Thomas Patrick Hughes

“ You are a young and sensible man, and I do not suspect you of forgetfulness, negligence, or perfidy ; and, verily, you used to write for the Prophet his instructions from above ; then look for the Quran in. every place and collect it." I said, " I swear by God, that if people had ordered me to carry a mountain about from one place to another, it would not be heavier upon me than the order which Abu- Bakr has given for collecting the Quran." I said to Abu-Bakr, " How do you do a thing which the Prophet of God did not ? " He said, " By God, this collecting of the Quran is a good act." ”

“ In the Quran we read,* "We believe in God, and that which was sent down unto us and that which was sent down to Ibrahim and Ismail and Isqha and Yaqub and the Tribes, and that which was delivered to Moses and the Prophets from the Lord, and Ave make no distinction between any of them." And yet this very book which " makes no distinction between any of them" and which is said to be " confirmatory" of the Scriptures, ignores the Atonement, the Sacra ments of Baptism and the Lord s Supper, and denies the Crucifixion of the Saviour, the Son- ship of Christ and the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. ”

“ Hadis-i-Mauzu , an invented tradition, is one the untruth of which is beyond dispute.
It is an universal canon that no* tradition can be received which is contrary to the Quran, and it is related that when Ayeshah heard Omar say that Muhammad had taught that the dead could hear, she rejected the tradition as spurious, because it was contrary to the teaching of the Quran. ”

“ This is the crucial test, established by the Prophet himself. He claims to be weighed in the balance with the Divine Jesus. Having done so, we find him wanting.
Objection has often been made to the manner in which Christian divines have attacked the private character of Muhammad. Why reject the prophetic mission of Muhammad on account of his private vices, when yon receive as inspired the sayings of a Balaam, a David, or a Solomon ? We do not, as a rule, attack the character of Muhammad in dealing with Islam ; it rouses opposition, and is an offensive line of argument. ”

“ But although the traditions of Muhammad are shrouded with a degree of uncertainty which is perplexing, not to say vexatious, to the student of history, still there can .be no doubt as to the place they were intended to, and still do occupy in the theological structure of Islam. The example of Muhammad is just as binding upon the Muslim as that of our Divine Lord and Saviour is upon the Christian. And everything Muhammad said with reference to religious dogmas and morals is believed to have been inspired by God ”

“ In studying the Muhammadan religious sys tem it must be well understood that Islam is not simply the religion of the Quran, but that all Muhammadans, whether Sunni, Shia h, or Wahhabi, receive the Traditions as an authority in matters of faith and practice. The Sunni Muhammadans arrogate to themselves the title of traditionists ; but the Shia hs also receive the Hadis as binding upon them, although they do not acknowledge the same collection of traditions as those received by their opponents. ”

“ Christianity or Sabeanism, for it is simply Talmudic Judaism adapted to Arabia, plus the Apostleship of Jesus and Muhammad. Wherever Muhammad departs from the mono theistic principles of Judaism, as in the idola trous practices of the Pilgrimage to the K aba, it is evident that it is done as a necessary concession to the national feelings and sym pathies of the people of Arabia, and it is ab solutely impossible for Muhammadan divines to reconcile the idolatrous rites of the K aba with that simple monotheism which it was evidently Muhammad s intention to establish in Arabia. ”

“ In dealing with serious minded Muhamnia- dans, we should, as far as possible, abstain from attacking any real or apparent contradic tions which may exist in the Quran, and insist more upon a general comparison between the two systems : the teaching of Jesus and the teaching of Muhammad, the position of man under the Gospel and the position of man under the Quran, the sonship of the Christian and the servitude of the Muslim, the covenant of Grace and the covenant of Works ”

“ THE QURAN.
nological sequence. If, therefore, we arrange them according to the order which is given in Syuty s Itqan,* we shall not fail to mark the gradual development of Muhammad s mind from that of a mere moral teacher and re former, to that of a prophet and warrior chief. The contrast between the earlier, mid dle, and later Suras is very striking. He who at Mecca is the admonisher and persuader, at Medina is the legislator and the warrior, who dictates obedience, and uses other weapons than the pen of the poet and the scribe. When business pressed, as at Medina, poetry makes way for prose ”

“ His is the dominion, and the excellency, and the creation, and the com mand thereof. The heavens are folded up in his right hand, and all creatures are couched within his grasp. His excellency consists in his creating and producing, and his unity in communicating existence and a beginning of being. He created men and their works, and measured out their maintenance and their de termined times. Nothing that is possible can escape his grasp, nor can the vicissitudes of things elude his power. ”

“ He sees without pupil or eyelids, and hears without any passage or ear, even as he knoweth without a heart, and performs his actions without the assistance of any corporeal limb, and creates without any instrument, for his attributes (or properties) are not like those of men, any more than his essence is like theirs. ”

“ But he is above the throne, and above all things, even to the utmost ends of the earth ; but so above as at the same time not to be a whit nearer the throne and the heaven ; since he is exalted by (infinite) degrees above the throne no less- than he is exalted above the earth, and at the same time is near to everything that hath a being ; nay, * nearer to man than their jugular veins, and is witness to everything : J though
Vide Quran.
ALLAH OR GOD. 71
his nearness is not like the nearness of bodies, as neither is his essence like the essence of bodies. ”

“ What God is not.} He, glorified be his name, is not a body endued with form, nor a substance circumscribed with limits or deter mined by measure ; neither does he resemble bodies, as they are capable of being measured or divided. ”

“ Though men, genii, angels and devils, should conspire together either to put one single atom in motion, or cause it to cease its motion, with out his will and approbation they would not be able to do it. ”

“ THE QURAN. 25
tribes to have a Quran in their own dialect; for Abdul Haqq* says, "The Quran was first revealed in the dialect of the Quraish, which was the Prophet s native tongue; but when the Prophet saw that the people of other tribes recited it with difficulty then he obtained per mission from God to extend its currency by allowing it to be recited in all the chief dialects of Arabia, which were seven : Quaraish, Tai, Hawazin, Ahl-i-Yaman, Saqif, Huzail, and Bani-Tamln. ”

“ His will subsists in his essence amongst the rest of his attributes, and was from eternity one of his eternal attributes, by which he willed from eternity the existence of those things that he had decreed, which were produced in their proper seasons accord ing to his eternal will, without any before or after, and in agreement both with his know ledge and will, and not by methodising of thoughts, nor waiting for a proper time, for which reason no one thing is in him a hind rance from another. ”

“ The Muhammadan belief in the existence of God is expressed in the first part of the well known confession of faith, La-ildha Il-lal- Idho, " There is no deity but God," the in terpretation of which occupies so prominent a place in all treatises of divinity. ”

“ The worship of him is not simply the dictate of the understanding, but he sent messengers to carry to men his commands, and promises, and threats, whose veracity he proved by manifest miracles, whereby men are obliged to give credit to them in those things that they relate. ”

“ For a man may be supposed to act unjustly by invading the possession of another ; but no injustice can be conceived of God, inasmuch as there is nothing that belongs to any other besides himself, so that wrong is not imputable to him as meddling with things not appertain ing to him. ”

“ He is also distinct from the creatures by his attri butes, neither is there anything besides him self in his essence, nor is his essence in any other besides him. He is too holy to be sub ject to .change, or any local motion ; neither do any accidents dwell in him, nor any con tingencies befall him ; but he abides through all generations with his glorious attributes, free from all danger of dissolution. As to the attribute of perfection, he wants no addition of his perfection. As to being, he is known to exist by the apprehension of the understanding ”

“ Hadis-i- Azir, a rare tradition, is one related by only two lines of narrators.
(4) Hadis-i-Gharib, a poor tradition, is one related by only one line of narrators.
Khdbar-i-Wdhid, a single saying, is a term also used for a tradition related by one person and handed down by one line of narrators. It is a disputed point whether a Khobar- i- Wahid can form the basis of Muslim doctrine.
Hadis-i-Mursal (lit. "a tradition let loose") , is a tradition which any collector of traditions, such as Bokhari and others, records with the assertion, " the Apostle of God said." ”

“ He persists, without ceasing to be ; remains without falling, and never did cease, nor ever shall cease to be described by glorious attributes, nor is subject to any decree so as to be deter mined by any precise limits or set times, but is the First and the Last, and is within and without. ”

“ In the Hadis it is enjoined that one goat in forty must be given to God. To some poor persons the money may be more acceptable ; therefore, the value of the goat may be given instead of the goat.
66
IX. FAITH.
FAITH, I man, is defined as " the belief of the heart and the confession of the mouth." It is of two kinds I mdn-i- Mujmal and I mdn- i-Mufassal.
I man-i-Mujmal is a simple expression of faith in the teaching of the Quran and the Hadis.
I mdn-i-Mufassal is a belief in the six articles of faith, viz. : 1. The Unity of God. 2. The Angels. 3. The Books. 4. The Prophets. 5. ”

“ Neither is he like to anything that exists, neither is anything like to him ; nor is he deter minate in quantity nor comprehended by bounds, nor circumscribed by the differences of situation, nor contained in the heavens. ”

“ Loving kindness, and to show fa vour, and grace, and beneficence, belong to him ; whereas it is in his power to pour forth upon men a variety of torments, and afflict them with various kinds of sorrows and dis eases, which, if he were to do, his justice could not be arraigned, nor would he be chargeable with injustice. Yet he rewards those that wor ship him for their obedience on account of his promise and beneficence, not of their merit nor of necessity, since there is nothing which he can be tied to perform ”

“ The Mujtahidin, capable of making Ijma? 9 must be " men of learning and piety, not heretics, nor fools, but men of judgment."
There is great diversity of opinion as to up to what period in the history of Islam,
62 IJMA .
Ijma! can be accepted. Some doctors assert that only the Ijma of the Mujtahidin wha were Ashab (companions) ; others, that of those who were not only " companions " but " de scendants " of the " Prophet," can be accepted ; whilst others accept the Ijma of the Anscirs^ (helpers,) and of the Muhajarm (fugitives,) who were dwellers in Medina with Muhammad. ”

“ The whole book was not arranged until after Muhammad s death, but it is believed that the Prophet himself divided the Suras and gave most of them their present titles, which are chosen from some word which occurs in the chapter.* The following is the account of the collection and arrangement of the Quran, as it
J The ancient Jews divided the whole Law of Moses into fifty-four Sections, which were called /Sidrah, or an order or division. ”

“ Man truly is by creation hasty."
(4) Mutashdbik. Intricate sentences, or ex pressions, the exact meaning of which it is impossible for man to ascertain until the day of resurrection, but which was known to the Prophet : e. g. the letters Alif, Lam, Mim (A. L. M.J ; Alif, Lam, Ra (A. L. E.) ; Alif, Lam, Mim, Ra (A. L. M. R.) , etc., at the commencement of different Suras or chapters. Also Sura-i-Mulk (Ixvii.) 1, " In whose hand is the Kingdom," L e. God s hand (Arabic, yad) ; and Sura-i-Twa Ha (xx.) , " He is most merciful and sitteth on His throne," i. e. God sitteth (Arabic, istawd) ”

“ Created man from a clot of blood in the
womb. " { Eead! for thy Lord is the most beneficent,
He hath taught men the use of the pen ;
He hath taught man that which he knoweth
not. *
" Then the Prophet repeated the words him self, and with his heart trembling he returned (i. e. from Hiraa to Mecca) to Khadijah, and
word Malak, Gabriel, instead of Angel, and most of our English authors have quoted the tradition from his book.
Sura-i-Alaq (xcvi.) , the first five verses. The other verses of the chapter are of a later date.
C
18 THE QURAN.
said, Wrap me up, wrap me up. ”

“ Siira-i-Dahr (Ixxvi.) , 15, "Vessels of silver and decanters which are of glass, decanters of glass with silver whose measure they shall mete."
> (3) Mujmal. Sentences which are compen dious, and have many interpretations : e. g. ”