Muhammadanism

“ His successor became a Musalman and married the daughter of a prince of a neighbouring island, in which apparently Islam had been long established;98 during his reign, a traveller,99 who visited the island in 1600, speaks of Muhammadanism as being a common religion along the coast. The inhabitants of the interior, however, he tells us, were all idolaters—as indeed they remain for the most part to the present day. ”

“ It is impossible for anyone to write upon the subject of Muhammadanism without being largely indebted, not only to Sir William Muir's books, but also to the works of the late Mr. Lane, the author of Modern Egyptians, new editions of which have been edited by Mr, Stanley Lane Poole. ”

“ This is probably due to the fact that Muhammadanism is a religion evolved amongst a Semitic people who live in latitudes bordering on the aboriginal races of Africa and Asia, and that it is far more akin in its social ideas to those of the Negro or Malay than are those of Christianity, more especially of that form of Christianity evolved during the last twelve centuries by the Teutonic peoples of upper Europe, who are of all races farthest in physical characteristics, in religious ideals and social institutions, from the dark races of Africa and Asia. ”

“ The creed of Muhammad, therefore, claims to supersede that of the Lord Jesus. And it is here that we take our stand. We give Muhammad credit as a warrior, as a legislator, as a poet, as a man of uncommon genius, raising himself amidst great opposition to a pinnacle of renown ; we admit that he is, without doubt, one of the greatest heroes the world has ever seen ; but when we consider his claims to supersede the mission of the Divine Jesus, we strip him of his borrowed plumes, and reduce him to the condition of an impostor! ”

“ They know that such close contact with Christians must open the boys’ eyes to some extent to the contrast between Muhammadanism and Christianity, and they know Muhammadanism cannot stand such a comparison. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ This festival has become part of the Meccan pilgrimage, of which it is the concluding scene, although it appears that Muhammad at first intended to conform to the custom of the Jews in observing the great day of atonement, but when he failed to maintain a friendly footing with the Jews, he merged the rite into the Meccan pilgrimage. This feast, however, is the great Muhammadan festival, which is observed wherever Islam exists ”

“ It is impossible to account for this peculiar feature in Muhammadan nations by attributing it to the peculiarities of Oriental races, or other accidental circumstances. The great cause lies in the religious system which they profess, which binds them hand and foot. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ Sirdt is a bridge which all must pass over on the day of judgment. It is said to extend over the midst of -hell, and to be sharper than the edge of a sword. In passing it the feet of the infidel will slip, and he will fall into hell fire ; but the feet of the Muslim will be firm, and carry him safely to Paradise.
XIV. HEAVEN.
THE Muhammadan Paradise is called Jannat (garden) in Arabic, and Bahisht in Persian ; the word Fir dam, from which -we get our Eng lish word Paradise, being restricted to one region in the celestial abodes of bliss. ”

“ In every province of the empire, for many centuries past, have been found a large number of Muhammadans who form part of the people whom I regard as my own children just as I do my other subjects. I make no distinction between them and those who do not belong to their religion. I have received from certain officials secret complaints against the Muhammadans on the ground that their religion differs from that of the other Chinese, that they do not speak the same language, and wear a different dress to the rest of the people. ”

“ If the claim of Muhammad to have received a divine command to exterminate idolatry by the slaughter of all impenitent idolaters be admitted, I can see no objection to his practice. The question at issue is this. Did God command such slaughter of idolaters, as he commanded the destruction of the Canaanites or of the Amalekites? Taking the stand of the Muslim, that God did so command Muhammad and his followers, his morality in this respect may be defended on precisely the same ground that the morality of Moses and Joshua is defended by the Christian. ”

“ But full details connected with the above will be found, if required, in Hughes 'Dictionary of Islam,' so that further reference to them here is unnecessary. It must, however, always be remembered that faith and prayer were the two points which Muhammad always insisted upon as absolutely essential.
The Muhammadan religion may be regarded as creating in theory the purest democracy in existence. All men are supposed to be equal. There are no hereditary titles. Every man can rise, either by interest or talent, from the very lowest to the very highest position. ”

“ I believe the stricter Muhammadans are of pure Mogul and Pathan descent, while the more lax are the many who at different times have been drawn or forced into Islam. Our Muhammadan servants speak continually of their caste, have many Hindu notions, and follow many Hindu practices. Low-caste Hindus, on the other hand, are prominent in some Muhammadan processions. Both Muhammadans and Hindus, as a rule, are satisfied with their respective position, as assigned to them by Allah or Fate, have no repugnance to each other, and no wish to disturb each other. ”

“ And the fondness of the old pagan Arabs for the same class of compositions seems to have threatened the success of Muhammad’s great mission, to win them back from their vain idolatry to the worship of the ONE God. For an Arabian merchant having brought from Persia the marvellous stories of Rustam, Isfendiar, Feridūn, Zohāk, and other famous heroes, which he recited to the tribe of Kuraysh, they were so delighted with them, that they plainly told Muhammad that they much preferred hearing xivsuch stories to his legends and moral exhortations ”

“ The Muhammadans, under penalty of everlasting torment, are obliged to sacrifice, to the poor and needy, a due proportion of the things that they love—not merely of their superfluity—with the result that each man among them, by that fact alone, constitutes himself, as it were, a willing instrument of God’s will that His Kingdom of Heaven shall reign on earth. ”

“ But the history of the Muhammadan propaganda in Africa during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is very slight and wholly insignificant when compared with the remarkable revival of missionary activity during the present century. Some powerful influence was needed to arouse the dormant energies of the African Muslims, whose condition during the eighteenth century seems to have been almost one of religious indifference. Their spiritual awakening owed itself to the influence of the Wahhābī reformation at the close of the eighteenth century ”

“ THE LICENTIOUSNESS OF MUHAMMADANS.
Much has been said about the sensuality of Muhammadans. The sanction given by Muhammad to polygamy and extreme facility of divorce has borne bitter fruit. His own example has had a depraving influence. He alleged, indeed, a special Divine sanction for the dissoluteness of his later life, but this has not deterred his followers from thinking they could not go far wrong in imitating him. In addition to these facilities for a life of sensual enjoyment, the teaching of the Prophet in reference to female slaves has had a most depraving effect on family life. ”

“ It is true that the state of Arabia previous to the time of Muhammad was one of preparedness for a new religion—that the scattered elements were there, and wanted only the mind of a master to harmonise and enforce them—and that Islam was, so to speak, a necessity of the time. [15] Still Muhammad's career is a wonderful instance of the force and life that resides in him who possesses an intense Faith in God and in the unseen world ”

“ This conception of law shows itself in their thought frankly at strife with Muhammad’s conception of God as will, as the sovereign over all. Hence, the crudities and devices by which they strove to make good their footing on strange ground and keep a right to the name of Muslim, while changing the essence of their faith. The anthropomorphic God of Muhammad, who has face and hands, is seen in Paradise by the believer and settles Himself firmly upon His throne, becomes a spirit, and a spirit, too, of the vaguest kind. ”

“ In fact, both in the East and the West there appears to be a place for all men, and that place is established by the unwritten laws of the world or by the law of nature, in spite of the many theories propounded by religion, politics, or political economy. Still, Muhammad himself instilled equality among his followers, and in his parting address at Mina, at the time of the farewell pilgrimage, spoke as follows:
'Ye people! hearken to my speech and comprehend the same. Know that every Muslim is the brother of every other Muslim. ”

“ The history of the proselytising movements and the social influences that brought about their conversion has hitherto received very little attention, and most of the commonly accessible histories of the Muhammadans in India, whether written by European or by native authors, are mere chronicles of wars, campaigns and the achievements of princes, in which little mention of the religious life of the time finds a place, unless it has taken the form of fanaticism or intolerance. ”

“ For, verily, I am Thy slave, O Lord, and Thy guest in this Thy house. O Lord the Compassionate, I remind thee that there is no Lord but Thee. Thou art alone, and hast no mate. Thou art everlasting. Thou begettest not, neither art Thou begotten, and there is not any one like unto Thee. Verily, Muhammad is Thy slave and Thy apostle—may peace be with him and with his people. O Generous, O Magnanimous, O Exalted, O Just!”
Then we said three times, “God is Great!” and then, “I seek shelter in Thee from the snares of the devils of man and jinn, and from the evils that may betide the Arab and Ajem!” ”