Islâm

by Syed Ameer Ali

CHAPTER I

Foreword.—In the history of human development probably no subject is more interesting than the gradual evolution of spiritual ideals, or the endeavour to regulate man’s conduct in the ordinary relations of life by determinate ethical standards.

Of all the great systems that aim at the elevation of mankind by an appeal to their religious consciousness, the latest-born is the religion preached by the Prophet of Arabia. The fundamental principles of right and wrong are common to all moral creeds; it is in their vitalising force, the life they infuse into humanity and the direction they give to human energies, that we must seek for elements of differentiation. Some have taken centuries to expand beyond their original circles, others have had to absorb foreign conceptions time after time until their primitive form became entirely changed before they could influence large masses of people. The religion of Mohammed, unaided by any extraneous help, under the impulse of a great and dominating Idea, within the space of eighty years from its birth, had spread from the Indus to the Tagus, from the Volga to the Arabian Sea. No Darius, Asoka, or Constantine came to its assistance with royal mandates and imperial homage.

Under its influence a congeries of warring tribes consolidated into a nation carried aloft for centuries the torch of knowledge. With the fall of their empire, they ceased to be the preceptors of mankind. The younger nations who succeeded to their heritage continued some of their glory in arms, but less in arts and literature. They too declined in power and influence, and now the greatest of them is but a shadow of its former self. And yet, as an active living Faith Islâm has lost none of its pristine force nor the magic hold it possesses over its followers. In certain parts of the world it is spreading with greater rapidity than any other creed, and its acceptance among the less advanced races has invariably tended to raise them in the moral scale.

‘Had the Arabs,’ says an able writer, ‘propagated Islâm only, had they only known that single period of marvellous expansion wherein they assimilated to their creed, speech, and even physical type, more aliens than any stock before or since, not excepting the Hellenic, the Roman, the Anglo-Saxon, or the Russian, even so the Arabs would still make a paramount claim on the Western mind.’ But the interest becomes deeper ‘when we remember that, not only as the head and fount of pure Semitism they originated Judaism and largely determined both its character and that of Christianity, but also the expansion of the Arabian conception of the relations of man to God and man to man (the Arabian social system, in a word) is still proceeding faster and further than any other propagandism.’[1]

Meaning of Islâm.—Islâm is the name which the followers of the Arabian Prophet give to their religion. It means peace, greeting, safety, salvation. It does not involve, however, any idea of fatalism. In its ethical sense it signifies striving after righteousness. Man is a free agent within his limited sphere: the ordinances of God lay down the eternal principles of human conduct. He has pointed out two courses—the one leading away from Him, and that is evil; the other bringing man to Him, and that is good. Every individual is free to choose and follow whichever course he likes, and receives his deserts accordingly. ‘By a soul and Him who balanced it, and breathed into it its wickedness and its piety, blessed now is he who hath kept it pure, and undone is he who hath corrupted it.’[2] But the mercy and help of God are always nigh to direct the humble seeker for divine guidance to take the right path. The faithful observance of one’s duty to his fellow beings is the preparation for the future life, which every human being should strive for in this.

The Cardinal Principle of Islâm.—A belief in the unity, power, mercy, and supreme love of the Creator is the cardinal principle of Islâm, for, in its essence, it is pure Theism, coupled with some definite rules of conduct without which no religion can exercise any abiding influence on lower natures. The whole creation with its manifold phenomena, so varied and yet so uniform, from the single blade of grass springing up in the field to the mighty stars soaring in the firmament, is a proof of His existence, His mercy, His love, and His divine Providence ‘God: there is no God but He—the Living, the Eternal, no slumber seizeth Him. Whatsoever is in Heaven or in Earth is His.’ ‘He created the sun, moon, and stars and subjected them to law by His behests.’ ‘He taketh your souls in the night and knoweth what the work of your day deserveth.’[3] ‘He it is who ordaineth the day for awakening up to life.’[4] ‘In the alternations of night and day, and in the ship which saileth on the sea laden with what is profitable to mankind, and in the rain-water which God sendeth from heaven, quickening again the dead earth, and the animals of all sorts which cover its surface; and in the change of the winds and the clouds balanced between heaven and earth, are signs to people of understanding.’ The God of Islâm is One and indivisible—‘the All-mighty, the All-knowing, the All-just, the Lord of the worlds, the Author of the heavens and earth, the Creator of life and death, in whose hand is dominion and irresistible power; the great, all-powerful Lord of the glorious throne. God is the Mighty, the Strong, the Most High, the Producer, the Maker, the Fashioner, the Wise, the Just, the True, the Swift in reckoning, who knoweth every ant’s weight of good and of ill that each man hath done, and who suffereth not the reward of the faithful to perish.’ But the All-mighty, the All-wise, is also ‘the King, the Holy, the Peaceful, the Faithful, the Guardian over His servants, the Shelterer of the orphan, the Guide of the erring, the Deliverer from every affliction, the Friend of the bereaved, the Consoler of the afflicted; in His hand is good, and He is the Generous Lord, the Gracious Hearer, the Near-at-hand, the Compassionate, the Merciful, the Very Forgiving.’ ... ‘Forgiver of sin and Receiver of penitence.’ ‘He knoweth the secret whisper, the hidden and the manifest.’[5]

Latitude to Human Conscience.—Islâm implies the acceptance of Divine Unity and the Mission of Mohammed; whoever acknowledges the verity of these two conceptions is a Moslem (Muslim)—an Islâmist. Belief in God’s providence carries with it obedience to His commandments, which lay down the primary bases of human conduct; but failure to observe the mere ritual or to conform to disciplinary rules does not exclude one from Islâm or deprive him of the rights and privileges attached to its profession. So long as the central doctrine of the Unity of God and the message of the Prophet is recognised and accepted, Islâm allows the widest latitude to the human conscience.

The Gospel of Islâm is the Koran—the Book—in which are embodied the teachings and precepts of the Arabian Prophet.

From this first principle, the belief in God, spring all the duties human beings owe to Him and to each other. The recognition by man of God’s divine grace and mercy, and the constant remembrance of His benefactions is the very essence of the Islâmic Faith. Thus it is enjoined, ‘Be constant at prayer, for prayer preserveth from crimes and from that which is blamable, and the remembrance of God is surely a most sacred duty.’[6]

Insistence on the Remembrance of God.—In order to make the remembrance of the Eternal Giver of all-good a part of man’s daily life, certain times in the day are set apart to offer Him thanksgiving, to pray for help and guidance in the struggle with earthly passions, and to strive to bring the human soul into communion with its Creator. The following prayer will give an idea of the moral element in the teachings of Islâm.

The Moral Element in Moslem Prayers.—‘O Lord, I supplicate Thee for firmness in faith and direction towards rectitude, and to assist me in being grateful to Thee and in adoring Thee in every good way; and I supplicate Thee for an innocent heart, which shall not incline to wickedness; and I supplicate Thee for a true tongue and for that virtue which Thou knowest; and I pray Thee to defend me from that vice which Thou knowest, and for forgiveness of those faults which Thou knowest. O my Defender! Assist me in remembering Thee and being grateful to Thee and in worshipping Thee with the excess of my strength. O Lord! I have injured my own soul, and no one can pardon the faults of Thy servants but Thou; forgive me out of Thy loving kindness and have mercy on me; for verily Thou art the forgiver of offences and the bestower of blessings on Thy servants.’

Rules for Devotions.—Although the practice of the Teacher has consecrated certain rules for the performance of the devotions, the ritual of the Koran itself is astonishing in its simplicity.[7] The forms were prescribed for disciplinary purposes and to maintain in Islâm uniformity of practice and cohesiveness. But the main essentials are purity of heart and forgetfulness of self. ‘It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces in prayer towards the east or the west; but righteousness is of him who believeth in God.... Who giveth money for God’s sake unto his kindred, and unto orphans and the needy, and the stranger, and those who ask, and for the redemption of captives; who is constant at prayer and giveth alms; and of those who perform their covenants when they have covenanted, and who behave themselves patiently in hardship and adversity and in times of violence, these are they who are the true.’

Every Place Sacred to God.—As God’s mercy and power pervade the universe, and every spot is consecrated to His holy name, the orisons may be offered at any place where the worshipper happens to be at the appointed hour. A remembrance even, a humble prayer whispered in the recesses of the heart, is enough to bring down the grace of the Lord, to cleanse it from impurity and strengthen it for the battle of life. And when the Moslem stands before his God, his first prayer is for divine guidance. ‘Praise to God, the Lord of the Worlds, the compassionate and merciful. The Sovereign of the Day of Judgment, to Thee we offer our worship, and from Thee we seek help and succour. Guide us in the right path, the path of those to whom Thou hast been gracious, and not of those with whom Thou art angered or who have gone astray.’

Purification.—Physical cleanliness was an essential part of worship in almost all the ancient theurgic creeds. In Islâm it is a natural concomitant to the idea of moral purity, for no man is supposed to approach God in a state of uncleanliness. And as an unclean body implies an unclean mind, purification of those parts most likely to be soiled—the hands, feet, and face—is considered necessary before devotional exercise. But it is not indispensable; conditions may exist which may render frequent ablutions impossible. The soldier on the battlefield, the traveller in the desert, the denizen of a wintry land, and others similarly circumstanced may offer their prayers without undergoing any such formality. The rule, though thus liable to qualification, is most beneficent in its tendency. It prevents the growth of that class which is euphemistically described in England as ‘the great unwashed,’ whilst it promotes in an eminent degree hygienic and sanitary conditions among the masses.

At the same time it is especially inculcated that the Almighty can only be approached in purity and humility of spirit, and that the most important purification is the cleansing of the heart from all blamable inclinations and frailties, and the mind from all vicious ideas and thoughts which distract the attention from God.

No Priesthood in Islâm.—The absence of a specially interested class to act as intermediaries between God and man differentiates Islâm from all other creeds. In the Islâmic system every man is his own priest and pleads for himself for forgiveness and mercy. ‘No sacrifice, no ceremonial invented by vested interests is needed to bring the anxious heart nearer to its Comforter.’[8]

Essentially a democratic creed, it recognises no distinction of race or colour among its followers. High or low, rich or poor, white, yellow, or black are on the same level in the sight of their Lord.

The democratic character of its appeal, its repudiation of all adventitious barriers of caste, explain the powerful fascination it exercises over divers races of mankind.

Belief in a Future Life.—Belief in a future life and accountability for human actions in another existence are two principal doctrines of the Islâmic creed. Both ideas take different shapes in different minds according to individual culture and environment. Man is not a fortuitous item in creation; nor does the cessation of life on earth mean an end of the human soul. Physical death only releases it from its earthly habiliments. The soul, which is an emanation from God, exists for ever.

Judaism.—Early Judaism does not show any trace of a belief in a future life or in future rewards and punishment. It is only after the Babylonian Captivity the Jewish mind rose to that conception, and the Zoroastrian Bihasht and Duzakh[9] became the prototypes of the Jewish hell and heaven.[10]

Zoroastrianism.—Similarly the vivid descriptions of the kingdom of Heaven contained in the Christian Scriptures are without doubt a reflex of the Zoroastrian conception. Thus, at the time of Mohammed’s advent, Jew, Christian, and Zoroastrian all looked to material rewards and punishments in a future existence.[11] In Islâm the pains and joys of the Hereafter were used as a lever for raising the people from the fetishism and soulless life to which they had become wedded,—to a conception of spiritual ideals and of the duties imposed by God on man.

The Koranic Conception of a Future Existence.—The pictures of a future existence in the Koran are all drawn to suit the comprehension of the people among whom and the age in which the New Gospel was preached. To the famished, thirsty Arab of the desert what could be more comforting or more consonant to his ideas of paradise than rivers of unsullied, incorruptible water, or of milk and honey; or anything more acceptable than unlimited fruit, luxuriant vegetation, inexhaustible fertility? Large masses of Moslems, no doubt, accept in their literal sense all the word-paintings of the Koran, a characteristic by no means confined to the followers of Islâm. But it is a calumny even against those Mussulman literalists to say that they look forward to sensual enjoyment in the next world. The pictures in the Koran of the joys and pains of after-life, although poetical and vivid, give no warrant for such an assertion. ‘But those who are pious shall dwell in gardens amid fountains; (they shall say unto them) Enter ye therein in peace and security; and all rancour will We remove from their bosoms; they shall sit as brethren face to face; weariness shall not affect them therein, neither shall they be repelled thence for ever.’ ‘For those who do good is excellent reward and superabundant addition; neither blackness nor shame shall cover their faces. These are the inhabitants of Paradise; therein do they abide for ever. But those who have wrought evil shall receive the reward of evil equal thereunto.’... ‘Blessed are they who fulfil the covenant of God and break not their compact; and who join together what God hath bidden to be joined; and who fear their Lord and dread an ill-reckoning; and who from a sincere desire to please their Lord are constant amid trials, and observe prayers and give alms, in secret and openly, out of what we have bestowed on them; and turn aside evil with good; for them there is the recompense of that abode, gardens of eternal habitation, into which they shall enter, together with such as shall have acted rightly from among their fathers, their wives, and their posterity, and the angels shall go in unto them by every portal (saying), “Peace be with you! because you have endured with patience.”’ ‘Excellent is the reward in that abode!’[12] ‘No soul knoweth the joy which is secretly prepared for it as a reward for that it may have wrought.’[13]

The Spirituality of Islâm.—Thus behind the description of material happiness portrayed in objects like trees, rivers, and beautiful mansions, with fairy attendants lies a deeper meaning:—‘O thou soul which art at rest, return unto thy Lord, pleased and pleasing Him; enter thou among My servants; and enter thou My garden of felicity.’

Sufi Ideas.—A large section of Moslems, especially those inclined to Sufiism, believe, however, that as the human soul is an emanation from God, the highest joy would consist in its fusion with the Universal Soul, whilst the greatest pain would be in a state of separation from the Divine Essence.

The Conception of Evolution.—This idea, with the conception of progressive evolution, has been expressed in a poem of untranslatable beauty by the great poet of Islâmic mysticism which may be paraphrased thus: ‘Dying from the inorganic we developed into the vegetable kingdom. Dying from the vegetable we rose to the animal. And leaving the animal we became men. Then why should we fear that death will lower us? The next transition will make us angels. From angels we shall rise and become what no mind can conceive; we shall merge in Infinity as in the beginning. Have we not been told,[14] “All of us will return unto Him”?’[15]

The Islâmic Conception of the Great Account.—Human conduct in the relations of life consists of a connected sequence of acts the effect of none of which is isolated. The faithful observance of the primary rules of ethics justly regarded as the Divine Laws, like their transgression, stretches far into futurity. Every son of man is thus responsible to his Lord for the use he makes of his life. He will be asked whether the powers he had been endowed with were applied to promote the good and the happiness of his fellow beings or to their detriment; and his reward or punishment, his happiness or misery, will depend on the result of the reckoning at the Great Account as to the manner in fact in which he had obeyed the behests of his Creator.

The Idea of Eternal Punishment Repellent to Islâm.—The idea of eternal punishment is repellent to Islâm. The Lord of the Worlds, who is swift in meting out justice, is withal pitiful and compassionate. Mercy is His chief attribute; with mercy is joined a supreme love which surpasseth all other love of which the human mind has any conception. Justice is tempered with mercy; and whatever punishment man undergoes here or hereafter is only for purifying and fitting him to enter that state of perfection which will bring him ‘nigh unto God.’

Moral Responsibility.—‘Just balances will He set up for the day of Resurrection, neither shall any soul be wronged in aught; though were a work but the weight of a grain of mustard seed We would bring it forth to be weighed; and Our reckoning will suffice.’... ‘O our Lord! forgive us then our sin, and hide away from us our evil deeds, and cause us to die with the righteous.’...

‘And their Lord answereth them: I will not suffer the work of him among you that worketh, whether of male or female, to be lost.’... ‘O My servant, who have transgressed to your own injury, despair not of God’s mercy, for all sins doth God forgive, gracious and merciful is He.’[16] ‘Seek pardon of your Lord and be turned unto Him, verily my Lord is merciful, loving.’[17] ‘And your Lord saith, “Call upon Me and I will hearken unto you.”’[18]

This is the pivot on which the Islâmic doctrine of future life turns, and it is the only doctrinal point an Islâmist is required to accept. ‘All the other elements caught up and syncretised from the floating traditions of the races and peoples of the time are mere accessories.’[19]

Nor is the Islâmic belief in disharmony with scientific thought. To quote a recent writer, ‘The religious doctrine of ceaseless moral accountability is identical with the scientific doctrine of ceaseless cause and effect. As science postulates matter and force are indestructible, so religion postulates that the human soul is indestructible.’[20]

Suicide Unusual in Islâm.—The belief that the human soul will have to render to its Creator an account of how it has carried out in this life the duties imposed on it has had one important result on Moslem society, the significance of which has often escaped the notice of non-Moslem writers. It has inspired the Moslem with a sense of dignity and feeling of responsibility, which have made self-destruction practically unknown in Islâm.

Suicide was as common among the pagan Arabs as it is now in Christendom. Ecclesiasticism attempted to prevent self-destruction by attaching the most cruel penalties to the offence. The body of a felo-de-se could not be interred in consecrated ground; it could only be buried surreptitiously in the dark hours of the night by the roadside where four cross roads met, with a stake through it; his family were subjected to ignominy. None of these forcible rules are needed in Islâm. The belief that divine help is always nigh to relieve the distressed, to help the suffering, to assist the forsaken, arrests the hand of the most despondent or desperate, the most sick and weary with life, from taking his or her own life. Whilst the idea of appearing in the presence of the Almighty Judge before the Summons has come acts as the strongest deterrent to self-destruction. The Moslem will fight even unto death, but will never take his own life, which he regards as a trust from God. Never backward or hesitant in the performance of his duty, he considers it an act of cowardice to fly from personal danger or present unhappiness by putting an end to his existence.

Idea of Corporeal Resurrection.—As in Christianity, some Moslems believe in corporeal resurrection, others do not. Some believe that God can be seen by corporeal sight, others entirely deny it. But all believe that when the human souls are gathered up in the Great Account, the Divine Presence will enfold the Universe.

These outlines represent in brief the Islâmic conception of man’s relation to God. Regarding his duties towards himself and his fellow beings it is probably more emphatic and certainly more explicit than any other older system. It denounces self-indulgence, insists upon self-discipline, and makes self-restraint a part of the religious law.

The Ethical Code of Islâm.—The ethical code of Islâm is summarised as follows in the fourth chapter (Sura) of the Koran: ‘Come, I will rehearse what your Lord hath enjoined on you: that ye assign not to Him a partner; that ye be good to your parents; and that ye slay not your children because of poverty; for them and for you We will provide; and that ye come not near to pollutions, outward or inward; and that ye slay not a soul whom God hath forbidden unless by right ... and draw not nigh to the wealth of the orphan, save so as to better it ... and when ye pronounce judgment then be just, though it be the affair of a kinsman. And God’s compact fulfil ye; that is, what He hath ordained to you, Verily this is My right way; follow it then.’... ‘Blessed are they who believe and humbly offer their thanksgiving to their Lord ... who are constant in their charity, and who guard their chastity, and who observe their trust and covenants.... Verily, God bids you do justice and good and give to kindred their due; and He forbids you to sin and do wrong and oppress.’

Fasting.—Periodical fasting is prescribed as a lesson in the exercise of the subjugation of the senses. Its practical usefulness is most perceptible among coarser natures, for whom in reality it was intended as a measure of discipline of the highest value. ‘O ye that have believed, a fast is ordained to you ... that ye may practise piety, a fast of a computed number of days. But he among you who shall be ailing, or on a journey (shall fast) an equal number of other days; and they that are able to keep it (and do not) shall make atonement by maintaining a poor man.’

Prohibition of Wine.—Islâm characterises drink as ‘the mother of all wickedness,’ and inebriation, a sin. The prohibition of drunkenness has saved the lower strata of Mussulmans from the degradation and misery which so constantly meet the eye in Western countries; and from the crimes that are usually committed under its effect. We do not hear of parents maddened by drink murdering their offspring; of human beings turning into beasts under the influence of liquor.

Asceticism.—Men and women are not called upon to abandon the world or to practise asceticism in order to attain heavenly life. God has placed human beings on earth that they may work, do their duty by His creatures, and further the Divine purpose. To withdraw oneself from the service of man is to forsake the dictates of duty.

The Dignity of Labour.—The dignity of labour is recognised in express terms; and the man who earns his living by ‘the sweat of his brow’ is a far better being than one who does not work for his daily sustenance.

Industry and Thrift.—Industry and thrift are virtues just as extravagance is a sin.

‘And let not thy hand be tied up to thy neck; nor yet open it with all openness, lest thou sit thee down in rebuke and beggary.’ ‘And to him who is of kin render his due, and also to the poor and to the wayfarer; yet waste not wastefully.’

Ostentation and vain display of wealth are as reprehensible as niggardliness. ‘Woe to them that make a show of piety and refuse help to the needy.’ ‘He who spendeth his substance to be seen of men is like a rock with thin soil over it, whereon the rain falleth and leaveth it hard. But they who expend their substance to please God and establish their souls are like a garden on a hill, on which the rain falleth and it yieldeth its fruits twofold; and even if the rain doth not fall, yet is there a dew.’ ‘Give of that which hath been given you before the day cometh when there shall be no trafficking, nor friendship, nor intercession.’ ‘Those who abstain from vanities and the indulgence of their passions, give alms, offer prayers, and tend well their trusts and their covenants, these shall be the heirs of eternal happiness.’

He who makes a provision for himself and for his family performs a pious act; whilst the person whose thoughts are centred in his personal indulgence and present enjoyment is unworthy of God’s favour.

Envy Reprehended.—The feeling of envy and the desire of mischief-making are condemned in strong terms: ‘Covet not the gifts by which God hath raised some of you above others.’[21] ‘He who shall mediate between men for a good purpose shall be the gainer by it, but he who shall mediate with an evil mediation shall reap the fruit of it. And God keepeth watch over everything.’

Truthfulness Commanded.—Truthfulness is prescribed as a commandment from God. ‘O ye Moslems, stand fast to justice, when ye bear witness before God, though it be against yourselves, or your parents, or your kindred, whether the party be rich or poor. God is nearer than you to both. Therefore follow not passion, lest ye swerve from truth.’

Justice enjoined on Moslems.—Justice is emphatically enjoined. ‘Judge between men with truth and follow not thy passions.’ ‘Touch not the goods of the orphan.’ ‘Perform your covenants and walk not proudly on the earth.’[22]

Filial Devotion.—Filial devotion is placed in the first rank of duties. ‘Defer humbly to your parents; with humility and tenderness say, “O Lord, be merciful to them even as they brought me up when I was helpless.”’ ‘Show kindness to your parents, whether one or both of them attain to old age with thee; and say not to them “Fie,” neither reproach them; but speak to them both with respectful speech and tender affection.’ ‘Moreover we have enjoined on man to show kindness to his parents. With pain his mother beareth him; with pain she bringeth him forth; and he saith, “O my Lord! Stir me up to be grateful for Thy favours wherewith Thou hast favoured me and my parents, and to do good works which shall please Thee; and prosper me in my offspring: for to Thee am I turned and am resigned to Thy will.”’ ‘Reverence your mothers, be good to parents.’

Charity.—Those who are kind and compassionate to their fellow beings are the favoured of God. Every act of kindness is charity. ‘Every soul shall bear the good and the evil for which it has laboured; and God will burden none beyond his power.’

‘Blessed is he who giveth away his substance that he may become pure, and who offereth not favours to any one for the sake of recompense ... but only as seeking approval of his Lord the most High.’ ‘Wouldst thou be taught the steep (path)? It is to ransom the captive, to feed the hungry, the kindred, the orphan, and him whose mouth is in the dust.’ ‘Be good to parents and to kindred and to orphans, and to the poor, and to a neighbour, whether kinsman, or new comer, and to the slaves whom your right hands hold.’

Pride and Vanity Condemned.—Pride and vanity are condemned as sins, whilst forgiveness of offences, meekness, and humility are prescribed as duties. ‘Verily God loveth not the proud, the vain boaster’; ‘Call on Him with fear and longing’; ‘Verily the mercy of God is nigh unto the righteous’; ‘Turn aside evil with that which is better’; ‘Be of those who enjoin steadfastness and compassion on others’; ‘Forgiveness and kind speech are better than favours with annoyance’; ‘Blessed are the patient, the truthful, the lowly, and the charitable ... the forbearing who bridle their anger and forgive—God loveth those who do good to others’; ‘The servants of the Merciful are they that walk upon the earth softly; and when the ignorant speak unto them, they reply “Peace” ... those that invoke not with God any other God, and slay not a soul that God hath forbidden otherwise than by right; and commit not fornication ... they who bear not witness to that which is false; and when they pass by vain sport they pass it by with dignity: who say, “O our Lord, grant us of our wives and children such as shall be a comfort unto us, and make us examples unto the pious,” these shall be the rewarded, for that they persevered; and they shall be accosted in Paradise with welcome and salutation. For ever therein,—a fair abode and resting-place!’ ‘Adhere to those who forsake you; speak truth to your own heart; do good to every one that does ill to you!’

Foulness is forbidden: ‘Truly my Lord hath forbidden filthy actions, whether open or secret and iniquity and violence’; ‘Commit not adultery, for it is a foul thing and an evil way’; ‘Let the believer restrain his eyes from lust.’

Quarrelsomeness and public and private disturbance are prohibited. ‘And commit not disorders on the well-ordered earth.’

Charity is not left to individual discretion, it is made part of the legal prescriptions. Every man possessed of income has to contribute a certain proportion of his wealth at the end of the year for the keep of the poor and the distressed.

Compulsion in Religion Forbidden.—Compulsion in religion is strictly forbidden. ‘What wilt thou force man to believe when belief can only come from God?’ ‘Let there be no compulsion in religion.’ Whilst the attitude towards other creeds is one of humanity and toleration. ‘Verily those who believe [the Moslems] and those who are Jews, Christians, or Sabæans, whoever hath faith in God and the last day (future existence), and worketh that which is right and good—for them shall be the reward with their Lord; there will come no fear on them; neither shall they be grieved.’

Human Duty to Animals.—The new gospel does not overlook in its teachings the duties of man towards the dumb creatures of God. Kind treatment of animals and birds is part of the religion, and a provision for their comfort is equal to charity to human beings. ‘There is no beast on earth nor bird which flieth, but the same is a people like unto you—unto God shall they return.’[23]

Pilgrimage to Mecca (the Hajj).—The ancient shrine of the Kaaba was the honoured memorial of the Arab race. It was the centre of their national life, and its foundation was traced back to Abraham and Ishmael. Tradition had associated certain rites and ceremonies with the pilgrimages the people of the peninsula were accustomed to make to the Temple. Mohammed gave another meaning to the custom. To keep alive the feeling of brotherhood among the Moslems all over the world and perpetuate among the inhabitants of distant lands the memory of the spot where the great Message was brought to mankind, they were directed, circumstances permitting, to visit the Holy Shrine once in their lives. Some of the old ceremonies, shorn of their pagan significance, were retained; a few new ones, simple in meaning, were introduced; and the Hajj is now the common meeting ground of Moslems of divers races and countries.

Women.—Women, to whom most of the older systems assigned a very inferior position in relation to the stronger sex, obtained in Islâm the place God meant them to occupy in the economy of creation. The right of possessing property, of dealing with what was their own, of exercising all the privileges and powers which belonged to them as sentient beings, were accorded to them equally with the other sex. Marriage made no difference in their status or capacity. And a Mussulman wife became as competent to hold property and make dispositions as a single woman. Nor were they denied a share in the patrimony of their parents or kinsfolk in favour of their male relations. Marriage was declared ‘to be an institution ordained for the protection of society, and in order that human beings may guard themselves from foulness and unchastity.’

Polygamy.—Polygamy was recognised as lawful among all the nations of antiquity; and its practice had received the sanction of the holy personages of Judaism. As among the Kulin Brahmins, the Pagan Arabs put no limit on the number of wives a man might have. In certain stages of development polygamy is not an evil. The Arabian Prophet, with a true conception of the social and moral conditions and necessities of the age and the people, dealt with the question in a manner which harmonises with the most advanced standard, and at the same time meets the needs and requirements of the least progressed.

A Mussulman is allowed to marry one, two, three, or four wives, provided he can deal with all of them ‘with equity.’ If that be not possible he can marry but one.

Many of the best minds of Islâm have perceived in this rule a virtual prohibition of polygamy. The moral effect of the institution on Mussulman society as a whole can hardly be ignored: it has prevented the growth in Mussulman countries, untainted by foreign social ideas, of that class whose existence is alike an outrage on our humanity and a disgrace to civilisation. Considering how the profession of the hetairai, honoured among some nations, despised among others, but tolerated by most, has flourished through all ages, it is no small credit to the Arabian Teacher that it was so effectually stopped in Islâm.

Divorce.—As in the Jewish system, option was given to the husband to dissolve the marriage tie. At the same time the act was pronounced to be ‘the most abominable in the sight of the Lord.’

Bondsmen and Bondswomen.—Only persons taken in lawful warfare were permitted to be held in bondage. The emancipation of bonds-folk was declared one of the highest acts of piety.[24] And any person who made a provision for their ransom was the favoured of God. Traffic in human beings was strictly forbidden, and the man who dealt in slaves was pronounced to be the accursed of God. In a word, human chattelhood is unknown in Islâm; and the institution which is called ‘slavery’ in Europe and America has no existence in Mohammedan countries. In Islâm, parents were not to be separated from children; brothers from brothers, or one relation from another. The Moslem bondsman and bondswoman were members of the master’s family; were on no account to be ill-treated; were to be fed and clothed like the masters and mistresses. Once emancipated they could intermarry with the master’s sons or daughters. Relations with bondswomen were sanctioned by the Rabbinical Laws. They were common in Christian communities, and were freely practised in the Southern States of North America until very recent times by people who considered themselves and were regarded by many others as highly civilised. Among them the issue of a slave-woman was for ever a slave: the smallest taint of slave-blood, however remote, subjected the unfortunate being to be sold as a slave. Although the system of Mohammed, with the object of avoiding a drastic solution, tolerated relations with bondswomen,—with far greater humanity it declared that the issue of such connections were legitimate, and that the bondswoman who bore children to her master was ipso facto emancipated; that thenceforth she was no more his bondswoman, but ‘the mother of his child.’

Intellectualism.—In the domains of intellect the teachings of Islâm give every encouragement to the cultivation of the mind and make the pursuit of knowledge a religious duty. ‘Acquire knowledge,’ said the Prophet of Islâm, ‘because he who acquires it, performs an act of piety; who speaks of it, praises the Lord; who seeks it, adores God; who dispenses instruction in it, bestows alms; and who imparts it to its fitting objects, performs an act of devotion to God. Knowledge enables its possessor to distinguish what is forbidden from what is not; it lights the way to Heaven; it is our friend in the desert, our society in solitude, our companion when bereft of friends; it guides us to happiness; it sustains us in misery; it is an ornament in the company of friends; it serves as an armour against our enemies. With knowledge the servant of God rises to the heights of goodness and to a noble position, associates with the sovereigns of the world, and attains to the perfection of happiness in the next.’ ‘The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of the martyr.’ ‘He who leaves his home in search of knowledge walks in the path of God.’ ‘He who travels in search of knowledge, to him God shows the way to Paradise.’ ‘To listen to the instructions of science and learning for one hour is more meritorious than attending the funerals of a thousand martyrs—more meritorious than standing up in prayer for a thousand nights.’[25]

This brief summary of the principal teachings of Islâm will probably enable the reader to form a fairly accurate notion of the aims and aspirations of the new Gospel and of its work in the elevation of mankind in the moral and social scale. But the conception will hardly be clear without some knowledge of the history of the Teacher or some idea of his wonderful and engaging personality.