132. ISLAM AND THE KORAN
FORMATION OF THE KORAN
The religion which Mohammed preached is called Islam, an Arabic word meaning "surrender," or "resignation." This religion has its sacred book, the Koran ("thing read" or "thing recited"). It contains the speeches, prayers, and other utterances of Mohammed at various times during his career. Some parts of the Koran were dictated by the prophet to his disciples and by them were written out on skins, leaves of palm trees, bones, and bits of parchment. Many other parts remained at first only in the memory of Mohammed's followers. Soon after his death all the scattered passages were collected into one book. Since the middle of the seventh century the Koran, every word of which the Moslems consider holy, has remained unchanged.
[Illustration: A PASSAGE FROM THE KORAN
From a manuscript in the Bodleian Library, Oxford.]
RELIGIOUS TEACHINGS OF THE KORAN
The doctrines found in the Koran show many adaptations from the Jewish and Christian religions. Like them Islam emphasizes the unity of God. The Moslem cry—"Allah Akbar!" "God is Great!"—forms its cardinal principle. Like them, also, Islam recognizes the existence of prophets, including Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, but insists that Mohammed was the last and greatest of the prophets. The existence of angels and demons is recognized. The chief of the demons, Iblis, bears some resemblance to the Jewish Satan and the Christian Devil. The account of the creation and fall of man is taken, with variations, from the Old Testament. The description of the resurrection of the dead, the last judgment, and the division of the future world into paradise and hell, the former for believers in Islam, the latter for those who have refused to accept it, seems to have been based on Persian and Jewish ideas. These borrowings from other religions facilitated the spread of Islam among eastern peoples.
OBSERVANCES OF ISLAM
The Koran imposes on the faithful Moslem five great obligations. First, he must recite, at least once in his life, aloud, correctly, and with full understanding, the short creed: "There is no god but God, and Mohammed is the prophet of God." Second, he must pray five times a day: at dawn, just after noon, before sunset, just after sunset, and at the end of the day. In every Mohammedan city the hour of prayer is announced from the tall minaret of the mosque by a crier (muezzin). Before engaging in prayer the worshiper washes face, hands, and feet; during the prayer he turns toward Mecca and bows his head to the ground. Third, he must observe a strict fast, from morning to night, during every day of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Mohammedan year. [6] In this month God presented the Koran to Gabriel for revelation to the prophet. Fourth, he must give alms to the poor. Fifth, he must, "if he is able," undertake at least one pilgrimage to Mecca. The annual visit of thousands of pilgrims to the holy city helps to preserve the feeling of brotherhood among Moslems all over the world. These five obligations are the "pillars" of Islam.
ORGANIZATION OF ISLAM
As a religious system Islam is exceedingly simple. It does not provide any elaborate ceremonies of worship and permits no altars, pictures, or images in the mosque. Islam even lacks a priesthood. Every Moslem acts as his own priest. There is, however, an official, who on Friday, the Mohammedan Sabbath, offers up public prayers in the mosque and delivers a sermon to the assembled worshipers. All work is suspended during this service, but at its close secular activities are resumed.
MORAL TEACHINGS OF THE KORAN
The Koran furnishes a moral code for the adherents of Islam. It contains a few important prohibitions. The Moslem is not to make images, to engage in games of chance, to eat pork, or to drink wine. This last prohibition has saved the Mohammedan world from the degradation and misery which alcohol has introduced into Christian lands. To Mohammed strong drink was "the mother of all evil," and drunkenness, a sin. The Koran also inculcates many active virtues, including reverence toward parents, protection of widows and orphans, charity toward the poor, kindness to slaves, and gentle treatment of the lower animals. On the whole it must be admitted that the laws of the Koran did much to restrain the vices of the Arabs and to provide them with higher standards of right and wrong. Islam marked a great advance over Arabian heathenism.