REMARKS

ON THE

NATURE OF MUHAMMADANISM .

THOUGH a good deal has been written on the religion of the Muhammadans, the Koran and some other of their religious books have been translated, their historical and philosophical works have been studied, and their poetical and moral writings have been read by many of the European Orientalists, and translations or extracts from them have been published, and a great deal of information respecting Muhammadanism has been gained by these labours, the knowledge gathered from them is still partial and imperfect. Bad as many things are in the Muhammadan poets, in their writers on morals, their philosophers and even in the Koran, they do not yet give a correct idea nor a full representation of the nature of the doctrines of Muhammadanism. They present the fair side of this system of falsehood, and hide under the dress of fine language and the cover of truths borrowed from a foreign source, the mire of error and superstition, which is found uncovered in their traditions and theological writings. To acquire therefore a more perfect acquaintance with Muhammadanism an acquaintance with these is necessary;

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but little has as yet been known or published of the traditions which form such an important part of the Muhammadan religion, that they may well be called the basis of it. Their doctrines, as well as all their religious rites and ceremonies, are fixed and regulated according to the received traditions. On them the very meaning of the Koran is dependant, for the Koran can only be explained and its meaning understood as it is rendered or hinted at by their traditions. Of these traditions the Shíás to whom the Persians and many of the Muhammadans in India belong, have many more than the Sunnís, who consist of the Turks, Arabs, and other Muhammadan nations.* And as these traditions are neither all collected into one book, nor are all approved of by the whole body of their renowned theological writers, they form a constant

* The principal difference between Sunnís and Shíás consists in this, that the latter say that Ali alone and his descendants were the lawful successors of Muhammad. They therefore reject the three first Khalifs, Abubaker, Omar and Othman, received by the Sunnís. This dispute has from an early period of Muhammadanism created a deep hatred between the two parties, and often occasioned great bloodshed between the Persians and the Turks. In doctrine it created no material difference, as both receive the Koran. But the Shíás, believing in twelve Imáms or Khalifs, descendants of Ali, regard their sayings, or traditions, as binding as those of Muhammad, which latter alone are received by the Sunnís; they have therefore a much greater number of traditions. The Persians however are not in doctrine so great fatalists as the Sunnís, though in practice the difference is very slight. In religious ceremonies, as in the manner of performing their prayers and ablutions, &c. they differ in some respects from the Sunnís.

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source of dispute between the two great parties of Muhammadans, the Sunnís and Shíás, as well as between individual members of each sect. In many cases the traditions contradict one another and even the Koran, so that what one Doctor proves on the authority of a generally received tradition, another disproves by the same means. There is very little doubt that many of the traditions are not derived from Muhammad, but have been invented since his time, and mixed up with those actually handed down from him. The uncertainty in respect to their traditions is so great that they themselves confess, that in many cases it is impossible to decide whether a tradition be authentic or not. There is in the Káfí, a work of great authority among the Persians, in the chapter on the varieties of the traditions, a passage to the following effect: “Ali Ibn Ibráhim Ibn Háshim has said, that he once said to Ali, I have heard from Soliman and others, explanations of the Koran and the traditions as coming from the prophet, differing from those generally known. I have also heard from thee things to the same effect. But I have known explanations of the Koran and traditions generally received as coming from the prophet, which you oppose, supposing them to be mere fictions, and forged with the view of opposing the prophet and of perverting the Koran.” Ali then gives to Ibn Ibráhim several rules to discern a false tradition from a true one, to which he finds some objection. Ali at last tells him, “If then

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after all this you still remain in doubt, then wait, that is, suspend your decision about the truth or falsehood of a tradition, till your Imám* shall make his appearance; for it is better to wait in doubtful cases, than to be hasty where there is danger of destruction.”† But notwithstanding the uncertainty, the contradictions, and the foolish and childish nature of many of the traditions, they are always referred to and believed. The Mulláhs or Maulavís relate them to the people, who hear eagerly those curious and marvellous stories, and recite them in leisure hours or on journeys, for their amusement. They exercise therefore even a greater influence on the minds of Muhammadans than the doctrines contained in the Koran, and are one of the causes why the Muhammadans are so indifferent to the plain and sound truths of the Gospel. These lying stories have so destroyed their taste that they have little relish for plain truth, and generally look down with contempt on

* This Imám is the last of the twelve Imáms of the Persians, and is called Imám Mahdi. They say that he did not die, but retired to some unknown place of the earth, where he lives in a most splendid palace. He occasionally appears to one and another of the Muhammadans in vision, sends letters to encourage the faithful to be zealous in their religion, and comforts them with the promise of his speedy appearance. Many a marvellous story is related of him among the Persians. They believe that he will appear at the last time, and assisted by Christ, who will for that purpose come down from heaven, destroy the Dejál or Antichrist, and convert all nations to Muhammadanism.

† Martyn’s Controversy, p. 74.

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the simple, but sublime doctrines of Christianity. I often felt at a loss how to explain the fact, that persons of no common abilities and of great power of reason—for many such are found among the Muhammadans—and who made the most acute and subtle objections against some of the doctrines of the Gospel, on the pretext of their being contrary to reason, believed at the same time all the absurdities contained in their traditions. Sometimes indeed, some will doubt them, as also the truth of the religion founded upon them; but no sooner are they troubled by their consciences or made uneasy by the thought of approaching death, than they take refuge again in these lies, and seek salvation in the means enjoined in them. But the truth is, infidelity and superstition are so closely united that the one leads to the other, and both are too often found in one and the same heart. In principle they are but one, both being unbelief in God, only differently exhibited. Man may reject error for a moment, and swayed by infidelity reject religion altogether; but except he returns to truth, and receives as a child the revealed will of God, he will soon turn again as a dog to his own vomit, and wallow afresh in the mire from which he has been washed, and his last state will be worse than his first. Man can never be absolutely free or independent; he must accept principles from without to govern him, and have some ground beyond himself to build his hope upon. But divine truth alone can make him free, en-

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lighten his mind, and sanctify his heart, and give a sure foundation for his hope. Where this is rejected, he will soon become the slave of error, and believe not unfrequently the grossest absurdities. This has been often proved, and is clearly established in the case of the Muhammadans, who, having on the principle of infidelity rejected the Gospel, though they have swept their house from external idolatry and garnished it with some borrowed truths, have, notwithstanding, fallen as much into the bondage of superstition as any of the heathen nations.

We shall now establish, by a few extracts from Muhammadan tradition, what we have said hitherto, classing them under certain heads. It would be no unprofitable, although rather a tedious labour, to make a more complete collection of traditions on the different doctrines of Muhammadanism, but this we must leave to others. One of the most acknowledged collections of the Hadiths or traditions approved of by the Sunnís, is Mishcát ul Masábih, which has been translated into English and published by H. N. Mathews, Calcutta, 1810; and most of the traditions received by the Shíás, are contained in the books of Hayát ul Kúlúb, Haq ul Yaquin, and Ain ul Hayát written by Mulláh Muhammad Bakir Májlisi, a famous Persian divine who lived about 200 years ago, and which were printed at Teheran in four folio volumes: nearly the whole of the following extracts are from these books.

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