The Apology of Al-Kindy

116	THE APOLOGY OF AL KINDY.

The
Annunciation
and Birth of
Christ
(140-144).

Sura iii. 35,
et seq. (42-49).

Sura iii 39
He then proceeds to the life of our Saviour and the fulfilment of the prophecies that went before. After an account of the Annunciation as given in the Gospels,¹ he quotes at length the corresponding passage from the Coran,² and adds:—"This is the account as given by thy Master himself, in attestation of the Gospel history. Now say, my Friend (and the Lord direct thee!), whether thou hast ever heard, or read in books, of any one who was ushered into the world with a blessed annunciation such as I have related to thee from the Gospel, and also from thine own Scripture." There follows Mary's visit to Elizabeth, and the vision of Zecharias (in respect of which the Coran is again quoted as showing that it was the office of John the Baptist to bear witness "to the Word of God"³ ), the Adoration

¹ Curiously enough, he quotes the Salutation thus: "The blessing of our Lord be with thee: not my Lord, but ours; i.e., of angels and men, implying that he is "the Lord of heaven and earth," &c. I do not find this reading anywhere.

² "And when the angels said, O Mary, verily God hath chosen thee, and sanctified thee, and exalted thee above all the women of the world. O Mary, be devout towards thy Lord, and worship, and bow down with those who bow down.... O Mary, the Lord giveth thee good tidings of the Word proceeding from himself, called Jesus the Christ, the Son of Mary," &c.

³ In quoting this passage he applies "lord" (Syed) to Jesus, whereas by the construction it clearly refers to John.

DEATH AND ASCENSION OF JESUS.

117

of the Magians, and the Angels' Song to the shepherds.

Ministry
of Christ
(145, 146).
He passes on briefly to the Ministry of Christ; his baptism, the testimony of his being the Lamb of God, the Temptation, and Miracles. He dwells on the meekness, humility and kindness of Jesus; and lays stress on his poverty and the absence in his life of any worldly object save only to bring salvation to mankind.

Teaching
of our
Saviour
(146-155).

Sura lxiv. 15.
Sura ii.
87, 254,
and iii. 48.

Jerem. vii. 16.
A full outline follows of our Saviour's teaching drawn from the Sermon on the Mount; and a page is devoted to justify the doctrine of the Fatherhood of God. The brotherhood and unity of mankind as flowing therefrom are contrasted with the teaching of the Coran, which is alleged to engender enmity;¹ and the claim of the Almighty to be regarded as a wise and tender Parent, is illustrated from Hebrews xii. 6. He dwells upon the miracles of Jesus, and shows that they were acknowledged in the Coran. In contrast with the wonderful works done by the Jewish prophets, Jesus performed these by His own inherent power, and never failed as Moses failed at the waters of Meriba, or Jeremiah whom the Lord refused to hear.

¹ I must note, however, that the passage quoted does not bear out his argument, "O ye that believe, verily from amongst your wives and children ye have enemies; wherefore beware of them": meaning, no doubt, that they were dangerous because likely to tempt believers from the right way; as Luke xiv. 26.