The Mohammedan System of Theology/Chapter 3

by William Henry Neale

CHAPTER III.

 

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SOME ACCOUNT OF THE KORAN, CITATIONS ILLUSTRATIVE OF ITS DISTINGUISHING TENETS AND STYLE: ITS LITERARY CHARACTER AND MERITS DISCUSSED.

 

The Koran, or book of Mohammedan Institutes, Civil and Religious, of the same authority among the Moslems as the canonical Scriptures among Christians, is written in prose, interspersed with occasional rhymes in the Arabic language of the tribe of Koreish, which is a dialect of the Hebrew, and accounted, by judges, to be the richest, most energetic and copious in the world, except perhaps the Sanscrit. This singular piece of composition exhibits much of that unconnected, desultory manner, so observable in Eastern writings; as to the style, there is a rhythmical or natural harmony or modulation, elegant and well-turned cadences, some vivid description and pleasing imagery, which, with its pretensions to a divine original, render it the standard of excellence among the Arabians, and in their opinion inimitable^[1].

Before we proceed in our delineation, it should be premised, that a variety of conjectures has been formed respecting the real author of the Koran, and the subject is still enveloped in impenetrable mystery. Some assert, that Mohammed was assisted by Abdia Ben Salen, a Jew^[2], and a Christian Monk, known by the name of Sergius, in the Western, and Bahira, in the Eastern Churches: this has, however, been controverted by his followers, who, in order to enhance the reputation of the Prophet, and the merits of the Koran, maintain that he could neither read nor write, and that the Koran is eternal and uncreated, remaining, as some express it, in the very essence of God. It is of no importance, in the present stage of the argument, who or whether any were his coadjutors, and their respective contributions, or whether he might have formed the outlines of his plan during his journies into Syria, because his statements are found to correspond remarkably with those of Ephrem^[3], the Syrian, whose writings were read publicly in the Churches along with the Scriptures, for, as it is allowed substantially to be Mohammed's work, that is sufficient for the purpose of analytical investigation.

This extraordinary performance is a compilation from the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, apocryphal writings, the reveries of the Talmud, and traditional superstitions of his country: it was not communicated all at once, but by portions, or piece-meal, during a period of about twenty-three years, according as the angel Gabriel furnished matter: the Commentators say, that the Koran was taken from the preserved table near God's throne, entire, and in one volume, to the lowest Heaven, from whence Gabriel revealed it to Mohammed in detached portions, as occasions required, giving him, however, the consolation to shew him the whole, (which, they say, was bound in silk, and adorned with gold and precious stones of Paradise,) once a year; but in the last year of his life he had the favour to see it twice^[4].

The length of time employed in its publication, enabled Mohammed to adapt his doctrines better to contingencies, though, after all, various alterations and discrepancies still adhere to it, which the Musulmans justify by the law of abrogation; asserting that God commanded several things, which were afterwards for good reasons revoked or annulled.

Each portion is supposed to have been dictated to the secretary or amanuensis, and by him transcribed and delivered to the people, to be either read or committed to memory, and afterwards it was carefully deposited in a wooden chest, after the manner of Moses' law.

Two years alter the death of Mohammed, Abu-beker collected the copies, written or traditional, and confided them to the care of Heph-za, one of the Prophet's wives. Othman, who succeeded him, in the 30th year of the Hegira, ordered in all the copies that were in circulation; and published a corrected one, for a perpetual standard, which is in substance the same as that now used by the Musulmans^[5], in which the chapters are placed promiscuously, without regard to the order of time of the revelation, generally the longest first; so that great and deserved suspicion attaches to the authenticity of the Koran, and the evidence for similar facts relating to Christian antiquity is placed in the strongest point of view.

According to Sale, the chapters are 114 in number, with various titles prefixed; some appear whimsical, as the Chapters of the Cow, the Bee, the Ant, the Spider, the Wrapped up, the Fig, the Congealed Blood, the Elephant, so designated from that particular portion where the word occurs being revealed first in point of time, though the allusion in the narrative seems merely incidental: some chapters are dated from Mecca, others from Medina, some partly from each, and others ambiguous. Certain characters are prefixed to twenty-eight chapters, containing, according to the Musulman doctors, some great mystery. The 54th, 55th, and 77th, have a verse intercalated, or repeated, by way of burthen. All begin in the auspicatory form: "In the name of God, gracious and merciful," in allusion perhaps to Exodus xxxiv. 6. except the ninth, which is of a warlike description, exhorting his followers to break truce with the enemy, and destroy them.

The great object of the Koran is to enforce the Unity of God, and the divine legation of Mohammed. "There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his Prophet." The Unity is inculcated in contradistinction to the Heathen Polytheists, who hold many gods; to the Jews, who are accused of believing Ezra to be the Son of God^[6]; and to the Christians, who are charged with holding a plurality of Gods; connected with which is the dogma of the apostleship of Mohammed. A distinguishing feature of the Koran is a restless anxiety to mislead the mind by every species of artifice, and to anticipate and answer objections. Frequent challenges are thrown out, which, from the nature of the case could not be accepted, in a style of the most confident and arrogant boasting, and spectres of superstition are conjured up, to bear specific testimony to its merits. Nothing is left to the natural operation of the mind, but a fixed solicitude is every where apparent, unduly to influence the passions and seduce the judgment.

The following specimens may be adduced in corroboration of this statement. In the 10th chapter entitled Hud, "Will they say, he has forged the Koran? Answer, bring therefore ten chapters like unto it;" this challenge is repeated in the 52d chapter, entitled the Mountain, and afterwards the matter is rendered still easier by a challenge to produce a single chapter comparable in doctrine and eloquence^[7]. In the 17th chapter, entitled the Night Journey, "Verily if men and genii were purposely assembled, that they might produce a book like unto the Koran, they would not produce one like unto it." In chapter 29, entitled the Spider, "They say, unless a sign be sent down to him from his Lord, we will not believe. Answer, signs are in the power of God alone, and I am no more than a public preachcr. Is it not sufficient for them, that we have sent the Koran?" In the 46th chapter, Al-Ahkaf, the Genii, are said to have been converted at hearing the Koran. In the 56th chapter, entitled the Inevitable, "I swear by the setting of the stars (and it is surely a great oath if ye knew it) that this is the excellent Koran, the original whereof is written in the preserved book." In the 59th chapter, entitled the Emigration, "If we had sent down this Koran on a mountain, thou wouldest certainly have seen the same humble itself and cleave in sunder for fear of God." The 72d chapter, entitled Genii is similar in purport with the 46th, "Say it hath been revealed unto me, that a company of the Genii attentively heard me reading the Koran, and said, Verily we have heard an admirable discourse, which directeth unto the right institution, wherefore we believe therein." In the 97th chapter, entitled Al-Kadr, "Verily we sent down the Koran in the night of Al-Kadr: the night of Al-Kadr is better than a thousand months."

Such artifices as these in the very outset form a striking contrast with the simplicity of the Old and New Testament writers. The Gospel is diametrically opposed to this, containing a plain recital of facts without note or comment, no admiration is excited, no boasting discernible, there is nothing to forestal the judgment, but sober and energetic appeals are addressed to the heart and conscience through the understanding. Our blessed Lord and Saviour disdained any appearance of collusion or confederacy with Baal-zebub or the invisible world: he rejected such allies, not only imposing silence but prohibiting his interference, and compelling him to be silent against his will^[8]. The devils neither had inclination to serve him or expectation from him: he came to annihilate their kingdom, and they were glad to escape punishment; either as principal or accessory he scorned all advances from the powers of darkness.

These prefatory remarks conduct us to a review of the doctrines. The religion of the Koran may be divided into two parts, the credenda and the agenda, or articles of belief and practice. The creed has been sometimes admired for its simplicity (which however on examination will appear more fancied than real) and is conceived in the following terms: "I believe in one God, I believe in his angels, in all his writings, and in all the Prophets whom he has sent into the world, without excepting one, and making no difference between the prophets and ambassadors of God: I believe in the day of judgment: moreover I believe that every thing that exists, whether it be pleasing to us or not, was created of God."

The first article of belief is in God: the Koran discards idolatry and creature-worship as has been observed, on the rational principle that whatever rises must set, that whatever is born must die, that whatever is corruptible must decay and perish^[9]. This chain of thought is exemplified in the case of Abraham by a story certainly borrowed from the Talmud^[10], which represents Abraham as employing this kind of argument when he opposed the introduction of idolatry into Chaldæa. The story is thus related in the Koran^[11]: "When the night overshadowed him, he saw a star and he said, this is my Lord, but when it set, he said, I like not gods which set: and when he saw the moon rising he said, this is my Lord, but when he saw it set, he said, Verily if my Lord direct me not, I shall become one of the people who go astray. And when he saw the sun rising he said, this is my Lord, this is the greatest, but when it set, he said, O my people, verily I am clear of that which ye associate with God: I direct my face unto him who hath created the heavens and the earth, I am orthodox and not one of the idolators." The Koran does not fatigue itself with disquisitions respecting the Divine Essence, but proceeds at once to the Unity, as is expressed in the 112th chapter, entitled The Declaration of God's Unity, "Say God is one God, the eternal God: he begetteth not, neither is he begotten; and there is not any one like unto him." But the Koran does not content itself with the mere expression of the Unity, but assuming the prerogative of God, deals out damnation on all who entertain in its opinion, inconsistent views on the subject. "They are surely infidels who say, Verily God is Christ the son of Mary, since Christ said, O children of Israel! serve God, my Lord and your Lord: whoever shall give a companion to God, God shall exclude him from paradise, and his habitation shall be hell-fire; and the ungodly shall have none to help them. They are certainly infidels who say, God is the third of three: for there is no God besides one God: and if they refrain not from what they say, a painful torment shall surely be inflicted on such of them as are unbelievers. Will they not therefore be turned unto God and ask pardon of him? Since God is gracious and merciful. Christ, the son.of Mary, is no more than an apostle; other apostles have preceded him; and his mother was a woman of veracity; they both ate food. Behold, how we declare unto them the signs of God's unity; and then behold, how they turn aside from the truth^[12]."

Having thus anathematized and disposed of the doctrine of the Trinity in Unity and its advocates, the Koran seems to feel its ground, and often discourses strikingly on the attributes. The following passages are worthy notice:—Chapter the 2d, entitled the Cow, "Omen of Mecca serve your Lord who hath created you, and those who have been before you: peradventure ye will fear him, who hath spread the earth as a bed for you, and the heavens as a covering, and hath caused water to descend from heaven and thereby produced fruits for your sustenance. To God belongeth the east and the west; therefore whithersoever ye turn yourselves to pray, there is the face of God, for God is omnipresent and omniscient. To him belongeth whatever is in heaven and earth, and when he decreeth a thing, he only saith unto it, Be, and it is. Your God is but one God, there is no God but he, the most merciful. Now in the creation of heaven and earth, and in the vicissitude of night and day, and in the ship which saileth on the sea, laden with what is profitable for mankind, and in the rain-water which God sendeth from heaven, quickening thereby the dead earth, and replenishing the same with all sorts of cattle, and in the change of winds, and the clouds that are compelled to do service between heaven and earth, are signs to people of understanding, yet some take idols beside God, and love them as with the love due to God, but true believers are more fervent in love towards God."

The following has often been quoted as one of the sublimest efforts of the Koran, and is indebted to the 121st Psalm for the chief of its sentiments^[13]. God! there is no God but he; the living, the self-subsisting; neither slumber nor sleep seizeth him; to him belongeth whatsoever is in heaven or on earth. Who is he that can intercede with him, but through his good pleasure? He knoweth that which is past and that which is to come unto them, and they shall not comprehend any thing of his knowledge but so far as he pleaseth. His throne is extended over heaven and earth, and the preservation of both is no burthen to him: he is the high, the mighty^[14]!"

Chapter the 4th, entitled Women, contains the following passage: "We have already commanded those unto whom the Scriptures were given before you, and we command you also, saying, Fear God, but if ye disbelieve, unto God belongeth whatsoever is in heaven, and on earth, and God is self-sufficient and to be praised. If he pleaseth he will take you away, O men, and will provide others in your stead, for God is able to do this. Whoso desireth the reward of this world, verily with God is the reward of this world, and also of that which is to come; God both heareth and seeth! Believe in God and his Apostles, and say not there are three Gods, forbear this, it will be better for you. God is but one God. Far be it from him that he should have a son." Chapter 6th, entitled Cattle, "Say, verily my God hath directed me in the right way, a true religion, the sect of Abraham the orthodox, and he was no idolater, Say, verily my prayers and my worship, and my life and my death, are dedicated unto God, the Lord of all creatures: he hath no companion. This have I been commanded. I am the first Moslem! Say, shall I desire any other Lord besides God? Since he is the Lord of all things, and no soul shall acquire any merits or demerits but for itself, and no burdened soul shall bear the burden of another. Moreover unto your Lord shall ye return, and he shall declare unto you that concerning which ye now dispute. It is he who hath appointed you to succeed your predecessors upon earth, and hath raised some of you above others, by various degrees of worldly advantages, that he might prove you by that which he hath bestowed upon you. The Lord is swift in punishing and he1s also gracious and merciful."

The grandeur and magnificence in the following citation from the 10th chapter, entitled Jonas, is of course felt more in the original than in a translation: it is respecting the Deluge: "O earth, swallow up thy waters, and thou, O Heaven withhold thy rain. And immediately the water abated, and the decree was fulfilled, and the ark rested on the mountain Al-Judi, and it was said, Away with the ungodly people." The 15th chapter entitled Al Hejr contains the sentiments which follow: "We have spread forth the earth and thrown thereon stable mountains and we have caused every kind of vegetable to spring forth in the same, according to a determinate weight: and we have provided therein necessaries of life for you and for him, whom ye do not sustain. There is no one thing but the storehouses thereof are in our hands, and we distribute not the same otherwise than in a determinate measure. We also send the winds, driving the pregnant clouds, and we send down from heaven water, whereof we give you to drink, and which ye keep not in store. Verily we give life and we put to death, and we are the heirs of all things. And thy Lord shall gather them together at the last day, for he is knowing and wise." Chapter 24th, entitled Light Remarks: "Dost thou not perceive that all creatures both in heaven and earth praise God, and the birds also extending their wings? Every one knoweth his prayer and his praise, and God knoweth that which they do. Dost thou not see, that God gently driveth forward the clouds, and gathereth them together and then layeth them on heaps? Thou also seest the rain which falleth from the midst thereof, and God sendeth down from heaven as it were mountains, wherein there is hail, he striketh therewith whom he pleaseth: the brightness of his lightning wanteth but little of taking away the sight. God shifteth the night and the day, verily herein is an instruction unto those which have sight." We conclude this first head with the following citations, which proclaim the Omnipotence of the Creator. "Whatever is in heaven and earth singeth praise unto God; and he is mighty and wise. His is the kingdom of heaven and earth; he giveth life and he putteth to death, and he is almighty. He is the first and the last, the manifest and the hidden, and he knoweth all things. It is he who created the heavens and the earth in six days; and then ascended his throne. He knoweth that which entereth into the earth, and that which issueth out of the same; and that which descendeth from heaven, and that which ascendeth thereto: and he is with you wheresoever ye be, for God seeth that which ye do. His is the kingdom of heaven and earth, and unto God shall all things return^[15]."

The other passage deserving attention relates to the Omniscience of God. "Dost thou not perceive that God knoweth whatever is in heaven and in earth? There is no private discourse among three persons, but he is the fourth of them; nor among five, but he is the sixth of them; neither among a smaller number than this, nor a larger but he is with them wheresoever they be; and he will declare unto them that which they have done, on the day of resurrection, for God knoweth all things^[16]." But though the Unity and attributes are described well, in particular instances, yet the character of God is not adequately supported throughout the whole, witness those various forms of adjuration ascribed to him, such as by the Sun, in chapter 91; by the Night, in chapter 92; by the Brightness of the Morning, chapter 93, and by the Fig, chapter 95, &c. &c.; all of which are so contrary to the dignity of Scripture.

How much more consistent and dignified is the language of the Old Testament, "By myself have I sworn, saith the Almighty," and the comment of the Apostle to the Hebrews^[17], "For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater he sware by himself."

The next article in the Moslem creed is the belief of angels, both good and bad; a kind of machinery well adapted to the romantic imagination of an Asiatic, but which being brought too prominently forward, has a tendency to withdraw the mind from the great First Cause to the contemplation of subordinate agency. The principal are, Gabriel, who is styled the Angel of Revelations; Michael, the friend of the Jews; Azrael, the angel of death; and Israfil, whose office it will be to sound the trumpet at the resurrection; all of whom are said to be described almost similarly in the Apocryphal Gospel of Barnabas^[18]. Besides these, there are various other spirits, sustaining different functions, noting the good and evil actions of mankind, attending them at death, examining them in the sepulchre concerning their faith, and inflicting exemplary punishment on unbelievers; many of which notions are also borrowed from the Jews and Magians. They call the devil Eblis, and say he was banished from heaven for not worshipping Adam^[19]. They believe also in an intermediate race of spirits, called Genii, both good and bad, (of whom some mention was made before) capable of future salvation and damnation^[20].

3d. The books acknowledged sacred by the Mohammedans amount to 104, which they contend have been lost, except those of Moses, David, Christ, and Mohammed, and of these four, they say, the Pentateuch, Psalms, and Gospel, have been so corrupted by Jews and Christians, that their authority is nugatory, except where supported by the Koran.

4th. The number of Prophets, according to some of their traditions, amounts to 224,000, of whom the names of some occur in Scripture, and others not, and herein they claim superiority, both over the Jews who believe in Moses and reject Christ, and also the Christians, who acknowledge Moses and Christ, but disclaim Mohammed.

5th. They are required to believe in the day of judgment. Their recorded opinions of the intermediate state, both of the body and soul, after death, provoke a smile in the Christian, accustomed to the sober statements or impressive silence of Scripture. Two angels, of terrible aspect, named Monker and Nakir, are stated to visit the grave and examine the deceased on his religious belief: if his answers prove satisfactory, they suffer the body to remain in peace; but if otherwise, they beat the corpse with iron maces, so that his cries are heard from east to west, except by men and genii: they then press the earth upon the corpse, which is either gnawn by dragons, having many heads, or scorpions, or serpents, according to the nature of his offences. This supposition is beautifully alluded to by Southey^[21].

 

"There sat a spirit in the vault,
In shape, in hue, in lineaments like life,
And by him couch'd, as if entranc'd,
The hundred-headed worm that never dies."

 

The souls of the good enter into the state called Al-Berzakh, or the interval between death and the resurrection: the souls of martyrs, according to tradition, rest in the crops of green birds, which eat of the fruits and drink of the rivers of Paradise; and there is a variety of opinions concerning the souls of common believers. Some suppose that they remain near the sepulchres, others that they are with Adam in the lowest heaven; others that they are in the well Zemzem, or in the trumpet that is to awake the dead, or that they dwell under the throne of God, in the form of white birds: these idle fancies are thus poetically described^[22]:—

 

"Where Hodeirah is thy soul?
Is it in the Zemzem well?
Is it in the Eden groves?
Waits it in the judgment blast,
In the trump of Israfil?
Is it plum'd with silver wings
Underneath the throne of God?"

 

As to the doctrine of the Resurrection, the Koran relates a miracle which satisfied and confirmed the faith of Abraham^[23]. "Abraham said, O Lord, shew me how thou wilt raise the dead. God said, Dost thou not yet believe? He answered, Yea, but Task this that my heart may remain at ease. God said, Take therefore four birds, and divide them; then lay a part of them on every mountain; then call them, and they shall come swiftly unto thee: and know that God is mighty and wise."

The following account, on natural principles, is not destitute of beauty: it is selected from the 22d chapter, intitled Pilgrimage. "O men, if ye be in doubt concerning the resurrection, consider that we first created you of the dust of the ground, we cause that which we please to rest in the wombs, until the appointed time of delivery. Then we bring you forth infants, and afterwards we permit you to attain your age of full strength, and one of you dieth in his youth, and another of you is postponed to decrepit age, so that he forgetteth whatever he knew. Thou seest the earth sometimes dried up and barren: but when we send down rain thereon, it is put in motion, and swelleth, and produceth every kind of luxuriant vegetables. This sheweth that God is the truth, and that he raiseth the dead to life, and that he is almighty, and that the hour of judgment will surely come; there is no doubt thereof, and that God will raise again those who are in their graves." How insipid and lifeless will this appear, when contrasted with the inimitable language of St. Paul on the same subject^[24].

The day of judgment is thus described in chapter 17, entitled "the Night Journey."—"On a certain day we will call all men to judgment, with their respective leader: and whoever shall have his book given him in his right hand, they shall read their book with joy and satisfaction." Further particulars are given in the 69th chapter, entitled "the Infallible."—When one blast shall sound the trumpet, and the earth shall be moved from its place, and the mountains also, and shall be dashed in pieces at one stroke; on that day the inevitable hour of judgment shall surely come, and the heavens shall cleave in sunder, and shall fall in pieces at that day, and the angels shall be at the sides thereof, and eight shall bear the throne of thy Lord above them on that day. On that day ye shall be presented before the judgment seat of God, and none of your secret actions shall be hidden" This dwindles into insignificance in comparison with the sublime narration of St. Matthew^[25].

There is a sort of romantic grandeur in the ideal balance, in the 101st chapter, entitled "the Striking," calculated, like many other parts of the system, to work upon the fervid imagination of an Orientalist. "He whose balance shall be heavy with good works, shall lead a pleasing life, but as to him whose balance is light, his dwelling shall be in the pit of hell." This balance, they say, is of such large dimensions, that one scale hangs over Paradise and the other over Hell: and it will be sustained by the Angel Gabriel. The resurrection will extend even to beasts, who will be allowed retaliation, as well as to genii and men. The faithful Moslems pass over the bridge Al Sirat, which they say is laid over the midst of Hell, finer than a hair, and sharper than the edge of a sword, the Prophet himself leading the way; while the wicked, from the difficulty of the path, shall miss their footing, and fall headlong into hell, which is gaping beneath them."

According to their belief, there is a place between Heaven and Hell, called Al-Haraf, something similar to Purgatory, and which Southey also touches upon—

 

"——— Hath not Allah made
Al-araf in his wisdom? Where the sight
Of Heav'n shall kindle in the penitent
The strong and purifying fire of hope,
'Till at the day of judgment he shall see
The mercy gates unfold."

 

The first refreshment true Believers shall partake, will be drinking of the pond of their Prophet, which is supplied by two pipes from Al-cawther, one of the rivers of Paradise. The joys of Heaven are sensual, and described accordingly: the meanest in Paradise will have seventy-two wives, and every sense will be gratified to its utmost capacity. Beatified females, it is supposed, have a separate abode of happiness assigned them.

Chapter 56, entitled "the Inevitable," gives one of the best connected descriptions of Paradise in the Koran. "When the inevitable day of judgment shall suddenly come, no soul shall charge the prediction of its coming with falsehood: it will abase some, and exalt others. When the earth shall be shaken with a violent shock, and the mountains shall be dashed in pieces, and shall become as dust scattered abroad; and ye shall be separated into three distinct classes: the companions of the right hand (how happy shall the companions of the right hand be,) and the companions of the left hand (how miserable shall the companions of the left hand be,) and those who have preceded others in the faith, shall precede them to Paradise. These are they who shall approach near unto God: they shall dwell in gardens of delight, (there shall be many of the former Religions, and few of the last,) reposing on couches, adorned with gold and precious stones; sitting opposite to one another thereon; youths, which shall continue in their bloom for ever, shall go round about to attend them, with goblets and beakers, and a cup of flowing wine: their heads shall not ache by drinking the same, neither shall their reason be disturbed; and with fruits of the sorts which they shall choose, and the flesh of birds of the kind which they shall desire. And there shall accompany them fair damsels, having large black eyes, resembling pearls hidden in their shells: as a reward for that which they have wrought. They shall not hear therein any vain discourse, or any charge of sin; but only the salutation, Peace! Peace! And the companions of the right hand (how happy shall the companions of the right hand be) shall have their abode among lote trees free from thorns, and trees of mauz, loaded regularly with their produce from top to bottom; under an extended shade, near a flowing water, and amidst fruits in abundance, which shall not fail, nor shall be forbidden to be gathered: and they shall repose themselves on lofty beds. Verily we have created the damsels of paradise by a peculiar creation: and we have made them virgins, beloved by their husbands, of equal age with them; for the delight of the companions of the night hand. (There shall be many of the former religions and many of the latter.")

As the joys of heaven are sensual and disgusting, consisting in mere carnal gratifications and indulgence, so the torments of hell are detailed in the most gross and revolting terms, with a savage malignancy and particularity, more suited to the rancour of a fiend than the dignity of a sin-avenging God. "They who believe not shall have garments of fire fitted unto them: boiling water shall be poured on their heads: their bowels shall be dissolved thereby; and also their skins; and they shall be beaten with maces of iron^[26]."

"Ye shall eat of the fruit of the tree Al-Zakkum and shall fill your bellies therewith: and ye shall drink thereon boiling water; and ye shall drink as a thirsty camel drinketh^[27]."

The sixth and concluding article under this head is predestination or rather fatalism of the worst species, "No soul can die unless by the permission of God, according to what is written in the book, containing the determination of all things^[28]." Again, "no accident happeneth on the earth or on your persons, but the same was entered into the book of our decrees before we created it: verily this is easy with God: and this is written lest ye immoderately grieve for the good which escapeth you, or rejoice for that which happeneth unto you^[29]."

This doctrine was one of the main springs of Mohammed's system, teaching his followers that they were unable to avoid destiny, which was unalterably fixed; their fate being predestined with all its attendant circumstances, rendered them reckless of danger, and passive instruments of his will.

The practical part of the Moslem faith remains next for consideration: the four fundamental points classed under this head are, 1st. Prayer with the ceremony of the Kebla and previous purifications; 2dly, Alms; 3dly, Fasting; and 4thly, the Pilgrimage to Mecca. 1st. Prayer. Mohammed (in consequence of certain stipulations with the Deity at his celebrated night journey) enjoined his followers to pray five times every twenty-four hours, viz. 1. in the morning before sun-rise; 2. when noon is past, and the sun begins to decline from the meridian; 3. in the afternoon before sun-set; 4. in the evening after sun-set and before the day be shut in, and 5thly. after the day is shut in and before the first watch of the night. A little variety is observable in the form of summoning to prayer: as the Jews gave notice of worship by the sound of the trumpet, and the Christians by bells, so the Muedhhims or cryers from the steeples of the mosques announce the hours of prayer to the Musulmans after a prescribed form; the words are, "Most high God! most high God! most high God! I acknowledge that there is no other except God! I acknowledge that Mohammed is the Prophet of God! Come to prayer! Come to prayer! Come to the temple of salvation! Great God! Great God! There is no God except God." In the morning after the words "Come to the temple of salvation," the following is added, "Prayer is to be preferred to sleep! prayer is to be preferred to sleep!" Various purifications are enjoined before the duty can be properly commenced, "O true believers when ye prepare yourselves to pray, wash your faces and your. hands unto the elbows, and rub your heads and feet unto the ancles^[30]." In certain cases a dispensation is allowed^[31]. The ceremony of the Kebla must be strictly observed: at first the followers of Mohammed practised no particular mode of turning their faces to any quarter of heaven, it being considered immaterial: after the retreat to Medina they were directed to turn towards the temple of Jerusalem, probably with a view to please the Jews, which practice however only continued for six or seven months; at length, in the second year of the Hegira, they were ordered to pray with their faces towards Mecca. The devout Musulman, in whatever part of the globe he may be, must ascertain as exactly as. possible the place of the Kebla, and offer his devotions accordingly.

The introductory chapter is a prayer, in as frequent use among the Musulmans as the Lord's Prayer is with Christians, "Praise be to God, the Lord of all creatures, the most merciful, the King of the day of judgment. Thee do we worship, and of thee do we beg assistance. Direct us in the right way, in the way of those to whom thou hast been gracious; not of those against whom thou art incensed, nor of those who go astray." Mohammed retains the institution of the Sabbath with the peculiarity of transferring it to Friday, the day on which the Koran was feigned to be delivered from heaven.

2. The second practical duty enjoined is alms. The enactments of the Koran are of a benevolent tendency. "They will ask thee what they shall bestow in alms. Answer, the good which ye bestow, let it be given to parents and kindred and orphans and the poor and the stranger. Whatsoever good ye do, God knows it." Again, "O true believers, bestow alms of the good things which ye have gained, and of that which we have produced for you out of the earth, and choose not the bad thereof to give it in alms, such as ye would not accept yourselves otherwise than by connivance, and know that God is rich and worthy to be praised! If ye make your alms to appear, it is well: but if ye conceal them and give them to the poor, this will be better for you, and atone for your sins^[32]." Again, "Believe in God and his Apostle, and lay out in alms a part of the wealth, whereof God has made you partakers: for unto such of you as believe and bestow alms shall be given a great reward^[33]." Particular directions are given in the Koran respecting the measure of alms, the Musuiman must bestow a tenth of his revenue, and "if his conscience accuse him of fraud and extortion, the tenth, under the idea of restitution, is enlarged to a fifth^[34]." The principle of alms-giving is highly commendable, but the precision with which it is laid down in the Koran renders it more a matter of habit than a spontaneous exercise of charity, emanating from the pure spirit of benevolence.

3. The third practical duty 1s fasting, which is regarded as highly meritorious. "The month of Ramadan shall ye fast, in which the Koran was sent down from heaven, a direction unto men and declarations of directions, and the distinction between good and evil^[35]." This fast 1s strictly observed and is (as Sale observes) very rigorous and mortifying when the month of Ramadan happens to fall in summer; the length and heat of the days rendering its observance far more trying in summer than in winter.

4. The fourth and last duty under this head is the Pilgrimage, to which very great importance is attached, and which is judged of vast importance. "Verily the first house appointed for men to worship in was that which is in Becca; blessed and a direction to all creatures. Therein are manifest signs; the place where Abraham stood, and whoever entereth therein shall be safe, And it is a duty towards God, incumbent on those who are able to go thither, to visit this house^[36]."

Respecting the signs above alluded to, there is the black stone which the Moslems fable fell down from heaven to earth with Adam, and was preserved by Gabriel and given to Abraham when he built the Ca-aba. This was taken by the Karmatians and afterwards restored. There is another stone, on which they pretend to shew the footsteps of Abraham, which served as a scaffold while employed in building the temple, raising and depressing itself voluntarily, so as to suit his convenience. The well of Zemzem also, concerning which they are very superstitious, is covered with a small building and cupola; the Mohammedans persuade themselves, that this was the spring which pushed out for the relief of Ishmael when Hagar his mother wandered with him in the wilderness; the water of course is highly prized, More particular directions are given in the twenty-second chapter entitled Pilgrimage. "Proclaim unto the people a solemn pilgrimage, let them come unto thee on foot and on every lean camel, arriving from every distant road, let them pay their vows and compass the ancient house." The compassing the Ca-aba or Temple a certain number of times, and in different paces, running between the mountains of Safa and Merwa, throwing stones in the valley of Mina, together with the rites and lustrations afterwards performed, are relics of pagan superstition, unworthy of further notice, and adopted by the son of Ab-dollah into his code most likely for the purpose of conciliation^[37]. The idolatrous natives might be won over by such concession rather than by firm and uncompromising opposition.

Other negative and civil precepts are embodied in the Koran, such as: circumcision, which though not expressly enjoined, is still retained, as being of high antiquity and esteem. Wine and gaming are prohibited, and certain distinctions are observed with respect to meats, unnecessary here to be detailed^[38]: they are for the most part similar to the Jewish ritual with the exception that camel's flesh is allowed. Usury also is prohibited, and by an exertion of humanity which cannot be too highly commended, the inhuman practice of burying their daughters alive (which extensively prevailed throughout Arabia, at and before the time of Mohammed) was abolished^[39]. Polygamy was restrained to four, either wives or concubines: the freedom of divorce is discouraged, for if a woman be divorced the third time, a man cannot take her to wife, unless she has previously been cohabited with by another. Punishment is awarded to murder and theft, and retaliation allowed as in the Mosaic law for personal injuries, or a fine may be accepted in leu: punishment for minor offences is inflicted by stripes. War is enjoined against infidels. "O true believers, wage war against such of the infidels as are near you, and let them find severity in you, and know that God is with those that fear him. Unless you go forth to war, God will punish you with a grievous punishment and place another people in your stead^[40]." Again, "O true believers, if ye assist God by fighting for his religion, he will assist you against your enemies, and will set your feet fast, but as for the infidels, let them perish, and their works shall God render vain^[41]." Four months of the year are accounted sacred, particularly the night of Al-Kadr, when the Koran came down from heaven, though the Moslem doctors are not agreed where exactly to fix it. Southey has arrayed this fiction with the charms of poetry.

 

"This was that most holy night
When all created things know and adore
The pow'r that made them, insects, beasts, and birds,
The water-dwellers, herbs, and trees, and stones,
Yea, earth and ocean, and the infinite heav'n
With all its worlds. Man only does not know
The universal Sabbath, does not join
With nature in her homage. Yet the pray'r
Flows from the righteous with intenser love,
A holier calm succeeds, and sweeter dreams
Visit the slumbers of the penitent^[42]."

 

They observe two annual festivals, called the greater and less Beirâm. The above are the religious and civil institutions of the Koran, to which the Sonna is considered. as supplemental, something after the manner of the Jewish Mishna. The Kedaya, or guide, enters deeply into subjects connected with the Musulman law, aid has been translated by Colonel Hamilton.

The above concise review sufficiently evinces how little originality attaches to the Koran: there is not a doctrine, precept, or institution, throughout its pages, but what is borrowed, and may be traced to the great sources before specified^[43].

The leading fundamental article, viz. the Unity of God, formed the basis both of the Patriarchal and Mosaic dispensations, agreeably with the words of the great Hebrew legislator and prophet, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is one God." The Jews moreover were selected from the nations of the earth, and kept distinct for many centuries, as depositaries of the sacred oracles and witnesses of the Unity. The same truth is firmly maintained by Christians, even by the strongest advocates of the Trinitarian hypothesis, who infringe not upon the Unity in the widest latitude and scope of interpretation. As to the Koran's sustaining any competition with the Scriptures, the idea is ridiculous: the greater part of the matter is borrowed from them either immediately or through corrupt channels, and what remains after this and other deductions, will scarcely entitle it to any notice. The boasted rhythm of the Koran is no novelty, but pervades the writings of the prophets, and is to be found in the works of Ephrem the Syrian, before alluded to^[44], and to which Mohammed appears to have had access. The fresh light cast upon the subject by scholars, tends to shew the arrogance and futility of Mohammed's pretensions.

The genuine and authentic Scriptures, which are termed canonical, possess more real beauties than can be found in the most esteemed writings of antiquity or modern times; and this not from any affectation of fine composition or attention to the rules of art, but naturally and spontaneously arising from the subject-matter of those divinely inspired Records: the matter of inspiration stamps a character on the language or vehicle of thought, which is uniformly simple and appropriate, and often rises to sublimity. The style, however, is not artificially laboured for the subject, and designed to produce effect, but the sentiments form the style and constitute its leading excellence.

Long before Longinus had critically defined what the sublime was, Moses^[45] had exemplified it in his writings: and Job, the more remote countryman of Mohammed, in the most masterly manner had pourtrayed the divine attributes, and left that work, before which (critically speaking) the Koran, as a composition, dwindles into insignificance, notwithstanding all the aid derived from quarters subsequent to the time of Job^[46], and therefore to him inaccessible. No comparison can be instituted successfully betweeen the Koran and the writings of the Prophets, collectively taken, in which every species of excellence is carried to unrivalled height, whilst Greece was immersed in barbarism, before Cadmus had taught them letters. Though with a view to the Messiah, a particular prominence is given to individuals and nations connected with that grand event, yet incidentally facts, interesting to the world at large, are interspersed, which form at this day the basis of all credible history.

The Bible contains the earliest^[47] and best authenticated account of the creation of the world, the fall of man, and his promised recovery through the Saviour, who was to appear in the fulness of time. Notices of the first monarchies, inventions of art, the deluge, confusion of tongues, and dispersion, are interwoven with the general narrative; and all the researches of the learned shew that the documents of old times are entitled to credibility in proportion as they coincide more nearly with the statements of holy writ.

The same distinctive mark is affixed on the writings of the New Testament, which is the completion of all former promises and predictions. From the Sermons and Parables of our Lord, and the writings of his Disciples, unequalled beauties may be culled; but, transcendently invaluable as they are in other respects, the style is the least quality entitled to admiration; suffice it to say, that the Evangelists have succeeded in drawing the finished portrait of a good man; a work which Plato and Xenophon, master-geniuses of antiquity, in vain attempted; which required something more than rhetoric or skill in composition to effect: and yet the Evangelists have succeeded not by any professed attempts at delineation, but by a detail of facts, which doubtless arose from something more than rhetorical proficiency, namely, the real existence of those virtues, and the perfect impeccability which distinguished him of whom they wrote. What enhances the wonder is, that though each Evangelist pursues a separate method, and is distinguished by peculiarity of style and manner, yet they have all alike reached the standard, and furnished a model of perfection in the character of Jesus of Nazareth.

Islamism appears to most advantage when viewed distinct from Christianity; the nearer they approximate, the more glaring its defects become. Estimated as a system of Deism, propagated at a very benighted period, and time of apostasy, comprising the existence of a Supreme Being, the obligations of natural religion and a future state, it shines with some advantage over the wretched schemes of Paganism, however modified. The abolition of infanticide, the encouragement given to alms and charitable deeds, must be mentioned with high approbation. The Koran also may lay claim to elegance of style, but it is not an equable performance: it is disfigured by frequent absurdities, contradictions, anachronisms. Yet, after all, beauty of style, conceded to the utmost extent, would of itself be no proof of a divine original. The meretricious ornaments of language are rather calculated to mislead the judgment and excite suspicion, being artifices which truth seeks not, and if they come, arise unsought and unsolicited.

The Gospel prefers its claims to our reception on far different and much higher grounds. St. Paul, speaking of his mode of propagating the faith, says, "I, brethren, when I came unto you, came not with excellency of speech, or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God; for I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God^[48]."

The Koran carries within itself decided marks of fallacy, and may be refuted out of its own mouth; but in examining those far more ancient writings, from which Mohammed has so largely borrowed, yet endeavours still to depreciate, it may he justly affirmed, that the materials of which they are composed, the divine enthusiasm, simplicity, grandeur of sentiment and figure, the moral lessons, doctrines and prophetical predictions, proclaim aloud,

 

"The hand that made us is divine."

1. Professor Lee observes, "That some of the Arabs have confessed, that the Koran could not only be equalled, but surpassed in elegance."—See Maracci di Alcorano, p. 44, 5.

   "And that this has been done, no one will doubt, who can read the Makamát of Hamadáni and Haríri."—Persian Controversies, p. 18.

2. See Koran, chap. 16, note, and chap. 25.
3. "The learned Author above referred to traces various coincidences between the Koran and the works of Ephrem, the Syrian, which were read publicly in the Churches, and to which Mohammed might have had access during his journies into Syria. The 18th chapter of the Koran contains the substance of a story beautifully told in Parnel's Hermit, and found in the Spectator, No. 237. The original draught of the story appears in the works of Ephrem, given with a view of illustrating the mysterious ways of Providence. Other coincidences are noted in chapter 2, where Moses struck the rock, and there gushed out twelve fountains; and in chapter 12, a manifest similarity of style and sentiment in the History of Joseph; the account in chapter 2, of Mount Sinai haying been lift over the Israelites, and some remarkable agreements between the Koran and the works of Ephrem, in the description both give of Paradise, Adam's ejection and residence on earth: to this may be added the expulsion of Satan from Heaven, and a variety of particulars relating to the rhythmical style of Ephrem, together with the words and phrases peculiar to Mohammed and Ephrem, which have every appearance of being borrowed from the latter."—Persian Controversies, p. 124, &c.
4. See Sale.
5. See Gibbon.
6. Koran, chap. 9.
7. Koran, chapters 2, 9, 10.
8. Luke iv. 35.
9. See Gibbon.
10. See Sale.
11. See chapter 6.
12. See Koran, chapter the 5th, entitled the Table.
13. See White's Bampton Lectures.
14. See Koran, chap. 2.
15. Koran, chap. 57, entitled Iron.
16. See Koran, chapter 58, entitled, "She who disputes."
17. Hebrews vi. 13.
18. See Sale, Note.
19. See Koran chapters 2. 7. 15. 17, 18. 82.
20. Ibid, chapters 2, 7. 38, &c.
21. See Thalaba.
22. See Southey's Thalaba.
23. See Koran, chap. 2.
24. See 1 Cor xv. 20, &c.
25. See chap. xxv. 31, &c.
26. See Koran, chapter 22, entitled Pilgrimage.
27. See Koran, chapter 56, entitled The Inevitable.
28. See Koran, chapter 3, entitled the Family of Imram.
29. See Koran, chapter 57, entitled Iron.
30. See Koran, chapter 5, entitled the Table.
31. See Koran, chapter 395.
32. See Koran chapter 2, entitled The Cow.
33. Ibid. chapter 56, entitled The Inevitable.
34. See Gibbon.
35. See Koran, chap. 2.
36. See Koran, chapter 3, entitled the Family of Imram.
37. See Gibbon.
38. See Koran, chap. 2 and 5, &c.
39. See Koran, chapters 6. 17. 81.
40. Ibid. chap. 9.
41. Koran, chap. 47.
42. See Thalaba.
43. See chap. 1.
44. See Koran, chap. 1.
45. It is curious to remark the slow progress of knowledge and civilization. Seven centuries after the deluge, two persons resident in Egypt, Moses and Cecrops, contributed to this happy event. Moses with miraculous inspiration, and a nation of colonists, passed into Canaan, where first a Republic, afterwards a Kingdom, was established on the subversion of petty monarchies: he laid down the principles of true theology and morality, and drew a line of circumvallation round his people, separating them from the rest of the world, which line, more than 4000 years have proved unable to destroy. At the same time, Cecrops left Egypt and arrived at Greece: he became the founder of a dynasty of kings, which lasted pear five centuries. The marbles of Lord Arundel begin with Cecrops. Moses introduced his alphabet into Syria and Phœnicia; Cecrops had no letters: about 100 years after him, Cadmus the Phoenician came into Greece and founded Thebes. He produced seventeen letters of the Chaldean alphabet, but turned them a contrary way, and read alternately from right to left. It was about 250 years after Cadmus, that the siege of Troy, the capital of Phrygia, commenced, and Homer flourished something more than four centuries after the taking of that city by the Greeks; so that from Cadmus to Homer is nearly a period of seven centuries: which is probable, for an equal time is consumed in other nations before a simple alphabet could grow to the perfection of Homer's matter and language. Applying these remarks to religion, though its universality is unquestionable, yet we may well conceive it a gradual and progressive work.
46. The mention of the Book of Job (perhaps the most ancient in the world, and written more than 3500 years since) awakens a spirit of curiosity and deep interest. The subject is a history, notoriously public at the time when it was composed. His prosperity, adversity, recovery, and singular advancement, is described. First, heaven smiled upon him, then successive misfortunes reduced him to the lowest penury and distress, and a loathsome disease brings him to the brink of the grave. If the virtues of Job shone in prosperity, they derived greater lustre from affliction: his patience and submission have been the wonder of all ages! Heaven, after this severe exercise, restored him to health, and rewarded his virtues. Three neighbouring princes, hearing of his calamities, visited him during his want and sickness, in order to console him. A finer subject dramatic invention could hardly discover. The style is similar to the odes in the Pentateuch. The poem is rhythmical, full of sublimity, in the tragic form, and the first rude essay of dramatic art. It may be thus described: the Tragedy persons—Jehoyah, Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, his friends; Elihu, a young man; Satan, Job's Wife, Messenger. The scene exhibits Job lying in the dust, covered with sores, and a potsherd in his hand, His wife is urging him to suicide, the three princes, with all the signs of grief, attend in silence. The Prologue is in prose, necessary to the introduction of the speakers. The Poet has employed the usual parts of tragedy; but the dialogue is singular, and Speaks the simplicity of the first age. Job complains, and is answered in order by his three friends. After thrice speaking thus, (when distress is at the height) Eliha prepares for the catastrophe, which ends favourably. An Epilogue in prose concludes: the dialogue—the protasis, or beginning of distress; Job speaks and Eliphaz answers, then Job and Bildad, then Job and Zophar: in the epitasis or increasing, Job speaks and Eliphaz answers, then Job and Bildad, then Job and Zophar; in the catastasis preparatory to the catastrophe, Elihu addresses the three friends; then Job, then the three friends; in the catastrophe or conclusion, Jehovah addresses Job.

    Gibbon has the following remarks on the Koran: "In the spirit of enthusiasm or vanity, the prophet rests the truth of his mission on the merit of his book, audaciously challenges both men and angels to imitate the beauty of a single page, and presumes to assert that God alone could dictate this incomparable performance. This argument is most powerfully addressed to a devout Arabian, whose mind is attuned to faith and rapture, whose ear is delighted by the music of sounds, and whose ignorance is incapable of comparing the productions of human genius. The harmony and copiousness of style will net reach in a version the European infidel: he will peruse with impatience the endless incoherent rhapsody of fable, and precept, and declamation, which seldom excites a sentiment or idea, which sometimes crawls in the dust, and is sometimes lost in the clouds. The divine attributes exalt the fancy of the Arabian missionary, but his loftiest strains must yield to the sublime simplicity of the book of Job, composed in a remote age, in the same country and in the same language. if the composition of the Koran exceed the faculties of a man, to what superior intelligence should we ascribe the Iliad of Homer, or the Philippics of Demosthenes?"—Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

47. The treasures of oriental learning, which Mr. Maurice has collected with so much industry, and explained with so much judgment, in his history and antiquities of India, supply abundance of incontrovertible evidence for the existence of opinions in the early ages of the world, which perfectly agree with the leading articles of our faith, as well as with the principal events related in the Pentateuch. I must confine myself to a single extract from this interesting author: "Whether the reader will allow or not the inspiration of the sacred writer, his mind on the perusal must be struck with the force of one very remarkable fact, viz. that the names which are assigned by Moses to Eastern countries and cities, derived to them immediately from the Patriarchs, their original founders, are, for the most part, the very names by which they were anciently known over all the East; many of them were afterwards translated with little variation by the Greeks, in their systems of geography. Moses has traced in one short chapter (Gen. chap. x.) all the inhabitants of the earth, from the Caspian and Persian seas to the extreme Gades, to their original; and recorded at once the period and occasion of their dispersion. This fact, and the conclusions from it, which are thus incontrovertibly established, by the newly acquired knowledge of the Sanscreet language, were contended for and strongly enforced by Bochart and Stillingfleet, who could only refer to oriental opinions and traditions as they came to them through the medium of Grecian interpretation. To the late excellent and learned president of the Asiatic Society, we are chiefly indebted for the light recently thrown from the East upon this important subject."—See Bishop of Winchester's Elements of Christian Theology.
48. See I Cor. ii. 1, &c. &c.