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.