of intention; and must have anticipated various impediments in his attempt to stem the torrent of conflicting opinions and interests. Whether enthusiasm or hypocrisy predominated in the commencement of his career is a question that admits of no easy solution, and must be left to that unerring Judge, to whom all hearts are open, and from whom no secrets are hid; thus much may be observed, that the diligence, zeal, and address, with which he prosecuted his enterprise, and pursued it through all its details, at Mecca, would have done credit to a better cause.

As John, the Baptist, prepared for his important office as Precursor of the Messiah, in the solitude of a desert, so Mohammed affected an almost total seclusion from the world, in a cave at Mount Hara, near Mecca, where he boasted of celestial revelations through the medium of the Angel Gabriel. The outlines of his plan were here formed, or varied according to circumstances: this event occurred somewhere about the period when the grant of the Emperor Phocas had been obtained, conferring the title of Universal Pastor on the haughty Prelate of Rome. Phocas usurped the sceptre with enormous crimes; his state required support, and he laboured to gain Pope Gregory's interest, and in return the Pope, desirous of the Primacy, made application to Phocas to confirm his pretensions; but Gregory dying before the completion, Boniface, his successor, obtained the sanction, and assumed the style of Universal Bishop,

Without attempting minutely to fix the æra of these two remarkable occurrences, viz. Mohammed's retirement to the cave at Hara, and the assumption of such a title by the Roman Pontiff, they followed so closely together as justly to be considered a singular coincidence. The epocha was particularly turbulent in the annals of history, marked with the formation of new kingdoms out of the mighty wreck of the Roman empire, jealousy and divisions in the neighbouring states, comparative tranquillity with no preponderating interest amongst the independent Arabian tribes, who were rising into importance, and required only a principle of union to become truly formidable. At this period, two mighty influences were at work in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, against civil and religious establishments, destined hereafter to acquire such extensive domination, each characterised by singular properties, unlimited pretensions, and enormous attempts. The one was avowedly Anti-Christ, the opponent pf the person and glory of Messiah; the other was the same, not by the open profession of infidelity, but by secret and no less destructive arts, strengthening and upholding a system of usurpation, corruption and fraud, which, while it tended to the aggrandizement of the popedom, virtually dethroned the Saviour, and converted the best gift of God, the religion of Jesus Christ, into the very reverse of all the ends for which it was designed. With regard to Mohammed, had he pretended no particular call, and restricted himself to the inculcation of the unity of the divine nature, he might have been transmitted to posterity as the head of a sect, but not as the founder or compiler of the code which now hears his name. Asserting a particular call exposes him to reprehension: there is no God but God, is an acknowledged truth, but that Mohammed is his prophet is a fiction. The natural and penal consequence of error is to produce itself in endless variety This accounts for his tampering with Christianity and Judaism, it being necessary to the success of his projects to recognise those ancient and widely prevailing modes of faith, and to mix up or counteract what might not suit his purposes. The basis, or ground-work of the attempt at religious comprehension, is sufficiently ample: the curious admixture in the Koran of pagan superstition, reveries of the Talmud, detached passages of Scripture, and portions of spurious and Apocryphal writings, is dealt out with a studious accommodation to the pre-conceived notions and views of different sects, and at the same time, not to appear a servile imitator, some trifling alterations are introduced, On opening his commission, with all that sagacity and tact which distinguishes this extraordinary character throughout the whole of his progress, he makes powerful appeals to the national prepossessions or prejudices of his countrymen: he professes himself a delegate from Heaven to them, saying, as mankind were not saved by the writings of Moses, the Psalter, or New Testament, that he was deputed fully to instruct the favoured Arabians by the Koran, to supply the deficiencies of former revelations, and to close the book of prophecy. The Arabians prided themselves in their descent from Ishmael, and the antiquity of the temple at Mecca: in accordance with these feelings he states^[9], that it was built by angels for the Patriarch Abraham, after the pattern of that in which Adam had worshipped God in Paradise, and that it is placed under its arche-type in heaven (consequently they consider Paradise in heaven,) and that Abraham and Ishmael worshipped there; that in process of time idolatry prevailed, from which he was commissioned to rescue them: he further designates his faith as a republication of that of Abraham, who, he says, was neither Jew nor Christian, but a Musulman^[10]; he allows the missions of former Prophets to an extent almost bordering on licence, reserving however to himself the superiority. Various accounts are adapted, partly from the Scriptures, and partly from other sources, to shew the vengeance of God upon such as slighted former messengers^[11]. He gave them to understand that the old world was destroyed by a deluge, for disobedience to Noah, that Sodom was consumed by fire and brimstone for its treatment of Lot, and the Egyptians were drowned in the Red Sea for rejecting the mission of Moses, and also that Ad and Thamud, two ancient Arabian tribes, were swept away from the face of the earth for neglecting the warning of Saleh^[12]; he proclaimed also the joys of heaven and the torments of hell, to all who should receive or reject his mission^[13].

During his residence at Mecca, it is universally allowed that his general conduct was mild and conciliatory, labouring with indefatigable industry in the work of Proselytism. The first convert was his wife Khadijah, on repeating to her a passage pretended to be revealed by the angel, and which is generally supposed to include the first five verses of the 96th chapter; from esteeming him as a husband, she admitted his claims as a prophet^[14]. At her solicitation, her cousin, who was versed in the Scriptures, became the next convert, then his slave Zeid, whom he presented with liberty, a practice still prevalent among the Moslems towards slaves who embrace their faith: his cousin and pupil, Ali, son of Abu Taleb, next followed, who has sometimes been dignified with the title of the first of Believers: after him succeeded Abu-beker, with five principal men of the city, all in the space of about three years^[15].

About this time Mohammed pretended a command from God to admonish his near relations^[16], and at an entertainment expressly given for the purpose, he explicitly announced his mission, and invited them, in glowing language, to participate in the promised blessings: his overtures were treated with ridicule, and indignantly rejected; the youthful Ali alone remaining firm to the Prophet. Abu-Taleb remonstrated with them on the dangers which they incurred by such conduct; but enthusiasm, such as theirs, was impervious ta reason or argument: the venerable man, notwithstanding, being still solicitous for their safety, protected them by his influence, when he could no longer benefit them by admonition^[17]. The Koreish, from enmity to the Prophet, persecuted his followers, but this ended in the usual method, of rather strengthening than impeding the cause: the work of proselytism gradually advanced, and the number of converts in seven years must have been considerable, judging from the absence of eighty-three men and eighteen women, who retired to Ethiopia: his party was further fortified by the accession of his uncle Hamza, and Omar, who afterwards signalized himself so much in the cause of Islamism. Notwithstanding every attempt of the Koreish to crush the obnoxious sect, it increased under opposition.

An event occurred in the tenth year of his mission, likely to prove of serious consequence to Mohammed and his followers, and this was the demise of his kind friend and patron, Abu-Taleb, at the advanced age of four-score years: the afflicting blow was succeeded by the death of his wife Khadijah. The Koreish, free from restraint, used every effort to crush the rising sect, but the fame and pretensions of Mohammed had gained ground not only at Mecca, but Medina, where a strong impression had been created in his favour by some converts.

In the twelfth year, the singular story was fabricated of his pretended^[18] journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, on a mysterious animal called Al-borek, and from thence in the company of Gabriel to heaven, where being admitted into the immediate presence of God, he was favoured with particular regard: from heaven he returned again to Jerusalem, and afterwards to Mecca, performing in the tenth part of a night the journey of many thousand years^[19].

Great as was the credulity of his followers, many were offended and left, but Abu-beker, his successor in the regal and pontifical dignity, vouching for the veracity of the Prophet, preserved his tottering reputation at this critical juncture, and saved his sinking cause. Mohammed perceived affairs taking such a turn at Mecca, that longer continuance there would be perilous in the extreme: at first he was undecided as to the place of retreat, but at length Medina appeared the most eligible asylum. His retreat is considered as miraculous by the Musulmans, and frequently adverted to in the Koran^[20], a regular conspiracy had been formed by the Koreish for his assassination, and he was preserved only by the magnanimity of Ali, who averted the blow by personating the Prophet in his house, and thus affording him time for escape^[21]. Being pursued by the Koreish, and accompanied only by Abu-beker, he sought refuge in a cave, where a circumstance that transpired strongly displays his enthusiasm: "We are only two," said his companion in a desponding tone, "there is a third, replied the Prophet, and that is God, he will defend us^[22]." The lance of an Arab, it has been observed, might now have changed the History of the World^[23]. The fugitives, on their road to Medina, were overtaken by a party of the Koreish, but redeemed themselves by prayers and promises from their hands. After several narrow escapes, they arrived at the place of their destination, where Ali, having adjusted his affairs at Mecca, joined them about three days after. The flight gave birth to the Mohammedan æra of computing time, and is supposed to have occurred about the year of our Lord 622^[24]. A powerful party welcomed him with acclamation, he assumed the regal and sacerdotal dignity, and his interest was further strengthened by the marriage of his daughter Fatima, the only surviving child of his wife Khadijah, to his cousin Ali. Here, having purchased a small portion of land, the patrimony of two orphans, he erected a mosque for the duties of religion and officiated there, when he prayed and preached in the weekly assembly in a style of rude simplicity, leaning against the trunk of a palm-tree.

Few can hold the cup of prosperity with an even hand: henceforward the lustre of his character is tarnished: he lays aside restraint, and gives the rein to his passions. Instead of setting an example of conformity to his own precepts, favourable as they were to indulgence, by allowing his followers four, in the whole, either wives oz concubines, he claims a greater latitude, and by special favour nine females were allotted to himself. But even this did not satisfy the Prophet: the grossness of his amours can only be equalled by the impiety of making them the subject of revelation and divine interference: witness the amour with Mary the Egyptian, and the revelation that ensued^[25]: his affair with the wife of his freeman Zeid^[26]: witness the vindication of Ayesha, when suspected of nuptial infidelity^[27], and other arrangements specifically appointed by heaven for the wives of the Prophet^[28].

Notwithstanding all the efforts of his followers at vindication, regarding it as typical of the greater privileges of believers under his dispensation, such gross inconsistency must ever form an insuperable objection to his prophetical character. His public proceedings are directly opposed to his former declarations. The gentle and patient teacher and admonisher at Mecca, he who for thirteen years had opposed the dissentients there with meek endurance, now renounces his former principles, and grasps the sword which was henceforth considered as the key of Paradise! Conversion or tribute was the alternative allowed the Christians and Jews; whilst the Pagans had no choice between conversion and death!

Mohammed had discovered at Mecca, after the most unremitting exertion, the slow progress of Proselytism from preaching only: to encounter perpetual opposition, to have that opposition renewed in various modes and different quarters, without ability to convince, or power to over-awe, presents a grievous trial and hopeless prospect to the feelings of an enthusiast, and no wonder he grew weary of the course, and when power shewed a readier path, determined to uphold his favourite tenets by compulsion. Some intimation of a change of system had been given In the 22nd chapter of the Koran, which was revealed a little before his fight from Mecca; but the 8th and 9th chapters delivered at Medina are decidedly of a warlike complexion, All his manœuvres are characterized by deep sagacity and consummate policy. He powerfully works upon the passions and superstitious feelings of his followers, which were constantly raised to a pitch of high excitement, and never suffered to subside. On all emergencies a transcript from the mysterious volume of heaven was produced to fix their wavering resolutions, and stamp the approbation of God on his undertakings. With such an engine ever ready for action, Mohammed's course was successful, and difficulties vanished. Whatever suited his purpose was carefully registered in the mystic page. Every instance of good fortune was described as a direct interposition of God; failure or defeat were attributed to their own sins of disobedience, or designed to exercise and prove their virtues. Fighting for the faith was extolled as a most meritorious service, and death in the cause as a certain passport to the distinguished joys of Paradise: they were further instructed to believe, that when the destined hour arrived, fate could neither be retarded or averted, but would overtake them in the security of their dwellings, as well as amidst the shock of battle. The enthusiasm and devotion of his troops were thus unbounded. Nothing was difficult to men so excited. They were fighting in the presence of the Prophet of Heaven: if victorious, glory and riches awaited them; but, if doomed to fall in the ensanguined field, their brows would be encircled with the martyr's crown!

Whilst all was fervour and enthusiasm among them, Mohammed, like the presiding genius of the storm, was cool and collected, controlling and directing the ardour of his troops to the accomplishment of his self-interested and ambitious projects. His first attacks were directed against the caravans, to revenge himself on the Koreish, by which plunder was acquired. The battle of Beder^[29], in the second year of the Hegira, tended principally to establish his reputation, and is the continued theme of Arabian panegyric, as well as frequently adverted to in the Koran; for, though fought on a small scale, several miraculous circumstances were feigned to have attended it, the belief of which was of essential service to his cause. Mohammed's forces were said to have consisted of no more than 319 men^[30], whilst the Koreish were nearly a thousand strong, yet, notwithstanding such a disparity of numbers, he routed and vanquished them, killing seventy, and taking an equal number of prisoners, with the loss to himself of only fourteen individuals.

The Koran points out three things as miraculous in this engagement.

1st. Mohammed, by the direction of Gabriel, at a crisis of danger, took a handful of gravel, and threw it towards the enemy, exclaiming, "May their faces be confounded." But though apparently the Prophet cast it at them himself, the Koran gravely affirms that it was not He, but God, who did it by the ministry of the angel.

2ndly. It is positively declared, that the troops of Mohammed seemed to the hostile squadron twice as numerous as they really were.

3dly. That God dismissed to their assistance first 1000, and afterwards 3000 angels, under Gabriel, who are said to have done all the execution, though it is acknowledged that the troops acquitted themselves heroically, and from appearances might justly arrogate the credit of the victory to themselves. The Prophet here most adroitly pretends to have received directions respecting the division of the spoil, which the Koran orders to be divided equally amongst them, with the reservation of a fifth part for particular purposes. Thus he accomplished a point of great difficulty with robbers and freebooters, amongst whom authority rests on a very precarious tenure; and all enactments and interference, where their interest is concerned, are regarded with a very jealous eye, and pregnant with danger; and having thus become quietly possessed of the sinews of war, he was provided for enterprises of greater magnitude.

Troops, constituted like his, would be liable to one disadvantage; the difficulty would be to restrain their enthusiasm within due limits, or inspire confidence after defeat; and here the rare assemblage of talents in Mohammed command our admiration.

The Koreish, to avenge their loss at Beder, attacked him the following year, being the third of the Hegira, with a vast superiority of force, at Ohod, a mountain about four miles to the north of Medina; the advantage at first was on Mohammed's side, but afterwards, in consequence of the archers' leaving their ranks for the sake of plunder, they were encompassed and surrounded by the enemy's cavalry: the Prophet himself was wounded, and narrowly escaped with life; seventy Moslems were slain, and amongst them Hamza, the uncle and standard-bearer of Mohammed. The Koreish wanted strength or courage to pursue their advantages, by laying siege to Medina; and the Musulmans rallied again. The following specimen of his skill in restoring the spirits of his party, is in the third chapter of the Koran; "It was," he says, “to try and prove them. We cause these days of different success interchangeably to succeed each other among men, that God may know those who believe, and have martyrs from among you; and that God might prove those that believe, and destroy the infidels." He further says, "Thou shalt by no means reckon those that have been slain in the cause of God at Ohod, dead; nay, they are sustained alive with their Lord, rejoicing for what God of his favour has granted them, and being glad for those who, coming after them, have not as yet overtaken them; because there shall no fear come on them, neither shall they be grieved. They are filled with joy for the favour which they have received from God and his bounty, and that for that God suffereth not the reward of the faithful to perish."

The third and last expedition of the Koreish is variously named, from the nations who marched under the banners of Abu-Sophian, and from the ditch drawn before the city. A tempest of wind and hail, and mutual disagreements, separated the confederates, Mohammed improves these incidents to his advantage^[31]. "O true believers, remember the favour of God towards you, when armies of infidels came against you, and we sent against them a wind, and hosts of angels, which ye saw not," &c.

The Jews were visited with his deepest vengeance: the Jewish tribe of Kainoka was driven from Medina, to implore a refuge on the confines of Syria. The Nadhirites, who surrendered at discretion, perhaps with the expectation of mercy, experienced the vanity of their hopes in the humanity of the Prophet^[32]. Seven hundred Jews were dragged in chains to the market-place at Medina: they descended alive into the grave prepared for their execution and burial, and the apostle beheld, with an inflexible eye, the slaughter of his helpless enemies^[33].

After having reduced Chaibar, the chief was tortured in the presence of Mohammed, to force a confession of his hidden treasure, and here he narrowly escaped being poisoned. A Jewish female, with a view to ascertain the truth of his prophetical pretensions, placed before him at supper a poisoned dish^[34]; one of his companions fell a victim, and it is supposed, that Mohammed, who partook of it more sparingly, never recovered from the fatal effects. It is superfluous to enter into the details of the various battles where victory and defeat eventually promoted his cause; some reckon no less than twenty-seven expeditions in which Mohammed was personally present. The eyes of the Prophet were constantly directed towards Mecca: he proceeded against it: his attack was not successful, but ended in a truce for 10 years, which still strengthened his power.

At length in the 8th year of the Hegira, with 10,000 men devoted to his service, he again attacked Mecca, on account of the violation of the agreement entered into with him, and took possession of it, purging the temple of its idols, and fixing there the chief seat of his religion. The people professed Islam, and he was enthroned as the Prince and Prophet of his native country. The next, the 9th year of the Hegira, the Moslems term the year of embassies, for ambassadors flocked from all quarters to form or seek alliance, both at Mecca while he staid there, and at Medina, whither he returned this year.

His conquests rapidly increased till his death: his mortal disease was a bilious fever which occasionally affected his reason, and originated, as is thought, from the poison taken two years before. His enthusiasm accompanied him to the last hour of expiring nature. The Prophet seems wrought to such a pitch as to imagine himself an instrument in the hand of Heaven for accomplishing particular purposes. If however according to his own principles, success denoted the dive approbation, the dazzling height to which he was exalted might affect his mind; after endeavouring so long to deceive others, he might end in self-deception, or be given over to strong delusion. Many have evinced the master-passion strong in death, Cromwell, who with high religious professions, like him

 

"Waded through seas of slaughter to the throne,"

 

employed his last prayer in intercession for his country. Previous to his dissolution, Mohammed tendered restitution to all whom he had injured, and is said to have expressed his lively confidence, not only of the mercy, but favour of the Supreme Being. When his faculties were visibly impaired, he called for pen and ink to write or dictate something of importance, but Omar observed that his precepts were engraven on their hearts, and no further revelation was necessary. Having mentioned that the Angel of Death could not take his soul without his permission, the request was granted, and he expired in the apartment of Ayesha, A.D. 632, in the 63d year of his age. For some time his followers were inconsolable, and almost incredulous to the reality of their loss, but their love was manifested in paying the last tribute of respect to his remains, which were honourably interred at Medina, in the room where he died^[35]/. We are told "that the innumerable pilgrims of Mecca often turn aside from the way to bow in voluntary devotion before the simple tomb of the Prophet^[36]."

Thus from small beginnings, aided by a peculiarly favourable concurrence of circumstances and a rare combination of talent, this extraordinary personage reached the pinnacle of earthly power, having united the various independent tribes in one faith, and under one particular form of government, and laid the foundations of an empire which, under the Caliphs, his immediate successors, surpassed imperial Rome in extent of territory and population; and still continues at this day, in one part of Europe and in most parts of Asia and Africa!

1. Gibbon.
2. Koran, chapter 106.
3. Job xix. 23, 24.
4. See Sale, Gibbon, White, Mills and Maltby.
5. See Sale, Gibbon, Maltby, Mills.
6. Sale, Mills.
7. Jones thinks that the Mohammedan scheme was much founded on, or gathered from the tenets of the Montanists or Manichees, or both. Montanus pretended to deal with a demon, and his followers were taught to acknowledge him as the Paraclete. See Jones on the Canonical Authority of the New Testament.
8. For an account of all the Apocryphal pieces, and an able confutation, see Jones on the Canonical Authority of the New Testament.
9. Koran, chap. 2.
10. Ibid, chap, 23.
11. Koran, chap. 7.
12. Ibid., chap. 7.
13. Ibid. chap. 21.
14. See Sale, Maltby, Mills.
15. See Gibbon.
16. Koran, chap, xxvi. and lxxiv.
17. See Sale, Mills.
18. Not having Abul-feda’s work to refer to, I am indebted to Dr. Prideaux for the following account of the Night Journey. Gibbon says Abul-feda wishes to think it a vision, that Prideaux aggravates the absurdities, and Gagnier declares from the zealous Al Jannabi, that to deny this journey, is to disbelieve the Koran.

    In the 12th year of his pretended mission, is placed the Mesra, that is, his famous night-journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, and from thence to Heaven, of which he tells us in the 17th chapter of his Alcoran. For the people calling on him for miracles ta prove his mission, and he being able to work none, to solve the matter, he invents this story of his journey to Heaven, which must be acknowledged to have miracle enough in it, by all those who have faith to believe it. His relation of it is as followeth. At night, as he lay in his bed with his best beloved wife Ayesha, he heard a knocking at his door, whereon arising, he found there the angel Gabriel with seventy pair of wings expanded from his sides, whiter than show and clearer than crystal, and the beast Alborak standing by him, which they say is the beast on which the prophets used to ride, when they were carried from one place to another, upon the execution of any Divine command. Mahomet describes it to be a beast as white as milk, and of a mixed nature between an ass and a mule, and also of a size between both, and of that extraordinary swiftness, that his passing from one place to another was as quick as that of lightning, and from thence it is that he had the name of Alborak, that word signifying lightning in the Arabic tongue. As soon as Mahomet appeared at the door, the angel Gabriel most kindly embracing him, did with a very sweet and pleasing countenance salute him in the name of God, and told him that he was sent to bring him unto God into heaven, where he should see strange mysteries, which were not lawful to be seen by any other man, and then bid him get upon the Alborak. But the beast, it seems, having long lain idle from the time of Christ till Mahomet (there having been no prophet in all that interval to employ him) was grown so resty and skittish, that he would not stand still for Mahomet to get up upon him, till at length he was forced to bribe him to it, by promising him a place in Paradise; whereon having quietly taken him on his back, the angel Gabriel leading the way with the bridle of the beast in his hand, he carried him from Mecca to Jerusalem in the twinkling of an eye. On his coming thither, all the prophets and saints departed, appeared at the gate of the Temple to salute him, and from thence attending him into the chief oratory, desired him to pray for them, and then departed. Whereupon Mahomet with the angel Gabriel going out of the Temple, found there a ladder of light ready fixed for them, which they immediately ascended, leaving the Alborak there tied to a rock till their return. On their arrival at the first heaven, the angel Gabriel knocked at the gate, and having informed the porter who he was, and that he brought Mahomet, the friend of God, with him by the Divine command, the gates were immediately opened, which he describes to be of a prodigious largeness. This first heaven, he tells us, was all of pure silver, and that he there saw the stars hanging from it by chains of gold, each being of the bigness of Mount No-ho, near Mecca in Arabia; and that in these stars angels kept watch and ward for the guard of heaven, to keep off the devils from approaching near it, lest they should overhear and know what was there done. On his first entering into this heaven, he saith, he met an old, decrepit man, and this was our first father Adam, who immediately embraced him, giving God thanks for so great a son, and then recommended himself to his prayers. As he entered further, he saw a multitude of angels of all manner of shapes; some in that of men, others in that of birds, and others in that of beasts of all manner of sorts. And among those who appeared in the several shapes of birds, he there saw a cock of colour as white as snow, and of so prodigious a bigness, that his feet standing upon the first heaven, his head reached up to the second, which was at the distance of five hundred years' journey from it, according to the rate we usually travel here on earth. But others among them, as they relate this matter from their prophet, hyperbolize much higher concerning it, telling us that the head of this cock reacheth up through all the seven heavens, as far as the throne of God, which is above seven times higher; and in the description of him say, that his wings are all over decked with carbuncles and pearls, and that he extends the one of them to the east, and the other to the west, at a distance proportionable to his height. Concerning all these the Impostor tells us, the angel Gabriel informed him, that they were angels which did from thence intercede with God for all living creatures on the earth. That those who interceded for men had there the shape of men; that those who in- terceded for beasts, the shape of beasts; and those who interceded for birds, the shape of birds, according to their several kinds. And that as to the great cock, that he was the chief angel of the cocks; that every morning God singing an holy hymn, this cock constantly joined with him in it by his crowing, which is so loud, that all hear it that are in heaven and earth, except men and fairies, and then all the other cocks that are in heaven and earth crow also. But when the day of judgment draws near, then God shall command him to draw in his wings and crew no more, which shall be a sign that that day is at hand, to all that are in heaven and earth, except men and fairies, who being afore deaf to his crowing, shall not then be sensible of his silence from it. And this cock the Mahometans look on to be in that great favour with God, that whereas it is a common saying among them, that there are three voices which God always hears; they reckon the first the voice of him that is constant in reading the Alcoran; the second, the voice of him that early every morning prayeth for the pardon of his sins; and the third, the voice of this cock when he croweth, which they say is ever most acceptable unto him. All this stuff of the cock Abdullah helped Mahomet to, out of the Talmudists. For it is all borrowed from them with some little variation only, to make it look not totally the same. For in the tract, Bava Bathra, of the Babylonish Talmud, we have a story of such a prodigious bird, called Ziz, which standing with his feet upon the earth, reacheth up unto the heavens with his head, and with the spreading of his wings darkeneth the whole orb of the sun, and causeth a total eclipse thereof. This bird the Chaldee Paraphrast on the Psalms says, is a cock, which he describes of the same bigness, and tells us that he crows before the Lord. And the Chaldee Paraphrast on Job also tells us of him, and of his crowing every morning before the Lord, and that God giveth him wisdom for this purpose. What is farther said of this bird of the Talmudists, may be seen in Buxtorf's Synagoga Judaica, cap. 50, and in Purchas's Pilgrimage, lib. i. cap. 20.

    From this first heaven, the Impostor tells us, he ascended up into the second, which was at the distance of five hundred years' journey above it, and this he makes to be the distance of every one of the seven heavens each above the other. Here the gates being opened unto him, as in the first heaven, at his entrance he met Noah, who rejoicing much at the sight of him, recommended himself to his prayers. In this heaven which was all made of pure gold, the Impostor tells us he saw twice as many angels as in the former, and among them one of a prodigious greatness. For his feet beg placed on this second heaven, his head reached to the third.

    From this second heaven he ascended up into the third, which was made of precious stones; where at the entrance he met Abraham, who also recommended himself to his prayers. And there he saw a vast many more angels than in the former heaven, and among them another great one of so prodigious a size, that the distance between his two eyes was as much as seventy thousand days' journey, according to our rate of travelling here on earth. But here Mahomet was out in his mathematics; for the distance between a man's eyes being in proportion to his height but as one to seventy-two, according to this rate, the height of this angel must have been near fourteen thousand years' journey, which is four times as much as the height of all his seven heavens together, and therefore it ts impossible such an angel could ever stand within any one of them. But notwithstanding this, here he placeth him, and in his description of him, tells us, that he had before him a large table, in which he was continually writing and blotting out; and that having asked the angel Gabriel of him, he was informed by him, that this was the angel of death, who continually writes into the table, which he had before him, the names of all that are to be born, and there computes the days of their life, and as he finds they have completed the number assigned them, again blots them out, and that whoever hath his name thus blotted out by him, immediately dies.

    From hence he ascended up into the fourth heaven, which was all of emerald; where at the entrance he met Joseph, the son of Jacob, who recommended himself to his prayers. And in this heaven he after saw a vastly larger number of angels than in the former, and among them another great angel, as high as from this fourth heaven to the fifth, who was continually weeping, and making great lamentation and mourning; and this, the angel Gabriel told him, was for the sins of men, and the destruction which they did thereby bring upon themselves.

    From hence he ascended up into the fifth heaven, which was made of adamant, where he found Moses, who recommended himself to his prayers; and there also he saw a much greater number of angels than in the former heaven.

    From hence he ascended up into the sixth heaven, which was all of carbuncle, where he found John the Baptist, who recommended himself to his prayers. And here he also saw the number of angels much increased beyond what he had seen in any of the former heavens.

    From hence he ascended up into the seventh heaven, which was all made of divine light, and here he found Jesus Christ, where it is to be observed, he alters his style. For he saith not, that Jesus Christ recommendeth himself to his prayers, but that he recommended himself to Jesus Christ, desiring him to pray for him; whereby he acknowledged him certainly to be the greater. But it was his usage, through the whole scene of his imposture, thus to flatter the Christians on all occasions. Here he saith, he found a much greater number of angels than in all the other heavens besides, and among them one extraordinary angel having seventy thousand heads, and in every head seventy thousand tongues, and every tongue uttering seventy thousand distinct voices at the same time, with which he continued day and night incessantly praising God.

    The angel Gabriel having brought him thus fur, told him, that it was not permitted him to go any farther, and therefore directed him to ascend up the rest of the way to the throne of God by himself, which, he saith, he performed with great difficulty, passing through waters and snow, and many other such difficult passages, till he came where he heard a voice saying unto him, "O Mahomet, salute thy Creator;" from whence ascending higher, he came into a place where he saw a vast extension of light, of that exceeding brightness, that his eyes could not bear it, and this was the habitation of the Almighty, where his throne was placed, on the right side of which, he says, God's name and his own were written in these Arabic words, La ellah ellallah Mohammed resul ellak, i. e. There is no God but God, and Mahomet is his Prophet; which is the creed of the Maho- metans, which words, he also says, he found written upon all the gates of the seven heavens, which he passed through. Being approached to the presence of God, as near as within two bow-shots, he tells us he saw him, sitting on his throne, with a covering of seventy thousand veils before his face; that on his drawing thus near, in sign of his favour, he put forth his hand, and laid it upon him, which was of that exceeding coldness, that it pierced to the very marrow of his back, and he could not bear it. That after this, God entering into a very familiar converse with him, revealed unto him a great many hidden mysteries, made him understand the whale of his law, and gave him many things in charge concerning his instructing men in the knowledge of it; and, in conclusion, bestowed on him several privileges above the rest of mankind. As that he should be the perfectest of all creatures; that at the day of judgment he should be honoured and advanced above the rest of mankind; that he should be the redeemer of all that believe in him; that he should have the knowledge of all languages; and, lastly, that the spoils of all whom he should conquer in war, should belong to him alone. And then returning, he found the angel Gabriel tarrying for him, in the place where he left him, who, conducting him back again through all the seven heavens the same way that he brought him, did set him again upon the Alborak, which he left tied at Jerusalem; and then taking the bridle in his hand, conducted him back to Mecca in the same manner as he brought him thence, and all this within the space of the tenth part of one night.—See Prideaux’s Life of Mahomet.

19. See Koran, chap. 17.
20. Ibid. chap. 8, 9. 36.
21. See Koran, chap. 8, and note.
22. Ibid. chap. 8. Sale, Mills.
23. See Gibbon.
24. See Sale, Mills.
25. See Koran, chap. 66.
26. Ibid. chap. 33.
27. Ibid. chap. 24.
28. Ibid. chap. 33.
29. The Koran, (c. 8.) speaking of the victory of Beder, says, "God diminished your numbers in their eyes:" the Arabian Commentators endeavour to reconcile the contradiction by observing, that just before the battle begun, the Prophet's army seemed fewer than they were, to bring the enemy to an engagement, but afterwards they appeared superior, to terrify and dismay their adversaries.
30. Koran, chap. 3. 8.
31. Koran, chap. 35.
32. Mohammed at one time destroyed nearly seven hundred Koradhites, his prisoners, under aggravating circumstances of cruelty. The command was not issued in the heat of action, when his passions were inflamed by apposition, but on his return to Medina, after a considerable time had elapsed for his anger to cool.—See Koran, chap. 33, note.
33. Gibbon. Koran, chap. 33.
34. Prideaux, Sale, Gibbon.
35. Gibbon.
36. Gibbon, Mills.