It is the universally accepted rule, that no authentic Tradition can be contrary to the Qurán. The importance attached to Tradition has been shown in the preceding chapter, an importance which has demanded the formation of an elaborate system of exegesis. To an orthodox Muslim the Book and the Sunnat, God's word direct and God's word through the mind of the Prophet, are the foundation and sum of Islám, a fact not always taken into account by modern panegyrists of the system.
CHAPTER III.
THE SECTS OF ISLÁM.
It is a commonly received but nevertheless an erroneous opinion, that the Muhammadan religion is one remarkable for the absence of dogma and the unanimity of its professors. In this chapter I propose to show how the great sects differ in some very important principles of the faith, and their consequent divergence in practice. There is much that is common ground to all, and of that some account was given in the first chapter on the "Foundations of Islám."
It was there shown that all Muslim sects are not agreed as to the essential foundations of the Faith. The Sunnís recognise four foundations, the Wahhábís two; whilst the Shía'hs reject altogether the Traditions held sacred by both Sunní and Wahhábí. The next chapter will contain a full account of the doctrines held by the Sunnís, and so no account of this, the orthodox sect, is given in this chapter.
The first breach in Islám arose out of a civil war. The story has been so often told that it need not be reproduced here at any length. 'Alí, the son-in-law of Muhammad, was the fourth Khalíf of Islám. He is described as "the last and worthiest of the primitive Musalmáns who imbibed his religious enthusiasm from companionship with the Prophet himself, and who followed to the last the simplicity of his character." He was a man calculated by his earnest devotion to the Prophet and his own natural graces to win, as he has done, the admiration of succeeding generations. A strong opposition, however, arose, and 'Alí was assassinated in a mosque at Kúfa. It is not easy, amid the conflicting statements of historians of the rival sects, to arrive at the truth in all the details of the events which happened then;
but the generally received opinion is, that after the assassination of 'Alí, Hasan, his son, renounced his claim to the Khalifate in favour of his father's rival, Muavia. Hasan was ultimately poisoned by his wife, who, it is said, was instigated by Muavia to do the deed, in order to leave the coast clear for his son Yezíd. The most tragic event has yet to come. Yezíd, who succeeded his father, was a very licentious and irreligious man. The people of Kúfa, being disgusted at his conduct, sent messengers to Husain, the remaining son of 'Alí, with the request that he would assume the Khalifate. In vain the friends of Husain tried to persuade him to let the people of Kúfa first revolt, and thus show the reality of their wishes by their deeds. In an evil hour Husain started with a small band of forty horsemen and one hundred foot-soldiers. On the plain of Karbalá he found his way barred by a force of three thousand men. "We are few in number," said Husain, "and the enemy is in force. I am resolved to die. But you—I release you from your oath of allegiance; let all those who wish to do so leave me." "O Son of the Apostle of God!" was the reply, "what excuse could we give to thy grandfather on the day of resurrection did we abandon thee to the hands of thine enemies?" One by one these brave men fell beneath the swords of the enemy, until Husain and his infant son alone were left. Weary and thirsty, Husain sat upon the ground. The enemy drew near, but no one dared to kill the grandson of the Prophet. An arrow pierced the ear of the little boy and he died. "We came from God, and we return to him," were the pathetic words of Husain, as with a sorrowful heart he laid the dead body of his son on the sand. He then stooped down to drink some water from the river Euphrates. Seeing him thus stooping, the enemy discharged a flight of arrows, one of which wounded him in the mouth. He fought bravely for a while, but at last fell covered with many wounds. The schism between the Sunní and the Shía'h was now complete.