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IDEAS COMMON TO JEWS & MUSLIMS |
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as Torāt, Jehannam, and such like.1 To know their meaning, it must be learnt
from Hebrew, Chaldaean, and Syriac, for they are not genuine Arabic words.
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The following ideas are common to both Jews and Muslims:
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In the Qur'an we are told of there being Seven heavens, and seven storeys to
Hell, which we also find in Jewish writings.2 Similar accounts of the heavens
and the earth we have also in Sanskrit sources, and also from Muslim tradition;
and also from such stories in Zoroastrian books as that there are seven climes,
etc.
In Surah xi. 9, we are told of God's throne being above the waters; and
similarly the Jewish Rāshi, commenting on Genesis i. 2, says: "the glorious
throne stood in the heavens and moved over the face of the waters." Again, Muslims tell us that the Lord appointed an angel Mālik ruler over Jehannam.
Similarly the Jews speak of the Prince of Hell; only the Muslims call him Mālik,
following the ancient idolators of Palestine, who worshipped the Ruler of Fire
as Molech.
In Surah vii. 44 there is mention of a wall or partition called Aaraf as
separating Paradise and Hell, thus: And between the two a Veil, and upon Al
Aarāf (stand) men. So in the Jewish Midrash, when it is asked what the distance
is between heaven and hell, the answer of one Rabbi is "a wall," and
of another "a span"; and again. "Our leaders tell us that the two
are so close that a mere ray glances from one to the other." And so we find
similar passages in the Avestic and Pehlavi writings, as, "the distance
is but as that between light and darkness."
In three passages of the Qur'an,3 we are told of Satan listening stealthily,
and being driven away with stones; another idea taken from the Jews, in one of
whose books we
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find it written of the Genii that "they listened behind the
curtain" in order to gain knowledge of things to come.
In Surah 1. 29, we read: On the day we shall say unto hell, Art thou full?
and it shall reply, Is there yet any more? Similarly in a Jewish author:
"The Prince of Hell shall say, day by day, Give me food that I may be
full."
In Surahs xi. 42 and xxiii. 27, it is said of the Flood, The oven boiled
over; and in a Jewish work we have this: "The people of the Flood were
punished with boiling water."
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These similarities are interesting as showing the close connection between
the Qur'an and Jewish remarks; but enough has been given of them.
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Seventh. Religious usages of Islam taken from the Jews. There are many such,
but it will suffice to mention two or three. We have seen that keeping the fast
of Ramazan has been taken from the Sabaeans and not the Jews; still there is one
point certainly coming from the latter, and that regards eating and drinking at
night during the month. In Surah ii. 83, we read: Eat and drink until ye can
distinguish a white thread from a black thread by the day-break, then fulfil the
fast. In a Jewish book1 we find it similarly laid down that "the beginning
of the day is at the moment when one can but distinguish a blue thread from a
white thread," a striking coincidence.
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Again, Muslims of all lands, at the fixed time of their five prayers,
wherever they happen to be, whether in the house or in the street, perform their
devotions on the spot, especially at places where people are passing by. This
strange practice is entirely confined to them, and would be seemly in no other
religion. But in the days of the Prophet there were Jews in
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