The Mohammedan System of Theology/Chapter 2

by William Henry Neale

CHAPTER II.

 

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SUCCESS ABSTRACTEDLY CONSIDERED AFFORDS NO CRITERION OF A DIVINE ORIGINAL: CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAMISM CONTRASTED: THE SUCCESS OF THE FORMER SHEWN TO BE MIRACULOUS, THAT OF THE LATTER ACCOUNTED FOR ON ORDINARY PRINCIPLES, WAS CONSONANT WITH PROPHECY, AND WILL ULTIMATELY PROVE BENEFICIAL TO TRUTH.

There is something more imposing than substantial in a series of successful enterprises, the imagination is led captive and the judgment too often biassed, so that there is danger of losing sight of the merits of a cause, through impressions created by adventitious circumstances. History and experience, however, concur in establishing the fact, that talents and events, suitably directed and improved by individuals or states, will, in the ordinary operation of cause and effect, lead to temporary or more permanent advantages; whilst the abuse or non-improvement of talents and opportunities will prove detrimental to individuals or states. In the providential administration of the world, according to the best judgment we can form, the means and end are inseparably connected; and therefore when success may be accounted for on ordinary principles, to ascribe it to the direct interposition of heaven is an illogical and unsatisfactory mode of arguing, for if such a proposition were admitted, even truth would be variable and dependent on the ever fluctuating vicissitudes of human affairs, rather than grounded on the impregnable basis of internal and external evidence.

Since, however, this argument has frequently been urged in favour of the claims of Islamism to a divine original, its fallacy may be exposed by remarking, that Buddhism or Paganism, under various forms, has unfortunately the greatest numerical ascendancy, and by parity of reason is entitled to the same distinction, which is absurd. Christianity and Islamism may indeed be considered as nearly equal in point of numbers, but their character, doctrines, evidences, and the means by which they attained their present height, are essentially different, as will appear by instituting a comparison between the two systems.

The world was Pagan, except the Jews, when Christianity preferred her claims, and challenged exclusive homage and respect; and the principle of Revelation was not so generally acknowledged. There was a firm, unyielding inflexibility in the religion of Jesus, adverse to its early reception, or extensive dissemination. No favour was conceded to any other mode of worship, but annihilation threatened to every altar and temple throughout the world. Its doctrines were not accommodating in any sense of the expression, but directly the reverse; truths were propounded beyond the wisdom of man fully to comprehend, such as the doctrines of the Trinity, the Incarnation of the Saviour, and salvation through him, which are confessedly preternatural discoveries, but to which we are required to yield assent. As to precepts, Christianity lays the axe at the root of every vice, inculcating the eternal obligation of the moral law, "a death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness." No temporal inducements were offered to its followers, but persecutions and affliction foretold; and there was hardly a tribunal before which the primitive converts were not dragged, or a torture which they did not endure, and many sealed their testimony with their blood.

Though Jesus was lineally descended from King David, agreeably to ancient prophecy, yet his family was reduced to poverty and insignificance, and both his connections and followers were of humble occupations and without worldly influence. The period chosen for its publicity was a time of peace, most favourable to investigation, and an age eminent for literature. It was assailed from every quarter. The Jews despised the humility of the Messiah, though in agreement with Scripture, as the death-blow to their expectations of temporal distinction and sovereignty: the doctrines of Jesus were, for obvious reasons, accounted foolishness with the Greeks; and the Romans loathed Christianity, being in their opinion a Jewish superstition.

Thus prejudices and obstacles insurmountable by human power, impeded the way; its utter extinction might be anticipated; yet under such circumstances it struck root and prospered. Jesus did not indulge in privacy or screen himself under a pretended intercourse with heaven, but openly produced his credentials, and wrought miracles in confirmation of his mission. He appealed also to the Scriptures and the understanding of mankind, and violence was wholly disclaimed. With unparalleled meekness he bore with the infirmities of his disciples, resolving doubts, enlightening their understandings, and instructing them as they were able to bear it, in the spiritual nature of his kingdom. When exerting miraculous power, he endeavoured to impress their minds with the superior value of the Message with which he was charged: and investing them with ability to perform miracles, he told them to rejoice rather that their names were written in the book of life: he did not attempt so much to raise their wonder as to ground them in the truth. At the transfiguration, when partially glorified, Peter, James and John alone were admitted to the heavenly vision, with injunctions not to disclose it till the proper time. His efforts were unceasingly bent to instruct them in the necessity of his death, the manner and particulars of which he at the same time foretold, as also his resurrection on the third day, his ascension into glory, and the descent of the Holy Spirit; the destruction of the Jewish temple, and polity, and the subsequent spread and enlargement of his kingdom, When his decease was accomplished at Jerusalem, and he had risen the third day from the dead, for forty days he appeared publicly, and taught them further in the things pertaining to him, and promised the aid of the Comforter: having led them out to Bethany, he visibly ascended into heaven in their presence, and agreeably to his promise sent the Holy Ghost on his disciples, on the day of Pentecost, enabling them to speak in different languages before astonished multitudes, and furnishing them with gifts and graces for the exercise of their ministry. The same day were added to them, as the first-fruits of extended conversion, about three thousand souls. Every thing occurred agreeably to the predictions of our Lord;—Jerusalem was destroyed, and the disciples scattered in different parts, where churches were planted, and the work advanced and gained ground every where. Still, from mistaken views and prejudices, Christianity underwent long persecution, Ten Emperors, from Nero to Dioclesian, employed all the power of the sword to extirpate it, till at length, under Constantine^[1], it flourished and became the established religion of the Roman empire. From that period, though the causes of its success may be regarded as of a more mixed description, still it may be affirmed that its merits were better appreciated: it invited investigation and the strictest scrutiny into its evidence, and the attacks made on it were successfully repelled by those excellent apologies and masterly defences which have been transmitted to our days, and may still be read with pleasure and edification. The learning and piety of its professors have for successive generations been signally displayed in every branch of argument, and its beneficial influence on society has been so well attested, that we may safely augur its future triumphs and eventual ascendancy.

A decided contrast to all this appears in the religion of Mohammed! The claims of revelation had been extensively allowed: preceding dispensations had smoothed many difficulties in the way of his attempt. Various concessions were made to render his religion palatable, And to what did he invite his followers? To newness of heart and life? To the practice of self-denial? The sacrifice of interest and case? No: in these respects Islamism had great advantages over Christianity. The early converts succeeded to places of trust and profit, all were exhorted to unite themselves with a rising cause, "Cast in thy lot among us, let us have one purse." The wealth and influence of Mohammed and his connections, his time-serving policy, his fame and pretensions as a prophet, the enthusiasm inspired into his troops, fighting the battles of heaven by the side of its accredited agent; those seducing tenets, the doctrine of inevitable fate, and the highest heavens to those who were slain; death or tribute to the vanquished, the religious and political situation of the independent tribes in Arabia, split into factions, but without any preponderating power, and requiring only a suitable direction to be given to their energies, together with the disturbed condition of the neighbouring kingdoms and the dismemberment of the Roman empire: these all formed a body of events highly favourable to Mohammed's enterprise^[2].

After his flight from Mecca, the reception he experienced at Medina from a powerful party there, sufficiently accounts for his future celebrity. It has been remarked, "that the Religion of the Koran might have perished in its cradle, had not Medina embraced with faith and reverence the holy outcasts of Mecca^[3]." The essential assistance derived from Christianity must be taken into calculation. In different ages, men of mighty minds have duly estimated the influence of Religion, and adopted various contrivances to give its powerful sanction and support to their favourite projects. Thus the pretended spiritual intercourse of Numa Pompilius with the goddess Eegeria, and the familiar spirit of Socrates may be accounted for. Lycurgus also endeavoured to work in a similar manner on the superstition of his countrymen, to effect what he conceived a national benefit: after fishing his celebrated institutes, he exacted a promise from the Spartans of their adherence to them till released by the oracle, which he went to consult, and from which he purposely never returned; and such was their veneration for the Legislator, and religious feelings, that his code remained in force at Sparta, with small interruption, for about the space of 700 years.

The only alternative in Mohammed's power as a Religionist, was either to frame a new system, or graft his own on preceding ones of acknowledged weight and credibility. Had he formed a new plan, comprising the unity of the Deity, probably we should not have heard of him at this day, otherwise than as the Leader of an obscure sect; but he had materials at hand far superior to what Lycurgus or others possessed, and penetration and sagacity to employ them in the way best calculated to promote his wicked and ambitious designs. The claims of Christianity and Judaism were recognised to a far greater extent than mere superstition ever influenced; he chose higher ground therefore, and wielded weapons more formidable than had ever been tried by mortal hands before: by transfusing a certain portion of Christianity into the Koran, he cast, as it were, a vivifying principle into the otherwise dull, inert mass, giving it a plausibility and consistence, sufficient to pass at a dark, benighted period, before printing was discovered, while knowledge was at a low ebb, and access to sources of imformation difficult, The aid thus obtained proved a passport and introduction into many places where some knowledge of Christianity and Judaism had previously entered. The natural discernment of Mohammed comprehended the full effect and superior efficacy of such a plan, and, in addition to the superstition of his countrymen, he enlisted the most powerful auxiliaries that could be employed in any cause, By this deep and politic mode of procedure, he laid the foundation of a dominion, composed indeed of heterogeneous materials, but kept together by the power of the sword, and likely to continue so, till the superior force of truth, slow yet sure in its progress, should overthrow and reduce the motley fabric to its original insignificance.

This religion is indebted for its continuance from its being so closely interwoven with the state, that they must stand or fall together, from the ignorance in which the Moslems are kept, from the difficulties opposed to discussion, and the severities practised on those who renounce the errors of Islamism. But however second causes operated, so that at length the great apostasy acquired "a local habitation and a name," and now rears its presumptuous front to heaven, as if in the attitude of stern defiance, we may be allowed here to acknowledge the finger of Omnipotence, working by the use of the means, allowing them to effect their legitimate objects, but overruling and restraining them within suitable boundaries. The Christian regards Mohammedanism as a branch of Anti-Christ, of which it clearly possesses the marks and properties: he considers its predominance as a judicial infliction by reason of transgression, and agreeably with prophecy^[4], the righteous recompence of unthankfulness, and abuse of mercies and privileges. Hence this illusion of Satan was permitted, like a scorpion, to sting those who had not the name of God written on their foreheads, or sincerity in their hearts. The Eastern provinces of the empire were afflicted 150 years by this scourge, till the peninsula of Arabia began to withdraw its allegiance from the Caliphs.

Whilst the degeneracy of the Eastern Church was thus punished by means of these avengers, other wonderful events in Providence were receiving accomplishment. Ishmael, according to prophecy, was to become a great nation^[5], from whose lineage Mohammed boasted his descent, so that the prediction may be regarded as verified in him. This abomination also, according to many expositors, was pointed out to the prophet Daniel^[6], under the similitude of the little horn, which sprung up among the horns of the great and terrible beast of the Roman Empire, destroying three of them, viz. the Asiatics, Grecians, and Egyptians, with eyes indicative of craft and vigilance, and with a mouth speaking great things, no doubt, in reference to its arrogance and blasphemy. "I considered the horns," says Daniel, "and behold there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by their roots, and behold in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things." The prophet proceeds^[7], "I would fain know the truth of that horn, that had eyes and a mouth that spake very great things, whose lock was more stout than his fellows."

A further description is given^[8], "Out of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great toward the South, and toward the East, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the Prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground, and it practised and prospered,"

Here this Anti-Christian power is represented as waxing exceeding great from small beginnings, employing his fury against the host of heaven, by which the worshippers of God are meant; casting down some. of the stars, or in other words, the brightest luminaries of the Church, and stamping upon them; magnifying himself against Christ, the Prince of princes, polluting and casting down the sanctuary, that is the Church of Christ; taking away the daily sacrifice of prayer and praise, or the sacred ordinances, casting the truth to the ground, and prospering in his iniquity.

Our Saviour Christ and his disciples frequently spoke of false Christs and prophets, declensions from the faith, seducing lies and doctrines of devils: the man of sin and the apostasy of the latter times^[9]. The beloved disciple John, in a vision in the isle of Patmos was favoured with a vision of the same Antichristian power, under the similitude of a star fallen from heaven^[10], having the key of the bottomless pit, where, in the figurative language of prophecy, Antichrist is described as obscuring the light of the Gospel, and afflicting the earth with a particularity of circumstances, allowed by many to be strikingly applicable to the Arabians, when engaged in the work of havoc and devastation.

Satan no doubt meditated much mischief, if not utter extinction to the Church; the former he was permitted to effect, but he who "rides in the whirlwind and directs the storm" restrained the remainder of his wrath, and over-ruled it for other purposes.

As the dispersion of the Jews, after the destruction of their city and temple, and their continued preservation amongst all nations, as at this day, has greatly benefited the cause of our holy religion; so this remarkable foil to Christianity is not without its use. The fleeting names of many heresies are absorbed in the gulf of time, or known only to the learned, leaving but a faint impression of the struggles and conflicts in which the truth has been involved; but here is a system of error, of appalling magnitude, developed in its origin, progress and effects, not adapted only for the contemplation of the learned, but level to the commonest understanding. Such a practical exemplification of cause and effect must prepare the way for the introduction and reception of that faith, which though so lamentably perverted, was designed as an antidote to such evils, and is now the only effectual remedy. The grand apostasy will end in the appointed season: the ways and means are at the disposal of Omnipotence, but we are certain as to the result, which will prove glorious to the Church!

 

"O goodness infinite, goodness immense
That all this good of evil will produce,
And evil turn to good!"

 

Since then the success of Mohammed in his imposture may be fairly resolved into natural causes, is in perfect unison with Scripture, and may after all be designed to answer important purposes, all arguments assigning a divine original to Islamism on account of its prevalence and extent, are inconclusive and unsatisfactory. The much boasted pre-eminence of the Koran remains next for consideration.

1. A.D. 325.
2. "Does it seem incredible, that a private citizen should grasp the sword and the sceptre, subdue his native country, and erect a monarchy by his victorious arms? In the moving pictures of the Dynasties of the East, an hundred fortunate usurpers have arisen from a lower origin, surmounted more formidable obstacles, and filled a larger scope of empire and conquest. Mahomet was alike instructed to preach and to fight, and the union of these opposite qualities, while it enhanced his merit, contributed to his success; the operation of force and persuasion, of enthusiasm and fear, continually acted on each other, till every barrier yielded to their irresistible power."—Gibbon.
3. See Gibbon.
4. Dan. viii. 12.
5. Gen. xxi. 13.
6. Dan. vii. 8.
7. Dan. vii, 19, 20.
8. Ibid, viii. 9, 10, &c.
9. 2 Thess. ii. 3–12; 1 Tim. iv. 1–3.
10. Rev. ix. 1, &c.