PREFACE.
The followiiig’ pages< p,mDpdy a study of IsMm dur¬
ing a residence of fifteen years in India, the greater
part of wMcb tiiiie I bave been in daily inter¬
course -witli Musalmdns. I have given in the foot¬
notes the authorities, from which I quote. I was
not able to procure in Madras a copy of the
Arabic edition of Ibn Khaldoun’s great work, but
the French translation by Baron M. de Slane, to
which I so frequently refer, is thoroughly reliable.
The quotations from the Qurdn are made from
RodweU’s translation. The original has been con¬
sulted when necessary.
A few slight and occasional errors in translit¬
eration have occurred, such as Sulat for SaMt,
Munkar for Munkir, &c., but in no case is the mean¬
ing affected.
In some words, such as Khalif, Khalifate, and
Omar, I have retained the anglicised form instead
of using the more correct terms, Khalifa, KhiMfat,
’IJmr. The letter Q has been used to distinguish
the Kaf-i-Karashat from the KAf-i-Tdrzi.
E. S.
Madras,
December 1st, 1880.
CONTENTS.
InTRODTT"‘TION. ... ... ... ,.^TAGEk
OHAPTEE I
THE POTODATIONS OF ISLAM.
The Qurdn—Its rerelation—Miraculous nature—ArraiHgeTneiit o£
ijuran—Osm^’s recension. The Sunnat—The a»utkority o£
Sunnafc—Tradition—Bid’at or innovation—Shfa*h Traditions.
Ijmd*—Ijtihad—Pour orthodox Imams, Hanlfa, Sh^fa’I
and Hanbal. Qias—Established by the early Mujtahidin—
Sterility o£ Islim ... ... ... ... ... pa&bI
Note to Chapter 1. Ijtihdd ... ... page 32
CHAPTEE IL
EXEGESIS OF THE QUEAN AND THE TEABinOirS.
Inspiration—The seven readings—Work of a Commentator —Words
and Sentences of the Qurin—^Use of the wids—Deductions of
arguments from the Qur£n—Divisions of the QurAn—Abroga¬
tion—Creation of the Qnrdn—Hadis or Tradition—Collections
of Traditions—Classification of Traditions ... ... iagb 37
CHAPTER III.
THE SECTS OF ISIAm,
The Shia*hs—^The Imdmat—Khdrigites—^Nlird-Muhanxinadil—Im6.m
—^Ism4,ilians and Inodmites—Grhair-i-Mahdfs—^Dd,iri^—Mahmd-
diah—Khalifate—Stifiism—Persian Poetry—D arwMes—Omar
Bdiayydm—Wahhabis—their rise—spread in India-docfcrines
and influence ... ... ... ... ... iagb 73
Note to Chapter IIL Wahh&biism ... ... tagi 114
VI
Contents.
CHAPTER IV,
THE CEEBB OE TSlAm.
Imdn—God—^Attributes of God—Discussions on the nature of
God—The rise of the Mutazilites—The Sifatians—Mushdbi-
hites—Haines of God—Creation of the Qurdn. Angels—Re¬
cording Angels—Hdrut and Mlrut—Munkir and Haldr—Jinn.
The’ Books—Abrogation—Tahrif. The Prophets—Rank and
inspiration of prophets—Habi and Rasul—Sinlessness of pro¬
phets—^The Anbijra-ulul-’Azm—Miracles of prophets—The
Mi’raj. The Resurrection and the last day—The Trumpets—
Descent of the books—Balances—Bridge—Al-A’r4f—Al-Bar-
zakh—Intercession of Muhammad—Heaven—Hell. The Pre¬
destination of good and evil—Jabrians—Qadrians—Ash’arxans—
Free-will—Apostacy ... ... ... ... page 116
Hote to Chapter IV. Muslim Philosophy ... ... page 181
CHAPTER V.
THE FEACTICAL DUTIES OF ISLAM*
Farz, wijib, sunnat, mustahab and mub^h actions—Haram or
unlawful acts. Tashahhud. Salit—Wazti— Qhusl—Tayam-
mum—Ham^z—Farz, sunnat, witr and nafl rak’ats—^Appointed
hours of prayer—Friday Ham^z and sermon—Hamiz on a
journey and in time of war—^Namd,z in Ramazan, during an
eclipse and in time of drought—Funeral service—Its ritual and
prayers. Fasting—Its time and nature. Z&kit —^Nisdb—Pro¬
portion of property to be given as alms—Recipients of the
Zakit. The Hajj—Farz, sunnat, wdjib and mustahab duties
connected with the Hajj—Time for the Hajj—Arrival of the
HAji at Mecca—Taw4f—Ceremonies of the Hajj—Conclusion
of the Hajj—Formal nature o£ Islam ,.* ... page 187
Note to Chapter V. FatvA on the Hamiz ... ... page ?33
Contents.
vii
OHAPTEE YL
THE FEASTS AND EASTS OF ISLAM.
Muharram — ’Ashur Khana — Marsiya — W5-qi’a Klian—’Alams—
Ceremonies o£ the ’Ashtira—Edtihas for ’Alf, for Hasan and
Husain—Akhir-i-ohdr Shamba—Bara Wafat—Jashn-i-milid-i-
Shanf—Asir-i-Sharif—Shab Barat—Bamazan and ’Id-ul-Fitr—
’Itikdf—Sadqa—Sermon on the ’Id-ul-Fitr—Baqr-’Id or ’Id-uz-
Zuhd—Sermon on the ^Id-uz-Zuha—Tho Qurban or Sacrifice—
Festival of Madar—Festival of S^lar Mas’dd Ghazi—Festival
of KhAja Khizr-—Feast of Pir Dastgir Sihib—Festival of Qadir
Wall Sihib ... ... ... ... page 237
Index of Technical Terms
PAGE 265
INTRODUCTION.
It is necessary to enter into some explanation as
regards the contents o£ this work. It does not fall
in with its plan to enter into an account either of
the life of Muhammad or of the wide and rapid
spread of the system founded by him. The first
has been done by able writers in England, Franco
and Germany. I could add nothing new to this
portion of the subject, nor throw new light upon it.
The political gi’owth of Muslim nations has also
been set forth in various ways.
It seems to me that the more important study at
this time is that of the religious system which has
grown out of the Prophet’s teaching, and of its
effect upon the individual and the community.
What the Church in her missionary enterprise has
to deal with, what European Governments in the
political world have to do with is Islam as it is, and
as it now influences those who rule and those who
are ruled under it.
I have, therefore, tried to show from authentic
sources, and from a practical knowledge of it, what
the Faith of Isldm really is, and how it influences
men and nations in the present day. I think that
recent Fatv4s delivered by the ’Ulamd in Constan¬
tinople show how firmly a Muslim State is bound inji
the fetters of an unchangeable Law, whilst the
present practice of orthodox Mushms all the world
MOLAYIE CHERAGH ALI’S
1 Mawah Azam Yar Jung Bahadur
X
Introduction.
over is a constant carrying out of the precepts given
in the Qurdn and the Sunnat, and an illustration of
the principles I have shown to belong to Isldm. On
this subject it is not too much to say that there is,
except amongst Oriental scholars, much miscon¬
ception.
Again, much that is written on Islam is written
either in ignorant prejudice, or from an ideal stand¬
point. To understand it aright, one should know
its literature and live amongst its people. I have
tried faithfully to prove every statement I have
made j and if, now and again, I have quoted Euro¬
pean authors, it is only by way of illustration. I
rest my case entirely upon Musalmdn authorities
themselves. Still more, I have ascertained from
living witnesses that the principles I have tried to
show as existing in Islam, are really at work now
and are as potent as at any previous period.
I have thus traced up from the very foundations
the rise and development of the system, seeking
wherever possible to link the past with the present.
In order not to interfere with this unity of plan,
I have had to leave many subjects untouched, such
as those connected with the civil law, with slavery,
divorce, jihdd or religious wars, &c. A good digest
of Muhammadan Law^ will give aU necessary infor¬
mation on these points. The basis of the Law
which determines these questions is what I have
described in my first chapter. Ijtihdd, for example,
rules quite as effectually in a question of domestic
1. There is an esoellent one by Neil B. E. Baillia. The qnestion of Jihid
is faUy discussed in Dr. Hunters Ow Indim
Introduction.
XI
economy or political jurisprudence as on points of
dogma. It ■was not, therefore, necessary for me to
go into details on these points.
When I have drawn any conclusion from data
which Muhammadan literature, and the present prac¬
tice of Muslims have afforded me, I have striven to
give what seems to me a just and right one. Still,
I gladly take this opportunity of stating that I have
found many Muslims better than their creed, men
with whom it is a pleasure to associate, and whom
I respect for many virtues and esteem as friends.
I judge the system, not any individual in it.
In India, there are a number of enlightened
Muhammadans, ornaments to native society, useful
servants of the State, men who show a laudable
zeal in all social reforms, so far as is consistent
with a reputation for orthodoxy. Their number is
far too few, and they do not, in many cases, repre¬
sent orthodox Isldm, nor do I believe their counter¬
part would be found amongst the ’TJlamd of a
Muslim State. The fact is that the wave of scepti¬
cism which has passed over Europe has not left the
Bast untouched. Hindu and Muslim alike have felt
its influence, but to judge of either the one system
or the other from the very liberal utterances of a
few men who expound their views before English
audiences is to yield oneself up to delusion on the
subject.
IsMm in India has also felt the influence of con¬
tact with other races and creeds, though, theologi¬
cally speaking, the Im4n and the Din, the faith and
the practice, are unchanged, and remain as I have
Iniroductim.
described tbem in chapters four and five. If Islam
in India has lost some of its original fierceness, it
has also adopted many superstitious practices, such
as those against which the ’W’ahhdbis protest. The
great mass of the Musalmdn people are quite as
superstitious, if not more so, than their heathen
neighbours. Still the manliness, the suavity of
manner, the deep learning, after an oriental fashion,
of many Indian Musalmans render them a very
attractive people. It is true there is a darker
side—^much bigotry, pride of race, scorn of other
creeds, and, speaking generally, a tendency to
inertness. It is thus that in Bengal, Madras and
perhaps in other places, they have fallen far behind
the Hindus in educational status, and in the number
of appointments they hold in the Government
service. Indeed, this subject is a serious one
and deserves the special attention of the Indian
Government. In Bengal the proportion of Musal¬
mans to Hindus in the upper ranks of the Uncov-
enanted Civil Service in 1871 was 77 to 341.
In the year 1880 it had declined to 63 to 451.
The state of afEairs in Madras is equally bad. Yet
an intelligent Muslim, as a rule, makes a good
official.
Looking at the subject from a wider stand-point,
I think; the Church has hardly yet realised how
great a barrier this system of Islam is to her
onward march in the Bast. Surely special men
with special training are required for such an enter¬
prise as that of encountering Islam in its own
strongholds. No better pioneers of the Christian
Iniroduetion.
xui
faith could be found in the East than men won
from the Orescent to the Cross.
AU who are engaged in such an enterprise will
perhaps find some help in this yolume, and I am
not without hope that it may also throw some light
on the political questions of the day.
THE
FAITH OF ISLAM.
CHAPTER L
THE FOUNDATIONS OF ISLAM.
The creed of Islam^ LS-ilalia-iHal-laliu wa Muhammad-nr-
Rasul-TJllali,” (There is no deity but God, and Muhammad
is the Apostle of Gtod) is very short, but the system itself is
a very dogmatic one. Such statements as: The Qnrfi.n
is an all-embracing and sufficient code, regulating every¬
thing,” " The Qur^n contains the entire code of IsMm—
that is, it is not a book of religious precepts merely, but it
governs all that a Muslim does,” The Qurdn contains the
whole religion of Muhammad,” The Qur£n which contains
the whole Gospel of IsUm” are not simply misleading, they
are erroneous. So inv from the QunSn alone being the soU
rule of faith and practice to Muslims, there is not one single
sect ajnongst them whose faith and practice is based on it
alone. No one among them disputes its authority or oasts
any doubt upon its genuineness. Its voice is supreme in
all that it concerns, but its exegesis, the whole system
of legal jurisprudence and of theological science, is largely
founded on the Traditions, Amongst the orthodox Musal-
mdns, the foundations of the Faith are four in number, the
Qur^n, Sunnat, Ijmd^ and Qias. The fact that acll the sects
do not agree with the orthodox—the Sunnis—in this matter
illustrates another important fact in Islfim—the want of unity
amongst its followers.
The Faith of Islam.
1. The Quean. —^The question of the inspiration -will be
fully discussed, and an account of the laws of the exegesis
of the Qur^n will be given in the next chapter. It is sufficient
now to state that this book is held in the highest veneration
by Muslims of every sect. When being read it is kept on
a stand elevated above the floor, and no one must read or
touch it without first making a legal ablution.^ It is not
translated unless there is the most urgent necessity, and
even then the Arabic text is printed with the translation.
It is said that God chose the sacred month of Eamazan in
which to give all the revelations which in the form of books
have been vouchsafed to mankind. Thus on the first night
of that month the books of Abraham came down from
heaven j on the sixth the books of Moses; on the thirteenth
the Injil, or Gospel, and on the twenty-seventh the Qur^n.
On that night, the Laylut-ul-Qadr, or night of power,^^
the whole Qurto is said to have descended to the lowest of
the seven heavens, from whence it was brought piecemeal
to Muhammad as occasion required,^ ^‘Verily we have
caused it (the Qurdn) to descend on the night of power.^^
(Sura xcviL 1.) That night is called the blessed night, the
night better than a thousand months, the night when angels
came down by the permission of their Lord, the night
which bringeth peace and blessings till .the rosy dawn.
Twice on that night in the solitude of the cave of Hira the
voice called, twice though pressed sore ^^as if a fearful
weight had been laid upon him,” the prophet struggled
1. « Let none touoli it but tbo purified,” (Siura Ivi. 78.)
2. ** It was certainly an admirable and politic ooutrivanoo of his to bring
down the whole Kordn at onoe to the lowest heaven only, and not to the
earth, as a bungling prophet would have done; for if the whole had been
published at onoe, innumerable objections might have been made, which it
would have been very hard, if not impossible for him to solve; but as he
pretended to receive it by parcels, as God saw proper that they should be
published for the oouversion and instruction of tlie people, he had a sure
way to answer all emergencies, and to extricate himself with honour
any difficulty which might occur.” (Sale*s Preliminary Discourse, Sec#
tion in.)
The Bevelation of the Quran, 3
against its influence. The third time he heard the words:—
“ Eecite thou, in the name of thy Lord who created—
Created man from clots of blood.” (Sura sovi. 6.)
When the voice had ceased to speaks telling how from
minutest beginnings man had been called into existence,
and lifted up by understanding and knowledge of the Lord,
who is most beneficent, and who by the pen had revealed
that which man did not know, Muhammad woke up from
his trance and felt as if a book had been written in his
heart.” He was much alarmed. Tradition records that ho
went hastily to his wife and said—0 Khadija ! what
has happened to me!” He lay down and she watched by
him. When he recovered from his paroxysm, he said
0 Khadija! he of whom one would not have believed
(i, e,, himself) has become either a soothsayer (k^in) or
mad.” She replied, G-od is my protection, 0 Ab-ul-kasim.
He will surely not let such a thing happen unto thee, for
thou speakest the truth, dost not return evil for evil, keepest
faith, art of a good life and art kind to thy relatives and
friends, and neither art thou a talker abroad in the bazaars.
What has befallen thee ? Hast thou seen aught terrible ?”
Muhammad replied Yes.” And he told her what he had
seen. Whereupon she answered and said:—^^Eejoioe, 0
dear husband and be of good cheer. He in whose hands
stands Khadija^s life, is my witness that thou wilt be
the Prophet of this people.”^ The next Stira, the 74th,
was revealed at Mecca, after which there seems to have
been an intermission, called the Fatrah. It was during
this time that the Prophet gained some knowledge of the
contents of the Jewish and the Christian Scriptures.
Gabriel is believed to have been the medium of communi¬
cation. This fact, however, is only once stated in the
Qur6n;—Say, whoso is the enemy of Gabriel—^Por he it is
L^Liteacary Betnams of Bmmaxiuel Boutsob, p. 77.
The Faith of Islam.
who by God^s leave hath caused the Quran to descend on
thy heart^^ (Sura ii. 91.) This Sura was revealed some
years after the Prophet^s flight to Madiua. The other
references to the revelation of the Quran are :—Verily from
the Lord of the worlds hath this hook come down; the
Faithful Spirit (Euh-ul-Amin) hath come down with it”
(Sura xxvi. 192.) The Quran is no other than a revela¬
tion revealed to him^ one terrible in power (Shadid-ul-Qua)
taught it him.” (Sura liii. 5.) These latter passages do
not state clearly that Gabriel was the medium of communi¬
cation, but the belief that he was is almost, if not entirely,
universal, and the Commentators say that the terms Ruh-
ul-Amin” and Shadld-ul-Qua” refer to no other angel or
spirit. The use of the word taught” in the last Sura
quoted, and the following expression in Siira Ixxv. 18,
When we have recited ii, then follow thou tlio recital,”
show that the Qurdu is entirely an objective revelation and
that Muhammad was only a passive medium of communi¬
cation, The Muhammadan historian, Ibn Khaldoun, says
on this point:—Of all the divine books the Qurdn is the
only one of which the text, words and phrases have been
communicated to a prophet by an audible voice. ‘It is
otherwise with the Pentateuch, the Gospel and the other
divine books : the prophets received them under the form
of ideas.” ^ This expresses the universal belief on this point
—a belief which reveals the essentially mechanical nature of
Ishim.
The Qur&n thus revealed is now looked upon as the
staiuding miracle of Islam. Otlier divine books, it is
admitted, were revelations received under the form of
ideas, but the Qurdn is far superior to them all for the
actual text was revealed to the ear of the prophet. Thus
we read in Stira Ixxv. 16—19
1. ProllgQxix^nes d'lbn Khaldoun, vol i, p.
The Miracles of Prophets.
“ Move not thy tongue in haste to follow and master this revelation;
For we will see to the collecting and recital of it;
Bui wlieib we have recited it, then follow thou the recital;
And verily it shall he ours to make it clear to thee.”
The Quran is^ then, believed to be a miraculous revela¬
tion of divine eloquence, as regards both foroii and sub-
stance, arrangement of words, and its revelation of sacred
things. It is asserted that each well-accredited prophet per¬
formed miracles in that particular department of human
skill or science most flourishing in his age. Thus in the
days of Moses magic exercised a wide influence, but all the
magicians of Pharaoh's court had to submit to the
superior skill of the Hebrew prophet. In the days of Jesus
the science of medicine flourished. Men possessed great
skill in the art of healing; but no physician could equal the
skill of Jesus, who not only healed the sick, but raised the
dead. In the days of Muhammad the special and most
striking feature of the age was the wonderful power of the
Arabs in the art of poetry. Muhammad-ud-Damiri says :—
Wisdom hath alighted on three things—the brain of the
Franks, the hands of the Chinese and the tongue of the
Arabs.'' They were unrivalled for their eloquence, for the
skill with which they arranged their material and gave
expression to their thoughts. It is in this veiy particular
that superior excellence is claimed for the Qm*an.^ It is
to the Muhammadan mind a sure evidence of its miraculous
origin that it should excel in this respect. Muslims say that
miracles have followed the revelations given to other pro¬
phets in order to confirm the divine message. In this
case the Qurdn is both a revelation and a miracle. Muham-
1. “ THe graaideur of the Qurdn consists, its contents apart, in its diction.
We cannot explain the peculiarly dignified, impressive, sonorous nature of
Semitic sound and parlance $ i^s sesquipedalia verba with their crowd of
affixes and prefixes, each of them affirming its own position, whilst oonsoi-
ously hearing upon and influencing the central root—^whioh they envelope
like a garment of many folds, or as chosen * courtiers move around the
anointed person of the king.” biterary Remains of Emmanuel Deutsoh, p. 122.
The Faith of Islam,
mad Idmself said:—" Eaoli prophet has received manifest
signs which carried conviction to men : but that which I
have received is the revelation. So I hope to have a larger
following on the .day of resurrection than any other prophet
has.*^^ Ibn Khaldoun says that by this the Prophet means
that such a wonderful miracle as the Qurfo, which is also a
revelation, should carry conviction to a very large number.
To a Muslim the fact is quite clear, and so to him* the Qur^n
is far superior to all the preceding books. Muhammad is
said to have convinced a rival, Lebid, a poet-laureate, of the
truth of his mission by reciting to him a portion of the now
second Sura. " Unquestionably it is one of the very grandest
specimens Koranic or Arabic diction.But even descrip¬
tions of this kind, grand as they be, are not sufficient to
kindle and preserve the enthusiasm and the faith and the
hope of a nation like the Arabs.The poets before him
had sung of valour and generosity, of love and strife and
revenge.of early graves, upon which weeps the morning
cloud, and of the fleeting nature of life which comes and
goes as the waves of the desert sands, as the tents of a cara¬
van, as a flower that shoots up and dies away. Or they shoot
their bitter arrows of satire right into the enemy^s own soul.
Muhammad sang of none of these. No love-minstrelsy his,
not the joys of the world, nor sword, nor camel, nor jealousy,
nor human vengeance, not the glories of tribe or ancestor.
He preached Islam.^^ The very fierceness with which this
is done, the swearing such as Axab orator, proficient though
he may have been in the art, had never made, the dogmatic
oertainty with which the Prophet proclaimed his message
have tended, equally with the passionate grandeur of his
utterances, to hold the Muslim world spell-bound to the
letter and imbued with all the narrowness of the book.
So sacred is the text supposed to be that only the Oom-
1. Prol4gomJ)nea dlba Khaldoun vol, i. p. 194.
Arrangement of the Qn/rcm,
panions ^ o£ the Prophet are deemed worthy of being com¬
mentators on it. The work of learned divines since then
has been to learn the Quran by heart and to master the
traditions, with the writings of the earliest commentators
thereon. The revelation itself is never made a subject of
investigation or tried by the ordinary rules of criticism. If
only the Isndd, or chain of authorities for any interpretation,
is good, that interpretation is unhesitatingly accepted as the
correct one. It is a fundamental article of belief that no
other book in the world can possibly approach near to it in
thought or expression. It deals with positive precepts
rather than with principles. Its decrees are held to be
binding not in the spirit merely but in the very letter on all
men, at all times and under every circumstance of life.
This follows as a natural consequence from the belief in its
eternal nature.
The various portions recited by the Prophet during the
twenty-three years of his prophetical career were committed
to writing by some of his followers, or treasured up in their
memories. As the recital of the Qurfin formed a part of
every act of public worship, and as such recital was an act
of great religious merit, every Muslim tried to remember as
much as he could. Ho who could do so best was entitled
to the highest honour, and was often the recipient of a sub¬
stantial reward.^ The Arab love for poetry facilitated the
exercise of this faculty. Whoa the Prophet died the reve¬
lation ceased. There was no distinct copy of the whole,
nothing to show what wl,s of transitory importance, what of
permanent value. There is nothing which proves that the
Prophet took any special care of any portions. There seems
to have been no definite order in which, when the book was
1. Those who were in constant intercourse with the prophet are called
AshiLb (Companions) j their disciples ai*o named Tdbi’in (Followers) j their
disciples are known as Taha-i-T^brin (Followers of the Followers).*'
2. “ Thus, after the usual distribution of the spoils taken on the field of
Oadesia (a. h. 14) the residue was divided among those who knew most of
the Oor4iXt” Mnir, voh i, p, 5,
The Faith of Islam.
compiled, tlie various Suras were arranged, for the Qurdn,
as it now exists, is utterly devoid of all historical or logical
sequence. For a year after the Prophet’s death nothing
seems to have been done ; but then the battle of Yemana
took place in which a very large number of the best Qurfin
reciters were slain. Omar took fright at this, and address¬
ing the Khalif Abu Bakr, said, The slaughter may again
wax hot amongst the repeaters of the Qur^n in other fields
of battle, and much maybe lost therefrom. Now, there-^
fore, my advice is that thou shouldest give speedy orders
for the collection of the Quran.” Abu Bakr agreed, and
said to Zeid who had been an amanuensis of the Prophet:—
Thou art a young man, and wise, against whom no one
amongst us can cast an imputation ; and thou wert wont to
write down the inspired revelations of the Prophet of the
Lord, wherefore now search out the Quran and bring it all
together.” Zeid being at length pressed to undertake the
task proceeded to gather the Qui4n together from date
leaves, and tablets of white stone, and from the hearts of
men.” In course of time it was all compiled in the order in
which the book is now arranged. This was the authorized
text for some twenty-three years after the death of Muham¬
mad. Owing, however, either to different modes of recita¬
tion, or to differences of expression in the sources from
which Zeid’s first recension was made, a variety of different
readings crept into the copies in use. The Faithful became
alarmed and the Khalif Osmfin was persuaded to put a stop
to such a danger. He appointed ^Zeid with three of the
leading men of the Quraish as assistants to go over the
whole work again. A careful recension was made of the
whole book which was then assimilated to the Meccan dia¬
lect, the purest in Arabia. After this all other copies of
the Qurin were burnt by order of the Khalif, and new
transcripts were made of the revised edition which was now
the only aulthbrised bopy. As it is a fundamental tenet of
Islfim that the Qar4n is incorruptible and absolutely free
Influence of the Qura/n.
from error, no little difficulty has been felt in explaining
the need of Osman^s new and revised edition and of the
circumstances under which it took place ; but as usual a
Tradition has been handed down which makes it lawful to
read the Quran in seven dialects. The book in its present
form may be accepted as a genuine reproduction of Abu
Bakr^s edition with authoritative corrections. We mdy
rest assured that we have in the Qur£n now in use the
record of what Muhammad said. It thus becomes a funda¬
mental basis of Isl^m. It was a common practice of the
early Muslims when speaking of the Prophet to say:—
"His character is the Quran.^^ When people curious to
know details of the life of their beloved master asked
^Ayesha, one of his widows, about him, she used to reply:—
Thou hast the Qur£n, art thou not an Arab and readest
the Arab tongue ? Why dost thou ask me, for the ProphePs
disposition is no other than the Quran
Whether Muhammad would have arranged the Qur£n as
we now have it is a subject on which it is impossible to
form an opinion. There are Traditions which seem to show
that he had some doubts as to its completeness. I give the
following account on the authority of M. Oaussin de Perdval.
When Muhammad felt his end draw near he said:—" Bring
ink and paper: I wish to write to you a book to preserve you
always from error.But it was too late. He could not
write or dictate and so he said :—" May the Qur^n always be
your guide. Perform what it commands you: avoid what
it prohibits/^ The genuineness of the first part of this
Tradition is, I think, very doubtful, the latter is quite in
accordance with the Prophet^s claim for his teaching. The
letter of the book became, as Muhammad intended it
should become, a despotic influence in the Muslim world,
a barrier to freethinking on the part of all the orthodox, an
obstacle to innovation in all spheres—political, social, intel¬
lectual and moral. There are many topics connected with
it which can be better explained in the next chapter. All
10 The Faith of Islam,
that has now to be here stated is that the Quran is the first
foundation of Islam. It is an error to suppose it is the only
one : an error which more than anything else has led persons
away from the only position in which they could obtain a
true idea of the great system of Islam.
The Shia^hs maintain, without good reason, that the fol¬
lowing verses favoui’able to the claims of ^Ali and of the
Shia^h faction were omitted in Osman’s recension.
0 Believers ! believe in the two lights. (Muhammad and ’AH).
’4H of the number of the pious, wo shall give him his right in
the day of judgment; we shall not pass over those who wish to
deceive him. Wo have honoured him above all this family. He and
his famDy arc very patient. 'Iheir enemy i is the chief of sinners.
Wo have announced to thee a race of just men, men 2 who will
not oppose our orders. My mercy and peace are on them living 3
or dead.
As to those who walk in their way, my mercy is on them; they
will certainly gain the mansions of Paradise.’*
2. The Stonat.—T he second foundation of IsKm is based
on the Hadis (plural Ahadis) or Tradition. Commands
from Grod given in the Qurdii are called ^farz’ and ^ wdjib.^
A command given by the Prophet or an example set by
him is called ‘ sunnat/ a word meaning a rule. It is then
technically applied to the basis of religious faith and prac¬
tice, which is founded on traditional accounts of the sayings
and acts of Muhammad.^ It is the belief common to all
MusalmS^ns, that the Prophet in all that he did, and in all
that he said, was supernaturally guided, and that his wor^s
and acts are to all time and to all Ids followers a divine
rule of faith and practice. ^^We should know that God
Almighty has given commands and prohibitions to his ser^
1. Muavia. 2. The twelve Imimn. 3. Al*Mahd£ ifl still supposed to be alive.
4. These are called (1) Sunuat-i-Fi’K; that which Muhammad himself
did. (2) Suuuat-i-Qauli, that which he said should he iwactiSed, (3)
Suauatni*T«U|F£r£, that whioli waa done iu his presence toA which he did not
forbid. ,
The Faith of Islam.
Traditions (Alid.dis).^ This shows that the Sunnat must be
placed on a level with the Jewish and Christian Scriptures;
whilst the Quran is a revelation superior to them all. To
no sect of Musalmdns is the Quran alone the rule of faith.
The Shia^hs, it is true, reject the Sunnat, but they have in
their own collection of Traditions an exact equivalent.
The nature of the inspiration of the Sunnat and its
authoritative value are questions of the first importance,
whether Islam is viewed from a theological or a political
stand^point.
“ Muhammad said that seventy-three sects would arise,
of whom only one would be worthy of Paradise. The Com¬
panions inquired which sect would be so highly favoured.
The Prophet replied:—^ The one which remains firm in my
way and in that of my friends.^ It is certain that this
must refer to the Ahl-i-Sunnat wa Jam^i^at.'^ (Sunnis.)®
It is laid down as a preliminary religions duty that
obedience should be rendered to the Sunnat of the Prophet.
Thus in the fourth Sura of the Qurin it is written: 0 true
believers! obey God and obey the apostle.^^ ^^We have
not sent any apostle but that he might be obeyed by the
permission of God.^^ From these and similar passages the
following doctrine is deduced: " It is plain that the Pro¬
phet (on whom and on whose descendants be the mercy
and peace of God I) is free from sin in what he ordered to
be done, and in what he prohibited, in all his words and
acts; for were it otherwise how could obedience rendered
to him be accounted as obedience paid to God Believers
are exhorted to render obedience to God by witnessing to
His divinity, and to the Prophet by bearing witness to his
prophetship; this is a sign of love, and love is the cause of
nearness to God. The Prophet himself is reported to have
1. IVol^gom^nes d*Ibn Khaldoim vol* i. p. 196.
2. Tafemfi-ttl-Imin, p. 16.
9 . Mudlrij-rm-Nahuwat, p. 286f
The Simncvt^
IS
said, Obey me that God may regard you as friends.^^
From this statement the conclusion is drawn that ^^the love
of God (to man) is conditional on obedience to the Pro¬
phet/^ Belief in and obedience to the Prophet are essen¬
tial elements of the true faith, and he who possesses not
both of these is in error.^
In order to show the necessity of this obedience, God is
said to have appointed Muhammad as the Mediator between
Himself and man. In a lower sense, believers are to follow
the "Sunnat^^ of the four Khalifs, Abu Bakr, Omar,
Osmdn, and ^Ali, who are true guides to men.
To the Muslim all that the Prophet did was perfectly in
accord with the will of God. Moral laws have a different
application when applied to him. His jealousy^ his cruelty
to the Jewish tribes, his indulgence in licentiousness, his
bold assertion of equality with God as regards his com¬
mands, his every act and word, are sinless, and a guide to
men as long as the world shall last. It is easy for an
apologist for Muhammad to say that this is an accretion,
something which engrafted itself on to a simpler system.
It is no such thing. It is rather one of the essential parts
of the system. Let Muhammad be his own witness:—^‘‘He
who loves not my Sunnat is not my follower.’^ He who
.revives my Sunnat revives me, and will be with me in
Paradise.^^ He who in distress holds fast to the Sunnat
will receive the reward of a hundred martyrs.^^ As might
be expected, the setting up of his own acts and words as
an infallible and unvarying rule of faith accounts more than
anything else for the immobility of the Muhammadan
world, for it must be always remembered that in Is^m
Church and State are one. The Arab proverb, A1 mulk
wa din taw&mini^^—country and religion are twins—is the
popular form of expressing the unity of Church and State^
1 . ** lies dooteurs de la loi sent unaninaetit d'aooord sw I’ablxgatioa de
ooufbrttLer ses aofcious oe qui esfc iadiqud dans lea tiraditioas
ffa Proph^e/' Jtto KtoddoiW; yo®. ii. p. 465,
The Fcdth of Islam.
To the mind of tte Musalman the rule of the one is the
rule of the other,—a truth sometimes forgotten by politi¬
cians who look hopefully on the reform of Turkey or the
regeneration of the House of Osman. I'he Sunnat as much
as the Qur^n covers all law, whether political, social, moral,
or religious. A modern writer who has an intimate acquain¬
tance with Islam says :—If Islam is to be a power for
good in the future, it is imperatively necessary to cut off
the social system from the religion. The diflSiculty lies in
the close connection between the religious and social
ordinances in the Kurdn, the two are so intermingled that
it is hard to see how they can be disentangled without
destroying both.^^ I believe this to be impossible, and the
case becomes still more hopeless when we remember that
the same remark would apply to the Sunnat. To forget
this is to go astray, for Ibn Khaldoun distinctly speaks of
the Law derived from the Quran and the SunnaV^ of the
maxims of Musalm&n Law based on the text of the Qui4n
and the teaching of the Traditions.^^^
The Prophet had a great dread of all innovation. The
technical term for anything new is '' bida^t,^^ and of it, it is
said: Bida^t is the changer of Sunnat.^' In other words,
if men seek after things new, if fresh forms of thought arise,
and the changing condition of society demands new modes
of expression for the Faith, or new laws to regulate the
community, if in internals or externals, any new thing
(bida^t) is introduced, it is to be shunned. The law as
revealed in the QurS.n and the Sunnat is perfect. Every¬
thing not in accordance with the precepts therein contained
is innovation, and all innovation is heresy. Meanwhile some
1 . lu June 1827} a. n., Saltin Kahmad issued a luanifesto protesting
against interference in tte affairs of the Ottoman Bmpire, ** the affairs of
which are conducted upon the principles of sobered Ugielationf and all the
regulations of which are strictly connected with the principles of religion/*
These principles still remain in force, for the famous Fatvd given by the
Coonoilof the *t71ami, in July 1879, auent Khair-ud-dfn’s proposed reforms,
speato of “ the unaltmble principles of the Sheri,** or haw.
The SunniiL
bida^t” is allowable, such as the teaching of etymology
and syntax, the establishment of schools, guest-houses, &o.,
which things did not exist in the time of the Prophet; but
it is distinctly and clearly laid down that compliance with
the least Sunnat (Le. the obeying the least of the orders of
the Prophet, however tiivial) is far better than doing some
new thing, however advantageous and desirable it may be.
There are many stories which illustrate the importance
the Companions of the Prophet attached to Sunnat, " The
Khallf Omar looked towards the black stone at Mecca, and
said, ^ By God, I know that thou art only a stone, and canst
grant no benefit, canst do no hann. If I had not known
that the Prophet kissed thee, I would not have done so,
but on account of that I do it.^ Abdullah-Ibn-^Umr was
seen riding his camel round and round a certain place. In
answer to an inquiry as to his reason for so doing he said :
"I know not, only I have seen the Prophet do so here/^
Ahmad-Ibn-Hanbal, one of the four great Imdms, and the
founder of the Hanbali school of interpretation, is said to
have been appointed on account of the care with which he
observed the Sunnat. One day when sitting in an assembly
he alone of all present observed some formal custom autho¬
rised by the practice of the Prophet. Gabriel at once
appeared and informed him that now, and on account of his
act, he was appointed an Im&m} In short, it is distinctly
laid down that the best of aU works is the following of the
practice of Muhammad. The essence of religion has been
stated by a learned theologian to' consist of three things:
first, to follow the Prophet in morals and in acts ; secondly,
to eat only lawful food ; thirdly, to be sincere in all actions.
1. ** The respect which modem Muslims pay to their Prophet is almost
idolatrous. The Imim Ibn Hanbal would not even eat water*melous
because although he knew the Prophet ate them, he could not learn whether
he ate them with or without the rind, or whether he broke, bit or out them:
and he forbade a woman, who questioned him as to the propriety of the
a^t, to spin by the light of torches passing in the streets by night, because
the ProjSiet not mentioned that it was lawful to do so.*’ Lane's Modem
iJgyptians, vol. i p. 364
The Paith of Islam.
The Sunnat is now known to Musalmans through the col¬
lections o£ Traditions gathered together by the men whose
names they now bear. The whole are called Sihah-Sittah,
or " six correct books.^^ Not one of these collectors floui*-
ished until the third century of the Hijra, and so, as may
be easily supposed, their work has not passed unchal¬
lenged. There is by no means an absolute consensus of
opinion among the Sunnis as to the exact value of each
Tradition, yet all admit that a ^ genuine Tradition^ must be
obeyed. "V^ether the Prophet spoke what in the Traditions
is recorded as spoken by him under the influence of the
highest kind of inspiration is, as will be shown in the next
chapter, a disputed point; but it matters little. Whatever
may have been the degree, it was according to Muslim
belief a real inspiration, and thus his every act and word
became a law as binding upon his followers as the example
of Christ is upon Christians.
The Shia^hs do not acknowledge the Sihah-Sittah, the six
correct books of the Sunnis, but it by no means follows that
they reject Tradition. They have five books of Traditions,
the earliest of which was compiled by Abu Ja^far Muham¬
mad A.H. 329, or a century later than the Sahih-i-Bukhd»ri,
the most trustworthy of the Sunni set. Thus all Musahni-n
sects accept the first and second ground of the faith—the
Quran and the Sunnat—as the inspired will of God; the
Shia^hs substituting in the place of the Traditions on which
the Sunnat is based, a collection of their own. What it is
important to maintain is this, that the Qurdn alone is to no
Musalmdn an all-sufficient guide.
3. Iml \—The third foundation of the Faith is called
Ijmfi.^ a word signifying to be collected or assembled.
Technically it means the unanimous consent of the leading
theologians, or what in Christian theology would be called
the '' unanimous consent of the Fathers.^’ Practically it is
a collection of the opinions of the Companions, the T^lbi%
and the Taba-i-Tdbi^in. ^^TheLaw/^ says Ibn Khaldoun
Ijtihdd*
is grounded on the general accord of the Companions and
their followers.*^^ The election of Abu Bakr to the Khali-
fate is called Ijma^-i-Ummat, the unanimous consent of the
whole sect. The Companions of the Prophet had special
knowledge of the vaiious circumstances under which special
revelations had been made; they alone knew which verses
of the Qumn abx’ogated others^ and which verses were thus
abrogated. The knowledge of these matters and many other
details they handed on to their successors, the Tabi^in, who
passed the information on to their followers, the Taba-i-
Tabi^in, Some Muslims, the Wahhabis for example, accept
only the Ijma^ of the Companions; and by all sects that is
placed in the fii’st I’ank as regards authority ; others accept
that of the ‘ Fugitives^ who dwelt at Madina; and there are
some amongst the orthodox who allow, as a matter of theory,
that I]‘ma^ may be collected at any time, but that practically
it is not done because there are now no Mujtahidin. The
highest rank a Muslim Theologian could reach was that of
a Mujtahid, or one who could make an Ijtihad, a word which,
derived from the same root as Jihad (a Crescentade), moans
in its technical sense a logical deduction. It is defined as
the attaining to a certain degree of authority in searching
into the principles of jurisprudence.^^ The origin of Ijtihdd
was as follows ;—Muhammad wished to send a man named
Mu^az to Taman to receive some money collected for alms,
which he was then to distribute to the poor. On appointing
him he said: 0 Mu^£z, by what rule will you act Ho
replied, by the Law of the Quran.^^ But if you find no
direction therein Then I will act according to the
Sunnat of the Prophet.^-' But what if that fails Then
I will make an Ijtihdd and act on that.^^ The Prophet raised
his hands and said, Praise be to God who guides the
messenger of His Prophet in what He pleases.^^^ This is
considered a proof of the authority of IjtihM for the Prophet
clearly sanctioned it.
1 . Mudarij^nn-Nalbuwat, p. 1009.
The Faith of Islam,
Wlien the Prophet was alive men could go to him with
their doubts and fears : an infallible authority was always
present ready to give an inspired direction. The Khalifs
who succeeded the Prophet had only to administer the Law
according to the opinions which they knew Muhammad had
held. They were busily engaged in carrying on the work
of conquest; they neither attempted any new legislation,
nor did they depart from the practice of him whom they
revered. In the first days of Isl4m, the knowledge of the
Law was purely Traditional. In forming their judgments
they had no recourse either to speculation, to private opinion,
or to arguments founded upon analogyHowever, as the
Empire grew, new conditions of life arose, giving rise to ques¬
tions, concerning which Muhammad had given no explicit
direction. This necessitated the use of Ijtihad. During the
Khalifates of AbuBakr, Omar, Osman and ^Ali—theKhulafa-
i-Kashidln, or the Khalifs who could guide men in the right
way, the custom was for the Faithful to consult them as to the
course of action to be pursued under some new develop¬
ment of circumstances; for they know as none other did the
ProphePs sayings and deeds, they could recall to their memo¬
ries a saying or an act from which a decision could be deduced.
In this way all Muslims could feel that in following their
judgments and guidance they were walking in the right
path. But after the death of ^Ali, the fourth Khallf, civil war
and hostile factions imperilled the continuance of the Faith in
its purity. At Madina, where Muhammad’s career as a
recognised Prophet was best known, devout men commenced
to learn by heart the Qurin, the Sunnat, and the analogical
judgments (Ijtihad) of the four Khalifs. These men were
looked up to as authorities, and their decisions were after¬
wards known as the ^ Customs of Madina/
It is not difficult to see that a system, which sought to
regulate all departments of life, all developments of men^s
ideas and energies by the Sunnat and analogical deductions
1 . d^Ibn Khaldoun, voh ii. p. 469.
The Four Orthodox Imams,
therefrom, was one which not only gave every temptation
a system could give to the manufacture of Tradition, but
one which would soon become too cumbersome to be of
practical use. Hence, it was absolutely necessary to syste¬
matize all this incoherent mass of Tradition, of judgments
given by Khalifs and Mujtahidln. This gave rise to the
systems of jurisprudence, founded by the four orthodox
Imams, to one or other of which all Muslims, except the
Shia^hs, belong. These Imams, Abu Hanifa, Ibn Malik,
As-Shafi^i and Ibn Hanbal were all Mujtahidin of the
highest rank. After them it is the orthodox belief that
there has been no Mujtahid. Thus in a standard theologi¬
cal book much used in India it is written : Ijma’ is this,
that it is not lawful to follow any other than the four
Imdms.^^ In these days the Qazi must make no order,
the Mufti give no fatva (i.e. a legal decision), contrary to
the opinion of the four Imams.^^ To follow any other is
not lawful.^^ So far then as orthodoxy is concerned, change
and progress are impossible.
Im^m Abu Hanifa was bom at Basra (a.h. 80), but he
spent the greater part of his life at Ktifa. He was the
founder and teacher of the body of legists known as ^ the
jurists of Ir4k.^ His system differs considerably from that
of the Im^m Mdlik who, living at Madina, confined himself
chiefly to Tradition as the basis of his judgments. Madina
was full of the memories of the sayings and acts of the
Prophet; Ktifa, the home of Hanifa,* on the contrary, was
not founded till after the Prophet^s death and so possessed
none of his memories. Isl^m there came into contact with
other races of men, but from them it had nothing to learn.
If these men became Muslims, well and good: if not, the one
law for them as for the Faithful was the teaching of Muham¬
mad. Various texts of the Qur^n are adduced to prove the
correctness of this position. For to thee have we sent
down the book which cleareth up every thing/^ (S6ra xvi,
91) Nothing have we passed over in the book.^^ (Slira vi.
The Faith of Isldm,
38.) Neither is there a grain in the darkness o! the earth
nor a thing green or sere, but it is noted in a distinct writing.*'^
(Sura vi. 59), These texts were held to prove that all law
was provided for by anticipation in the Quran* If a verse
could not be found beai'ing on any given question,^ analogi¬
cal deduction was resorted to. Thus : He it is who created
for you all that is on earth.'’^ (Sura‘ii. 27), According to the
Hanifite jurists, this is a deed of gift which annuls all other
rights of property. The ^you^ refers to Muslims. The
earth^ may be classified under three heads:—(1) land which
never had an owner; (2) land which had an owner and has
been abandoned; (3) the person and property of the
Infidels. From the last division the same legists deduce the
lawfulness of slavei’y, piracy and constant war against the
unbelievers* To return to Abu Hanifa. Ho admitted very few
Traditions as authoritative in his system, which claims to be
a logical development from the Qur^n. ^^Tho merit of
logical fearlessness cannot be denied to it. The wants and
wishes of men, the previous history of a country—all those
considemtions, in fact, which are held in the West to be
the governing principles of legislation, are sot aside by the
legists of Irak as being oE no account whatever. Legisla-
tion is not a science inductive and experimental, but logical
and deduotive.^^^
Im&m Ibn Mdhk was born at Madina (a.h. 93) and his
system of jurisprudence is founded, as might be expected
from his connection with the sacred city, on the Customs
of Madina.^^ His business was to arrange and systematize
the Traditions current in Madina, and to form out of them
and the Oustoms^^ a system of jurisprudence embracing
the whole sphere of life. The treatise composed by him
was called the Muwatta'^ or The Beaten Path.’^ The
greater part of its contents are legal tnaxims and opinions
1 . Journal Asiatique 4me s^rio, tom. xii.
Isl^rq ui^4er the KhaUfe, p. 29,
. Imam As^8hdfa%.
delivered by the Companions. His system of jurisprudence,
therefore, has been described as historical and traditional.
In an elegy on his death by Abu Muhammad Ja^far it is
said : His Traditions were of the greatest authority; his
gravity was impressive; and when he delivered them, all
his auditors were plunged in admiration.”^ The Traditions
were his great delight. “ I delight,” said he, in testifying
my profound respect for the sayings of the Prophet of God,
and I never repeat one unless I feel myself in a state of
perfect purity,” ^ after performing a legal ablution.)
As death approached, his one fear was lest he should have
exercised his private judgment in delivering any legal
opinion. In his last illness a friend went to visit him, and
enquiring why ho wept, received the following answer:
Why should I not weep, and who has more right to weep
than I ? By Allah ! I wish I had been flogged and re¬
flogged for every question of law on which I pronounced
an opinion founded on my own private judgment.”®
Imdm As-Shdfa^i, a member of the Quraish tribe, was
born A. H. 150. He passed his youth at Mecca but finally
settled in Cairo where he died (a. h. 204). Ibn Khalli-
kan relates of him that he was unrivalled for his knowledge
of the Quran, the Sunnat, and the sayings of the Com¬
panions. Never,” said Imdm Ibn Hanbal, ^^have I
passed a night without praying for God^s mercy and bless¬
ing upon As-Sh^lfi^i.” Whosoever pretends,” said Abu
Thaur, that .he saw the like of As-Shdfi^i for learning is a
liar.” Having carefully studied the systems of the two
preceding Im^ims he then proceeded on an eclectic system
to form his own. It was a reaction against the system of
Abu Hanlfa. As-ShafiM follows rather the traditional
plan of Ibn Mdlik. The Hanifite will be satisfied if, in the
absence of a clear and a direct statement, he finds one
L Ibu Khali ikan’s Biograpbioal ’Dictionary, vol. ii. p. 694.
Ibia., p. 646, 8 . Ibia., vol. ii. p. 648. •
The Faith of Islam*
passage in the Qurto, or one Tradition from whicli the
required Judgment may be deduced. The Shafi^ite in the
same circumstances, if Tradition is the source of his deduc¬
tion, will require a considerable number of Traditions from
which to make it.
Imam Ibn Hanbal was the last of the four Orthodox
Imams. He was born at Baghdad (a. h. 164). His
system is a distinct return to Traditionalism. He lived at
Baghdad during the reign of the Khalif Mamun, when
Orthodox Islam seemed in danger of being lost amid the
rationalistic speculations, (that is, from an Orthodox Mus¬
lim stand-point), and licentious practices of the Court.
The Jurists most in favour at Court were followers of Abu
Hanifa. They carried the principle of analogical deduction
to dangerous lengths in order to satisfy the latitudina-
rianism of the Khalif. Human speculation seemed to be
weakening all the essentials of the Faith. Ibn Hanbal
met the difidculty by discarding altogether the principle of
analogical deduction. At the same time he saw that the
Md,liki system, founded as it was on the Customs of
Madina,was ill-suited to meet the wants of a great and
growing Empire. It needed to be supplemented. What
better, what surer ground could he go upon than the Tradi¬
tions. These at least were inspired, and thus formed a safer
foundation on which to build a system of Jurisprudence
than the analogical deductions of Abu Hanifa did. The
system of Ibn Hanbal has almost ceased to exist. There is
now no Mufti of this sect at Mecca, though the other three
are represented there. Still his influence is felt to this day
in the importance he attached to Tradition.
The distinction between the four Im^ms has been put in
this way. Abu Hanifa exercised his own Judgment.
M^lik and Hanbal preferred authority and precedent. Ag-
Sh&fi^i entirely I’epudiated reason. They difEer, too, as
regards the value of certain Traditions, but to each of them
an authentic Tradition is an incontestable authority. Their
The Ijmd^ of the four Imams.
opinion on points of doctrine and practice forms the third
basis of the Faith.
The Ijma’ of the four Imams is a binding law upon all
Sunnis. It might be supposed that as the growing needs
of the Empire led to the formation of these schools of
interpretation; so now the requirements of modern, social
and political life might be met by fresh Imams making new
analogical deductions. This is not the case. The ortho¬
dox belief is, that .since the time of the four Imams there
has been no Mujtahid who could do as they did. If cir¬
cumstances should arise which absolutely require some
decision to be arrived at, it must be given in full accordance
with the ^ mazhab,^ or school of interpretation, to which the
person framing the decision belongs.^ This effectually pre¬
vents all change, and by excluding innovation, whether
good or bad, keeps Isldm stationary. Legislation is now
purely deductive. Nothing must be done contrary to the
principles contained in the jurisprudence of the four Imtos.
Thus, in any Muhammadan State legislative reforms are
simply impossible. There exists no initiative. The Sultan, or
Khalif can claim the allegiance of his people only so long
as he remains the exact executor of the prescriptions of the
Law.^^
The question then as regards the politics of the Eastern
1 . In South India, tho Muhammadan money-changer resorts to a curious
piece of casuistry to reconcile the practice of his profession with the faith
he holds. It is wrong to gain money by money as a direct agency. Sup¬
pose, then, for example, that the charge for changing a shilling is one
farthing. It is unlawful for the money-changer to give four three-penny
pieces for one shilling plus one farthing, for then he will have sinned
against the laws anent usury by gaining money (one farthing) by money j
but if he gives three three-penny pieces plus two pence three farthings in
copper the transaction will be lawful, as his profit of one farthing is then
gained by selling as merchandize certain pieces of silver and copper for
otie shilling, and not by exactly changing the shilling.
Again, pictures or representations of living creatures are unlawful; and
so, when British rupees were first circulated in India, good Muslims doubted
whether they could use them, but after a long consultation the *Ulain&
declared that, as thp eye of His Majesty was so small as not to be clearly
visible, the use of sudx coins was legal. This kind of oasuistiy is very com*
men and vexy denoorali^g; but it shows how rigid the law is.
The Fmth of Islam.
Question^^ is not wliether Muhammad was a deceiver or self-
deceived^ an apostle or an impostor; whether the Quran is
on the whole good or bad ; whether Arabia was the better
or the worse for the change Muhammad wrought; but what
Islam as a religious and political system has become and is,
how it now works, what Orthodox Muslims believe and how
they act in that belief. The essence of that belief is,
that the system as taught by Prophet, Khalifs and Imams
is absolutely perfect.^ Innovation is worse than a mistake.
It is a crime, a sin. This completeness, this finality of his
system of religion and polity, is the very pride and glory of
a true Muslim. To look for an increase of light in the
knowledge of his relation to God and the unseen world, in
the laws which regulate Islam on earth is to admit that
Muhammad's revelation was incomplete, and that admission
no Muslim will make.
It has been stated on high authority that all that is
required for the reform of Tui'key is that the Qantins or
orders of the Sultan should take the place of the Shari'at or
law of Islam. Precisely so; if this could be done, Turkey
might be reformed; but Islam would cease to be the religion
of the State. That the law as formulated by the Imam Abu
Hanifa ill suits the conditions of modem life is inore than
probable; but it is the very function of tho.Khalif of Islam,
1 . Authority becomes saored because sanctioned by heaven. Despo¬
tism, being the first form of consolidated political authority, is thus
rendered unchangeable and identical in fact with Government at large.”
Supreme Government lias four stages: (1) where the absolute Prince
(Muhammad) is among them concentrating in his own xierson the four
cardinal virtues, and this we call the reign of. wisdom; (2) where the Prinoo
appears no longer, neither do these virtnes centre in any single person i but
are found in four (Abu Bakr, Omar, Osm4n and * Al£), who govern in concert
with each other, as if they were one, and this we call the reign of the
pious j (8) where none of these is to be found any longer, but a chief
(Khalff) arises with a knowledge of the rules propounded by the previous
ones, and with judgment enough to apply and explain them, and this, we
call the reign of the Sunnat; (4) Whore these latter qualities, again, are
not to he met with in a single person, but only in a variety who govern in
concert; and this we caJl the reign of the Sunnat-foUowers.
^AkhUk-Ualilf, pp. 374 378.
Ijtihdd.
which, the Sultan claims to be^ to maintain it. He is no
Mujtahid, for such there are not now amongst the Sunnis,
to which sect the Turks belong. If through stress of cir¬
cumstances’some new law must be made, oi’thodoxy demands
that it should be strictly in accordance with the opinions of the
Imams. The Shia^hs, in opposition to the Sunnis, hold that
there are still Mujtahidin, but this opinion arises from their
peculiar doctrine of the Imamat, a subject we shall discuss a
little later on. At first sight it would seem that if there can be
Mujtahidin who are now able to give authoritative opinions,
there may be some hope of enlightened progress amongst
Shia^h people—the Persians for example. There is doubt¬
less amongst them more religious unrest, more mysticism,
more heresy, but they are no further on the road of progress
than their neighbours ; and the apparent advantage of the
presence of a Mujtahid is quite nullified by the fact that all
his decisions must be strictly in accordance with the Quran
and the Sunnat, or rather with what to the Shia^h stands
in the place of the Sunnat. The Shia^h, as weU as the
Sunni, must base all legislation on the fossilized system of
the past, not on the living needs of the present. Pi’ocedont
rules both with an iron sway. The Wahhdbis reject all
Ijma^ except that of the Companions, but that they accept;
so when they are called the Puritans of Islam, it must be
remembered that they accept as a rule of faith not only the
Qurfe, but the Sunnat, and some Ijmd,\
In order to make Ijma' binding, it is necessary that the
Mujtahidin should have been unanimous in their opinion or
in their practice.
The whole subject of Ijtihdd is one of the most important
in connection with the possibility of reforms in a Muslim
state. A modern Muhammadan writer^ seeking to show
that Isldm docs possess a capacity for progress and that so
far from being a hard and fast system, it is able to adapt
itself to new circumstances, because the Prophet ushered in
1. Life of Muhammad, by Syed Amir *Ali, p. 289.
The Faith of Islam.
an age of active principles/^ uses tlie story I have already
related when describing the origin of Ijtihad (Ante. p. 17) to
prove the accuracy of his statement. He makes Mu^az to
say:—“ I will look first to the Qur£n, then to precedents of
the Prophet^ and lastly rely upon my own judgment It
is true that Ijtihad literally means ^ great effort/ it is true
that the Companions and Mujtahidin of the first class had
the power of exercising their judgment in doubtful cases,
and of deciding them according to their sense of the fitness
of things, provided always, that their decision contravened
no law of the Quran or the Sunnat; but this in no way proves
that Islam has any capacity for progress, or that an age of
active principles^' was ushered in by Muhammad, or that
his words breathe energy and force, and infuse new life
into the dormant heart of humanity." For, though the
term Ijtihad might, in reference to the men I have meu’-
tioned, be somewhat freely translated as one's own judg¬
ment," it can have no such meaning now. It is a purely
technical term, and its use and only use now is to express
the "referring of a difficult case to some analogy drawn
from the Qur^n and the Sunnat." But even were the mean¬
ing not thus restricted, even though it meant now as it
sometimes meant at first, " one's own judgmentstill Syed
Amir 'AH's position would remain to be proved for, since the
days of the four Im^ms, the orthodox believe that there has
been no Mujtahid of the first class, and to none but men of
this rank has such power ever been accorded. Thus grant¬
ing, for the sake of argument merely, that the Syed's
translation is grammatically and technically correct, all that
results from it is that the age of active principles" lasted
bnly for two centuries. I do not admit that there ever was
such an age in IslSm, and certainly neither its theological
development, nor its political growth negative the opposite
assertion, w., that Muhammad gave precepts rather than
principles. The Turks are included in " the dormant heart
of humanity," but it is difficult to see what energy and
force^^ is breathed, what new life is infused^^ into them
by the wonderful words^^ of the Prophet, or what lasting
good the age of active principles'^ has produced.
4, QUs is the fourth foundation of Islam. The word
literally means reasoning, comparing. It is in common use
in Hindustani and Persian in the sense of guessing, con¬
sidering, &c. Technically, it means the analogical reasoning
of the learned with regard to the teaching of the Qur^n,
the Sunnat and the Ijma^ For example, the Quran says
Honour thy father and thy mother and bo not a cause of
displeasure to them.^^ It is evident from this that dis¬
obedience to parents is prohibited, and prohibition implies
punishment if the order is disobeyed. Again, if the
Quran and the Sunnat hold children responsible, according
to their means, for the debts of their father, does it not
follow that the elder ones ought to fulfil for their parents
aU those obligations which for some reason or other the
parents may not be able to perform, such as the pilgrimage to
Mecca, &c. A Tradition said to come from the Companions
runs thus:—One day, a woman came to the Prophet and
said,' my father died without making the Pilgrimage.^ The
Prophet said, ^ If thy father had left a debt what wouldest
thou do.^ I would pay the debt.^ ^ Good, then pay this
debt also.^ The Qur4n forbids the use of Khamar, an
intoxicating substance, and so it is argued that wine and
opium are unlawful, though not forbidden by name. The
Wahhabis would extend the prohibition to tho use of tobacco.
Prom cases such as these, many jurisconsults hold that the
Mujtahidin of the earliest age established this fourth founda¬
tion of the faith which they call Qias. It is also called
I'tibdr-ul-Amsdl, or imitation of an example.'*^ The idea
is taken from the verse: ‘^'Profit by this example, ye who
are tnen of insighP^ (Sfira lix. 2). There are strict rules
laid down which regulate Qi4s, of which the most important
is, that in all cases it must be based on the Qur4n, the Sun¬
nat, and the In fact, the fundamental idea of Islim
The Faith of Islam*
is that a perfect law has been given, even unto details, of
social and political life. The teaching of Muhammad contains
the solution of every difficulty that can arise. Every law
not provided by the Prophet must be deduced analogically.
This produces uniformity after a fashion, but only because
intellectual activity in higher pursuits ceases and moral
stagnation follows. Thus all who come within the range of
this system are bound down to political servitude, What¬
ever in feeling or conviction goes beyond the limits of an
out-worn set of laws is swept away. There is a wonderful
family likeness in the decay of all Musalman States, which
seems to point to a common cause. All first principles are
contained in the Quran and the Sunnat; all that does not
coincide mth them must be wrong. They are above all
criticism.
Qids, then, affords no hope of enlightened progress,
removes no fetter of the past, for in it there must bo no
divergence in principle from a legislation imperfect in its
relation to modeim life and stationary in its essence.^ In
the Nihayat-ul-Murad it is written :—We are shut up to
following the four Imfi/ms.*^^ In the Tafsir-i-Ahmadi we
read:—^^Tofollowanyotherthanthefour Imams is unlawful.'^
An objector may say that such respect is like the reverence
the heathen pay to their ancestors. To this an answer is
given in the preface to the Tarjuma-i-Sharh-i-Waqdyah.
The writer there says that it is nothing of the kind. The
Mnj'tahidin are not the source of the orders of the Law, but
they are the medium by which we obtain the Law. Thus
Inrim Abu Hanifa said: ^ We select first fi*om the Qur&n,
then from the Traditions, then from the decrees of the
Companions; we act on what the Companions agreed uppn;
where they doubt, we doubt.^ The Commentator Jelil-ud-
din Mahli says, ^ The common people and others who have
1. The Muftlim ’UlamI are certainly much fettered by their religion in
the puranit of some of the paths of learning $ and suporstition. sometimes
deoides a point which has beep ooptroYerted for oenturies. Lane’s Modern
Egyptians, vol. i, p. 26$.
The Authority of the four Imams. 29
not reached the rank of a Mujtahid^ must follow one of the
four Imams/ Then when he enters one Mazhab (sect) he
must not change. Again^ it may be objected that God gave
no order about the appointment of four Imdms. Now, it is
recorded in a Tradition that the Prophet said, ‘ Follow the
way of the great company; whosoever departs from it will
enter hell/ The Followers of the Imams are a great com¬
pany It is raoveover the unanimous opinion, the ^^Ijm^'-
i-Ummat,^^ that the Imams rightly occupy the position
accorded to them. It is a great blessing, as we read in the
Tafslr-i-Ahmadi; ^^It is of the grace of God, that we are
shut up to these four Imams. God approves of'this, and
into this matter proofs and explanations do not enter.'*^
Should any one further object that, in the days of the
Prophet, there were no Mujtahidin, that each man acted on
a saying^^ as he heard it, that he did not confine his belief
or conduct to the deductions made by some appointed
Companion,^^ he may be answered thus :—For a long time
after the death of the Prophet many Companions were alive,
and consequently the Traditions then current were trust-
worthy ; but now it is not so, hence the need for the Im4ms
and their systems.”
These four foundations,—the Quran, the Sunnat, Ijma'
and QIas —^form in orthodox Muslim opinion and belief a
perfect basis of a perfect religion and polity. They secure
the permanence of the system, but they repress an intelligent
growth. The bearing of all this on modern politics is very
plain. Take ai-gain the case of Turkey. The constitution
of the Government is theocratic. The germs of freedom
are wanting there as they have never been wanting in any
other country in Europe, ^i'ho ruling power desires no
change ; originality of thought, independence of judgment
is repressed. Nothing good has the Turk ever done for the
world.^ This rule has boon one continued display of brute
1 , The Guth miglit ravage Italy, but tbe Goth came forth purified from
tho fiames which he himself had kindled. The Sazcm swept Britain, bat
so
The Faith of Islam,
force unrelieved by any of the reflected glory which shone
for a while in Cordova and in Baghddd. No nation can
possibly progress, the foundations of whose legal and theo¬
cratic system are what has been described in this chapter.
When brought into diplomatic and commercial intercourse
with States possessing the energy and vigour of a national
life and liberal constitution, Muslim kingdoms must, in the
long run, fail and pass away. It has been well said that
Spain is the only instance of a country once thoroughly
infused with Eotnan civilisation which has been actually
severed from the empire ; and even then the severance,
though of long duration, was but partial and tempoi*ary.
After a struggle of nearly eight centuries, the higher form
of social organisation triumphed over the lower and the
usurping power of Islam was expelled/^ So it ought to be,
and so indeed it must ever be, for despotism must give way
to freedom; the life latent in the subject Christian commu¬
nities must sooner or later cast off the yoke of a barbarian
rule, which even at its best is petrified and so is incapable
of progress. However low a Christian community may have
fallen, there is always the possibility of its rising again. A
lofty ideal is placed before it. All its most cherished beliefs
point forward and upward. In Islam there is no regenera¬
tive power. Its golden age was in the past. When the
work of conquest is done, when a Muhammadan nation has
to live by industry, intelligence and thrift, it always misera¬
bly fails.
In this chapter which must now draw to a close, I have
tried to prove from authentic and authoritative sources that
the musio of the Celtic heart softened his rough uatore, and wooed him iuto
less churlish habits. Visigoth and Frauk, Heruli and Vandal, blotted out
their ferocity iu the very light of the civilisation they had striven to extin.,
guish. BSven the Hun, wildest Tartar from the Scythian waste, was touched
and softened in his wicker encampment amid Fannonian plains ; but the
Turk—wherever his scymitar reached—degraded, defiled, and defamed *,
blasting into eternal decay Greek, Boman and Latin civilisation, until, w^n
all had gone, he sat down, satiate with savagery^ to doze for two htmdred
years tirtio hopeless decrepitude. Lient.^Col. W« F. Butler, 0. u., iu
Wotds icre Beptomber 1880^
The Sterility of Istrni. Si
the Qur^n alone is to no Muslim the sole guide of Kfe.
The fetters of a dogmatic system fasten alike around the
individual and the community. Isldm is sterile/it gives no
new birth to the spirit of a man, leads him not in search of
new forms of truth, and so it can give no real life, no last¬
ing vitality to a nation.^
1 . “ The Muslim every where, after a brilliant passage of prosperity, seems
to stagnate and wither, because there is nothing in his system or his belief
which lifts him above the level of a servant, and on that level man’s life in
the long run must not only stagnate but decay. The Christian, on the
other hand, seems every where in the last extremity to bid disorganization
and decay defiance, and to find, Antsous-like, in the earth which he touches,
the spring of a new and fruitful progress. For there is that in his belief,
his traditions, and in the silent influences which pervade the very atmos¬
phere around him, which is ever moving him, often in ways that he knows
not, to rise to the dignity and to clothe himself with the power which the
Gospel proposes as the prize of his Christian calling. The submissive
servant of Allah is the highest type of Moslem perfection j the Christian
ideal is the Christ-like son .”—British Quarterly^ No, exxx.
!Z%e i'aith of Islam.
NOTE TO CHAPTER L
IJTIHAD.
Questions connected witli l-jtihtid aro so important in Islam, that T
think it well to give in the form of a note a fuller and more technical
account of it, than I could do in the Chapter .-just concluded. This
account which I shall now give is that of a learned Musalradn, and is,
therefore, of the highest value. It consists of extracts from an
article in the Journal Asiatique, Quatriome S6rie, tome, 15, on “ Lo
Marche et les Progros de la Jurisprudence parmi les Sectes ortho-
doxes Musalmanes'” hy Mirza Kazim Beg, Professor in the University
of St. Petersburg. It entirely supports all that has been said of the
rigid character of Muhammadan Law, and of the immobility of
systems founded thereon.
“ Orthodox Musalm&ns admit the following propositions as axioms.
1. God the only legislator has shown the way of felicity to the
people whom Ho has chosen, and in order to enable them to walk in
that way He has shown to them the precepts which aro found, partly
in the eternal Qurdn, and partly in the sayings of the Prophet ti*aiis-
mitted to posterity by the Companions and preserved in the Sunnat.
That way is called the “ Sharl’at.” The rules thereof are called
Ahk&m.
2. The Quran and the Sunnat, which since their manifestation arc
the primitive sources of the orders of the Law, form two branches
of study, uisf., Ilm-i-Tafsir, or the interpretation of the Quran and
Ilm-i-Hadis, or the study of Tradition.
3. All the orders of the Law have regard cither to the actions
(Din), or to the belief (Imdn) of the Mukallifs.^
4. As the Qur6.n and the Sunnat are the principal sources from
whence the precepts of the Sharfat have been drawn, so the rules
recognized as the principal elements of actual jurisprudence are the
subject of Ilm-l-Piqh, or the science of Law,
Fiqh in its root signifies conception, comprehension. Thus
Muhammad prayed for Ibn Mas’ud: ** May God make him compre-
1. A Mukallif is one who is subject to the Law. A Ghair-i-Mukallif is
one not so subjeot, such as a minor, an idiot, &c. The term Mukallif is
thus equivalent to a consistent Muslim, one who takes trouble (taklff) in
his religious duties.
The Schools of Jurisprudence. 33
hend (Faqqihahu), and make him know the interpretation of the
Quran.” Muhammad in his quality of Judge and chief of the
Believers decided, without appeal or contradiction, all the affairs of
the people. His sayings served as a guide to the Companions.
After the death of the Prophet the first Khallfs acted on the autho¬
rity of the Traditions. Meanwhile the Quran and the Sunnat, the
principal elements of religion and legislation, became little by little
the subject of controversy. It was then that men applied them¬
selves vigorously to the task of learning by heart the Qur^n and the
Traditions, and then that jurisprudence became a separate science.
Ho science had as yet been systematically taught, and the early Musal-
mans did not possess books which would serve for such teaching*
A change soon, however, took place. In the year in which the
great jurisconsult of Syria died (a. n. 80) ISTim^n bin Sabit, surnamod
Abu Hanifa was bom. He is the most celebrated of the founders of
the schools of jurisprudence, a science which ranks first in all Mus¬
lim seats of learning. Until that time and for thirty years later the
Mufassirs,! the Muhaddis,® and the Puqih4,5 had all cheir know¬
ledge by heart, and those who possessed good memories wore highly
osteomed. Many of them knew by heart the whole Qur4n with the
comments made on it by the Prophet and by the Companions; they
also knew the Traditions and their explanations, and all the com-
inands (Ahkdm) which proceed from the Qurdn, and the Sunnat.
Such men enjoyed the right of Mujtahidin. They transmitted their
knowledge to their scholars orally. It was not till towards the
middle of the second century a. n. that treatises on the different
branches of the Law were written, after which six schools (Mazhabs)
of jurisprudence were formed. The founders, all Imdms of tho first
class, were Abu Hanifa, the Imdm-l-’Azam or great Imdm (a. n.
160),4 Safian As-Sdurl (a. n. 161), Mdlik (a. n.l79), As-ShafaT (a. n*
204), Hanbal (A.n. 241) and Imdm Udud Az-Zahari (a. ii. 270). The
two sects founded by Sduri and Zahar! became extinct in the eighth
century of the Hijra. The other four still remain. These men
venerated one another. The younger ones speak with great respect
of the elder. Thus ShafaT said;—Ho one in the world was so well
versed in jurisprudence as Abu HanlBa was, and he who has read
neither his works, nor those of his disciples knows nothing of juris¬
prudence.’’ Hanbal when sick wore a shirt which had belonged to
Sh4fa’!, in order that he might bo cured of his malady; but all this
I. Oox^menvSsbtors on the Qnrdn. 2. The Traditionists.
8 . Plural of Paqih, a theologian. 4. 1 have given the dates of their death.
The Fcdih of Islam.
did not prevent them starting schools of their own, for the right of
Ijtihad is granted to those who are real Mujtahidin. There are
three degrees of Ijtihad.
1. Al-Ijtihdd fil Shari’: absolute independence in legislation
2. Al-Ijtihad fi’l Mazhab: authority in the judicial systems
founded by the Mujtahidin of the first class.
3. Al-Ijtihad fi’l Masail: authority in oases which have not been
decided by tho authors of the four systems of jurisprudence.
The first is called a complete and absolute authority, the second
relative, the third special.
THE FIRST DEGREE OF IJTIHAD.
Absolute independence in legislation is the gift of God. He to
whom it is given when seeking to discover the meaning of the Divine
Law is not bound to follow any other teacher. He can use his own
judgment. This gift was bestowed on the jurisconsults of tho first,
and to some in the second and third centuries. The Companions,
however, who were closely connected with the Prophet, having
transmitted immediately to their posterity the treasures of legisla¬
tion, are looked upon as Mujtahidin of much higher authority than
those of the second and third centuries. Thus Abu Hanifa says
That which comes to us from the Companions is on our head and
eyes (t.e., to be received with respect): as to that which comes from
the Tabi’in, they are men and we are men,”
Since the time of the T^bi’in this degree of IjtihM has only
been conferred on the six great Imdms. Theoretically any Muslim
can attain to this degree, but it is one of the principles of jurispru¬
dence that the confirmation of this rank is dependent on many con¬
ditions, and so no one now gains the honour. These conditions are:—
1. The knowledge of the Qurdn and all that is related to it; tliat
is to say, a complete knowledge of Arabic literature, a profound
acquaintance with the orders of the Quran and all their sub-^visions,
their relationship to each other and their connection with the orders
of the Sunnat. The candidate should know when, and why each'
verse of the Qur4n was written, he should have a perfect acquaint¬
ance with the literal meaning of the words, the speciality or gene¬
rality of each clause, the abrogating and abrogated sentences. He
should be able to make clear the meaning of the ‘obscure’ passages
(Mutashdbih), to discriminate between the literal and the allegorical,
the universal and the particular.
2. He must know the Quriln by heart with all the Traditiona
and explanations*
The Second Degree of Ijtihad
3. He must have a perfect knowleJige of the Traditions, or at
least of three thousand of them.
He must know their source, history, object and their connection
with the laws of the Qurt/U. He should know by heart the most
important Traditions.
4 A pious and austere life.
6. A profound knowledge of all the sciences of the Law.
Should any one now aspire to such a degree another condition
would be added, viz :—
6. A complete knowledge of the four schools of jurisprudence.
The obstacles, then, are almost insurmountable. On the one hand,
there is the severity of the ’Ulam4, which requires from the candidate
things almost impossible; on the other, there is the attachment of
the ’TJlama to their own Imdms, for should such a man arise no ono
is bound now to listen to him. Im5.m Hanbal said:—“ Draw your
knowledge from whence the Im4ms drew theirs, and do not content
yourself with following others for that is certainly blindness of
sight”. Thus the schools of the four Imams remain intact after a
thousand years have passed, and so the ’TJlamfi, recognise since the
time of these Imams no Mujtahid of the first degree. Ibn Hanbal
was the last.
The rights of the man who attained to this degree were very im¬
portant. Ho was not bound to bo a disciple of another, ho was a
mediator between the Law and his followers, for whom he established
a system of legislation, without any one having the right to make any
objection. He had the right to explain the Qudin, the Sunnat and
theijmi* according as he understood them. He used the Prophet’s
words, whilst his disciples only used his. Should a disciple find
some discrepancy between a decision of his own Imdm and tho
Quran or Traditions, he must abide by the decision of the Imdm. Tho
Law does not permit him to interpret after his own fashion. When
once the disciple has entered the sect of ono Imdm he cannot leave
it and join another. He loses the right of private judgment, for
only a hlujtahid of the first class can dispute the decision of one of
the Imdrns. Theoretically such Mujtahidin may still arise; but, as
we have already shown, practically they do not.
THE SECOND DEGEBB OE IJTIIlCd.
This degree has been granted to tho immediate disciples of the
great Imdms who have elaborated the systems of their masters.
They enjoyed the special consideration of the contemporary ’Ulamd,
and of their respective Jmdms who in som0 oases have allowed thorn
Th^ Faith of Islam^
to retain their own opinion/ The most famous of these men are
the two disciples of Abu Hanifa, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad bin al
Hasan. In a secondary matter .their opinion carries great weight.
It is laid down as a rule that a Mufti may follow the unanimous
opinion of these two even when it goes against that of Abu Hanifa.
THE THIRD DEGREE OF IJTIHAD.
This is the degree of special independence. The candidates for it
should have a perfect knowledge of all the branches of jurisprudence
according to the four schools of the Arabic language and literature.
They can solve cases which come before them, giving reasons for
their judgment, or decide on cases which have not boozx settled by
previous Mujtahidin; but in either case their decisions must always
be in absolute accordance with the opinions of the Mujtahidin of the
first and second classes, and with the principles which guided them.
Many of these men attained great celebrity during their lifetime, but
to most of them this rank is not accorded till after their death.
Since Im^m Qdzi Kh4n died (a. h, 592), no one has been recognised
by the Sunnis as a Muj tabid even of the third class.
There are three other inferior classes of jurists, called Muqallidin,
or followers of the Mujtahidin; but all that the highofjt in rank amongst
them can do is to explain obscure passages in the writings of the older
jurisconsults. By some of the ’XJlama they are considered to be equal
to the Mujtahidin of the third class. If there are several oonfiioting
legal opinions on any point, they can select one opinion on which to
base their decision. This a mere Qfizi cannot do. In such a case he
would have to refer to those men, or to their writings for guidance.
They seem to have written commentaries on the legal systems with¬
out originating anything now. The author of the Hiddyah, who lived
at the end of the sixth century, was a Muqallid.
Such is 3S4irza Kdzim Bog’s account. The whole article, of which
I have only given the main points, is worthy of the closest study.
It shows how *‘the system, as a whole, rejects experience as a
guide to deeper insight or wider knowledge; tramples upon ijhe
teaching of the past; pays no heed to differences of climate, charac¬
ter, or history; but regards itself as a body of absolute truth* one
jot or tittle of wbioh cannot be rejected without incurring the over-
lasting wrath of God.” i
1. Osborn’s Isldm under tfie Khalifs p. 79r
CHAPTER II.
EXEGESIS OF THE QURAN AND THE
TRADITIONS.
The following account of this brancli of Muslim theology,
technically called Tlm-i-Usul, may be introduced by a few
remarks on the nature of inspiration according to IsMm,
though that is not strictly speaking a portion of this study.
There are two terms used to express different degrees of
inspiration, Wahi and Ilham. Wahi is the term applied to
the inspiration of the Quran, and implies that the very
words are the words of God, It is divided into Wahi Zfihir
(external inspiration), and Wahi B£tin (internal inspira¬
tion). The whole book was prepared in heaven. Muham¬
mad, instructed by Gabriel, is simply the medium through
which the revelation of Wahi Zdhir reaches man. The
Wahi Qur£n, i.c., the highest form of inspiration, always
came to the ear of the Prophet through the instrumentality of
Gabriel, In Muhammadan theology, this is the special
work of Gabriel, Thus in the Traditions it is related that
he appeared to Adam twelve times, to Enoch four, to Noah
fifty, to Abraham forty-two, to Moses four hundred, to.
Jesus ten times, to Muhammad twenty-four thousand times.
Ilhfi,m means the inspiration given to a saint or to a pro¬
phet when he, though rightly guided, delivers the subject
matter out of his own mind, and is not a mere machine to
reproduce the messages of Gabriel. There is a lower form
of Wahi Z6hir, which is called Ish^rat-ul-Malak (literally,
sign of the AngeL^^) This expresses what Muhammad
meant when he said: The Holy Ghost has entered into my
heart/* In other words, he received the inspiration through
38 The Faith of Islam.
Gabriel, but not by word of month. This form of inspira¬
tion is higher than that possessed by saints, and is usually
applied to the inspiration of the Traditions. This is denied
by some, who say that except when delivering the Qurdn
Muhammad spoke by Ilhdm and not by WaM. The
practical belief is, however, that the Traditions were WaM
inspiration, and thas they come to be as authoritative as
the Quran. Sharastani speaks of the signs (sayings) of
the Prophet which have the marks of Wahi#^^ ^ This opinion
is said by some Muslim theologians to be supported by the
first verse of the fifty-third Siira, entitled the Star. By
the Star when it setteth; your companion Muhammad erreth
not, nor is he led astray, neither doth he sjpealc of his oivn
will. It is none other than a revelation which hath been
revealed to him.^^ In any case the inspiration of Muhammad
is something quite different from the Christian idea of in¬
spiration, which is to Musalmdns a very imperfect mode of
transmitting a revelation of God^s will.
That there should be a human as well as a divine side to
inspiration is an idea not only foreign, but absolutely repug¬
nant to Muhammadans. The Qurdn is not a book of prin¬
ciples. It is a book of directions. The Qurdn describes
the revelation given to Moses thus:—We wrote for him
upon the tables a monition concerning every matter and* said:
^ Receive them thyself with steadfastness, and command thy
people to receive them for the observance of its most goodly
precepts.^ (Sura vii. 142). It is such an inspiration as
this the Qurdn claims for itself. Muhammad^s idea was
that it should be a complete and final code of directions in
every matter for all mankind. It is not the word of a
prophet enlightened by God. It proceeds immediately from
God, and.the word 'say* or 'speak* precedes, or is under¬
stood to precede, every sentence. This to a Muslim is the
highest form of inspiration ; this alone stamps a book as
1. X)^bist&u, p. 214
The Medium of Bevetaiion. S9
divine. It is acknowledged that the Injil—the Grospel—
was given by Jesus; but as that, too, according to Muslim
belief, was brought down from heaven by the angel Gabriel
during the month of Ramazan, it is now asserted that it has
been lost, and that the four Gospels of the New Testament
are simply Traditions collected by the writers whose names
they bear. Their value is, therefore, that of the second
foundation of the Islamic system.
The question next arises as to the exact way in which
Gabriel made known his message to Muhammad. The
Mudarij-un-Nabuwat, a standard theological work, gives
some details on this point.^ Though the Qurdn is all of
God, both as to matter and form, yet it was not all made
known to the Prophet in one and the same manner. The
following are some of the modes:— ^
1. It is recorded on the authointy of ^Ayesha, one of
Muhammad^s wives, that a brightness like the brightness
of the morning came upon the Prophet. According to some
commentators this brightness remained six months. In
some mysterious way Gabriel, through this brightness or
vision, made known the will of God.
2. Gabriel appeared in the form of Dahiah, one of the
Companions of the Prophet, renowned for his beauty and
gracefulness. A learned dispute has arisen with regard to
the abode of the soul of Gabriel when he assumed the bodily
form of Dahiah. At times, the angelic nature of Gabriel
overcame Muhammad, who was then translated to the world
of angels. This always happened when the revelation was
one oLbad news, such as denunciations or predictions of
woe. At other times, when the message brought by Gabriel
was one of consolation and comfort, the human nature of
the Prophet, overcame the angelic nature of the angel, who,
in such case, having assumed a human form, proceeded to
deliver the message.
40 TUb Faith of Tdam,
3. The Prophet heard at times the noise of the tinkling
of a hell. To him alone was known the meaning of the
sound. He alone could distinguish in, and through it, the
words which Gabriel wished him to understand. The effect
of this mode of Wahl was more marvellous than that of any
of the other ways. When his ear caught the sound his
whole frame became agitated. On the coldest day, the
perspiration, like beads of silver, would roll down his face.
The glorious brightness of his countenance gave place to a
ghastly hue, whilst the way in which he bent down his
head showed the intensity of the emotion through which he
was passing. If riding, the camel on which he sat would
fall to the ground. The Prophet one day, when reclining
with his head in the lap of Zeid, heard the well known
sound; Zeid, too, knew that something unusual was hap¬
pening, for so heavy became the head of Muhammad that it
was with the greatest difficulty he could support the weight.
4. At the time of the MPrdj, or night ascent into heaven,
Gk>d spoke to the Prophet without the intervention of an
angel. It is a disputed point whether the face of the Lord
was veiled or not.
6. God sometimes appeared in a dream, and placing his
hands on the Prophet^s shoulders made known his wiJJ.
6. Twice, angels having each six hundred wings, appeared
and brought the message from God.
7. Gabriel, though not appearing in bodily form, so in¬
spired the heart of the Prophet that the words he uttered
under its influence were the words of God. This is technic
cally called Ilka, and is by some supposed to be the degree
of inspiration to which the Traditions belong.
Above all, the Prophet was not allowed to remain in any
errors if, by any chance, he had made a wrong deduction
from any previous revelation, another was always sent to
rectify it. This idea has been worked up to a science of
abrogation, according to which some verses of the Qurfn
abrogate others, Mulianmiad found it necessary to shift
Hm^i^Usuh
his stand-point more than once, and thus it became neces¬
sary to annul earlier portions of his revelation.
Thus in various ways was the revelation made known to
Muhammad. At first there seems to have been a season of
doubt (Ante p. 3), the dread lest after all it might be a
mockery. But as years rolled on confidence in himself and
in his mission came. At times, too, there is a joyousness
in his utterances as he swears by heaven and earth, by God
and man j but more often the visions were weird and terri¬
ble. Tradition says :—He roared like a camel, the sound
as of bells well-nigh rent his heart in pieces.-^^ Some
strange power moved him, his fear was uncontrollable. For
twenty years or more the revelations came, a direction on
things of heaven and of earth, to the Prophet as the spiri¬
tual guide of all men,^ to the Warrior-Ohief, as the founder
of political unity among the Arab tribes.
A Muhammadan student, after passing through a course
of instruction in grammar, rhetoric, logic, law, and dogma¬
tics, at length reaches the stage when he is permitted to
enter upon the study of Hlm-i-ustil,^^ or the exegesis
of the Qurdn, and the inspired sayings of the Prophet.
This done, he can henceforth read the approved commen¬
taries in order to learn what the Fathers of Isl4m have to
say. This science in one way fits,him to be a commentator,
for the work of a Muslim, divine now is, not to bring things
new and old” out of the sacred book, but to hand down
to others the things old. There is no indwelling spirit in
the Church of IsMm which can reveal to the devout mind
new views of truth, or lead the pious scholar on to deeper
and more profound knowledge.
The greatest proficient in theology is the man who can
repeat the Qurfin by heart, who knows also and can repro¬
duce at will what the early commentators have said, who can
remember, and quote in the most apposite manner, the Pro-
1. It (the Qnr^) ia simply an instruction for all mankind.'^ (SUra
42 The Faith of Mam.
phet^s sayings preserved in the Traditions handed down by
the OompanionSj their followers, and their followers^ fol¬
lowers, who can point out a flaw in the Isnad {i. e. chain of
narrators) of a Tradition quoted by an opponent, or main¬
tain, by repeating the long list of names, the authority of
the Isndd of the Tradition he quotes himself. A, good
memory, not critical acumen, is the great desideratum in a
Muslim theologian. The chief qualification of a H4fiz, a
man who can repeat the whole Qur4u by heart, is not that
he shall understand its meaning, but that he shall be able
to pronounce each word correctly. By men who are not
Arabs by birth, this is only to be attained after years of
practice from childhood. The Sunnis say that no Shia^h
can ever become a Hdfiz, from which fact they draw the
conclusion that the Shia^hs are heretics. In the early days
of Islam, the great authorities on the question of the correct
pronunciation of the Qurdn were the Khalifs Abu Bakr,
Omar, Osm^n, and ^Ali, and ten of the Companions, who
learned from the Prophet himself the exact way in which
Gabriel had spoken. The Arabic of heaven was the Arabic
of Isl4m. The effort, however, to preserve one uniform
method of repeating the Quran failed. Men of other lands
could not acquire the pure intonation of Mecca, and so no
less than seven different ways of reading the sacred book
became current. Here was a great difiSoulty, but it proved
surmountable, Abu Ibn K4b, one of the Companions, had
become so famous as a reader that the Prophet himself said:
read the Qurdn under Abu Ibn Kdb.^^ These men re^
membered that Abu Ibn K&h had stated, that one day when
scandalized at man after man who entered the mosque re¬
peating the Qurdn in different ways, he spoke to Muham¬
mad about it. His Highness said; 0 Abu Ibn %&h ! in¬
telligence was sent to me to read the Qurdn in one dialect,
and I was attentive to the Court of God, and said: ^ make
easy the reading of the Qurdn to my sects/ . These instruc¬
tions were sent to me a second time saying; ^ read the
The Safi qirafaL
Qurfo in two dialects/ Then I turned myself to the Court
of Q-od saying; ^ make easy the reading of the Quran to my
sects/ Then a voice was sent to me the third time saying:
^ read the Quran in seven dialects/
This removed all difficulty^ and the foresight displayed
by the Prophet in thus obtaining a divine sanction for the
various ways of reading was looked upon as a proof of his
inspiration. Thus arose the haft qira,at/^ or seven read¬
ings of the Qurdn, now recognised.
In the Quran compiled by the order of the KhaKf Osm^n
there were no vowel-points, but when men of other countries
embraced Islam they found great difficulty in mastering
Arabic. Khalid bin Ahmad, a great grammarian, then in¬
vented the shoi't vowels and other diacritical marks. The
seven famous Readers” whovse names have been given to
the various modes of reading, are Im&m Nafi of Madina,
Im&m Ibn-i-Kasir of Mecca, Imdm Abu ^TTmr of Basra^ Imdm
Hamza of Kufa, Imdm Ibn ^ Amir of Syria, Imam ^Asim of
Kufa, Im6m Kisde of Kufa/ These learned men affixed
different vowel-points in many places in the QurSn, and thus
slight differences of meaning arose. In India the qirdr,at
—treading,—of Imdm ^Asim is followed by both Sunnis and
Shiahs. There are three readings of lesser note allowable
^hen reading the Qur^n privately, but not when reading
any part in a liturgical service. During the month of Rama-
ziu the Qurdn is repeated every night in the mosque, it
being so arranged that one-thirtieth part shall be recited
each night. The Im&m of the mosque, or public Reader,
(QM) who commences according to one of the seven recog¬
nised readings (qird,at), must keep to the same all the month.
As he has to recite without a book this involves a great exer-:
cise of the me^iory. A good H4fiz will know the whole seven
varieties. The various readings thus introduced, though
1. Zawdbit-al-Qar^n, pp. 110, 111.
The T^cdtk of Islam.
unimportarifc in their nature^ ^ amount to about five hun¬
dred in number. The following are a few illustrations.
In the second Sura Abu ^Umr reads: Nor shall ye be
questioned concerning that which they have done;^^ but
^Asim reads: That which ye have done.^^ This is caused
b^ putting two dots above the line instead of below it. Again
'Asim reads: ‘‘Enter ye the gates of hell^^ (Sura xxxix.
73), but Nafi reads: “ Ye will he made to enter hell/^—
that is, by a sKght change the passive is substituted for the
active voice. These are fair samples of the rest. No doc¬
trine, so far as I know, is touched, but the way in which
Tradition records the Prophets anticipation of the difficulty
is instructive to the student of Islam. At times, too, fierce
disputes have arisen between the followers of the seven
famous Eeaders whose names I have given above. In
the year 935 a.h., Ibn Shanabud, a resident of Baghdad,
ventured to introduce some different readings in his recital
of the Quran. The people of Baghdad, not knowing
these, were furious, and the Khalif was compelled to cast
the offender into prison, A Council of divines was called
together, before whom the unhappy Ibn Shanabud was pro¬
duced. For a while he maintained the correctness of his
“ readings,^^ but after being whipped seven times he said :
“ I renounce my manner of reading, and in future I shall
follow no other than that of the manuscript drawn up by
the Khalif Osmin, and that which is generally received/^ ^
Closely connected with this subject is the history of the
rise of the science of grammar. As Isl4m spread, it became
necessary to expound the Qurfin to persons unacquainted
with Arabic. The science of grammar then became an
important branch of study, and the collection of Traditions
a necessary duty. The Faithful were for a long time in
1. The opinion of Yon Hammer, quoted by Sir W. Muir, in his life of
Muhammad (vol* i, page 27) seems to be correct, We may hold the Qur^n
to be as surely Muhammad's words as the Muhammadans hold it to be the
Word of God."
2. Ibn Kh al l i kan'a Biographical Dictionary, vol. iii p. 16.
The Style of the Qwrdn*
doubt as to the lawfulness of applying the laws of grammar
to so sacred a book. There was no command in the book
itself to do so, nor had the Prophet given any directions on
this point. It was then neither ‘^farz^^ nor sunnat/' that
is, neither a command based on the Qurfo nor one based on
any saying or act of the Prophet. The Traditions, however,
solve the dijBSculty.
A1 Mamun, the distinguished though heretical Khalif of
Baghdad, was a patron of A1 Farra, the chief of grammarians.
A distinguished pupil of his, Abu^l 'Abbds Thalub, on his
death-bed expressed his belief in the fact that the Qur^n-
ists, the Traditionists, and others, had gained their heavenly
reward, but he had been only a grammarian, and grammar
after all was, in connection with the Quran, a science of
doubtful legality. The friend to whom he told his doubts
and fears went home and saw a vision. It is recorded
that he had a vision in his sleep that very night, in which
he saw the blessed Prophet, who said to him: Give my
greeting to Abu^l ^Abbds Thalub, and say, ^ thou art master
of the superior science/ The Prophet had now spoken,
and henceforth grammar became a lawful study in Tsidm.
Muslims now quote the Qurdn as a perfect model of style;
it may be well to remember that the rules have been made
for it, and that, therefore, it is but natural that it should be
perfect according to the present canons of Arabic gram¬
mar.^
The question of the interpretation of the text speedily
became a very important branch of the ^Ilm-i-usdl,^^ It
is said that the Qurdn was brought from Paradise by Gab¬
riel to Muhammad as occasion required. The Prophet was
reproached for not having a complete revelation, and
X. ** Were we to examine the Qurdn by the rules of rhetoric and criticism
as they are tanght in Mnslim schools, we shonld be obliged to acknow¬
ledge that it is the perfection of thought aud expression j au inevitable
result as the Muslims drew their principles of rhetoric from that very
book.^*—Baron H. de Slane, in the introduction to Ibu Khallikan's Biogra-
phioid Dictionary.
The Faith of Mam',
answered the reproach hj the following verse, sent for
the purpose* The infidels say, ^ unless the Quran be
sent down to him all at once^—but in this way we establish
thy heart in it, in parcels have we parcelled it out to thee”
(Sura zxT. 84). The revelation thus given is entirely
objective ; it came to the ear of the Prophet through the
teaching of Gabriel. Yet it is a glorious Qur4n, written
on the presm'ved TableJ^ (Sura Ixxxv. 22). Gabriel ad¬
dresses the Prophet thus : When we have recited it then
follow thou the recital/* (Sura Ixxv. 18). The external
mode in which it came is referred to in the verse: We
have sent down to thee an Arabic Qurdn.^^ (Sura xx. 112).
The fragmentary way in which the Qur^n was given’* was
not without its difficulties. Some passages contradicted
others, some were difficult to understand. To the Prophet
alone was the solution known. The knowledge he com¬
municated to his immediate followers, the Companions, as
they are called, thus: ‘^To thee have we sent down this
book of monitions, that thou mayest make clear to men what
hath been sent down to them.'*^ (Sura xvi. 46).
Ibn Khaldoun says : The Prophet unfolded the mean¬
ing, distinguished between abrogated and abrogating verses,
1. There are many Treditions which refer to this fact. Omar Ibn al Khat-
tdb said; “ I accorded with my oherisher (i, e., God) in three things. One
is that I said, * 0 messenger of God I if we were to say our prayers in
Abraham's place it would be better.* Then a revelation oame down ‘ Talse
the place of Abraham for a place of prayer.* The second is, that I said,'
* 0 messenger of God ! good and bad people come to your house j and I do
not see that it is fitting j therefore, if you order your Women to be shut up
it will be better.* Then the revelation for doing so oame down. The
third is, that his Majesty's wives were all agreed in a story about his
drinking honey; and he had vowed never to drink it more. Then I said to his
Majesty's wives, * Should the Prophet divorce you, God will give him better
in ezol^nge.* Then a revelatimi, oame doTO agreeing with what I said."
'Ayesha said:—** I was reflecting on those women who had given
themselves to the Prophet, and said * What 1 does a woman give herself
away P' Then the revelation descended; , “ Thou mayest decline for the
present whom thou wilt of them, and thou mayest take to thy bed her
whom thou wilt, and whomsoever thou shalt long for of those thon shait
have before negleoted: and this shall be no crime in thee.* (Sdra
51). I said t' 1 see nothing in which your God doth not hasten to please
you: whatsoever you wish He doeth.* "
The WorTc of a Oommentator. 4iJ
and communicated this knowledge to his Companions. It
was from his mouth that they knew the meaning of the
verses and the circumstances which led to each distinct
revelation being made.^^ ^ The Companions thus instructed
became perfectly familiar with the whole revelation. This
knowledge they handed down by word of mouth to their
followers, the Taba^in, who in their turn passed it on to their
followers the Taba-i-Tdba^in. The art of writing then
became common, and the business of the commentator hence¬
forth was to collect together the sayings of the Companions
thus handed down. Criticism of a passage in the Qurto was
not his duty, criticism of a comment made on'it by a Com¬
panion was beyond his province: the first was too sacred to
be touched, the second must be accepted if only the chain of
narrators of the statement were perfect. Thus early in the
history of Isl£m were the principles of exegesis fixed and
settled. Every word, every sentence, has now its place and
class. The commentator has now only to reproduce what
.was written before,* though he may in elucidation of the
point, bring forth some Tradition hitherto unnoticed, which
would, however, be a difiioult thing to do. It will thus be
seen that anything like the work of a Christian commenta¬
tor, with all its fresh life and new ideas, is not to be had in
Isl&n. The perfection of its exegesis is its dogmatic and
antique nature—
** While as the world rolls on from age to age,
And realms of thought expand,
The letter stands without expanse or range,
Stiff as a dead man's hand.”
The technical terms which the student must know, and
1. lies Trol^gom^nes dTbn Khaldoun, toI. ii. p. 459.
2. This includes even the orthography, for:—** Jja g^n^ration suivante,
je yeux dire les T4bis (T&ba’fu), adopta rorfchographe des Oompagnons du
FrqphHe et se St un zu^rite de ne point s’5oarter des formes ado]rt6es par
oeux qni, apr^ lUahommed, ^talent les pins exoeUent dea homines et qni
awdent reou de lui les revelations celestes, soit par eorit, soit de vive voii”
Ibn Khaldoun, r<A, ii. p. 397.
48 The Fmth of Isldm.
the definitions of which he must understand, are those
which relate to the nature of the words, the sentences, the
use of the words of the Qur4n, and the deduction of argu¬
ments from passages in the book*
I* The words of the Quran are divided into four classes*
1, Khdss, or special words* These are sub-divided into
three classes* First, words which relate to genus, e.g,
mankind. Secondly, words which relate to species, e.g, a,
man, which refers to men as distinguished from women*
Thirdly, words which relate to special individuality, e.g.
Zeid, which is the name of a special individual.
2* or common or collective names, such as peo-
ple*^^
3* Mushtanh, or words which have several significations,
as the Arabic word “ ^ain,^^ which may mean an eye, a
fountain, or the sun* Again, the word Suldt,*^ if connect¬
ed with Grod, may mean mercy, as SuUt TJ114h,^' the
mercy of God; if with man, it may mean either nam4z,^^
a stated liturgical service, or du^a,^^ prayer in its ordinary
sense, e,g. Suldt-ul-Istisq^ (prayer in time of drought) is du^a,
not namaz.
4. Muawwal, words which have several significations, all
of which are possible, and so a special explanation is
required. For example, Sura cviii* 2, reads thus in Sale's
translation. Wherefore pray unto the Lord and slay (the
victims)*" The word translated slay" is in Arabic ^'nahr,"
which has many meanings. The followers of the great
Legist Abu Hanifa render it, sacrifice," and add the
words (the victims"). The followers of Ibn Shdfa'i say it-
means placing the hands on the breast in prayer."
This illustrates the difference between Mushtarik and
Muawwal. In the former, only one meaning is allowable,
and that meaning the context settles ; in the latter both
meanings are allowable and both right.
These divisions of words having been well mastered and
the power of defining any word in the Qur&n • gained, tlhe
Zdhir and Khafi Sentences,
student passes on to consider the nature of the sentences.
These are div-ided into two great classes,—the Obvious/^
and the Hidden.^^
This division is referred to iu the following passage of the
Quran. He it is who hath sent down to thee the book.
Some of its signs are of themselves yempicuons ; these are
the basis (literally mother^^) of the book, and others are
Jigm*a>tive, But they whose hearts are given to en* follow
its figures, craving discord, craving an interpretation ; yet
none know its interpretation, but God.^ And the stable in
knowledge say: ^We believe in it, it is all fromGod.^^^
(Sura hi. 3).
This has given rise to the division of tlie whole book into
literal and allegorical statements. In order to e.xplain these
correctly the commentator must know (1) the reason why,
(2) the place where, (3) the time when, the particular pas¬
sage he is expounding was revealed ; he must know whether
it abrogates or is abrogated, whether it is in its proper
order and place or not ; whether it contains its meaning
within itself or needs the light which tho context throws
upon it j he must know all the Traditions which bear upon
it, and the authority for each such Tradition. This effec¬
tually confines the oi’der of commentators in the strict sense
of the word to the Companions, and supplies the reason
why commentators since then simply reproduce their
opinions.^ But to return from this digression. Sentences
are Z&hir—Obvious,^^ or Khafx—Hidden.^^ Obvious
sentences ai'e divided into four classes.
L (1). Zdhir, or obvious, the meaning of which is so
clear that he who hears it at once understands its meaning
1. This interpretation God made known to tho Prophet, who oommuui-
oated it to the Oompaniona, henoe all orthodox opinion must bo in striot
accordance with theirs. They were the sole depositaries of the inspired
commentary given by Muhammad, There is now no room for, as there is
no need of, any other.
2. Speaking on this very subject Ibn Khaldouii saysUien do tout
oela n*a pu se oonnaltre quo par des indioatlous provonant des Oompagnons
et die leurs disciples*'' Vol. ii* p. 460.
The Faith of Islam.
withQut seeking for any explanation. This kind of sentence
may be abrogated. Unless abrogated, action in accordance
with it is to be considered as the express command of God.
All penal laws and the rules I'egnlating the substitution of
one religious act for another, e.g. almsgiving instead of
fasting, must be based on this, the clearest of the obvious
sentences.
(2) . Nass, a word commonly used for a text of the Qur^n,
but in its technical meaning here expressing what is meant
by a sentence, the meaning of which is made clear by some
word which occurs in it. The following sentence illustrates
both Zahir and Nass: " Take in marriage of such other
women as please you, two, three, four.^^ This sentence is
Zahir, because marriage is here declared lawful; it is Nass,
because the words one, two, three, four,^^ which occur in
the sentence, show the unlawfulness of having more than
four wives.
(3) . MnfassiTy or explained. This is a sentence which
needs some word in it to explain it and make it clear.
Thus: And the angels prostrated themselves, all of them
with one accord, save Iblis (Satan).Here the words save
Iblis,^^ show that he did not prostrate himself. This kind
of sentence may be abrogated.
(4) . Muhham, or perspicuous. This is a sentence as to
the' meaning of which there can be no doubt, and which
cannot be controverted, thus : God knoweth all things.^^
This kind of sentence cannot be abrogated. To act on such
sentences without departing from the literal seuse is the
highest degree of obedience to God^s command.
The difference between these sentences is seen when there
is a real or apparent contradiction between them- If such
should occur, the first must give place to the second, and
so on. Thus Mukham cannot be abrogated or changed by
any of the preceding, or Mufassir by Nass, &o.
The other great division of sentences is that of
II. (1). Khafi or hidden. Such are those sentenoes in
Mushhil mid Mnjmal Sentences.
which other persons or things are hidden beneath the plain
meaning of a word or expression contained therein, as: " as
for a thief, whether male or female, cut ye off their hands
in recompense for their doings.” (Sura v. 42;. The word
for thief is “ Sariq,” and in this passage it is understood
to include highwaymen, pickpockets, plunderers of the
dead, &c. These meanings are Khafi or hidden under it.
(2). Mushhil, or ambiguous. The following is given as
an illustration: “ And (their attendants) shall go round
about them with vessels of silver and goblets. The bottles
shall be bottles of silver.” The difficulty here is that
bottles are not made of silver, but of glass. The commen¬
tators say, however, that glass is dull in colour, though it
has some lustre, whilst silver is white, and not so bright as
glass. Now it may be, that the bottles of Paradise will be
like glass bottles as regards their lustre, and like silver as
regards their colour. But anyhow, it is very difficult to
ascertain the meaning.
(3.) Mujmal. These are, first, sentences which may have
a variety of interpretations, owing to the words in them
being capable of several meanings ; in that case the mean¬
ing which is given to the sentence in the Traditions relat¬
ing to it should be acted ou and accepted. Secondly, the
sentence may contain some very rare word, and thus its
meaning may be doubtful, as: " Man truly is by creation
hasty.” (Sura Ixx. 19.) In this verse the word “ halii^ ”—
hasty—occurs. It is very rarely used, and had it not been for
the following words, ‘'when evil touoheth him, he is full of
complaint; but when good bofalleth him, ho becometh niggard¬
ly)” its moaning would not have been at all easy to understand.
The following is an illustration of the first kind of Muj¬
mal sentences : " Stand for prayer (sal4t; and give alms,”
(zak4t.) Both sal4t and zak4t are' Mushtarik' words. The
people, therefore, did not understand this verse, so they
applied to Muhammad for an explanation. He explained
to thorn that " salit” might mean the ritual of public prayer,
The Faith of Islam*
standing to say the words God is great/^ or standing to
repeat a few verses of the Qur^n; or it might mean private
prayer. ^Phe primitive meaning of ^^zakat’^ is growing.
The Prophet^ however, fixed the meaning liere to that of
almsgiving/^ and said, “ Give of your substance one-
fortieth part.^^
(4.) MutasJidbih. These are sentences so difficult that
men cannot understand them, a fact referred to in Siii’a iii. 3.
(Ante. p. 49), nor will they do so until the day of resurrec-
tion. The Prophet, however, knew their meaning. Such
portions are the letters A,. L, M; A, L, R; Y, A at the
commencement of some of the Suras.^ Such expressions
also as God^s hand,^^ The face of God,^^ God sitteth,^^
&c., come under this category.
The next point to be considered is the use of words in the
Quran, and here again the same symmetrical division into
four classes is found, viz :—
(1.) Haifuiaty that is, words which are used in their
literal meaning, as ruku',^^ a prostration, and salat^^ in
the sense of prayer.
(2.) Majdz, or words which are used in a figurative sense,
as ^^salat^^ in the sense of n^mdz^^ a liturgical service.
(3.) Sank , 0 T words the meaning of which is quite evi¬
dent, as, ^^Thou art divorced/^ Thou Ojvtfree*^^
(4.) Kinaijdhj or words which, being used in a meta¬
phorical sense, require the aid of the context to make their
meaning clear, as : Thou art separated,which may, as it
1. Ibn Khaldoan says that Zamakchori, (a theologian of good repute for
learning in the sixth century a.h,), remarked on these letters as follows :—
“ They indicate that the style of the Qur4n is carried to such a degree of
excellence, that it defies every attempt to imitate it j for this book which
has been sent down to ns from heaven is composed of letters. All men
know thorn all alike, but this power disappears when, in order to express
their ideas, they warrt to use these same letters combined.”
On this curious passage Baron cle Slane remarks that the author is not
very clear, and that the Turkish translator of Ibn Khaldoun gives the
sense of the passage as:—“ God has placed these letters in several SdraiS
as a sort of defiance j as if He had saidVoiU les 4l6inents dont se com¬
pose lo Oorau; prencz-Ies ot faites-ou un Uvro qui Tdgalo par le style.*
Ihn Khaldoun, yol, iii. p. 68.
Ibdratf Istiarat and Baldlai.
stands alone, mean Thou art divorced/^ This class also
includes all pronouns the meaning of which is only to be
known from the context, e. gr., one day the Prophet not
knowing who knocked at his door said, Who art thou
The man replied, It is Muhammad answered, Why
dost thou say I, I ? Say thy name that I may know who
thou art/^ The pronoun is here ^ kinayah.^
• The most important and most difficult branch of exegesis
is " istidlal,^^ or the science of deducing arguments from
the Quran. This too is divided into four sections, as fol¬
lows
(1.) Ibdratf or the plain sentence. Mothers, after they
are divorced, shall give suck unto their children two full
years, and the father shall be obliged to maintain them and
clotlie them according to that which is reasonable.^^ (Sura
ii, 233.) Prom this verse two deductions are made. First,
from the fact that the wox’d them^^ is in the feminine
plural, it must refer to the mothers and not to the children;
secondly, as the duty of supporting the mother is incumbent
on the father, it shows that the relationship of the child is
closer with the father than with the mother. Penal laws
may be based on a deduction of this kind.
(2.) Ishirat, that is, a sign or hint which may be given
from the order in which the words are placed.
(3.) Balalat, or the argument which may be deduced
from the use of some special word in the verse, as : say not
to your parents, ^'Pie^^ (Arabic ^^ufE^^) (Sdra xvii. 23),
Prom the use of the word ufE,^^ it is argued that children
may not beat or abuse their parents. Penal laws may be
based on dalfilat,^^ thus: Their aim will be to abet dis¬
order on the earth; but God loveth not the abettors of
disorder.^^ (Sura v. 69.) The word translated aim'^ is in
Arabic literally yasa^una, ^Hhey rup.'^^ Prom this the
argument is deduced that as highwaymen wander about,
they are included amongst those whom God loveth not,^^
and that, therefore, the severest punishment may be given to
54 The Faith of Islam,
them, for any deduction that comes under the head of
dalalat^^ is a sufficient basis for the formation of the
severest penal laws.
(4.) IqtmL This is a deduction which demands certain
conditions : whosoever killeth a believer by mischance,
shall be bound to free a believer from slavery.^^ (Sura iv.
94), As a man has no authority to free his neighbour's
slave, the condition here required, though not expressed, is
that the slave should be his own property.
The Quran is divided into:—
(1) . Earf (plural Eiin'of), letters. The numbers given
by dijKerent authorities vary. In one standard book it is
said that there are 338,606 letters,
(2) . Kalima (plural KaVmat), words, stated by some to
amount to 79,087; by others to 77,934^.
(3) , Ayat (plural Aydt)^ verses. Ayat really means a
sign, and was the name given by Muhammad to short
sections or verses of the QurSn. The end of a verse is
determined by the position of a small circle O. The early
Quran Eeaders did not agree as to the position of these
circles, and so five different ways of arranging them have
arisen. This accounts for a variation in the number of
verses in various editions. The varieties are:—
(1) . jS/^i/h verses. The Readers in the city of Kufa say
that they followed the custom of ^Ali. Their way of
reckoning is generally adopted in India. They reckon
6,239 verses.
(2) . Basra verses. The Readers of Basra follow ^Asim
bin Hajjdj, a Companion. They reckon 6,204.
(3) . Shdmi verses. The Readers in Syria (Sh&m) fol¬
lowed Abd-ullah bin ^Umr, a Companion. They reckon
6,225 verses.
(4) . Mecca verses. According to this arrangement there
are 6,219 verses.
(5) . Madina verses. This way of reading contains 6,211
verses*
Ths Suras,
In eacli of the above varieties the verse Bismillah'^ (in
the name of God) is not reckoned. It occurs 113 times in
the Qurdn.
This diversity of punctuation does not generally affect
the meaning of any important passage. The third verse of
the third Sura is an important exception. The position of
the circle O, the symbol denoting a full stop, in that verse
is of the highest importance in connection with the rise of
scholasticism (^Ilm-i-kalam) in Islam.
Most of the cases, however, are like the following :—
In Sura xxvii. an account is given of the Queen of Sheba^s
receiving a letter from Kirig Solomon. Addressing her nobles
she said : Verily, Kings, when they enter a city (by force)
waste the same, and abase the most povrerful of the inhabi¬
tants hereof; and so will (these) do (with us)/^ Many
Eeaders put the full stop after the word hereof,^^ and say
that God is the speaker of the words and so will they do.^^
(4). Sicra^ or chapter. The word Sura moans a row or
series, such as a line of bricks arranged in a wall, but it is
now exclusively used for chapters in the Quran. These are
one hundred and fourteen in number. The Suras are not
numbered in the original Arabic, but each one has some
approximate name, (as Baqr—the cow, Nisa—women, &c.,)
generally taken from some expression which occurs in it.
They are not arranged in chronological order, but accord¬
ing to their length. As a geneml rule, the shorter Suras
which contain the theology of Isl4m, belong to the Meccan
period of the Prophet^s career,^ and the longer ones relating
chiefly to social duties and relationships, to the organisation
of Isl4m as a civil polity, to the time when he was consoli¬
dating his power at Madina, The best way, therefore, to
1. The last verse revealed at Mecca was, This day have 1 perfected
your religiou for you, and have filled up the measure of my favours
u^on you; and it is my pleasure that Isl£m be your religion ; but whoso
without wilful leauings to wrong shall be forced by hunger to transgress,
to him, verily, will God be indulgent, merciful.** (Sura v. 5). Ibn Kbaldouu
vol. i. p. 206.
56 The Faith of Islam,
read the Qurfiu, is to begin at the end. The attempt to
arrange the Sfiras in due order, is a very difficult one, and,
after all, can only be approximately correct.^ Carlyle refer¬
ring to the confused mass of endless iterations, long
windedness, entanglement, most crude, incondite” says :
nothing but a sense of duty could carry any European
through the Qur^n.” When re-arranged the book becomes
more intelligible. The chief tests for such re-arrangement
are the style and the matter. There is a very distinct dif¬
ference in both of these respects between the earlier and
later Suras. The references to historical events sometimes
give a clue. Individual Suras are often very composite in
their character, but, such as they are, they have been from
the beginning. The recension made by Zeid, in the reign
of the Khallf Osman, has been handed down unaltered in
its form. The only variations fqir^/^at) now to be found in
the text have been already noticed. They in no way affect
the arrangements of the Suras,
5. Sipdra a thirtieth portion. This is a Persian word
derived from ai, thirty, and pdra^ a portion. The Arabs
call each of these divisions a Jitz, Owing to this division,
a pious man can recite the whole Qurdn in a ‘month, taking
one Sip&ra each day. Musalmdns never quote the Qur^n
as we do by Sura and Ayat, but by the Sipara and' Ruku^,
a term I now proceed to explain.
6. BuM^ (plural Emhudt). This word literally means a
prostration made by a worshipper in the act of saying the
prayers. • The collection of verses recited from the Qurdn,
ascriptions of praise offered to Q-od, and various ritual acts
connected with these, constitute one act of worship called
a rak-^at.” After reciting some verses in this form of
prayer, the worshipper makes a Bulm\ or prostration, the
r. The arrangenaent made by Professor Th. N61deke in his “ Gesobiohte
des Qnrins’* is considered by Stanley Lane Poole to be the best. BodwelPs
English version of the Qnr^ is, with aotno eroeptions, an example of this
order.
RaVat and BuMd.
portion then recited takes the name of Buhu\ Tradition
states that the Khalif Osman, when reciting the Qur^n
during the month of Eamazan, used to make twenty rak^ats
each evening. In each rak^at he introduced different
verses of the Qur^n, beginning with the first chapter and
going steadily on. In this way he recited about two hun¬
dred verses each evening j that is, about ten verses in each
rak^at. Since then, it has been the custom to recite the Quran
in this way in Ramazan, and also to quote it by the ruku^,
such a passage is in such a Sipara and in such a Ruku\
The following account of a rak^at will make the matter
plain. When the Faithful are assembled in the mosque, the
Imam, or leader, being in front facing the Qibla, the service
commences thus:—^Bach worshipper stands and says the
Niyyat (literally intention^^), a form of words declaring
his intention to say his prayers. He then says : God is
great.''^ After this, looking downwards, he says : Holiness
to Thee, 0 God ! and praise be to Thee, Great is Thy name.
Great is Thy greatness, there is no deity but Thee."^^ Then
follows: I seek from God refuge from cursed Satan.”
Then the Tasmiyah is repeated ; In the name of God, the
Compassionate and Merciful.” Then follows the F^tiha,
that is, the short chapter at the commencement of the Quran.
After this has been recited, the Imdm proceeds, on the first
night of the month Ramazan, with the fii’iBt verse of the
second chapter,^ After sayijig a few verses, he makes a
Ruktf; that is, he bends his head and body down, and places
his hands on his knees. In this position he says : God is
groat.” Then he repeats three times the words : I extol
the holiness of my Lord, the Great.” He then stands up
and says: “ God hears him who praises Him.” To this
the people respond : 0 Lord, thou art pi-aised.” Again,
falling on his knees, the worshipper says; God is great.”
Then he puts first his nose, and then his forehead on the
1. On ordinary occasions any verses may bo chosen. The 112th Sdra is
the one generally repeated.
B
58 The Faith of Islam,
ground and says three times: I extol the holiness of my
Lord, the Most High/^ Then sitting on his heels, he says :
Grod is great and again repeats as before: I extol, etc/^
He then rises and says: G-od is great.^^ This is one rak^at.
On each night in the month of Ramazan this is gone through
twenty times, the only variation being that after the
Patiha and before the first prostration, fresh verses of the
Quran are introduced. The whole is, of course, done in
Arabic, in whatever country the worshippers may be. The
name of the prostration (Ruku^) has been transferred to the
portion of the Qur^n recited just before it is made. There
are altogether 557 Rukti^t.
(7). The other divisions are not important. They are, a
Srnnn, Buha\ >}^isf, Suls, that is one-eighth, one-fourth,
one-half, one-third of a Sipara respectively.
In reciting the Qur^n the worshipper must be careful to
say the TakWr,^^ i,e, God is great,’^ after the several
appointed places. Such a place is after the recital of the
93rd Sura. The custom arose in this way. The hypocrites
came to the Prophet and asked him to relate the story of
the Seven Sleepers.^^ He said: will tell you to-mor¬
row but ho forgot to add the words if God will.^^ By
way of warning, God allowed no inspiration to descend
upon him for some days. Then the hypocrites- began to
laugh and say:"" God has left him."^ As it was not God^s
purpose to put his messenger to ridicule, the Slira entitled
“ The brightness'^ (xoiii) was immediately brought by the
ever-ready Gabriel, It begins: By the brightness of the
morning, and by the night when it groweth dark, thy Lord
hath not forsahen thee, neither doth He hate thee." In re¬
membrance of this signal interposition of Providence on
his behalf, the Prophet always concluded the recital of this
Slira with the words: God is great." The practice thus
became a Sunnat" obligation,- that is, it should be done
because the Prophet did it.
The doctrine of abrogation is a very important one in
AhrogMon,
connection with the stndy of the Qurdn. It is referred to
in the verses : Whatever verses we cancel or cause thee to
forget, we give thee better in their stead, or the like there¬
of/^ (Suraii. 100). This is a Madina Stira. ^^What He
pleaseth will God abrogate or confirm; for with Him is
the source of revelation.'*^ (Sura xiii. 39). Some verses
which were cancelled in the Prophet^s life-time are not now
extant. Abdullah Ibn Masud states that the Prophet one
day recited a verse, which he immediately wrote down. The
next morning he found it had vanished from the material
on which it had been written. Astonished at this, he
acquainted Muhammad with the fact, and was informed
that the verse in question had been revoked. There are,
however, many verses still in the Quran, which have been
abrogated. It was an exceedingly convenient doctrine, and
one needed to explain the change of front which Muhammad
made at different periods of his cai*eer. Certain rules have
been laid down to regulate the practice. The verse which
abrogates is called Ndsikh, and the abrogated verse Mansuhh,
Mansukh verses are of three kinds :—first, where the words
and the sense have both been abrogated; secondly, where
the letter only is abrogated and the sense remains ; thirdly,
where the sense is abrogated though the letter remains.
Imdm Mdlik gives as an instance of the first kind the
verse : If a son of Adam had* two rivers of gold, he would
covet yet a third; and if he had three he would covet yet
a fourth. Neither shall the belly of a son of Adam be filled,
but with dust. God will turn unto him who shall repent.^^
The Im^m states that originally this verse was in the Sura
(ix.) called Eepentance. The verse, called the verso of
stoning*’ is an illustration of the second kind. It reads:
Abhor not your parents for this would be ingratitude in
you. If a man and woman of reputation commit adultery,
ye shall stone them both; it is a punishment ordained by
God; for God is mighty and wise.** The Khalif Omar says
this verse was extant in Muhammad*s life-timo but that it
60 The Faith of Islam,
is now lost. But it is tlie third class which practically
comes into ^Ilm-i-usul. Authorities differ as to the number
of verses abrogated. Sale states that they have been esti¬
mated at two hundred and twenty-five. The principal ones
are not many in number, and are very generally agreed
upon. I give a few examples. It is a fact worthy of
notice that they occur chiefly, if not almost entirely, in
Suras delivered at Madina. There, where Muhammad had
to confront Jews and Christians, he was at first politic in his
aim to win them over to his side, and then, when ho found
them obstinate, the doctrine of abrogation came in conve¬
niently. This is seen plainly in the following case. At
Mecca Muhammad and his followers did not stand facing
any particular direction when at prayer, a fact to which the
following passage refers:—To God belongeth the east and
west; therefore, whithersoever ye turn youi'selves to pray
there is the face of God.’^ (Suraii. 109), When Muham¬
mad arrived at Madina, he entered into friendship with
the Jews and tried to win them to his side. The Qibla
(sanctuary) towards which the worshippers now invariably
turned at prayer was Jerusalem, This went on for a while,
but when Muhammad claimed to be not merely a Prophet
for the Arabs, but the last and the greatest of all the Pro¬
phets, when he asserted that Moses had foretold his advent,
and that his revelations were the same as those contained ■
in their own Scriptures, they utterly refused allegiance to
him. In the first half of the second year of the Hijra the
breach between them was complete. It was now time to
reconcile the leaders of the Quraish txube at Mecca* So
the verse quoted above was abrogated by: '‘We have seen
thee turning thy face towards heaven, but we will have
thee turn to a Qihla, which shall please thee. Turn then
thy face toward the Holy Temple (of Mecca), and wherever
ye bo, turn your faces toward that part,^^ (Siira ii. 189.)
The Faithful were consoled by the assurance that though
iihey'had not done so hitherto, yet God would not let their
Ahrogatim. 61
faith be fruitless, for unto man is God merciful, gracious.”
(v. 138.) The doctrine of abrogation is brought in for
a more personal matter in the following case ; It is not per¬
mitted to thee to take other wives hereafter, nor to change
thy present wives for other women, though their beauty
charm thee, except slaves, whom thy right hand shall
possess.” (Sura xxxiii. 52.) This is said by Beidawi, and
other eminent Muslim divines, to have been abrogated by a
verse which though placed before it in the arrangement of
verses, was really delivered after it. The verse is; 0
Prophet, we allow thee thy wives whom thou hast dowered,
and the slaves which thy right hand possesseth out of the
booty which God hatli granted thee ; and the daughters of
thy uncle, and the daughters of thy aunts, both on thy
father^s side, and on thy mother^s side, who have fled with
thee (to Madina), and any other believing woman, who hath
given herself up to the Prophet; if the Prophet desireth to
wed her, it is a peculiar privilege for thee, above the rest of
the Faithful.” (Sdra xxxiii. 49.)
The Moghul Emperor Akbar, wishing to discredit the
^Ulamd, in one of the meetings so frequently held for dis¬
cussion during his long reign, propounded the question as
to how many free born women a man might marry. The
lawyers answered that four was the number fixed by the
Prophet. Of other women who seem good in your eyes
marry two and two, and three and three, and four and four.”
(Sdra iv. 3.) The Emperor said that he had not restricted
himself to that number, and that Shaikh 'Abd-un-Nabi had
told him that a certain Mujtahid had had nine wives. The
Mujtahid in question, Ibn Abi Lailah reckoned the number
allowed thus 2-f-3+4 s 59. Other learned men counted in
this way 2+2, 3+3, 4+4 =: 18. The Emperor wished the
meeting to decide the point*
Again, the second verse of Sura Ixxiii reads : Stand up
all night, except a small portion of it, for prayer.” Accord¬
ing to a Tradition handed down by ^Ayesha the last ver^e
The Faith of Islam.
of this Sura was revealed a year later. It makes the matter
much easier. Grod measureth the night and the day ; he
knoweth that ye cannot count its hours aright, and there¬
fore turneth to you mercifully. Recite then so much of the
Quran as may he easy to youJ^ (v. 20.)
The following is an illustration of a verse abrogated,
though there is no verse to prove its abrogation. However,
according to the Ijma^ it has been abrogated. But alms
are only to be given to the poor and the needy and to those
who collect them, and to those whose hearts are won to
Islam.^^ (Sura ix. 60.) The clause—to those whose hearts
are won to Islam^^—is now cancelled.^ Muhammad, to gain
the hearts of those, who lately enemies, had now become
friends, and to confirm them in the faith, gave them large
presents from the spoils he took in war; but when Islam
spread and became strong, the ^Ulama agreed that such a
procedure was not required and said that the order was
mansukh.^'
The other verses abrogated relate to the Ramazto fast, to
Jihad, the law of retaliation, and other matters of social in¬
terest.
The doctrine of abrogation is now almost invariably ap¬
plied by Musalmdn controversialists to the Old and New
Testaments, which they say are abrogated by the Qurdn.
His (Muhammad^s) law is the abrogator of every other
law/^^ This is not, however, a legitimate use of the doc¬
trine. According to the best and most ancient Muslim
divines, abrogation refers entirely to the Qurfin and the
Traditions, and even then is confined to commands and pro¬
hibitions. Those who imagine it to be part of the
Muhammadan creed that one law has totally repealed
another, are utterly mistaken—we hold no such doctrine/^®
In the Tafsir-i-Itifaq it is written : Abrogation affects those
1. Tafsir-i-Husaiiii, p. 216. 2. Sharli.yAqdxd-i.jr&aif, p. 181.
8. Qommentary on the Holy Bible by Syed Ahmad, c.s.T., vol. i. p. 26$.
See note on this in chapter 4. Section * Prophets.’
Ahrogation,
matters which God has confined to the followers of Muham¬
mad, and one of the chief advantages of it is that the way
is made easy/^ In the Tafsir-i-Mazhiri we find: Abroga¬
tion refers only to commands and prohibitions, not to facts or
historical statements/^ ^ Again, no verse of the Qur^Ln, or a
Tradition can be abrogated unless the abrogating verse is
distinctly opposed to it in meaning. If it is a verse of the
Qar^n, we must have the authority of Muhammad himself
for the abrogation; if a Tradition, that of a Companion.
Thus the word of a commentator or a Mujtahid is not
sufficient unless there is a ^ genuine Tradition^ (Hadis-i-
Sahih), to show the matter clearly. The question of the
abrogation of any previous command depends on historical
facts with regard to the abrogation, not on the mere opinion
of a commentator.^^ It cannot be shown that either
Muhammad or a Companion ever said that the Bible was
abrogated. This rule, whilst it shows that the assertion of
modern controversialists on this point is void of foundation,
also illustrates another point to which I have often called
attention, viz ,; that in IsMm all interpretation must be re¬
gulated by traditionalism.
Additions were occasionally made. Thus when it was
revealed that those who stay at home were not before God
as those who go forth to war, Abdullah and Ibn Um-
Maktum said; ^ and what if they were blindThe Prophet
asked for the shoulder-blade on which the verse was
written. He then had a spasmodic convulsion; After his
recovery he made Zeid add the words, ^^free from trouble.^'
So now the whole verse reads thus : Those believers who
sit at home free from trouble (i.e., bodily infirmity), and
those who do valiantly in the cause of God, with their
substance and their persons, shall not be treated alike.”
(Sfira iv. 97). Years after,Zeid said: ^^I fancy I see the
words now on the shoulder-blade near a crack.”
1. Ni4« Kam^, by Maulavi Safdar ’All, p. 260*
64 The Faith of Islam.
The question of the eternal nature of the Qurdn does not
properly come under the head of ^Ilm-i-usul^ but it is a
dogma fondly cherished by many Muslims. In the days of
the Khalif Al-Mamun this question was fiercely debated.
The Freethinkers^ whilst believing in the Mission of
Muhammad, asserted that the Qur^n was created, by which
statement they meant that the revelation came to him in*a
subjective mode, and that the language was his own. The
book was thus brought within the reach of criticism. In
the year 212, A. h. the Khalif issued a decree to the effect
that all who held the Quran to be uncreated were to be
declared guilty of heresy. But the Khalif himself was a
notorious rationalist, and so the orthodox, though they
remained quiet, remained unconvinced. The arguments
used on the orthodox side are, that both the words and
their pronunciation are eternal, that the attempt to
di’aw a distinction between the word as it exists in the
Divine Mind and as it appears in the Quran is highly
dangerous. In vain do their opponents argue that, if the
Quran is uncreated, two Eternal Beings are in existence.
To this it is answered; ^^This is the honourable Qurin,
written in the preserved Tablet.(Suralvi. 76). Tradi¬
tion is also adduced which states: God wrote the Thora
(Law) with His own hand, and with His own hand He
created Adam 5 and also in the Qui4.n it is written, ^ and
We wrote for him upon the tables a monition concerning
every matter,^ in reference to the tables of the Law given
to Moses.^' If God did this for former prophets and their
works, how much more, it is argued, should he not have
done it for the last and greatest of the prophets, and the
noble Qurfin ? It is not easy to get a correct definition of
the term the uncreated Qurdn,^^ but it has been put thus:
The Word as it exists in the mind of God is ^ Kal 4 m-i-
Nafsi^ (spiritual word), something unwritten and etemah
It is acknowledged by the Ijmd.^-i-tFmmat (consent of the
Faithful), the Traditions, and by other prophets that God
The Traditions^
speaks. The Kalam-i-Nafsi then is eternal, bat the actual
words, style, and eloquence are created by God; so also is the
arrangement and the miraculous nature of the book,^^ This
seems to be a reasonable account of the doctrine, though
there are theologians who hold that the very words are
eternal. The doctrine of abrogation clashes with this idea,
but they meet the objection by their theory of absolute pre¬
destination. This accounts for the circumstances which
necessitated the abrogation, for the circumstances, as well as
the abrogated verses, were determined on fi'om all eternity.
This concludes the consideration of the exegesis of the
Qurdn, a book difficult and uninteresting for a non-Muslim
to read, but one which has engaged and is still engaging
the earnest thoughts of many millions of the human race.
Thousands of devout students in the great theological
schools of Cairo, Stamboul, Central Asia and India are
now plodding through this very subject of which I have
here been treating; soon will they go forth as teachers of
the book they so much revere. How utterly unfit that
training is to make them wise men in any true sense of the
word, how calculated to render them pi'oud, conceited, and
scornful of other creeds, its rigid and exclusive character
shows. Still, it is a marvellouvS book; for twelve hundred
years and more it has helped to mould the faith, animate
the courage, cheer the despondency of multitudes, whether
dwellers in the wild uplands of Central Asia, in Hindustan,
or on the shores of the Mediterranean. The Turanian and
the Aryan, tlie Arab and the Negro, alike learn its sonorous
sentences, day by day repeat its opening clauses, and pray
in its words as their fathers prayed before them.
Next to the act of testifying to the unity of God, the
Qur&n is the great bond of Isld.m. No matter from what
race the convert may have come, no matter what language
he may speak, he must learn in Arabic, and repeat by rote
portions of the Qurdn in every act of public worship.
The next subject for consideration is that of the Tradi-
66 The Faith of Idmi.
tions, or the second branch of the science of ^Ilm-i-nsuL
The Traditions contain the record of all that Muhammad
did and said. It is the belief of every Muslim^ to whatever
sect he belongs, that the Prophet not only spake but also
acted under a divine influence. The mode of the inspiration is
difEerent from that of the Qurd»n. There the revelation was
objective. In the Prophet^s sayings recorded in the Tradi¬
tions the inspiration is subjective, but still a true inspiration.
This belief places the Traditions in a place second only to
the Quran; it makes them a true supplement to that book,
and thus they not only thi^ow light on its meaning, but
themselves form the basis on which doctrines may be
established. Without going so far as to say that every
Tradition by itself is to be accepted as an authority in Isl^m,
it may be distinctly asserted that there can be no true, con¬
ception formed of that system if the Traditions are not
studied and taken into account. So important a branch of
Muslim theology is it, that the study of the Traditions is
included in the ^Hm-i-usul, or science of exegesis. Some
account of them, therefore, natoally forms part of this
chapter.
The first four Khalifs were called the Khulafd-i-Rdshidin
that is, those who could guide others aright. They
had been friends and Companions of the Prophet, and
the Faithful could always appeal to them in cases of
doubt.^The Prophet had declared that Isldm must be
written in the hearts of men. There was therefore an
unwillingness to commit his sayings to writing. They were
handed down by word of mouth. As no argument was
so effectual in a dispute as, saying^^ of the Prophet,
the door was opened by which spurious Traditions could
be palmed off on the Faithful. To prevent this, a num¬
ber of strict rules were framed, at the head of which
stands the Prophet's saying, itself a Tradition: Convey
to other pei^sons none of my words except those which ye
know of a surety. Verily, he who purposely represents my
The SaMh-iSuhhdH,
words wrongly will find a place for himself nowhere but in
fire.^^ To enforce this rule, it was laid down that the
relator of a Tradition must also repeat its Isnad/^ or
chain of authorities, as : I heard from such an one, who
heard from such an one,^^ and so on, until the chain reaches
the Prophet himself. Bach person, too, in this Isnad,^^
must have been well known for his good character and
retentive memory. This failed, however, to prevent a vast
number of manifestly false Traditions becoming current ; so
men set themselves to the work of collecting and sifting the
great mass of Tradition that in the second century of Isl&m
had begun to work untold evil. These men are called
Muhadisln,^^ or collectors of Tradition.^^ The Sunnis
and the Wahhabis recognise six such men, and their collec¬
tions are known as the ‘‘ Sihah-Sittah,^^ or six correct
books. They are the following :—
(1). The Sahih^’-Bukhdnf called after Abu Abdullah
Muhammad Ibn-i-Ismd^il, a native of Bukhara. Ho was
born A.H. 194. He was a man of middle height, spare
in frame, and as a boy totally blind. The grief of his
father was on this account intense; but one day in a dream
he saw the Patriarch Abraham, who said to him: God
on account of thy grief and sorrow has granted sight
to thy son.^^ The sight being thus restored, at the ago
of ten he went to school, and began to learn the Tradi¬
tions by heart. After his education was finished, a famous
Muhadis named DdkhK came to Bukhd.ra. One day tho
youthful Bukhari ventured to correct tho famous man. It
was an astounding piece of audacity, but tho youth was
proved to be in the right. This set him on the work of col¬
lecting and sifting the Traditions. At the early age of
sixteen he was able to remember fifteen thousand. In
course of time he collected 600,000 Traditions. The result
of his examination and selection was that he approved of
seven thousand two. hundred and seventy-five. These are
now recorded in his great work, the Sahih-x-Bukh&ri’, It
The JPaith of Islam.
is said that he never sat down to examine a Tradition
without first pei’forming a legal ablution^ and repeating two
X'aVat prayers. He then said : 0 liord, let me not make
a mistake.^^ ¥ov sixteen years he lived in a mosque and
died much respected at the age of sixty-four.
(2) . Salnh-i-Mibslim. Muslim Ibn-i-Hajjdj was born at
Nishapur, a city of Khorasau. He collected about 300^000
Traditions, from which ,h© made his collection. He is said
to have been a very just man, and willing to oblige all who
sought his advice. In fact, this willingness to oblige was
the indmeot cause of his death. One day he was sitting as
usual in the mosque when some people came to ask him
about a Tradition. As he could not discover it in the books
he had with him, he went to his house to search there. The
people brought him a basket of dates. He went on eating
and searching, but unfortunately he ate so many dates that
he died, (a, h. 261.)
(3) . BmauA-Ahii Ddud. Abu DMd Sajistani, a native
of Seistan, was born a.h. 202. He was a great traveller,
and went to all the chief places of Musalman leaiming. In
knowledge of the Traditions, in devotion, in piety, he was
unrivalled. He collected about 500,000 Traditions, of
which he selected four thousand eight hundred for his book.
(4) . Jdmi^d-Tirmm. Abu Isa^ Muhammad Tirmizi was
born at Tirmiz in the year a.h. 209. He was a disciple of
Bukh^i*!. Ibn Khallikan says this work is the production
of a well-informed man: its exactness is proverbial.^^i
(5) . 8unan4^Nasdt. Abu Abd-ur-Rahman Nasdi was
born at Nasa, in Khorasdn, in the year a.h. 214, and died
A. H. 303. It is recorded of him, with great approbation^
that he fasted every other day, and had four wives and
many slaves. This book is considered of great value. He
met with his death in rather a sad way. He had compiled
a book on the virtues of ^Ali, and as the people of Damas-
1. Biographical Dictionary, vol ii, p. 67B.
^he Importwiice of Tradition. 69
cus were at tliat time inclined to the heresy of the Khari-
gites, he wished to read his book in the mosque of that
place. After he had read a little way, a man arose and
asked him whether he knew aught of the praises of Muavia,
^Alf s deadly enemy. He replied that he did not. This
answer enraged the people, who beat him so severely that
he died soon after.
(6). Sunan-'i-Ibn Mdjah. Ibn Majah^ was born at Hrak
A. H. 209. This work contains 4^000 Traditions.
The Shia^hs reject these books and substitute five books ^
of their own instead. They are of a much later date, the
last one, indeed, having been compiled more than four hun¬
dred years after the Hijra.
The belief which underlies the question of the authority
of the Traditions is that before the Throne of God there
stands a ‘ preserved Table,^ on which all that can happen,
and all that has ever entered, or will enter, the mind of
man is ^ noted in a distinct writing.^ Through the medium
of Gabriel, the Prophet had access to this. It follows then
that the words of the Prophet are the words of God.
Of the four great Canonical Legists’^ of Islam, Ahmad
Ibn Hanbal was the greatest collector of Traditions. It
is said that he knew by heart no less than one million.
Of these he incorporated thirty thousand into his system of
jurisprudence. That system is now almost obsolete. Abu
Hanifa, who is said to have accepted only eighteen Tradi¬
tions as authentic, founded a system which is to this day
the most powerful in Isldm. The Hanifites, however, as
well as other Muslims, acknowledge the six standard col¬
lections of Traditions as direct revelations of the will of
1. He ranked as a high authority in the Traditions and was well
versed in all tko sciences connected with them/* Ibn Khallikan, vol. ii.
2, The Kdfi, by Abu Ja'far Muhammad, a. h. 329. The Man-lA-yastah-
zirah^Faqih, by Shaikh *A1{, a. u. 881. The Tahzib and the Istibsfir by
Shaikh Aba Ja’far Muhammad, a. h. 4i66. The Hahaj.ul-Bal^ghat by
Bayyud Baz£ a. h. 406.
The l^aith of Islam,
God. They range over a vast number of subjects, and
furnish a commentary on the Quran, The Prophet^s per¬
sonal appearance, his mental and moral qualities, his actions,
his opinions, are all recorded over and over again. Many
questions of religious belief are largely founded on the
Traditions, and it is to them we must go for an explanation
of much of the ritual of Islam. It is very difficult for any
one, who has not lived in long and friendly intercourse
with Muslims, to realize how much their religious life and
opinions, their thought and actions, are based on the
Traditions.
Having thus shown the importance of the Traditions,
I now proceed to enter a little into detail on the question
of the rules framed concerning them. The classification
adopted by different authors may vary in some subordinate
points^ but the following account is adopted from a standard
Muhammadan work. A Tradition may be Hadis-i-Quali,
that is, an account of something the Prophet said; or Hadis-
i-Fa^li, a record of something which he did; or Hadis-i-
Taqriri, a statement of some act perfoimed by other persons
in his presence, and which action he did not forbid.
The Traditions may be classed under two general heads :—
First.— Eadis-i-Miitawdtir, that is, '^an undoubted Tra¬
dition,^^ the Isnd-d, or chain of narrators of which is perfect,
and in which chain each narrator possessed all the necessary
qualifications for his office. ■* Some authorities say there are
only a few of these Traditions extant, but most allow that
the following is one : There are no good works except
with intention,^^ for example, a man may fast, but, unless
he has the intention of fasting firmly in his mind, he gains
no spiritual reward by so doing.
Second.— HaMs-i-Ahdd, The authority of this class is
1. If the ISBid is good, internal improbability carries with it little weight
against the genuineness of a Tradition. There is a saying current to this
effect:—A relation made by Shitfa’i on the authority of Mdlik, and hy him
on the authority of Nafi, and by him on the authority of Ibu Omar, ie
really the golden chain.’*
Genuine Traditions,
theoretically somewhat less than that of the first, but prac¬
tically it is the same.
This class is again sub-divided into two :—
(1) . Hadis-i-SaUh, or a genuine Tradition. It is not
necessary to go into the sub-divisions of this sub-division,
A Tradition is Sahlh if the narrators have been men of pious
lives, abstemious in their habits, endowed with a good
memory, free from blemish, and persons who lived at peace
with their neighbours. The following also are Sahih,
though their importance as authorities varies. I arrange
them in the order of their value. Sahih Traditions are those
which are found in the collections made by Bukhari and
Muslim, or in the collection of either of the above, though
not in both ; or, if not mentioned by either of these famous
collectors, if it has been retained in accordance with their
canons for the rejection or retention of Traditions; or
lastly, if retained in accordance with the rules of any other
approved collector. For each of these classes there is a
distinct name,
(2) . KadisA-Easan, The narmtors of this class are not
of such good authority as those of the former with regard
to one or two qualities; but these Traditions should, be
received as of equal authority as regards any practical
use, ^ It is merely as a matter of classification that they
rank second.
In addition to these names, there are a number of other
technical terms which have regard to the personal character
of the narrators, the IsnM, and other points. A few
may be mentioned.
(1). HaMsA-Z^aifj or a weak Tradition. The narrators
of it have been persons whose characters were not above
reproach, whose memories were bad, or who, worse still,
were addicted to bid^at,^^ innovation, a habit now, as then,
a crime in the eyes of all true Muslims. All agree that a
1, Kfiir-tihHidfiyah, p. 5.
Til'd Faith of Islam,
weak Tradition has little force; but few rival theologians
agree as to which are, and which are not, ^^weak Tra¬
ditions/^
(2) , Hadis-i-Mua^llaq, or a Tradition in the Isn^d of
which there is some break. If it begins with a Tabi^ (one
in the generation after that of the Companions), it is called
Mursaly^ the one link in the chain, the Companion, being
wanting. If the first link in the chain of narrators begins
in a generation still later, it has another name, and so on.
(3) . Traditions which have various names, according as
the narrator concealed the name of his Imto, or where
different narrators disagree, or where the narrator has mixed
some of his own words with the Tradition, or has been
proved to be a liar, an evil liver, or mistaken ^ but into an
account of these it is not necessary to enter, for no Tradition
of this class would be considered as of itself sufficient
ground on which to base any important doctrine.^
It is the universally accepted rule, that no authentic
Tradition can be contrary to the Quran. 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 Isldm, a fact not always taken into account by
modern panegyrists of the system.
1. A full account of these will be found in the pirefaoe to the Ndr-ul-
Hiddyab, the Urdu translation of the Sharh-i-Waq^yah.
CHAPTER III.
THE SECTS OF ISLAM.
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 pro¬
fessors. In this chapter I propose to show how the great
sects differ in some very important principles of the faith,
and their consequent divei’gence 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 IsUm/^
It was there shown that all Muslim sects are not agreed
as to the essential foundations of the Faith. The Sunnis
recognise four foundations, the Wahhdbis two; whilst the
Shia’hs reject altogether the Traditions held sacred by both
Sunni and Wahhabi. The next chapter will contain a full
account of the doctrines held by the Sunnis, and so no
account of this, the orthodox sect, is given in this chapter.
The first breach in Islam arose out of a civil war. The
story has been so often told that it need not be reproduced
here at any length. ^Ali, the son-in-law of Muhammad, was
the fourth Khalif of Islam. He is described as the last and
worthiest of the primitive Musalmtos who imbibed his reli¬
gious 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 devo¬
tion to the Prophet and his own natural gmces to win, as he
has done, the admiration of succeeding generations. A
strong opposition, however, arose, and ^Ali was assassinated
in a mosque at Ktifa. 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 ;
74 The Faith of Isla/ra,
but the generally received opinion is, that after the assassi-
nation of ^Ali, 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 in¬
stigated by Muavia to do the deed, in order to* leave the
coast clear for his son Yezid. The most tragic event has
yet to come. Yezid, who succeeded his father, was a very
licentious and irreligious man. The people of Kufa, being
disgusted at his conduct, sent messengers to Husain, the
remaining son of ’AH, with the request that he would as¬
sume the Khalifate, In vain the friends of Husain tried to
persuade him to let the people of Kufa 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 Karbald 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.” 0 Son of the Apostle of G-od !” 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 bravo men fell
beneath the swords of the enemy, until Husain and his
infant son alone were left. Weary and thirsty, Hussiin
sat upon the ground. I'he 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 dritlk
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 Sunni and the Shia’h was now complete.
The ImdmaL
The ceremonies celebrated during the annual fast of
Muliarram refer to these historical facts^ and help to keep
alive a bitter feud ; but to suppose that the only difference
between the Shia^h and the Sunni is a mere dispute as to
the proper order of the early Khalifs would be a mistake.
Starting off with a political quarrel, the Shia^hs have tra¬
velled into a very distinct religious position of their own.
The fundamental tenet of the Shia'h sect is the divine
right^^ of ^AK the Chosen and his descendants. From this
it follows that the chief duty of religion consists in devo¬
tion to the Im^m (or Pontiff); from which position some
curious dogmas issue. The whole question of the Imdmat
is a very important one. The word Imam comes from an
Arabic word meaning to aim at, to follow after. The term
Im^m then becomes equal to the word leader or exemplar.
It is applied in this sense to Muhammad as the leader in all
civil and religious questions, and to the Khalifs, his successors.
It is also, in its religious import only, applied to the founders
of the four orthodox schools of jurisprudence, and in a
restricted sense to the leader of a congi’egation at prayer in
a mosque. It is with the first of these meanings that we
have now to deal. It is so used in the Quran —‘‘ When his
Lord made trial of Abraham by commands which ho fulfilled,
He said: ^ I am about to make of thee an Imam to mankind f
he said : ^ Of my offspring also V ^ My covenant,^ said God,
^embraceth not the evil-doers.^ (Sura ii. 118.) From
this verse two doctrines are deduced. First, that the Imam
must be appointed by God, for if this is not the caso, why
did Abraham say of my offspring also Secondly, the
Imim is free from sin, for God said: ^^My covenant ombraceth
not the evil-doer.
The first dispute about the Imdmat originated with the
twelve thousand who revolted from ^Ali after the battle of
Siffin (657 a.d.), because he consented to submit to arbitra¬
tion the dispute between himself and Muavia, Some years
after they were nearly all destroyed by ^AM, A few survi-
The Faith of Islam.
vors, howevei’, fled to various parts. Two at last settled
iu Oman, and there preached their distinctive doctrines.
In course of time the people of Oman adopted the doc¬
trine that the Imamat was not hereditary but elective^ and
that in the event of misconduct the Imam might be deposed.
^Abdullah-ibn-Ibadh (744 A.D.)was a vigorous preacher of
this doctrine, and from him the sect known as the ^Ibad-
hiyah takes its rise. The result of this teaching was the
establishment of the power and jurisdiction of the Im4m
of Oman. The ^Ibadhiyah seem to have always kept them¬
selves independent of the Sunni Khaljfs of BaghdM, and,
therefore, would consider themselves free from any obligation
to obey tho Sultan of Turkey. From the ordinary Shia^hs
they differ as regards the divine right^^ of ^Ali aud
his children. The curious in such matters will find the
whole subject well treated in Dr. Badger^s Seyyids of
The term Kharigite (Separatist) has since become the
generic name for a group of sects which agree as to the
need of an Imam, though they differ as to the details of the
dogma. In opposition to this heresy of the Kharigite stands
what may be termed the orthodox doctrine of the Shia^h. The
Shia^hs hold that the Imdmat must continue in the family of
^Ali, and that religion consists mainly in devotion to the -
Imam. The tragic end of ^Ali and his sons invested them
with peculiar interest. When grieving for the sad end of
their leaders, the Shi^ahs found consolation in the doctrine
which soon found development, viz., that it was Grod^s will
that the Imamat should continue in the family of ^Ali.
Thus a tradition relates that the Prophet said : He of
whom I am master has ^Ali also for a masterThe best
judge among you is ^Ali.^^ Ibn Abb4s, a Companion says:
^^I heard the Prophet say : ^ He. who blasphemes-my name
blasphemes the name of God; he who blasphemes the name
of ^Ali blasphemes my name/ A popular Persian hymn
shows to what an extent this feeling deepened*
The Nw^-uMuhammadi.
“ Mysterious being! none can tell
The atti'ibutos in thee that dwell;
None can thine essence comprehend;
To thee should every mortal bend—
For *tis by thee that man is given
To know the high behests of heaven/’
The general idea is^ that long before the creation of the
world, God took a ray of light from the splendour of His own
glory and united it to the body of Muhammad, to which He
said: ^'Thou art the elect, the chosen, I will make the
members of thy family the guides to salvation/^ Muham¬
mad said: The first thing which God created was my
light, and my spirit/^ ^ The body of the Prophet was then
in some mysterious way hidden. In due time the world was
created, but not until the birth of Muhammad did this ray
of glory appear. It is well known to all Musalmans as the
jS*ur-i-Muhammadi’^—flight of Muhammad.
This Nur” is said to be of four kinds. From the first
kind God created His Throne, from the second the Pen of
Fate, from the third Paradise, and from the fourth the state,
or place of Spirits and all created beings. According to a
statement made by ^Ali, Muhammad said that he was created
from the light of God, whilst all other created beings were
formed from the ^4ight of Muhammad.^^^
This light^^ descended to ^Ali, and from him passed on
to the true Imims, who alone are the lawful successors of
the Prophet. Rebellion against them is sin; devotion to
them the very essence of religion.
The doctrine of the Im&mat has given rise to endless dis¬
cussion and dissension, as the numerous sub-divisions of
the Shia^h sect will show. They are said to be thirty-two
in number. The Shia^h proper is the largest and most
influential of them. The following are the Shi^ah tenets
regarding the ImAm, based on one of their standard books of
2. Ki$as-ul.Axibija.—Xiives of the Prophets.”
The Faith of Islam,
divinity.^ The Tmdm is the successor of the Prophet, adorned
with all the qualities which he possessed. He is wiser than
the most learned men of the age, holier than the most
pious. He is the noblest of the sons of men and is free
from all sin original or actual: hence the Im^m is called
ma^sum (innocent.)^ Grod rules the world by wisdom, hence
the sending forth of prophets was a necessity; but it was
equally necessary to establish the Imamat. Thus the Imam
is equal to a prophet. ^Ali said : '^In me is the glory of
every prophet that has ever been/’' The authority of the
Im^ra is the authority of Grod, for (I quote the Hyat-un-
Nafis) his word is ‘the word of Grod and of the Prophet,
and obedience to his order is incumbent.^^ The nature of
the Imdm is identical with the nature of Muhammad, for
did not ’All say: I am Muhammad, and Muhammad is
me.^^ This probably refers to the possession by the Imdm
of the light of Muhammad.^^ The bodies of the Imdms
are so pure and delicate that they cast no shadow.^ They
1. Hy^t-un-Nafis.
2. The Shia’hs in claiming freedom from sin for the iufalliblo Imams aro
more logical than the Romanists, thus:—
If We' are to believe in the inerrabiliby of a person, or a body of per¬
sons, because it is, forsooth, necessary for the full preservation of the
truth, we must then also believe in all besides that can be shown to be
needful for the perfect attainment of that end. Now, the conservation of
all spiritual truth is not a mere operation of the intellect. It requires the
faultless action of the perceiving power of the spirit. That is to say, it
requires the exclusion of sin 5 and the man or body that is to be infallible,
must also be a siuless organ. It is necessary that the tainting, blinding,
distorting power of sin should be shut out from the spiritual eye of the
infallible judge.” Gladstone's QUcmmgnj vol. iii. p. 260.
3. It is a common Mnsalmin belief that the body of a prophet oasts no
shadow. A similar idea regarding necromancers was widely spread over
Northern Bijurope. It is alluded to by Scott in the “ Lay of the Last Min¬
strel,'^ where speaking of the father of the Ladye, who in Padua, “
learned the art that none might name,” he says:—
His form no darkening shadow traced
Upon the sunny wall.”
It is said that at a certain stage of initiation candidates for magical
honours were in danger of being caught by the devil. Now if the devil
could only catch the shadow* and the man escaped, though so nearly
The Tenets of the SMa^hs.
are the beginning and the end of all things. To know the
Imtos is the very essence of the knowledge which men can
gain of Grod. The Holy God calls the Im4ms His word.
His hands, His signs. His secret. Their commands and
prohibitions, their actions too, He recognises as His own/^
As mediums between God and man they hold a far higher
position than the prophets, for the grace of God, without
their intervention, reaches to no created being/^ These
extravagant claims for the Imams culminate in the asser¬
tion that ^^for them a pillar of light has been fixed between
the earth and heaven, by which the actions of the Faithful
are made known to them.^^ The Imam is the supreme Pon¬
tiff, the Vicar of God on earth. The possession of an infalli¬
ble book is not sufficient. The infallible guide is needed.
Such wisdom and discernment as such a guide would require
can only be found amongst the descendants of the Prophet,
It is no longer, then, a matter of wonder, that in some
cases, almost, if not entirely, divine honour is paid to ^Ali
and his descendants.^
The Usui, or fundamental tenets of the Shia'h sect are
five in number. (1) To believe in the unity of God, (2) To
admit that He is just, (3) To believe in the divine mission
of all the prophets, and that Muhammad is the chief of all,
(4) To consider ^Ali the Khalif next in order after Muham¬
mad, (5) To believe ^AH^s descendants from Hasan to
Mahdi, the twelfth Im^m, to be his true successors, and to
consider all of them in character, position and dignity as
raised far above all other Muslims, This is the doctrine of
the Im^Lmat,
captured, he became a great magician. This is evidently a legend to
explain a previous belief. Muhammadan ideas in the middle ages were
prevalent in the Universities of Southern Europe, and Salamanca and
Padua were the universities, in which it was supposed that the greatest
proficiency in magic was obtained. The superstition has evidently some
connection with the Musalmin belief regarding the shadows of prophets.
X. The Sunms esteem and respect the Im^ms, as Ahl-i-Beit—men of the
House, (of the Prophet) 5 but do not give them precedence over the duly
appointed Khalffs. ^
80 The Faith of Islam,
Tlie first principal divisions of tie SMa^h sect are the
Ismd^llians and the Inaamites. The latter believe in twelve
Imams, reckoning ^Ali as the first.^ Q'he last of the twelve
Abu ^1-Q4sim, is supposed to be alive still, though hidden in
some secret place. He bears the name of Al-Mahdi, the
guided/^ It is expected that he will reappear at the second
advent of Christ. They say that he was born near Baghdad in
the year 258 a.h. He afterwards mysteriously disappeared.
When he was born the words, Say : * truth is come and
falsehood is vanished: Verily falsehood is a thing that van-
isheth,^ (Sura xvii. 83) were found written on his right
arm, When he came into the world, he pointed with his
fingers to heaven, sneezed, and said: * Praise be to Grod,
the Lord of the world/ A person one day visited Imdm
Hasan ^Askari (the eleventh Imam) and said : ^ 0 son of the
Prophet who will be Edialif and Im^m after thee V He
brought out a child and said: ^ if thou hadst not found
favour in the eyes of God, He would not have shown thee
this child; his name is that of the Prophet, and so is his
patronymic.^ (Abu ^1-Q^sim). The sect who believe Mahdi
to be alive at present, say that he rules over cities in the far
west, and he is even said to have children. God alone
knows the truth.^^*
The other large division, the Ism^^ilians, agree with the
Imdmites in all particulars save one. They hold that after
S&diq, the sixth Im^m, commenced what is called the suc¬
cession of the concealed Imams.^^ They believe that there
never can be a time when there shall be no Imdm, but that
he is now in seclusion. This idea has given rise to all sorts
of secret societies, and has paved the way for a mystical
religion, which often lands its votaries in atheism/
1. Tho names are Haaan, Husain, Zain-uU’AlDid-dfnj Muhammad
Bdqr, Ja’far S^diq, Musa *AU Mdea Raz^, Muhammad Taqf,
Muhammad KaqC, Hasau 'Aakari, Abu *l.Q£sim (or Imdm Mahdi).
2. Bauzafc-ul-Aimmah by Sayyid ’Izzafc *Ali.
3. For a gocwi account of this movement see, Osborn’s IsMm under the
Arabs, 168—184.
The Ohair^-Mcthdi,
The Grhair-i-Mahdi (literally without Mahdi^^) are a
small sect who Relieve that Al-Malidi will not reappear.
They say that one Syed Muhammad of Jeypore was the real
Mahdi^ the twelfth Imam, and that he has now gone never
more to return. They venerate him as highly as they do
the Prophet, and consider all other Musalrnans to be uubo-
lie vers. On the night called Lailat-ul-Qadr, in the month
of Eamazan, they meet and repeat two rak^at prayers.
After that act of devotion is over, they say : God is Al¬
mighty, Muhammad is our Prophet, the Quran and Mahdi
are just and true. Imam Mahdi is come and gone. Whoso¬
ever disbelieves this is an infidel.^^ They are a very
fanatical sect.
There is another small community of Ghair-i-Mahdis
called the Da,irj, settled in the province of Mysore, who
hold peculiar views on this point. About four hundred years
ago, a man named Syed Ahmad collected some followers in
the dominions of the Nizam of Hyderabad. He called
himself the Imam Mahdi, and said that he was superior to
any prophet. He and his disciples, being bitterly persecuted
by the orthodox Musalrnans, fled to a village in the adjoining
district of Mysore where their descendants, fifteen hundred
in number, now reside. It is said that they do not inter¬
marry with other Musalrnans, The usual Friday service in
the mosque is ended by the leader saying: Imdm Mahdi
came and went away,^^ to which the people respond : He
who does not believe this is a Kdfir^^ (infidel).
There are several Traditions which refer to the latter days.
When of time one day shall be left, God shall raise up a
man from among my descendants, who shall fill the world
with justice, just as before him t-he world was full of oppres¬
sion.^^ And again: The world shall not come to an end
till the king of the earth shall appear, who is a man of my
family, and whose name is the same as mine.’^ When IsMm
entered upon the tenth century of its existence, there was
throughout Persia and India a millenarian movement. Men
XI
The Faith of Islam,
declared that the end was drawing near, and various persons
arose who claimed to be Al-Mahdi. I have already men¬
tioned two. Amongst others was Shaikh ^Alai of Agra.
(956 A.H.) Shaikh Mubarak, the father of Abu^l-Fazl—the
Emperor Akbar^s famous vizier, was a disciple of Shaikh
^Alai and from him imbibed Mahdavi ideas. This brought
upon him the wrath of the 'Ulamd, who, however, were finally
overcome by the free-thinking and heretical Emperor and
his vizier. There never was a better ruler in India than
Akbar, and never a more heretical one as far as orthodox
Islam is concerned. The Emperor delighted in the contro¬
versies of the age. The Sufis and Mahdavis were in favour
at Court. The orthodox ^Ulama were treated with contempt*
Akbar fully believed that the millennium had come. He
started a new era, and a new religion called the ^ Divine
Faith.'' There was toleration for all except the bigoted
orthodox Muslims. AbuT-Fazl and others like him, who
professed to reflect Akbar's religious views, held that all
religions contained truth. Thus :—
** 0 God, in every temple I soo people that seek Thoe, and in every
language I hear spoken, people praise Thee 1
Polytheism and Islam feel after Thee,
Each religion says, * Thou art one, without equal,*
If it be a mosque, people murmur the holy prayer, and if it be a
Christian Church, people ring the bell from love to Thee,
Sometimes I frequent the Christian cloister, and sometimes
the mosque,
But it is Thou whom I search from temple to temple.”
In this reign one Mir Sharif was promoted to the rank
of a Commander of a thousand, and to an appointment
in Bengal. His chief merit in Akbar^s eyes was that he
taught the doctrine of the transmigration of. souls and the
close advent of the millennium. He was a disciple of Mah-
mdd of Busakhwan, the founder of the Nuqtawiah sect. As
this is another offshoot of the Shia^hs I give a brief account
of them here, Mahmtid lived in the reign of Timur, and
The Mahmudiah Sect*
professed to be Al-Mahdi. He also called himself the
Shakhs-i-Walnd—the Individual one. He used to quote
the verse, It maj be that thy Lord will raise thee up to a
glorious (mahmud) station/^ (Sura xvii. 81). From this
he argued that the body of man had been advancing in
purity since the creation, and that on its reaching to a cer¬
tain degree, ono Mahmud (glorious) would arise, and that
then the dispensation of Muhammad would come to an end.
He claimed to be the Mahmud. He also taught the doctrine
of transmigration, and that the beginning of everything
was the Nuqtah-i-khak—earth atom. It is on this account
that they are called the Nnqtawiah sect. They are also
known by the names Mabntidiah and Wahidiah. Shah
^Abbas king of Persia expelled them from his dominions,
but Akbar received the fugitives kindly and promoted some
amongst them to high offices of State.
This Mahdavi movement, arising as it did out of the
Shia^h docti'ine of the Imamat, is a very striking fact.
That imposters should arise and claim the name and office
of Al-Mahdi is not to be wondered at, but that large bodies
of men should follow them shows the unrest which dwelt in
men^s hearts, and how they longed for a personal leader and
gxiide;
The whole of the Shia^h doctrine on this point seems to
show that there is in the human heart a natural desire for
some Mediator—some Word of the Father, who shall reveal
Him to His children. At first sight it would seem, as if the
doctrine of the Imamat might to some extent z’econcile the
thoughtful Shia^h to the Christian doctrine of the Incarna¬
tion and Mediation of Jesus Chi'ist, to His office as the
perfect revealer of God^s will; and as our Guide in life; but
alas 1 it is not so. The mystic lore connected with SMa^h
doctrine has sapped the foundation of moral life and vigour.
A system of religious reservation, too, is a fundamental
part of the system in its mystical developments, whilst all
Shia^hs may lawfully practise takia,^^ or religious com-^
The Faith of Islam.
promise in their daily lives. It thus becomes impossible
to place dependence on what a Shia^L. may profess, as pious
frauds are legalised by his system of religion. If he becomes
a mystic, he looks upon the ceremonial and the moral
law as restrictions imposed by an Almighty Power. The
omission of the one is a sin almost, if not quite, as bad
as a breach, of the other. The advent of Mahdl is the good
time when all such restrictions shall be removed, when the
utmost freedom shall be allowed. Thus the moral sense, in
many oases, becomes deadened to an extent such as those
who are not in daily contact with these people can hardly
credit. The practice of takia,^^ religious compromise, and
the legality of mutaTi’^ or temporary marriages, have done
much to demoi'alise the Shia^li community. The following
words of a recent author descriptive of the Shia’h system
are in the main time, though they do not apply'to ea.ch
individual in that system:—
“ There can be no stronger testimony of the oormpting power and
the hard and hopeless bondage of the orthodox creed, than that
men should escape from it into a system which Cvstablished falsehood
as the supreme law of conduct, and regarded tlie reduction of men to
the level of swine as the goal of human existence.’* ^
The Mutazilites, or fcieceders, were once an influential
body. They do not exist as a separate sect now. An
account of them will be given in the next chapter.
In the doctrine of the Imamat, common to all the off¬
shoots of the Shia^li sect, is to be found the chief point of
difference between the Sunni and the Shia^h, a difference
so great that there is no danger of even a political union
between these two great branches of Islam. I have already
described, too, how the Shla'hs reject the Sunnat, though
they do not reject Tradition. A good deal of ill-blood is
still kept up by the recollection—a recollection kept alive
by the annual recurrence of the Muharram fa,st—of the $ad ,
X. Xsl&m under the Khalffs, p. 189.
The Sultanas claim to the Khalifate.
fate of ^Ali and his sons. The Sunnis are blamed for the
work of their ancestors in the faith; whilst the Khalifs Abu
Bakr, Omai’; and Osman are looked upon as usurpers. Not
to them was committed the wonderful ray of light. In the
possession of that alone can any one make good a claim to
be the Imam, the Guide of the Believers. The terrible
disorders of the early days of Islam can only be understood
when we realise to some extent the passionate longing
which men felt for a spiritual head—an Imam. It was
thought to be impossible that Muhammad, the last—the
seal—of the prophets should leave the Faithful without a
guide, who would be the interpreter of the will of Allah.
We here make a slight digression to show that this feeling
extends beyond the Shia^h sect, and is of some importance
in its bearing upon the Eastern Question. Apart from
the superhuman claims for the Imdm, what he is as a ruler
to the Shia^h, the Khallf is to the Sunni—the supreme head
in Church and State, the successor of the Prophet, the Con¬
servator of Isldm as made known in the Quran, the Sunnat
and the Ijm^^ of the early Mujtahidin. To administer the
laws, the administrator must have a divine sanction. Thus
when the Ottoman ruler, Selim the First, conquered Egypt,
(a.d. 1516) he sought and obtained, from an old descendant
of the Baghdad Khalifs, the transfer of the title to himself,
and in this way the Sultans of Turkey became the Khalifs
of IsWm. Whether Mutawakal Billfil, the last titular Khalif
of the house of ^Abbds, was right or wrong in thus trans¬
ferring the title is not my purpose now to discuss. I only
adduce the fact to show how it illustrates the feeling of the
need of a Pontiff—a divinely appointed Euler. Strictly
speaking, according to Muhammadan law, the SuMns are
.not Khalifs, for it is clearly laid down in the Traditions that
the Khalif (or the Imam) must be of the tribe of the
Quraish, to which the Prophet himself belonged.
Ibn-i-XTmr relates that the Prophet said :—" The Khalifs
shall be in the Quraish tribe as long as there are two per-
The Faith of Islam.
sons in it, one to rule and another to serve.^^^ ^^It is a
necessary condition that the Khalif should be of the Quraish
tribe.^^2 Such quotations might be multiplied, and they
tend to show that it is not at all incumbent on orthodox
Sunnis, other than the Turks, to rush to the rescue of the
SuMn, whilst to the Shia^hs he is little better than a heretic.
Certainly they would never look upon him as an Imam,
which personage is to them in the place of a Khalif. In
countries not under Turkish rule, the Khutbah, or prayer
for the ruler, said on Fridays in the mosques, is said for the
ruler of the age,^^ or for the Amir, or whatever happens
to be the title of the head of the State. Of late years it has
become more common in India to say it for the Sultan. This
is not, strictly speaking, according to Muhammadan law,
which declares that the Khutbah can only be said, with the
permission of the ruler, and as in India that ruler is the
British Government, the prayers should be said for the
Queen. Evidently the law never contemplated large bodies
of MusalmSiUs residing anywhere but where the influence of
the Khalif extended.
In thus casting doubt on the legality of the claim made
by Turkish Sultans to the Khalifate of Isldm, I do not deny
that the Law of Islam requires that there should be a Khalif.
Unfortunately for Islam, there is nothing in its history
parallel to the conflict of Pope and Emperor, of Church and
State. The action and re-action of these powerful and
partially independent forces, their resistance to each other,
and their ministry to each other, have been of incalculable
value to the higher activity and life of Christendom.^^ In
Isl&m the Khalif is both Pope and Emperor. Ibn Khaldoun
states that the difference between the Khalif and any other
ruler is that the former rules according to divine, the latter
according to human law. The Prophet in transmitting his
sacred authority to the Khalifs, his successors, conveyed to
1 . Misk^t-ul-Has^bili.
2 . Hajjat-uUah-uI-Balaghah.
them absolute powers. Khalifs can be assassinated, mur¬
dered, banished, but so long as they reign anything like
constitutional liberty is impossible. It is a fatal mistake in
European politics and an evil for Turkey to recognize the
Sultdn as the Khalif of Islam, for, if he be such, Turkey can
never take any step forward to newness of political life. ^
This, however, is a digression from the subject of this
chapter.
There has been from the earliest ages of Islam a move¬
ment which exists to this day. It is a kind of mysticism,
known as Sufiism. It has been especially prevalent among
the Persians. It is a re-action from the burden of a rigid
law, and a wearisome ritual. It has now existed for a thou¬
sand years, and if it has the element of progress in it, if it
is the salt of Islam some fruit should now be seen. But
what is Sufiism ? The term Sufi is most probably derived
from the Arabic word Suf, wool,^^ of which material the
garments worn by Eastern ascetics used to be generally
made. Some persons, however, derive it from the Persian,
Suf, pure,^^ or the Greek o*o0ta, " wisdom/^ Tasawwuf, or
Sdfiism, is the abstract form of the word, and is, according
to Sir W. Jones, and other learned orientalists, a figurative
mode, borrowed mainly from the Indian philosophers of the
Vedanta school, of expressing the fervour of devotion. The
chief idea is that the souls of men differ in degree, but not
1. Nothing' shows this more plainly than the Fatva pronoHnced by the
Oounoil of the ’Ulamd in July 1879 auent Khair-ud-din’s proposed reform,
whioh would have placed the Sultan in the position of a constitutional
sovereign. This was declared to be directly ooutraiw to the Law. Thus:—
“ The law of the Sheri does not authorize the Khalu to ^ place beside him a
power superior to his own. The Xhalff ought to reign alone and govern
as master. The Vakils (Ministers) should never possess any authority
beyond that of representatives, always dependent and submissive. It
would consequently bo a transgression of the unalterable principles of the
Sheri, whioh should be the guide of all the actions of the Khalff, to transfer
the supreme power of the Khalif to one Vakil.” This, the latest and most
importent deoision of the jurists of Isldm, is quite in accordance with all
that has been said about Muhammadan Law. It proves as clearly as
possible that so long as the Sult^ln rules as Khalff, ho must oppose any
attempt to set up a constitutional Government. There is absolutely no
hope of reform.
The Faith of Islmi.
in kind, from tho Divine .Spirit, of which they are emana¬
tions, and to which they will ultimately return. The
Spirit of God is in all He has made, and it in Him. He
alone is perfect love, beau by, etc.—hence love to him is the
only real thing; all else is illusion. Sa'di says : I swear
by the truth of God, that when He showed me His glory
all else was illusion." This present life is one of separation
from the beloved. The beauties of nature, music, and art
revive in men the divine idea, and recall their afiEections
from wandering from Him to other objects. These sublime
affections men must cherish, and by abstraction concentrate
their thoughts on God, and so approximate to His essence,
and finally reach the highest stage of bliss—absorption into
the Eternal. The true end and object of human life is to
lose all consciousness of individual existence—to sink in
the ocean of Divine Life, as a breaking bubble is merged
into the stream on the surface of which it has for a moment
risen." ^
* Sufis, who all accept Isl&m as a divinely established reli¬
gion, suppose that long before the creation of the world a
contract was made by the Supreme Soul with the assembled
world of spirits, who are parts of it. Bach spirit was
addressed separately, thus : Art thou not with thy Lord ?"
that is, bound to him by a solemn contract. To this they
all answered with one voice, Yes*"
Another account says that the seed of theosophy (m'arifat)
was placed in the ground in the time of Adam; that the plant
1. It is instructive to compare the words of the Christian poet with the
Stifi idea of absorption into the Divine Being.
That each who seems a separate whole
Should move his rounds, and fusing all
The skirts of self again, should fall
Remerging in the general soul,
Is faith as vague as all unsweet;
Eternal form shall still divide
The eternal soul from all beside j
And I shall Imow him when we meet.”
Tennyson’s “In.Memoriaiia,”
The Earlier Mystics,
came forth iu the days of Noah, was in flower when Abra¬
ham was alive and produced fruit before Moses passed away.
The grapes of this noble plant were ripe in the time of
Jesus, but it was not till the age of Muhammad that pure
wine was made from them. Then those intoxicated with it,
having attained to the highest degree of the knowledge of
Grod, could forget their own personality and say :—Praise
to me, is there any greater than myself ? I am the Truth.
The following verse of the Quran is quoted by Sufis
in support of their favourite dogma—the attaining to the
knowledge of God: When God said to the angels, ^ I
am about to place a viceregent on the earth,^ they said:
^ Wilt Thou place therein one who shall commit abomina¬
tion and shed blood ? Nay; we celebrate Thy praise and
holiness/ God answered them, ^Verily I know that ye
wot not of/ (Stira ii. 28 .) It is said that this verse
proves that, though the great mass of mankind would com¬
mit abomination, some would receive the divine light and
attain to a knowledge of God. A Tradition states that
David said: ^ Oh Lord ! why hast Thou created mankind V
God replied, ^ I am a hidden treasure, and I would fain
become known/ The business of the mystic is to find this
treasure, to attain to the Divine light and the true know¬
ledge of God.
The earlier Muhammadan mystics sought to impart life
to a rigid and formal ritual, and though the seeds of
Pantheism were planted in their system from the first, they
maintained that they were orthodox. ‘ Our system of doc-
trine,^^ says Al-Junaid, is firmly bound up with the dogmas
of the faith, the Quran and the Traditions.^^ There was a
moral earnestness about many of these men which frequently
restrained the arm of unrighteous power, and their sayings,
often full of beauty, show that they had the power of appre¬
ciating the spiritual side of life. Some of these sentences
are worthy of any age. ^"As neither meat nor drink,
says one, profit the diseased body, so no warning avails
90 The' Faith of Islam.
to touch the heart full of the love of this world/^ " The
work of a holy man doth not consist in this^ that he eats
grain, and clothes himself in wool, but in the knowledge of
God and submission to His will/^ ^^Thou deservest not
the name of a learned man till thy heart is emptied of the
love of this world/^ ^^Hide thy good deeds as closely
as thou wouldst hide thy sins/^ A famous mystic was
brought into the presence of the Khalif Harun-ur-Raslud
who said to him : How great is thy abnegation He
replied, Thine is greater.” How so ?” said the Khalif.
Because I make abnegation of this world, and thou makest
abnegation of the next.” The same man also said: The
display of devotional works to please jnen is hypocrisy, and
acts of devotion done to please men are acts of polytheism.”
But towards the close of the second century of the Hijra,
this earlier mysticism developed into Sufiism. Then Al-
Hallaj taught in Baghdad thus : I am the Truth. There
is nought in Paradise but God. I am He whom I love, and
He whom I love is I j we are two souls dwelling in one
body. AVhen thou seest me, thou seest Him; and when
thou seest Him thou seest me.” This roused the opposition
of the orthodox divines by whom Al-Hallaj was condemned
to be worthy of death. He was then by order of the Khalif
flogged, tortured and finally beheaded. Thus died one of
the early martyrs of Sufiism, but it grew in spite of bitter
persecution.
In order to understand the esoteric teaching of Suflistic
poetry) it is necessary to remember that the perceptive
sense is the traveller, the knowledge of God the goal, the
doctrines of this ascent, or upward progress is the Tarikat,
or the road. The extinction of self is necessary before any
progress can be made on that road. A Stifl poet writes:—
“ Plant one foot upon the neck of self,
The other in thy Friend’s domain;
In everything His presence see.
For other vision is in vain.”
Persian Poetry^
Sa^di in tlie Bnstun says: Art thou a friend of God ?
Speak not of self, for to speak of God and of self is infi¬
delity.’^ Shaikh Abu^l-Faiz;, a great poet and a friend of
the Emperor Akbar, from whom he received the honour¬
able title of Malik-ush-Shu^ara—Master of the Poets, says:
Those who have not closed the door on existence and
non-existence reap no advantage from the cairn of this
world and of the world to come/^ Khusrau, another well-
known poet says:—
“ I have become Thou: Thou art become I,
I am the body, Thou the soul;
Let no one henceforth say
That I am distinct from Thee, and Thou from me.”
The fact is, that Persian poetry is almost entirely Sdfiis-
tic. It is diflScult for the uninitiated to arrive at the
esoteric meaning of these writings. Kitman, or the art of
hiding from the profane religious beliefs, often contrary to
the revealed law, has always been a special quality of the
East. Pantheistic doctrines are largely inculcated.^ Thus:—
“ I was, ere a name had boon luimed upon earth;
Ere one trace yet existed of aught that has birth;
When the looks of the Loved One streamed forth for a sign,
And Being was none, save tho Presence Divine!
Named and name were alike emanations from Me,
Ere aught that was ‘ T existed, or * We.* **
The poet then describes his fruitless search for rest and
peace in Christianity, Hinduism, and the religion of the
Parsee. Even Isl4m gave him no satisfaction, for—
Nor above nor beneath came the Loved One to view,
I toiled to the summit, wild, pathless and lone,
Of the globe-girding Kaf ^ :—but the *Anka ^ had down!
1. Le spiritualisuoe dee Sofis, quoiqa*il soit le contraire du material,
isme, lui e^t en r^alifc^ ideutique. Mais si lent’ dootrme n*est pas plus
raisonnable, elle est du moins plus ^lovee et plus podtique.’* ?o4sie Philo¬
sophise et religieuse ohez les Persaus, par H. G^arciu t)6 Tassy, p. 2.
2. £af—a ohatu of mountains supposed to encircle the earth.
9 . *H4j»k0r-the Phoenix,
The FaUh of Islam,
The sev’nth heaven I traversed—the sev’nth heaven explored,
But in neither discern’d I the court of the Lord !
I question’d the Pen and the Tablet of Fate,
But they whisper’d not where He pavilions His state;
My vision I strain’d ; but my God-scanning eye
No trace, that to Godhead belongs, could descry.
My glance I bent inward ; within my own breast,
Lo, the vainly sought elsewhere, the Godhead confess’d !
In the whirl of its transport my spirit was toss’d,
Till each atom of sqioo'ate heitig I losV'
These are the words of the greatest authority among the
Stifis, the famous Maolana Jelal-ud-din Etimi, founder of
the order of the Maulavi Darwishes. He also relates the
following story : One knocked at the door of the beloved,
and a voice from within said : ^ Who is there V Then he
answered, ‘ It is 1/ The voice replied, ^ This house will not
hold me and thee P So the door remained shut. The lover
retired to a wilderness, and spent some time in solitude,
fasting, and prayer. One year elapsed, when he again
returned, and knocked at the door. ^ Who is there V said
the voice. The lover answered, ^ It is thou/ Then the door
was opened.^^
The great object of life, then, being to escape from the
hindrances to pure love and to a return to the divine essence,
the Tdlib, or seeker, attaches himself to a Murshid, or
teacher. If he prosecutes his studies according to Stifiistio
methods he now often enters one of the many orders of
Darwishes. After due preparation under his Murshid, he is
allowed to enter on the road. He then becomes a Sdlik, or
traveller, whose business henceforth is sfiluk that is, devo¬
tion to one idea—^the knowledge of God. In this road there
are eight stages. (1) Service. Here he must serve God
and obey the Law for he is still in bondage. (2) Love. It
is supposed that now the Divine influence has so attracted
Ms soul that he really loves God. (8) Seclusion. Love
having expelled all worldly desires, he arrives at this stage,
and passes Ms tme in meditation on the deeper doctrines
The SiiftisUc Stages,
of Sufiism regarding the Divine nature. (4) Knowledge,
The meditation in the preceding stage, and the investiga¬
tion of the metaphysical theories concerning God, His nature,
His attributes and the like make him an ^Arif—one who
knows. (5) Ecstasy. The mental excitement caused by such
continued meditation on abstruse subjects produces a kind
of frenzy, which is looked upon as a mark of direct illumi¬
nation of the heart from God. It is known as Hal—the
state I or Wajd—ecstasy. Arrival at this stage is highly
valued, for it is the certain entrance to the next. (6) Haqiqat
—the Truth. Now to the traveller is revealed the true
nature of God, now he learns the reality of that which he
has been for so long seeking. This admits him to the
highest stage in his journey, as far as this life is concerned.
(7; That stage is Wasl—union with God.
** There was a door to which I found no key;
There was a veil past which I could not see:
Some little talk of Me and Thee
There seemed—and then no more of Thee and Me.**
He cannot, in this life, go beyond that, and very few
reach that exalted stage. Thus arose a system of Pan¬
theism, which represents joy and sorrow, good and evil,
pleasure and pain as manifestations of one changeless
essence.^^ Eeligion, as made known by an outward revela¬
tion, is, to the few who reach this stage, a thing of the
past. Even its restraints are not needed. The soul that
is united to God can do no evil. The poet Khusrau says :
Love is the object of my worship, what need have I of
Isl4m
Death ensues and with it the last stage is reached. (8)
It is Pana—extinction. The seeker after all his search, the
traveller after all his wearisome journey passes behind the
veil and finds—nothing ! As the traveller proceeds from
stage to stage, the restraints of an objective revelation
and of an outward system are less and less heeded. '^The
The Faith of Islam,
religion of the mystic consists in his immediate com-
mnnication with God, and when once this has been
established, the value of ecclesiastical forms, and of
the historical part of religion, becomes doubtful/^ What
law can bind the soul in union with God, what outward
system impose any trammels on one who, in the Ecstasy,’’
has received from Him, who is the Truth, the direct reve¬
lation of His own glorious nature ? Moral laws and
ceremonial observances have only an allegorical signification.
Creeds are but fetters cunningly devised to limit the flight
of the soul; all that is objective in religion is a restraint to
the reason of the initiated.^
Pantheistic in creed, and too often Antinomian in prac¬
tice, Sufiism possesses no regenerative power in Islam.
It is not a substantive religion such as shapes the life of
races or of nations, it is a state of opinion.” No Muslim
State makes a national profession of Sufiism.
In spite of all its dogmatic utterances, in spite of much
that is sublime in its idea of the search after light and
truth, Sfifiism ends in utter negation of all separate exist¬
ence. The pantheism of the Sufis, this esoteric doctrine of
IsMm, as a moral doctrine leads to the same conclusions as
materialism, " the negation of human liberty, the indifEer-
ence to actions and the legitimacy of all temporal enjoy¬
ments.”
The result of Sufiism has been the establishment of a
large number of religious orders known as Darwishes. *
These men are looked upon with disfavour by the ortho-
1. ** Us penseut que la Bible efa le Coran out seulement Merits ponr
I’homme qni ae oontente de rapparenoe des oboses, qui s’oooupe de
rext^riear, pour le pa/rastj oomme ils le nomment, et non poor le
sofi qtu sonde le fond des choses ” La Po^sie Pbilosophique et religiease
ohez les Persans, par Garoin de Tassy, p. 18.
2. Tbe word Davvfsh, or Barwfsh, is of Persian origin. It is derived
from * dar,* a door, and * wiz* the root of the verb * awlkhtan,* to bang j
henoe tbe idea of banging about doors, or begging. Tbe * z’ is obanged
into * sh* and the word becomes * Darwish.* Some Musalmdns, however,
do not like tl;iiB idea of holy men being called by a name wMofti implies
The Darwishes.
dox; but they flourish nevertheless^ and in Turkey at
the present day have great influence. There are in Constan¬
tinople two hundred Takiahs^ or monasteries. The Dar¬
wishes are not organized with such regularity^ nor subject
to discipline so severe as that of the Christian Monastic
orders; but they surpass them in number. Each order has
its own special mysteries and practices by which its mem¬
bers think they can obtain a knowledge of the secrets of the
invisible world. They are also called Faqirs—poor men, not,
however, always in the sense of being in temporal want, but
as being poor in the sight of God. As a matter of fact the
Darwishes of many of the orders do not beg, and many of
the Takiahs are richly endowed. They are divided into
two great classes, the Ba Shara^ (with the Law) Darwishes;
and the Be Shara^ (without the Law). The former prefer
to rule their conduct according to the law of Islam and are
called the Sdlik—travellers on the path (tarlqat) to heaven j
the latter though they call themselves Muslims do not con¬
form to the law, and are called Azad (free), or Majztib
(abstracted), a term which signifies their renunciation of all
worldly cares and pursuits.
The Sdlik Darwishes are those who perform the Zikrs. ^
What little hope there is of these professedly religious men
working any reform in Isldm will be seen from the following
account of their doctrines,^
I. God only exists,—He is in all things, and all things
are in Him. Verily we are from God, and to Him shall
we return.^^ (Sura ii. 151.)
of bogging, and so they propose anofchor derivation. They derive it
from “ dur,** a poai*l, and ** wish,*^ like ; and so a durwCsh is ono * like a
pearl.* The wiA is from wAsh, a Jou^hened form of wash, an affix of
common use to express similitude; or tho long vowel in wish njay by a
figdre of speech, called Imdla, be changed into the i of wish. I think the
jSrst derivation the more probable. A good Peisian dictionary, the Ghids-ul-
Lughit, gives both derivations.
1. For a very interesting account of this religious ceremony, seo Hughes*
Notes on Muhammadanism, Chapter &1.
2. lia Po^sie Philosophiqao ot lleligieuso ohez les Persons, par M. Garcin
de Tassy, p. 7. •
the Faith of Istdm,
2. All visible and invisible beings are an emanation from
Him, and are not really distinct from Him. Creation is
only a pastime with God.
3. Paradise and Hell, and all the dogmas of positive
religions, are only so many allegories, the spirit of which is
only known to the Sufi.
4. Religions are matters of indifference ; they, however,
serve as a means of reaching to realities. Some, for this
purpose, are more advantageous than others. Among which
is the Musalman religion, of which the doctrine of the Sufis
is the philosophy.
5. There is not any real difference between good and evil,
for all is reduced to unity, and God is the real author of the
acts of mankind.
6. It is God who fixes the will of man. Man, therefore,
is not free in his actions.
7. The soul existed before the body, and is now confined
within it as in a cage. At death the soul returns to the
Divinity from which it emanated.
8. The principal occupation of the Sufi is to meditate on
the unity, and so to attain to spiritual perfection—^unifica¬
tion with God.
9. Without the grace of God no one can attain to this
unity; but God does not refuse His aid to those who are in
the right path.
The power of a Sheikh, a spiritual leader, is very great.
The following account of the admission of a Novice, called
Tawakkul Beg, into an Order, and of the severe teats applied,
will be of some interest.^ Tawakkul Beg says ;—Having
been introduced by Akhund Moolis Muhammad to Sheikh
Moolla Shdh, my heart, through frequent intercourse with
him, was filled with such a burning desire to arrive at a true
knowledge of the mystical science that I found no sleep by
night, nor rest by day. When the initiation commenced,.
I, sat£ doctrines of the MoolE Shih by Tawakkul Beg. Journal
Asiatique 6zne tom, IS.
Initiation of a Novice.
I passed the whole night without sleep, and repeated innu¬
merable times the Surat-ul-Ikhlas :—
“ Say; He is Crod alone :
God the eternal:
He bcgetteth not, and He is not begotten;
And there is none like unto Him.” (Siira cxii.)
Whosoever I’epeats this Sura one hundred times can ac¬
complish all his vows. I desired that the Sheikh should
bestow on me his love. No sooner had I finished my task
than the heart o£ the Sheikh became full of sympathy for
me. On the following night I was conducted to his presence-
During the whole of that night he concentrated his thoughts
on me, whilst I gave myself up to inward meditation. Three
nights passed in this way. On the fourth night the Sheikh
said :—^ Let Moolla Senghim and Salih Beg, who are very
susceptible to ecstatic emotions, apply their spiritual ener¬
gies to Tawakkul Beg.^
They did so, whilst I passed the whole night in medita¬
tion, with my face turned toward Mecca. As the morning
drew near, a little light came into my mind, but I could
not distinguish form or colour. After the morning prayers,
I was taken to the Sheikh who bade me inform him of
my mental state. I replied that I had seen a light with my
inward eye. On hearing this, the Sheikh became animated
and said: ^Thy heart is dark, but the time is come when
I will show myself clearly to thee."^ He then ordered me
to sit down in front of him, and to impress his features on
my mind. Then having blindfolded me, ho ordered me to
concentrate all my thoughts upon him. I did so, and in
an instant by the spiritual help of the Sheikh my heart
Opened. He asked me what I saw, I said that I saw
another Tawakkul Beg and another Moolis Shah. The
bandage was then removed, and I saw the Sheikh in front
of me. Again they covered my face, and again I saw him
with, my inward eye. Astonished, I cried; ^ 0 master!
whither I look with niy bodily eye, or with my spiritual
The Faith of Islam.
sight, it is always you I see/ I then saw a dazzling
figure approach me. The Sheikh told me to say to the
apparition, ^ What is your name In my spirit I put the
question, and the figure answered to my heart: am
^Abd-ul-Qadir Jilani, I liave already aided thee, thy heart
is opened."^ Much affected, I vowed that in honour of the
saint, I would repeat the whole Quran every Friday night.
Moolla Shah then said: ' The spiritual world has been
shown to thee in all its beauty/ I then rendered perfect
obedience to the Sheikh. The following day I saw the
Prophet, the chief Companions, and legions of saints and
angels. After three months, I entered the cheerless region
in which the figures appeared no more. During the whole
of this time, the Sheikh continued to explain to me the
mystery of the doctrine of the Unity and of the know¬
ledge of God; but as yet he did not show me the absolute
reality. It was not until a year had passed that I arrived
at the true conception of unity. Then in words such as
these I told the Sheikh of my inspii’ation. ^ I look upon
the body as only dust and water, I regard neither my
heart nor my soul, alas ! that in separation from Thee
(God) so much of my life has passed. Thou wert I and I
knew it not,"^ The Sheikh was delighted, and said that
the truth of the union with God was now clearly revealed
to me. Then addressing those who were present, he
said: ^ Tawakkul Beg learnt from me the doctrine of the
Unity, his inward eye has been opened, the spheres of
colours and of images have been shown to him. At length,
he entered the colourless region. He has now attained to
the Unity, doubt and scepticism henceforth have no
power over him. No one sees the Unity with the outward
eye, till the inward eye gains strength and power.^
I cannot pass from this branch of the subject without
making a few I’emarks on Omar Khayyam, the great Astro¬
nomer-Poet of Persia. He is sometimes confounded with
the Sfifis, for there is much in his poetry which is simikr
Omar Khayyam.
in tone to that of the Siifi writers. But his true position
was that of a sceptic. He wrote little, but what he has
written will live. As an astronomer he was a man of note.
He died in the year 517 a.h. There are two things which
may have caused his scepticism. To a man of his intelligence
the hard and fast system of Islam was an intolerable burden.
Then, his scientific spirit had little sympathy with mysticism,
the earnest enthusiasts of which were too often followed by
hollow impostors. It is true, that there was much in the
spirit of some of the better Sufis that seemed to show a
yearning for something higher than mere earthly good;
above all, there was the recognition of a Higher Power,
But with all this came spiritual pride, the world and its
duties became a thing of evil, and the religious and the
secular life were completely divorced, to the ruiii of both.
The Pantheism which soon pervaded the system left no room
for man^s will to act, for his conscience to guide. So the
moral law become a dead letter. Irreligious men, to free
themselves from the bondage and restraints of law, assumed
the religious life. Thus a movement, animated at first by
a high and lofty purpose, has degenerated into a fruitful
source of ill. The stream which ought to have expanded
into a fertilising river has become a vast swamp, exhaling
vapours charged with disease and death.'^^
Omar Khayyam saw through the unreality of all this. In
vain does he try, by an assumed air of gaiety, to hide from
others the sadness which fills his heart, as all that is bright
is seen passing away into oblivion.
One moment in annihilation’s wast-o,
One moment, of the well of life to taste—
The stars arc setting and the Caravan
Starts for the dawn of nothing—oh, inake haste I
Ah, fill the oup:—what boots it to repeat
How Time is slipping underneath our feet;
Unborn To-morrow, and dead Yesterday,
Why fret about them if To-day bo sweet.
The Faith of Islam,
Omar held to the earthly and the material. For him
there was no spiritual world. Chance seemed to rule all the
affairs of men. A pitiless destiny shaped out the course of
each human being.
“ ’Tis all a choquer-board of nights and days
Where destiny with men for pieces plays:
Hither and thither moves, and mates, and slays,
And one by one back in the closet lays.
The moving finger writes; and, having writ.
Moves on: nor all thy piety nor wit
Shall Inre it back to cancel half a line.
Nor all thy tears wash out a word of it.”
Neither from earth nor heaven could he find any answer
to his cry. With sages and saints he discussed^ and heard,
great argument, but evermore came out by the same
door as in he went.'^^ He left the wise to talk, for one
thing alone was certain, and all else was lies,—the flower
that once has blown for ever dies.^' Leaving men he
turned to nature, but it was all the same.
“ Up from earth’s centre through the seventh gate
I rose, and on tlio throne of Saturn sate.
And many knots unravelled by the road;
But not the knot of human death and fate.
And that inverted bowl we call the sky,
Where under crawling coop’d we live and die,
Lift not thy hands to it for help—for it
Bolls impotently on as thou or I.”
Omar has with justice been compared to Lucretius.
Both were materialists, both believed not in a future life.
Lucretius built a system for himself in his poem.it
has a professed practical aim—to explain the world^s self¬
acting machine to the polytheist, and to disabuse him of all
spiritual ideas.-*^ . Omar builds up no system, he only
shows forth his own doubts and difficulties, he loves to
balance antitheses of belief, and settle himself in the equi¬
poise of the sceptic.”
The Wahliobhis,
lot
The fact that there is no hereafter gives Lucretius no
pain, but Omar who, if only his reason could let him, would
believe, records his utter despair in words of passionate bit¬
terness. He is not glad that there is no help anywhere.^
And though he calls for the wine-cup, and listens to the
voice within the tavern cry,
“ Awake, my little ones, and fill the cup
Before Life’s liquor in its cup be dry,”
yet he also looks back to the time, when he consorted
with those who professed to know, and could say :
With them the seed of wisdom did I sow,
And with my own hand laboured it to grow.”
The founder of the Wahhabi sect was Muhammad-ibn-
Abd-ul-Wahhab, who was bom at a village in Nejd in the
year 1C91 a.d. The Wahhdbis speak of themselves as Mu-
wahhid—Unitarians; but their opponents have given to them
the name of the father of the founder of their sect aud call
thorn Wahhdbis. Muhammad was a bright intelligent youth,
of a strong constitution and generous spirit. After going
through a course of Arabic literature he studied jurispru¬
dence under a teacher of the Hauifi school. He then set out
in company with his father to perform the Hajj. At Madina
he received further instruction in the Law. He spent some¬
time at Ispahan in the society of learned men. Full of
1 . That Omar in his impiety was false to his better nature we may
readily admit, while, at the same time, we may find some excuse for his
errors, if we remember the state of the world at that time. His clear
strong sense revolted from the prevailing mysticism where all the earnest
spirits of his age found their refuge, and his honest independence was
equally shocked by the hypocrites who aped their fervour and enthusiasm 5
and at that dark hour of man^s history whither, out of IsUm, was the
thoughtful Muhammadan to repair ? No missionary's step, bringing good
tidings, had appeared on the mountains of Persia; the few Christians who
might cross his path in his native land, would only seem to him idolaters.”
Speaking, too, of Sa'di^s life the reviewer says : almost the only point of
contact with Christendom is his slavery under the Crusaders at Tripdi.
The same isolation runs through all the golden period of Persian Litera-
tnre ”—Calcutta Beview, No. lix,
The Faith of Islam*
knowledge, ko returned to his native village of Aylna where
he assumed the position of a religious teacher. He was
shocked to see how the Arabs had departed from what
seemed to him the strict unchanging precepts of the Prophet.
Luxury in the form of rich dresses and silken garments,
superstition in the use of omens, auguries, and the like, in
the pilgrimages to shrines and tombs seemed to be altering
the character of the religion as given by the Apostle of G*od.
He saw, or thought he saw, that in the veneration paid to
saints and holy men, the great doctrine of the TTnity^^ was
being obscured. The reason was very plain. The Qurdn
and the Traditions of the Companions had been neglected,
whilst the sayings of men of lesser note, and the jurispru¬
dence of the four great Imams had been too readily followed.
Here was work to do. He would reform the Church of
Isldm, and restore men to their allegiance to the Book and
the Suniiat, as recorded by the Companions, It is true,
that the Sunnis would rise up in opposition, for thus the
authority of the four ImS,ms, the Canonical Legists^^ of
the orthodox sect, would be set aside ; but what of that ?
Had he not been a follower of Abu Hanifa ? Now he was
prepared to let Abu Hanifa go, for none but a Companion
of the Prophet could give an authoritative statement with
regard to the Sunnat—the ProphePs words and acts. He
must break a lance with the glorious Imdm, and start a
school of his own.
He said: The Muslim pilgrims adore the tomb of the
Prophet, and the sepulchre of ^Ali, and of other saints who
have died in the odour of sanctity. They run there to pay
the tribute of their fervent prayers. By this means they
think that they can satisfy their spiritual and temporal
nfeeds. From what do they seek this benefit ? From walls
made of mud and stones, from corpses deposited in tombs.
If you speak to them they will reply, ^ We do not call these
monuments God; we turn to them in prayer, and we pray
the saints to intercede for us on high,^ Now, the true
Progress of tlie WaliUobhis.
way of salvation is to prostrate one^s self before Him who is
ever present, and to venerate Him—the one without asso¬
ciate or equal/^ Such outspoken language raised up
opposition, and he had to seek the protection of Muham-
mad-Ibn-Saud, a chief of some importance, who now
vigorously supported the Wahhabi movement. He was
a stem and uncompromising man. As sooii as you seize
a place,’^ he said to his soldiers, put the males to the
sword. Plunder and pillage at your pleasure, but spare
the women and do not strike a blow at their modesty.^^
On the day of battle he used to give each soldier a paper,
a safe conduct to the other world. This letter was address¬
ed to the Treasurer of Paradise. It was enclosed in a bag
which the warrior suspended to his neck. The soldiers
were persuaded that the souls of those who died in battle
would go straight to heaven, without being examined by
the angels Munkar and Nakir in the grave. The widows
and orphans of all who fell were supported by the survivors.
Nothing could resist men who, fired with a burning zeal
for what they deemed the truth, received a share of the
booty, if conquerors j who went direct to Paradise if they
were slain. In course of time, Muhammad-Ibn-Saud
married the daughter of Ibn-Abd-ul-Wahhdb and founded
the Wahhdbi dynasty which to this day rules at Ryadh.^
Such was the origin of this great movement, which
spread, in course of time, over Central and Eastern Arabia,
and in the beginning of this century found acceptance in
India, In the year '1803 A.n. both Mecca and Madina fell
into the hands of the Wahhd^bis. A clean sweep was made
of all things, the use of which was opposed to Wahhdbi
principles. Not only rosaries and charms, but silk robes
and pipes were consigned to the flames, for smoking is a
1. The following are the names of the Wahh&taf chiefs:—Muhammad-
Ihn-Saijfd, died a.i>. 1765 j ^Abd-nUAzfz, assassinated, 1803 ; Saud-Ibn-
’Abd-nl-A^iss, died 1814; ’Abd-UIl^h-ibn-Sand, beheaded 1818; Tnrki,
assassinated 1830; Fayzol, died 1866; ’Abd-X7114b, still liTing. Hughes
Hotes, p. 221.
The Paith of Islam.
deadly sin. On this point there is a good story told by
Palgrave—’Abd-ul-Karina said: ^The first of the great
sins is the giving divine honours to a creature/ Of course
I replied, ^ The enormity of such a sin is beyond all doubt.
But if this be the first, there must be a second; what is
it ^Drinking the shameful V (in English idiom, ^ smok¬
ing tobacco^) was the unhesitating answer. ^ And murder,
and adultery, and false witness V I suggested. ^ God is
merciful and forgiving,^ rejoined my friend; that is, these
are merely little sins.^^ ^
After holding possession of the holy cities for nine years
they were driven out by the Turkish forces. -^Abdullah,
the fourth Wahhdbi ruler, was captured by Ibrahim Pasha,
and afterwards executed in the square of St. Sophia (1818
A.D.) The political power of the Wahhabis has since been
confined to parts of Arabia; but their religious opinions
have widely spread.
The leader of the Wahhdbi movement in India was Sayyid
Ahmad, a reformed freebooter. He was now born at Eai
Bareili, in Oudh, 1786 a.d. When about thirty years of age
he gave up his wild way of living and settled down in Delhi'
as a student of the Law of IsMm. After a while, he went
on pilgrimage to Mecca, but his opinions, so similar to those
of the noted Wahhabi, attr«.oted the attention of the orthodox
theologians, through whose influence he was expelled from
the sacred city. Persecution deepened his religious con¬
victions, and he returned to India a pronounced Wahhd<bi.
He soon gained a large number of disciples, and in 1826 A.i).
he preached a Jihid against the Sikhs. This war was not
a success. In the year 1831 the Wahhdbis were suddenly
ai/tacked by the Sikhs, under Sher Singh, and Sayyid
Ahmad was slain. This did not, however, prevent the
spread of ■ Wahhdbi principles, for he had the good fortune
to leave behind him an enthusiastic disciple. This man,
1. Falgrave's Arabia, vol. ii. p. 10.
hidio/n WahMhis.
Muhammad Ismg,’il, was born near Delhi in the year ITSlA*®!-'^
He was a youth of good abilities and soon mastered the
subjects which form the curriculum of a liberal education
amongst Mnsalmdns. His first preaching was in a Mosque
at Delhi on Tauhid (Unity), and against Shirk (Polytheism).
He now met with Sayyid Ahmad who soon acquired great
influence over his new disciple. Ismd^il told him one evening
that he could not offer up his prayers with Huzdr-i-Kalb,
presence of heart. The Sayyid took him to his room where
he instructed him to repeat the first of the prayers after him,
and then to conclude them alone. He did so, and was able
to so abstract himself in the contemplation of God that he
remained engaged in prayer till the morning. Hencefor¬
ward he was a devoted adherent of his spiritual teacher.
In the public discussions, which now often took place, none
were a match for Ismd’il. This fervent preacher of Wah-
hdbiism is now chiefly remembered by Ms great work, the
Taikwiat-ul-Iman, the book from which the account of
Wahhdbi doctrine given in this chapter is taken. If I
rnnkA no special reference to the quotations given, it will
be known that my authority for the statements thus made
is Muhammad Ismd’il, the most famous of all Sayyid
Ahmad’s disciples. This book was followed by the Sirdt-
nl-Mustaqim, said to have been written by one of Isma’il’s
followers. Wahhdbi doctrines are now spread throughout
India. In the South there is not much religious oxcitement
or inquiry, yet Wahhabis are to be found there. ^ It was
and is a remarkable movement. In one sense it is a struggle
against the traditionalism of later ages, but in no sense
can it be said that the Wahhabis reject Tradition. They
acknowledge as the foundation of the faith—first, the Qni4n;
secondly, the Traditions which are recorded on the authority
of the Companions, and also the Ijmi' of the Companions,
that is, all things on which they were unanimous in opinion
1, Aooording to the latest Census Boport there ore 4,000 in. the Madras
Fresidenoy, where the total Musslin4n population is about 2,000,000.
The Faith of Islam.
or in practice. Thus to the Wahhfi-bi as to the Sunni,
Muhammad is in all his acts and words a perfect guide.
So far from Wahhabiism being a move onward because
it is a return to first principles, it rather binds the fetters
of Isldm more tightly. It does not originate anything new,
it offers no relaxation from a system which looks upon the
Qurdn and the Traditions as a perfect and complete law,
social and political, moral and religious.
The Wahhabi places the doctrine of the Tauhid/^ or
Unity, in a very prominent position. It is true that all
Musalman sects put this dogma in the first rank, but Wah¬
habis set their faces against practices common to the other
sects, because they consider that they obscure this funda¬
mental doctrine. It is this which brings them into collision
with other Musalmdns. The greatest of all sins is Shirk
(Le. the ascribing of plurality to the Deity). A Mushrik
(Polytheist) is one who so offends. All Musalmans consider
Christians to be Polytheists, and all Wahhabis consider all
other Musalmans also to be Polytheists, because they look
to the Prophet for intercession, pray to saints, visit shrines,
and do other unlawful acts.
The Takwiat-ul-Imd»n says that " two things are neces¬
sary in religion—to know Grod as God, and the Prophet as
the Prophet.^^ The two fundamental bases of the faith are
the Doctrine of the Tauhid (Unity) and obedience to the
Sunnat.^^ The two great errors to be avoided are Shirk
(Polytheism) and Bida’t (Innovation). As Bida^t is looked
upon as evil, it is somewhat difidcult to see what hope of
progress can be placed upon this latest phase of Muham¬
madan revival.
Shirk is defined to be of four kinds: Shirk-ul-^ilm,
ascribing knowledge to others than God; Shirk-ut-tasarruf,
ascribing power to others than God; Shirk-ul-Ub^dat,
offering worship to created things; Shirk-ul-^ddat, the per¬
formance of ceremonies which imply reliance on others
than God,
SMrJn,
The first, Shirk-ul-^ilm, is illustrated hy the statement
that prophets and holy men have no knowledge of secret
things unless as revealed to them by God.^ Thus some
wicV:ed persons made a charge against ^Ayesha. The
Prophet was troubled in mind, but knew not the truth of
the matter till God made it known to him. To ascribe, then,
power to soothsayers, astrologers, and saints is Polytheism.
All who pretend to have a knowledge of hidden things,
such as fortune-tellers, soothsayers and interpreters of
dreams, as well as those who profess to be inspired are all
liars.Again, should any one take the name of any saint,
or invoke his aid in the time of need, instead of calling on
God, or use his name in attacking an enemy, or read passages
to propitiate him, or make him the object of contemplation—
it is Shirk-ul-hlm,^^
The second kind, Shirk-ut-tasarruf, is to suppose that
any one has power with God. He who looks up to any one
as an intercessor with God commits Shirk. Thus : But
they who take others beside Him as lords, saying, ^ We
only serve them that they may bring us near God,^—God
will judge between them (and the Faithful) concerning that
wherein they are at variance.’^ (Stira xxxix. 4.) Intercession
may be of three kinds. For example, a criminal is placed
before the King. The Vizier intercedes. The King, having
regard to the rank of the Vizier, pardons the offender.
This is called Shafa^at-i-Wajahat, or '‘intercession frou)
regard/ But to suppose that God so esteems the rank of
any one as to pardon a sinner merely on account of it is
Shirk. Again, the Queen or the Princes intercede for the
criminal. The King, from love to them, pardons him. This
is called Shaf4^at-i-muhabbat,or ^intercession from affection.^
But to consider that God so loves any one as to pardon a
criminal on his account is to give that loved ono power, and
this is Shirk, for such power is not possible in the Court
of God, " God may out of His bounty confer on His
favourite servants the epithets of Habib—favourite, or Khalil
108 The Faith of Idmv.
—^fi’iend; &c.; bufc a servant is but a servant^ no one can put
his foot outside the limits of servitude^ or rise beyond the
rank of a servant.’^ Again, the King may himself wish to
pardon the offender, but he fears lest the majesty of the
law should be lowered. The Vizier perceives the Eling^s
wish, and intercedes. This intercession is lawful. It is
called Shafa^at-i-ba-izn—^intercession by permission, and
such power Muhammad will have at the day of Judgment.
Wahhabis hold that he has not that power now, though all
other Musalmans consider that he has, and in consequence
(in Wahhabi opinion) commit the sin of Shirk-ut-tasarruf.
The Wahhabis quote the following passages in support of their
view. Who is he that can intercede with Him but by JSis
ownjpermission/^ (Sura ii. 256) Say: Intercession is wholly
with God ! His the kingdoms of the heavens and of the
earth.^^ (Sura xxxix. 46). They also say: whenever
an allusion is made in the Quran, or the Traditions to the
intercession of certain prophets or apostles, it is this kind
of intercession and no other that is meant.^^
The third Shirk is prostration before any created being,
with the idea of worshipping it. It also includes peram¬
bulating the shrines of departed saints. Thus : Prostra¬
tion, bowing down, standing with folded arms, spending
money in the name of an individual, fasting out of respect
to his memory, proceeding to a distant shrine in a pilgrim^s
garb and calling out the name of the saint whilst so going
is Shirk-ul-Tbadat.'^^ It is wrong to cover the grave with
a sheet (ghil4f), to say prayers at the shrine, to kiss any
particular stone, to rub the mouth and breast against the
walls of the shrine, This is a stern condemnation of
the very common practice of visiting the tombs of saints
and of some of the special practices of the pilgrimage to
Mecca. All such practices as are here condemned are called
Ishr^k fi^l Hb4dat—^ association in worship.'^
The fourth Shirk is the keeping up of superstitious cus¬
toms, such as the IstikhSra—seeldng guidance from beads
Wahhdhi idea of God,
&c., trusting to omens, good or bad, believing in lucky
and unlucky days, adopting such names as ^Abd-un-Nabi
(slave of the Prophet), and so on. In fact, the denouncing
of such practices and calling them Shirk brings Wahhabiism
into daily contact with the other sects, for scarcely any
people in the world are such profound believers in the virtue
of charms and the power of astrologers as Musalmans. The
difference between the first and fourth Shirk, the Shirk-ul-
Mm and the Shirk-ul-^adat, seems to bo that the first is the
heUef say in the knowledge of a soothsayer, and the second
the habit of consulting him.
To swear by the name of the Prophet, of ^Ali, of the
Imams,, or of Pirs (Leaders) is to give them the honour
due to Grod alone. It is Ishx4k fi^l adab—^ Shirk in asso¬
ciation/
Another common belief which Walihabls oppose is that
Musalmans can perform the Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca),
say prayers, read the Qurdn, abide in meditation, give alms,
and do other good works, the reward of which shall be
credited to a person already dead.^ Amongst other Musal-
mdns it is a common practice to read the Quran in the belief
that, if done with such an intention, the reward will pass to
the deceased object of the desire. Wahh^»bis entirely object
to this.
The above technical exposition of Wahhabi tenets shows
how much stress they lay on a xigid adherence to the
doctrine of the UnityL^-il-laha, Il-lal-la-hu^^ (there
is no Grod but God) is an eternal truth. Yet to the Musal-
man God is a Being afar off. In rejecting the Fatherhood
of God he has accepted as the object of his worship, hardly
of his affections, a Being despotic in all He does, arbitrary
in all His ways. He has accepted the position of a slave
instead of that of a son. Wahhdbiism emphasizes the ideas
which flow from the first ax'ticle of the Muslim creed. But
1. Muddrij-un.Nalbawat, p. 149.
no
The Faith of Islam.
on this subject we prefer to let Palgrave speak. He of all
men knew the Wahhabi best^ and he, at least, can be
accused of no sectarian bias. The extract is leather long,
but will repay perusal j indeed, the whole passage from
which this extract is taken should be read.
“‘There is no God but God,’ are words simply tantamount in
English to the negation of any deity save one alone; and thus much
they certainly mean in Arabic, but they imply much more also.
Their full sense is, not only to deny absolutely and unreservedly all
plurality whether of nature or of person in the Supreme Being, not
,only to establish the unity of the Unbegotting and the TJnbegot, in
aU its simple and incommunicable oneness, but besides this, the
words, in Arabic and among Arabs, imply that this one Supreme
Being is the only Agent, the only Force, the only Act existing
throughout the universe, and leave to all beings else, matter or spirit,
instinct or intelligence, physical or moral, nothing but pure uncon¬
ditional passiveness, alike in movement or in quiescence, in action or
in capacity. Hence in this one sentence is summed up a system
which, for want of a bettor name, I may bo permitted to call the
‘ Pantheism of Force.’ ‘ God is One in the totality of omnipotent
and omnipresent action, which acknowledges no rule, standard, or
limit, save one sole and absolute will. He communicates nothing to
His creatures, for their seeming power and act ever remain His alone,
and in return He receives nothing from them.’ ‘ It is His singular
satisfaction to let created beings continually feel that they are
nothing else than His slaves, that they may the bettor acknowledge
His superiority.’ ‘ He Himself, sterile in His inaccessible height,
neither loving nor enjoying aught save His own and self-measured
decree, without son, companion, or councillor, is no loss barren for
Himself than for His creatures, and Hxs own barrenness and lone
egoism in Himself is the cause and rule of His indi^erent and unre¬
garding despotism around.’
Palgrave allows that such a notion of the Deity is mon¬
strous, but maiutains that it is the truest mirror of the
mind and scope of the writer of the BooV^ (Qur^n)^ and
that, as such, it is confirmed by authentic Tradition and
learned commentaries. At all events, Palgrave possessed
1. Palgrave’s Arabia vol, i. p. 369.
Ill
The iTiimobility of Isldm,
the two essential qualifications for a critic of Islam—a
knowledge of the literature, and intercourse with the people.
So far as my experience goes I have never seen any reason
to differ from Palgrave^s statement. Men are often better
than their creeds. Even the Prophet was not always con¬
sistent. There are some redeeming points in Islam. But
the root idea of the whole is as described above, and from
it no system can be deduced which will grow in grace and
beauty as age after age rolls by.
The Arab proverb states that The worshipper models
himself on what he worships.^^ ^ Thus a return to " first
principles,sometimes proclaimed as the hope of Turkey, is
but the “ putting back the hour-hand of Islam” to the place
where indeed Muhammad always meant it to stay, for
“ Isldm if=i in its essence stationary, and was framed thus to remain.
Sterile, like its God, lifeless like its first Principle and supremo Ori¬
ginal in all that constitutes true life—for life is love, participation,
and progress, and of these the Qurd-nic Deity has none—it justly
repudiates all change, all advance, all development.’* 2
Muhammad Ibn ^Abd-ul Wahhdb was a man of great
intellectual power and vigour. He could pierce through the
mists of a thousand years, and see with an eagle eye how
one sect and another had laid accretions on the Faith. Ho
had the rare gift of intuition, and could see that change
(Bida’t) and progress were alien to the truth. This recog¬
nition of his ability is due to him ; but what a sad prostra¬
tion of gi'eat gifts it was to seek to arrest, by the worship
of the latter, all hope of progress, and to make the start¬
ing-point of Islam its goal.” That he was a good MusalmS/n
in so dQing no one can doubt, but that his work gives any
hope of the rise of an enlightened form of IsUm no one who
really has studied IsMm can believe.
Wahh^lbiism simply amounts to this, that while it de¬
nounces all other Musalm&ns as polytheists, it enforces the
X, Palgrave*s Arabia, vol, i. p. 372.
% Ibid, p. 872.
The Faith of Islam.
Sunnat of tlie Prophet with all its energy. ^ It breaks down
shrines, but insists on the necessity of a pilgrimage to a
black stone at Mecca. It forbids the use of a rosary, but
attaches great merit to counting the ninety-nine names of
God on the fingers. It would make life unsocial. The
study of the Pine Arts with the exception of Architecture
can find no place in it. ^Isma^il quotes with approval the
following Tradition. ^Ayesha said : ^ I purchased a carpet
on which were some figures. The Prophet stood in the
doorway and looked displeased.^ I said ; ^ 0 messenger of
God, I repent to God and His Messenger ; what fault have
I committed that you do not enter V His Highness then
said : ‘ What is this carpet V I replied ; ^ I have bought
it for you to sit and rest upon/ Then the messenger of God
replied: ‘ Verily, the maker of pictures will be punished on
the day of resurrection, when God will desire them to bring
them to life. A house which contains pictures is not visited
by the angels.^ In a Tradition quoted by Ibn ^Abbfe,
the Prophet classes artists with murderers and parricides.
WahhSbiism approves of all this, and thus by forbidding
harmless enjoyments it would make society an organised
hypocrisy.^^ It would spread abroad a spirit of contempt
for all mankind except its own followers, and, where it had
the power, it would force its convictions on others at the
point of the sword.
Wahh^biism was reform after a fashion, in one direction;
in the history of Islam there have been attempts at reform
in other directions ; there will yet be such attempts, but so
long as the Quran and the Sunnat (or, in the case of the
SMa^h, its equivalent) are to form, as they have hitherto
1. Muhammad Jsmdhl oouoludes his great work, the Takwiat-uI-Tm&u,
with the prayer—** 0 Lord teach us by Thy grace, the meauing of the
terms Bid^at aud Sunnat, and the Law of the Prophet. Make ns pure Snnufs
and strictly submissive to the Sunnat.'^ This is a clear and distinct proof
that “WahMbis do not reject Tradition as a basis of the Paith. It also
shows their horror of innovation, and reveals the little hope there is of any
reed progress through their indnenoe.
The tnjiuence of Islam. IIS
done for every sect, the sole law to regulate all conditions
and states of life, enlightened and continued progress is
impossible. The deadening influence of Islam is the greatest
. obstacle the Church of God has to overcome in her onward
march ; its immobility is the bane of many lands; connec¬
tion with it is the association of the living with the dead;
to speak of it, as some do, as if it were a sort of sister
religion to Christianity, is but to show deplorable ignorance
where ignorance is inexcusable. Thus it is plain that
Musalmans are not all of one heart and soul.^ In the next
chapter I hope to show that Islam is a very dogmatic and
complex system in spite of the simple form of its creed.
1. “ Mr. Finlay, the clever but partial author of “ The Byzantine Empire,**
has declared in a sweeping way * that there is no greater delusion than to
speak of the unity of the Christian Church.’ However this may be, I can
affirm the perfect applicability of this sentence to lsl£m in the East. In
no part of the world is there more of secret division, aversion, misbelief
(taking Muhammadanism as our standard), and unbelief than in those very
lands which to a superficial survey, seem absolutely identified in the one
common creed of the Quran and its author.”—Palgrave's Arabia, vol. i, p. 10.
The Faith of Idmii
NOTE TO CHAPTER III.
wahhIbiism.
In the Journal Asiatique, 4me S^rie, tome 11, a curious account is
given of the voyage of Mirzd Muhammad *Ali Khdn, some time
Persian Ambassador in Paris. This gentleman states that in one
of his voyages from Persia to India he met with a Wahhabi, who
had in his possession a tract written by the founder of the sect.
This small pamphlet he allowed Mirza Muhammad to copy. I give
the substance of the pamphlet in this note. The original Arabic
will be found in the Journal Asiatique. It is of considerable
interest as a protest against idolatry. It is as follows-Iknow that
Gk)d is merciful, that the sect of Abu Hamfa is orthodox and
identical with the religion of Abraham. After thou hast known that
God has created His servants for the purpose of being served by
them, know also that this service or devotion is to worship God,
One and alone; just as prayer (Saldt) is not prayer (Saldt), unless it
is accompanied with the legal purification, God Most High has said;
“ It is not for the votaries of other gods with God, witnesses against
themselves of infidelity, to visit the temples of God. These I vain
their works: and in the fire shall they abide for ever !’^ (Sura ix. 17.)
Those who in their prayers, address any other than G-od, in the
hope of obtaining by them that which God alone can give—those
bring unto their prayers thq leaven of idolatry and make them of
none effect, “and who erreth more than he who, beside God, caUeth
upon that which shall not answer him until the day of resurrection.”
(Sdra xlvi. 4.) On the contrary, when the day of resurrection
comes, they will become their enemies and treat them as infidels for
having served others than God. “ But the gods whom ye call on
beside Him have no power over the husk of a date-stone! If ye cry
to them they will not hear your cry; and if they heard they would
not answer you, and in the day of resurrection they will disown
your joining them with God.” (Stira xxxv. 14,15.)
He who says; “ 0 thou Prophet of God I 0 'Ibn Abbfis I 0
^Abd-ul-Qddir!” &c. with the persuasion that the souls of these
blessed ones can obtain from God that of which the suppliant has
need, or that they can protect jnm, is an infidel whose blood any one
may shed, and whose goods any one may appropriate with impunity
unless he repent. There are four different classes of idolaters.
Wahhahiism.
First, the infidels against whom the Prophet made war. These
acknowledge that God is the creator of the world, that JEe supports
all living creatures, that in wisdom He rules over all. “ Say: who
suppHeth you from the heavens and the earth? who hath power
over hearing and sight P and who bringeth forth the living from
the dead, and bringeth forth the dead from the living ? who ruleth
all things P they will surely say: * God,* then say: ‘ What! will ye
not therefore fear Him.’*’ (Sdra x. 32.) It is difficult to dis¬
tinguish idolatry of this kind; but under an outwardly orthodox
appearance they go astray; for they have recourse to divinities of
their own choosing and pray to them.
Secondly, there are idolaters who say that they only call upon
these intermediary powers to intercede in their favour with God,
and that what they desire they seek from God. The Qurlin fur¬
nishes a proof against them. "They worship beside God what
cannot hurt or help them, and say, these are our advocates with
God! say: will ye inform God of aught in the heavens and in the
earth which He knoweth not ?*’ (Sdra x. 19.)
Thirdly, those are idolaters who choose one idol as their patron,
or rather those who, renouncing the worship of idols, become
attached to one saint, as Jesus or His Mother, and put themselves
under the protection of Guardian Angels. Against them we cito
the verse: " Those whom ye call on, themselves desire union with
their Lord, striving which of them shall be nearest to Him; they
also hope for His mercgr, and fear His chastisement.” (Sura xvii.
59.) We see here that the Prophet drew no distinction between the
worship of an idol and the worship of such and such a saint; on
the contrary, he treated them all as infidels, and made war upon
them in order to consolidate the religion of God upon a firm basis.
Fourthly, those who worship God sincerely in the time of trouble,
but at other times call on other Gods are idolaters. Thus: " Lo 1
when they embark on board a ship, they call upon God, vowing Him
sincere worship, but when He bringeth them safe to land, behold
they join partners with Him.” (Stira xxix. 65.)
In the age in which we live, I could cite still worse heresies. The
idolaters, our contemporaries, pray to and invoko the lower divini¬
ties when they are in distress. The idolaters of the Prophet’s time
were less culpable than those of the present age are. They, at least,
hadrecourse to God in time of great evil; these in good and evil
states, seek the aid of their patrons, other than God, and pray
to them,
CHAPTER IV.
THE CREED OE ISLAM.'
is defined by Muslim theologians as: Confession
with the tongue and belief with the heart.'^^^ It is said to
stand midway between hope and fear/^ It is sub-divided
into Imdn-i-mujmal and Iman-i-mufassal. The former is
an expression of the following faith : I believe in God,
His names and attributes, and accept all His commands.^^®
The latter is the acceptance of the following dogmas : I
believe in God, Angels, Books, Prophets, the Last Day,
the Predestination by the Most High God of good and
evil and the Resurrection after death.^^ ^ These form the
articles of faith which every Muslim must believe, to which
belief, in order to render it perfect, he must add the per¬
formance of the acta of practice,^^ viz ,: (1) The recital
of the Kalima or creed:—^ There is no deity but God, and
Muhammad is the Apostle of God.^ (2) Sulat. The, five
daily prayers. (3) Roza. The thirty days fast of Ramazdn.
(4) Zakfit. The legal alms. (5) Hajj, or the pilgrimage
to Mecca.^^ This chapter will contain an account of the
Imdn—^the dogmas of Islam. An account of the Din—the
practical duties, will be given in the next chapter.
1. Strictly speaking, this chapter should be entitled the ‘ Faith of Isl£m/
as the snbjeot of it is technically called Imin, or faith. The Kalima,
or creed is, in the strict sense^ the e3i:presslon of belief in one God, and in
Hnhammad as His apostle. I here use the word creed in the usual sense of
a body of dogmas.
2. I(][r£run bil-lis^i wa tasdiqun bil jandni.
3. Amantu billihi kama hua bism^iahi wa sif^tfhi wa qabiltu jamfa
{dik&milu.
4f. Amantu bilUhi wa maUikatihi wa kutubihi wa rusulibi wal-youm-il-
£khiri wal-qadri khairihi wa sharrihi min all^hi W&li wal-ba’si ba'd al.
moutit
The Attributes of Ood,
1. God. —Tiiis article of the faith includes a belief in the
existence of God, His unity and attributes, and has given rise
to a large number of sects. Some acquaintance with the
various controversies which have thus arisen is necessary to a
correct knowledge of Islam. I commence the considera-
tion of this subject by giving the substance of a Sunni, or
orthodox treatise known as the Risala-i-Berkevi. The learned
orientalist M. Garcin de Tassy, considered it to be of such
authority that in his " L^Islamisme d^apres le Coran” he
has inserted a translation of the Eisala.^ Muhammad Al-
Berkevi, speaking of the Divine attributes, says :—
(1) . Life. (Hyat). God Most High is alone to be adored. He has
noither associate nor equal. He is free from the imperfections of
humanity. He is neither begotten nor does He beget. Ho is invi¬
sible. He is -without figure, form, colour or parts. His existence
has neither beginning nor end. He is immutable. If He so -wills.
He can annihilate the world in a moment of time and, if it seem
good to Him, recreate it in an instant. Nothing is difficult to Him,
whether it be the creation of a fiy or that of the seven heavens. He
receives neither profit nor loss from whatever may happen. If all
the Infidels became Believers and all the irreligious pious. He would
gain no advantage. On the other hand, if all Believers became
Infidels, He would suffer no loss.
(2) . Knowledge. (Tim). He has knowledge of all things hidden
or manifest, whether in heaven or on earth. He knows the number
of the loaves of the trees, of the grains of wheat and of sand. Events
past and future are known to Him. Ho knows what enters into the
heart of man and what ho utters with his mouth. He alone, except
those to whom He has revealed them, knows the invisible things.
Ho is free from forgetfulness, negligence and error. His knowledge
is eternal: it is not posterior to His essence.
(3) . Power. (Qudrat). He is Almighty. If He wills. He can raise
the dead, make stones talk, trees walk, annihilate the heavens and
the earth and recreate of gold or of silver thousands similar to those
destroyed. He can transport a man in a moment of time from the
east to the west, or from the west to the east, or to the seventh
heaven. His power is otemal h priori and it posteriori. It is not
posterior to His essence.
1. He speaks of it thus: ** I’ouvrage ^l^mentaire de la religion Musul-
lUane le plus estim$ et le plus rfipandu en Turquie,” p. 154.
The Faith of hl&m.
(4) . Will. (Iradah). He can do what He wills, and whatever He
wills comes to pass. He is not obliged to act. Everything, good or
evil, in this world exists by His will. He wills the faith of the
believer and the piety of the religious. If He were to change His
will there would be neither a true believer nor a pious man. He
willeth also the unbelief of the unbeliever and the irreligion of the
wicked and, without that will, there would neither be unbelief nor
irreligion. All we do we do by His will: what He willeth hot does
not come to pass. If one should ask why God does not will that aU
men should believe we answer: We have no right to enquire about
what God wQls and does. He is perfectly free to will and to do
what He pleases.” In creating unbelievers, in willing that they
should remain in that state; in making serpents, scorpions and pigs:
in willing, in short, all that is evil God has wise ends in view which
it is not necessary that we should know. W e must acknowledge that
the will of God is eternal and that it is not posterior to His essence.
(5) . Hearing. (Sama*). He hears all sounds whether low or loud.
He hears without an ear for His attributes are not like those of men.
(6) . Seeing. (Basr). He sees all things, even the steps of a black
ant on a black stone in a dark night; yet He has no eye as men have.
(7) . Speech. (Kalfi-m). Hespeaks,butnot withatongueasmen do.
He speaks to some of His servants without the intervention of
another, even as He spoke to Moses, and to Muhammad on the night
of the ascension to heaven. He speaks to others by the instrumen¬
tality of Gabriel, and this is the usual way in which He communicates
His will to the prophets. It follows from this that the Qur4n is the
word of Gh)d, and is eternal and uncreated. ^
These are the haft sifdt/^ or seven attributes of Grod.
There is unanimity of opinion as to the number of attributes,
but not as regards their nature and the extent of the know¬
ledge concerning them to which men can attain. Thus
some say that the knowledge of God is the fii^t thing to
acquire ; but Imdm Shdfa^i and the Mutazilites say that a
ihan must first attain to the idea of the knowledge of God.
The meaning of the expression Knowledge of God^^ is the
ascertaining the truth of Sis existence, and of His positive
and privative attributes, as far as the human understanding
can enter into these matters. The unity is hot a mare
nuikierical unity but absolute, for the number one is the
first of a series imfUea a ae^ofud, btit God has not a
Enquiries into the Nature of God unlawful. 119
second. He is singular without anything like Him, sepa¬
rate having no equal for, " had there been either in heaven
or earth gods beside God, both surely had gone to ruin/^
(Sura xxi. 22). God is not a substance, for substance has
accidents, but God has none : otherwise His nature would
be that of dependent existence/^ God is without parts,
for otherwise he would not exist till all the parts were
formed, and His existence would depend on the parts, that
is, on something beside Himself.
The orthodox strictly prohibit the discussion of minute
particulars, for say they, just as the eye turning to the
brightness of the sun finds darkness intervene to prevent
all observation, so the understanding finds itself bewildered
if it attempts to pry into the nature of God.^^ The Prophet
said: "We did not know the reality of the knowledge of
Thee and to his followers he gave this advice : " Think
of God^s gifts, not of His nature: certainly you have no
power for tKat.^^ The Khalif Akbar is reported to have
said: to be helpless in the search of knowledge is know¬
ledge and to enquire into the nature of God is Shirk
(infidelity) ^ A moderate acquaintance with Muslim theo¬
logy shows that neither the injunction of the Prophet nor
the warning of the Khalif has been heeded.
According to the early Muslims, the Companions and
their followers, enquiries into the nature of God and His
attributes were not lawful.* The Prophet knowing what
was good for men, had plainly revealed the way of salvation
and had taught them
“ Say: He is God alone:
God the eternal I
He begetteth not, and He is not begotten;
And there is none like unto Him.” (Sdra csdi.)
This was sufficient for them to know of the mystery of
ihe Godhead. God is far beyond the reach of the human
iJhe Faith of Islam.
understanding. He alone embraces all in His comprehen¬
sion. Men should therefore mistrust their own perceptive
faculties and notions and should obey the inspired legislator
Muhammad, who loving them better than they love them¬
selves, and knowing better than they do what is truly useful,
has revealed both what they ought to believe and what they
ought to do. It is true that men must • exercise their
reason, but they must not do so with regard to the divine
attributes.^
Dogma is divided into two portions, usul and farti^—
{i, c., roots and branches.) The former include the doc¬
trine about Grod ; the latter, as the name implies, consist of
truths which result from the acceptance of the former.
The orthodox belief is that reason has only to do with the
faruV^ for the usul being founded on the Qurdn and
Sunnat have an objective basis.
Differences of opinion about various branches of the
^'faru^’Med to discussions which did not stop there but
went on to the usul,^^ and so paved the way for the rise
of scholastic theology (^Ilm-i-kalam.) I have already in
the chapter on the exegesis of the Quran explained the
difference in meaning between muhkam (obvious) verses
and mutashdbih (intricate) ones. This difference lies ah
the very foundation of the present subject. It is, there¬
fore^ necessary to enter a little into detail.
The question turns very much on the interpretation of
the 5th verse of the 3rd Sura: He it is who hath sent
down to thee ^ the Book.^ Some of its signs are of them¬
selves perspicuous (muhkam) : these are the basis of the
1. The above statements form the substance of several pages in the
**ProUgom^nes d*Ibn Khaldoun/* in which also occurs the following:
Oela n*est pas toutefois un motif pour d4pr4oier notre intelligence et nos
faoult^s perceptives: ^intelligence est une balance parfaitement juste:
elle nous foumit Mes r^sultats certains sans nous tromper. Hais on ne
doit pas em^oyer oette balance pour peser les choses qui se rattaoh^t
^ runit^ de JDieu, h la vie future, h, la nature du proph6tisme, au veritable
oaraot^re des al^ributs divine et h> tout oe qui est au dell, de sa ported.
Yotiloir le faire, oe seralt une absurdity.” Yoh iii. p. 45.
Interjpretatimi of Miitashdbih Verses. 121
Book—and others are figurative (mutashabih.) But they
whose hearts are given to err, follow its figures, craving
discord, craving an interpretation; yet none knoweth its
interpretation but Grod. And the stable in knowledge say,
^ We believe in it: it is all from our Lord/ But none will
bear this in mind, save men endued with understanding/^
Here it is clearly stated (1) that no one except God can
know the interpretation of mutashabih verses, and (2) that
wise men though they know not their interpretation, yet
believe them all. Many learned men, however, say that
the full stop should not be placed after the word God^^
but after knowledge,^^ and so this portion of the verse
would read thus: None knoweth its interpretation but
God and the stable in knowledge. They say : ^ we believe,
&c/ On this slight change in punctuation, which shows
that the ^ stable in knowledge^ can interpret the mutashd.bih
verses, opposite schools of theology have arisen in Islfim.
The latter reading opens the way to a fearless investiga¬
tion of subjects which all the early Muslims avoided as
beyond their province. In the early days of IsMm it was
held that all parts of the Qurdn, except the muhkam verses
and the purely narrative portions, were mutashabih; that
is, all verses which related to the attributes of God, to the
existence of angels and genii, to the appearance of Anti¬
christ, the period and signs of the day of judgment, and
generally all matters which are beyond the daily experience
of mankind. It was strongly felt that not only must there
be no discussion on them,^ but no attempt should be made
to understand or act on them. Ibn ^Abbas, a Companion,
says: “ One must believe the mutashabih verses, but not
take them for a rule of conduct/^ Ibn Jubair was once
1. ** Telle fut la r^gle suivie par les anciens musulmana regard des
verses motaohabeh ; ils l*appliqaaienfc aussi aux expressions du m^me
genre qui se pr^sentent dans la Senna, parce qu’eHos pieviennent de la
m6mo source que oolles du Coran.” Ibn Khaldoun, vol. iii. p. 67.
This passage is of some interest as maintaining the common source and
odgia pf the Qnr^ and the Snnnat.
122 The Faith of Islam,
asked to put tke meaning of the Quran into writing. He
became angry and said: I should rather be palsied in
one-half of my body than do so.”^ •’Ayesha said : Avoid
those persons who dispute about the meaning of the Quran^
for they are those whom Grod has referred to in the words,
^ whose hearts are given to err/
The first reading is the one adopted by the Ashdb, the
TObf in and the Taba-i-Tabi^in and the great majority of
Commentators. The Sunnis generally, and, according to
the testimony of Fakr-ud-din Razi (a. h. 544—606), the
Sh^^i sect are of the same opinion.
Those who take the opposite view are the Commenta¬
tors Mujahid (died a.h. 101), Rdbi^ bin Ans and others.
The scholastic theologians ^ (Mutakalliman) generally adopt
the latter reading.^ They argued thus: how could men
believe what they did not know; to which their opponents
answered, that the act of belief in the unknown is the very
thing here praised by God. The scholastics then enquired
why, since the Quran was sent to be a guide and direction
to men, were not all its verses muhkam ? The answer was,
that the Arabs acknowledged two kinds of eloquence. One
kind was to arrange words and ideas in a plain and simple
style so that the meaning might be at once apparent, the
other was to speak in figurative language. Now, if the
Qur4n had not contained both these styles of composition,
it could not have claimed the position it does as a book
absolutely perfect in form as well as in matter.^
Bearing in mind this fundamental difference of opinion,
we can now pass on to the consideration of the attributes.
1. Iba Khallikan, vol. i. p, 665.
2. ** The Musulmdn Authors distinguish between the earlier and later
Mntakallimin. The former (of whom we here treat) were occupied with
purely religious questions; the latter, who arose after the introduction of
the Greek philosophy amongst Muslims, embraced many philosophic
notions, though they tried to make them fit in with their religious opinions.”
MManges de Philosophic Juive et Arabe, p* 320.
3. Tafsk-i-Fadz-nl-Karim, p. 260. A Wsfi-i-Paiz-ul-lSArfm, p. 260.
Affirmative and Privative Attributes, 123
The essential attributes are Life, Knowledge, Power, Will,
for without these the others could not exist. Then the
attributes of Hearing, Seeing, Speech give us a further idea
of perfection. These are the Sifat-i-Sabutiah,^^ or affir¬
mative attributes, the privation of which would imply loss ;
there are also Sifat-i-Salbiah, or privative attributes, such
as—Grod has no form, is not limited by place, has no equal,
&c. The acts of sitting, rising, descending, the possession
of face, hands, eyes, &c., being connected with the idea of
corporeal existences imply imperfection and apparently
contradict the doctrine of exemption^^ (tenzih) according
to which G od is, in virtue of His essence, in no way like the
creatures He has made. This was a difficulty, but the four
great Imams all taught that it was impious to enquire into
these matters for all such allusions were mutashabih. The
Im^m Hanbal and other early divines followed in the path
of the early Muslims and said ; ^ We believe in the Book
and the Sunnat, and do not desire explanations. We know
that the High God is not to be compared to any created
object: nor any creature with Him.^ ^ Imam As-Shafa^i
said that a man who enquired into such matters should be
tied to a stake, and earned about, and that the following
proclamation should be made before him : “ This is the
reward of him who left the Quran and the Trg^ditions for
the study of scholastic theology.^^ Imam Hanbal says;
Whosoever moves his hand when ho roads in the QurAn the
words, ^ I have created with my hand,^ ought to have his
hand cut off; and whoever stretches forth his finger in
repeating the saying of Muhammad, ^ The heart of the
, believer is between two fingers of the Merciful/ deserves to
have his finger cut off.-*^ At-Tirmizi when consulted about
the statement of the Prophet that God had descended to
the lowest of the seven heavens, said : The descent is
intelligible, the manner how is unknown; the belief therein
1. Babist/dn, p. 218.
124 ^ The Faith of Islam,
is obligatory ; aud the asking about it is a blameable inno¬
vation/' But all such attempts to restrain discussion and
investigation failed.
The two main points in the discussion of this question
are (1) whether the attributes of God are internal or exter¬
nal, whether they are part of His essence or not, and
(2) whether they are eternal or not.
The two leading Sects were the Sifatians (or Attributists)
and the Mutazilites. The Sifatians whom the early orthodox
Muslims follow, taught that the attributes of God are
eternally inherent in His essence without separation or
change. Every attribute is conjoined with Him as life
with knowledge, or knowledge with power. They also
taught that the mutashabih verses were not to be explained,
and such were those which seemed to show a resemblance
between God and His creatures. So at first they did not
attempt to give the meaning of the terms, hands, eyes,
face, &o.,^' when applied to God. They simply accepted
them as they stood. In course of time, as will be seen,
differences of opinion on this point led to some sub-divisions
of this sect.
The Mutazilites were the great opponents of the SiMtians.
They rejected the idea of eternal attributes, saying that
eternity was the formal attribute of the essence of God.
“ If,'' said they, we admit the eternal existence of an
attribute then we must recognize the multiplicity of eternal
existences," They also rejected the attributes of hearing,
seeing and speech, as these were accidents proper to cor¬
poreal existences. They looked upon the divine attributes
as mental abstractions, and not as having a real existence
in the divine essence. The Mutazilites were emphatically
the Free thinkers of Isl4m. The origin of the sect was as
follows: A1 Hasan, a famous divine, was one day seated in
the Mosque at Basra when a discussion arose on the ques¬
tion whether a believer who committed a mortal sin became
thereby an unbeliever. The Kharigites (Ante p. 76) affirm-
The Origin of the MutanUtes,
ed that it was so. The orthodox denied this, saying that,
though guilty of sin, yet that as he believed rightly he was
not an infidel.^ One of the scholars Wasil Ibn Ata, (who
was born at Madina a. h. 80), then rose up and said : I
maintain that a Muslim who has committed a mortal sin
should be regarded neither as a believer nor an unbeliever,
but as occupying a middle station between the two/^ He
then retired to another part of the Mosque where he was
joined by his friend ’TJmr Ibn Obaid and others. They
resumed the discussion. A learned man, named Katada,
entering the Mosque, went up to them, but on finding that
they were not the party in which A1 Hasan was, said
'these are the Seceders (Al-Mutazila).^ Al Hasan soon
expelled them from his school. Wasil then founded a
school of his own of which, after the death of his master,
^Umr Ibn Obaid became the head.
Wfeil felt that a believer, though sinful, did not merit
the same degree of punishment as an infidel, and thus start¬
ing off on the question of degrees of punishment, he soon
opened up the whole subject of man^s responsibility and
the question of free-will. This soon brought him into con¬
flict with the orthodox on the subject of predestination and
that again to the subject of the inspiration, the interpreta¬
tion and the eternity of the Qur^in, and of the divine attri¬
butes. His followers rejected the doctrine of the divine
right” of the Imdm, and held that the entire body of the
Faithful had the right to elect the most suitable person,
who need not necessarily be a man of the Quraish tribe, to
fill that oflS.ce. The principles of logic and the teaching of
philosophy were brought to bear on the precepts of religio)i*
According to Shahrastfi.ni the Mutazilites hold:—
‘'That God is eternal; and that eternity is the peculiar property
of His essence; but they deny the existence of any eternal attributes
(as distinct from His nature). For they say, He is Omniscient as to
1. Ibn Khallikan, vol. iii, p. 943.
l26 The Faith of Islam,
fCis nature; Living as to His nature; Almighty as to His nature;
but not through any knowledge, power or life existing in Him as
eternal attributes; for knowledge, power and life are part of His
essence, otherwise, if they are to be looked upon as eternal attributes
of the Deity, it will give rise to a multiplicity of eternal entities/’
They maintain that the knowledge of Grod is as much within the
province of reason as that of any other entity; that He cannot bo
beheld with the corporeal sight; and with the exception of Himself
everything else is liable to change or to suffer extinction. They also
maintain that Justice is the animating principle of human actions:
Justice according to them being the dictates of Reason and the con¬
cordance of the ultimate results of this conduct of man with such
dictates/’
“Again, they hold that there is no eternal law as regards human
actions; that the divine ordinances which regulate the conduct of
men are the results of growth and development; that God has com¬
manded and forbidden, promised and threatened by a law which
grew gradually. At the same time, say they, ho who works righteous¬
ness merits rewards and he who works evil deserves punishment.
They also say, that all knowledge is attained through reason, and
must necessarily bo so obtained. They hold that the cognition of good
and evil is also within the province of reason; that nothing is known
to be right or wrong until reason has enlightened us as to the dis¬
tinction ; and that thankfulness for the blessings of the Benefactor
is made obligatory by reason, even before the promulgation of any
law upon the subject. They also maintain that man has perfect
freedom; is the author of his actions both good and evil, and deserves
reward' or punishment hereafter accordingly.”
During the reigns of the ^Abbasside Khalifs M£miin,
Mutasim and Wathik (198—232 a.h.) at BaghdS-d, the
MutaziHtes were in high favour at Court. Under the
^Abbdsside dynasty ^ the ancient Arab Society was revolu¬
tionized, Persians filled the most important offices of State;
Persian doctrines took the place of Arab ones. The orthodox
suffered bitter persecution. The story of that persecution
will be told later on. The Khalif Wathik at length relented.
1. ** C’etait r4poq,ue de la plus grande splendeur ext^rieure de I’empire
des Acabes, oh leur ponvoir, at en m^me temps leur culture intelleotuelle
et litt^aire, atteiguirent leur point culzmiiaut/* Journal Asiatique 4dne
S^e, Tome xii. p* ICNk.
The Creation of the Qiira/n,
An old man, heavily chained, was one day brought into his
presence. The prisoner obtained permission to put a few
questions to Ahmad Ibn Abu Da,ud, a Mutazilite and the
President of the Court of Inquisition. The following dialogue
took place. Ahmad/*' said the prisoner, ^^what is the
dogma which you desire to have established.*'^ ^^That
the Qur^n is created,"" replied Ahmad. This dogma, then,
is without doubt an essential part of religion, insomuch that
the latter cannot without it be said to be complete
Certainly^^Has the Apostle of God taught this to
men or has he left them free?" He has left them free."
^ Was the Apostle of God acquainted with this dogma or not ?"
He was acquainted with it." Wherefore, then, do you
desire to impose a belief regarding which the Apostle of God
has left men free to think as they please ?" Ahmad remaining
silent, the old man turned to Wathik and said, O Prince of
Believers, here is my first position made good," Then turning
to Ahmad, he said, God has said, ^ This day have I perfected
religion for you, and have filled up the measures of my
favours upon you; and it is my pleasure that IsMm be your
religion.^ (Sura v. 5). But according to you IslSm is not
perfected unless we adopt this doctrine that the Qurdn is
created. Which now is most worthy of credence—God,
when He declares Islam to be complete and perfect, or you
when you announce the contrary ?" Ahmad was still
silent. Prince of Believers," said the old man, there
is my second point made good." He continued, Ahmad,
how do you explain the following words of God in His
Holy Book ?—^ 0 Apostle ! proclaim all that hath been sent
down to thee from thy Lord; for if thou dost not, thou hast
not proclaimed His message at all.^ Now this doctrine that
you desire to spread among the Faithful, has the Apostle
taught it, or has he abstained from doing so Ahmad
remained silent. The old man resumed, Prince of Believ¬
ers, such is my third argument." Then turning to ’Ahmad
he said; If the Prophet was acquainted with the doctrine
The Faith of Islam.
wliict you desire to impose upon us, had he the right to pass
by it in silence He had the right/^ And did the
same right appertain to Abu Bakr, Omar, Osmto and ^Ali ?”
It did,” Prince of Believers/^ said the prisoner, God
will, in truth, be severe on us, if He deprives us of a liberty
which He accorded to the Prophet and his Companions.”
The B3iaKf assented, and at once restored the old man to
liberty. So ended one of the fiercest persecutions the
orthodox have ever had to endure, but so also ended the
attempt to break through the barriers of traditionalism. ^
The next Khalif, A1 Mutawakhil, a ferocious and cruel man,
restored the orthodox party to place and power. He issued
a fatva (decree) declaring that the dogma jthat the Qur^n
was created was an utter falsehood. He instituted severe
measures against Christians, Jews, Shia’hs and Mutazilites.
Ahmad Ibu Abu Da,iid was one of the first to be disgraced.
Heresy and latitudinarianism were banished.
The final blow to the Mutazilites, however, came not
from the Khalif but a little later on from Abu Hasan-al-
AsVari (270—340 a,h.)
The Mutazilites expelled from power in Baghdad, still
flourished at Basra where one day the following incident
occurred. Abu ^All Al-Jubbai, a Mutazilite doctor, was
lecturing to his students when Al-AsVari propounded the
following case to his master : There were three brothers,
one of whom was a true believer, virtuous and pious; the
second an infidel, a debauchee and a reprobate; and the
third an infant ; they all died. What became of them
Al-Jubbai answered: ** The virtuous brother holds a high
station in Paradise, the infidel is in the depths of hell, and
the child is among those who have obtained salvation.”
1. To understand the bearing of all the disoussions that then took place,
the reader should have some acquaintance with the history of the Khtdffa,
and of the risejand progress of Muslim philosophy. The former can he found
in Osborn’s ** Khalffs of Baghd^.” A short review of the latter will be
found in a note at the end of this chapter.
The Rise of the Ash^arians. 129
Suppose now/^ said Al-Ashman, that the child should
wish to ascend to the place occupied by his yirtuous brother,
would he be allowed to do so No/^ replied Al-Jubbai,
it would be said to him: ^ thy brother arrived at this
place through His numerous works of obedience to God,
and thou hast no such works to set forward.’ ” Suppose
then,^’ said Al-Ash’ari, that the child should say: ^ this is
not my fault, you did not let me live long enough, neither
did you give me the means of proving my obedience.’ ”
^^In that case,” said Al-Jubbai, the Almighty would say:
^ I knew that if I allowed thee to live, thou wouldest have
been disobedient and have incurred the punishment of hell:
I acted, therefore, for thy advantage.’ ” Well,” said
Al-Ash’ari, " and suppose the infidel brother were here to
say: ^ 0 God of the Universe ! since Thou knowest what
awaited him. Thou must have known what awaited me ; why
then didst Thou act for his advantage and not for mine V ” ^
Al-Jubbai was silent, though very angry with his pupil,
who was now convinced that the Mutazilite dogma of man’s
free-wdll was false, and that God elects some for mercy and
some for punishment without any motive whatever. Dis¬
agreeing with his teacher on this point, he soon began to
find other points of difference, and soon announced his
belief that the Quran was not created. This occurred on a
Friday in the Great Mosque at Basra. Seated in his chair
he cried out in a loud voice : They who know me know
who I am; as for those who do not know me I shall tell
them ; I am ’All Ibn Ismd’il Al-Ash’ari, and I used to hold
that the Quran was created, that the eyes (of men) shall
not see God, and that we ourselves are the authors of our
evil deeds ; now, I have returned to the truth : T renounce
these opinions, and I take the engagement to refute the
Mutazilites and expose their infamy and turpitude.” ^
He then, adopting scholastic methods, started a school of
1. Ibn Khallikan, vol. ii. p. 669. 2. Ibid, p. 228.
The Faith of Islam,
tliouglit of his own, which was in the main a return to
orthodoxy. The Ash^arian doctrines differ slightly from the
tenets of the Sifatians of which sect Al-Ash^ari^s disciples
form a branch. The Ash^arians hold—
(i,) That the attributes of Grod are distinct from His
essence, yet in such a way as to forbid any comparison
being made between God and His creatures. They say they
are not ^aui nor ghair not of His essence, nor distinct
from it: ^^e., they cannot be compared with any other things.
(ii.) That God has one eternal will from which proceed
all things, the good and the evil, the useful and the hurtful.
The destiny of man was written on the eternal table before
the world was created. So far they go with the Sifatians,
but in order to preserve the moral responsibility of man
they say that ho has power to convert will into action.
But this power cannot create anything new for then God^s
sovereignty would be impaired ; so they say that God in
His providence so orders matters* that whenever a man
desires to do a certain thing, good or bad, the action corres¬
ponding to tho desire is, there and then, created by God,
and, as it were, fitted on to the desire.^^ Thus it seems as
if it camo naturally from the will of the man, whereas it
does not. This action is called Kasb (acquisition) because
it is acquired by a special creative act of God. It is an act
directed to the obtaining of profit, or the removing of
injury: the term is, therefore, inapplicable to the Deity,
Abu Bakr-al-Bakillani, a disciple of Al-Ash^arf, says : The
essence or substance of tho action is the effect of tho power
of God, but its being an action of obedience, such as
prayer, or an action' of disobedience, such as fornication,
are qualities of the action, which proceed from the power
of man.^^ The Imatn Al-Haramain (419—478 a. h.) held
that the actions of men were effected by the power which
God has created in man.^^ Abu Ish£q al Isfarayain says :
That which maketh impression, or hath influence on action,
is a compound of the power of God and the power of man/^
The MushabiMtes,
(iii.) They say that the word of God is eternal; though
they acknowledge that the vocal sounds used in the Qurdu;
which is the manifestation oE that word, are created. They
say, in short, that the Quran contains (1) the eternal word
which existed in the essence of God before time was ; and
(2) the word which consists of sounds and combinations of
letters. This last they call the created word.
Thus Al-AsVari traversed the main positions of the Muta-
ziliteS; denying that man can by the aid of his reason alone
rise to the knowledge of good and evil. He must exercise
no judgment but accept all that is revealed. He has no
right to apply the moral laws which affect men to the
actions of God. It cannot be asserted by the human reason
that the good will be rewarded, or the bad punished in a
future world. Man must always approach God as a slave,
in whom there is no light or knowledge to judge of the
actions of the Supreme. Whether God will accept the
penitent sinner or not cannot be asserted, for He is an
absolute Sovereign, above all law.^
The opinions of the more irrational sub-divisions of the
Sifatians need not be entered into at any length.
The Mushabihites (or Assimilators), interpreting some of
the mutashd.bih verses literally, held that there is a resem¬
blance between God and His creeitures; and that the Deity is
capable of local motion, of ascending, descending, &c. These
they called declarativeattributes.’^ The Mujassimians (or
Corporealists) declared God to be corporeal, by which some of
them meant, a selE-subsisting body, whilst others declared the
Deity to be finite. They are acknowledged to be heretics.
1. Ibn Khaldoun says: ** L*4fcablissemeiit dee preuves (fondles Hur la
raison) fut adopts par les (premiers) seolastiques pour le snjefc do lour
trait^s, mais il ne fat pas, ootnme cbess les philosophes, une tentative pour
arriver ^ la d^oouverte de la v^rit4 et pour obteuir, au moyen de la demon¬
stration, la oonuaissanoe de oe qui ^tait ignore jusqu’ alors. Les soolas-
tiques reoherohaient des preuves intelleotuoUes dans le but de confirmer la
v4rit6 des dogmes, de justifier les opinions des premiers Mnsalmans et de
repousser les doctrines trompeuses que les novateurs avaient 4mises/*
Prol6gom^nes d’lbn Khaldoun, vol. iii. p. 169,
132 Tiie Faith of Islam,
The Jabrians gave great prominence to the denial of
free agency in man^ and thus opposed the Mutazilites, who
in this respect are Kadrians, that is, they deny ^^Al-
Kadr/' Grod^s absolute sovereignty, and recognize free
will in man.
These and various other sub-divisions are not now of much
importance. The Sunnis follow the teaching of Al-Ash^ari,
whilst the Shi^ahs incline to that of the Mutazilites.
Connected with the subject of the attributes of God is
that of the names to be used when speaking of Him. All
sects agree in this, that the names The Living, the Wise,
the Powerful, the Hearer, the Seer, the Speaker,^^ &c., are
to be applied to God; but the orthodox belief is that all
such names must be tauqifi,^^ that is dependent on some
revelation. Thus it is not lawful to apply a name to God
expressive of one of His attributes, unless there is some
statement made, or order given by Muhammad to legalize
it. God is rightly called Sh^,fi (Healer), but He cannot be
called Tabxb which means much the same thing, for the
simple reason that the word Tabib is never applied in the
Qur^n or the Traditions to God. In like manner the term
^Alim (Knower) is lawful, but not so the expression ^Aqil
(Wise). The Mutazilites say that if, in the Quran or Tradi¬
tions, there is any praise of an attribute, then the adjective
formed from the name of that attribute can be applied to God
even though the actual word does not occur in any revela¬
tion. Al-Ghazzdli (a.h. 460—505), who gave in the East the
death-blow to the Muslim philosophers, says : The names
of God not given in the Law, if expressive of His glory,
may be used of Him, but only as expressive of His attri¬
butes, not of His nature.^^ On the ground that it does not
occur in the Law, the Persian word Khuda^^ has been
objected to, an objection which also holds good with regard
to the use of such terms as God, Dieu, Gott, &c. To this
it is answered, that as Khuda^^ means one who comes
by himself^ it is equivalent to the term Wdjib-ul-Wajhd,
The Names of God,
one who has necessary existence/^ and therefore so long
as it is not considered as the Ism-i-Zat (name of His
nature) it may with propriety be used/^^
The current belief now seems to be that the proper name
equal to the term Allah, current in a language, can be used,
provided always that such a name is not taken from the
language of the Infidels; so G-od, Dieu, &o., still remain
unlawful. The names of God authorised by the Qur4n and
Traditions are, exclusive of the term AlMh, ninety-nine in
number. They are called the Asma-i-Husn& ^ (noble names);
but in addition to these there are many synonyms used on
the authority of Iima\ Such are Hanan, equal to Rahim
(Merciful) and Manan, one who puts another under an
obligation.’^ In the Tafsir-i-Bahr it is stated that there
are three thousand names of God; one thousand of which
are known to angels; one thousand to prophets; whilst
one thousand are thus distributed, viz>, in the Pentateuch
there are three hundred, in the Psalms three hundred, in
the Gospels three hundred, in the Qur^n ninety-nine, and
one still hidden.
The following texts of the Quran are adduced to prove
the nature of the divine attributes:—
(1) . Life. There is no God but He, the Living, the
Eternal.’^ (Sura ii. 256). *^Put thy trust in Him that
liveth and dieth not.^' (Sura xxv. 60).
(2) . Knowledge. Dost thou not see that God knoweth
all that is in the heavens, and all that is in the earth.’^
(Sura Iviii. 8). ^^With Him are the keys of the secret
things; none knoweth them but He: He knoweth what¬
ever is on the land and in the sea; and no leaf falleth but
He knoweth it; neither is there a grain in the darknesses
of the earth, nor a thing green or sere, but it is noted in a
distinct writing.^^ (Sfira vi. 59).
1, SbarU-i-Aqdid-i-Jfef, p. 63.
2. Most oxcellent titles has God: by these call ye on Him and stand
aloof from those who pervert His titles.” (Sdra vii. 179.)
The Faith of Islam.
(3) . Power. If God pleased^ of their ears and of their
eyes * would He surely deprive them. Verily God is Al¬
mighty (Sura ii. 19). He not powerful enough to
quicken the dead."'^ (Sura Ixxv. 40). God hath power
over all things/^ (Sura iii. 159.)
(4) . Will. God is worker of that He willeth.^^ (Stira
Ixxxv. 16). But if God pleased, He would surely bring
them, one and all, to the guidance.*^^ (Stira vi. 35). God
misleadeth whom He will, and whom He will He guideth—
Grod doeth His pleasure.^^ (Stira xiv. 4, 32).
As this attribute is closely connected with the article
of the Creed which refers to Predestination, the different
opinions regarding it will be stated under that head.
There has never been any difference of opinion as to
the existence of these four attributes so clearly described
in the QurSn: the difference is with regard to the mode
of their existence and their operation. There is, first, the
ancient Sif4tian doctrine that the attributes are eternal
and of the essence of God: secondly, the Mutazilite theory
that they are not eternal; and, thirdly, the Ash^arian
dogma that they are eternal, but distinct from His
essence.
There is also great difference of opinion with regard to
the next three attributes—^hearing, sight, speech. For the
existence of the two first of these the following verses are
quoted, ^^He truly heareth and knoweth all things,^^
(Sflra xliv. 5). No vision taketh in Him, but He taketh
in all vision/^ (Stira vi. 103).
The use of the terms sitting, rising, &c., hands, face, eyes,
and so on, gave rise as I have shown to several sub-divisions
of the SiMtians. Al-GhazzS»li says: He sits upon His
throne after that manner which He has Himself described
and in that sense which He Himself means, which is a sitting
far remote from any notion of contact or resting upon, or
local situation.” This is the Ash^arian idea, but between
the AsVarians and those who fell into the error of the
Katdm,
Majassimians, ^ there was another school. The followers of
Imam Ibn Hanbal say that such words represent the attri¬
butes existing in God. The words God sits on His throne”
mean that He has the power of sitting. Thus^ they say, We
keep the literal meaning of the words, we allow no figura¬
tive interpretation. To do so is to introduce a dangerous
principle of interpretation, for the negation of the apparent
sense of a passage may tend to weaken the authority of
revelation. At the same time we do not pretend to explain
the act, for it is written : ^ There is none like unto Him/
(Sura cxii.) ^ Nought is there like Him/ (Sura xlii. 9.)
^Unworthy the estimate they form of God/” (Suraxxii.
73.) To prove that God occupies a place they produce the
following Tradition: Ibn-al-Hakim wished to give liberty
to a female slave Saouda and consulted the Prophet about
it, Muhammad said to her, ^ Where is God V ^ In heaven,^
she replied, ^ Set her at liberty, she is a true believer.^ ”
Not, say the Commentators, because she believed that God
occupied a place but because she took the words in their
literal signification. The SM^ahs consider it wrong to
attribute to God movement, quiescence, &c., for these
imply the possession of a body. They hold, too, in opposi¬
tion to the orthodox that God will never be seen, for that
which is seen is limited by space.
The seventh attribute—speech—^has been fruitful of a
very long and important controversy connected with the
nature of the Qur5.n, for the word KaUm” means not
mere speech, but revelation and every other mode of com¬
municating intelligence. Al-Ghazzali says:—
“ He doth speak, command, forbid, promise, and threaten by an
eternal ancient word, subsisting in His essence. Neither is it like to
the word of the creatures, nor doth it consist in a voice arising from
the commotion of tho air and tbe collision of bodies, nor letters
1. “ The Mujassimians, or Oorporealists not only admitted a resemblance
between Gk)d and created beings, but declared Ck>d to be corporeal.’* Sale*s
preliminary discourse, Section yiii. para* 8*
The Faith of Islam,
which are separated by the joining together of the lips or the motion
of the tongue. The Qur4n, the Law, the Gospel and the Psalter are
books sent down by Him to His Apostles, and the Quran, indeed, is
read with tongues written in books, and is kept in hearts; yet, as
subsisting in the essence of God, it doth not become liable to separa¬
tion and division whilst it is transferred into the hearts and on to
paper. Thus Moses also heard the word of God without voice or
letter, even as the saints behold the esscnco of God without sub¬
stance or accident.”
The orthodox believe that God is really a speaker: the
Mutazilites deny this, and say that He is only called a
speaker because He is the originator of words and sounds.
They also bring the following objections to bear against
the doctrine of the eternity of the Qur£n. (1) It is written
in Arabic, it descended, is read, is heard, and is written.
It was the subject of a miracle. It is divided into parts
and some verses are abrogated by others. (2) Events are
described in the past tense, but if the Quran had been
eternal the future tense would have been used. (3) The
Qur4n contains .commands and prohibitions ; if it is eternal
who were commanded and who were admonished ? (4) If it
has existed from eternity it must exist to eternity, and so
even in the last day, and in the next world, men will be
under the obligation of performing the same religious
* duties as they do now, and of keeping all the outward pre¬
cepts of the law. (5) If the Quran is eternal, then there
are two eternals.
The position thus assailed was not at first a hard and fast
dogma of Isldm. It was more a speculative opinion than
anything else, but the opposition of the Mutazilites soon
led all who wished to be considered orthodox to become
not only stout assertors of the eternity of the Qar4n, but
to give up their lives in defence of what they believed to
be true. The Mutazilites by asserting the subjective nature
of the Quranic inspiration brought the book itself within
the reach of criticism. This was too* much for orthodox
Islam to bear even though the Ehalif M4mixn in the
The Eternity of the Qmm.
year 212 a.h. issued a fatsra declaring that all who asserted
the eternity of the Quran were guilty of heresy. Some six
years after this, the Imam Ahmad Ibii Hanbal was severely
beaten, and then imprisoned because he refused to assent to
the truth of the decree issued by the Khalif. A1 Buwaiti,
a famous disciple of As-Shafa^i, used an ingenious argu¬
ment to fortify his own mind when being punished by
the order of the Khalif. He was taken all the way from
Cairo to Baghdad and told to confess that the Quran was
created. On his refusal, he was imprisoned at Baghdad
and there remained in chains till the day of his death. As
Ar-Rabi Ibn Sulaiman says : I saw A1 Buwaiti mounted
on a mule: round his neck was a wooden collar, on his
legs were fetters, from these to the collar extended an
iron chain to which was attached a clog weighing fifty
pounds. Whilst they led him on he continued repeating
these words, ^ Almighty God created the world by means of
the word Be ! Now, if that word was created, one created
thing would have created another.^ A1 Buwaiti here refers
to the verse, Verily our speech unto a thing when we
will the same, is that we only say to it, ^ Be,^ and it is,~
Kun fayaktina/' (Sura xxxvi. 82). This, in the wayAl
Buwaiti applied it, is a standing argument of the orthodox
to prove the eternity of the Quran.
When times changed men were put to death for holding
the opposite opinion. The Imam As-Sh^fa^i held a public
disputation in Baghdad with Hafs, a Mutazilite preacher,
on this very point. Sh^fa^i quoted the verse, God said he,
mid it was/^ and asked, Did not God create all things by
the word be Hafs .assented. If then the Quran was
created, must not the word be have been created with it
Hafs could not deny so plain a proposition. Then,^^ said
Shdfa^i, all things, according to you, were created by a
created being, which' is a gross inconsistency and manifest
1. Ibn Khtbllikan, vol. iv. p. 394
The Faith of Islam.
impiety/^ Hafs was reduced to silence, and such an efEect
had Shafa^l^s logic on the audience that they put Hafs to
death as a pestilent heretic. Thus did the Ash^arian
opinions on the subject of the Divine attributes again gain
the mastery.^
The Mutazilites failed, and the reason why is plain.
They were, as a rule, influenced by no high spiritual
motives; often they were mere quibblers. They sought
no light in an external revelation. Driven to a reaction
by the rigid system they combated, they would have
made reason alone their chief guide. The nobler spirits
among them were impotent to regenerate the faith they
professed to follow. It was, however, a great movement,
and at one time, it threatened to change the whole nature
of Islam. This period of Muslim history, famed as that in
which the effort was made to cast off the fetters of the
rigid system which Islam was gradually tightening by the
increased authority given to traditionalism, and to the
refinements of the four Imams, was undoubtedly a period
of, comparatively speaking, high civilization. Baghdad, the
capital of the Khallfate, was a busy, populous, well-governed
city. This it mainly owed to the influence of the Persian
family of the Barmecides, one of whom was Vizier to the
Khalif H^run-ur-Rashid, Harun^s fame as a good man is
quite undeserved. It is true that he was a patron of learn¬
ing, that his Empire was extensive, that he gained many
victories, that his reign was the culminating point of Arab
grandeur. But for all that, he was a morose despot, a cruel
man, thoroughly given up to pleasures of a very questionable
nature. Drunkenness and debauchery were common at
court. Plots and intrigues were ever at work. Such was
the state of one of the greatest, if not the greatest, periods
1. “ The Freethinkers (Mutazilites) left no traces of themselves except
in the controversial treatises which they had written. These were des¬
troyed, and with their destruction the last vestiges of the conflict between
Free-thought and the spirit of Isldm were obliterated.” Osborn’s Khalifs
of Baghdad, p. I4i8.
A}igels,
of Muslim rule. This^ too^ was at a time most favourable
for tbe development of any good which Islam might have
possessed. It should be remembered that whatever glory
is rightly attached to this period is connected with an epoch
when heresy was specially prevalent, when orthodoxy was
weak in Baghdad. The culture of the time was in spite of,
not on account of, the influence of orthodox Islam.
2. Angels. —Of this article of the creed Muhammad Al-
Berkevi says:—
“ We must confess that God has angels who act according to His
order and who do not rebel against Him. They neither oat nor
drink, nor is there amongst them any diflerenee of sex. Some are
near the throne of God; those are His messengers. Bach one has
his particular work. Some are on earth, some in heaven, some are
always standing, some always prostrate themselves and some laud
and praise God. Others have charge of men and record all their
actions. Some angels are high in stature and are possessed of groat
power. Such an one is Gabriel (Jibr4,il) who in the space of one
hour can descend from heaveir to earth, and who with one wing can
lift up a mountain.
We must believe in Tzra,fl who receives the souls of men when
they die, and in Isr4ffl into whose charge is committed the trumpet.
This trumpet he has actually in his hand, and placed to his mouth
ready to blow when God gives the order. When he receives that
order he will blow such a terrible blast that all living things will
die.^ This is the oommoncemont of tlie last day. T'lio world will
remain in this state of death forty years. Thon God Most High will
revive Israfil who will blow a second blast, at the sound of which all
the dead will rise to life.”**
This confession of faith makes no mention of Mika,11
(Michael), the fourth of the archangels. His special duty is
to see that all created beings have wliat is needful for them.
He has charge of the rain-fall, plants, grain and all that is
required for the sustenanc(» of men, boasts, fishes, &c.
GrabiieTs special charge is the communication of Ood^s will to
prophets. The words one terrible in power^^- (Suraliii. 5)
2. L’lslamisme d’aprl^s lo Ooran, p. 136.
If Sfira 68, 66.
140 The Faith of Islam.
are generally applied to him. He is honoured with the
privilege of nearness to God, Tradition says that on the
night of the Mi^raj, the Prophet saw that Gabriel had six hun¬
dred wings, and that his body was so large that from one
shoulder to the other the distance was so great that a swift
flying bird would require five hundred years to pass over it.
Nine-tenths of all created beings are said to be angels
who are formed of light. Their rank is stationary, and each
is content with the position he occupies. Their one desire
is to love and to know God. Whatever he commands
they do. All beings in the heaven and on the earth are
His: and they who are in His presence disdain not His
service, neither are they wearied : they praise Him day and
night.^^ (Sura xxi. 19, 20.) They are free from all sin.^
It is true that they did not wish for the creation of Adam,
and this may seem like a want of confidence in God. It is
said, however, that their object was not to oppose God, but
to relieve their minds of the doubts they had in the matter.
Thus ^^when the Lord said to the angels, ^Verily, lam
about to place one in my stead on earth,^ they said: ^ Wilt
Thou place there one who will do ill therein, and shed blood
when we celebrate thy praise and extol thy holiness."^ God
said: ^ Verily I know what ye know not.** It is true that
Iblis wa.s disobedient, but then he belonged not to the angelic
order but to that of the jinn. When we said to the angels,
^ prostrate yourselves before Adam,^ they all prostrated them¬
selves save Iblis, who was of the jinn, and revolted from his
Lord^s behest.’^ (Sura xviii. 48.) (See also Sura ii. 38.)
Angels appear in human form on special occasions, but
usually they are invisible. It is a common belief that
animals can see angels and devils. This accounts for the
saying, If you hear a cock crow, pray for mercy, for it
has seen an angel; but if you hear an ass bray, take refuge
with God, for it has seen a devil/^
1. Sharh4.»Aqi£d4.J^m£,p. 112.
Tlie Recording Angels.
The angels intercede for man: The angels celebrate
the praise of their Lord and ask forgiveness for the
dwellers on earth/^ (Stira xlii. 3.) They also act as guar¬
dian angels: " Each hath a succession of angels before him
and behind him who watch over him by Grod^s behest.^^
(Stira xiii. 12.) Is it not enough for you that your Lord
aideth you with three thousand angels sent down from on
high (Stira iii. 120.) Supreme over His servants He
sendeth forth guardians who watch over you, until when
death overtaketh any one of you our messengers take his
soul and fail not.^^ (Stira vi. 61.)
In the Traditions it is said that Grod has appointed for
every man two angels to watch over him by day, and two
by night. The one stands on the right hand side of the
man, the other on his left. Some, however, say that they
reside in the teeth, and that the tongue of the man is the
pen and the saliva of the mouth the ink.^ They protect the
actions of men and record them all whether good or bad.
They are called the Mua^qqibat, ^.e., those who succeed one
another. They also bear the name of Kirfim-nl-K4tibin,
^^the exalted writers.^^ They are referred to in the Quran.
Think they that we hear not their secrets and their
private talk ? Tes, and our angels who are at their sides
write them down.-’^ (Sdra xliii. 80).
There are eight angels who support the throne of God.
And the angels shall be on its sides, and over them on
that day eight shall bear up the throne of thy Lord.^^
(Stira Ixix. 17). Nineteen have charge of hell. Over
it are nineteen. None but angels have we made guardians
of the fire.^^ (Sdra Ixxiv. 30).
There is a special arrangement made by Providence to
mitigate the evils of Satanic interference. Iblis,^^ says
Jdbir Maghrabi, though able to assume all other forms is
not permitted to appear in the semblanxse of the Deity, or
1. SharM-'Aqiid-i-JIau, p. 187*
The Faith of Islam,
any of His angels, or prophets. There would otherwise be
much danger to human salvation, as he might, under the
appearance of one of the prophets, or of some superior
being, make use of this power to seduce men to sin. To
prevent this, whenever he attempts to assume such forms,
fii’e comes down from heaven and repulses him.^^
The story of Harut and Marut is of some interest from
its connection with the question of the impeccability of the
angels. Speaking of those who reject God^s Apostle the
Qurdn says: And they followed what the Satans read in
the reign of Solomon; not that Solomon was unbelieving,
but the Satans were unbelieving. Sorcery did they teach
to men, and what had been revealed to the two angels
Hartit and MSrut at Babel. Yet no man did these two
teach until they had said, ^ We are only a temptation. Be
not thou an unbeliever.^ (Sura ii. 96). Here it is quite
clear that two angels teach sorcery, which is generally allowed
to be an evil. Some explanation has to be given. Com¬
mentators are by no means reticent on this subject. The
story goes that in the time of the prophet Enoch when the
angels saw the bad actions of men they said : 0 Lord!
Adam and his descendants whom Thou has appointed as Thy
vice-regents on earth act disobediently.^^ To which the
Lord replied : If I were to send you on earth, and to give
you lustful and angry dispositions, you too would sin.^^ The
angels thought otherwise; so God told them to select two
of their number who should undergo this ordeal. They
selecijed two, renowned for devotion and piety. God hav¬
ing implanted in them the passions of lust and anger said:
All day go to and fro on the earth, put an end to the
quarrels of men, ascribe no equal to Me, do not commit
adultery, drink no wine, and every night repeat the
Ism-ul-A^zam, the exalted name (of God) and return to
heaven.^^ This they did for some time, but at length a
beautiful woman named Zuhra (Venus) led them astray.
One day she bronght them a cup of wine. One said:
S&Tut and Mdrut
Grod has forbidden it the other, Grod is merciful and
forgiving/^ So they drank the wine, killed the husband
of Zuhra, to whom they revealed the exalted name,^^ and
fell into grievous sin. Immediately after, they found that
the name^^ had gone from their memories and so they
could not return to heaven as usual. They were very much
concerned at this and begged Enoch to intercede for them.
The prophet did so, and with such success that the angels
were allowed to choose between a present or a future punish¬
ment. They elected to be punished here on earth. They
were then suspended with their heads downwards in a well
at Babel. Some say that angels came and whipped them
with rods of fire, and that a fresh spring ever flowed just
beyond the reach of their parched lips. The woman was
changed to a star. Some assort that it was a shooting star
which has now passed out of existence. Others say that
she is the star Venus.
It is only right to state that the Qdzi ^Ayfe, Im^m
Eakhr-ud-din (544—606 a.h.), Q£zi Nasir-ud-din
Baidavi (620—691 a.h.) and most scholastic divines deny
the truth of this story. They say that angels are immacu¬
late, but it is plain that this does not meet the difficulty
which the Qurdn itself raises in connection with H^irut and
M^rut. They want to know how beings in such a state
can teach, and whether it is likely that men would have the
courage to go near such a horrible scene. As to the woman,
they think the whole story absurd, not only because the
star Venus was created before the time of Adam, but also
because it is inconceivable that one who was so wicked
should have the honour of shining in heaven for ever. A
solution, however, they are bound to give, and it is this.
Magic is a great art which God must allow mankind to
know. The dignity of the order of prophets is so great
that they cannot teach men what is confessedly hurtful.
Two angels were therefore sent, and so men can now
distingui^ between the miracles of prophets, the signs of
l44 The Faith of Islam»
saints, the wonders of magicians and others. Then Hartit
and Marut always discouraged men from learning magic.
They said to those who came to them : We are only a
temptation. Be not thou an unbeliever.^^ Others assert
that it is a Jewish allegory in which the two angels repre¬
sent reason and benevolence, the woman the evil appetites.
The woman^s ascent to heaven represents death.
To this solution of the difficulty, however, the great
body of the Traditionists do not agree. They declare that
the story is a Hadis-i-Sahih, and that the Isn^d is sound
and good. I name only a few of the great divines who
hold this view. They are Imam Ibn Hanbal, Ibn Ma^siid,
Ibn ’TJmr, Ibn ^Abbfe, Hafiz ^Asqallani i and others. JeMl-
ud-din Syuti in his commentary the Durr-i-Mashiir, has
given all the Traditions in order and, though there is some
variety in the details, the general purport accords with the
narrative as I have related it. The Traditionists answer
the objections of the Scholastics thus. They say that
angels are immaculate only so long as they remain in the
angelic state; that, though confined, Hartit and Marut can
teach magic, for a word or two is quite sufficient for that
purpose; that some men have no fear and, if they have, it
is quite conceivable that the two angels may teach through
the instrumentality of devils or jinn. With regard to the
woman Zuhra they grant that to be changed into a bright
star is of the nature of a reward; but they say the desire
to learn the exalted name^^ was so meritorious an act that
the good she desired outweighs the evil she did. With
regard to the date of the creation of the star Venus, it is
said that all our astronomical knowledge is based on obser¬
vations made since the Flood, whereas this story relates to
the times of Enoch who lived before the days of Noah.
So the dispute goes on and men of great repute for learn¬
ing and knowledge believe in the story.
1. Tafsh-i-Faiz-ixl-iB^Jun, p. 58.
Mwtlar anti Nal'lr. 145
Munkir and Nakii* are two fierce-looking black angels
with blue eyes who visit every man in his grave, and
examine him with regard to his faith in God and in
Muhammad. The dead arc supposed to dwell in ^Alam-i-
barzakh, a state of existence intervening between the
present life and the life of mankind after the resurrec¬
tion.^ This is the meaning of the word grave^^ when used
in this connection. Unbelievers and wicked Muslims suffer
trouble in that state; true believers who can give a good
answer to the angels are happy. Some suppose that a
body of angels are appointed for this purpose and that
some of them bear the name of Munkii’, and some that of
Nakir and that, just as each man has two i*ecording angels
during his lifetime, two from this class are appointed to
examine him after death. There is a difference of opinion
with regard to children. The general belief is that the
children of believers will be questioned, but thaf.the angels
will teach them to say: Allah is my Lord, Islam my
religion, and Muhammad my Prophet.^^ With regard to
the children of unbelievers being questioned, Tmam Abu
Hanifa hesitated to give an opinion. Ee also doubted
about their punishment. Some think they will be in
AV^f, a place between heaven and hell ; others suppose
that they will be servants to the true believers in Paradise.
Distinct from the angels there is another order of beings
made of fire called jinn (genii.) It is said that they were
created thousands of years before Adam came into exist¬
ence, ^^We created man of dried clay, of dark loam
moulded, and tbe jinn had been before created of subtle
(Sura xv. 26, 27.) They eat, drink, propagate their
species and are subject to death, though they generally live
many oonturies. They dwell chiefly in tho Koh-i-Kaf, a
chain of mountains supposed to encompass the world
1. Takmn-ul.Ittidii, p. 19.
2. “ From the boginniiig of history the Caucasus is to oivilizod nations, both
Greek and Orfental, the boundary of geographical knowledge—indeed, the
boundary of tho world itself.*^—Bryce’s Txansoaucaaia and Ararat, p. 48.
The ’Faith of Islam,
some are believers in Islam; some are infidels, and will be
punished. I will wholly fill hell with jinn and men.^^
(Stira xi. 120.) The Sura called Surat-ul-Jinn (Ixxii.) refers
to their belief in Islam, The passage is too long to quote.
They try to hear ^ what is going on in heaven. We guard
them men) from every stoned Satan, save such as
steal a hearing.’^ fSiira xv. 18.) They were under the
power of Solomon and served him. (Sura xxxviii. 36.)
An ^Ifrit of the jinn said, I will bring it thee (Solomon)
ere thou risest from thy place : I have power for this and
am trusty.^^ (Siira xxvii. 39.) At the last day the jinn also
will be questioned. Imam Hauifa doubted whether the jinn
who are Muslims will be rewarded. The unbelieving jinn will
assuredly be punished. Tradition classifies them in the fol¬
lowing order: (1) Jann, (2) Jinn, (3) Shaitan, (4) ^Ifrit, (5)
Marid. Many fables have been invented concerning these
beings, and though intelligent Muslims may doubt these
wonderful accounts, yet a belief in the order of jinn is
imperative, at least, as long as there is belief in the ’Qur4n.
Those who wish to know more of this subject will find a very
interesting chapter on it in Lane's Modern Egyptians.
3. The Books. —A1 Borkevi says :—
“ It is iiGoessary to boUovo that tUo books of God have been sent
through the instrumontality of Gabriel, to prophets upon the earth.
The books are never sent except to prophets. The QurAn was sent
to Muhammad portion by portion during a space of 23 years. The
Pentateuch came to Moses, the Ttijil to Jesus, the Zalnir to David,
and the other books to other prophets. The whole number of the
Divine books is 104 Tlio Quran, the last of all, is to be followed
till tho day of judgment. It can neither be abrogated nor changed.
Some laws of tho previous books have boon abrogated by the Qur£n
and ought not to bo followed.’^
The one hundred and four books were sent from heaven
in the following order :—To Adam, ten ; to Seth, fifty ; to
Enoch (Idris), thirty ; to Abraham, ten; to Moses, the
1. Soo also Stka xxxviii. 89.
The Abrogation of 'previous Scriptures,
Taurat (Pentateucli ); to Davidj the Zabiii' (Psalms); to Jesus,
the Injil; to Muhammad, the Quran. The one hundred to
which no distinctive name is given are known as the Suhuf-
ul-Anbiya/^—Books of the Prophets. The Quran is also
known as the Purqan, the distinguisher ; the Quran-i-
Sharif, noble Quran ; the Quran-i-Majld, glorious Quran ;
the Mushaf, the Book. It is said to be the compendium of
the Taurdt, Zabur and Injil ^ ; so Muslims do not require to
study these books. ® The orthodox belief is that they are
entirely abrogated by the Quran, ^ though Syed Ahmad
denounces as ignorant and foolish those Musalmdns who
say so. ^ Be that as it may, their inspiration is considered
to be of a lower order than that of the Quran. A large
1. Sliarh-Aqaid-i-JAmi, p. 140.
2. Thus the famous Persian poet Sa’di says in the Bustan, “ Yetimi kih
nikardah Quran darust, kutuh khana-i-chandmillat hashust.”—“ The Perfect
one who, ere the whole of Gabriel’s book ho reads, has blotted out the
library of all the peoples* oreods.”
3. Sharh-Aqfiid-i. Jami, p. 147. Mansukh shad tilawatan wa Kitabatan,
i,e. abrogated both as regards reading and writing—entirely abrogated.
Also Tamxl-ul-Iman, p. 64, Dm-i-wai Nasikh-i-jami’-i-adidii ast.—“ His
religion abrogates all religions.”
4. Commentary on the Holy Bible by Syed Ahmad, o.s.i, vol, i. p. 268.
This Commentary is written in Urdu, but the author has made a translation
for the benefit of the Euglish reader. The passage referred to roads th
in English • Those wiio imagine it to be part of tiie Muhammadan creed
that one law has totally repealed another are utterly mistaken, and wo do
not believe that the Zuboor (Book of Psalms) abrogated the Taureit (Pen¬
tateuch) ; that the Taureit in turn gave way to the Injeel (New Testament)
and that the Now Testament was sujiprcssed by the Holy Kotin. Wo
hold no such doctrine, and if any ignorant Muhammadan should asset t to tho
contrary, he simply knows nothing whatever about the doctrines and
articles of his faith.” Tho learned Syod here assumes the r61e of a liberal
Musalman, but the English translation is different from his Urdu text
which, literally translated, is as follow^:—Now it should he considered
that those who imiigine it to be part of the crood of Muslims that tho
Taur4t by the coming of the Zabdr, and the Zabur by the coming of tho
Injil, and the Injil by the oomhig of tho Quran are abrogated on account
of the idea that there in any defect in them are utterly mistaken, &o.”
The clause which I have italicised is entirely omitted in the English
text; but it alters tho import of tho whole passage. To his co-religionists
the Syed says in effect: “ 'rho hooks are ahroyated but not because they
were imperfect.” Now, as no Muslim would behove that a divine book was
defective, the Syed is simply asserting the fact of tho abrogation of the
previous Scriptures and to the orthodox is orthodox. The leader of an
apparently liberal section of Indian Musalmans is, in this instance, at least,
as ooneervative as the most bigoted.
The Faith of Islam.
portion of the Injil is considered to be mere nai'rative.
The actual words of Christ only aro looked upon as the
revelation which descended from heaven. It is so in the
case of the Old Testament Prophets. However^ it was
the rule to call a book by the name of the prophet, whether
the subject-matter was pure doctrine only, or whether it
was mixed up with narrative also.^^ It is to be observed
that, in the case of our own Prophet, the revelations made
to him were intended to impart a special miracle of elo¬
quence and they were written down, literally and exactly,
in the form in which they were communicated without any
narrative being* Inserted in theni/^ ^ The writings of the
Apostles are not considered to be inspired books. We do
not consider that the Acts of the Apostles, or tlie various
Epistles, although unquestionably very good books, are to
be taken as part and parcel of the Now Testament itself ;
nevertheless we look upon the writings of the Apostles in the
same light as wo do the writings of the Companions of our
own Prophet; that is to say, as entitled to veneration and
respect.^ There are many versos in the Qurfo which
speak of previous revelations, thus: Wo also caused
Jesus, the son of Mary, to follow the footsteps of the pro¬
phets, confirming the law (TaurAt) wliioh was sent before
him, and we gave him the Injil with its guidance and light,
confirmatory of the preceding law ; a guidance and a warn¬
ing to those that fear God/^ (Sura v. 50). We believe
in God, and that which hath been sent down to us, and that
which hath been sent down to Abraham and Isjiac and
Jacob and the ii^ibes, and that which hath been given to
Moses and to Jesus, and that which was given to the pro¬
phets from their Lord. No dilferenco do we make between
any of them : and to God aro we resigned/^ (Sura ii* 130).
truth hath Ho sent down to thoo the Book, which
confirmeth those that precode it, for Ho had sent down the
1. Syod* Ahmad's Oommoatary on Uio.Holy Bible, vol. i. p. 22.
Talifif-Unt^^anavi and Tahnf^i^lofzi,
Law and the Injil aforetime, as man^s guidance ; and now
hath He sent down the Furqan.'’^ (Sura iii. 2). ^
Practically, Musalmans reject the Old and New Testa¬
ments. To do so is manifestly against the letter of the
Qumn, and, as some reason for this neglect of previous
Scriptures must he given, Muslim divines say that the
Jewish and Christian Scriptures have been corrupted. The
technical expression is "tahrif,^^ a word signifying, to
change, to turn aside anything from the truth. Then
tahrif may be of two kinds, tahrlf-i-m^anavi, a change in
the meaning of words j tahrif-i-lafzi, an actual change of
the written words. Most Musalmans maintain that the
latter kind of corruption has taken place, and so they do
not feel bound to read or study the previous revelations so
frequently referred to in the Quran. The charge brought
against the Jews of corrupting their Scriptures is based on
the following verse of the Quran : Some truly are there
among you who. torture tlie Scriptures with their tongues,
in order tliat yo may suppose it to be from the Scripture,
yet it is not from the Sci'ipture. And they say : ^ this is
from God/ yet it is not from God j and they utter a lie
against God, and they know they do so.^’ (Sura iii. 72.)
All the ancient commentators assert that this only proved
tahrif-i-m^anavi; tliat is, that the Jews referred to either
misinterpreted what they i*ead, or, wliilst professing to
read from the Scripture, used expressions not found therein.
It does not mean that they altered the text of their Scrip¬
tures, This, however, does not^xcuse Musalm^.ns for their
neglect of the previous Scriptures, and so the orthodox
divines of modern times maintain that the greater corrup¬
tion—the tahrif-i-lafzi, has taken place. The question is
fully discussed, and the opinion of the earlier commentators
endorsed by Syed Ahmad in his Commentary on the Bible.*
1. Thore ai'o many other suoh passages. They are given in detail, with
the interpretation of approved commentators, in a small S. P. 0. K. publi¬
cation—The Kor^n—by Sir W. Huir.
2. Commentary on the JBColy Bible, by Syed Ahmad, o.s*i,, vol i. pp. 6^-95.
150 The Faith of Islam,
4. Prophets. —Muhammad A1 Berkevi says :—
“ It is necessary to confess that God has sent prophets ; that Adam
is the first of the prophets and the father of all men; that Muham¬
mad is the last of the prophets; that between Adam and Muhammad
there were a great number of prophets; that Muhammad is the most
excellent of all and that his people are the best of all peoples; that
each of the preceding prophets was sent to a special people, some
with books, some without, but that Muhammad was sent to all men
and also to the genii; that his law will remain until the end of the
world, that his miracles are many in number, that by his blessed
finger he made waters flow, that he divided the moon into two parts,
that animals, trees, and stones said to him: ‘Thou art a true
prophet.’
We must also believe that one night he was transported from
Mecca to Jerusalem, and from thence to heaven, whore he saw both
paradise and hell, conversed with the Most High and returned to
Mecca before morning. After him no other prophet will come, for
he is the seal of the prophets.”
The number of prophets sent by God to make known His
will varies according to the Tradition which records it.
About two hundred thousand is the usual number stated.
Twenty-filve are mentioned by name in the Qurdn, of whom
six are distinguished by special titles. Adam, Sufi Ulldh,
the chosen of God; Noah, Nabi UlMh, the prophet of
God j Abraham, Khalil U114h, the friend of God ; Moses,
Kalim U114h, the speaker with God; Jesus, Edh Ullah, the
spirit of God; Muhammad, Rasul Ullah, the messenger of
God. These are called the Anbiya-uluVAzm (possessors
of purpose) because they ^re the heads of their respective
dispensations, and beoause^hey will be permitted by God to
intercede in the day of judgment for their followers. They
are the greatest and most exalted of the prophets.^
There are degrees of rank amongst the prophets, for
^' Some of the Apostles have We endowed more highly than
others. Those to whom God hath spoken. He hath raised
to the loftiest grade, and to Jesus, the Son of Mary We gave
l. Takmil^ul.Im&n, p. 59.
The Prophets,
manifest signs, and We strengthened him with the Holy-
Spirit/^ (Sura ii. 254). The Anbiya-ulul-^Azm are ranked
in the following order : Noah, Jesus, Moses, Abraham and
as the chief of all, Muhammad, of whom it is said : He
is the Apostle of God and the seal of the prophets/^ (Sura
xxxiii. 40).
A Tradition, as usual, supports his position. I am the
chief of the sons of men.^^ Adam and all beside him will
be ranged under my flag in the judgment day.^^1 It is said
that the law given by Moses was harsh and severe; that
by Christ was mild and gracious ; but that the law given
by Muhammad is perfect, for it combines both the quality
of strictness and that of graciousness ; according to the
Tradition : I always laugh and by laughing kill.”^ Each
prophet is said to have been sent to his own tribe, but
Muhammad was sent for all men. A Tradition is adduced
to support this statement: I was raised up for all men
whether white or black, other prophets were not except for
their own tribe." The Qurdn also states: ^'We have
sent thee (Muhammad) for all men."
There is some difference of opinion as to whether the pro¬
phets are superior to the angels. The Hanifites hold that
the prophets amongst men are superior to the prophets
amongst angels, who in their turn are superior to the
ordinary run of men, to whom again the angels, other
than prophets, are inferior. The Mutazilites say that the
angels are superior to the prophets. The Shia^hs assert
that the twelve Imams are sup#ior to prophets.
The way in which Muhammad received inspiration has
been shown in a previous chapter; but Ibn Khaldoun gives
such an interesting account of prophetic inspiration that I
give the substance of his remarks here. He speaks some¬
what as follows.® If we contemplate the world and the crea¬
tures it contains we shall recognize a perfect order, a regular
1. Takm0-ul»Im4n, p. 59. 2. Takmfl-nl-lm&n, p. 65.
3. Prol^gom^nes dlta Kbaldotm, vol. i. pp. 196—205.
The Faith o f Tddmi.
system, a sequence of cause and effect, a connexion be¬
tween different categories of existence, and a transforma¬
tion of beings from one categoiy of existence to another.
Then the phenomena of the visible world indicate to ns the
existence of an agent whose nature is different from that of
the body, who is in fact a spiritual existenco. This agent,
which is the soul, must on the one hand be in contact with
the existences of this world and, on the other, with the
existences in the next category of superiority, and one
whose essential qualities are pure perception and clear
intelligence. Such are the angels. It follows, then, that
the human soul has a tendency towards the angelic world.
All this is quite in accordance with the idea that, according
to a regular order, all the categories of existences in the
universe are in mutual contact by means of their faculties
and on account of their nature.
The souls of men may be divided into three classes. The
first kind of soul is too feeble by nature to attain to a per¬
ception of the spiritual: it has to content itself with moving
in the region of sense and imagination. Thus it can under¬
stand concepts and afl&rmations. It can raise itself high in
its own category but cannot pass its limit.
The souls of the second class are carried by a reflective
movement and a natural disposition towards a spiritual
intelligence. They can enter into a state of contempla¬
tion which results in ecstasy. This is the intuition of
the Saints (Auliya)^ to whom God has given this divine
knowledge. #
The souls of the third class are created with the power
of disengaging themselves altogether from their human
bodies in order that they may rise to the angelic state
where they become like angels. In a moment of time such
1. ** That the ** Anliya’* are distinguished above ordinary mortals is
maintained on the authority of:—“ Aro not the friends (Anliya) of (^d,
those on whom no fear shall come, nor shaU they be put to grief.*'
Nahi and Bas'iiL
a soul perceives the sublime company (of angels) in the
sphere which contains them. It, there and then, hears the
speech of the soul and the divine voice. Such are the
souls of the prophets. God has given to these souls the
power of leaving the human body. Whilst thus separate
from it God gives to them His revelation. The prophets
are endowed by God with such a purity of disposition, such
an instinct of uprightness, that they are naturally inclined
to the spiritual world. They are animated by an ardour
quite peculiar to their order. When they return from the
angelic state they deliver to men the revelations they have
received. Sometimes the revelation comes to the prophet
as the humming of confused discourse. He grasps the
ideas and, as soon as the humming ceases, he comprehends
the message; sometimes an angel in human form commu¬
nicates the revelation, and what he says the prophet learns
by heart. The journey to, the return from the angelic
state, and the comprehension of the revelation received
there occupy less time than the twinkling of an eye. So
rapidly do the souls of prophets move. So instantaneously
do they receive and understand God^s revelations. This is
why inspiration is called Wahi, a word which, according to
Ibn Khaldoun, means to make haste.
The first way of delivering a message is adopted when he
who receives it is only a Nabi (prophet), and not a Rasfil
(apostle or messenger.) The second mode is employed
towards a Rasul who, on the principle that the greater
contains the less, is also a Nabi. A, Hadis records that
Muhammad said : Revelation came to me sometimes like
the ticking of a clock and fatigued me much. When it
stopped I learnt the meaning of what had been delivered to
me. Sometimes an angel in human form spoke to me and,
, whilst he was speaking, I learnt what was said.” That a
prophet should feel oppressed on such occasions is hinted
at in With measured tone intone the Quran, for we shall
dlevolve on thee mighty words.” (Stira Ixxiii. 5.)
Tlbe Faith of Islam.
A Nabi; (who must be a wise and a free man, that is, one
who is not a slave of another, and one also who is free from
imperfection either of body or mind), receives Wahi but has
not necessarily to deliver to men the orders of Grod. A
Easul who must possess the same qualifications as a Nabi,
is one who is commanded to deliver God's message to men,
though he does not necessarily abrogate what preceding
Rasuls have delivered. Neither is it necessary that he
should bring a book or even a new law. Some Rasuls do
so, but the distinguishing mark of the Rasul is that he
dehvers to men commands direct from God, and is speci¬
ally commissioned so to do. Thus every Rasiil is a Nabi,
whilst every N-abi is not a Rasul.
The question of the sinlessness of the prophets is one to
which considerable attention has been paid by Muslim theo¬
logians. The orthodox; belief is that they are free from sin.
Some think that their freedom from sin is because the grace
of God being ever in them in the richest fulness they are
kept in the right path. The Ash'arians believe that the
power of sinning is not created in them. ^ The Mutazilites
deny this, but admit the existence of some quality which
keeps them from evil. These theories do not agree with
actual iacts. Prophets like other men commit faults, but
here comes in the Muslim distinction of sins into gunah-i-
kabira great sins," and gunah-i-saghlra little sins,"
The gun^h-i-kabira are, murder, adultery, disobedience to
God and to parents, robbing of orphans, to accuse of adul¬
tery, to avoid fighting against infidels, drunkenness, to
give or to take usury, to neglect the Friday prayers and the
Ramazdn fast, tyranny, backbiting, untrustworthiness, for¬
getting the Qur^n after reading it, to avoid giving true or to
give false witness, lying without sufiScient reason,^ to swear
falsely or to swear by any other than God, flattery of
tyrants, false judgments, giving short weight or measure,
1 . Shavh4.A(3[^d-i4^zai, p. 125.
The Sinlessness of Prophets.
magicj gambling, approval of tbe ceremonies of inifidels,
boasting of onVs piety, calling on tbe names of deceased
persons and beating tbe breast at such times,^ dancing,
music, neglect when opportunity offers of warning other
persons with regard to tbe commands and prohibitions^^
of God, disrespect to a Hafiz, to shave tbe beard, to omit
saying tbe daimd’^ {i,e. on whom and on whose family be tbe
peace and mercy of God) whenever tbe name of Muhammad
is mentioned.^ These are all great sins^^ and can only be
forgiven after due repentance: the little sins^^ are for¬
given if some good actions are done. Observe prayer at
early morning, at the close of day, and at the approach
of night ; for the (jood deeds drive away the evil deeds'J^
(Stirasi. IIG).
Men may commit sin wittingly or unwittingly. It is the
universal belief that a prophet never commits the greater
sins in either way ; but there is a difference of opinion with
regard to the lesser sins. Some hold that they can do them
unwittingly, though even then it is not in any thing con¬
nected with their office. Others again limit even this frailty
to the period before wahf ^ (inspiration) comes upon them.
The general opinion, however, is that they are free from all
sin, whether great or small. The frailties which they show
are merely reckoned as faults and slight imperfections not
amounting to sin.
This, to the Muslim mind at once disposes of a difficulty
the Qur^n itself raises on this point. With the exception of
Jesus Christ, the Anbiya-uluyAzm aro spoken of as doing
what every one except an orthodox Muslim would call sin.
Adames transgression ^ is i*eferred to in Sura ii. 29—37 and
1. This is an orthodox blow at the Shfa’h practices in the month of
Mnharram. Shia’hs consider this* a good act.
2. Tafemfi-ul-Im^n, p. 18.
3. It is said Adam’s sin was a mere slip but it brought good to the
world. Had he remained in Paradise the world would not have been
peopled j and the word of God I have not created men and jinns, except
for wor^p,” would not have been fulfilled.
The Fcdth of Islam,
in Sura vii. 10—24. I quote only one verse: They said,
^ 0 our Lord ! with ourselves have we dealt unjustly; if
Thou forgive us not and have not pity on us, we shall surely
be of those that perish.^ ” The sin of Noah is not specified
in the Quran, yet it is plainly hinted at. " To Thee verily,
0 my Lord, do I repair lest I ask that of Thee wherein I
have no knowledge : unless Thou forgive me and be merciful
to me I shall be one of the lost.^^ (Sura xi. 49). There is
also a similar request in Sura Ixxi. 29. Abraham is re¬
presented as saying to his people: They whom ye worship,
ye and your fathers of early days, are my foes; but not so
the Lord of the worlds, who hath created me, and guideth
me, who giveth me food and drink j and when I am sick,
he healeth me, and who will cause me to die and again
quicken me, and who, I hope, will forgive me my sins in the
day of reckoning.^^ (Siira xxvi. 75—82). Moses is des¬
cribed as having done a work of Satan'^ in killing a man,
and as saying : ^ 0 my Lord, I have sinned to my own hurt j
forgive me/ So Grod forgave him; for He is the forgiving,
the merciful. He said: ^ Lord, because thou hast showed me
this grace, I will never again be the helper of the wicked.^
(Sura xxviii. 15, 16).
The following passages refer to Muhammad. Be thou
steadfast and patient; for true is the promise of Grod; and
seek pardon for thy fault.*^^ ^ (Sura xl. 57). Ask par¬
don for thy sin, and for believers, both men and women.
(Sura xlvii. 21). The scandal caused by the Prophet^s
conduct with the wife of Zeid, and with the Egyptian slave
Mary, necessitated a pretended revelation of God^s will in
reference to these events. The circumstances will be found
fully detailed in Sura xxxiii. 36—38 and in Sura Ixvi. 1^—5.
One of the most important verses is: Verily, we have
won for thee an undoubted victory, in token that God
forgiveth thy earlier and later fault.'^^ (Sfira xlviii. 1—^2),
1. Tiat is, according to the coxomentator Beidawf,—^*Thy remissnefis in
propagating
The ^ Harlier and Ijater Fault^ of Muhamniad, 1S7
It is not quite clear what victory is here referred to.
According to the Tafsir-i-Husaini, some commentators
say that it is the taking of Mecca, the past tense being
prophetically used for the future. The following explana¬
tions are given of the expression earlier and later fault.’^
(1) Grod has forgiven thy sin committed before and after
the descent of wahi, (2) before and after the taking of
Mecca^/or (3) before the descent of this Sura. (4) The
commentator Salmi says : ‘‘ The earlier sin refers to the sin
of Adam committed when Muhammad was in the loins of his
g^eat ancestor and thus connected with him ; the later sin
^refers to the followers of the Prophet, and in that way is
connected with him, just as the sin of Adam was the prede¬
cessor and the cause of their sin/^ (5) Im4m Abu^l-Lais says:
*^The words refer to the sin of Adam, and to those of the
followers of the Prophet. Both are connected with Muham¬
mad, because the former is forgiven by the blessing, and the
latter by the intercession of Muhammad.^^ ^
Prom these extracts from the Qur&n it appears that sin
is imputed to prophets, though Muslims evade the charge
by the casuistry I have already referred to. Be that as
it may, it is a striking fact that the one sinless member of
the Anbiya-ulul-^Azm, the one sinless prophet of Islam, is
none other than Jesus Christ. There is no passage in the
Qur&n which hints at sin, even in the modified form in
which Muslims attribute it to other prophets, being com¬
mitted by him; no passage which speaks of His seeHng for
pardon.
It is the universal belief that prophets work miracles,
(mu^jizfi»t). A miracle is defined to be Kharq-i-^adat,^^
that is, something contrtiry to'the usual course of nature.
The object for which a miracle is performed must be a
moral one, and chiefly to attest the truth of the statements
made by the prophet. Although Muhammad makes, in the
1. Tafsh-i-Ensaim, p. 8^.
The Faifh of Islam,
Qurdii; no distinct; claim to the power of working miracles^ ^
his followers maintain that in this^ as in all other respects he
was equal to all and superior to some prophets^ and produce
various passages of the Quran in support of their view. Thus,
according to Shaikh Jelahud-din Syuti, if to Adam was given
the power of naming every thing, Muhammad also possessed
the same power. Enoch was exalted on high, but Muhammad
was taken to the ^ Baqab-i-qausain,’ the ^ two bows^ length,^
where Gubriel, ^^one mighty in power,” appeared to him.
(Sura liii. 5—9). Ishmael was ready to be sacrificed, but
Muhammad endured the splitting of his chest; ^ Joseph
was to some extent handsome, but Muhammad was the very
perfection of beauty ; Moses brought water from the rock,
but Muhammad produced it from his fingers. The sun was
stayed on its course by Joshua and so it was by Muhammad.
Solomon had a great kingdom, Muhammad a greater, for he
possessed the keys of the treasuries of the earth. Wisdom
was given to John th^ Baptist whilst yet a child, so also were
wisdom and understanding granted to Muhammad at an
early period of his life. Jesus could raise the dead, so also
could Muhammad. In addition to all these, the special
miracles of the Prophet are the splitting of the moon asunder,
the MPraj, the coming of a tree into his presence, and
above aU the wonderful miracle of the Qur^n.®
The splitting of the moon in sunder is referred to in.
1. On tlie oontraiy, he seems to disclaim such a power. Thus the
Quraish said: By uo means will we believe on thee till thou cause a foun¬
tain to gush forth for us from the earth; or, till thou have a garden of
palm-.tr6es add grapes, and thou cause forth-gushing rivers to gush forth
in its midst $ or thou make the heaven to fall on us, as thou hast given out,
in pieces; or thou bring Gk)d and the angels to vouch for thee, &o. Say:
Am I more than a man, an Apostle ?” (Sura xvii. 92—96). Former pro¬
phets, Muhammad used to say, were sent to their own sect, but he was
sent for lUL Their miracles were confined to their own times. The Qurin
the great miracle of lsl4m, was for all ages. He needed no other sign
than this*
2. ** Have We not opened thine heart for thee.^' (Sfira xoiv. 1). Tradi*
tion relates that when young, two angels out open his breast, and took out
a black drop $ many other marvels are also connected with tMs event.
3« Sharh-i-Aq^dd-Jdmf.
The Resurreetion and the Last Day,
The hour of judgment approacheth; and the moon hath
been split in sunder/^ (Sura liv, 1), Imam Z^hid says
that Abu Jahl and a Jew visited the Prophet, and demanded
a sign from him on pain of death. The Prophet made a
sign with his little finger, and at once the moon separated
into two parts: one of which remained in the sky, the
other went off to a long distance. The Jew believed in
IsMm forthwith. Abu Jahl ascribed the affair to magic,
but on making enquiry from various travellers ascertained
that they, on this very night, distinctly saw the moon in
two parts.^ Some, however, refer the passage to the future,
as they consider the splitting of the moon to be one of the
signs of the last day.
The Mi^raj, or night ascent, is mentioned in, Glory be
to Him who carried His servant by night from the sacred
temple (of Mecca) to the temple that is more remote, whose
precinct We have blessed, that We might show him of our
signs.-^^ (Siira xvii. 1). Muslim writers, who are fond
of the marvellous, narrate at length the wonderful things
the Prophet saw and did on this eventful night but
some maintain that it was only a vision, and quote the
words 1 We ordained the vision which we showed thee,^^ in
proof of this assertion.^ Be that as it may, all orthodox
Muslims maintain the superiority o£ Muhammad, as a worker
of miracles, over all other prophets.
5. Thb Resuhrection and the last bay. —These two
articles of the faith may be considered together. The
1. Tafsir.i-Husaini. p. 362.
2, For a graphic account ot these events see ** Literary Remains of
Emmanuel Deutsoh,” pp. 69—X12.
8. “ AU that Muhammadans must believe respecting the Mfr^-j is that
the Prophet saw himself, in a vision, transported from Mecca to Jerusalem,
and that in such a vision he really beheld some of the greatest signs of his
Lord.” Essays by Syed Ahmad, Essay vi. p. 34. This, though a legiti-
•mate, is not, however, an orthodox opinion; which is, that he who denies
an actual > bodily migration from Mecca to Jerusalem is a Kdfir, (infidel) as
he denies the statement of a ‘ nass’ or plain text of the Qurdn. He who
denies the ascension to heaven, and the wonderful account of the night’s
proceedings preserved in tho Traditions is a fdsiq,” (sinner), though he
retrains a !&fusUm,
The Faith of Islam.
following is a summary of tlie remarks of Mukammad A1
Berkevi on this point. It is necessary to acknowledge :—
1. That the torments of the tomb are real and certain and that
Munkir and IN'aHr (Ante p. 145) will come and interrogate the dead
person concerning his God, his Prophet, his faith and his Qibla. The
faithful will reply: " our God is God; our Prophet is Muhammad;
our religion, Islam; our Qibla, the K’aba.
2. That all the signs of the last day mentioned by the Prophet
will come to pass; such as, the appearance of Dajjal, or ^tichrist;
the descent of Jesus from heaven; the appearance of Imam Mahdf
and of Gog and Magog; the rising of the sun from the west, &o.
3. That all living things wUl die; that the mountains will fly in
the air like birds; that the heavens will melt away; that after some
time has thus passed God most High will set the earth in order and
raise the dead; that prophets, saints, doctors of the law, and the
faithful will find near them the robes and the horses of Paradise.
They will put on the robes, and mount the horses and go into the
shade of the throne of God. Other men, hungry, thirsty, and naked
will go on foot. The Faithful will go to the right, the Infidels to
tho left.
4. That there will be a balance, in which the good and bad actions
of men will be weighed. Those who^e good deeds outweigh the bad
will go to Paradise; if the bad predominate, they will go into the
fire, unless God has mercy on them, or the prophets or saints inter¬
cede for them. If, however, they were not Muslims there will be no
intercession for them, nor will they come out from the fire. The
Muslims who enter the fire will, after having purged their crimes,
enter Paradise.
5. That the bridge ^Wt, which is sharper than a sword, is 3;aised
a,bove the fire; that all men mnst pass over this. Some will pass
over with the speed of lightning, some like a horse that runs, some,
their backs laden with their sins, will go very slowly over; others
will fall and certainly enter into the fire.
6. That each prophet has a pool where with his people, will
quench their thirst before entering Paradise; that the pool of
Muhammad is the largest of all, for it is a months march from one
side thereof to the other. Its water is sweeter than honey, whiter
than milk.
7. That Paradise and Hell actually exist i that the chosen remain
for ever ,m the former; they neither die, nor grow ag^. Thqy expe¬
rience W kind of change. The Houris and the females are exempbqd
The Sounding of the Trumpets.
from the infirmities of their sex. They will no longer bear children.
The elect will find there the meat and the drink they require, with¬
out taking upon themselves any trouble. The ground of Paradise
is of musk; the bricks of its edifices are of gold and of silver.
The unbelievers and the demons will remain for over in hell, tor¬
mented by serpents as thick as the nock of a camel, by scorpions as
large as mules, by fire and by scalding water. Their bodies will
burn, till they become reduced to a coal, when G-od will revive thorn
so that they may endure fresh torments. This will last for ever.”
The following additional remarks are based on the Sharh-
i-^Aqaid-i-Jamj. They fall under four heads.
(1). The sounding of the trumpets. (Nafkhatain-i-Sur).
This will not take place until wickedness spreads over all
the earth. The Prophet said : The resurrection will not
come to pass, till some of the sects among my followers mix
up with the Mushriks (those who associate others with God)
and till others commence to worship monuments.^^ Again,
The last hour will not be till no one is found who calls on
God.^^ Then There shall be a blast on the trumpet, and
all who are in the heavens and all who are in the earth
shall expire, save those whom God shall vouchsafe to
live. There shall be another blast on it, and lo! arising
they shall gaze around them/^ (Sdra xxxix. 68^. Abu
Huraira, a Companion, relates that the Prophet speaking
of the trumpet stated as follows: After the creation of
the heavens and the earth God created the trumpet and
gave it to Isr^01 who, with his mouth placed to it, is ever
looking up and waiting for the order to blow it. He will
blow tliree times.^ The first time, the blast of consteimatiou,
to terrify^ the second, the blast of examination, to slay;
the third, the blast of resurrection, to quicken the dead.^^
Most persons believe that everything, save God and His
attributes, will perish. The Karamians and some other
sects deny this.
1, Some commentators make no distinction between the first and second
blast, as only two are distinctly mentioned in the Qurin.
The Faith of Islam*
The resurrection of the body is clearly proved by the
Quran, Thus, They say, ^ Who will bring us back V
Say: 'He who created you at first.^^^ (Sura xvii. 53).
"'Who shall give life to bones when they are rotten?^
Say: 'He shall give life to them who gave them being
at first, for in all creation is He skilled/(Stira xxxvi.
79). "Man saith: 'What! after I am dead, shall I in
the end be brought forth alive Doth not man bear in
mind that we made him at first, when he was nought
(Sura xix. 68). "The infidels will say, 'shall we indeed
be restored as at first ? What! When we have become
rotten bones V ' This then,^ say they, ' will be a return
to loss.-' Verily, it will be but a single blast, and lo I
they are on the surface of the eai’th/^ (Sura Ixxix. 10
—14). " Is He not powerful enough to quicken the
dead?^’ (Stira Ixxv. 40). This resurrection will be to
judgment. " ' Never,^ say the unbelievers, ' will the hour
come upon us/ Say: 'Yea, by my Lord who knoweth the
unseen, it will surely come upon you, .to the intent
that Grod may reward those who have believed, .but
as for those who aim to invalidate our signs, a chastisement
of painful torment awaiteth them.^ (Stira xxxiv. 3, 4).
" A terrible chastisement doth await them on the Day when
faces shall turn white, and faces shall turn black. ' What I
after your belief have ye become infidels ? Taste, then,
the chastisement for that ye have been unbelievers.^ And
as to those whose faces shall have become white, they shall
be within the mercy of God/^ (Stira iii, 102). The Pro¬
phet knew not the time when all this would take place.
" They will ask thee of the ' Hour,^ when will be its fixed
time ? But what knowledge hast thou of it ? Its period
is known only to thy Lord; and thou art charged with the
warning of those who fear it.-*^ (Stira Ixxix. 41 —45.) These
and similar texts show the certainty of the resurrection.
According to the Ijm&^ of the Faithful, he who has any
doubts on this article of the faith is an infidel. The Muta-
The Descent of the Boohs.
zilites stow from reason that a resurrection of the body is
necessary in order that rewards and punishment may be
bestowed. The orthodox agree with the conclusion^ but
hesitate to base it on reason.^
The Karamians hold that the different parts of the body
will not cease to be, but that at the last God will gather
them together. Thinketh man that we shall not re-unite
his bones ? Aye ! his very finger tips we are able evenly
to replace.^^ (Sura Ixxv. 3,4.) The orthodox, however,
hold that this verse does not disprove the fact of previous
annihilation, a belief supported by the Prophet^s saying,
All the sons of men will be annihilated.’^ It will be a
re-creation though the body will return to its former state.
The learned are not agreed as to the state of the soul
during this period of the death of the body, and therefore
disagree with regard to its revival. Some assort that it is
wrong to speak of a resurrection of the soul, for it exists
in the body as fire in coal,” hence its revival is included
in the resurrection of the body ; others maintain that as it
is a distinct entity, it is not annihilated with the body.
The scholastics favour the first idea. Practically the result
seems the same in both cases. The resurrection body has
a soul. Wise and foolish, devils and beasts, insects and
bbds—all will rise at the last day. Muhammad will come
first in order and be the first to enter Paradise.
(2). The descent of the Books (Tatair-i-saha,if). After
the resurrection, men will wander about for forty years,
during which time the Books of Actions” will bo given
to them. These books contain the record kept by the
Kii4m-ul-K^tibin, (Ante p. 141). Traditions recorded by
Abu Huraira state : ^^Men will rise up naked, and confused;
some will walk about, some stand for forty years. All will
be constantly looking up toward the heavens (i.e. expect¬
ing the books.) They will perspire profusely through
1. Sharh-i-'Aqifd-i.J&nx, p. 183.
The Faith of Islam,
excess of sorrow.^ Then God will say to Abraliani, ^ put
on clothes.’ He will put on a robe of Paradise. Then He
will call Muhammad for whose benefit a fountain will flow
forth not far from Mecca. The people, too, shall thirst no
more.^’ The Prophet said: "I will also put on a dress
and will stand near the throne, where no one else will be
allowed to stand and God will say: ^ Ask and it shall be
granted to thee; intercede, thy intercession shall be ac¬
cepted.’ ” Each book flies from the treasury under the
Throne of God and is given to its proper owner. Every
man’s fate have We fastened about his neck; and on the day
of resurrection will We bring forth to him (every man) a book
which shall be proffered to him wide open: ‘ Bead thy
book, there needeth none but thyself to make out an account
against thee this day.’ ” (Sura xvii. 15). He into whose
Hght hand his book shall be given, shall be reckoned,
with an easy reckoning, and shall turn, rejoicing, to his
kindred. But he whose book shall be given behind his
back (i.e. into his Ze/? hand) shall invoke destruction.”
(Sfira Ixxxiv. 8—11.) He, who shall have his book given
into his left hand will say: ^ 0 that my book had never
been given me! and that I had not known my reckoning.’ ”
(Sura Ixix. 25). It is always said that wicked Musalmdns
will be seized by the right hand before they are cast into
the fire, which is a proof that they are not always to remain
there. Some hold that the expression Read thy book”
implies a litoral reading; others that it is a metaphorical
expression which simply means that all the past actions will
be known. Those who believe in a literal reading say that
each believer will read the account of his faults only, and
that other persons will read that of his good deeds. The
face of the believer as he reads wiU shine resplendently,
but black will be the face of the infidel.
1. Aooording to BtikMri and to Mnsliin, tWs perspiration will flow to
a distance of seventy yards from, and reach up to the lohe of the ears of
those who perspire.
The Balances,
(3). The Balances (Mizan). This belief is based on the
authority of the Quran^ Sunnat and the Ijma^; no Muslim^
therefore, can have any doubt about it. Thus: They
whose balances shall be heavy, shall be the blest; but
they whose balances shall be light,—these are they who
shall lose their souls, abiding in hell for ever.^^ (Sura
xxiii. 104). ^^As to him whose balances are heavy, his
shall be a life that shall please him well: and as to him
whose balances are light, his dwelling-place shall be the
pit. And who shall teach thee what the pit (Al-Hawia)
is ? A raging fire V’ (Sura ci. 5—8). The Traditions on
this point are very numerous. The Ijma^ is also strong
on the reality, the objective existence, of a balance with
scales, &c., complete. They also state that the "Books
of Actions’^ (Saha,if-i-A^ra£) will be weighed. In the
Sahih-i-Bukharf it is said that the Believers will not
be weighed in the balances, for " God will say, ^ 0
Muhammad make those of thy people, ’from, whom no
account is taken, enter into Paradise,"^ Prophets and
angels will also be exempt. Such a test also is not requir¬
ed for the unbelievers, for their state is very evident; " By
their tokens shall the sinners be known, and they shall be
seized by their forelocks and their feet.^^ (Siira Iv. 41).
Thus it is evident that, with regard to true believers and
unbelievers, the works of such only as God may choose
need be weighed. Some, however, maintain that no un¬
believer will have this test applied to his case and quote:
"Vain therefore, are their works; and no weight will we
allow them on the day of I'esurrection.^^ (Sura xviii. 105).
To this it is answered, that all that is here denied is the
fact of " a weighing in their favour The place where the
weighing will take place is situated midway between heaven
and hell. Gabriel standing by watches the movement of
the scales and Michael guards the balance. The orthodox
are not agreed as to whether there will be a separate balance
for each tribe of men, and also for each of the ^ good works^
The Faith of Islam,
of the believers. Those who hold that there will be a
balance for prayer, another for fasting and so on, adduce
the use of the plural form, balances (muwazin) in proof of
their statement. There is also a difference of opinion as to
whether the works^^ themselves, or the books (saha,if)
will be weighed. The latter opinion is supported by a
Tradition recorded by Tirmizi. ^^The Prophet said: ^ Ninety-
nine registers will be distributed. Each register will extend
as far as the eye can reach. God will say : ‘ What! dost
thou deny this, or have the recording angels treated thee
unjustly V Each will say : ^ No ! 0 Lord.^ ^ Hast thou
then any excuse ^ No ! 0 Lord/ Then God will display
a cloth on wliich the Kalima is written. This will be put
into one scale, and God will say : ^ To thee will be no evil if
thou hast a register in this scale, and this cloth in the other,
for the first scale will be light.^ This is considered con¬
clusive testimony with regard to the weighing of the Sah£.,if.
The Mutazilites objected to statements such as these, for
said they: "actions are accidents, and the qualities of light¬
ness and heaviness cannot be attributed to accidents.'*^
They explained the verses of the Quran and the statements
of the Traditions on this point, as being a figurative way of
saying that perfect justice will be done to all in the Day of
J adgment.
(4). The Bridge (Sird.t), The meaning of the word
Sirat is a road, a way. It is so used in the Qur^n. In
connection with the Day of Judgment it is said : " If we
pleased we would surely put out their eyes : yet even then
would they speed on with rivalry in their path (Sirdt)/^
(Sura xxxvi. 66). Gather together those who have acted
unjustly, and their consorts (demons), and the gods whom
they have adored beside God; and guide them to the road
(Sir4t) for hell.^^ (Stira xxxvii. 23), It is nowhere in the
Qur4n called a bridge, but Tradition is very clear on this
point. The Prophet said: " There will be a bridge sharper
than the edge of a sword, finer than a hair, suspended over
Al A^rdf. W
tell. Iron spikes on it will pierce ttose whom God wills.
Some will pass over it in the twinkling of an eye, some like
a flash of lightning, others with the speed of a swift horse.
The angels will call out, ^ 0 Lord! save and protect.^
Some Muslims will be saved, some will fall headlong into
hell.^^ Bukhari relates a similar Tradition. The infidels
will all fall into hell and there remain for ever. Muslims
will be released after a while.
The Mutazilites deny the existence of such a bridge.
If we admit it,^^ say they, it would be a trouble for the
believers, and such there is not for them in the Day of
Judgment/^ To this the orthodox reply that the believers
pass over it to show how they are saved from fire, and that
thus they may be delighted with Paradise, and also that
the infidels may feel chagrin at those who were with them
on the bridge being now safe for ever.
Al A’raf is situated between heaven and hell. It is
described thus : On (the wall) Al A^r5,f shall be men who
know all, by their tokens,^ and they shall cry to the inha¬
bitants of Paradise, ^ Peace be on you but they shall
not yet enter it, although they long to do so. And when
their eyes are turned towards the inmates of the fire, they
shall say, ^ 0 our Lord ! place us not with offending people
&o.^ (Sura vii. 44,45). Salehs summary of the opinions
regarding Al A^r4f in his Preliminary Discourse is exceed¬
ingly good. It is as follows -
“ They call it Al Orf, and more frequently in the plural, Al Arif,
a word derived from the verb Arafa^ which signifies to distinguish
between things, or to part thorn; though some commentators give
another reason for the imposition of this name, because, say they,
those who stand on this partition will Ttmuo and dhtmguish the
blessed from the damned, by their respective marks or characteris¬
tics : and others say the word properly intends anything that is high
raised or elevated, as such a wall of separation must be supposed to
1. “ That is, they will know the inhabitants of Paradise by their white¬
ness, and the people of Hell by the blackness of their faces.'*
The Faith of Islmi,
be. Some imagine it to be a sort of limho for the patriarchs and
prophets, or for the martyrs and those who have been most eminent
for sanctity. Others place here such whose good and evil works are
so equal that they exactly counterpoise each other, and therefore
deserve neither reward nor punishment; and these, say they, will
on the last day be admitted into Paradise, after they shall have per¬
formed an act of adoration, which will be imputed to them as a
meidt, and will make the scale of their good works to overbalance.
Others suppose this intermediate space will bo a receptacle for those
who have gone to war, without their parents’ leave, and therein
suffered martyrdom; being excluded from Paradise for their dis¬
obedience, and escaping hell because they are martyrs.”
There is also an interval^ between the d.eath of the body
in this world and the Last Day^ called Al-Barzakh.
Behind them shall be a barrier (barzakh), until the day
when they shall be raised again/^ (Sura xxiii. 102). When
death takes place, the soul is separated from the body by
the Angel of death; in the case of the good with ease, in
that of the wicked with violence. It then enters into Al-
Barzakh.^
It is a doctrine founded on Ijm^^ that God will not
pardon Shirk, that is, the ascribing plurality to the Divine
Being. The Mushrik, one who does so, will remain in hell
for ever, for as Kufr, infidelity, is an eternal crime, its
punishment must also be eternal. The unbelievers among
the people of the Book, and among the Polytheists shall
go into the fire of Gehenna to abide therein for aye. Of all
creatures are they the worst (Sura xcviii. 5). ^Cast
into Hell every infidel, every hardened one, the hinderer
of the good, the transgressor, the doubter who set up other
Gods with God. Oast ye him into the fierce torment.-*^
Muslims who commit great (Kabira) sins, though they
die unrepentant, will not remain in hell for ever, for, who¬
soever shall have wrought an atom^s weight of good shall
1. For some curious opinions with regard to the state of the soul there
see Sale’s Preliminary Discourse, Section iv., p. 55 ,
The Intercession of Muhammad.
beWd it/^ (Sura xcix. 7). It is asserted that the fact of
believing in Islam is a good work and merits a reward:
this cannot be given before the man enters hell to be
punished for his sins^ and therefore he must be, after a
while, released from punishment. Perfect faith (Iman-i-
Kamil) consists in believing with sincerity of heart and
acting in accordance therotoT^t the actions are not the
faith itself. Great sins, therefore, prevent a man from
having perfect faith,but do not destroy faith (Iman),
nor make the Muslim an infidel, but only a sinnor.*^^ ^ The
Mutazilites teach that the Muslim who enters hell will
remain there for ever. They maintain that the person who,
having committed great sins, dies unrepentant, though not
an infidel, ceases to bo a believer and honce suffers as the
infidols do.
The orthodox belief is that Muhammad is now an Inter¬
cessor and will be so at the Last Day. The intercession
then is of several kinds. There is the ^ great intercession^
to which the words, it may be that thy Lord will raise
thee to a glorious stationf (Sum xvii. 81) are supposed
to refer. The Maqam-i-mahmud, (glorious station), is said
to be the place of intercession in which all persons will
praise the Jhophet. In the Zad-ul-Masir it is said that
the Maqam-i-mahmud refers to the fact that God will place
the Prophet on His Throne. Others say that it is a place
in which a standard will be given to the Prophet, around
whom all the other prophets will then gather to do him
honour. The first interpretation is, however, the ordinary
one. The people will be in groat fear. Muhammad will
say: 0 my people ! I am appointed for intercession.”
Their fear will then pass away. The second intercession is
made so that they may enter into Paradise without render¬
ing an account. The authorities differ with regard to this.
The third intercession is on behalf of those Muslims who
1. Takma-uUluiin, p. 47.
The Faith of Islam,
ought to go to hell. The fourth for those who are already
there. No one but the Prophet can make these interces¬
sions. The fifth intercession is for an increase of rank to
those who are in Paradise. The Mutazilites maintained that
there would be no intercession for Muslims guilty of great
sins^ and adduced in favour of their opinion the verse :
Fear ye the day when soul shall not satisfy for soul at all,
nor shall any intercession be accepted from them, nor shall
any ransom be taken, noither shall they be helpod.*^^ (Sura
ii, 45j. The orthodox bring in reply this Hadis-i-Sahih :
The Prophet said: ^ my intercession is for the men of my
following who have committed great sins.”^ If this Tradi¬
tion is disputed, they then say that the verse in the Qurd,u
just quoted does not refer to Muslims at all, but to the
Infidels. 1
According to a Tradition related by Anas the Prophet
said: In the day of resurrection Musalmans will not be
able to move, and they will be gi’oatly distressed and say :
^ would to God that wo had asked Him to create some one,
to intercede for us, that we might be taken from this place,
and bo delivered from tribulation and sorrow/ The Tra¬
dition goes on to state how they sought help from Adam
and the prophets of the old dispensation, who, one and all,
excused themselves on account of their own sinfulness. At
length Moses told them to go to Jesus, the Apostle of God,
the Spirit of God and the Word of God. They did so and
Jesus said: Go to Muhammad who is a servant, whose
sins God has forgiven both first and last.^^ The Prophet
continued, according to the Tradition, then the Musal¬
mans will come to me, and I will ask permission to go into
God^s presence and intercede for thom.^^ ^
The second advent of Christ is a sign of the last day.
Jesus is no more than a servant whom We favoured.
1. Tafflfr.i.Faiss-ul-Karfm, p. 26.
2. MisJcafc-td-Mue^bxh, book xadii, oli. 12.
Paradise,
and lie shall be a sign of the last hour/^ (Sura xliii. (31).
He will not, according to the Quran, come as a judge, but
like other prophets to be judged. We formed with them
(Le, prophets; a strict covenant, that God may question the
men of truth as to their truth, (ix, how they have dis¬
charged their prophetic functions).(Sura xxxiii. 7, 8).
He will come to bear witness against the Jews who reject
him: In the day of resurrection, He will be a witness
against them/^ (Sura iv. 158).
It is necessary to believe in the pond of the Prophet
called Kausar. This faith is founded on the verse Truly
we have given thee an abundance (Sum cviii. I). Bukhari
says : The meaning of Kausar is the ' abundance of good^
which God gives to the Prophet. Abu Bash said to one
SaMd, ^the people think that Kausar is a river of Paradise.’^
Sa^id replied, ^ Kausar is a river in which there is abundance
of good.'^ ” According to the same authority Muhammad
said: My pond is square, its water is whiter than milk,
its perfume better than that of musk, whosoever drinks
thereof will thirst no more.^^
There are many degrees of felicity in heaven to which the
believers are admitted. I'^he Prophet, according to Ihrmlzi,
j^aid there were one hundred. S<jme of tlxese may possibly
be meant by the eight names they give to Paradise.
(1.) Jannat-ul-Khuld. Say: Is this, or the Garden^ of
Eternity which was promised to the God-fearing, best
(Sura XXV. 16.) (2.; Januat-us-Salam. ^^Por them is a
Dwelling of Peace with their Lord.-^^ (Siira vi. 127.)
(3.) Dj^,r-ul-Qarar. '^'fho life to come is the Mansion which
alidethP (Sura xl. 42.) >4.; Janiiat-ul-''Adan. 'J^o the
Faithful, both men and women, God promiseth gardens and
goodly mansions in the Garden of Eden/^ (Sura ix. 73.)
(5.) Jannat-ul-Mawa, Near which is the Garden of
Bepose” (Sura liii. 15.) (5j Jaiiuat-un-Na^im. ^^Amid
delights shall the righteous dwell.^^ (Sura Ixxxii. 13.)
(7) Jannat-ul-Illiyun. '^The register of the righteous is
The Faith of Islam.
in IlUyimJ^ (Siira Ixxxiii. 18,) (8.) Jannat-ul-Firdaus.
Those who believe and do the things that are right, they
shall have the Gardens of Paradise for their abode/^
• (Sura xviii. 107.)
Hell is said to have seven divisions. The Quran, though
it mentions the names of these divisions, does not state
what classes of persons will be sent to each; but Muslim
Commentators have supplied the needed information. They
classify them thus:—(1.) Jahannam, for sinners who die
without repentance. (2.) Lazwa, for the infidels {?. e., Chris¬
tians.) (3.) Hutama, a fire for Jews, and according to
some for Christians. (4.) Sa^ir, for devils, the descendants
of Iblls. (5.) Saqar, for the magians : also for those who
neglect prayer. (6.) Jahim, a boiling caldron for idolaters :
also for Gog and Magog. (7.) Hawia, a bottomless pit for
hypocrites. It is said that heaven has one division more
than hell to show that God^s mercy exceeds His justice.
The Muhammadan writers give very full and minute
accounts of the events connected with the resurrection,
judgment and future state of those who are lost, and of
those who are saved. Sale gives such an excellent sum¬
mary of these opinions, that it is not necessary to enter
into details here. The orthodox belief is that the state¬
ments in the Qurdn and the Traditions regarding the
pleasures of Paradise are to be taken literally.*
6. The PaBBESTmATioN of good and evil. —I have already
in the section in which the attribute wilP^ is described
(p. 118) given some account of the dogmatic statements con¬
cerning the doctrine of predestination ; but as it always
forms a distinct chapter in Musalm^n books, I treat it
separately here. Having, however, in the passage referred
1. “ Although some Muhammadans, whose understandings aro too
refined to admit such gross conceptions, look on their Prophet* s descrip¬
tion as parabolical, and are willing to receive them in an allegorical Or
spiritual acceptation, yet the general and orthodos; doctrine is, that the
whole is to bo strictly believed in the obvious and literal aboeptanoe.*^
Sale*s Preliminary Discourse, Section iv, p. 73,
Predesi'inatiolu
tO; given A1 Berkevi^s words on tlie attribute will/^ it is
only necessary to make a short extract from his dogmatic
statement concerning Predestination. He says :—
It is necessary to confess that good and evil take place by the,
predestination and predetermination of God, that all that has been
and all that will be was decreed in eternity, and written on the
•preserved table; i that the faith of the believer, the piety of the
pious and good actions are foreseen, willed, predestinated, decreed
by the writing on the preserved table, produced and approved by
God; that the unbelief of the unbeliever, the impiety of the impious
and bad actions come to pass with the fore-knowledge, will, predes¬
tination and decree of God, but not with His satisfaction and
approval. Should any ask why God willeth and produceth evil, we
can only reply that He may have wise ends in view which we cannot
comprehend.”
Another confession of faith has :—
“ Whoever shall say, that God is not delighted with virtue and
faith, and is not wroth with vice and infidelity, or that God has
decreed good and evil with oqual complacency is an infidel.”
There are three well-defined schools of thought on the
subject:—
First.—The Jabrians, so called from the word
compulsion^ deny all free agency in man and say that man
is necessarily constrained by the force of God^s eternal and
immutable decree to act as he does.^ They hold that as
1. This, tho bauh-Til-MahfiLiy., is roferrod to iu Sura Ixxxv. 22, as that on
which tho Qur^ii is written. Jn Sdva xxxvi. 11, the actions of men are
said to bo written iu “ tho clear book of our deoroos,” This is called the
Imdm-nl-Mubin, i.ho clear prototype.
2. ** Tho Prophet of God said that Adam and Moses (in the world of
S}>irits) maintained a debate before God, and Adam got l.he better of Moses,
who said, * Thou art tliat Adam, whom God created and breathed into thee
His own Spirit, and made tho angels bow down before thee, and placed
thee in Paradise j after which, thoa threwest man upon the earth, from the
fault which thou didst commit.* Adam replied, ‘ Thou art that Moses,
whom God selected for His prophecy and to oouverse with, aud Ho gave
thee twelve tables, iu which are explained everything, and he made thee
His confidant and tho beai*er of His secrets; then how long was the Bible
written before I was created?* Moses said, ‘Forty years.* Then said
Adam, * Didst thou soo iu the Bible that Adam disobeyed God ?* * Yes.*
‘ Dost thou reproach me on a matter, which God wrote in the Bible forty
years before creating me ?* ”
The Faith of Islam,
God is the absolute Lord, He can, if He so wills, admit all
men into Paradise, or cast all into hell. This sect is one of
the branches of the Ash’arians with whom on most points
they agree.
Secondly.—The Qadrians, who deny AhQadr, or God^s
absolute decree, say that evil and injustice ought not to be
attributed to God but to man, who is altogether a free
agent. God has given him the power to do or not to do an
act. This sect is generally considered to be a branch of the
Mutazilite body, though in reality it existed before W^sil
quitted the school of his master Hasan (Ante, p, 125). As
Wdsil, however, followed the opinions of Mabad-al-Johni,
the leading Hadrian divine, the Mutazilites and Qadrians
are practically one and the same.
Thirdly.—The Ash^arlans, of whom I have already
given some account, maintain that God has one eternal will
which is applied to whatsoever He willeth, both of His own
actions and those of men; that He willeth that which He
knoweth and what is written on the preserved table ; that
He willeth both good and evil. So far they agree with the
Jabrians; but then they seem to allow some power to
man, a tenet I have already explained when describing
their idea of (Ante. p. 180). The orthodox, or Sunni
belief is theoretically AsFarian, but practically the Sunnis
are confirmed Jabrians. The Mutazilite doctrines are look¬
ed upon as quite heretical.
No subject has been more warmly discussed in IsUm
than that of predestination. The following abstract of some
lengthy discussions will present the points of difference.
The Ash'arians, who in this matter represent in the main
orthodox views, formulate their objections to the Mutazilite
system thus:—
(i) . If man is the causer of an action by the force of his
own will, then he should also have the power of controlling
the result of that action.
(ii) . If it be granted that man has the power to originate
Ash^arian view of Predestination.
an act it is necessary that he should know all aots^ because
a creator should be independent in act and choice. Intention
must be conditioned by knowledge. To this the Mutazilites
well reply that a man need not know the length of a road
before he walks, or the structure of the throat before he talks.
(iii) . Suppose a man wills to move his body and God at
the same time wills it to be steady^ then if both intentions
come to pass there will be a collection of opposites; if
neither, a removal of opposites; if the exaltation of the
first, an unreasonable preference.
(iv) . If man can create an act, some of his works will be
better than some of the works of God, e.g, a man deter¬
mines to have faith: now faith is a better thing than
reptiles, which are created by God.
(v) . If man is free to act, why can he not make at once
a human body; why does he need to thank God for grace
and faith ?
(vi) . But better far than all argument, the orthodox say,
is the testimony of the Book, All things have we created
under a fixed decree/^ fSura liv. 49). When God created
you and that ye malceP (Sura xxxvii. 94). Some of them
there were whom God guided and there were others decreed
to err.^^ (Sura xvi. 38). As God decrees faith and obedi¬
ence He must be the causer of it, for on the hearts of these
hath God graven the Faith.'^ (Sdra Iviii. 22). “ It is he who
causeth you to laugh and weep, to die and make alive.’^'^ (Sura
liii, 44). If God pleased He would surely bring them, one
and all, to the guidance.^^ (Sura yu 36). Had God pleased.
He had guided you all aright.^^ (Sura vi. 150). Had the
Lord pleased, He would have made mankind of one religion. \
(Sdra xi. 120). God will mislead whom he pleaseth, and
whom He pleaseth He will place upon the stmight path.”
(Slira vi. 39.) Tradition records that the Prophet said:
(3od is the maker of all makers and of their actions.” ^
1. Ibn Kah, commenting on tho verse, ** When thy Lord brought forth
their descendants from the reins of the sons of Adam and took them to
176 The Faith of Islam,
The Mutazilites took up the opposite side of this great
question and said :—
(i) . If man has no power to will or to do, then what is
the difference between praising God and sinning against
Him; between faith and infidelity; good and evil; what
is the use of commands and prohibitions; rewards and
punishments; promises and threats; what is the use of
prophets, books, &c.
(ii) . Some acts of men are bad, such as tyranny and
polytheism. If these are created by God, it follows that to
tyrannise and to ascribe plurality to the Deity is to render
obedience. To this the Ash^arians reply that orders are of
two kinds, immediate and mediate. The former which they
call Amr-i-takwiti,^^ is the order, Be and it was.^^ This
comprehends all existences, and according to it whatever
is ordered must come to pass. The latter they call Amr-
i-tashii^i,^’ an order given in the Law. This comes to men
through prophets and thus is to be obeyed. True obedience
is to act according to that which is revealed, not according
to the secret intentions of God, for that we know not.
(iii) . If God decrees the acts of men, He should bear the
name of that which he decrees. Thus the causer of infide¬
lity is an infidel; of tyranny a tyrant, and so on ; but to
speak thus of God is blasphemy.
(iv) . If infidelity is decreed by God He must wish it;
but a prophet desires faith and obedience and so is opposed
to God. To this the orthodox reply, that God knows by
His eternal knowledge that such a man will die an infidel.
witness against themselves, ‘ Am I not,’ said He, ‘ your Lord,* They said:
^ yes, we witness it.’ ” (Sura vii. 17l), goes on to say : God formed all
the prophets and saints into one class, and the martyrs into another. The
pious men, also, were separated into one, and the wicked into another. One
class was formed of the obedient servants, while the unbelievers, the
Jews, the Christians, the Majians, the Hindus, &o., were likewise divided
into several parties j next, they were shaped into forms, that is, into the
shape in which he was to appear in the world was predestined for each
one.*’ This passage is quoted with approval by the Wahhabi author of the
Talswiyat-uMmdn.
The Mutazilite view of Tredestinaiion, 177
If a prophet intends by bringing the message of salvation
to such an one to make Grod’s knowledge become ignorance,
ho would be doing wrong; but as he does not know the
secret decrees of God, his duty is to deliver his message
according to the Hadis: A prophet has only to deliver
the clear message/^
(v). The Mutassilites claimed as on their side all verses
of the Quran, in which the words to do, to construct, to
renew, to create, &c., are applied to men. yuch are the
verses: Whatever is in the heavens and in the earth 'is
God^s that He may reward those who do evil according to
their deeds: and those who do good will He reward with
good things/^ (Sura liii. 32). Whoso shall have lorought
evil shall not be recompensed but with its like : but whoso
shall have done the things that are right, whether male or
female and is a believer, these shall enter Paradise.^^ (Sura
xl. 48). Say : the truth is from the Lord; let him then
who will believe; and let him who will, be an infidel
(Stira xviii. 28). ^ Those who add Gods to God will say;
^ If God had pleased neither we nor our fathex's had given
Him companions.^ Say : ^ Vox'ilyye follow only a conceit, ye
utter lies.^ (Sura vi. 149). The Hadis is also very plain.
"All good is in Thy hands and evil is not to Thee.^' (Al-
khair kuluhu fi yadaika wash-sharru laisa ^alaika.)
The Ash^axnans have one famous text which they bring to
bear against all this reasoning and evidence. It is: " This
truly is a warning; and whoso willeth, taketh the way of
his Lord; but will it ye nhall not, unless God will it, for
God is knowing, wise.” (Sura Ixxvi. 29, 30). To the Hadis
they reply (1) that there is a difference between acquies¬
cence in evil and deci^eeing it. Thus the expression
" God willeth not tyranny for His servants,” does not mean
1. Tho ortliodox Oomnientafcor 'Abl)ds says: “ This verso refers to the
deoree, e. g. * Ho whom God wUls to believe certainly will do bo, and whom
He wills to be an imhdel will be one/ and not at all to man’s free will.”
Tafsfr-Hnsainf, vol. ii. page 9.
2d
178 The Faith of Islam.
that God hath not decreed it, but that tyranny is not on© of
His attributes: so evil is not to Thee’^ means it is not an
attribute of God; and (2) the Hadis must be explained in
accordance with the teaching of the Quran,
The Muslim philosophers tried to find a way out of the
difficulty. Averhoes says : We are free to act in this
way or that, but our will is always determined by some
exterior cause. For example, we see something which
pleases us, we are drawn to it in spite of ourselves. Our
will is thus bound by exterior causes. These causes exist
according to a certain order of things which is founded
on the general laws of nature. God alone knows before
hand tho necessary connection which to us is a mystery.
The conneccion (»f our will with exterior causes is determin¬
ed by the laws of nature. It is this which in theology
we call, ^ decrees and predestination.'’
I have already shown how, as Islam grew into a system,
the Muslims foil into a Cabbalism, and a superstitious reve¬
rence for the more letters and words of the Quran, With
this declension came a still more distorted view of the charac¬
ter of God. The quotations made from the Quran in the
last few pages will have shown that whilst some passages
seem to attribute freedom to man and speak of his conse¬
quent responsibility, others teach a clear and distinct fata¬
lism. The great sti'ength of Islam lay in the energy with
which Muhammad preached tho doctrine that God was a
divine Kuler, one who would deal righteous judgment, who
^Haught man that which ho knew uot.’^ As the system
became more coraplox and dogmatic—a very necessary result
of its first principles—^men lost tho sense of the nearness of
God. He became an unapproachable being. A harsh un¬
feeling Fate took the place of the Omnipotent Rnler. It is
this dark fatalism which, whatever the Qurto may teach on
tho subject, is tho ruling principle in all Muslim communi-
J, Melanges de philosopho Juive et Arabe par S. Mmak. p* 4)$8.
The Punishment of Apostasy, 179
ties. It is tHs which makes all Muhammadan nations
decay. Careless of self-improvement/ heedless of the need
of progress, the Muslim nations, still independent, are in
all that relates to the higher aspects of intellectual and
civilized life far behind the nations of the west.
The subject of ^Ihn-i-Arpudj or the science of dogma
properly ends here, but most Muslim treatises include
in this branch of the subject a few practical remarks. I
therefore add a summary of them here. The believer who
commits murder, fornication, &o., does not cease to be a
Muslim provided that he does not say that these are allowed:
should he die unrepentant, God can punish him for a
while in hell, or forgive him without punishment. The
Hadd, a punishment based on a Zahir, or obvious sentence
of the Quran requires that a Muslim who apostatizes shall
be put to death.^^ In the case of an apostate woman. Imam
Abu Hanifa ruled that she should be imprisoned and beaten
every day. The other three Imams, Malik, Shafa^i and
Hanbal said that she should be put to death in accor¬
dance with the Tradition which says: He who changes
his religion, kill."^ The Arabic word ^^man,^^ usually
translated He who^^ is of common gender, and so these
Imams include women in the list of those who, after apos¬
tasy, are to be killed.** God does not pardon polytheism
and infidelity; but He can, if He willeth, pardon all other
crimes. If any one is asked, dost thou believe he
should reply, I am truly a believer,^' and not say : If God
1. Thus the poet Faizi says: ** Before thou and I were thought of, our
free will was taken from our hands ; be without cares, for the Maker of
both worlds settled our affairs long before we wore made.'’
2. The punishment of death is sometimes decreed for lesser offencoH.
In the latter part of the year 1879, one of the Turkish ^Ulamd, named
Ahmad, was oondemned to death for having assisted Dr. Koello, an English
clergyman residing in Constantinople, in the translation of the Book of
Common Prayer, and a tract on * Christ the Word of God.’ Owing to
the urgent representations of the British Ambassador the Khojah’s life
WM spared, but he was banished to the island of Ohio. The Porte pro-
mwed to maintain his family whilst he was absent. It need soarooly be
said that nothing of the kind has been done.
3. Journal Asiatiqne 4me Sdrie, tome 17, p. 682
180 The Faith of Islam,
If any one says to him; Wilt thou die in the
faith he should reply: do not know^ Godknows/^
Except when speaking of prophets, or of those of whom
the Prophets have spoken, such as Abu Bakr, Omar, Osmdn
and 'All, it must not be said of any one, ^^he is gone
to Paradise," for God only knows his state. Pr«|p?
should be made for a deceased Muslim whether he was a
good or bad man. To give alms, to read the Quran, to
perform other good works, and to apply the merit thus
gained to the souls of the dead is a pious and beneficial act.
1. This is tho ShafaTte form which the Hanifites consider wrong
Muslim Philosophers»
NOTE TO CHAPTER IV.
MUSLIM PHILOSOPHY,
I HAVE shown in the preceding chapter how the earlier scholastics,
or the Mutazilites, as they are called, were finally crushed by the
orthodox party. The later scholastics, or the philosophers, form the
subject of this note. The Khalif M4miin (813-833 a.e.), a notorious
free-thinker, was the first to give an impulse to philosophic re¬
searches, It was then that Greek philosophical works were trans¬
lated into Arabic. The Greek author most patronized was Aristotle,
partly, because his empirical method accorded with the positive
tendencies of the Arab mind better than the pure idealism of Plato;
and, partly, because his system of logic was considered an useful
auxiliary in the daily quarrels between the rival theological schools.
It was quite natural that Aristotle should be thus followed. “ The
Musalman mind was ti^ained in habits of absolute obedience to the
authority of fixed dogmas. The Muslims did not so much wish to
discover truth as to cultivate their own intellect. For that purpose,
a sharp and subtle systematist, like Aristotle was the very man they
required.”! Some idea of the range of subjects then discussed may
be gained from an account given by the Arab historian, Masoudi, of
a meeting hold under the Presidentship of Tahya, one of the famous
Barmecide family. 2 Yahya thus addressed the meeting: “You
have discussed at length the theory of concealment (Al-Kumtin) and
manifestation (Al-Zahiir), of pre-existence and creation, of duration
and stability, of movement and quiescence, of the uni<>n and separation
(of the Divine substance), of existence and non-existence, of bodies
and accidents, of the approval and the refutation (of the Isndds of
the Traditions), of the absence or the existence of attributes in God,
of potential and active force, of substance, quantity, modality and
relation, of life and annihilation. You have examined the question
as to whether the Im4m rules by divine right, or by popular elec¬
tion; you have had an exhaustive discussion on metaphysical sub¬
jects, in their principles and corollaries. Occupy yourselves to-day
with the subject of love,” &c.
The translation of the works of Aristotle, as indeed of all the
Greek authors, was made by Syrian and Chaldean Christians, and
1. Kingsley’s Alexandria and her Schools, p. 160.
Les Prairies D’or, tome sixi^me, p* 868.
The Faith of Islam*
especially by the N’estorians who, as physicians, were in high favour
with the liberal Khalifs of the ’Abbas side dynasty. In some cases
the translation into Arabic was made from Syriac versions, for in
the time of the Emperor Justinian many Greek works had been
translated into the latter language. The most celebrated translator
was the historian physician Honein-Ibn-Ishak (died 876 a.d.), a
man profoundly acquainted with the Syriac, Greek and Arabic
languages. He was at the head of a school of interpreters in Bagh¬
dad, to which his son Ishak-ben-Honein and his nephew Hobeisch-
Al-Asam also belonged. In the tenth century (a. n.) Yahya-ben-
Adi and Isa-ben-Zara’a translated some works and corrected earlier
translations of others. It is to these men that the Arabs owe their
chief acquaintance with Plato.
The study of Aristotle spread rapidly amongst the Muslim people,
especially amongst the heretical sects. The orthodox looked with
grave suspicion on the movement, but could not for a while stay
the impulse. The historian Makrizi says: “ The doctrine of the
Philosophers has worked amongst the Muslims evils most fatal. It
serves only to augment the errors of the heretics and to increase
their impiety.”^ It came into contact with Muslim dogmas in such
subjects as the creation of the world, the special providence of God
and the nature of the divine attributes. To a certain extent the
MutazUites were supported by the philosophical theories they
embraced, but this did not diminish the disfavour with which the
orthodox looked upon the study of philosophy. Still it grew, and
men in self' defence had to adopt philosophic methods. Thus arose
a later system of scholasticism. The earlier system was confined
mainly to matters of religion; the later school occupied itself with
the whole range of philosophic investigation, and thus went farther
and farther away from orthodox Isl4m.
The Muslims themselves did not write books on philosophy in the
earlier period. Men of liberal tendencies imbibed its teaching, but
orthodoxy finally gained the day over the earlier scholastics, and in
the form known as that of the Ash’arian School became again
supreme.^ The great intellectual movement of the Philosophers
proper, the later scholastics (Mutakallimdn), lasted longer, but by the
end of the twelfth century (A.n.) the whole Muhammadan world had
again become orthodox, Saldh-ud-din (Saladin) and his successors in
Egypt wenre strong supporters of the Ash’arians.
1. Melanges do Philosopbie Juive et Arabe, par B. Hunk, p. 3X6.
2. For a statement of ihe Aah’ariaa doctrines see pp. 130.181.
Muslim Philosophers. 183
The period now under review was one prolific of authors on
grammar, rhetoric, logic, exegesis, traditions and the various branches
of philosophy; but the men who stand out most prominently as
philosophers were then, and are now, considered heretics. ^
Al-Kendi, was born at Basra, on the Persian Gulf. He died about
870 A.D. He was a very scientific man, but a thorough rationalist in
theology. He composed commentaries on the logic of Aristotle. In
his great work on the unity of God he has strayed far away from
Muslim dogmas.
A1 Farabi, another philosopher patronized by the ’Abbassides,
seems to have denied not only the rigid and formal Islamic view of
inspiration, but any objective revelation at all. He held that intui¬
tion was a true inspiration, and that all who had acquired intuitive
knowledge were real prophets. This is the only revelation he admits.
He received his philosophical training at Baghdad, where for a while
he taught; but finally he wont to Damascus, where he died 950 a..d.
Ibn Sina, better known as Avicenna, a man of Persian origin, was
a Philosopher of great note, but of him it is said that in spite of the
concessions he made to the religious ideas of his age, he could not
find favour for his opinions, which ill accord with the principles of
Islam. He was bom near Bukhara, in the year 980 a,d. For a
while ho taught medicine and philosophy in Ispahan.
Ibn Bad] a, (Avempacc) was one of the most celebrated Muslim
Philosophers of Spain. He was born at Saragossa towards the end
of the eleventh century. He is distinguished for having opposed
the mystical tendencies of the teaching of Al-Ghazz41i, and for
maintaining that speculative science alone was capable of leading
man to a true conception of his own proper nature. He was violently
attacked by the orthodox divines who declared that all philosophical
teaching was a calamity for religion and an affliction to those who
wore in the good way.”
Al-Ghazz&lf was bom a.d. 1059 in Khords^. He was a famous
Muslim divine. He adopted scholastic methods. For a while he was
President of the Hizdmiah College at Baghdad. He travelled much,
and wrote many books to prove the superiority of Isllim over all
other religions and over philosophy. The first result of his wide
and extensive study of the writings of the philosophers, and of the
heretics was that he fell into a state of scepticism with regard to
religion and philosophy. From this he emerged into Slifiism, in
1. Strictly speaking, one should not speak of Arab but of Muslim philo¬
sophy, for curiously enough only one famous Philosopher, Al-Kendi, was an
Arab.
1S4 The Faith of Islam.
which his restless spirit found satisfaction* On Sufiism, however,
he exercised no very notable influence; but the scepticism which he
still retained as regards philosophy rendered him a very formidable
opponent to those who were trying to bring Islam into accord with
phflosophic theories. His works, “ Tendency of Philosophers,” and
“ Destruction of the Philosophers” had an immense influence. In the
preface to the latter book, he speaks of “ those who arrogate to them¬
selves a supenor intelligence, and who, in their pride, mistaking the
precepts of religion, take as a guide the authority of certain great
men, instead of revealed religion.” It is, however, and with some
show of reason supposed that Al-Ghasszali did not really object to
all that he condemned, but that to gain the orthodox he wrote what
he did. Indeed, Moses of Harbonne states that Ghazzali later on in
life wrote a book, circulated only amongst a few select friends, in
which he withdrew many of the objections he had raised in the
“ Destruction of Philosophers.” Be that as it may, it is acknowledged
that he dealt a blow to philosophy from which in the East it has
never recovered ; that is, as far as the Muslim world is concerned.
His course marks a reaction of the exclusively religious principle
of Islam against philosophical Kpeculation, which in spite of all
accommodation never made itself orthodox.
In Spain philosophy still found an ardent defender in Ibn Rashid,
better known as Averhoes. This celebrated man was born at Cordova
in the year 1126 or about 520 of the Muhammadan ora. He
came of a noble and learned family, whilst ho himself must ever
occupy a distinguished place amongst the Muslim Philosophers.
“ Without dispute he was one of the most learned men of the Mus¬
lim world, and one of the profoundcst commentators of Aristotle, He
knew all the sciences then accessible to the Muslims and was a most
prolific writer.” i One of his most famous works was the “ Refutation
of the destruction of Philosophers.” Notwithstanding his philoso¬
phical opinions Averhoos claimed to pass for a good Muslim. He
held that the philosophic truths are the highest object of research;
but that only a few men could by speculation arrive at them, and
that, therefore, a divine revelation through the medium of prophets
was necessary for spreading amongst men the eternal verities which
are proclaimed alike by philosophy and religion. Ho held, it is
true, that the orthodox had paid too much attention to the letter,
and too little to the spirit, and that false interpretations had
educed principles not really to be found in religion. This profes-
1, Melanges de PhilosopHe Juive et Arabe, par 8* Munk, p. 429.
Tha Revival of Orthodo^y^y.
sion and a rigid adherence to outward forms of worship, however,
did not save him from suspicion. He was accused of preaching
philosophy and the ancient sciences to the detriment of religion.
He was deprived of his honours and banished by the Khalff Al-Man-
sdr to Lucena, near Cordova. In his disgrace he had to suffer many
insults from the orthodox. One day on entering the mosque with
his son he was forcibly expelled by the people. He died at Morocco
in 1198 A.D. Thus passed away in disgrace the last of the Muslim
Philosophers worthy of the name.i In Spain a strict prohibition was
issued against the study of Greek philosophy, and many valuable
works were committed to the flames. Soon after the rule of the
Moors in Spain began to decline. The study of philosophj" came to
an end, and liberal culture sank under the pressure of the hard and
fast dogmatic system of Islam. In Spain, 2 as in Baghdad, ortho¬
doxy gained the day. There was much of doubtful value in
the speculations of the Muslim Philosophers, but they were
Muslims, and if they went too far in their efforts to ration¬
alize Islam, they also tried to cast off what to them seemed
accretions, added on by the Traditionalists and the Canonical
Legists. They failed because like the earlier scholastics they
had no gospel to proclaim to men, no tidings to give of a now
life which could enable wearied humanity to bear the ills to wliicli it
was subject. Another strong reason was that the orthodoxy against
which they stx’ove was a logical development of the foundations of
Islam, and these foundations are too strongly laid for any power
other than a spiritual one to uproot. I’liey were men of good posi¬
tion in life, voluminous writers, profound admirers of Aristotle, and
** more or less devoted to science, especially to medicine/* Yet they
did not advance philosophy, and science they left miKih as they found
it. They preserved something of what Grecian thought had achiev¬
ed, and so far their labour is not lost.
Thus Islam has, as a religion, no right to claim any of the glory
which Muslim philosophers are supposed to have shed around it.
1. Apres lui, nous ne trouvoua plus ohoz los Arabos aucun philosophe •
v^ritablement digne de ce nom.” Melanges de Philosophie Juive ot
Arabe, par S. Munk, p. 468.
2. Muslim rule in Spain is often referred to as an instance of tlie
height of culture and the liberality of sentiment which may exist in a
Muhammadan state, I have shown that the culture was not due to the
teaching of the Arab Prophet and his Companions, and with regard to tho
liberality it is well to remember the words of G. H. Lewes. He says:
The Arabs, though they conquered Spain, were too weak in numbers to
hold , that country in subjection otherwise than by politic concessions to
the opinion and customs of the people.” History of Phflosophy, vol. i. p, 86.
Thr Faith of Iddm.
Tlie founders of Islam, the Arabs, produced but one philosopher
of note.i The first impetus to the study was given by heretical
Khalifs employing Christians at Baghdad to translate Greek
books; whilst in Spain, where philosophy most flourished, it was
duo largely to the contact of intelligent Muslims with learned
Jews. Even there, the philosophers were, as a rule, the objects
of bitter persecution. Now and again, a liberal minded Elhalif
arose, but a system such as Islam survives the liberal tendencies
of a generation. From the close of the twelfth century (a.d.)
downwards it would be difficult to point to any Muslim Phi¬
losopher, much more to an Arab one, whose work is of any real
value to the human race. For four hundred years the contest raged,
a contest such as Islam has never since seen. This groat efiort to
bring it into accordance with the main stream of human thought, to
introduce into it some element of progress utterly failed. The lesson
is plain. Any project of reform in Islam which admits in any degree
its fundamental principles must fail. Eevolution, not refoim, is the
only hope for the permanence of an independent Muslim state when
it enters into the circle of civilized nations.
1. “There never was any Arabian science, strictly speaking. In the first
place, all the Philosophy and Science of the Muhammadans was Greek,
Jewish, and Persian.It really designates a reaction against IsUm-
ism, which arose in the distant parts of the Empire, in Samarcand,
Bokhara, Morocco, and Cordova. The Arabian language having become
tho language of the Empire, this Philosophy is written in that language;
but the ideas are not Arabian; the spirit is nob Arabian.*^ History of
Philosophy, by G. H. Lewes, vol. ii. p. 34.
CHAPTER V,
THE PRACTICAL DUTIES OF ISLAM.
The portion of the creed considered in the last chapter
was connected with Iman (faith) ; the remaining portion
is connected with Din (practical religion). The five princi¬
pal acts are called Irkan-i-Dm^ pillars of religion. They
are ; (1) The recital of the Kalima^ or short confession of
faith ; (2) Sulat^ the five stated periods of pmyer; (3) Roza,
the thirty days^ fast of Ramazan; (4) Zakat, legal alms;
(5) Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. These are all farz duties,
being based on a Nass-i-Zahir, or obvious,sentence of
the Qumn, a proof derived from which is called dalil-i-
qata^i. This is the strongest of all kinds of proofs.
The authorities, however, specify other religious duties
which’good Muslims should perform. Such are the seven
duties which are xvajihy or duties based on the more obscure
texts of the Quran, called Khafi, or ^^hidden^^ sentences,
a proof derived from which is called dalil-i-zani. These
duties are: (1) To make the ^TJmra, or Pilgrimage to Mecca
in addition to the Hajj; (2) obedience to parents ; (3; the
obedience of a wife to her husband ; (4) the giving of alms
after a fast; (5) the offering of sacrifice ; (6) the saying bt
Namfe-i-witr, a term which will be explained later on ; (7)
the support of relatives. The duties numbered as (4; and
(5) are wfljih orders to the rich; but only 'm.xiHtaliah to the
poor: that is, it is meritorious if they perform them, but
not sinful if they leave them undone.
The duties next in order as regards authority are the
sunnat ones. They are throe in number and are based
either on the practice of the Prophet, or are Jitratf that is
practices of previous prophets, the continuance of which
188 The Faith of Islam.
Muhammad did not forbid. They are (1) circumcision; (2)
shaving off the hair from the head and the body; (3) the
paring of the nails. In addition to these there are actions
which are mistahab. They are those which Muhammad
sometimes did and sometimes omitted. There is a still
lower class of action which are miihali. These are works of
supererogation. If omitted there is no fear of punishment.
It may be mentioned in passing that unlawful actions
and things are (1) Sarumj actions and food forbidden either
in the Quran or the Traditions; (2) Malcruhj actions the
unlawfulness of which is not absolutely certain, but which
are generally considered wrong; (3) Mufsid, actions cor¬
rupting or pornicious. It is necessary to bear these terms
in mind as they will now frequently occur.
i. TASiiAiTTruT). —This is the recital of a confession of faith.
There are several forms of this. A common one is: I
testify that there is no deity but God, I testify to His unity
and that He has no partner; I testify that Muhammad is
His servant and His messenger.’'^ The shorter form is:
There is no deity but God aud Muhammad is the apostle
of God.’^ The power contained in this latter confession is
extraordinary. It embodies the very spirit of Islto. It
has led everywhere the march of its armies, it has rung for
twelve centuries in the morning air from its minarets, it
has bqen passed from lip to lip, as no other word has ever
been passed, by thousands of millions of the human race.'^^
*The power of Islam, its proclamation of tho Unity, is here
seen in the closest contact with what is to Muslim theolo¬
gians the equally fundaTuental truth—the apostleship of
Muhammad, a dogma which retards the healthy derelop-
ment, explains the narrowness, and causes the prostration of
Islam, as tho world around grows Inminant with the light
of science and truth, of faith and reason.
2. SuLAT. ^—All tho books on Fiqh (Law) which treat of
1, Tho Vorsian torm for this is Namda, a word in commoner use in India
than SuUt. Both tetms will henceforth bo employed.
Legal Purifications,
tliese Irkan-i-din, give in connection with Sulat the rules
regarding the necessary purifications. It will be convenient
to follow the same order.
Taharat or legal purification is of three kinds : (1) Wazu,
the lesser lustration ; (2) Ghuslj the greater lustration ; (3)
Tayammum, or.purification by sand.
(1). Wazu is an ablution made before saying the appoint¬
ed prayers. Those which are ^ farz^ are four in number,
viz:—to wash (1) the face from the top of the forehead to
the chin, and as far as each ear; and (2) the hands and
arms up to the elbow; (3) to rub (masah) with the wet
hand a fourth part of the head; also (4) the feet to the
ankles. The authority for these actions is the text: 0
Believers ! when ye address yourselves to prayer, wash your
hands up to the elbow, and wipe your heads, and your
feet to the ankles” (Sura v. 8). The Sunnis wash the feet :
the Shia^hs are apparently more correct, for they only wipe,
Or rather rub, (masah) them. In these ablutions, if the
least portion of the specified part is left untouched, the
whole act becomes useless and the prayer which follows is
vain.
The act of making wazu, however, has not been allowed
to remain in this simple form. The Sunnat regulations
regarding it are fourteen in number. They are, (1) to make
the intention of wazu, thus : I make this wazu for the pur¬
pose of putting away impurity; (2) to wash the hand
up to the wrist, but care must be taken not to put the
hands entirely into the water, until each has been rubbed
three times with water poured on it; (3) to say one of the
names of God at the commencement of the wazu * thus:
In the name of the Great God,^^ or Thanks be to God
for the religion of Isld,m (4) to clean the teeth; (5) to
rinse the mouth throe times; (6) to put water into the
1. There ie a Tradition to iho OifEeot that “ the whole body of him who
says the name of God wheu making wazu will be clean ; whereas, if he
says it not, only the part washed will be pure.’*
The Faith of Islam,
nostrils three times; (7) to do all the above in proper order;
(8) to do all without any delay between the various acts;
(9) each part is to be purified three times; f lOj the space
between the fingers of one hand must be imbbed with tlie
wet fingers of the other ; (11) the beard must be combed
with the fingers; (13) the whole head must be rubbed once ;
(13) the ears must be washed witli the .water remaining
on the fingers after the last operation; (14) to rub under
and between the toes with the little finger of the left hand^
drawing it from the little toe of the right foot and between
each toe in succession. Imam Shafa^i holds that (1) and
(7) are farz duties and that (12) should be done three times.
Imam Mffik considers (8) to be farz.
The actions may bo done in silence^ or prayer may be
repeated. Such a recital is a miistahab^ not a sunnat or
farz order. It is not obligatory. A specimen of these prayers
is given in a note. ^
(2). G-husl is an ablution of the whole body after certain
legal defilements^ and should be made as follows. The
person should put on clean clothes and perform the wazii,
then he should say : I make ghiisl to put away impurity.-^'
All being ready he should wash himself in the, following
order* He must pour water over the right shoulder throe
timeSj then over the left three times and, lastly, on his head
1. Before commenoing the wazrfi, say: “ I am going to purify mysolf
from all bodily uncleaunoss preparatory to commencing prayor, that holy
act of duty, which will draw my soul near to the throno of the Most High.
Jn the name of God, the Great and Mighty. Praise be to God who has
given ne grace to be Muslims. IsUm is a truth and infidelity a falsehood.*'
When oleauing the teeth say: “ Vouchsafe 0 God, as I clean my teeth,
to purify me from my faults and accept my homage. 0 Lord, may the
purity of my teeth be for me a pledge of the whiteness of luy face at the
day of judgment.**
When washing the nostrils say: “ 0 my God, if I am pleasing in Thy
sight, perfume me with the odours of Paradise.**
When washing the right hand say: “ 0 ray God, on the day of judg-.
meut, place the book of my actions in my right hand, and examine my
account with favour.*'
When washing the left hand, say: 0 my God, place not at the re¬
surrection the book of ray actions in my left hand.” Similar prayers are
said at each act.
Leg a I Pn r ificaHoits .
also the same number of times. The three farz conditions
are that (1) the mouth must be rinsed, (2) water be put into
the nostrils, and (3) the whole body be washed. If one
hair even is left dry the whole act is rendered vain and use¬
less. All other particulars are sunnat or mustahab.
There are obvious reasons why an explanation of the
causes which vitiate a purification, or of the cases in which
ghusl is required, cannot be given here. Every standard
Muslim work on Pikh, or law, deals fully with the subject.
Nothing is more calculated to show the student of Isldm
how much the Sunnat rules in the practical life of Muslims.
The Traditions have raised the most trivial ceremonial ob¬
servances into duties of the greatest importance. That
there may be spiritually minded men in Islam is not to be
denied; but a system of religion which declares that the
virtue of prayer depends practically on an ablution, and that
that ablution is useless unless done in the order prescribed,
is one well calculated to make men formalists and nothing
more. It comes to this, that, if a man when making wazu
washes his left hand before his ri^ht, or his nose before
his teeth, he cannot lawfully say the daily Namaz enjoined
on all Muslims. None but those who have studied Muslim
treatises on the subject can conceive of the puerile discus¬
sions, which have taken place on points apparently trivial,
but which from their connection with the Sunnat are
deemed by learned Muslims of great importance p
(3). Tayammum, or purification by sand, is allowable under
the following circumstances. (1) When water cannot be
procured except at a distance of one kos (about 2 miles);
(2) in case of sickness when the use of water might be in¬
jurious; (3) when water cannot be obtained without incur¬
ring danger from an enemy, a beast or a reptile ; and (4)
when on the occasion of the Nam4z of a Feast day or the
Nam4z at a funeral, the worshipper is late and has no time
bo perform the wazfi. On ordinary days this substitution of
taj^ammum for wazfi is not allowable.
The Faith of Islam,
Tlie ceremony is performed as follows. The person says :
I make tayammnm to put away impurity then, I seek
refuge near God from cursed Satan, I commence in the
name of God, most Merciful and most High, whose praises
are in the religion of IslS;m.^^ He then strikes the sand
with open hands, rubs his mouth and, at last, the arms to
the elbows. Not one hair must be left untouched or the
whole ceremony is useless. The farz acts are to make the
intention of tayammum, to rub the mouth and the hands.
If ye are sick, or on a journey, or if one of you come from
the place of retirement, or if ye have touched women, and
ye find no water, then take clean sand and rub your faces
and your hands with it.^^ (Sura v. O.)
Minute regulations are laid down with regard to the
water which may be used for purification. The following
kinds of water are lawful:—rain, sea, river, fountain, well,
snow and ice-water. Ice is not lawful. The first kind is
authorized by the QurS-n. He sent you down water from
heaven that He might thereby cleanse you, and cause the
pollution of Satan to pass from you.^' (Sura viii. 11.) The
use of the others is sanctioned by the Traditions. I give
one illustration, A. man one day come to the Prophet and
said: ^^I am going on a voyage and shall only have a
small supply of fresh water ; if I use it for ablutions I shall
have none wherewith to quench my thirst, may I use sea
water ? The Prophet replied: The water of the sea is
pure.’^ Tirmizi states that this is a Hadis-i-Sahih. Great
difEerence of opinion exists with regard to what constitutes
impurity in water, and so renders it unfit for ablutions. It
would be wearisome to the reader to enter into all details,
but I may briefly say that, amongst the orthodox, it is
generally held that if a dead body or any unclean thing
falls into flowing water, or into a reservoir more than 15 feet
square it can be used, provided always that the colour, smell
and taste are not changed. It is for this reason that the pool
near a mosque is never less than ten cubits square. H of
Salat or Namaz,
that size, it is called a dah dar dah, (literally 10 x 10). It
may be, and commonly is, larger than this. It should be
about one foot deep.
The necessary ablutions having been made, the worshipper
can commence the Namaz.
(4). Salat or Namaz. The Namaz can be said either in
private or in public. All that is required is that the clothes
and person of the worshipper should be clean, the place free
from all impurity, and that the face be turned towards
Mecca. Whether the Namaz is said in public or in private,
it must be preceded by wazd, except when tayammum is
allowed. If the Namaz ^ is said in a mosque which is consider¬
ed to be more meritorious than repeating it in private,it must
be preceded by the Azan, or call to prayers, and the Iq5,mat.
Minute particulars regarding the exact attitnde in which the
Musalli, one who says the Salat, must stand and the words
he is to say are given in Muslim books. The following
account will give some idea of a Namaz, or Service.^
The Mu,azzin ® calls out loudly in Arabic :—
Allahu Akbar ! Allahu Akbar ! AlMhu Akbar ! Allahu
AkbarM^^
111 who hear it respond:—
Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar ! Allahu Akbar ! Alhihu
Akbar \”
The Mu,azzin says :—
I confess there is no God but God, I confess there is
no God but God.”
Each of his auditors replies :—
I confess there is no God but God, I confess there is
no God but God.”
1. From the account which follows it will be seen that the term Namass
expresses what we term a * Service/ The word for prayer in the ordinary
sense is ‘ Du’d.*
2. It is taken from tho SirUt-un-Kaj&t, pp. 30—33.
8. As the use of bells is unlawful a man is employed to call the people
to prayers.
4. *‘GodisGreat.^»
194 The Faith of Islam.
Mu^azzin:—confess Muhammad is the apostle of God/^
Auditor :—I confess Muhammad is the apostle of God/^
Mu,azzin :—Come to prayer.
Auditor :—I have no power or strength hut from God
most High and Great/^
Mu^azzin :—Come to do good.^^
Auditor :—What God wills will be ; what He wills not
will not be/^
If it is the time of morning prayer, the Mu,azzin adds
the words: Prayer is better than sleep/^ to which the
response is given: Thou hast spoken well/^ All^u
Akbar,^^ and There is no God but God^^ are then repeated
twice and so the Azan ends.
The Iqamat (literally, causing to stand^^) is a repetition
of the Azdn, but after the words, come to do good,^^ the
statement prayer has commenced^^ is made.
These preliminaries being now over, the Nam£z can
commence. It is as follows :
The Musalli, or worshipper, stands with his hands close
to his side and says in a low voice the Niyyat (intention):—
I have purposed to offer up to God only, with a sincere
heart this morning (or as the case may be), with my face
Qibla-wards, two (or as the case may be) rak’at prayers,
farz (or sunnat or naff, as the case may be).^^
Then follows the Takbir-i-Tahrimah, said with the
thumbs touching the lobes of the ears. The palms of
the hands are placed towards the Qibla. The fingers are
slightly separated from each other. In this position the
Musalli saysAMhu Akbar
The Qiam, or standing position. The palm of the right
hand being placed on the back of the left, the thumb and
little finger of the former seize the wrist of the latter.
Both hands are then placed below the navel, ^ the eyes are
1. Tho foUowers of Im&m As-Shfifa’i and the women of all sects place
the hands upon the breast. The feet should be about four inches apart j
women stand with the feet close together.
Ta^awwm, Tahhir and TasMh.
directed towards the spot where the head of the worshipper
will touch the ground in prostration^ and the Sana is said.
It is: —
Holiness to Thee 0 God ! and praise be to Thee !
Great is Thy name ! Great is thy Greatness !
There is no God but Thee
The Ta^awwuz is then said:—
I seek refuge near God from cursed Satan
Then follows the Tasmiyah :—
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the MercifuL^^
Then follows the Fatiha,^ or first chapter of the Quran:—
Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds 1 the Compassionate,
the Merciful! King on the day of reckoning ! Thee only do
we worship, and to Thee do we cry for help. Guide Thou us
on the straight path : the path of those to whom Thou hast
been gracious: with whom Thou art not angry, and who
go not astray/^
After this the worshipper can repeat as many chapters
of the Quran as he likesSome verses he must repeat.
The Surat-ul-Ikhlas (Sura 112) is generally said:—
" Say; He is God alone : God the Eternal, He begetteth
not, and is not begotten; and there is none like unto Him/^
The Takbir-i-RukiV—Allahu Akbar!—is said whilst the
Musalli makes an inclination of the head and body, and
separating the fingers a little, places his hands upon his
knees.
The Tasbih-i-Ruku^ is said in the same position. It is :—
I extol the holiness of my Lord, the Great !
I extol the holiness of my Lord, the Great!
I extol the holiness of my Lord, the Great
The Tasmia^ is then said with the body erect, but with
the hands placed on either side. Thus :—
1. The second rak’at begins here: all that precedes is only repeated at
the first rak'at.
2. A fixed portion is said in each rak^at during the nights of Bamaz^n,
which portion is then called a ruldi’. (Ante. p. 6^.)
196 The Fmth of Islam.
Gk)d hears him who praises Him: 0 Lord, Thou art
praised
The Takhir-i-Sijda—Alld.hu Akhar!—^is said as the
worshipper drops on his knees.
The Musalli then kneeling down, places his hands, with
the fingers close to each other, upon the ground. He must
rest upon his toes, not on the side of the feet which must be
kept straight behind him. The elbow must not touch the
side, nor the stomach the thigh, nor the thigh the calf of
the leg. The eyes must be kept bent downwards. Then
he touches the ground first with his nose, and then with his
forehead, taking care that the thumbs just touch the lobe of
the ears-* All this being carefully attended to, the Musalli
can say the Tasbih-i-Sijda thus :—
I extol the holiness of my Lord, the Most High !
I extol the holiness of my Lord, the Most High !
I extol the hoHness of my Lord, the Most High I”
He then raises his head and body, sinks backwards upon
his heels, places his hands a little above his knees, and whilst
doing so says the Takbir-i-Jalsa Allahu Akbar
After a slight pause, a second prostration, or Sijda is
made and the Takbir-i-Sijda and the Tasbih-i-Sijda are
repeated as before. Then when in the act of rising up the
Musalli says the Takbir-i-Qiam—Allahu Akbar
This concludes one raVat. The second raVat begins with
the Fatiha, so that after saying the Takbir-i-Qiam a Musalli
would have to begin again at that place (p. 195) and repeat all
that he had just finished; the only change being that after
the Fdtiha, he recites different verses of the Qur^n to those
he said in the first rak^at. After two rak^ats have been
said, and after the last, though it be an odd number, the
1. In a mosque the Xm&m says the first sentence alone j the people the
second. , ,
2. Women in the Sijda keep aU the limbs of the body close together, and
put both feet at right angles to the body. If their face is Qibla-wards it is
sufficient.
3. Here the Shfa^hs sayI rise and sit by the power of 6[od.”
Tashahhud, JDu^d and Saldm.
Musalli, unless he is a Shia^h, places his left foot under him
and sits upon it. He then places his hands above his knees,
as for the Takbir-i-Jalsa, and with his eyes directed towards
his lap says the Attahiyat:—
The adorations of the tongue are for God, and also the
adorations of the body, and almsgiving ! Peace be on thee
0 Prophet! with the mercy of God and His blessing. Peace
be on us and upon God^s righteous servants
Then raising the first finger of the right hand he says
the Tashahhud ^:—
I testify that there is no deity but God; and I testify
that Muhammad is the servant of God and the messenger of
God.^^
Then at the end of all the rak^ats the Musalli, whilst in
the same posture, says the Darud :—
0 God! have mercy on Muhammad and his descendants ^;
as Thou didst have mercy on Abraham and his descendants.
Thou art to be praised and Thou art great. 0 God! bless
Muhammad and his descendants, as Thou didst bless Abra¬
ham and his descendants. Thou art to be praised and Thou
art great.^^
Then comes the Du^^, which may be in the worshipper^s
own words though he usually says ^:—
0 God our Lord, give us the blessings of this life, and
also the blessings of life everlasting. Save us from the tor¬
ments of hell.^^
Then turning the head to the right the Musalli repeats
the Salam:—
The peace and mercy of God be with you.^''
Then turning the head to the left he says :—
The peace and mercy of God be with you.^^
At the close of the whole ceremony, the worshipper raises
1. This is said at the close of every two rak’abs.
2. ' The Shia^hs stop here and omit the rest.
3. The Shfa’hs omit the Du’d and say: ** Peace be on thee, 0 Prophet,
with the mercy of God and His blessing. Peace be on us and on God’s
righteous servants.**
198 The Faith of Islmi.
his hands as high as his shoulders, with the palm towards
heaven, or towards his own face, and offers up a MunS.-
jat, or supplication, either in Arabic or in the vernacular.
The hands are then drawn over the face, as if to convey
the blessing received from above to every part of the
body.
The appointed periods of prayer are five in number, in
proof of which the following text is quoted: Glorify God
when ye reach the evening (masd), and when ye rise at morn
(subh); and to Him be praise in the heavens and in the
earth,"—and at twilight (’asM) and when ye rest at noon
(zuhr)/^ (Sura xxx. 17). The Commentators say that
masa includes both sunset and the period after sunset;
that is both the SaUt-ul-Maghrib and the Salat-ul-Hsha.
There is also a reference to a stated period of prayer in
the following verse: Observe prayer at early morning,
at the close of the day, and at the approach of night.^^
(Sura xi. 116).
These daily Nam^z are farz, sunnat, witr and nafl prayers.
Farz are those distinctly ordained by God, such as the five
stated periods of prayer.
Sunnat, a certain number of raVats which are added,
because it is said the Prophet repeated them.
Witr rak’ats are an odd number of rak'ats, 3,5 or 7, which
may be said after the last prayer at night, and before the
dawn of day. Usually they are added to the Saldt-ul-’*Ish^».
Imam Abu Hanifa says they are wajib, that is ordered by
God. They are not authorised by any text in the Qurd.n,
but by Traditions each of which is generally received as
a Hadis-i-Sahih, and so witr rak^ats are regarded as being of
divine authority. Imam Shdfa^i, however, considers them
to be sunnat only, a term already explained.
The Traditions referred to are : God has added to your
Namdz one Namdz more: know that it is witr, say it
between the SaMt-ul-Hsh^i. and dawn.^^ On the authority
of Buzdr, a Traditionist, it is recorded that the Prophet
WUr and Naji mWaU.
said: ^'Witr is wajib upon MusKms/^ and in order to
enforce the practice he added: ^^Witr is rights he who
does not observe it is not my follower.^^ The Prophet,
the Companions, the Taba^in and the Taba-i-Taba^in all
observed it. The word witr literally means " odd num¬
ber A Tradition says: "God is odd. He loves the odd/^
(Allahu witrun yuhibbu^l-witra). Musalmans pay the great¬
est respect to an odd number. It is considered unlucky
to begin any work, or to commence a journey on a
day, the date of which is an even number. The number
of lines in a page of a book is nearly always an odd
number.
ITafl are voluntary prayers the performance of which is
considered mustahab, or meritorious, but they are not of
divine obligation. Itmustbe understood that all these prayers
are precisely the same in form. They simply consist in the
repetition of a number of rak^ats, of which I have already
given a single illustration in full. A Muslim who says the
five daily prayers with the full number of rak^ats will repeat
the Service I have described fifty times in one day. If
in addition to these he observes the three voluntary periods of
prayers,he mustadd twenty-five more raFats, makingagrand
total of seventy-five. It is, however, usual to omit some of
the Sunnat rak’ats; still there is a vast amount of repetition,
and as the whole must be said in Arabic it becomes very
mechanical.
A Muslim who ventured to say that a Namliz might be
recited in Hindustani was publicly excommunicated in the
principal Mosque at Madras on Friday, February 13th,
The table on the next page will make the matter clear ®
The optional Sunnat rak^ats are called ^ Sunnat-i-ghair-i-
1. Tlx0 Fatv^ OP decree, will be found in a note at the end of this
chapter.
2? I am indebted to Hughes* Notes on hCuhammadanism for this e 2 :oel*
lant table.
^00 The Faith of Islmi,
maukadda^ ,* the Sunnat rak^ats before the farz are ^ Sun-
nat-i-maukadda’ and should be said.
TkB ITAMBS 03? XHB TIMB OB PBABBB.
Time.
Arabic. Persian. Urdu.
From dawn to Saldt-ul- Namdz-i- FajrKi
stmnse. Fair. Subh. Hamdz.
When the sun Salat-uz- Namaz-i- Zuhr Kf
has begun to Zuhr. Peshin. Namaz,
decline.
Midway between Saldt-ul- Namdz-i- 'AsrKi ,
No. 2 and 4. 'Asr. Uigar. Namdz.
A few minutes Saldt-ul- Namaz-i- MaghrilJ
after sunset. Maghrib. Sham. Ki Namaz.
When the night Saldt-ul- Namaz-i- *Isha Ki
has closed m. *Ishd. Khuftan. NamAz.
When the sun SalAt-ul- Nam4z-i- IshrAq^ Ki
has well risen. IshrAq. IshrAq, Namaz,
About 11 o'clock Salit-uz- Namaz-i- ZuhA Ki
a.m. ZuhA. Ohast. NamAz.
After mid-night. SalAt-ut- NamAz-i- Tahajjud
Tahajjud. Tahajjud. Ki NamAz.
In addition to these there are several kinds of NamSz
which have to he said at different times, or under special cir¬
cumstances.
(i). SaMt-ul-Juma’.—The Friday Namaz. This is a farz
duty. It has the threefold authority of the Quran, the Sun¬
nat, and the Ijm^^ Thus: 0 ye who believe ! When ye
are summoned to prayer on the day of the assembly (Friday),
haste ye to the eommemoration of God, and quit your
traffic/^ (Sura Ixii. 9.) The Prophet also said: ^^Juma’ is
farz,^^ and, God will make a mark on the heart of him who
misses the SaUt-ul-Juma^ There are, however, eight
kind of persons on whom it is not incumbent, via: a travel¬
ler, a sick person, a slave, a woman, a young child, a m^
1. The Musalli may eay five or three witr rak'ats instead of sereia.
2. Ndr-ul-Hiddyat, p. 165.
SaldUnUJmia/,
person, a blind or a lame person. The conditions which
make this Namass obligatory are :—
(1) . That the place in which it is said be a town in which
a Qazi (judge) dwells.
(2) . There must be in the town a ruler or his deputy.
(3) . It must take the place of the Salat-uz-Zuhr, with which
it agrees, except that two farz rak’ats instead of four are recit¬
ed. The nafl raVats are omitted. The four sunnat rak^ats
which precede, and the two which follow the fax’z ones are said.
(4) . One, or according to the followers of Im4m Shafa^i
two Khutbas, or sermons are preached. These are delivered
by the Imam after the four sunnat rak^ats are recited, and
before the two farz ones. The Khutba should consist of
the praise of God, prayer and injunctions to piety.
(6). There must be a congregation of three persons besides
the Imam. The Shafa^ites say there should be at least forty
worshippers.
(6). The Azan, or call to prayers, must be made to all
without distinction of rank.
Any person who is qualified to act as Imam at the other
prayers can conduct this Namaz, The ImSm and Khatib
(preacher) is usually, but not necessarily, one and the same
person. The Khutbas should not be long, for Muhammad
said that long sermons and short prayers would be a sign
of the degeneracy of the latter days. When two Khutbas
are said, the Imfim sits down to rest before the delivery of
the second. The worshippers may thou ofier up a Du^a, or
private prayer. Some, however, say that this practice is
bid^at, (innovation) and consider it a very bad act. Accord¬
ing to the Traditionists, Bukhari, Abu Baud and Tirmizi, it
is a mustahab act to wear clean clothes on Friday.
The preacher standing on the second step of the Mimbar,
or pulpit, with a large club or stafi‘ in his hand, delivers his
sermon.^
1. In ootmtdog under Kualim rule he holds a wooden sword reversed.
The Faith of Isld/in.
The following is a specimen of the Khntbas.
SBftMOlT ON THE EXCELLENCE OF FEIDAY.
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
Praise be to God, the King, tlie Holy, the Great, the Knower. He
has opened our hearts through the blessing of Islam. He has made
Friday the best of days. We testify that there is no God but God, the
One, without partner. This confession saves those who make it fi’om
danger and from darkness. We testify that our Lord Muhammad is
His servant and His Apostle sent to all mankind. May the mercy
and peace of God be on him, his descendants and on his Companions.
0 men! 0 believers of God! I advise you and my own soul thus:
“ Obey God! Know, O servants of God! that when Friday commen¬
ces the angels assemble in the fourth heaven, and Gabriel, (on whom
bo peace) is the Mu,a 2 zin, Mik4,fl the Khatib, Israfil the Imam and
*Izra,il the Mukabbir^ and all the angels join in the Hamdz. When
it is over Gabriel says: “ I give the reward due to mo as Mu,az 2 in to
tho Mu,azzins of the sect of Islam;’* Mika,il: “ I give mine to the
Khatibs ;** Israfil: “ I give mine to the Imams ;*’ ’Izrd,il: “ I give mine
to the Mukabbirs.” The angels say: “ We give ours to the company
of the Muslims.” The Prophet said: “ The night and day of Friday
last twenty-four hours, and each hour God releases a thousand souls
from hell. Whosoever makes ‘ ghusl’ on Friday, God will give him
for every hair on his body the reward of .ten good deeds. Whosoever
dies on a Friday meets with the reward of a martyr.”
Certainly the best and most eloquent speech is the Holy Quran,
the Word of God,—the King, the Great, the Knower. His word is
true and righteous. When thou readest the Quran say: “ 0 Gh)d!
protect me from cursed Satan.”
In the name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful.
** When ye are summoned to prayer on the day of the assembly, haste
to the commemoration of Gk>d and quit your traffic. This, if ye knew
it, will be best for you. And when the prayer is ended, then disperse
yourselves abroad and go in quest of the bounties of God; and that it
may be well with you, oft remember (3k)d. But when they get a
sight of merchandize or sport, they disperse after, and leave thee
standing alone. Say: ‘God hath in reserve what is better than
sport or wares. God is the best provider.’ ” (Stira Jxii. 9—11.) God
1, One who says, “ Alldhu Akbar—God is Great ”
Friday Sermons. 203
by means of the Holy Quran will bless u s and you. And by its verses
and teaching will reward us and you. G-od is Almighty, Generous,
Merciful, Eternal, Holy, Clement.
Here ends the first sermon; after a short pause the
preacher commences the second.
In the name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful.
Praise be to God, the Creator of the earth and heavens, the Maker of
light and darkness. I testify that there is no God but God. He is one.
He has no partner. Know, 0 believers! that this confession will save
you from trouble and calamity. I testify that Muhammad, who wipes
out error and infidelity, is the servant and Apostle of God. The mercy
of God be on our Lord Muhammad, the Lord of Creation; and on his
descendants; and on his Companions be grace and honour. 0 ser¬
vants of Gk)d! t advise you and my own soul thus: Obey God! Pear
God, who created life and death and who scrutinizes our good actions.
O God! be pleased with Abu Bakr, the righteous, the Sahib-ul-Ghar, i
and with Omar Ibn-ul-Khattab, the chief of the holy men; and with
Osman the possessor of two lights, who was martyred when reading
the Holy Qur4n, and upon ’All Murtuza^ the destroyer of infidels
and sinners. 0 God I be pleased with the great Imams Hasan and
Husain. Be pleased with their mother Patimat-uz-Zuhra, the chief
of women, and with Hamza and ^Abbas, the uncles of the Prophet.
Also be pleased with all the Ashab (Companions). 0 God'! help those
who help the religion of Muhammad, and make us of their number.
Make those wretched who corrupt it, and keep us aloof from all such.
O believers! truly God orders you to do justice and to show kindness
to your kindred. He orders you to abstain from infidelity and from
the greater and the lesser sins. God warns you. God is the Most
High, the Most Glorious. God is Great!”
The collection of Khutbas from which the above have been
translated contains a consideirable number on a variety of
subjects, such as prayer, the resurrection, worldliness, the
various feast and fast days, &c. The form in all is veiy
similar. The exordium and the conclusion are practically
the same. A few sentences in the middle refer to the
special subject of the sermon. The second of the two ser-
%, A reference to his presence with Muhammad in the cave (ghir) when
they fled from Mecca to Madfna. See Sdra ix. 40.
The .Faith of Islmi.
mons is always tlie same; it is practically an invocation of
blessings on certain persons. Both are said in Arabic.
What would answer to our idea of a sermon, such as an
explanation of some doctrine, or an exposition of some
passages in the Quran, is not part of the public worship in
the mosque, but would be done in an ordinary assembly, in
any convenient place, by a Moolla, or any learned man who
could collect an audience.
(ii) , Salat-ul-MusMr.—Prayers said by a traveller. A
person who makes a journey which lasts three days or three
nights is, for this purpose, considered a traveller.^ The
length of a day^s journey is estimated at the distance a
camel can march in that period of time. If a traveller
intends to stay in a certain place fifteen days, he must repeat
the usual ITam&z ; if less than fifteen days, or when actually
on the journey, he can shorten it. He is then permitted to
say only two farz rak^ats. He may omit the sunuat and
nafl rak^ats if he chooses; but the three witr raVats he must
recite at the Salat-ul-^Isha. If a traveller passing through
a place is, for the time being, the most suitable person to
act as Imam, he being a traveller will only recite two rak^ats.
The rest of the worshippers then complete the Namaz. In
the case where a permanent resident of the place is the
ImSm and the traveller only a worshipper, the Imfim is
bound to recite the whole number of rak^ats and the tra¬
veller must also repeat the whole after him. The principle
on which this is based is that the worshippers must not
recite less than the Im^, ^
(iii) . SaMt-ul-Khauf.—Prayers of fear. This is a Namaz
said during the time of war. When there is imminent
danger from the approach of an enemy the Imfi»m should
divide the army into two bodies ; one of which should be
placed in a position towards the enemy, the other should
recite, if they are on the march, one rak’at; if stationary
1. Niir-ul-Hiddyat, p. 168.
m
Saldi-uUKhauf and ScbldUuUTamwih,
in a place, two rak^ats. THs division will then
towai’ds the enemy and the first division will recite as ir3Nj^
rak^ats as may be required to complete the Namaz. The
Salam (Ante. p. 197) will be recited by the Imam alone. The
first division of troops will not say the qir,at, Le. the Fatiha
and the other verses of the Quran recited after it (Ante. p.l95)j
but the second division will supply the omission. If the
enemy are so near that the cavalry dare not dismount, then
each man will recite a rak^at or rak’ats for himself, and
make the ruku^ and sijda by means of signs. If he cannot
turn towards the Qibla, he is, under the circumstances,
allowed to face any direction most convenient. During the
recital of the Namaz he must not fight, or allow his horse to
move, lest the prayer should be rendered void. When ye
go forth to war in the land, it shall be no crime in you to
cut short your prayers, if ye fear lest the infidels come upon
you. Verily, the infidels are your undoubted enemies !
And when thou, 0 Apostle ! shalt be among them, and shalt
pray with them, then let a party of them rise up with thee,
but let them take their arms ; and when they shall have
mado their prostrations, let them I’etire to your rear : then
let another party that hath not prayed come forward, and
let them pray with you.^^ (Sura iv. 102, 103).
(iv). SaMt-ut-Tardwih.—This is a special set of twenty
rak^ats recited every night during the month of Ramazdn.
They must be said after the farz and sunnat, and before the
witrrak^ats at the time of the Salat-ul-^Isha. The Sal^t-ut-
Tarfi,wih is considered of sunnat obligation. The practice
dates from the time o£ the Khalif Omar. Abd-ur-Rahm^n,
a Traditionist, states that one night in Ramazan he went
with Omar to the Mosque. They saw some persons saying
the Namfo alone and some reciting it in groups. Omar
said : If I gather them all together, so that they may recite
it after one Imto it will be good.” He did so, and the
next night the people of their own accord came in great
numbers and united together. Then said Omar: this
The Faith of Isltim.
bid^at is good.” This is good authority for the institution,
for the Prophet said : Follow my Sunnatand that of the
KhulaM-i-Eashidin.” There is also a Hadis-i-Sahih to the
effect that Q-od has made the fast of Ramazan farz, and
its qiam ^ sunnat.” (Kutiba ^alaikum siamu Ramazana wa
sunna qiamuhu). The Prophet was anxious lest the TirSwih
Nam^i-z should become farz and, therefore, after going to
the Mosque on two successive nights in Ramazdn, he stayed
away on the third, giving as his reason for so doing that he
feared that, if he wont every night, it might be considered a
farz and not a sunnat duty. ^ The number of rak^ats is
fixed at twenty, as that was the number recited by Muham¬
mad and by the Khalif Omar. The Shia^hs do not say
these prayers or even enter the Mosque on such occasions,
as after every four raVats an eulogium is repeated on the
four Elhalifs—^the first three of whom they hate.
(v) . Salat-ul-Kusuf and Salat-ul-Khusuf.—Prayer said
when an eclipse of the sun, or of the moon takes place. In
the former case, the Imam recites with the congregation in
the Mosque two rak'ats. The Azan and the Iqamat are both
omitted. No Khutba is said. In each rak^at one ruku^ is
read. The Sh^a^ites read two. After the rak^ats are com¬
pleted those present remain in prayer (du^a) until the eclipse
is at an end. The Nam5.z during an eclipse of the moon
is the same as that during an eclipse of the sun, with this
exception that the rak^ats need not be recited in a congre¬
gation. Each Mushm can say the Namdz privately in his
own house. The practice is founded on the Prophet^s
saying : When you see an eclipse then remember God,
pray (du^^) and recite the Namdz until it becomes light
again.”
(vi) . Sal^^t-ul-lstisqa.—^Prayer in time of drought. When
1. Qi^m is one of the positions in a Nam^js and is here need by synecdoche
for it. In Mecca the SaUt-nt-TariLwIh is called with reference to this
Tradition the SaUt-nl-QI&mlah.
2. Ntonl-Hid^yat, p. 141.
SalaUuhJanobza. 207
there is a scarcity o£ water each person should, with face
Qibla-wards, offer up prayer to G-od. They can be said at
home and in private. Care must be taken that no Zimmi ^
is present. The reason given is that this is a prayer for a
blessing ; but Grod sends no blessing on a company in which
a Zimmi is present.
These prayers are simple Du^a and not a Namaz. There is
no well-authenticated Tradition to the effect that the Pro¬
phet ever said Namaz on such an occasion ; whilst there are
many which show that he made Du^a, This is a very good
example of the use of the term Salat as a MushtariJc word,
Le. one which has several significations. Its ordinary mean¬
ing is Namaz ; here it means Du^a.
(vii). SaMt-ul-Jan^za.—Prayers at a Funeral. When a
person is about to die, the attendants should place him
on his right side with his face Qibla-wards. In that
position he should repeat the Kalima-i-8hahadat,^^ the
creed of testimony: I confess that God is one, with¬
out a partner; that truly Muhammad is His servant and
His Apostle.^^ After death has taken place, the corpse is
laid out, incense is burnt, and the shroud is perfumed an
oM number of times. A tradition states that an odd number
is fixed upon, because the number one which represents the
unity of God is odd and not even. The lesser lustration
(wazu) is then made. The head and beard are washed with
a decoction made of some flowers, after which the greater
lustration (ghusl) is made. The members of the body used
when making sijda (prostration) forehead, nose, hands,
knees, feet, are then rubbed with camphor.
To recite theSalat-ul-Janfizais a duty called Farz-i-kifaya,
that is, if some few persons in the assembly say it, all need
not do so; whilst if no one repeats it all will be guilty of
sin. To prove that this Namdz is farz the following verse is
quoted: “ Take alms of their substance, that thou mayest
1. That is, a non-Muslim who is allowed to reside in a Musalmln State
on payment of a special tax;.
The Faith of Islam,
cleanse and purify them thereby, and pray for them; for
thy prayers shall assure their minds: and Grod heareth,
knoweth/^ (Sura ix. 104.) The proof that it is not Farz-i-
^ain {i,e,y incumbent on all), but Farz-i-kifaya is drawn from
an account given in a Hadis, to the effect that the Prophet
one day did not recite the Namaz over one of his deceased
followers. Now, if the Namaz had been Farz-i-^ain even the
Prophet could not have omitted it. His Sunnat, or practice,
has decided the nature of the farz command contained in
the verse of the Quran just quoted.
The Namaz can only be said when the corpse is present.
It is recited in the open space in front of the Mosque, or in
some neighbouring spot: never in the graveyard.
When all are assembled the Imam or leader says :
Here begins the Namaz for the dead.''^
The company present then stand up in rows with faces
turned in the direction of Mecca. The Imam stands a
little in front, near the head or waist of the corpse according
as it is that of a male or female. Then all assume the Qiam,
or standing position, and recite the Niyyat as follows :—
“ I recite Namg,z for the sake of God, and offer prayers
(Du^a) for this deceased person, and I follow the Im&m (who
is about to officiate.)
Then all at the first^ Takbir put the hands to the lobe
of the ears and say : God is Great V’
Then they say the Sana (Ante, p* 195.):—
Holiness to Thee 0 God 1 And to Thee be praise !
Great is Thy Name ! Great is Thy greatness ! Great is Thy
praise! There is no God but Thee
Then follows the second Takbir: God is Great
Then all say the Darud-i-Ibrdhim:—
0 God! have mercy on Muhammad and upon his
descendants, as Thou didst bestow mercy, and peace, and
blessing, and compassion, and great kindness upon Abra^
1. The Syfa’ftes raise the haaids at the recital of each of the four
Takhfrs; the other sects do so only at the first.
The Du^d of the SaldUul’-Jandza, 209
ham and upon his descendants/' Thou art praised, and
Thou art Great!" 0 God, bless Muhammad and his descen¬
dants as Thou didst bless, and didst have compassion and
great kindness upon Abraham and upon his descendants."
Then follows the third Takhir : God is Great!"
The Du'a is then repeated:—
0 God, forgive our living and our dead, and those of
us who are present, and those who are absent, and our
children and our full grown persons, our men and our
women. 0 God, those whom Thou dost keep alive amongst
us, keep alive in Islam, and those whom Thou causost to
die, let them die in the Faith." ^
Then follows the fourth Takbir: God is Great!"
Then all say
0 God, give us good in this world and in the next, and
save us by Thy mercy from the troubles of the grave and
of hell."
Then each one in a low voice says the Salam, as in an
ordinaiy Namaz. (Ante. p. 197.) *
The Namaz is now over and the people make another
Du'£ thus:—
' 0 our Lord ! sufEer not our hearts to go astray after that
Thou hast once guided us ; and give us mercy from before
Thee; for verily Thou art He who giveth.' (Sdraiii. 6.) 0
God, Thou art his ^ Master, and Thou createdst him, and Thou
didst nourish him, and didst ^uide him toward Islfi.m, and
Thou hast taken his life, and Thou knowest well his inner
and outer life. Provide intercessors for us. Forgive him,
for Thou art the Forgiver, the most Merciful."
1. 1£ the deceased was a child or a mad person, they say:—
O God, make him (or her, as the case may be) a guide for us, and
make him a cause of our gaining a future reward. O <S)d, save him aud
make him au intercessor for us.”
2. The Imilm makes the Niyyat in his mind that the SaUm may bo on
his guardian angels, and on the worshippers who are behind him; each
worshipper makes the Niyyat that the SaUm may be on his guardian angols,
on his fellow worshippers and on the Imim.
3. i. 0 ., the ddoeased*s.
The Fmth of Islam,
Then going towards the head of the corpse^ they say:—
No doubt is there about this Book (Quran.) It is a
guidanc5e to the God-fearing, who believe in the unseen, ^
who observe prayer (saUt), and out of what we have
bestowed on them, expend (for God), and who believe
in that which hath been sent down to thee (Muham¬
mad), and in what hath been sent down before thee j and
full faith have they in the life to come: these are guided
by their Lord; and with these it shall be well/^ (Sura
Then coming towards the feet of the corpse, they say:—
" The Apostle believeth in that which hath been sent
down from his Lord, as do the faithful also. Bach believeth
in God, and His angels, and His Books and His Apostles:
we make no distinction between any of His Apostles.^ And
they say: ^We have heard and we obey. (We implore)
Thy mercy. Lord ; for unto Thee must we return.^ God
will not burden any soul beyond its power. It shall enjoy
the good which it hath acquired, and shall bear the evil for
the acquirement of which it laboured, 0 our Lord ! punish
us not if we forget, or fall into sin ; 0 our Lord ! and lay
not on us a load like that which Thou hast laid on those
who have been before us ®; 0 our Lord ! and lay not on us
that for which we have no strength ; but blot out our sins
and forgive us, and have pity on us. Thou art our protec¬
tor ; give us victory therefore over the infidel nations.^^
(Sura ii, 285, 286).
1. Death, resurrection, judgment, &o.
2. This contradicts verse 254 of this Sura. Muslims explain it thus. We
accept all prophets and as regards faith in them make no difference, though
as regards dignity we recognize the distinction indicated in the 254th verse.
3. That is, the Jews and Christians, on whom, it is said by the Mnslim
Commentators, many strict ceremonial observances were incumbent. The
word often used to express the idea of the burdensome nature of ceremo¬
nial .observance ia takhlif, trouble. Practically, Muslims are not free from
these “loads,** a fact which*finds expression in the word used for a pious
man—a mukhallif, one who has to take trouble in tbe way of performing
religious duties
Oonclusion of the Salat-'iil-Jmam.
The chief mourner then gives the Izn-i-’Amm, that is^ he
says;—
All have permission to depart/^
Some then proceed homewards, others go with the corpse
to the graveyard. When the bier is lifted up, or when it
is placed down near the grave, the people say:—
We commit thee to earth in the name of God and in
the religion of the Prophet/^
If the ground is very hard, a recess (lahad) is dug out in
the side of the grave. This must be high enough to allow
the corpse to sit up when Munkir and Nakir come to inter¬
rogate it. If the ground is soft a small grave is excavated
at the bottom of the larger one. The corpse is then
placed in the lower one. The idea in both cases is that
the corpse must be in such a position that it can have
free movement. The body is placed with the face towards
Mecca, When the bands of the shroud have been loosened
the people say ;—
^^0 God deprive us not of the heavenly reward of the
deceased, place us not in tx'ouble/^
Bach person then takes seven clods of earth,- and over
each clod says : Bismillah” (in the name of God), and the
Surat-ul-IkMs (Sura cxii) and then places each clod by the
head of the corpse. Unburnt bricks, bamboos or boards
having then been placed over the smaller grave, the persons
present with both hands throw clods of earth three times
into the grave. The first time they say : From it (earth)
We created you^^; the second time, '^and into it will We
return you f the third time, and out of it will We bring
you a second time,^^ (Sura xx. 57),
Then they say this Du^&; 0 God I beseech Thee for the
sake of Muhammad not to trouble the deceased,^^
When the attendants are filling up the grave they say :—
0 God, defend tho deceased from Shaitan (devil) and from
the torments of the grave.^^ ^
When the grave is completely filled up, one man pours
The Faith of Islam*
water three, or five, or seven times over it and then plants
a green branch on it.^
One of the mourners then draws near the middle of the
grave and recites the Talqin (instruction):—
0 servant of God, and child of a female servant of God.
0 son of (such an one), ^ remember the faith you professed
on earth to the very last; that is, your witness that
there is no God but God, and that certainly Muhammad
is His Apostle, and that Paradise and Hell and the Ee-
surrection from the dead are real; that there will be a
day of judgment, and say: confess that God is my
Lord, Islam my religion, Muhammad (on whom be the
mercy and peace of God) my Prophet, the Qurdn my guide,
theK'abamy Qibla, and that MusHms are my brethren.^
0 God, keep him (the deceased) firm in this faith, and
widen his grave, and make his examination (by Munkir and
Nakir) easy, and exalt him and have mercy on him, 0 Thou
most Merciful/^
The other persons present then offer a Patiha.®
After this, they may, if they like to do so, read the Surat-
ul-Ya Sin (xxxvi) and the Stirat-ul-Mulk (Ixvii.) It is not
common to do so. Then retiring forty paces from the
grave they again offer a Patiha, for by this time the exami¬
nation of the deceased has commenced. The first night
is one of great trouble to the deceased, so alms should
be given liberally that night in his name. In order to
relieve him as much as possible, two nafl raFats of a
Namfiz should be said. After the ^Pdtiha in each rak^at
the worshipper should repeat the Ayat-ul-Kursi (Throne-
1. In Madras, a branch of the pomegranate tree is nsnally stuok in.
2. The name of the mother is here inserted. The mother’s name is
chosen in preference to that of the father, as there can be no doubt as to
the maternity of the child. For the same reason it is said that at the Last
Pay each man wiU be summoned as such an one, son snob a mother.
This sitwle fact reveals a sad state of morals, or, at least, a disbelief in the
virtue df women.
8. The idea is that the reward of this act is transferred to the person on
whose behalf it is made.
The Vast of Ramadan.
2ia
verse) ^ three times; then the Snrat-nt-TaHsiir (102) eleven
times; then the Surat-ul-Iklas (112) three times.
After the Salam and the Darud the worshipper Kfts up
both hands, and with great humility prays that the reward
of the service just concluded may be bestowed on the
deceased.
(viii). Salat-ul-Istikhara.—This is a Namaz said before
undertaking any special work. The person recites two
rak^at prayers. After each rak^at he says the following
Du^S : 0 God, make me know what is best for me, and
keep me from evil, and bestow good upon me, for I have
no power to know what is best for me.^^ He then goes to
sleep, during which period be expects to receive a special
inspiration (IMm) which will give him the needed directions
and guide him aright as to the matter in hand.
(ix). Sal^bt-ut-Tarawih.—This consists of twenty rak^ats
recited each evening during the month of Eamazan. An
account of these will be given in the next chapter when the
ceremonies connected with the Eamazan fast are described,
3. Eoza, the thirty days^ east op Eamazan. —^Fasting
is defined to be abstinence from food, drink and cohabita¬
tion from sunrise to sunset. There must also be in the
mind the intention of keeping a fast. The person should
say: 0 Lord, I intend to fast to-morrow for Thy sake.
Forgive my past and future sin.^* When the fast is ended
he says: 0 God I fasted for Thy sake and had faith in
Thee, and confided in Thee and now I break (ift5.r) the fast
with the food Thou givest. Accept this act.^^
It is a farz duty to keep the fast during the thirty days
of the month Eamazdn. This is laid down in the words :
0 believers ! a fast is prescribed to you as it was pre¬
scribed to those before you.^^ As to the month Ramazfin,
in which the Qurdn was sent down to be man's guidance,
and an explanation of that guidance, and of that illumina-
2i4
The Faith of Islam,
tion, as soon as any one of you observeth the moon^ let him
set about the fast/^ (Sura ii. 179—181). The Ijma^ is also
unanimous on this point. Young children and idiots are
excused. Sick persons and travellers may postpone the fast
to another time. He who is sick, or upon a journey, shall
fast a like number of other days. God wisheth you ease,
but wisheth not your discomfort, and that you fulfil the
number of days."*^ (Sura ii. 181). This is called a qaza fast,
that is, a fast kept at another time in lieu of one which has
been omitted.
If a person makes a vow that, if God grants a certain
request, he will fast (roza-i-nazr), or if he fasts by way of
atonement for some sin committed (roza-i-kafara), in both
cases it is a wajib duty to keep the fast. Some hold that
the former is a farz duty and base their assertion on the
verse: Let them bring the neglect of their persons to
a close, and let them pay their vows.^^ (Sura xxii. 30).
All other kinds of fasts are nafl, a term already explained
(p. 199). Such are the fasts kept on. the 10th day of Mu-
harram, on the Aiydm-i-Biz (bright days)—the 13th, 14th
and 15th day of any month, on the 15th of Sh^aban, that is,
the day following the night called Shab-Barat, and on the
80th of each month in which there are thirty days. A nafl fast
maybe broken if the person who intended to keep it receives
an invitation to a feast. According to Bukh&i, a woman may
not make a nafl fast without the consent of her husband.
The reverse is not the case, for Men are superior to women
on account of the qualities with which God hath gifted the
one above the other, and on account of the outlay they make
from their substance for them.^^ (Sura iv. 38). It is said
that one day a woman came to the Prophet and said that
her husband had slapped her. The Prophet wished to
punish him for doing so improper an act, but he was pre¬
vented by the descent from heaven of the verse just quoted,
which is held to be conclusive evidence of the inferiority of
women. The verse also contains the words chide those
The Fast of Bamamn,
(wives) for whose refractoriness ye have cause to fear ;
remove them into beds apart, and scourge them/^ It is
mustahab to fast some days in the month Shawwdl, for
Muhammad is reported to ha'^e said: Whosoever keeps
the fast of Ramazan and some seven days in the preceding
month of Shawwdl, it is as if his whole life were a fast/^
If on account of dull weather, or of dust storms the new
moon is not visible, it is sufficient to act on the testimony of
a trustworthy person who declares that Ramazan has com¬
menced. Im^m Shafa^i requires two, but the following
Tradition is quoted against him : An Arab came to the
Prophet and said : ^ I have seen the new moon.^ His Ex¬
cellency said: ^ Dost thou believe that there is no God but
God ? Dost thou confess that Muhammad is His Apostle V
^Yes/ replied the man. The Prophet calling Billal, the
Mu,azzin, said : ^ Tell the people to commence the fast.^ ”
This proves that the evidence of one good Muslim is suffi¬
cient testimony in the matter.
The fast is destroyed in the following cases:—^if when
cleansing the teeth a little water should pass into the throat,
if food is eaten under compulsion, if an enema is used, if
medicine is put into the ears, nose or a wound in the head,
if a meal has been taken on the supposition that it was
night when it was really day, if the niyyat (intention) in the
Ramazan fast was not properly made, if after a meal taken
during the night a portion of food larger than a grain of
com remains between the teeth or in a cavity of a tooth,
lastly, if food is vomited. In each of these cases a qaz^i, fast
must be kept in lieu of the one thus broken.
In the case where the fast is deliberately broken, the
person must atone for his sin by setting a slave at liberty;
if from any cause that cannot be done, he must fast every
day for two months ; if that cannot be done, he must give
sixty persons two full meals each, or give one man such
meals daily for sixty days.
The fast is not broken by merely tasting anything, by
The Fmth of Islam,
applying antimony to the eyes, and oil to the beard, by
cleansing the teeth, or by kissing a person ; but it is con¬
sidered better not to do these things during the day-time.
The Imam As-Shafa^i declared that it was very wrong
indeed to do either of these actions after noon. He used to
repeat the following Tradition handed down by Tabrfi.ni.
The Prophet said : ' when you fast, cleanse the teeth in the
early morning, because when the lips of him who fasts
become dry and parched, they will be for him a light in the
day of judgment.^
If a person through the infirmity of old age is not able to
keep the fast, he must perform sadqa, that is, he must feed
a poor person. This opinion is based on a sentence in the
Qur^ln, which has caused a good deal of dispute: " As for
those who are able (to heep it and yet hreah it), the expia¬
tion of this shall be the maintenance of a poor man.^^ (Sura
ii. 180). This seems to make fasting a matter of personal
option, and some Commentators admit that at first it was so,
but they say that the words have been abrogated ^ by the
following sentence which occurs in the next verse; As
soon as any one of you observeth the moon, let him set about
the fast.^^ Others say that the negative particle not” must
be understood before able,^^ in which case the words in
italics must be omitted. Others explain the expression
those who are able^^ as equivalent to those who have
great difficulty'therein,^^ such as aged and infirm persons.
This seems to be the best interpretation and is the one which
practically is acted on.
In the case of women with child, mothers giving suck to
their children, sick persons whom fasting at this particular
time might injure, it is sufficient if they keep it at another
time j that is, they must when convenient make a qaza fast.
1. There are others who maintain that this is a muhham statement and
cannot therei^ore he abrogated. They hold that it must be restricted to the
aged and to persons who have chronic diseases. Tafsir.i-Htisaimj p. 80.
Tafsir-i-Faus-^-Karfmi p. 120.
Salim and Iftdr*
In these cases the sadqa or feeding of the poor is not re¬
quired. Thus Abu Ddud says: The Prophet said, ^ God
allows travellers to shorten the Namaz and to postpone the
fast. Women also are allowed to fast another time.^ The
Qur£n is also clear on the point: He who is sick or upon
a journey, shall fast a like number of other days.^^ (Sura
ii. 181). There are five days in the year in which it is un¬
lawful to fast. These are, ^Id-ul-Pitr, Baqr-^id and the
three following days, vk : the 11th, 12th and 13th of Zu^l-
Hajja. If during the month of Eamazan, a person arrives
at maturity, or an Infidel becomes a Muslim, each must
keep the fast during the remaining days of the month.
To take the Sahra, or meal taken just before sunriso in
the month of Ramazan, is a Sunnat act. The great Tradi-
tionists, Bukhari, Muslim and Tirmizi, all agree that the
Prophet said: Eat Sahra because there is a blessing in
it. The difference between our fast and that of the men of
the Book (Christians) is the partaking of Sahra.
The meal eaten immediately after sunset is called IftAr,
or the breaking of the fast. In India it is the custom to
eat a date first, or if that fruit is not procurable to drink a
little water. In Turkey an olive is chosen as the fruit with
which the fast should be broken.
The distinctive feature of a Muhammadan fast is, tliat it
is a fast during the day only. The rich classes by turning
day into night avoid much of its rigour.
They, however, frequently break the fast, though any such
action must be done in secret, for popular opinion all over
the Musalmdn world is strongly against a man who does not
outwardly, at least, observe the fast of Ramazdn. In this
matter it may be said
Pecher en secret, n^est pas pecher,
Ce n^est que P6clat qui fait le crime.^^
Those who have to work for their living find the obser¬
vance of the fast very difficult, for however laborious may be
their occupation thej must not swallow any liquid ; yot as
The Faith of Idem.
a rule the lower classes observe it strictly, ^ lu hot climates
this is often exceedingly distressing. In such circumstances
the evening twilight is anxiously looked for^ as then the Iftar
can be commenced. The month of Ramazan brings with it
other duties than that of fasting. These will be described
in the next chapter.
4, Zakat. —There are two terms in use to express alms¬
giving. The first is Zakat (literally, purification^^; or the
legal alms due, with certain exceptions, from every Muslim.
The second is Sadqa, or offerings on the feast day known
as ^Id-ul-Fitr, or alms in general.® It is the first of these
that has now to be considered.
On the authoiity of the Quran and the Ijma^-i-Ummat it
is declared to be a farz duty for every Muslim of full age,
after the expiration of a year, to give the Zakat on account
of his property; provided that, he has sufiicient for his
subsistence and is a Sahib-i-Nisab, or one who possesses an
income equivalent to about £5 per annum. The Quran says;
Observe prayer (Salat) and the legal impost (ZakSt),^^
(Sura ii. 40), The Khalif ^Umr Ibn ’Abd-ul-^Aziz used to
say : Prayer carries us half way to God, fasting brings us
to the door of His palace, and alms procure us admission.^^
The three conditions without which Zak^t would not be
compulsory are IslSm, Hfirriat (freedom) and KTis^b (stock).
The reason for this is, that Zak^t is said to be a fundamen¬
tal part of ^IbMat (worship), and that, as the Infidels
cannot perform acceptable worship, they have nothing to do
with Zak&t, Freedom is necessary, for slaves hold no pro-
1. Burton says that, when in the disguise of a Musalmdn doctor he was
in Cairo making preparations for the Hajj, he had but one patient who
would break his fast to save his life. All tho others refused though death
should be the oonsequencje.
2. ** The former are oallod Zak^t, cither because they increase a man’s
store by drawing down a blessing on him and produce in his soul the virtue
of liberality, or because they purify the romainiug part of one’s substance
from pollution and the soul from the dlth of avarice $ the latter are called
Sadqa because they are a proof of a man’s ajnoerity in the worship of
God.” Sale’s Preliminary Discourse, Section iv.
perty. Nisab is required^ for so the Prophot has decreed.
When the Nisab is required for daily nse the zakat is not
taken from it ; such as a slave retained for personal service^
grain for food, weapons, tools, books, household furniture,
wearing apparel, horses for ridiug, &c., for one Tradition
records that the Prophet specially exempted all these, whilst
another given on the authority of Bukhari states that for
slaves employed in domestic service only the Sadqa-i-fitr ^
should be given. If a person owes a debt, the amount
necessary for its liquidation must be deducted from his
property and the Zakat given on the balance. If it is a
debt due to God, such as an offering due on a vow or to
be given in atonement for the neglect of some religious duty,
it must not be so deducted from the propei’ty on which
Zak£t is due.
The amount of gold which constitutes a Nisab is 20 mis-
kats, or of silver 200 dirhems (= £5 4/?.). WTiether these
metals are in. coin or not, one-fortieth part is due. Some
say that gold and silver ornaments are exempt, but Imam
Shafa^i does not admit this, and quotes from Abu Baud
the following Tradition: A woman with a child, on
whose arms were heavy golden bracelets, came to the Pro¬
phet. He enquired if the Zakdt had been given for them.
On receiving a reply in the negative l^e said : ^ It is easy for
God in the day of judgment to make thee wear bracelets of
fire.^ The girl then took them off and said: ^ These are for
the service of God and of His Prophet.^ On all treasure
known as rikfe, that is, buried treasure found by any one,
and on valuable metals extracted from mines, one-fifth of the
value must be paid, whether the land be Khariji, rented at
its proper market value; or ^Ushari possessed by the pay¬
ment of a tithe. If the rikaz is found in Dar-ul-Harb, a
country under a non-Muslim Government, the whole belongs
to the finder, if it is on his own land, or if on unclaimed
1. That is food or money sufficient to provide one meal for a poor person.
The Fcdth of Islam.
land lie must pay the one-fifth. 1£ the coins found bear the
mint stamp of a Musalman Government, the finder must, if
he can, find the owner and return them to him; if they were
coined in a mint belonging to the Infidels, after having given
one-fifth as Zakat, he may retain four-fifths for himself.
Pearls, amber and turquoise are not subject to any deduc¬
tion, for the Prophet said : There is no Zakat for stjines,”
As regards cattle the following rules have been laid iown.
For sheep and goats nothing is given when the numbed is
under forty. The owner must give one for one hundre4
and twenty, two for the next eighty and one for eveiy hun¬
dred after. The scale for buffaloes is the same as that for
sheep.
For camels the rule is as follows : from 5 to 24 in number,
one sheep or goat must be given ; from 25 to 35, one year¬
ling female camel (bint-i-mukhaz); from 36 to 45, one two-
year old female camel (bint-i-labfin); from 46 to 60, one
three-year old female camel (hiqqah); from 61 to 75, one
four-year old female camel (jaz^ah ); from 76 to 90, two
bint-i-labfin; L'om 91 to 120, two hiqqah; and from 121
upwards, either a bint-i-labfin for every forty or a hiqqah
for every fifty. Horses follow this scale, or two and a half
per cent, on the value may be given instead. For 30 cows
a one-year old female calf (tabi’a) must be given ; for 40, a
two-year old female calf (musinna), and after that one calf
for every ten cows.
Donkeys and mules are exempt, for the Prophet said:
^'No order has come down (from heaven) to me about
them.^^
If a stock of merchandize exceeds the Nisdb (£5 4«.), Zakdt
must be given on it and on the profits at the rate of one in
forty, or two-and-a-half per cent. The Hanifites do not
count a fraction of the forty. The Shdfa^ites count such a
fractional part as forty and require the full Zakat to be paid
on it.
Honey, fruit, grain, &c., although less than five camel
Recipients of the ZaJcdt, 221
loads, ^ must according to Imam Abu Hanifa pay one-tenth ;
but the Sahibain and Imam Shafa^i say that if there is less
than the five camel loads no Zakat is required. The Pro¬
phet said: If produced on land naturally watered one-
tenth is due, if on land artificially irrigated one-twentieth.^^
As he said nothing about the quantity, the Hanifites adduce
the fact of the omission as a proof on their side.
The Zakat should be given to the classes of person men¬
tioned in the following verse. Alms are to be given to
the poor and the needy, and to those who collect them, and
to ihos% whose heojrts are won to Islam, and for ransonas, and
for debfors, and for the cause of God, and for the wayfarer.^^
(Sura ix. 60). The words italicised, according to the Tafsir-i-
Husaini, are now cancelled (mansukh). The reference is to
the Arab Chiefs who were beaten by the Prophet at the
battle of Honein (a.h. 8). This victory is referred to in the
25th verse of this Sura. God hath helped you in many
battle fields, and on the day of Honein.^^ Abu Bake abo¬
lished this giving of Zakat to converts, and the Khalif Omar
said to these or similar persons: This Zakat was given to
incline your hearts toward Isl4m. Now God has prospered
IsMm. If you be converted it is well; if not, a sword is
between us.^^ No Companion has denied this statement, and
so the authority for the cancelling of this clause is that of the
Ijmd^-i-Ummat (unanimous consent). It is well that an
appeal to unworthy motives should be abolished, but no
commentator so far as I know makes that a reason for the
cancelling of this order. It is always placed on the ground
of the triumphant nature of Isldm which now needs no such
support. Contemptuous indifference, not any high moral
motive was the cause of the change.
In addition to the persons mentioned in the verse just
quoted, Zakdt may be given to assist a Muk&tib, or slave
1. The technical term is 5 wasq. A wasq is equal to 60 s4’, and a sil’ is
equal to S ratal. A ratal is equal to 1 ft so a wasq> a load for one cameli
is about 480 ft*
22 ^ Tlie Faith of Islam,
who is working in order to purchase his freedom. Persons
who are too poor to go on a Jihad or to make the Haj] must
he assisted.
The Zakat must not be given for building mosques, ^ for
funeral expenses, liquidating the debts of a deceased person,
or to purchase a slave in order to set him free. It is not
lawful to give the Zakat to parents or gi'and-parents, chil¬
dren or grandchildren i or for a husband to give it to his
wife, or a wife to her husband; or a master to his slave. The
Sahibain ^ maintain that a wife can apply the Zakat to her
husband^s wants and quote this Tradition: A fwoman
asked the Prophet if she could give the Zakat to ier hus¬
band. He answered ^ give ; such an act has two rewards,
one for the giving of charity and one for the fulfilment of
the duties of relationship/ It should not be given to a
rich man, nor to his son, nor to his slave. The descendants
of Hasham and the descendants of the Parophet should not
be the recipients of the Zakat. The Prophet said: 0 Ahl-
i-Beit (men offthe house), it is not lawful for you to receive
Zakat, for you get the one-fifth share of my fifth portion of
the booty So some say that Syeds are excluded; but they
demur and reply that they do not now get a portion of the
spoil of the Infidels. Zakat must not be given to a Zimmi
(a non-muslim subject).
In Muhammadan countries there are ofiBcers whose duty
it is to collect the Zakat; in India the payment is left to each
personas conscience. Whilst there is not much regularity in
the payment, due credit must be given for the care which
Musalmi.n8 take of their poor.
The Sadqa (charitable offerings) form a different branch
of this subject. A full account of it will be ^ven in the
section of the next chaptep which treats of the ^Id-ul-Pitr.
1. Mosques aro usually endowed. The property thus set apart is called
waqf. This supports the various officials oouneoted with a Mosque.
The two famous disciples of Imdm Abu Hanffa, Abu Ylis^ aud Mu-
haxniuad.
Tlie EajJ,
5. The Hajj. —The Hajj^ or pilgrimage to Mecca, is a
farz duty, and he who denies this fact is considered to be
an infidel. ^^The pilgrimage to the temple is a service
due to God from those who are able to journey thither:
and as to him who believeth not—verily God can afford to
dispense with all oi’eatures/^ (Sura iii. 91, 92.) On the
authority of Ibn ^Abbas the following Tradition has been
handed down. The Prophet said : ^ God has made the
Hajj farz.^ Then Aqra' bin Habis, standing up, said:
^ 0 Prophet is it to be made every year V His Excellency
said: ^ If I say—^yes, it will be a wajib duty to do it
annually; but that ye are not able to bear, so the Hajj is
necessary only once ; whatever pilgrimage may be made to
Mecca in addition is nafl.^
The Hajj must be made by every free Muslim, who is
sound in body, and of full age, when he has sufficient
means to pay his expenses, after duly providing for the
support of his household till his return. If a slave, or a
child should make the Hajj, the former on attaining free¬
dom, and the latter on coming of age must again go on
pilgrimage. If a woman, whose residence is at a distance
of more than three days^ journey from Mecca, goes on
pilgrimage, she must be accompanied by her husband or by
a near relative. Imdm As Shafa^i denies the necessity of
such attendance, stating that the verse already quoted
makes no such restriction. His objection is, however,
met as usual by a Tradition. A certain man came to the
Prophet and said: ^ My wife is about to make the Hajj,
but I am called to go on a warlike expedition/ The
Prophet said: ‘ Turn away from the war and accompany
thy wife in the Hajj.^ Im^m Abu Yusuf considered that
a man who possessed the means should go to Mecca, and
held that if ho delayed more than a year in making the
Hajj he was a sinner. Imam Muhammad, and most others
think that a person may postpone the Hajj for some years,
but if death should overtake the man before he has made
224 The Faith of Islam.
tlie pilgrimage, lie will be accounted a sinner. So practi¬
cally all agree that delay is dangerous.
Connected with the Hajj there are three actions which are
farz, and five which are wajib; all the rest are sunnat or
mustahab. The farz requisites are: (1) to wear no other
garment except the Ihram/ two seamless wrappers, one of
which is worn round the loins, the other thrown over the
shoulder; (2) to stand in ^Arfat; (3) to make the Tawaf,
that is to go round the K^aba seven times.
The wajib duties are: (1) to stay in Muzdalifah; (2) to
run between Mount Safa and Mount Marwah; (3) to per¬
form the Eami-ul-Jamar, or the casting of the pebbles;
(4) if the pilgrims are non-Meccans they must make an
extra Taw^f; (5) to shave the head after the pilgrimage
is over.
The Hajj must be made at the appointed season. '' Let
the pilgrimage (Hajj) be made in the months already known.
(Sura ii. 193). These months are Shawwdl, Zu^l-q^ada, and
the first ten days of Zu^-Hajja. The actual Hajj must be
in the month Zu^-Hajja, but the preparations for, and the
niyyat, or intention of the Hajj can be made in the two pre¬
ceding months. The ^XJmrah, or ordinary pilgrimage, can
be done at any time of the year except on the ninth, and four
succeeding days of Zu^l-Hajja. On each of the various roads
leading to Mecca, there are at a distance of about five or six
miles from the city stages called Miqat. The following are
the names. On the Madina road, the stage (manzil) is called
Zu^l-Halifah ; on the ^Iraq road, Zd,t-i-‘’Arq ; on the Syrian
road, Hujfah ; on the Najd road, Qarn; on the Taman road,
Talamlam.®
1. This ceremony is called Al-Ihrim (^.e, making unlawful), because
now various actions and pursuits must be abstained from. The ceremony of
doffing the pilgrim’s garb is called Al-IhUl (♦.e., making lawful), for now the
pilgrim returns to the ordinary pursuits and joys of a life in the world,
2. This statement of names is taken from the Ndr-ul-Hid^yat p. 211, and
that of the distance from Hughes’ Notes on Isldm; but Burion speaks of
A1 Zaribab, a place 47 miles distant from Mecca as a Mqit. It was there
that he assumed the lhr4m. The explanation probably is that a H4jf must
The UbTam.
The Hajis from all parts of the Muslim world at length
arrive weary and worn at one of these stages. They then
divest themselves of their ordinary clothing, and after a legal
ablution, and after saying a Namaz of two nafl rak^ats they
put on the Ihram. The Haji, having now really entered
upon the Hajj, faces Mecca and makes the niyyat (intention),
and says : 0 God, I purpose to make the Hajj; make this
service easy to me and accept it from me/^ He then says
the Talbiyah ^Here I am ! 0 Allah ! Here I am ! Here
I am ! There is no God but Thee ! Truly, praise and bounty,
and the kingdom are to Thee! No partner hast Thou!
Here am I
The pez'sons who reside permanently in any of these Miqat
can assume the pilgrim^s garb in a place called Hal, near to
Mecca, or in the city itself; whilst the inhabitants of Mecca
can put on the Ihram in the precincts of the temple.
The Haji having assumed the Ihram must now abstain
from worldly affaii’s, and devote himself entirely to the
duties of the Hajj, Ho is not allowed to hunt, though he
may catch fish if he can. 0 Believers, kill no game while
ye are on pilgrimage.’^ (Sura v. 96), The Prophet also
said: He who shows the place where game is to be found
is equally as bad as the man who kills it.’^ The Haji must
not scratch himself, lest vermin be destroyed, or a hair be
uprooted. Should he feel uncomfortable, he must rub him¬
self with the open palm of his hand. ^ The face and head
must be left uncovered, the hair on the head and beard
unwashed and uncut. Shave not your heads until the
not approach nearer to Mecca without the Ihram than the places named in
the text. The farther from Mecca it is assumed, provided that it be during
one of the two months preceding Zu^l-Kajja, the more meritorious is the act
1. Talbiyah means the repetition of Labbaik,” a phrase equivalent to
** I am here.*’ The Talbiyah can be said in any language, though Arabic
is preferred. It usually is as follows: “ Labbaik, AU^umma, Labhaik !
hi Sharika laka, Labbaik I Inna-l-hamda wa-n-nf amata laka, V-al-mulk!
h& Sharika la^ Labhaik !
2. ” The object of these minute details is that the “Truce of God” may
be kept.” The five noxious creatures, however, may be slain, vta., a crow,
a kite, a scorpion, a rat and a biting dog.” (Burton).
The Fa/ith of Islam,
offering reach the place of sacrifice.” (Sara ii. 192). On
arriving at a.n elevated place, on descending a valley, on
meeting any one, on entering the city of Mecca or the
Mnsjid-ul-Haram ^ the Haji should continually repeat the
word Labbaik, Labbaib.”
As soon as he sees the K^aba ^ he must say the Takhir
and the Tahlih The Traditionist ^Ata says that at this stage
the Prophet used to lift up his hands and pray.
On entering the enclosure, the Haji says the Labbaik,
Takbir and the Tahlil, then a Du^a. A Namaz of two raFats
is then said at the station of one of the four great Imams.
On arriving near the Hajr-ul-Aswad (black stone) the Haji
again says the Takbir and the Tahlil, after which he kisses the
stone. If, on account of the crowd, he cannot get near
enough to do this, he must touch it with his hand or with
a stick, and kiss that with which he has thus touched the
stone. At the same time he says : 0 Allah, (I do this)
in Thy belief, and in verification of Thy book, and in pur¬
suance of Thy Prophet^s example—may Alldh bless and
preserve him. 0 accept Thou my supplication, diminish
my obstacles, pity my humiliation and graciously grant me
Thy pardon.” Then he again repeats the Takbir and the
1. The Muejid-nl-Harfe is the large Mosque in Mecca. The K'aba (cube)
is a square stone building in the centre. This is also called the Qibla.
The Eajr-ul-Aswad is the black stone fixed in the corner of the K'aba.
3. It is said to have been rebuilt ten times. A full description will be
found in Barton’s Pilgrimage to Madina and Mecca, vol. iii. oh. 26. It is
far too long to quote, and it cannot bo condensed. The following extract is
of some interest, as it states why the ’XJlama consider the K’aba so sacred
a place. They quote the verse: ‘ Verily the first house built for mankind (to
worship in) is that in Beccah (Mecca)—Blessed and a salvation to human
beings. Therein are manifest signs, even the standing-place of Abraham, and
he who entereth is ssCfe.’ (Sdra iii. 90). The word ‘ therein’ is said to mean
Mecca, and the ** manifest signs” the K’aba, which contains such marvels
as the footprints on Abraham’s platform, and is the spiritual safeguard of
all who enter it. In addition, other “signs” are the preservation of the
black stone, the miracles put forth to defend the House, the terrible death
of the sacrilegious, and the fact that in the Flood the big fish did not eat
the little fish in the Har^im. Invalids recover their health by rubbihg
themselves against the Kiswat (the covering of the Bl’aba), and the blaic^
stone. One hundred thousand mercies descend on it every day, Ac. Por¬
tions of the Kiswat are highly valued as markers for the Qurfin. Waisbcoatsf
made of it are supposed to render the combatant iuTulnerable in battle.
The Tawaf.
Tahlfl, the Darud and the Tahrif (prayer for, and praise of
Muhammad). He then encompasses the K^aba seven times,
in accordance with the niyyat he had made, thus: In the
name of Alldh, and Allah is Omnipotent! I purpose to
make the circuit seven times.^^ ^ This is called the Tawaf.
The Hd.]! runs round three times at a rapid pace (Taram-
mul), and four times he proceeds slowly (Taammul). A
permanent resident in Mecca will not perform the Tawaf.
The Haji then presses his stomach, chest and right cheek
against the portion of the K^aba wall, called Al-Multazim,
and raising up his arms on high says : 0 Allah, Lord of
the Ancient House, free my neck from hell-fire, and pre¬
serve me from every evil deed; make me contented with
that daily bread which Thou hast given to me, and bless
me in all Thou hast granted He then says the Istigfdr—
I beg pardon of Allah, the Most High, the Living, the
Eternal, and to Him I repent.^^
The HSji next proceeds to the Maqam-i-Ibrahim ^ (place
of Abraham) and then recites two raFats ® called Sunnat-ut-
TawM. Some water from the sacred well Zemzem is then
drunk, after which the Haji returns to the Hajr-ul-Aswad,
and again kisses it.
H^ji Burton thus describes one shaut or circuit:—
** We began the prayer * 0 AlUh (I do this) in Thy belief and in
verification of Thy Book, and in faithfulness to Thy covenant and
after the example of Thy Prophet Muhammad. May Alldh bless
and preserve him!’ till we reached the place Al-Multazim, between
the comer of the black stone and the K’aba door. Here wo ejacu¬
lated, ‘ 0 Alldh, Thou hast rights, so pardon my transgressing them.’
Opposite the door we repeated, ‘ 0 Alldh, verily the house is Thy
house, and the sanctuary Thy sanctuary, and the safeguard Thy
1, The whole seven are one Usbu’.
2, The Maqdm-i-Ihrdhfm is a small building, supported, by six pillars
about eight feet high, four of which aro surrounded from top to bottom by
a fine iron railing, while the spaoo between the two hinder pillars is loft
open; within the railing is a name about five feet square, said to contain
the sacred stone on which Abraham sat whon he built the K’aba.
8* In the first rak'at, the chapter usually rooiled is Sfira oix j in the
second, Sfira oxii»
The Faith of Islam,
safeguard, and this is the place of Him who flees to Thee from
(hell) fire.’ At the building called Maqam-i-Ibrahim, we said: ‘ 0
AlUh, verily this is the place of Abraham, who took refuge with, and
fled to Thee from the fire! 0 deny my flesh and blood, my skin
and bones to the (eternal) flames.’ As we paced slowly round the
north or Mk corner of the K’aba we exclaimed, ‘ 0 Allah, verily I
take refuge with Thee from polytheism, and disobedience, and
hypocrisy, and evil conversation, and evil thoughts concerning
family, and property and progeny.’ When we passed from the
Mizab, or spout, we repeated the words, * 0 Allah, verily I beg of
Thee faith which shall not decline, and a certainty which shall not
perish, and the good aid of Thy Prophet Muhammad—may All^ b
bless and preserve him! 0 Allah, shadow mo in Thy shadow, on
the day when there is no shadow by Thy shadow; and cause me to
drink from the cup of Thy Prophet Muhammad—may Allah bless
and preserve him—that pleasant draught, after which is no thirst to
all eternity, 0 Lord of honour and glory.’ Turning to the west
corner, or the Rukn el Shami, we exclaimed: ‘ 0 Allah, make it an
acceptable pilgrimage, and a forgiveness of sins, and a laudable
endeavour, and a pleasant action (in Thy sight), and a store which
porisheth not, 0 Thou Glorious, 0 Thou Pardoner!’ This was
repeated thrice, till we arrived at theYemani, or southern corner,
whore the crowd being less importunate, we touched the wall with
the right hand, after the example of the Prophet, and kissed the
finger-tips. Between tho south angle and that of the black stone,
where our circuit would bo completed, we said: ' 0 AUSh, verily I
take refuge with Thee from infidelity, and I take refuge with Thee
from want, and from the tortures of the tomb, and from the
troubles of life and death. And I fly to Thee from ignominy in
this world and the next, and implore Thy pardon for the pre¬
sent and tho future. 0 Lord, grant to me in this life prosperity,
and in the next life prosperity, and save me Erom the punishment of
fire.’”
The next important step is the running between the
Mounts Saftb and Marwah. Starting from the former^ the
runs seven times between the two summits. He runs,
moving the shoulders, and with head erect, like soldiers
charging in battle. The reason for this is, that the infidel
Meccans mocked the Companions of the Prophet, and
said that the cHmate of Madina had made them weak.
This bold way of running was adopted to disprove tlie
Mind and ^Arifdt
calumny and so has become a Sunnat practice. The
prayer to be said during the S^ai (running) is : 0 my Lord,
pardon and pity, and pass over that (sin) which Thou
knowest. Verily Thou knowest what is not known, and
verily Thou art the most Glorious, the most Generous. 0, our
Lord, grant us in both worlds prosperity, and save us from
fire.^^ The Haji should also quote passages from the Qurfc.
This S’ai must be done after an important Tawaf, either the
first, or a later one. On the seventh day the Imam must
preach in Mecca, and instruct the pilgrims in the ritual of
the Hajj. He preaches again on the ninth and eleventh
On the eighth day, (Ruz-i-Tarwid.h), the Haji goes to Min^,
a place three miles distant from Mecca, where with all the
other Hdjis he says the usual Namaz, and there spends the
night.^ This is a sunnat observance. On the morning of the
ninth day, starting after the Salat-ul-Fajr, the Hdji goes to
^Arifat.^ On arriving there he says: 0 God, I turn to
Thee, I put my trust on Thee, I desire Thee, pardon my
sin, accept my Hajj, show mercy to me, supply my need
in ^Ariffit, Thou art powerful over all.^^ He then says
Labbaik, the Takbir and the ^'’ahlil.
The noontide, and the afternoon Namfe are said together
there: they are thus shortened.^ This done he should stand
upon the mountain, if possible at or near the place the Prophet
1. “ Many find this inconvenient and so pass on to ’Arifat during the after¬
noon of the eighth day” (Burton).
2. The following legend is current about ’Arif^t. “ When our parents
forfeited heaven by eating wheat, which deprived them of their primeval
purity, they were cast down upon earth. The serpent descended at
Ispahan, the peacock at Oabul, Satan at Bilbays, Eve upon ’Arif^t and Adam
at Ceylon. The latter determining to seek his wife, began a journey, to
which the earth owes its present mottled appearance. Wherever he placed
his foot—^which was large—a town arose; between the strides will always
be country. Wandering for many years he came to the Mountain of mercy,
where our common mother was continually calbhg upon his name, and their
recognition gave the place the name of ’Arifit. They lived here till death
took place.” (Burton)-
8. The ShfifaT rules allow a traveller any time when on a journey of a
night and day to reduce the hve Kam&z to three by joining some. The
Hanaff code ^ows the shortened form only on this day.
230 The Faith of Islam.
is said to have occupied* This is called the Wukuf or (stand¬
ing), a necessary part of the Hajj* He must also listen to
the sermon delivered by the Imam, explaining what stiU
remains of the ritual of the Hajj, how the Hajis are to
stand in Muzdalifah, to throw the stones in Mina, to make
the sacrifice, &c.
All the time the HSji should constantly shout out the
Talbiyah, and the Tahlil, and weep bitterly.
The Hajl then proceeds to Muzdalifah, a place situated
about half-way between Mind and ^Arifat, where he should
pass a portion of the night. After a visit to the Mosque
Mashar al Hardm, he should collect seven pebbles and
proceed to Mina.
When the morning of the tenth day, the ^Id-ul-Azhd
arrives, he again goes to Mina, where there are three differ¬
ent pillars, called respectively the Jamrat-ul-Akabah, com¬
monly known as the Shaitan-ul-Kabir ^ (gi^eat devil), the
Wusta, or middle pillar, and the Al Ula, or first one.
Holding the jamar, or pebble, between the thumb and fore¬
finger of the right hand, the Haji throws it a distance of not
less than fifteen feet and says: In the name of Allah, and
AlMh is Almighty, (I do this) in hatred of the Fiend and to
his shame.” The remaining six stones are thrown in like
manner. The object is to confound the devils who are
supposed to be there. The stones are small lest the pilgrims
should be hurt. Before each stone is thrown the Takhir
must be said. This ceremony is called Eami-ul-Jamar, the
throwing of stones. It is also known as Hasal Khazaf. It
is said that this ceremony has been performed since the
time of Abraham, and that the stones are miraculously
removed. Ibn ^Abbas, a Companion, says that if the pil¬
grimage of a H4ji is approved of by God, the stones are
secretly removed. Mujahid, a well known Traditionist,
1. “ The Shaitaa-ul-Kabir is a dwarf buttress of rude masonry about
eight feet high, by two and a half broad, placed against a rough wall o|
stones.^^ (Burton).
The A'iyam^itt-Tashnq,
says that he put a mark onhis stones and afterwards searched^
but found them not. The pilgrim then returns to Min^^
and there offers the usual sacrifice of the ^Id-ul-Azha. An
account of this will be given in the next chapter. This act
strictly speakings concludes the Hajj. The Hdji can now
shave his head, pare his nails and remove the Ihram.
The remaining three days, the 11th, 12th and 13th of Zu^l-
Hajja are called the Aiyam-ut-Tashriq ^^days of drying
flesh^^ because now the pilgrims prepare provisions for the
return journey, by cutting slices from the victims offered in
sacrifice and drying thorn in the sun. The Hdji should spend
this time at Mina, and each day throw seven pebbles at each
of the pillars. This ceremony duly over, he returns to Mecca
and makes the Tawaf-ul-Wida^ (circuit of farewell). He
should also drink some water from the well of Zemzem.
Tradition says that when Ishmael was thirsty Gabriel
stamped with his foot and a spring gushed forth. This is
now the far-famed well Zemzem. Finally, the Hdji kisses
the threshold, and then, with hands uplifted la 3 dng hold of
the covering of the K^aba, and weeping bitterly, he prays
most humbly, and expresses regret that he will soon have to
depart from a place so dear as the sacred K^aba. Retiring
backwards, he makes his exit and the Hajj is complete. ^
The Umrah or little pilgrimage can bo made at any time
except the eighth, ninth and tenth of Zu^l-Hajja. It is
usually done before pilgrims start homewards. Its cere¬
monies differ but slightly from the Hajj. The Ihram must
1. Most; of the ceremonies connected with the Hajj, the Ihrdm, the
shaving of the head, the going to Saf& and Marwah, tile throwing of the
stones, the oironit of the K’aba, the hissing of the black stone, and the
saoridoe were all pagan ceremonies performed by the idolatrous Arabs.
Mnhammad by his time-serving policy, adopted to gain the Meccans to his
side, has confirmed an idolatrouB practice which otherwise wonld probably
have been extinct long ago. Saf4 and Marwah were hills held in super¬
stitions reverence by the Meccans. The early Muslims had some doubt
about retaining them as sacred places: then came the revelation to the
]l^phet, ** Safa and Marwah are among the monuments of God, whosoever
then maketh a pilgrimage to the temple or visiteth it, shall not be to blame
if he go round about them both.’* (Sfira ii. 168).
232 The Faith of Islam,
be put on, and the obligation?? of abstinence which it entails
must be observed.
The usual course is then to make the Ziarat, or visit to the
tomb of the Prophet at Madina, Henceforth the pilgrim
assumes the honorable title of and so is, ever after, a
person of some consequence among the community in which
he dwells. The Hajj cannot be performed by proxy, though
it is esteemed a ^good work,^ if someone who can afford it,
sends a pilgrim who otherwise could not go.
This account of the Irkan-i-din, or five pillars of religion,
must now draw to a close. They illustrate well the fixed
and formal nature of Islam, whilst the constant reference to
the Prophet’s sayings and practice, as an authority for many
of the details, shows how largely Islam is based on the
Sunnat. With regard to the differences of opinion which
the great Imtos hold on some of the details, it is most
dfficult to decide which side holds the correct view. Such
opinions are always based on some Tradition, the value of
which it is impossible to determine. The opponent says it
is a weak (zj’aif) Tradition—a statement it would puzzle any
one to prove or to disprove. It is sometimes said in praise
of Musalmans that they are not priest-ridden; but no
people in the world are so Tradition-ridden, if one may use
such an expression. Until this chain of superstition is
broken there can be no progress and no enlightenment ;
but when it is so broken Islam will cease to be IsMm, for
this foundation of the Faith and the edifice erected on it are
so welded together that the undermining of the one will be
the fall of the other.
Fatva on Nama^.
NOTE TO CHAPTER V.
The following Fatm was piMlely given in the Great MosguCy
Tri'plimne, Madras, February ISth, 1880.
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
QUBSTIOK.
** 0 *Ulama of the religion, and Muftis of the enlightened Law, what
is your opinion in this matter ? A person having translated a juz
(one-thirtieth part) of. the noble Qurdn into the Hindustani
language has printed it. The translation is defective: moreover the
Ai’abic text is not given. In order to give the translation the same
authority as the original, he has retained the usual signs and marks
of tho Arabic editions; such as—toi, qif, jim, la, mfm, and O.i At
the end of the juz he has added a translation of the Tashshahud,
Qaniid, Sana, Ta’awwuz, Tasmi', Tashib^t, Rukii’ and Sujud, and has
said that all these must be read in Hindustani. He further states
that in the translation he has retained the rhythm of the original,
and that in eloquence and style it is equal to the Arabic. He has
also added rubrical directions as to the ritual of the Ramaz, and has
stated that to those who do not know Arabic, it is a w&jib and a
farz duty to recite the translation; otherwise they commit sin and
the Ramaz is vain. As regards the past, he considers that tho
ignorant are forgiven, but he maintains that the ’Ulam4 of these
days must answer for the neglect they show in not telling the
people to use translations of tho Quran. Further, in support of his
views he adduces a Hadis-i-Sahih, according to which the Prophet
said to a Companion, Salman-i-Parsi: “ Read a translation of the
Qur4n in the Ramaz.” He claims, as on his side, the four great
Imdms. He himself understands Arabic, yet he says his Ram4z in
Hindustani and influences others to do likewise. He has been
spoken to, but he takes no heed and strives to spread his sect all
over India.
Row, what is the order of the noble Law with regard to such a
person, and what is the decree in the case of those who follow
1. These are the letters contained in words which direct the reader
when to pause. Thus to£ stands for mutlaq (sl^ht pause), qif (pausej), j£m
for (freedom to pause, or not to pause), la for no (no pause), mim for
Ja’zim (necessary to pause), O is a full stop .
SO
234 The Faith of Islam.
him, or who circulate his opinions, or who consider him a religious
man and a guide, or who consider the translation to which reference
has been made to be the Holy Quran, or who teach it to their
children ? 0 learned men, state the Law in this matter and merit
a good reward.”
THE ANSWEJB.
After praising God, and after imploring His mercy and peace on
Muhammad, be it known that the person referred to is an infidel,
an atheist and a wanderer from the truth. He also causes others to
wander. His assertion that his opinions are in accordance with
those of the four Imams is utterly false, because according to
Im4m Shafa’i, Imam Malik, and Imdm Hanbal it is illegal to use
a translation of the Quran when saying the Hamaz, whether the
worshipper is ignorant of Arabic or not. Thus Imam Mayari, a
disciple of Shafal says: “Itis unlawful in any case to use Per¬
sian 1 in the Nam4z.” Faqi 'AH, a disciple of Mdlik says: “ Persian
is unlawful.” To these opinions Kafi, a disciple of Hanbal adds his
testimony: “ To recite in the Hamaz from a translation of the Quran
is unlawful.” Moreoyer from the Quran itself, the recital of it in
Arabic is proved to be a divine command (farz). The term Qurin,
too, means an Arabic Qur^n, for God speaks of it as a revela¬
tion in Arabic. The words “recite so much of the Qur^ as
may be easy to you” prove the duty of reciting it; whilst the
words “an Arabic Qurdn have wo sent it down” show that
the Qur^n to be used is an Arabic one. Imim Abu Hanifa
and his disciples, the Sahibain (Imto Muhammad and Imam
Abu Ydsuf), consider that, if a person can recite only a short
verse in Arabic, it is not lawful for such an one to use a trans¬
lation. If he cannot read the Arabic character, he must learn by
heart such a sentence as “ Praise be to God, Lord of the people.”
Until he learns tliis he may use a translation.^ In the Tanwir-ul-
Abs^r it is written: “ It is a farz duty to read one verse, and to learn
it by heart is £arz-i-*ain” (ie., incumbent on all). In the MasOi-ul-
Azhar it is written: “ If a person says the Namdz in a language other
than Arabic, he is a madman or an atheist.” With regard to the
statement made by Im^m Abu Hanifa that a person might use for a
1. Per^aa was the foreign langoage with which the early Mnsliins were
brought most into contact; but the objection applies equally to any other
language.
A concession of no practical value, as any one with the power of
speech could learn these words in a voxy short time.
Nmim to he said in Arabic.
time a translation, it is well known that he afterwards recalled that
opinion. The statement made by the person complained of regard¬
ing Sulmin-i-Farsi is not correct. In the Nihdyah (commentary on
the Hiddyah) it is written that some Persians wrote to Sulmin, and
requested him to send them a Persian translation of Sdrat-ul-
F^tiha. He complied with their request and they used it in the
Namaz, until they could pronounce Arabic properly> The Prophet on
hearing of this circumstance made no remark. This account, how¬
ever, is not trustworthy; but granting that it is true, all that it proves
is that, until some Arabic words can be remembered, a translation
may be used. No Imim has ever allowed that to read a translation
is farz or w^jib. So if the person referred to says that it is farz to
read his own translation, then it follows that to read the original
Arabic will not be farz, but will be unlawful. Now such an opinion
is infidelity. The person is a K^fir, for he tries to make out that the
’Ulamd of all preceding ages who have instructed the people, from
the days of the Prophet till now, to read Arabic in the Namaz arc
sinners. Further, he rejects the statement made by learned canon¬
ists and listens now to no advice. He reads his translation in the
Namaz and causes others to read it. He boasts that his translation
is equal in style to the original. He has translated the Bu’d-i-qunut,
Sand, and the Tasbihdt of the Rukd’ and Sujud, and has said that
these translations should be used in the Namdz. Thus, it is plain
that he wants to abolish the use of Arabic in the prayers. The
result of such a course would be that soon a number of different
translations would be circulated, and the text like that of the Taurait,
and the Injil would be corrupted. In the Fatdwd-i-’AlamgH it is
written: " Whosoever considers that the unlawful is lawful or vice
versa, is a Kdfir.” “ If any one without apparent cause has enmity
with one of the ’Ulama, his orthodoxy is doubtful.’’ “ A man who after
committing a fault declines to repent, though requested to do so, is
an infidel.” In the Tahqfq-i-Sharh-i-Husaini it is written; ^‘To
translate the Quran into Persian and to read that is unlawful.” In
the Fatdwd-i-Matlub-ul-Miiminin it is said: “Whosoever intends to
write the Qurdn in Persian must bo strictly forbidden.” In the Itqin
it is written: “ According to Ijmi’, it is wrong to speak of the Qur^n*
as having rhymes.” i In the Fataw4-i-Tdtir Khdnfa it is said: “ To
translate the Arabic into Persian is an act of infidelity.”
Our decision then is that the usual salutations should not be made
to this person. If he dies ho must not bo buried in a Musalmin
X. This is because by so doing it would seem to ascribe to it similarity
to human oompositions. ^
2S6
The Faith of Iddm,
cemetery. His marriages are void and his wives are at liberty,
according to the mle laid down in the Miftd.h-iis-S’ddat. To doubt
of the infidelity of such a person is itself infidelity. As by the proofs
of the law here adduced, the *Ulama have declared such a person
to be an infidel, it follows that all those who assist him or who con¬
sider his claim just, or who circulate his opinions, or who consider
him to be a religious person and a fit guide for men, are also infidels.
To send children to be taught by him, to purchase newspapers
which advocate his views, and to continue to read his translation is
unlawful. In the Fat^wa-i-*Alamgui in the chapter entitled MurtM
it is written: “ Whosoever has doubts of the present infidelity and of
the future punishment of such an one is an infidel.” God says in the
Quran; Be helpful to one another according to goodness and piety,
but be not helpful for evil and malice; and fear ye God.” (Sura v. 3).
In another place God says: “ Whosoever acts not according to God’s
order is an infidel.” How, what greater disobedience can there be
than this, that a person should say that the recital of the Arabic
Quran in the Ham^z is not lawful, and that the recital of his own
Hindustani translation of it is incumbent (farz).
** Our duty is to give information to Mtisalmins, and God is the
best Blnower.”
This was written by a learned Moulvie, and signed by twenty-four
other leading Moulvies of the city of Madras,
This Fatv4, an authentic copy of which is in my possession, is of
very considerable importance as showing how unyielding the law of
IsUm is to the varied circumstances of the countries in which it
exists. The law enjoining the Arabic language as a medium of
worship was suited for the Arab people, and tho principle involved
would seem to be that the vernacular language of a country should
be used by the Muslims of that country for the purposes of devotion;
but, as I have repeatedly shown, precepts, not principles are the
ruling power in IsUm. It further demonstrates that all such mat¬
ters must be regulated, not by the needs of the age or country, but
by an antiquated law which, to say the least, is an anachronism in
the world’s history. The authority paid to tho statements made by
, the four chief Imams, and the fact that tho Fatv^ is based on their
decisions, and on previous FatvAs in which their authority has been
adduced, show how even to the present day they are regarded as
the Mujtahidin of Islim, The Fatvi is thus manifestly orthodox,
and corroborates most fully all I have said in the fibrst chapter on
the “ Foundations of Islim.”
CHAPTER VL
THE FEASTS AND FASTS OF ISLAM.
1. Mdhaream. —Muhai’ram, the name of the first month
of the Muhammadan year, has now become the name by
which are known the days of mourning spent by the Shia^hs
in commemoration of the martyrdoms of ^Ali and of his
two sons Hasan and Husain. The historical events thus
referred to have been already described in the third chapter,
so that it is only necessary now to give an account of the
ceremonies connected with the Muharram. They differ in
different countries. The following is a description of an
Indian Muharram. ^
Some days previous to the feast, the ^Ashur KhSna
(literally, ten-day house) is prepared. As soon as the new
moon appears, the people gather together in the various
^Ashiir Khanas, and offer a Fatiha over some sherbet or some
sugar in the name of Husain. The Fdtiha concludes thus :
0 God, grant the reward of this to the soul of Husain.” The
sherbet and sugar are then given to the poor. Then they
mark a spot for the Alliiwa, or hole for the bonfire which
is to be lit. Every night during the festival these fires are
kindled, and the people, both old and young, fence across
the fire with swords or sticks, and jump about calling
out: ^Ali! Noble Husain ! Noble Husain ! Dulha ! Dulha !
Bridegroom ! Bridegroom ! Friend ! &c.” These words they
repeat hundreds of times.
In some parts of the country they erect an Imfi^m B^ira
(Imam-house). This is often a substantial building,
frequently used afterwards as a mausoleum for the founder
and his family. In South India the ^Ashtir Kh^.na only
is known. This is generally a temporary structure; or
The Faith of Islam,
some large haU fitted up for the occasion. Sometimes
the walls are draped with black cloth, bordered with texts
of the Qar^n written in a large and elegant style.
The place is brilliantly illuminated. On one side stands the
Taziahs or Tabtits—structures made of bamboos covered
with tinsel and profusely ornamented. They are intended
to represent the mausoleum erected on the plains of Karbala
over the remains of Husain. Sometimes the Taziah is con¬
structed to represent the Prophet^s tomb at Madina. Large
sums of money are spent on these Taziahs, which when
lighted up have a very elegant appearance. At the back of
the Taziahs are laid the several articles similar to those
supposed to have been used by Husain at Karbala,—^a turban
of gold, a rich sword, a shield, a bow and arrow. The
Mimbar, or pulpit is so placed that the speaker can face
Mecca. The ^ Alams, or standards, which are commonly made
of copper and brass, though occasionally of gold or of silver,
are placed against the walls. The usual standard is that of
a hand placed on a pole. This is emblematic of the five
members who compose the family of the Prophet, and is the
special standard of the ShWhs. These standards have
many different names, such as—^the standard of the palm
of ^Ali, the Lady Pfi,tima^s standard, the standard of the
Horse-shoe, to represent the shoe of Husain^s swift horse,
and others too numerous to mention. Mirrors, chandeliers
and coloured lanterns add^lustre to the scene.
^ Every evening large crowds of people assemble in these
^Ashur KhiLnas. In the centre, on a slightly raised platform a
band of singers chant the Marsiya, an elegiac poem in honour
of the martyred Husain. It is a monotonous performance
lasting about an hour; but it has a wonderful effect on the
audience, who, seated on the ground, listen patiently and
attentively. At each pause the hearers beat their breasts, and
sa^ Husain I Husain! Real or stimulated grief often finds
and tears, though the more violent exr
tibe to^sh felt is reserved for a later ceremony.
The Wdqi^a Klidn.
This over, the Waqi^a Elhan {literally, narrator of events)
ascends the Mimbar, or pulpit, and seats himself on the top,
or on a lower step. He proceeds to relate the historical
facts, adding many curious stories gathered from the vast
heap of Traditions which have cast such a halo of glory around
the martyr. Sometimes he becomes very excited, and the
audience is stirred up to great enthusiasm. The following
account is that of an eye-witness who passed an evening
in an ^Ashur Khana. The first Waqi^a Kh&n was a Persian
who delivered a very eloquent oration in his own tongue.
It was calm but effective. He was succeeded by an eloquent
old gentleman who spoke rapidly in Hindustani at the top of
his voice, then rose up, ran down the steps, and casting off
his turban rushed in and out amongst the audience, vocife¬
rating vigorously all the while. The effect was marvellous,
old and venerable men wept like little children, whilst from
the adjoining Zanana was heard the bitter weeping of the
women who, though not exposed to view, could hear all that
was said. After a while, the assembly rose and formed two
lines facing each other. A boy then chanted a few words
and the whole assembly began, slowly at first, to sway their
bodies to and fro, calling out ^Ali! ^Ali! Husain! Husain!
Each one then began to beat his breast vigorously. The
excitement at last became intense and the men in the rows
looked like so many wild creatures/*
In some oases blood has been known to flow from the
breast, so severe is the self-inflicted beating. This continues
till they are well-nigh exhausted, when the whole company
goes away to repeat the performance over again in some other
*Ashfir Khana. A devout person will visit several each even¬
ing. During the day some pious Shia*hs recite the Qur&i.
During this season women who can read, visit the Zan^as
and chant Marsiyas to the ladies of the Harem, by whom
this season of Muharram is celebrated with grefj.t eaitoest-
ness.
For the first six days, nothing else takes place> bitt bn the
240 The Faith of Islam,
seventlL day the ^Alam-i-Qasim is taken out in public pro¬
cession. This is bo represent the marriage of Qasim, the son
of Hasan, to the favourite daughter of Husain, just before
the death of the latter. The event is now commemorated
by the bearing of Qasim’s standard in procession. It is
usually borne by a man on horseback. If it is carried by a
man on foot, he reels about like a drunken man to show
his grief. The crowd shout out: Bridegroom! Bridegroom!
After perambulating the principal thoroughfares, the people
bring the standard back to its own '’Ashfir Khana. As the
standard which represents Qasim is supposed to be a
martyr, it is then laid down, covered over, and treated as
a corpse. Lamentation is made over it as for one dead.
Sherbet is then produced, and a Fatiha is said, after which
the standard is again set up in its own place.
The Heza, a lance or spear, with a lime on the top, to
recall to remembrance the fact that Yezid caused Husain^s
head to be thus carried about, is taken in procession from
one place to another. The Na^l Sahib (literally, Mr. Horse¬
shoe) is the representation of a horse shoe, and is meant to
remind the people of the swift horse of Husain. Vows are
frequently made to this standard. Thus a woman may
say to it: Should I through your favour be blessed with
ofEspring, I shall make it run in your procession/^ If she
attains her wish, the child when seven or eight years old
has a small parasol placed in its hand and is made to run
after the NaT Sdhib.
If two ^Alams, or standards, meet, they embrace each
other, that is they are made to touch. Fdtiha is then said
and the respective processions pass on their way. The
Burfiq, supposed to be a fac-simile of the horse sent by
Gabriel for Muhammad to make the night ascent to heaven
(Ante. p. 159) is also taken out.
Oh the evening before the tenth day, which according to
the ljuslim mode of computing time is the tenth night,
the whole of the Tdzias and the ^Alanas are taken out in
procession. It is a scene o£ great oonfusionj for men and
boys disguised in all sorts o£ quaint devices run about. It
is the carnival o£ tbe Musalman year.
On the £ollowing day, the ^Ashura, they kindle the fires
in the Allawas, and say a Fdtiha in each ^Ashur Khana.
After this the ^Alams and the Tazias are taken away to
a large open spot near water, which represents the
plain of Karbala. Another Fatiha is said, the orna¬
ments and decorations are taken off the Tdzias, the
frameworks of which are then cast into the water.^ Some¬
times they are reserved for use the following year. The
water reminds the people of the parching thirst which Husain
felt before his death. Only the ^Alams, not the Bur^s nor
the Na^l Sahibs, are immersed. The people then bum
incense, recite the Marsiyas, return home and say Fdtiha
over the ^Alams, Buraqs, &c. On the evening of the 12th,
they sit up all night reading the Quran, reciting Marsiyas
and verses in the praise of Husain. On the 13th day, a quan¬
tity of food is cooked which, when a Fdtiha has been said
over it, is distributed to the poor. Some very pious Shia^hs
celebrate the fortieth day after the first of Muharram. It is
on this day, according to some accounts, that the head and
body of Husain were reunited. It is known as the *Id-i-sar
wa tan (head and body feast).
The Sunnis do not, except as spectators, take any part in
the Muharram ceremonies. Indeed, where the ruling power
is not strong, there is often much ill-feeling aroused by the
enthusiasm excited for all that concerns ^Ali and his family.
The three first Khalifs are often well abused, and that no
Sunni can bear with patience. The breach between the
Sunni and the Shia^h is very wide, and the annual recur¬
rence of the Muharram feast tends to keep alive the dis¬
tinction.
1. Daring tlio first ten days they are supposed to contain the bodies of
the martyrs, but now being emp^ the T&zias become mere ordinary
frames and con be destroyed, Qwun*i*lsl£ia> p. 146.
The Faith of Islam.
The tenth day—^the ^Ashura is, however, a Sunnat feast
and, as such, is observed by all Sunnis. It is considered to
be a most excellent day, for on it God is said to have
created Adana and Eve, His throne, heaven, hell, the seat
of judgment, the tablet of decree, the pen, fate, life and
death.
The Sunnis about three o^clook in the afternoon of this day
prepare sherbet and khichrl— b, dish composed of boiled rice
and pulse mixed with clarified butter and spices. A Patiha
in the name of Husain and of those who were martyred with
him is then said. The food is disposed of as usual in such
cases. A Namaa of some nafl rak^ats is said and sometimes
a Du^S. is added. On this day also they go to the burial
grounds and place flowers on, and say Patiha over the graves
of their friends.
Indian MusalmSns have copied in their feast many Hindu
ceremonies. The procession of the Tdzlas, and the casting
of them into the water is very similar to the procession at
the Hindu feast of the Durga Puja,^ when on the tenth day
the Hindus cast the idol Durga, the wife of Siva, into the
Ganges. The oblations offered at different shrines are similar
to those offered by the Hindus, such as rice, clarified butter
and flowers.
The Muhammadan form of worship was too simple for a
country, in which an allegorical and idolatrous religion pre¬
dominated, addressing itself to the senses and the imagina¬
tions rather than to the understanding and the heart; conse¬
quently the Musalmfin festivals have borrowed from it a
variety of pagan rites, and a pompous and splendid ceremonial.
While this has done much to add to the superstition of the
MusaJmfins in India, it has no doubt softened their intolerant
spirit. Though the Sunnis consider th"^ Shla^h observances
as impious, they look on with the contempt of indifference.
The fact that the British Government punishes all who break
L This feast is known in South India as the Bassara. The idol is thrown
intoatank.
Fdiiha for ^AlL
the peace may have something to do with this. Still the
Sanni and the Shia^h in India live on much better terms, and
have more respect for each other than the Turk has for the
Persian, or the Persian for the Turk. Some Musalmau
poets, indeed, are both Sunnis and Shia^hs. Thus Wall,
begins his poem with a brief encomium on the four first
EGbalifs, and then bestows an eulogy on ^Ali and his sons
Hasan and Husain whom he calls Imams of the world/^
The following is a prayer used in a Fatiha for ^AH
I pray, ** That God may deign for the sake of that pure soul, the
ornament of tho book of nature, the first of mortals after the Pro¬
phet, the star of mortals, tho most precious jewel of the jewel-box
of virtue, the lord of the high and tho low, ho who occupies a dis¬
tinguished place on the bridge of eternity, the mihrab ^ of the feith,
ho who sits upon the throne of the palace of tho law, the ship of
the sea of religion, the sun of the firmament of glory, the power of
the arm of the Prophet, ho who has merited access to the taber¬
nacle of the Divine Unity, tho most profound of all religions people,
the resplendent brightness of the marvels of God, tho father of
victory, tho Imdm of tho gate of heaven, tho cup-bearer of the water
of Kansar, he who has merited the praise of Muhammad, he who is
the best of men, the holy martyr, the chief of Believers, the Imam of
the Faithful, ’All, sou of Abu Tdlib, AH the victorious lion of the
Most High. I pray that God for the sake of this holy Khalif may
favouiubly hear tho vows which I offer to Him/*
The following prayer occurs in a Fatiha said for Hasan
and Husain:—
I pray, "That the otornal God may deign to accept tho vows
which I make for the roi)ose of the glorious souls of the two bravo
Imdms, the martyrs well-beloved by God, tho innocent victims of
wickedness, the blessed Abn Muhammad Al-Hasan and Abu ’Abd-
AMh Al-Husain, and for the twelve Imfi»ms, and the fourteen ® pure
ones, and for the seventy-two martyrs of tho plain of KarbaHl.**
The Mihrab is a uicho in a wall which indicates the position of Mecca,
face is always turned to it when prayers are said j so that the expres¬
sion in the prayer means that ’AH is to be the object toward which tho
faithftti look.
2, The twelve InUlms, Mohammad and F&tima*
The Faith of Mam,
iu
2. Aehie-i-OhAr Shamba. —This feast is held on the
last Wednesday of the month Safar. It is kept in comme¬
moration of the [fejct, that, as on this day, the Prophet ex¬
perienced some mitigation of the disorder which in the next
month terminated his life. Sweet cakes are prepared, and
Fatihas in the name of the Prophet are said over them ;
but the most extraordinary custom is the drinking of the
seven SalSms. A plantain, or a mango tree leaf, or a piece
of paper is taken to a Mulla, or a religious teacher, who
writes seven short sentences from the Quran upon it. The
writing whilst still wet is washed off, and the mixture drunk
by the person for whom it was written. Peace and happi¬
ness are thus ensured for the future. The seven Salams are:
(1) “ Peace ! shall be the word on the part of a merciful
Lord.^^ (Sura xxxvi. 58). (2) " Peace be on Noah through¬
out the worlds.^^ (Sura xxxvii. 77). (3) “ Peace be on
Abraham/^ (Sura xxxvii. 109). (4) Peace be on Moses
and Aaron.^^ (Sura xxxvii. 120). (5) Peace be on EHas/^
(Sura xxxvii. 130). (6) Peace be on you, ye have been
good; enter into Paradise.^^ (Sura xxxix. 73). (7) It is
peace till the breaking of the mom.” (Sura xcvii. 5).
The Shia^hs consider this an unlucky day. They call it
*^Chiv Shamba-i-Sfiri.—^The Wednesday of the Trum¬
pet that is, of the trumpet of the last day. The Sunnis,
on the other hand, rejoice in the day, and esteem it an
excellent and auspicious season.
3. Bara Wafat. —This feast is held on the twelfth day
of the month Eabi^-ul-Awwal. The name is derived from
b4rS, twelve and wafilt, death, because many suppose that
on this day the Prophet died. According to a well-known
Muslim writer "the terrific intelligence, circulating through¬
out the world, produced universal consternation, and all
hastened to offer to God their vows and prayers for the
repose of the Prophet's soul.” Others, however, maintain
that he died on the second of the month and, as there is
some doubt on the subject, many persons make a F&tiha
Bard Wafdt
every day, from the first to the twelfth of the month inclu¬
sive. Those ,who keep the feast as Wafat observe the
ceremony called Sandal on the previous evening, and the
^Urs, that is, the prayers and the oblations, on the twelfth.
The Sandal consists in making a perfumed embrocation
from sandal wood. This is then placed into a vessel and
carried in procession to the ^Id-gah, ^ or to the place where
F4tiha will be said. It is then distributed to the people.
It is a sort of public notice on the eve of a Feast day, or of
a Saint^s day, that on the morrow the usual prayers and
offerings will be made in such and such a place. On the
morning of the twelfth, the Quran is read in the Mosque, or
in private houses: then food is cooked and Fatihas are said.
Some persons possess a Qadam-i-Rasul, or footstep of the
Prophet. This is a stone with the impression of a footstep
on it. It is a sacred thing and on this day the place in which
it is kept is elegantly decorated. When a company has
assembled, some persons appointed for the purpose, repeat
the story of the birth, miracles and death of the Prophet.
Portions of the Qur^n are read and the Darfid is said.^
In Madras, and in some other pai'ts, it is more customary
to keep this day, not as the anniversary of the death of the
Prophet, but as the ’Jashn-i-milad-i-Sharif,” the Feast
of the noble birth.’^ The practical duties are the same.
Instead of the Qadam-i-Eas^, the As4r-i-Sharif is exhib¬
ited. This is supposed to be a real portion of the hair of
the Prophet^s beard and moustache. It is said to possess
1. The ’fd-gah is nsnally built outside of the town, and consists of a long
wall of masonry* with two minarets and a large raised open court. There
is a Mihrdb iu the wall: but no proper mimbar or pulpit, three raided steps
doing duty for it. Sometimes, however, a Mosque is used as an *ld-g4h.
2. Tradition records that the Prophet, after the battle of Ohud, was one
day ascending a hill in a rage. The heat of his passion was such that
the mountain softened into the consistence of wax and retained, some say
eighteen; others, forty impressions of his feet. When rebaked by Gabriel
for his anger the Prophet enquired the cause of his rebuke. Gabriel told
him to look around. The Prophet seeing these impressions of his feet on
1^6 stones was astonished, anger instantly ceased. Q4ndn-i«IsUm,
246 The Faith of Islam.
the miraculous property of growing again when a portion is
broken off. On this day it is put into rose water which
those present then drink and rub on their eyes. Great
virtue is attached to this proceeding. In the Asar Khana,
or house in which this hair is kept F^tihas, Dariids, &c.,
are repeated.
The observance of this festival is neither wajib nor
sunnat, but mustahab. It is generally kept, and it is a very
rare thing to meet a person who does not believe in the
nairaculous growth of the Asar-i-Sharif.
4. SuAB Babat. —This feast, the name of which signifies
the night of the record,is held on the fourteenth day of
the month Sh^aban. The ^Arfa, or vigil is kept on the
preceding day.^ It is commonly but erroneously called
Shab-i-Barat.
The word Bax'at signifies a book or record. It is said that
God on this night registers in the Barat all the actions men
are to perform during the ensuing year. On the thirteenth
day food is prepared for the poor and a Fatiha for the benefit
of deceased ancestors and relatives is said over it. When
all in the house are assembled, the Surat-ul-Fatiha^is read
once, the Surat-ul-Iklas (112) three times, the Ayat-ul-
Kursi once, and then the Darud. After this a prayer is
offered, in which God is asked to transfer the reward of
this Service, and of the charity shown in the gift of food to
the poor, to the souls of deceased relatives and friends of
this family. This petition is offered in the name of the
Prophet. The men then go to the Mosque and after the
Namaz-i-^Ishd they repeat a number of nafl raVats. This
over, the Sfirat-ul-T4 Sin is read three times. It must be
done with the niyyat, intention. The first time, the inten¬
tion is that the worshipper may have a long life; the
second time, that his means of subsistence may be increas¬
ed ; the third time, that he may be protected from evil*
1. The Baqr-’fd is the only other feaet that has m ’Arfa.
Bamamn and ^Id^nUFUr.
Tlie Stira-i-DukMn (144) is then read with the same inten¬
tions. Any other portions may then be read. After this
those present rise, and go to the various cemeteries. On
the way they purchase flowers which are afterwards strewn
on the graves. A Fatiha is then said. If the worshipper
has no relatives or friends buried there, prayer is offered
for the benefit of the Ai*wah-i-Qubur, the souls of those
there buried. The very pious spend the whole night in
going from one cemetery to another.
These observances are neither farz, nor sunnat, but
naw^fil, (sing, nafl), works of supererogation. Still though
they are bid^at, yet they are esteemed good and so are called
Bid^at-i-Hasana, or excellent innovation.^^ The general
merry-making of the fourteenth day has no religious signifi¬
cation. The night of the fifteenth is the Guy Fawkes night
of Islam. Large sums of money ai'e spent on fireworks, of
which more are let off on this feast than at any other.
The following prayer occurs in the Fatiha : " 0 our God,
by the merits of the Apostleship of Muhammad, grant that
the lamps which are lit up on this holy night may be for
the dead a pledge of the light eternal, which we pray Thee
to shed on them. 0 God, admit them, we beseech Thee,
unto the abode of eternal felicity,^'
5, RamazAn and ^In-TJL-FiTR —It is one of the five pillars
of the practical religious duties to fast during the thirty
days of the month Ramazdn. The subject of fasting has
been fully treated of in the preceding chapter ; and so it is
only necessary now to describe the other ceremonies con¬
nected with the religious observance of this month.
From the earliest days of Islam this month has been held
in the greatest esteem by Muslims, for it was in this month
that Muhammad used to retire for meditation, year after
year, to the cave of Hira, situated on a low hill some few
miles distant from Mecca. In the second year of the EGjra,
or flight from Mecca, it was ordained that the month of
Bamazdn should be kept as a fast. ^^As to the month
The Faith of Islam,
Ramazan, in which the Qurfin was sent down to be man^s
guidance, and an explanation of that guidance, and of that
illumination, as soon as any one of you observeth the moon,
let him set about the fast/^ (Sura ii. 181).
The Muslims had hitherto observed as the principal fast
the ^Ashur^,, the tenth of Muharram. This fast was pro¬
bably connected with the Jewish fast on the tenth day of
the seventh month. Also on the tenth day of this seventh
month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an
holy convocation unto you ; and ye shall afflict your souls,
(Leviticus xxiii. 27). Now, when Muhammad first
went to Madina he had great hopes of winning over the
Jews to his side ; but when he failed he took every oppor¬
tunity of making Isldm differ as much as possible from
Judaism. This was the reason why the Qibla was changed
(Ante. p. 60), and that in the second year of his residence
at Madina the fast of Ramazan was appointed. The reasons
assigned by learned Muslims for the selection of this month,
are that in Ramazan God gave to the previous prophets the
revelations connected with their names, and that in this
month the Qui4n was sent down from the Secret Tablet in the
seventh heaven to the first or lowest, and that on the Laylut-
ul-Qadr, or * night of power^ the first revelation was made to
Muhammad. Verily we have caused it (Quran) to descend
on the ^ night of power.’ And who shall teach thee what
the night of power is? The night of power excelleth a
thousand nights,’’ (Sura xcvii. 1—3). To illustrate the
sacredness of this month the Prophet used to say that in it
^'the gates of Paradise are open, and the gates of hell are
shut, and the devils are chained by the leg.” Only those
who observe it will be allowed to enter by the gate of heaven
called Rayyan.” Those who keep the fast will be pardoned
all their past venial sins.” ^
In making the fast one for the day, and none for the night,
1. Book vii. oh. 1.
Muhammad doubtless had reference to the verse: God
wisheth you ease, but wisheth not your discomfort/^ (Sura
The special ceremonies connected with the Eamazan are
the Tarawih Namaz and ^Itikaf (retirement). The Tarawih
prayers have been described alresJ!j:^(p. 205), Each night
in Ramazan one-thirtieth part (sjpara) of the Quran is recited
in the Mosque. The duty of performing the ^Itikaf is a
Sunnat-ul-maukadda, a very strict duty. The Mu^takif,
one who makes ^Itikaf, must remain apart in a Mosque used
for public services, and there meditate. Bukhari says that
the Prophet made ^Itikaf the last ten days of each Rama¬
zan, and that the practice was continued by his wives after
his death. Usually a man should thus sit and meditate one
of the days between the twentieth and the thirtieth of Rama¬
zan. If his meditation is disturbed by any illegal interrup¬
tion, another day should be devoted to it; but Imam
Muhammad says: The least legal time is one hour.^^ Some
theologians hold that ^Itikaf is farz-i-kiMya, that is, if one
person of a community does it the obligation does not rest
on the others. If, however, a person makes a vow in Rama¬
zan, then Utikaf is considered wajib. Utik4f can be perform¬
ed at any time other than the last ten days of Ramazan, but
then it is only mustahab, a work of supererogation. All the
sects except the Shafa^itos hold that the Mu^takif must fast.
He should also make the nizzat, or intention, of performing
what ho is about to do. The Mu^takif must not go out of
the Mosque except for obviously necessary purposes, and
for making the legal wazu and ghusl (purifications). At
night he may eat, drink and sleep in tho Mosque: iots
quite unlawful at other times. He may speak with others
on reh'gious matters, and if a man of business, he
may give orders with regard to the purchase and sale
of merchandize, but on no account must any goods bo
brought to him. It is highly meritorious for him to read
the Qur4n in an audible voice. By such an act he becomes
250 The Faith of Islam,
a man of penetratiou^ whose words are as powerful as a
sharp sword.^
When the thirty days have passed the fast is broken.
This act is called Iftar^ and the first day on which food is
taken is called the ^Id-ul-Fitr—the ^ Feast of the breaking
of the fast/ On that day the Sadqa, or alms are given
before the Namaz is said in the Mosque. The Sadqa of
the ^Id-nl-Fitr is confined to Muslims: no other persons
receive it. If any one neglects to give these alms before
tho Namaz is said^ he will not merit so great a reward as
he otherwise would. The reason assigned for this is that^
unless they are given early in the day, the poor cannot
refresh themselves before coming to the Mosque for tho
Namaz. The Sadqa are given for the good of one^s own
soul, for that of young children, slaves male and female—
Muslim or Infidel; but not for the spiritual benefit of one's
wife or elder children.
In South India, the Sadqa consists of a gift of sufficient
rice to feed one person. When this has been done the
people go to the Mosque saying, ^ God is great! God is
great The Namaz is like that of a Friday, except that
only two rak^ats are said, and the Khutba which is said after
the Namaz is sunnat; whereas the Friday Khutba is said
befoi’e the farz rak^ats, and is itself of farz obligation.
After hearing tho sermon, the people disperse, visit each
other and thoroughly enjoy themselves.
A very usual form of the Khutba of the ^Id-ul-Fitr
which is preached in Arabic is as follows;—
SERMON ON THE ^Id-UL-FITR.
n
In the name of God, the Compassionate, tho Merciful.
Holy is God who has opened the door of mercy for those who
fast, and in mercy and kindness has granted them the right of
entrance into heaven. God is greater than all. There is no God
save Him. God is great 1 God is great I and worthy of praise. It
1. Thai: is, his hlessing or his curse takes eftect. Q&nlin4-Isldm p. 170.
Sermon or the ^Id-uUFitr.
is of His grace and favour that He rewards those who keep the fast.
He has said: ‘ I will give in the future world houses and palaces,
and many excellent blessings to those who fast. Grod is great! God
is great! Holy is He who certainly sent the Qur^n to our Prophet in
the month of Ramazan, and who sends angels to grant peace to all
true believers. God is great! and worthy of all praise. Wo praise and
thank Him for the ’Id-ul-Fitr, that great blessing; and we testify
that beside Him there is no God. He is alone. He has no partner.
This witness which we give to His Unity will be a cause of our
safety here, and finally gain us an entrance to Paradise. Muham¬
mad (on whom be the mercy and peace of God) and all famous
prophets arc His slaves. He is the Lord of genii and of men. From
Him comes mercy and peace upon Muhammad and his family, so
long as the world shall last. God is greater than all. There is
none beside Him. God is great! God is great! and worthy of all
praise. 0 company of Believers, 0 congregation of Muslims, the
mercy of the True One is on you. He says that this Feast day
is a blessing to you, and a curse to the unbelievers. Your fasting
will not be rewarded, and your prayers will be stayed in their
flight to heaven until you have given the sadqa.i 0 congregation of
Believers, to give alms is to you a wajib duty. Give to the poor
some measures of grain or its money equivalent. Your duty in
Ramazin was to say the Tar^wih prayers, to make supplication to
God, to sit and meditate (’itikd.f) and to read the Qur^n. The
religious duties of the first ten days of Ramazan gain the mercy of
God, those of the second ton merit His pardon; whilst those of the
last ten save those who do them from the punishment of hell. God
has declared that Ramazan is a noble month, for is not one of its
nights, the Laylut-ul-Qadr, better than a thousand months P On
that night Gabriel and the angels descended from heaven; till the
morning breaks it is full of blessing. Its eloquent interpreter, and
its clearest proof is the Qur^n, the Word of God, most Gracious.
Holy is God who says in the Quran: This word of God comes
down in the month of Ramazan.” This is a guide for men, a dis-
tinguisher between right and wrong. 0 Believers, in such a month
be present, obey the order of your God and fast; but let the sick
and the travellers substitute some other days on which to fast so
that no days be lost, and say: “ God is great I” and praise Him.
God has made the fast easy for you. 0 Believers, God will bless
you and us by the grace of the Holy Qurin. Every verse of it is a
benefit to us and fills us with wisdom. God is the Bestower, the
1. This is a warning to those who may have omitted this duty.
252 The Faith of Islam.
Holy King, the Munificent, the Kind, the IsTourisher, the Merciful,
the Clement ” i
The assemblies of the ladies on this ^Id are marked by
all the amusements and indulgences they can possibly
invent or enjoy in their secluded state. Some receiving,
others paying visits in covered conveyances; all doing
honour to the day by wearing their best jewellery and
splendid dress. The Zanana rings with festive songs and
loud music^ the cheerful meeting of friends, the distribu¬
tion of presents to dependents, and remembrances to the
poor; all is life and joy, cheerful bustle and amusement,
on this happy day of ^fd, when the good lady of the Man¬
sion sits in state to receive presents from inferiors and to
grant proofs of her favour to others.^^ 2
6. The Baqb-^Id. —This is the most important Feast in
the whole year. It is also known as the ^Id-i-Qurb£n, and
as the ^Id-ul-AzhS, commonly called the Id-uz-Zuhd, the
feast of sacrifice. In Turkey and in Egypt it is called
BairSm. Its origin was as follows: A few months after
the Hijra, or flight from Mecca, Muhammad, dwelling in
Madina, observed that the Jews kept, on the tenth day of
the seventh month, the great fast of the Atonement. A
Tradition records that the Prophet asked them why they
kept this fast. He was informed that it was a memorial of
the deliverance of Moses and the children of Israel from the
hands of Pharaoh. We have a greater right in Moses
than they,^^ said Muhammad, so he fasted with the Jews
and commanded his followers to fast also. This was at the
period of his mission when Muhammad was friendly with
the Jews of Madina, who occasionally came to hear him
preach. The Prophet also occasionally attended the syna¬
gogue. Then came the change of the Qibla from Jerusalem
to Mecca, for the Jews were not so ready to change their
1 . KlrntbafiA-i-Mutarjam, p. 104.
2. ObBeryations on the MnaalmlnB of India/’ Mrs. M£r Eusan ’AU,
The Baqr^^Id.
creed as Muhammad had at first hoped. In the second year
of the Hijra, Muhammad and his followers did not partici¬
pate in the Jewish ^fast, for the Prophet now instituted the
feast of the Baqr-Hd. The idolatrous Arabs had been in
the habit of making an annual pilgrimage to Mecca at this
season of the year. The offering of animals in sacrifice
formed a part of the concluding ceremony of that pilgrimage.
That portion—the sacrifice of animals—Muhammad adopted
in the feast which now, at Madina, he substituted for the
Jewish fast. This was well calculated to attract the atten¬
tion of the Meccans and to gain the goodwill of the Arabs.
Muhammad could not then make the pilgrimage to Mecca,
for as yet there was a hostile feeling between the inhabi¬
tants of the two cities ; but on the tenth day of the month
Zu^l-Hajja, at the very time when the Arabs at Mecca were
engaged in sacrificing victims, Muhammad went forth from
his house at Madina, and assembling his followers instituted
the Id-uz-Zuhd. or Baqr-Hd. Two young kids were brought
before him. One he sacrificed and said : 0 Lord ! I sac¬
rifice this for my whole people, all those who bear witness
to Thy unity and to my mission. 0 Lord ! this is for Mu¬
hammad and for the family of Muhammad/^
Great merit is obtained by all who keep this feast,
^Ayesha relates how the Prophet once said: Man hath not
done anything on the Hd-ul-AzhS, more pleasing to God than
spilling blood; for verily the animal sacrificed will come on
the day of resurrection with its horns, hair and hoofs, and
will make the scale of his good actions very heavy. Verily
its blood reached the acceptance of God before it falleth
upon the ground, therefore be joyful in it.^^
Musalmdns say that the Patriarch Abraham was order¬
ed to sacrifice Ishmael, and that he made several ineffec¬
tual attemps to cut the throat of his son. Ishmael then
said to his father: It is through pity and compassion
for me that you allow the knife to miss: blindfold yourself
and then sacrifice ine.” Abraham acted upon this advice,
254 The Faith of Islam,
blindfolded himself, drew his knife, repeated the Bismillah,
and, as he thought, cut the throat of his son ; but, behold,
in the meantime Gabriel had substituted a sheep for the lad.
This event is commemorated in this feast.
On the day before the feast, the Arfa, or vigil, is kept.
Food of various kinds is prepared, over which a Fatiha is
offered, first, in the name of the Prophet ; secondly, in the
names of deceased relatives, and of others for whom a bless¬
ing is desired, or from whom some favor is expected. The
food is then sent as a present to friends.
On the morning of the feast day, the devout Muslims
proceed to the ^Id-g^h or, if there is no ^Id-gah, to the
principal Mosque, repeating on the way the Takhir God is
Great and There is no other God save the one true God,
God is great, praise be to God.’^ At the time of making
wazu, the worshipper should say : 0 God, make this ('i.e,
the sacrifice I shall offer to-day) an atonement for my sin,
and purify my religion and take evil away from me.^^
The Service at the ^Id-gdh, or in the Mosque consists
of two farz rak^ats, as in the Salat-ul-Juma (p, 201), after
the Khutba is delivered. It will, however, be seen from
the following sermon that it is mustahab to say four more
rak'ats.
SERMON ON THE ^iU-lTZ-ZUHX.
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
AllahuAkbar! God is Great. There is no God but God. God is
Great! God is Great and worthy of all praise. He is Holy Day and
night we should praise Him. He is without partner, without equal.
All praise be to Him. Holy is He, Who makes the rich generous,
Who provides the sacrifice for the wise. He is Great, without an
equal. All praise be to Him. Listen! I testify that there is no
God but God* He is alone, without partner. This testimony is as
bright as the early dawn, as brilliant as the glorious feast day.
Muhammad is His servant who delivered His message. On Muham¬
mad, and on his family, and on his Companions may the peace of God
rest* On you who are present, 0 congregation of Muslimfn, may the
Sermon on the ^Id-uz^Zuhd,
mercy of G-od for ever rest. 0 servants of God! our first duty is to
fear God and to be kind. God has said: I will bo with those who
fear Mo and are kind.”
Know 0 servants of God! that to rejoice on the feast day is the
sign and mark of the pure and good. Exalted will be the rank
of such in Paradise (Dar-ul-Qarar), especially on the day of resur¬
rection will they obtain dignity and honour. Do not on this
day foolish acts. It is no time for amusements and negligence.
This is the day on which to utter the praises of God. (Tasbfh.)
Head the Kalima, the Takbir and the Tamhid. This is a high
festival season and the feast of sacrifice. Eead now the Takbir-
ut-Tashriq. God is great! God is great 1 There is no God but
God! God is great! God is great! All praise be to Him 1 Prom
the morning of the ’Arfa, after every farz rak’at it is good (mustahab)
for a person to repeat the Takbir-ut-Tashriq. The woman before
whom is a man as Imim, and the traveller whose Imam is a
permanent resident (Muqim) should also repeat this Takbir. It
should be said at each Namaz until the Salat-ul-’Asr of the Feast
day (10th). Some, however, say that it should be recited every day
till the afternoon (’Asr) of the thirteenth day, as these are the days
of the Tashriq (p, 231).i i£ the Imam forgets to recite, let not the
worshipper forget. Know, 0 believers, that every free man who
is a Sahib-i-Nisab {i.e. worth Es. 52) should offer sacrifice on this
day, provided that this sum is exclusive of his horse, his clothes, his
tools, and his household goods and slaves. It is wajib for every one
to offer sacrifice for himself, but it is not a wajib order that he
should do it for his children.^ A goat, a ram or a cow should be
offered in sacrifice for every seven persons. The victim must not
be one-eyed, blind, lame or very thin.
If you sacrifice a fat animal it will serve you well, and carry
you across the Sirdt. 0 Believers, thus said the Prophet, on
whom be the mercy and peace of God, “ Sacrifice the victim with
your own hands, this was the Sunnat of Ibrahim, on whom be peace.”
In the Kitdb-uz-zid-ut-Taqwd, it is said that on the ’Id-ul-Fitr and
the ’Id-uz-2uha, four nafi rak’ats should bo said after the farz Nam^
1. The opinion of the various Traditionists on this point is given in the
N^-ul-Hiddyah, vol. iv. p. 61.
2. Still it is mustabab, or a meritorious act so to do. It is also said that,
if a minor is possessed of property, bis father or his guardian may purchase
at his expense an animal and saoi^oe it. The child may then eat as much
as it can. The remainder of the meat must be exchanged for something
which the obald can use, such as clothes, shoes, &o. N&-ul-Hiddyab, vol.
iv. p, 60.
TIlb Faith of Islam.
of the ’Id. In the first rak’at after the Siirat-iil-Fatiha recite the
Stirat-ul-A’la (Stira Ixxvii); in the second, the Surat-ush-Shams
(Sdra xci); in the third, the Surat-uz-Zuha (Stira xciii); in the
fourth, the Sdrat-ul-Ikhlas (oxii).
0 Believers, if ye do so, God will pardon the sins of fifty years
which are past and of fifty years to come. The reading of these
Suras are equal as an act of merit to the reading of all the books
God has sent by His prophets.
May God include us amongst those who are accepted by Him, who
act according to the Law, whose desire will be granted at the last day.
To all such there will be no fear in the day of resurrection; no
sorrow in the examination at the day of judgment. The best of all
books is the Qurdn. 0 believers ! May God give to us, and to you
a blessing for ever by the grace of the Hoblo Quran. May its verses
be our guide, and may its wise mention of God direct us aright.
I desire that God may pardon all believers, male and female, the
Muslimin and the Muslimdt. 0 belicvei’s, also seek for pardon.
Truly God is the Forgiver, the Merciful, the Eternal King, the
Compassionate, the Clement. 0 believers, the Khutba is over. Let
all desire that on Muhammad Mustafa the mercy and peace of God
may rest.
The worshippers then return to their respective homes
and offer up the sacrifilce/ for it is a wajib order that every
Muslim should keep this feasts and sacrifice an animal for
himself. He need not fear though he has to incur debt for
the purchase of an animal, for it is said that God will in
some way help him to pay the debt. If a camel is sacrificed,
it should be one not less than five years of age, if a cow or
sheep it should at least be in its second year, though the
third year is better ; if a goat it must not be less than six
months old. All of these animals must be without a blemish,
or defect of any kind. It is a sunnat order that the head
of the household should himself slay the victim. If, how¬
ever, from any cause, he cannot do so, he may call in a
butcher ; but in that case he must place his hand upon that
of the butcher when the operation is performed. If the
1. According to the Imdms Shifa’i and HALik no one must ofier up the
sacrifice until the Imto who has ofldciatod at the previous Namib has slain
his victim. Ndr*nl-Hid&yah, yol. iv. p* 61.
The ^Idain.
victim is a camel^ it must be placed with the head towards
Mecca. Its front legs being bandaged together the sacri-
ficer must stand on the right hand side of the victim, and
plunge the knife into its throat with such force that the
animal may fall at once. Any other mode of slaying it is
unlawful. Other animals must be slain in the same way.
Just before slaying the victim the following verse of the
Qur^ should be repeated: Say ! my prayers, and my
worship, and my life and my death are unto God, the Lord
of the worlds. He hath no associate. This am I commanded,
and I am the first of the Muslims.^^ (Sura vi. 163). The
operator also adds: 0 God, from Thee, and to Thee (I do
this), in the name of God, God is Great ! Then having
slain the victim he says : 0 God accept this for me/^ The
first meal taken should be prepared from the flesh of the
animal just slaughtered, after which the members of the
family, the neighbours, and the poor should receive some
portions.
It is considered highly meritorious to sacrifice one animal
for each member of the family; but as that would involve
an expenditure few could bear, it is allowable to sacrifice
one victim for the household. In extreme cases men may
combine together and make one sacrifice do for the whole,
but the number of persons so combining must not exceed
seventy. Some authorities limit the number to seven.
This feast is strictly observed by all Muslims wherever they
may be.
The Baqr-Hd and the ^Id-ul-Fitr constitute the Hdain, the
two great Feasts of IsMm. A country in which Musalm&ns
could not observe them both would at once become Dir-ul-
Harb, or House of Enmity, in which it would be the bounden
duty of every Muslim to join in a ^ih^, against the Infidel
rulers of the land.
This completes the principal Feasts of the Muslim year.
Among other practices borrowed £i*om the Hindus must
be placed the pilgrimage made by Indian Musalm&is to the
The Faith of Islmi*
shrines of Saints, the ceremonies connected with them and
the festivals instituted in their honour. Properly speaking,
the Sunnis have but two festivals—the Baqr-^Id and the ^Id-
uhPitr, but many others are now observed. Of these I have
described several. It only remains to notice a few of the
festival days which are peculiar to India. The title of Plr
given to a Musalm^.n devotee is equivalent to the term
Guru amongst the Hindus. A man who seeks to be a
^religious’ takes a Plr as a spiritual guide. Follow/’
says the poet Wall, ^^the footsteps of thy Plr, like a
shadow.” After death these Plrs are venerated as Walls
or Saints. The Plrs when alive, are frequently resorted to
for a ta’wlz, or charm, and the aid of their prayers is often
invoked. The sepulchre of a Wall is called a Dargah,
shrine ; Maz&, place of pilgrimage; Rauza, garden. The
professional reciter of the Quran, and the Namaz at such
places is called a Rauza Kh4n. As a rule, processions are
made to the shrines, and flowers, sweetmeats and food over
which a Fdtiha has been said are offered. Usually the
Fatihais/or the Saint, not to the Saint. It is considered a
very meritorious act to give land for the erection of such
shrines and to endow them. An account of many of these
Saints is given in the Bara Masa by Jawan and the Arayish-
i-Mahfil by Afsos. The following selection will give an
idea of the customs prevalent:—
I, Festival or Mabar. —Sayyid Badr-ud-dln Kutb-ul-
MeMv is said to have descended from the Im&m Husain.
He was born at Aleppo about a.d. 1050, and received from
Muhammad permission to ^^hold his breath” (Habs-i-dam).
Thus he was able to live to a good old age. He is said to
have had 1,442 sons, and to have died when upwards of 300
years old. More rational people explain the number of his
sons by saying they were his spiritual children. The length
of his life is explained by saying that as each man has to
make a certain number of inspirations, the less frequently
he does it the longer he will live. Jawfin in his account of
Maddr and Sdldr Mas^ud Ohd^L
the festival states : The tomb of Madar is at Makanpiar^
a place about forty miles from Oawnpore. On the seven¬
teenth of the month Jamddi-ul-Awwal an immense crowd
fills the village which is illuminated at night. Fires are
lighted^ around which Fakirs dance, and through which they
leap calling out ^^Dam Madar, Dam Madar/' (breath of
Mad^,r.) An order of Fakirs, called Madaria, look to this
Saint as their patron. In distant places where this feast is
kept they set up an Alam, or standard in honour of the
Saint, and perform ceremonies common to such days. The
nights are spent in celebrating his praises, &c.
2. Festival oe Mu'iN-un-niN OniSTi.^ —The tomb of this
Saint is in Ajmir. He was a Syed descended from Husain,
the son of 'Ali, and was born in Sajistan about the year 537
A.H. His father died when he was about fifteen years old.
Soon after this he fell in with a famous Fakir, Ibrahim
Qanduzi, through whose influence he began to seek the
Tariqat, or mystical road to the knowledge of God. When
he was twenty years of age he received further instruction
from the famous 'Abd-ul-QMir Jilani. After the .conquest
of Hindustan by Shah^b-ud-din Ghori, Mu'in-ud-din retired
to Ajmir, where he died in the odour of sanctity 636 A.H.
Pilgrimages to this tomb have been and are very popular.
Emperors and people vied with each other in doing honour
to the memory of this saint. Even Akbar, sceptic though
he was as regards orthodoaS^IsMm, made a pilgrimage to
this shrine, and offered vows that he might have a
son who would live to manhood. Hindus also visit this
tomb and presents from rich men of this class are not
unusual.
3, Festival oe SalXe Mas^to GHAzi. —There is some
doubt as to the nationality of this Saint. Some say he was a
Husaini Syed, others that he was a PathdrU, and a martyr.
His tomb is situated in Oude. Afsos thus describes the
1. Xr4.yisli.i.Mah£il p. 144 ),
The Faith of Islam,
pilgrimage. Once a year great crowds of people gather
from all parts. They carry i*ed lances, and beat thousands
of tambourines. The ^Urs is held on the first Sunday of the
month Jith (May-June). The people believe that this was
his wedding day, because it is said that he had on wedding
garments when he was killed. This belief once led a certain
oilman, a resident of Raduli, to send a bedstead, chair, and
other marriage presents to the shrine at this time. The
custom is still kept up by the descendants of the oilman.
The common people fasten ropes to the branches of the trees
in the neighbourhood, and swing, some by the hands and
some by the heels, and assume various disguises. They thus
hope to obtain what they desire.^^ The Hindus venerate this
Saint very highly. The Musahniins look upon him as a most
sacred person, for he slew many idolatrous Hindus, and so
earned the title of G-hazi, the warrior: the Hindus consider
that it was only by the power of God that he could do so
many acts of prowess.
4. Festival op the BIea oe op Khaja Khize. —Of this
Saint, M. Garcin de Tassy says: ^'Khdja Khizr is a personage
respecting whom the opinions of orientals vary. Many con¬
sider him the same as Phineas, the grandson of Aaron; others
that he is the prophet Elias; and lastly, the Turks confound
him with St. George, In order to reconcile these conflicting
opinions, some allege that the same soul has animated three
different persons. Whatever be the fact, Khizr, according
to the Musalmans, discovered the source of the Water of
Life of which he is the guardian. He is believed to be
very clever in divination, and to be the patron of w^,ters.
As such a festival is held in his honour.^^ Jawto de¬
scribes it thus; In the month of Bhidtin (August-Sep¬
tember) all whose wishes have been fulfilled, make it a
point of duty to set afloat the boat (nSfl) in honour of Kh4ja
Khizr, and to make according to their means offerings of
milk and bruised grain to the holy personage. On every
Friday, and in some places on eyery Thursday, in the month
Pir Dastgir Sdhih,
ia question, the devotees having prepared the biru. carry it
at night to the bank of the river, with many ceremonies.
There great and small, having lighted lamps and tapers,
make their respective oblations, whilst a number of swim¬
mers together jointly push the bira into the middle of the
river/^ Sometimes a number of small biras, made of clay,
are also launched, and as each carries a lamp the general
effect is striking. It is said that the Musalman natives of
the Maidive Islands annually launch a small vessel laden
with perfumes, gum, and odoriferous flowers, and leave it
to the mercy of the winds and waves as an offering to the
god of the sea. There can be no doubt that this god of the
sea is Khizr, the patron of the waters.”
The following prayer is recited in the F^tiha of Khizr;
'^To obtain purity of heart, and the benediction of Him
who hears the vows of mortals, and who alone can keep from
them all evils, I rest upon the merits of Khd,ja Khizr, the
gre^t prophet Elias.”
5. The Feast oe Pia Dastgir Sahib. —This is held on the
eleventh day of the month of Eabf-us-Sani. The Sunnis
hold this Saint in great reverence. He has no less than
ninety-nine names. His tomb is at Baghdid. On the tenth
of the month the ceremony called Sandal (p. 245; is pex’-
formed, followed on the next day by the *lJrs, when the
Maulad, or the account of the circumstances connected with
the birth of the saint is read } Qasa,id, or elegiac poems are
recited ; the Dartid is repeated and Fatihas are said. The
Qurdn is also read through. Vows are frequently made to
this Saint and in time of any special visitation, such as cholera,
a flag is carried about in honour of this Pir by some of his
devotees to whom presents of food, &c., are offered. Fdtiha
is then said over them. He is said to appear to his followers
during their sleep and to give them directions. JaTar
Sharif, the compiler of the Qanfln-i-Isl&m speaking, on this
point relates his own experience thus: The author speaks
from personal experience, for at the time of need, when he
The Faith of Islam,
was oppressed in mind concerning things which he desired,
he used to repeat constantly the ninety-nine names of the
Pir and yow before the Holy Grod^ imploring His assistance
by the soul of Dastgii'; and through the mercy of the
Almighty, his Excellency Grliaus-ul-A^zam (Dastgir) pre¬
sented himself in his sleep, and relieved him of his perplexi¬
ties and vouchsafed his behests/^
Syed Ahmad Kabir Eafai, the founder of the Eafai
Darwishes was a nephew of this Saint.
6. Festival oe Qadie Wali Sahib. —This is the great
saint of Southern India. The ^Urs is celebrated on the
tenth day of Jamadi-us-Sani. The shrine is at Nagore,
a town situated four miles north of Negapatam. The sandal
and other ceremonies are similar to those described already.
He is the patron saint of sailors, who in times of difficulty
vow that, if they reach the shore in safety, they will offer a
F^tiha in the name of Qadir Wall. The common people
have a profound faith in the power of the saint to work
miracles. The story of the following one is frequently
related : A vessel springing a leak was about to founder,
when the Captain made a vow that should Qadir Wali stop
the leak, he would offer in his name the value of the cargo.
At that time the saint was being shaved, but being miracu¬
lously acquainted with the perilous position of the Captain
he cast away the looking-glass which he held in his hand.
This glass attached itself to the hole in the bottom of the
ship which then came safely to land. The Captain, in due
course, presented his offering to the saint who requested
him to return the glass to the barber. The Captain was
astonished at this request and enquired what glass was
meant. He was then directed to look at the bottom of his
ship. He did so, and discovered how the saint had saved
the ship.^^
The festival affords a curious illustration of the way in
which Hindu influences have acted on Isldm, and how even
Hindus pay regard to Muslim Saints. Qddir Wali is said tp
Qddir Wali Sahib.
have been a Pakli’ who lived on the charity of both Hindus
and Musalmans. Indeed both parties claim him as belong¬
ing to their respective religions, which may be accounted for
by the fact that in his preaching to mixed audiences he
suited his addresses to both classes of his hearers. After
his death a small Mosque was erected on or near his tomb.
The fame of the Wali gradually grew, and a Hindu Eajah
made a vow that if he were blessed with the birth of a
son, he would enlarge and beautify the Mosque. His wish
was fulfilled, and the present elegant structure is the result.
So famous has the shrine of the Saint now become that the
Musalmans there say: First Mecca, then Nagore.^^ The
same reason which induced the Hindu Eajah to make a
votive offering years ago, still influences large numbers of
people. On Thursday evenings, the commencement of the
Muhammadan Sabbath, many Hindu women resort to the
shrine of the Saint. On the closing night of the Annual
Feast, Tabuts are taken in procession from Negapatam, and
rich presents are sent from the Tanjore Palace to the Nagore
Mosque. Thus is the Hindu connection still kept up with
the festival of this Musalmdn Saint,
There are many other Walls and Pirs to whose tombs
pilgrimages are made, and in memory of whom many super¬
stitious observances are still kept up,* but all such pilgrimages
to a Dargdh (shrine) are no necessary part of Islam, In
all parts of the country there are the shrines of Saints who
have a local reputation and whose annual festivals are more
or less observed. Still it is not necessary for me to give a
further account of these. This brings me to the close of
my subject.
In the preceding chapters, I have endeavoured to set forth
the main features of the Faith of IsMm, and the religious
duties it enjoins. I might now go on to show its relation
to Judaism and Christianity, the elements it has drawn
from them, and the distortions it has made in the borrowing,
as well as the protest it raised against much that was oor-
The Faith of Islmn,
rapt in the Christianity with which it came in contact. I
might also enlarge upon its moral and social effects, and
the character it produces in the individual and the state.
But these subjects would lead me far beyond my present
scope. I prefer to content myself with giving a representa¬
tion of the Faith of Islam from its own authorities, and
with leaving my readers to make comparisons and draw
inferences for themselves.
THK END.