NOTES ON ISLAM

BY

SIR AHMED HUSSAIN, K. C. I. E. , C. S. I. 

(NAWAB AMIN JUNG BAHADUR)

Collected and Edited

by

Khan Bahadur Hajee Khaja Muhammad Hussain

"_The fear of the Lord is the beginningof knowledge. _"--_Proverb_

HYDERABAD, DECCANGOVERNMENT CENTRAL PRESS

1922

_ALL RIGHTS RESERVED_

TO

THE MEMORY

OF

K. AMJUD HUSSAIN. 

_One of the four for whom these Noteswere first written, in 1917. _

 +---------------------------------------------+ | Transcriber's note: | | Bold characters are shown with "+" signs. | | Arabic names are kept as in the original | | text. Arabic transliterations are according | | to ISO 233 system in most cases and from the| | version by the CANADIAN SOCIETY OF MUSLIMS | | with their kind permission. | +---------------------------------------------+

[Printer's mark]

FOREWORD

The following Notes were enclosed by the author in his weekly letters tohis brother and sons who were students in the Universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh and Birmingham. I persuaded him to allow me to have themprinted, as I thought they were suggestive and useful. He has howeverdesired me to say that they should not be regarded as anything butconcise memoranda jotted down (at short intervals between the busy hoursof his official life) as general answers to questions put to him. Theycontain some passages which are too concise or abstract, if not vague orenigmatic. But, the author says, he left them designedly so in order toinduce his readers to try to understand them or at least to seekexplanation and illustration. Numerous foot-notes have been added forthe same purpose. 

He frankly admits that his view of Islam is neither quite orthodox norquite heterodox but something midway between the two. It was put forwardin order to make his boys think for themselves and argue with him. Thefirst three Notes may be 'skipped' at the first reading. 

Sincere acknowledgments are due to Nawab Imad-ul-Mulk Bahadur Bilgrami, C. S. I. , Mr. J. C. Molony, I. C. S. , Khan Bahadur Abdur Rahim, B. A. , B. L. , Mr. Syed Ross Masood, M. A. , and others who very kindly read the proofsand favoured the author with valuable suggestions. 

Banganapalle, }_11th August 1922_. } K. M. H. 

Duty is DeityWork is Worship. --_Sanskrit Proverb_

CONTENTS

 PAGE

FOREWORD 7

MUSLIM PRAYER 9

NOTE 1. INTRODUCTION 11

 " 2. THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE QUR'AN 15

 " 3. WHAT IS RELIGION? 20

 " 4. WHAT IS TRUE ISLAM? 25

 " 5. WHAT IS NOT ISLAM 29

 " 6. "ISLAM" AND "NOT-ISLAM" 35

 " 7. WHY IS ISLAM THE BEST RELIGION? 43

 " 8. UNITY & UNION 49

 " 9. PERFECTION & SELF-HELP 57

 " 10. MODERATION & VIA MEDIA 63

 " 11. EVOLUTION & SURVIVAL 73

 " 12. "RELIGION BEGINS WITH THE FEAR OF THE LORD AND ENDS IN THE LOVE OF MAN" 79

APPENDIX:

 MUSLIM REFORMATION 87

 OUR PRAYER 97

Worship TruthLove Humanity. --_Islamic Maxim_

+THE MUSLIM PRAYER. +[1]

_Surai Fatiha_

 Praise be to Thee my God, Lord of the Worlds! O Merciful, Compassionate art Thou! The King of all on Day of Reckoning, Thee only do we worship and adore, To Thee, most merciful, we cry for help; O guide us ever more on the straight path, The path of those to whom Thou gracious art On whom Thine anger falls not then nor now, The path of them that from Thee go not stray. 

 Amen. 

 Grant that the knowledge I get may be the knowledge worth having. --_Thomas a Kempis. _

NOTES ON ISLAM

+Note 1. +

_Introduction. _

Two of you--Lateef and Altaf--will recollect that more than a year agoyou wrote to me saying that you were puzzled by certain questions whicha Missionary had put to you. I remember that Amjud or Mahmood even wentso far as to ask what was the good of Islam, when countries and peopleprofessing that faith had weak governments and were crumbling to piecesunder the influence of Christian Powers. [2] I answered your queries onlyin a general way as your University education had not then advanced farenough. But I think the time has now come when I should try to explainto you what I conceive to be the true spirit of the religion of ourfore-fathers. 

I firmly believe that Islam is the best[3] religion in the world--Imean, Islam rightly understood and interpreted and _not_ theMuhammadanism[4] of some of our formularist Maulavies, [5] who say thata man goes to Hell or Heaven according as he wears his trousers lower orhigher than his ankles! They have degraded our religion by paying undueattention to formulas and forms to the exclusion and neglect of itsliving spirit and reality[6]. The poet Hafiz rightly stigmatised theirvain controversies when he said that [Persian: Chon nadiden haghighatafsaneh zadend] "since they did not see the fact, they ran afterfiction. "

I am more than ever convinced of two characteristics of Islam:--

_1st. _--It is not inconsistent with _true_ Christianity, or with anyother _true_ religion[7] of which the fundamental principle is [Arabic:Tawhid] One God [Arabic: waḥdahū la šarīka lahū] "the PeerlessOne. "[8]

_2nd. _--It conforms to modern scientific ideas better than any otherreligion. 

I have already explained, in some of my letters[9] to you, why I believethat Islam is but a continuation and consummation of Christianity astaught by Jesus himself in _his own speeches_ which are reported in theSynoptic Gospels of the New Testament. We have nothing to do with theinterpretation of his words by his Apostles and others after them. If wetake the plain words and the plain meaning of those words reported tohave proceeded from his own blessed mouth, [10] we clearly see that theyteach the same sublime truths as our Prophet himself inculcated. Jesusdid not live long to complete his mission, Muhammad completed it. Bothwere God's holy messengers [Arabic: Rusul-u-llah]. Says the Qur'an:"This day I have completed your religion for you. " [Arabic: l-yawmaʾakmaltu lakum dīnakum]

I need not now go into details, or refer to other religions, to shewthat the spirit of Islam is not inconsistent with their true spirit, ifrightly conceived and interpreted in the light of modern science. I hopeI shall be able some day to write down the result of my own thought andinvestigation in the matter. I content myself at present with drawingyour attention to the first characteristic of Islam, and I propose towrite a few Notes to draw your special attention to its secondcharacteristic which is the more remarkable--the characteristic that itis quite consistent with modern ideas of science. 

No scientific idea influenced the thought of the last century moreprofoundly than the idea of progress or development embodied in what iscalled the Law of Evolution. It is now widely accepted. You will besurprised to know that many an Islamic tenet is entirely in accord withit. Indeed Maulana Rumi outlined it poetically in his famous _Masnavi_in the thirteenth century, in the same manner as Lord Tennyson did inhis _Princess_ in the nineteenth. I desire that you should try tounderstand it in its modern form. I strongly recommend that you shouldread an admirable book by Edward Clodd called _The Story ofCreation_[11]. When I first read it, some years ago, I felt it was aspleasant and interesting as a novel. Its introduction and Part II arequite easy to read. They will give you a very good idea of the greatrevolution which Darwin and Wallace, Huxley and Spencer have wrought inthe thought of our own times. 

+Note 2. +

_The First Chapter of the Qur'an. _

The following is a translation of the "Opening Chapter" of our HolyQur'an. I have analysed it by placing Roman and Arabic numerals, thefirst indicating verses [Arabic: ayyat] and the second indicatingsub-divisions of verses. 

 _Opening Chapter. _ +[Arabic: Sura al-fātiḥa]+

 In the Name of God the [Arabic: bi-smi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm] Compassionate, the Merciful. 

I. Praise be to God, [Arabic: al-ḥamdu li-llāhi] . I

 (1) Lord (Nourisher) [Arabic: rabbi l-ʿālamīn (1)] of the Worlds, (2) the Compassionate, [Arabic: ar-raḥmāni r-raḥīm (2)] the Merciful

 (3) King of the Day [Arabic: māliki yawmi d-dīn (3)] of Reckoning (= day of judgment. )

II. . II

 (1) Thee only do we [Arabic: ʾiyyāka naʿbudu (1)] worship, (2) and Thee only do [Arabic: wa-ʾiyyāka nastaʿīn (2)] we ask for aid. 

 (3) Guide us in the [Arabic: ihdinā ṣ-ṣirāṭa l-mustaqīm (3)] right Path (that is)

III. The Path of those [Arabic: ṣirāṭa llaḏīna] . III

 (1) to whom Thou [Arabic: ʾanʿamta ʿalayhim (1)] art gracious, (2) who are not objects [Arabic: ġayri l-maġḍūbi ʿalayhim (2)] of wrath, (3) and who go not [Arabic: wa-lā ḍ-ḍāllīn (3)] astray. 

 _Amen_[12] [Arabic: āmīn]

The whole Sura divides itself into three parts and each part into threedivisions thus:--

Part I. --_Nature of God_. 

Three principal attributes of God:--

 (1) Creator or Nourisher [Arabic: Rab] (2) Protector [Arabic: raḥmāni wa r-raḥīm] (3) Adjuster [Arabic: māliki yawmi d-dīn]

Part II. --_Man's duty to God_ lies in, (1) Worship [Arabic: ʿibādat] (2) Seeking His Protection [Arabic: Isti'anāt] (3) Seeking His Guidance [Arabic: Istihdā]

Part III. --_The Straight Path_ [Arabic: islām = madhab] _for Man_ being:--

 (1) the path of Grace (= path of those who obtain Grace)

 (2) not the Path of Sin (=path of those who deliberately go wrong). 

 (3) nor the Path of Error (=path of those who by mistake go astray). 

Observe:--

 (_a_) Each of the three duties in the second part corresponds with the three attributes mentioned in the first part. 

 (_b_) The third part, the Path of Grace, _i. E. _, the straight path, is _the mean between two extremes_--the path of deliberate sinners on the one hand and the path of unwitting stragglers on the other. 

 (_c_) The Islamic prayer is simpler than the Christian prayer. I do not say the one is good and the other is bad. No; _both_ are _very_ good indeed, but the one _seems simpler_ than the other. Compare them. 

_The Christian Prayer. _ _The Muslim Prayer. _

 THE LORD'S PRAYER. THE FATIHA. 

_Adoration. _ _Adoration. _

(_a_) Our Father which art in (_a_) Praise be to God, Lord heaven, Hallowed be thy of the worlds, the compassionate, name. Thy Kingdom the merciful, King of the day come. Of reckoning. 

_Submission. _ _Submission. _

(_b_) Thy will be done in earth (_b_) Thee only do we worship and as it is in heaven. Of Thee only do we ask aid. 

_Supplication. _ _Supplication. _

(_c_) Give us this day our daily (_c_) Guide us into the right bread. And forgive us our path--the path of those debts as we forgive our to whom Thou hast debtors. Been gracious, And lead us not into not the path of those temptation, but deliver who are the objects us from evil: for Thine of wrath nor of those is the Kingdom, and the who have gone astray. Power, and the glory for Amen. Ever. Amen. 

_St. Matthew_, vi 9-13. _The Qur'an_, i. 

If you will carefully compare the parts of each Prayer which I havewritten as separate paragraphs marked (_a_), (_b_) and (_c_), you willobserve that there is difference only in the language, but no differencewhatever in the real meaning. There is in both Prayers absolutely thesame spirit of

 (_a_) Adoration, (_b_) Submission, and

 (_c_) Supplication. 

Both begin with the _praise_ of the Lord to whom all praise is due. Thisis followed in both by an expression of our _entire dependence_ on Himand submission to His will. Lastly, there is _solicitation forguidance_, positive and negative, _viz. _, guidance towards right actionand guidance for avoiding temptation. 

The three parts (_a_), (_b_) and (_c_) of the Christian as well as ofthe Muslim Prayer are in perfect accord with the results of acomparative study of the religious systems of the world. They correspondto three essential elements in _all_ religions, _viz. _, (_a_) _Belief_ in the existence of a Supreme Power which is Infinite and Absolute, (_b_) _Feeling_ of man's entire dependence on that Power, and

 (_c_) _Desire_ to seek or solicit guidance of that Power in the daily life of man. 

You will thus see that both the Lord's Prayer in the Bible and theOpening Chapter of the Qur'an go to the roots of all religions everprofessed by man. They are truly Universal Prayers. No man need hesitateto join in the solemn recitation of either. 

We ought to view all monotheistic religions--religions which enjoinbelief in one God--in the spirit in which St. Peter viewed them when hesaid (_Acts_ x. 34-5): "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecterof persons, but in every nation he that feareth Him and workethrighteousness is accepted with Him. " The same is the spirit of theoft-repeated definition of 'Muslims' in the Qur'an: [Arabic: llaḏīnaʾāmanū minkum wa-ʿamilū ṣ-ṣāliḥāt] "those who believe and workrighteousness. " "Trust in the Lord and do good, " as the psalm says. 

+Note 3. +

I. --_What is Religion?_

I have said that _true_ Islam is the _best_ religion in the world. Imust prove my assertion. In order to do so I have to explain:--

 I. What do I mean by religion? II. What is true Islam?III. Why is it the best religion?

I. --_Religion, God and Nature. _

_Religion. _--No thinking man can help asking himself the questions:"Whence has this world come? Whither is it bound to go?" in other words, "What was the _origin_ ([Arabic: mabdā]) and what will be the _end_([Arabic: ma'ād]) of the world of men, animals, plants and things that Iperceive?" The answers which each man gives to these questionsconstitute his _religion_. A few earnest persons (poets, philosophersand theologians) try to answer these questions for themselves by patientstudy and earnest thought[13]. But a large majority of men and womenmerely take the answers taught them by their parents, teachers orpriests. There may possibly be a small number of men who do not troublethemselves about these questions. These are not "thinking men" and maytherefore be left out of account. 

Religion is a silent and subtle power that works in the heart of man andmakes for righteousness. It is generated by his conviction as to thebeginning and end of himself and the world in which he lives andmoves[14]. 

_God. _--No intelligent and intelligible answers can be given toquestions as to the origin and the end or the government of _Nature_[15]without assuming the existence of the _One and only one God_ who is_Infinite_ and _Absolute_, _i. E. _, One who hath neither beginning norend and who is not conditioned or limited by anything whatever[16]. TheInfinite and Absolute One has been called by different names bydifferent people at different times[17]. Yezdan, Ishwara, Jehovah, God, and Allah are the names, in different languages, of the same _Infiniteand Absolute God_. 

 God of the Granite and the Rose Soul of the Sparrow and the Bee! The mighty tide of being flows Through countless channels, Lord, from Thee. 

*_Conceptions of God, His attributes, and His relation toNature. _--These have been and will ever be many and various. But Isummarise three principal conceptions under each head, for I believethat other ideas, notions or conceptions are but combinations of two ormore of these:--

I. Conceptions of God:--

 1. God as the Ultimate _Law_. 2. God as the Omnipotent Energy or _Power_. 3. God as the Supreme Being or _Person[18]_. 

II. Notions of God's principal attributes:--

 1. God as Creator or Nourisher. 2. God as Preserver or Protector. 3. God as Adjuster or Judge[18]. 

[*] _Paragraphs marked with asterisks and their footnotes may be omitted at the first reading. _

III. Ideas of God's relation with Nature[20] (_i. E. _, with the world ofmen, animals, plants and other objects, and their inter-relations, ofwhich men are aware):--

 1. All is _from_ God = God is _above_ Nature which He created and governs (Theism). 

 2. God is _in_ All = God is _in_ Nature although Nature is not God (Panentheism). 

 3. God _is_ All = God _is_ Nature and Nature is God (Pantheism)[21]. 

* The above is but a rough summary. I have neither time nor space toexplain and illustrate it. I have ventured to give some hints--imperfecthints, I fear--in the footnotes. I may however state here that, of theabove three conceptions, notions or ideas Islam accepts the medium orthe middle one which, as a little thought will show, includes the othertwo conceptions also. You need not at present try to understand thesummary or the words given in brackets. My subsequent Notes will explainit to some extent. Please remember that there are many men and manyminds, and that there are likely to be as many religions, as manyconceptions of God, as many notions of His attributes, and as many ideasof the beginning or end of things, ([Arabic: mabdā' wa ma'ād]) as thereare _thinking_ minds[22]. 

Let me conclude this Note with a short answer to the question whyreligion is necessary to Man[23]. No society is possible withoutreligion, because of the dual nature of Man. As our poet says, [Persian:ba bahaa'm bahra dari ba malaa'ik neez ham] and as all modern men ofscience (such as Sir Oliver Lodge and others) admit, there is a higherand a lower in every man's nature, the one lifts him up and the otherpulls him down in the scale of animal and social existence. Religion isnecessary in order that every man's higher nature may conquer his lowernature in order that he may become a social being who is virtuous anddoes good of his own accord, and may not remain a mere beast whom thewhip alone prevents from doing mischief. It is religion that fostershigh-thinking and holy-living, so necessary for the advancement of thehuman race. 

+Note 4. +

II. --_What is true Islam?_

The answer to this question is contained within the four corners, asit were, of the Opening Sura[24] [Arabic: Sura al-fātiḥa] which is ageneral summary of the whole Qur'an. I have already analysed it andasked you to compare it with the Christian prayer called the Lord'sprayer. I am sure you have noted and admired its simplicity andclearness and its almost scientific precision and comprehensiveness. Iam only amplifying what I have already said when I say that the Surateaches three cardinal and eternal truths:--

_1st. _--There is but One God who has created the worlds, maintains them, and rules them. In the inimitable words of the Sura of Purity. 

 [Arabic: Sura al-ʾiḫlāṣ]

[Arabic: qul huwa llāhu ʾaḥad] Say, God is one. } = One. 

[Arabic: allāhu ṣ-ṣamad] God is Eternal. } = Infinite. 

[Arabic: lam yalid] He does not beget }[Arabic: wa-lam yūlad] nor is He begotten. } = Absolute. [25][Arabic: wa-lam yakun lahū kufuwan aḥad] } and He hath no kith or kin. }

_2ndly. _--(_a_) God being our Creator, we have to _worship_, adore andlove Him and Him alone. This is the duty we owe to God. (_b_) Again, Godbeing our merciful Preserver, we have to seek the protection of Him andHim alone. This is the duty we owe to ourselves. (_c_) Finally, Godbeing our Judge or Ruler, we have to solicit guidance of Him and Himalone. This is the duty we owe to our fellow-creatures (including loweranimals) in the world we live in. 

You must not fall into the error of believing that God is Creator at onetime or place, that He is Maintainer or Preserver at another time orplace, and that He is Judge or Ruler at a third time or place. No, no;He, being the One and only God, is all the three together, Creator, Preserver and Ruler, at all times and in all places. It is we who, inorder to understand Him properly and adore Him rightly, separate in ourminds His three principal attributes, and think of Him as our Creator_when_ we worship Him, think of Him as our Preserver _when_ we seek Hisprotection, and think of Him as our Ruler or Judge _when_ we solicit Hisguidance. It is only we, finite and conditioned creatures, that are tieddown to and limited by time, place and circumstances. To God there arenone such. He is the One Infinite and Absolute, the One who hath neitherbeginning nor end--the One who is absolutely unlimited and unconditionedby time, place, circumstances, or anything else. This is the Islamicconception or idea of God. 

_3rdly_. --What does the Sura teach us as to the guidance which we haveto ask of God in our dealings with our fellow-creatures? It is guidanceinto the straight path. What is the straight path? It is the path ofrighteousness or the path of _Grace_ which is between two extremes, thepath of _Sin_ and the path of _Error_. A Muslim's right path, _i. E. _, his right course of conduct, lies between two extreme paths or coursesof conduct, _viz. _, on the one hand, the path of those who sin, whoknowingly and deliberately go against the will of God, which is manifestin Nature, and on the other hand, the path of those who unwittingly, through ignorance, go against His will. The right path lies thus:--

_Path of Sin_ } _Path of Grace_ { _Path of Error_ } {which leads } which leads to { which leads toto ruin or } eternal bliss. { confusion worsedestruction. } { confounded. 

You thus see that _true_ Islam consists in a threefold duty to God, tooneself, and to others, and this duty is to be discharged by simplyadopting, under God's guidance, _the mean between two extremes_. As ourProphet has pithily expressed it [Arabic: khair ul umoor-e ausatiha], "the best of things is the medium thing. " This is the fundamentalprinciple which underlies everything which is Islamic or Muslim. [26]Please remember it, as also the three-fold Islamic Duty:--

 (_a_) Duty to God, which is Worship or Adoration implying, as it does, complete submission to His will = [Arabic: islām]

 (_b_) Duty to yourself, which is self-preservation or self-perfection = [Arabic: Aslām]

 (_c_) Duty to others, which is peace and good will towards them = [Arabic: islām]

"Islam"[27] as a religion means nothing more nor less than those threeduties. 

Islam is not Philosophy, much less is it Science. It is but a Religion, _an attitude of man's mind towards his environment_--the attitude ofself towards others and God. Both Philosophy and Science influence one'sattitude of mind. To that extent Islam has to reckon with both. It istherefore that Sufis and other philosophic sects have risen in Islamfrom time to time. The sphere of Islam is Faith manifesting itself ingood works; and the spheres of Science and Philosophy are Knowledge andReason. The latter often come into contact with the former, but cannever be identified with it. 

+Note 5. +

_What is not Islam. _

In my previous Note I tried to sketch briefly what is true Islam. I nowoffer a few observations on, or illustrations of, what is _not_ Islam. In order to know anything quite well, it is desirable not only to know_what it is_ but also to know _what it is not_. 

1. The religion taught by the Qur'an and the Traditions [Arabic:ahādith] of our Prophet is _Islam_ and not "Muhammadanism, " as it isoften named. Those who profess Islam are _Muslims_ and not"Muhammadans, " as they are called. The word "Musalman" is but acorruption of the Arabic plural [Arabic: muslimūn/muslimīn] of thesingular [Arabic: Muslim]. We and our religion have been called[28]after the name of Muhammad just as the terms Christians and Christianityhave been derived from the name Christ. But "Muhammadanism" and"Muhammadans" are not at all the correct names of "Islam" and "Muslims"as you will presently see. [29]

2. From the point of view of Islam, all religions may be divided thus:

 Religions are either, | |---------------|---------------| | |_False_: being beliefs} {_True_: being beliefsin more gods than } or {in one and only God;one, } {and True Religions(Paths of Sin) } {are either, | +----------|----------+ | | _Pure_, such as } {_Mixed_, such as true Islam } {religions which unmixed with any } {mix up inconsistent inconsistent } or {ideas with ideas. } {the idea of } {one God. (Paths of Grace) } {(Paths of Error)

Observe that a pure Religion, such as true Islam, comes in between falseReligions and mistaken or mixed Religions, just as the Quranic Path ofGrace lies between the Path of Sin and the Path of Error. It is the meanbetween two extremes. 

3. It is not Islam to believe that there has been no true religionbesides Islam. [30] Such an erroneous belief leads to intolerance, thereby begetting bigotry and fanaticism [Arabic: taa'ssub]. It iscontrary to the teaching of the Qur'an and the Prophet. The first verseof the second Sura [Arabic: Baqrah = ʾ-l-m] commands us tobelieve in not only what was revealed to Muhammad but also in what wasrevealed to those who went before him. It clearly indicates that thereare, and will ever be, many true religions of which Islam is one. Almostthe first saying of our Prophet reported in collections of histraditions [Arabic: ahaadith] is "whoever says 'there is no god butGod, ' will attain Salvation" _i. E. _, will obtain eternal bliss. Thisshews clearly that all religions which inculcate belief in one God aretrue religions--are right Paths of Grace which lead to eternal bliss. Observe that most Muhammadans (not Muslims) of to-day haveforgotten this principle and have therefore becomeintolerant fanatics, [31] which accounts largely for the loss ofpolitical power of most Muhammadan Governments of modern times. 

4. Neither is it Islam to believe that all religions are true. Such anerroneous belief leads to indifference, thereby begetting caprice andimpiety. It is obviously contrary to the teaching of the Qur'an and theProphet, for they both denounce many a false religion. If everybodythinks that every religion is true, there will be no two men professingthe same religion, and there will be no real agreement between theirthoughts and actions. Co-operation[32] [Arabic: ittifāq wa ittihād]among men (which is the root of Family, Society and State) would tend tobecome impossible. Note that it is the indifference to religion and theconsequent impiety of some of the Muhammadans of to-day that accountsmostly for their lack of co-operation, and for their loss of politicalpower in modern times. Degradation is the lot of _faithless_ Muslims, for as the Qur'an says, "Ye will be exalted only if ye be faithfulMuslims. "

From what has been said you can easily infer that we should adopt themean between two extremes and must therefore believe that neither areall religions true nor are they all false, but that _some religions_ aretrue and that Islam is one of them. The characteristic mark of truereligions is belief in one God; and this indeed is the reason whyMuslims are permitted to eat and live with, and even marry, Jewesses, Christians and others who believe in one God and possess sacredScriptures. 

5. I, for one, would not hesitate to call all Monotheists (Jews, Christians, and other Unitarians [Arabic: muwahiddin]) _Muslims_, because they believe in one God: but I would not call them _Momins_[Arabic: Momins, ], because they do not believe in one God in accordancewith the teaching of our Prophet. You know that our Creed [Arabic:kalimah] consists of two parts:--

 (i) There is no god but God, (ii) And Muhammad is His Messenger. 

Those who believe in the first part are Muslims ([Arabic: Muslim ] = thepeaceful)[33] and those who believe in the first as well as the secondpart of the Creed are Momins ([Arabic: Mumins ] = the faithful). BothMuslims and Momins are believers in one God; the only difference betweenthem is that Muslims may not (like Momins) accept Muhammad as theirguide in the belief. The Qur'an (iii. 83) defines Islam thus:--

 Say ye; We believe in God, and that which hath been sent down (revealed) to us, and that which hath been sent down to Abraham and Ismail and Issac and Jacob and the tribes; and that which hath been given to Moses and to Jesus and that which was given to the Prophets from their Lord. No difference do we make between them--and to God we are resigned (Muslims). 

6. "There is no deity but God. " Since God is One, His Revelation to Mancannot be other than one and the same for all time. There has thereforebeen and will ever be but one true religion. That religion is Islam. [Arabic: ʾinna d-dīna ʿinda llāhi l-ʾislām] "Verily the (only) religionwith God is Islam" (Q. Iii 19). All the prophets from Adam to Muhammadreceived but one and the same Revelation and therefore preached Islamand Islam only. [Arabic: ḏālika d-dīnu l-qayyim] "It was (and is) thestandard religion"--Q. Xii. 40. [34]

Whenever any people went astray and deserted Islam for idolatry aprophet arose among them to preach Islam and bring them back torighteousness. [35] Each prophet or messenger of God did nothing but tryto restore the universal religion to its pristine simplicity and purity. 

It was only in interpreting the Revelation and applying it to thepractical needs of their age, that successive prophets and theirfollowers differed; and the differences gave rise to the so-called_religions_ and religious systems of the world. 

+Note 6. +

_"Islam" and "not-Islam". _

I must devote this Note also to my observations on "Islam" and"not-Islam" in order to prepare you for a just appreciation of mycontention that there are many good religions in the world but Islam isthe best of them[36]. 

1. The Prophet Muhammad lived and died more than thirteen hundred yearsago. There are now on the face of the earth no less than 250 millions (=25 crores) of human beings who profess his religion, and who love andrespect him just as his own immediate followers loved and respected him. These two simple facts are enough to prove--

 (1) that there must be something real and true in the religion professed by so many people, and

 (2) that the man who preached and established it must have been both great and good to an extraordinary degree;

for common experience leads us to conclude (_a_) that nothing which isfalse or unreal can survive centuries of change and (_b_) that none whois not good and great can be loved and respected by millions of men. NoMuslim or Momin need therefore believe in any thing more than:--

 (i) that Islam is a real and true religion, and

 (ii) that Muhammad was a very great and good man. [37]

Thus, your belief in one God [Arabic: lā ʾilāha ʾillālāh] makes you aMuslim[38] (= _peaceful_), no matter by what other name you callyourself; and your belief in the goodness and greatness[39] of Muhammad[Arabic: Muhammad rasūlullah] makes you a Mumin (= _faithful_), nomatter by what name others may call you. Let me quote here a passagefrom Sir Edwin Arnold's Preface to his beautiful poem "The Pearls ofFaith: the Ninety-Nine Names of Allah:" [Arabic: asmāʾu l-ḥusnā]

"The soul of Islam is its declaration of the _unity_ of God: its heartis the inculcation of an absolute _resignation_ to His will. Not moresublime, in religious history appears the figure of Paul the tent-maker, proclaiming 'the Unknown God' at Athens, than that of the camel-driverMuhammad, son of Abdullah and Amina, abolishing all the idols of theArabian Pantheon, except their chief--Allahu ta 'Ala, God the MostHigh--and under that ancient and well-received appellation establishing_the one-ness of the origin, government, and life of the Universe_. Thereby that marvellous and gifted Teacher created a vast empire of newbelief and new civilization, and prepared a sixth part of humanity forthe _developments and reconciliations_ which later times will bring. ForIslam must be conciliated; it cannot be thrust scornfully aside orrooted out. It shares the task of the education of the world with itssister religions, and it will contribute its eventual portion to

 --"that far-off divine event Towards which the whole creation moves. "

The _italics_ are mine. I shall have to refer to them in my subsequentNotes. Observe, the cosmopolitan poet uses only the word "Islam" and not"Muhammadanism". 

2. It is not Islam or Eman [Arabic: īmān] to deify Muhammad or torepresent him to be akin to God, as sometimes some Moulvies representhim and call him "the One (Ahad) in the guise of Ahmad[40]. " Our Prophethimself never claimed that he was anything more than a mere man. Indeed, he taught us all to say [Arabic: Ash-hadu allā ilāha illallāh, waAsh-hadu anna Muhammadan rasūlullāh] that he was but "a servant andmessenger of God. " The only thing he ever claimed for himself was thatGod had chosen him to be a messenger [Arabic: rasūl = payghambar] toconvey His messages to men. "That an immense mass of fable and sillylegend, " says Rodwell, "has been built up upon the basis of the Qur'an, is beyond a doubt; but for this Muhammad is not answerable, [41] any morethan he is for the wild and bloodthirsty excesses of his followers inafter ages. "

3. God's messages which Muhammad delivered to men were all collectedsoon after his death and are preserved intact in a remarkable bookcalled the QUR'AN--a book which has lived through no less than thirteencenturies without undergoing the least alteration in a single word oreven a dot! The difference in the messages contained in the Qur'an andthe ordinary sayings of the Prophet reported in books on Hadis [Arabic:hadith] is simply this:--that when delivering God's messages Muhammadhimself felt, and those who were in his company witnessed, that he wasinspired by some divine energy or power which impelled him to say whathe said; whereas at other times, when he was talking like an ordinaryman, no signs of divine energy or inspiration were visible. It willcarry me too far if I endeavour to explain here the real nature of "thedivine inspiration" under which he delivered what he and others believedto be "divine messages". You will understand it if you read such booksas Professor James's _Varieties of Religious Experience_. Let us, likegood Momins, take it as a _fact_, what our Prophet's intimate companions[Arabic: ṣḥābah] vouched, that he appeared to be quite a different manwhen he uttered such messages. Their style or matter itself even to thisday proves to all unbiassed minds that they are no ordinary sayings ofan ordinary man. There is something unique in them which we can onlyfeel but cannot define or express in words. Even historians andbiographers like Gibbon and Muir and translators like Rodwell, Palmerand Lane-Poole are obliged, in spite of themselves, to admit and admire, what some of them call, the rugged grandeur and eloquence of the Qur'an. Even Sale says that some passages are really sublime. 

4. We call the Qur'an _the word of God_, chiefly because it containsmessages of high spiritual value delivered by _an illiterate man_ likeMuhammad. It is neither a history like some of the books of the OldTestament, nor a biography like the four Gospels of the Bible. It isonly a collection of sermons, commands, and instructions delivered andissued from time to time as occasions required. It contains, indeed, references to stories of older Prophets and previous events well knownto the people of Arabia. But they are less by way of narration than byway of illustration. They are parables more or less ([Arabic: tilkal-ʾamṯālu naḍribuhā li-n-nās])[42]. Commentators like Zamakh-shari([Arabic: tafsīr-e-kashshāf]) and Imam Razi ([Arabic: tafsīr-e-kabīr])whose learning and authority cannot be questioned, have clearly provedthat there is nothing in the Qur'an which is improbable or cannot berationally explained to be quite in accordance with the laws of Nature[Arabic: qanun-u qadat]. If you read Sir Syed Ahmad's Commentary[Arabic: tafsir ahmadi] or his Essays [Arabic: khutbāt] you will findrational explanations of the ideas of Paradise and Hell, the Day ofJudgment, [43] etc. I need not dwell on them here. I would however drawyour attention to what is called the rule of "Parsimony in Thought"which is in vogue among men of Science. It is that if and when you canexplain anything by what is well-known and understood by every one, youshould not believe in the existence of "supermen" or assume theoccurrence of supernatural events. When, for example, we can explain anyaction of Muhammad as an ordinary action of a reasonable man, we shouldnot assume or believe that he performed a miracle. If we can explain thedefeat and discomfiture of Abraham's Army by natural causes, such as anepidemic, we ought not to assume the occurrence of any supernaturalevent[44]. 

5. The Qur'an does not favour any particular system of Philosophy. Itleaves Muslims free to adopt any system of thought that commends itselfto them, provided that it is not inconsistent with the ([Arabic:tawhīd]) idea of the one eternal and absolute God. Thus the Qur'anconfines itself to the sphere of religion--the sphere where man isbrought face to face with his God. 

 (a) _What, then, is the object or aim of the Qur'an?_

To reveal a man unto himself. [Arabic: mun arafa nafsa hu arafa rabbahu] (He who has understood himself has understood his God. )

 (b) _Why should a man be revealed unto himself?_

In order that he might know his true relation with the rest of the worldso that he might shape his conduct accordingly _i. E. _, be true tohimself, true to others, and true to his God in thoughts, words, anddeeds. 

 (c) _How does the Qur'an reveal a man unto himself?_

By showing him:--

 (1) God in History[45] ([Arabic: huwa l-ʾawwalu wa-l-ʾāḫir] He is the First and the Last. )

 (2) God in Nature[46] ([Arabic: wa-ẓ-ẓāhir] He is the Manifest. )

 (3) God in Man's Conscience[47] ([Arabic: wa-l-bāṭin] and He is the Hidden--Qur'an lvii. 3. )

In this sense the Qur'an is truly a revelation!

 His sign is in all things, | * [Arabic: fa fi kulli šayʾin lahū] | Indicating that He is One. | * [Arabic: aayah naral anna hu wāḥid]

+Note 7. +

_III. --Why is Islam the best religion?_

My real task begins with this Note. I have to explain to you why Iconsider Islam[48] the best of the religions that are now professed bymen all over the world. Mark, I do not say that other religions are notgood, but I only say that Islam is the best religion of all those Iknow. Why do I say so? Because no other religion accords so well asIslam with the modern ideas of Science. 

By applying the adjectives "good, " "better" and "best" to religions, Iindicate the _degree_ to which each religion, by its tenets andteaching, induces men to seek their welfare [Arabic: falāh]: and by theword "Science" [Arabic: ilm] I mean simply the systematised knowledge ofthings known and knowable. 

_Science_ discovers things that are necessary or desirable for humanwelfare. _Arts_ generally show the way in which those things can beobtained or manufactured. _Governments_ provide, or ought to provide, facilities for scientific investigation and for improvement in arts. Andit is _Religion_ that should move men to take the fullest advantage ofthe science and arts of the time. You may take a horse to a river butyou cannot make him drink unless he is thirsty. If he is thirsty he willdrink of his own accord; but if he is not, neither the appearance ofclear water, nor the easy way to get at it, nor indeed your whip orcoaxing can ever induce him to drink. In the same way Science may showyou water or anything that is useful, Arts may show you different waysof getting it, the Government of your State may offer rewards or eventhreaten punishment; but you will not drink, that is to say, you willnot take advantage of the good things shown you and placed at yourdisposal, unless you are thirsty, unless there is something in you whichimpels you to it. This thirst, this something that is the moving forceor _motive_, is created or furnished by Religion. 

The chief use of religion lies in the desire that it fosters in men tolive well, and virtuously. [49] It is true that for most men the fear ofpunishment and the hope of reward, either here or hereafter, are motivesfor right conduct: and some religions (and even Islam as taught by someMoulvies) give glowing pictures of Heaven and Hell awaiting good andbad people after death. [50] But these motives are unworthy of the highernature [Arabic: qu wa ye malakūti] of man. They are like the crack of awhip or the show of green grass to a horse that will not run. They arenot so effective and lasting as the high spiritual motive for a virtuouslife furnished by true religion. I cannot dwell further on this pointwithout entering upon a philosophical or metaphysical discussion whichis foreign to the purpose of these Notes. Suffice it to say that thespiritual or religious motive for virtuous conduct is the best of allmotives, as it conforms to the higher or angelic [Arabic: malakūti]nature of man and assists him in subduing his lower or animal [Arabic:ba ha'i mi] nature. [51]

"The son of man is a unique |and complex product (of |Evolution) which has combined |in him the natures of | [Persian: Aadmi zada turfah m'aboth the angel and the beast. | joo ne ast za fa-rish-ta sa-rish-taIf he leans towards the latter, | hay wan gar kunad mayl een shuwadhis animal nature, he | wa kum azeen dar kunad qasnfalls lower than the beast | aanshuwad beh azaan. ]itself, but if he turns his |attention to the former, his |angelic nature, he rises higher |than the angel himself. " |

It is but religion, true Religion, that enables the "son of man" _i. E. _, mankind to surpass angels in godliness. Note, this is exactly what SirOliver Lodge says in his book, _The Substance of Faith allied withScience_. 

There is another use of Religion to which I should refer briefly beforeI pass on to the main argument. You always intend doing many things butnever succeed in doing them _all_, either because you change your mindor because somebody or something prevents you from carrying them out. Itis nevertheless important to yourself and society that your wishes, which are naturally more numerous than your actions, should be as goodas the actions themselves. Laws and social conventions cannot adequatelycontrol them, for they take account of only outward manifestations, thatis, actions which flow or result from your inward desires, passions andprejudices. These are controlled by such religions as true Christianityand true Islam which take that as done which was merely intended to bedone, and inhibit bad intentions even before they appear in action. 

Now, whatever religion supplies the best motives for virtuous conductand most effectively prevents mischievous intentions, must necessarilybe one which conforms best with the most approved ideas of the scienceand arts of the time. I hold that Islam is such a religion. [52]

Let me begin by showing a conformity of Islam to a modern idea, thatthere are more worlds than one. [53] There are still some religionswhich assume that there is no other world than the world we live in, andthat God created and maintains it for men only. Science has proved thatsuch assumptions are unwarranted, and has even suggested grounds forbelieving that there are beings in the innumerable worlds of stars. Thisworld of ours with its inhabitants has therefore no right to monopoliseGod to itself. Nor indeed have we, human beings, any right to considerourselves as its superior inhabitants. Science is now-a-days on thetrack of finding out beings who are or who may be superior to man. Notethat all this is implied in the expression [Arabic: rabbi l-ʿālamīn]"the Lord of the _worlds_" contained in the Sura and other parts of theQur'an. It does not say "the king of the _world_" ([Arabic: rabbi l-ʿālam]) or of _men_ [Arabic: rabbi l- ʾinsān] but says generally andtruly that God is the King or Lord of great or grand _worlds_: [Arabic:rabbi l-ʿālamīn], the definite article [Arabic: al] in Arabic is oftenused to express greatness or grandeur as in the word [Arabic: Allah]which means the Most High God. 

According to Islam there are two sources of knowledge, _Science_ and_Revelation_: the one represents man's effort to learn God's ways, andthe other represents God's grace to discover His ways to man. [54] I forone believe that the difference between the two sources of knowledgecorresponds to the difference between "Experience" and "Intuition, "between Acquired Ideas and Innate Ideas--a difference which modernphilosophers (Spencer and Bergson) consider to be one of degree only andnot of kind. 

+Note 8. +

_Unity[55] and Union. _

I cannot go over the whole field of Muslim theology to show how itsideas are in accord with the scientific thought of our days. I willconfine myself to three principles and three maxims implied in theanalysis of the Opening Sura [Arabic: Sura al-fātiḥa] given in one of myprevious Notes[56]. 

I. The verse [Arabic: al-ḥamdu li-llāhi rabbi l-ʿālamīn; ar-raḥmānir-raḥīm] points to _the Principle of Unity_:

 There is but one God who created the worlds, maintains and rules them. 

From this results the _Maxim of Union & Loyalty_:

 Union is strength = Be loyal to your King. 

II. The verse [Arabic: ʾiyyāka naʿbudu wa-ʾiyyāka nastaʿīn] points to_the Principle of Perfection_:

 Worship of God, His protection, and guidance are necessary for the perfection of our mind and body. 

From this results the _Maxim of Self-help_:

 God helps those who help themselves = Be true to yourself. 

III. The verse [Arabic: ṣirāṭa llaḏīna ʾanʿamta ʿalayhim ġayri l-maġḍūbiʿalayhim wa-lā ḍ-ḍāllīn] points to _the Principle of Moderation_:

 It is the straight path of righteousness that enables you to avoid crooked paths of sin and error and leads you to happiness. 

From this results the _Maxim of the Average_:

 Adopt the mean of two extremes = Be moderate in everything. 

I will now endeavour to shew, as briefly and as simply as possible, howthe principles and maxims I have stated correspond with the bestscientific ideas of the present age. By "the best scientific ideas, " Imean nothing more than _conclusions_ arrived at by eminent men ofscience after severe study and prolonged investigation. I can only referto the conclusions as such without attempting to summarise thereasoning, etc. By which they have been reached. You may read the worksof authors I shall name, if you wish to learn more of their thoughts. 

I. 

_Principle of Unity. _

1. The first Principle of Unity [Arabic: tawhīd] implies that there isbut one Energy or Force whose different transformations we call_forces_, but one Life whose appearance in different shapes we call_lives_, and but one Mind whose different manifestations we call_minds_. But the universal Energy, the

[Sidenote:1. Herbert Spencer. 2. Dr. A. R. Wallace. 3. Prof. James. 4. Sir Oliver Lodge. 5. Dr. Theodore Merz. ]

universal Life, and the universal Mind[57] [Arabic: rabbi l-ʿālamīn, ar-raḥmāni r-raḥīm, māliki yawmi d-dīn] are themselves but so manyforms, appearances or manifestations of the one Being [Arabic: Allah]who is Infinite [Arabic: ṣ-ṣamad] and Absolute [Arabic: lam yalid, wa-lam yūlad]. This is exactly what scientific men and philosophers havesaid and are saying to-day. Read the works of any of the eminent menmentioned in the margin, and you will find that the conclusion they havereached after life-long investigations, tallies remarkably with theconception of God which Islam formulated centuries ago. 

Every child begins with the experience of 'This is _mine_' and 'That is_not mine_. ' This experience matures in the adult into "I" and"not-I"--the _subject_ that knows and the _object_ that is known. Wecall the _knower_ or subject, Mind; and the _known_ or object, Matter. Most modern Philosophers agree in believing that Mind and Matter are buttwo aspects of One Reality underlying All. Just as a big building likethe Falaknuma Palace presents different aspects when viewed fromdifferent directions, and yet is one and the same building; so theReality of Existence _appears to us_ in different aspects as Mind andMatter, and yet is one and the same Reality[58]. 

Dr. Theodore Merz of the Durham University, at the end of his grandsurvey of the Scientific Thought of Europe in the 19th Century, [59]says: "The scientific mind advances from the idea of Order orarrangement to that of Unity through the idea of Continuity. "

The process adopted by Science of arriving at Unity is only the reverseof what Islam adopted: the former begins _a posteriori_ with Order findsContinuity and arrives at Unity, but the latter started _a priori_ withUnity, passed over Continuity, and found Order, thus:--

_Science. _ _Islam. _

1. Order 1. Unity = [Arabic: rabbi l-ʿālamīn] = [Arabic: Allah] = The Reality[50] of which both Mind and Matter are different aspects. 

2. Continuity 2. Continuity = [Arabic: raḥmāni wa r-raḥīm] = Force or Energy. 

3. Unity 3. Order[60] = [Arabic: māliki yawmi d-dīn] = Order or Process. 

What Sir Edwin Arnold calls the soul of Islam, _i. E. _, the Principle ofUnity, so patently corresponds with the ultimate results of modernScience and Philosophy, that I need not dwell on it at any great length. It is sufficient to point out that Science has now proved three Unities, the Unity of _Substance_, the Unity of _Force_, and the Unity of_Process_; and Philosophy has shown that the three Unities resolvethemselves into One Infinite Power. [61]

 "There is no strength (to avoid } evil) nor ability (to do good) } [Arabic: La hawla wa la quwwata great and supreme. " } ʾillā bi-llāhi alee-eil aẓīm. ]

 _Maxim of Union and Loyalty. _

2. How is the Maxim of Union and Loyalty inferred from the principle ofUnity? Man, being a creature of God, should try to be godly and godlike, try to imitate God in actions, try to co-operate with his fellowcreatures for the good of all, and should thus attain the ideal: "Unionis Strength. " This is the Islamic doctrine of Atonement[62] (=at-one-ment [Arabic: fana fil-lah]): to be _at one_ with God by _union_and _co-operation_ with God's creatures so far as your and theirconstitutions and environments allow. But you need not bother yourselfwith theories at present. It will be enough if you remember that theultimate aim or the sole object of the Prophet's mission was toestablish the universal union and brotherhood of mankind by means of afirm belief in the eternal truth of God's unity. He preached the Unityof God and worked all his life for the union of men into a universalBrotherhood. 

In order that you should _co-operate_, _i. E. _, work together with yourfellow-men for the good of all, your work must needs be _co-ordinated_. It must be guided and directed so that it tallies with the work ofothers. This guidance and direction comes from your leader, whom you andyour fellow-workers must obey, in order to attain the best results. Co-operation thus implies Co-ordination which requires a leader--Caliphor King--whom you ought to follow loyally. _Loyalty to your leader_ istherefore the gist of co-operation. The Qur'an and the Traditions arefull of injunctions for obedience to "those in authority among you"[Arabic: ʾulī l-ʾamri minkum][63] "The surest way of pleasing God is toobey the King. "

Modern Science teaches exactly the same thing. I have a series of littlebooks in my Library called "People's Books" published at 6d. Each byMessrs. Jack, London. One of them on "Zoology" is written by ProfessorMacBride, F. R. S. He traces the development of Man from Protozoa, --littlespecks of animalculæ--and points out how each species of animals hasrisen higher than another by (i) greater "inventive capacity", thecapacity of adopting new means to an old end and old means to a new end:and (ii) higher "tribal morality" implied in co-operation and loyalty toleaders. He says: "Mankind progresses by the appearance of individualsin whom (besides the inventive genius) the instincts of co-operation andloyalty are more strongly developed". It is precisely those instinctsthat Islam fosters by its doctrine of the universal brotherhood ofMuslims--a doctrine which implies primarily loyalty to your King. Justas the affairs of a family like yours, consisting of a dozen members, cannot prosper unless each follows loyally the lead of the eldest, orthe wisest among you; so the affairs of a nation can never be in asatisfactory condition unless each individual is loyal to his King andcountry, and co-operates with his Government by willingly doing what isrequired of him. 

Muhammad enjoined [Arabic: utlibul ilm wa lov kaana bis seen] "Seekknowledge even if thou hast to go for it to China"--(the farthestcountry known in his days). 

 Delve gems of Science divine Ev'n unto Cathay's mine. 

He said that wisdom was the birthright of every Muslim who should seizeit wherever he found it. He thus encouraged the learning of Science andthe consequent acquirement of inventive capacity which is biologicallyas essential for human progress as co-operation and loyalty. 

A study of animal life from the lowest animalcule to the highlycivilized man, teaches us to know, feel and act, in a particular manner, _viz. _, (_a_) to _know_ our environment, _i. E. _, to know the Laws of Nature in order to improve our general capacity for invention, manufacture and commerce, (Knowledge)

(_b_) to _feel_ for our fellow-men in order to increase mutual good-will so necessary for co-operation, (Sympathy)

(_c_) and to _act_ for the general good of our race under the guidance of our political and social leaders, (Loyalty). 

"Knowledge, Sympathy and Loyalty" are thus the watchwords of the Scienceof to-day no less than of the Islam of our ancestors. [64]

+Note 9. +

_Perfection and Self-help. _

Allow me to explain here that my object is not to persuade you tobelieve what I say but only to make you think for yourself. I willtherefore avoid arguments and discussions as much as possible andcontent myself with bare outlines of certain Islamic doctrines and briefreferences to the corresponding ideas of modern Science. I shall be verypleased if they serve to excite your curiosity and stimulate yourthought. 

II. 

_Principle of Perfection. _

1. The second Muslim doctrine which I have called the Principle ofPerfection may be inferred from the second part of the Sura:--It isessential for our perfect development that we should worship God andimplore Him for help and guidance in the discharge of the three-foldduty of our life. 

No sane man thinks that he is perfect as he is. There is always afeeling of some sort in our mind that somehow, and in some respect orother, we are not as perfect as we should be. It is to remove thisfeeling of imperfection inherent in us that we have to worship God andsupplicate His help and guidance. If you ask: "Why should I worshipGod?" Islam answers your question by asking another: "Why should youadmire beauty in Nature and Art?" You can answer only: "Because it isbeautiful. I am so constituted that I cannot do otherwise than admire abeautiful object when I see it". You are unable to give any other reasonsatisfactorily accounting for your admiration of the beautiful. Islamreturns a similar answer to your question: _"You should worship Godbecause He is God". _ You, as one of His creatures, cannot helpworshipping or reverently adoring Him when you see, at every instant ofyour life, manifold manifestations of His divine Goodness and Beauty. Some Sufis[55] even go to the extent of identifying God with "InfiniteBeauty" [Arabic: husn-e azlee] which is the object of their love[Arabic: ishq] and ecstasy [Arabic: wajd]. 

You remember the verse which every devout Muslim recites when he hearsthe news of the death of any one: [Arabic: inna lil lahi wa inna ilaihiraji-ūn]

 "Verily we are God's and to Him we shall return". 

This as well as some other verses support the Islamic belief in there-union of a man's soul with God. As I have mentioned in my previousNote, Islam conceives that there is but one Universal Soul. Smallparts--infinitesimal fractions--of the Universal Soul are confined inmen's bodies and break free at death to re-join the Whole[56]. Thisbelief is in entire accord with Sir Oliver Lodge's theory (or"speculation", as he calls it) put forward in his book, _Faith allied toScience_. Without stopping to enquire how far the belief indicated byQur'anic verses, or the theory advanced by a man of science, issupported by scientific facts, I would only point out that it gives aclear and intelligible meaning to the word "worship" [Arabic: ibadāt]. It is the communion of the fractional soul, which is somehow confined ina man's living body, with the Whole Soul, the Soul of the Universe, towhich it--the fractional soul--shall return some day freed from thetrammels of the flesh. This "communion" [Arabic: ibadāt] includesAdoration [Arabic: tasbīh wa tahlīl] and Prayer [Arabic: du'ā]. 

I cannot do better than quote Sir Oliver Lodge's admirable descriptionof the meaning and object of Prayer:--

 "In prayer we come into close communion with a Higher than we know, and seek to contemplate Divine perfection. Its climax and consummation is attained when we realize the universal Permeance, the entire Goodness and the Fatherly Love of the Divine Being. "

 [[Arabic: al-ḥamdu li-llāhi rabbi l-ʿālamīn, ar-raḥmāni r-raḥīm. ]

 Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds, compassionate and merciful, King of the day of Reckoning. ]

 "Through prayer we admit our dependence on a Higher Power, for existence and health and everything we possess; we are encouraged to ask for whatever we need as children ask parents;

 [[Arabic: adnee istajib lakum] Call upon me--I will hearken unto you]

 and we inevitably cry for mercy and comfort in times of tribulation and anguish. "

 "The spirit of simple supplication may desire chiefly:--

 "1. Insight and receptiveness to truth and knowledge. 

 [[Arabic: iyyaka na'budu] We worship Thee alone. ]

 "2. Help and guidance in the practical management of life. 

 [[Arabic: iyyaka nasta'een] We seek help from Thee alone. ]

 "3. Ability and willingness to follow the light withersoever it leads. "

 [[Arabic: ihdinas sirātal musta-qīm] Guide us into the right path]

Compare the verses I have placed in brackets with what Sir Oliver says, and you will observe how well he has interpreted the Qur'an. It looks asif he had the Opening Sura [Arabic: Sura al-fātiḥa] before him when hewrote. Even the sequence of his ideas corresponds _practically_ with theorder of the verses. But you may be quite sure that he never thought ofthe Qur'an at all. He evolved it all from his own inner consciousnesswell trained by scientific studies. 

_Maxim of Self-help. _

2. There are numerous verses in the Qur'an which enjoin "purification[Arabic: tazkīm] of one's self" and prohibit "cruelty [Arabic: Tazkīya]to one's own mind". They obviously imply the rule of conduct which Ihave called the Maxim of Self-help. No one has expressed it morebeautifully and truthfully than Shakespeare in the well-known speech ofPolonius. 

 This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. 

[Sidenote: Herbert Spencer, Prof. T. H. Green, Lecky (Historian), Profs. Muirhead, Mackenzie, and Sen. ]

It is the basis of the ethical system advocated by authors mentioned inthe margin. There are at present two contending schools of Morality. Each tries to determine what is 'good' or 'bad', and sets up a'standard' or test by which men's actions should be judged as 'right' or'wrong'. The standard according to the one school is Happiness (thesurplus of pleasure over pain); according to the other it is Perfection(the fullest development of men as social beings). I think the latterschool is more in favour now than it was at the end of the last century. Men of science now-a-days realize with Herbert Spencer that every oneought to develop himself by freely exercising all the powers of his mindand body to the fullest extent consistent with, and limited by, the_like_ exercise by his fellow men. [57] I cannot expatiate on thissubject without entering into the realms of philosophy and metaphysics. I have only to say that the teaching of Islam as regardsself-development is in entire accord with the views of latter-daymoralists. 

If you are a student of Ethics you will observe that the doctrine of"making the most of oneself" (Perfection) is, in accordance with theIslamic principle of Moderation, the mean of two extreme doctrines:--thedoctrine of "duty for duty's sake" (Rigourism) on the one hand, and thedoctrine of "the greatest happiness of the greatest number"(Utilitarianism) on the other. 

+Duty--Perfection--Utility. +

I have to add that "self-perfection" really means "self-help, " = dueexercise of one's faculties with patience and perseverance. If you havenot read Dr. Smiles' book on Self-help, you had better read it at yourearliest convenience. I can recommend no better commentary on thesaying: "God helps those who help themselves. "[58]

+Note 10. +

_Moderation and Via Media. _

Islam[59] is, so to speak, the youngest of all the great religions thatare now professed by millions of people. Like a child who is heir to allthe mental and physical tendencies inherited and acquired by hisancestors, Islam inherited all the revelations which "one hundred andeighty thousand" (_i. E. _ innumerable) prophets had communicated to theworld before the advent of Muhammad. I have already referred to theinjunction, contained in the Qur'an, that we should believe not onlywhat was revealed to Muhammad himself, but also what was revealed to all"Messengers of God" who had come before him; provided always that wehave authentic records of those revelations. [60] (This proviso is veryimportant. ) It is therefore no detraction from the merits of Islam thatsome of its doctrines resemble those of other revealed religions. Parsissay that Islam borrowed: [Arabic: bi-smi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm] "Inthe name of God the most merciful and most compassionate"[61] from theirholy scripture, Zendavesta, which begins with the words [Persian: ba nameezad ba bakh sha-inda bakhs ha bikasr meher ban gar. ] Some Christianwriters on Islam seem to take delight in pointing out that the Prophetof Arabia borrowed this, that, and the other doctrine from certainChristians and Jews whom he had met in his earlier life. It is verydoubtful whether he had ever met such people. But it is certain that hewas too illiterate [Arabic: ummī] to understand their reconditedoctrines if they had condescended to teach him. Even if we admit thathe borrowed doctrines from other religions, his own religion is notthereby rendered the less valuable; for there is no religion which is_absolutely_ original. He never denounced former religions but onlyclaimed to have confirmed and supplemented them by the religion revealedto him. He always referred to "former revelations" with great respect. 

Muslims picture the Supreme Truth as a beautiful citadel built on thetop of a steep mountain. Different religions are but so many paths[Arabic: madhāhib] leading to it from different directions. In theirestimation Islam is the best and the easiest path of all. This fancifulidea implies that some of the paths might cross each other at differentparts of their course, and others might run parallel to one another oreven run together for a considerable distance. Many religions maytherefore have certain doctrines bearing close resemblance to each otherlike parallel paths. Some religions may even have certain doctrines incommon, like paths running together. All religions are, and purport tobe, paths leading to one and the same citadel of Truth. [72] None theless has each of them an individuality of its own and a claim that it isbetter and easier than all others. [73]

III. 

_Principle of Moderation. _

I have prefaced this Note with the above remarks because the Principleof Moderation and the connected Maxim of the Mean, which are indicatedin the third and last part of the Sura, were enunciated by Plato[Arabic: Flatun] and his disciple Aristotle [Arabic: Aristo] who livedmore than 1, 000 years before Muhammad. Some Muslims count those greatsages of ancient Greece among the innumerable (180, 000) Messengers ofGod who preceded our Prophet. [74] The records[75] [Arabic: sahaif] oftheir sayings possess an authority second only to that of the Qur'anitself, being in fact revelations which God vouchsafed from time to timefor the benefit and guidance of mankind. 

1. I need not repeat what I have already said as to 'the Path of Grace'[Arabic: ihdinā ṣ-ṣirāṭa l-mustaqīma] being the _mean_ between two_extremes_, 'the Path of Sin' [Arabic: ġayri l-maġḍūbi ʿalayhim] and'the Path of Error' [Arabic: wa-lā ḍ-ḍāllīn]. I may however explain thatthe pursuit of the Path of Grace implies the Principle of Moderation inthe sense that we should fully and freely exercise all our mental andphysical powers _with due regard to their respective limitations_. Forall practical purposes, you may take Reason, Passion and Action as theprincipal representatives of a man's powers, and view Reason as theguiding force in his constitution, Passion as the moving force, andAction (voluntary acts and omissions) as the resultant of the guidingand moving forces thus:--

 Y ------------------------------------ P / _. -' / . / ary) _. -' / n / unt _. -' / o / ^ (Guide) (Vol _. -' / s / / ion _. -' / a / / Act _. -' / e / / _. -' ant) / R / / _. -' ult / / _. -' (Res / / _. -' / /_. -' ---> Passion. / O------------------------------------ X (Mover)

Now, the Principle of Moderation means simply that you should not allowyour passions to influence your actions unduly, nor should you allowyour reason to control your passions unduly; but you should ever try tohold the balance even between them in order that the resultant actionmight be quite right--might discharge the three-fold duty of man, --andmight thereby tend (be it in ever so small a degree) to the perfectionof the individual and the race. If at any time your passion over-ridesyour reason, you commit Sin; and on the contrary, if you exercise yourreason so much as to stifle your passion altogether, you fall intoError. If you permit neither reason, nor passion to discharge theirrespective functions, you lapse into Inaction which is again an Error. Undue suppression of Passion, and over-exercise of Reason, as well asnon-exercise of both--militate against the Principle of Moderation, theessence of which is (as Aristotle pointed out) that no power shouldtyrannize over any other in our constitution. 

What is "due" or "undue" exercise of a power, is a question which yourcommon sense should decide in each case with reference to the personacting and the circumstances under which he acts. The only general rulethat can be laid down is implied in the ideal of perfection explained inthe previous Notes. Every exercise of any of your mental or bodily poweris right or wrong according as it does, or does not, tend to theperfection of yourselves or your offspring, and your community or race. 

I have only to add that the Principle of Moderation, in the form inwhich I have roughly described it, is fully recognized by suchup-to-date writers on the Science of Ethics as Sir Leslie Stephen, oneof the two talented Editors of the Dictionary of National Biography. 

_Maxim of the Mean or Average. _

2. Addressing Muslims the Qur'an says:--

 [Arabic: wa-ka-ḏālika ǧaʿalnākum ʾummatan wasaṭan li-takūnū šuhadāʾa ʿalā n-nās]

 "We have thus made you a middle nation (= a moderate people) in order that you should be an example to mankind. "--i. 137. 

One of the ways in which God has made Muslims a moderate people is byenjoining them to avoid extreme courses of action and to adopt themiddle or the mean course whenever and wherever it is possible[76]. 

The Maxim of the Mean is the objective counter-part of the subjectivePrinciple of Moderation. The latter says: Don't over--, orunder-exercise any of your faculties; and the former says: Don't havetoo much or too little of any thing. Too much of any thing is good fornothing. Too little of it is worse than nothing. "Too much" and "toolittle" are relative terms and signify nothing by themselves. It is onlywith reference to oneself and one's environment at any particular timeand place that they acquire a meaning as "excess" and "defect"respectively. I cannot explain it better than give a few instances in atabular form where the "mean" comes between the "excess" and the"defect" of a quality of the head or heart, or a course of action. 

(1) Qualities of the Head (Reason):--

 _Excess. Mean. Defect. _

 Caution Prudence Neglect Doubt Conviction Uncertainty Conceit Modesty Diffidence Sensitive Attentive Indifferent

(2) Qualities of the Heart (Passions):--

 Cowardice Courage Rashness Sensuality Temperance Abstinence Bigot Enthusiastic Lukewarm

(3) Courses of Action:--

 Restriction Liberty Licence Flattery Courtesy Rudeness Favouritism Justice Injustice Prodigal Generous Miserly

You will find out for yourself what are the appropriate qualities orcourses of conduct, of which the excess, mean and defect are expressedby the words given above. Fear, for example, is the feeling of whichexcess is Cowardice and defect is Rashness, while the mean is Courage. Similarly as regards one's own opinion of one's powers, excess isConceit and defect is Diffidence, while the mean is Modesty. Again toomuch or too little restraint on action is Restriction or Licence whilethe mean is Liberty. 

It will be a useful exercise to make a long list of such words asexpress the difference of _degrees_ of the various qualities orfunctions of Reason, Passion and Action (= Knowledge, Feeling and Will. )But it will _not_ always be possible to find three contrasted words, like those in the table, for every quality or action; because nolanguage is so perfect as to have separate and single words to expressthe immense number and manifold shades of ideas which our mind iscapable of entertaining. Still the fact is duly recognized by modernScience that there are differences not only of kind but also of degreein everything--ideas, feelings, desires, actions, objects and attributesof objects--with which we are concerned. Although you may not have aword expressive of degree in every case, yet you can _practically_ascertain the extremes and the mean in all cases without exception, andcan so order your conduct as to avoid the one and adopt the other inall cases. I may point out here that "_the Mean_" is not the"arithmetical mean" (like 6½ which is the arithmetical mean of 5 and8) but only _an approximately medium or middle course of conduct--viamedia_. [77] [Arabic: khair ul umūr ausatuha]

You may object that, since the ascertainment of the mean in each caserequires calm thought with reference to yourself and your environment, the rule is too difficult to follow in these days of quickcommunication, speedy locomotion, and urgent action. I answer that it isbut an _ideal_ rule of conduct. Like all rules of Logic (Thought), Æsthetics (Beauty), or Ethics (Conduct), it sets before you an idealwhich you should ever strive to attain though you may not attain itfully at any time. No thinker may have been absolutely logical, noArtist may have wrought a perfect work of beauty, and no man may haveever been quite moral. But that is no reason why thinkers, artists, andmen generally, should not endeavour to attain perfection in theirrespective spheres of thought and action. 

There is a further and greater objection to the rule of the middlecourse, _viz. _, that, if followed strictly, it will reduce all men to adead level of mediocrity, and will not foster the development of men ofgenius. I have to admit regretfully that such will be the case, and, asmy next Note will show, it will be in accordance with a Law of Naturerecently discovered. Some writers have even attempted to prove that_genius_ or excessive intelligence is a form of madness as bad as itsopposite form, _imbecility_ or defective intelligence. They seem tobelieve that only the men of average intelligence are quite sane. 

 Great wits are sure to madness near allied And thin partitions do their bounds divide. --_Dryden_. 

The late Sir John Gorst created a sensation when he declared in theHouse of Commons that great countries were governed by mediocritiesonly. 

 The world knows nothing of its greatest men. --_Sir H. Taylor. _

+Note 11. +

_Evolution and Survival. _

It was Adolphe Quetelet, Astronomer-Royal of Belgium, who in theseventies of the last century attempted to prove that "_the average manis to a nation what the centre of gravity is to a body_. " A similar, ifnot quite the same, conclusion has since been reached by Sir FrancisGalton and Professor Karl Pearson in their researches into men'sphysical and intellectual qualities in the light of Darwin's theory ofNatural Selection or Survival of the Fittest. This theory which, in itsmore extended form, is called the Law of Evolution, has profoundlyinfluenced, if not entirely revolutionized, the Science and Philosophyof our own times. It has _not_ however succeeded, as was at firstfeared, in destroying men's belief in God, the Creator and Ruler of theUniverse. For it has done no more than disclose but a few of thenumerous ways in which He creates and rules. 

I have been a student of Evolution Literature ever since I left College. Speaking for myself I can say that my study of it has not in the leastshaken my belief in God, but has rather strengthened it. I entirelyagree with a popular writer[78] on "the Scientific Ideas of To-day, " whosays:

 "True Science does not seek to deprive man of his Soul or to drive the Creator from his Universe, but it honestly endeavours to study His marvellous works ... To see the manner in which He has caused Nature to work out His design. "

The Law of Evolution or the Development Hypothesis, as it has beencalled, is in fact a clever guess at truth--very valuable as a formulawhich enables us not only to remember the result of numerousobservations and experiments, but also to predict certain events to beverified by subsequent observations and experiments. It is impossible toconvey a clear idea of it in a few sentences. A great man like HerbertSpencer spent 50 years of his life in explaining and illustrating it inno less than ten stout volumes of his "Synthetic Philosophy. " Thecentral idea may however be expressed in the following propositions, using the word "_thing_" in its widest sense as any object ofperception, or knowable objects[79]. 

1. Nothing exists absolutely by itself; everything exists in relationwith something else which is its "environment. "

2. A thing and its environment cannot exist side by side for anyconsiderable time without each affecting or influencing the other insome respects at least: a thing A and its environment B, which cannotbut exist together, must needs act and re-act on each other. 

[Illustration]

3. The action and re-action of the thing A and its environment B on eachother, brings about mutual adjustment, the fitting of each into theother. 

4. According as this mutual adjustment or fitting is relatively_complete_ or _incomplete_, there is Evolution or Dissolution, survivalor extinction, of the thing (A) itself. [80]

5. The process of Evolution or Survival is characterized by:--

 (_a_) _Integration_: grouping together of certain _like_ units (such as atoms or molecules, living cells or individuals) into a whole, (_b_) _Differentiation_: certain parts (or functions) of the aggregated whole becoming _unlike_ each other or specialized, and

 (_c_) _Adjustment_: fitting of the aggregated and differentiated whole into its environment. 

6. In the opposite process of Dissolution or Extinction the thingundergoes the same changes in the reverse order before it disappears assuch. 

In other words, given a thing and its environment, the one has to adaptand adjust itself to the other, or cease to exist. Nothing survives, asan individual, which does not change. Like a picture in its setting, athing has to _fit_ itself to its environment in order that it mightsurvive for the best advantage of itself and its kind. Thus, the _fit_lives and the _unfit_ dies[81]. As the Qur'an expresses it [Arabic:ʾanna l-ʾarḍa yariṯuhā ʿibādiya ṣ-ṣālihūn] "the Earth is inherited byonly the fit among My creatures. "[82] This applies not only to plantsand animals, man and society, but also to inanimate or inorganic things, as the President of the British Association announced some years ago. 

A man, for example, has for his environment, the atmosphere of the placehe inhabits, the society he lives in, the occupation he follows, thelaws he obeys, etc. He can live long and happily only when the qualitiesof his body and mind befit him to that environment, _i. E. _, when theyenable him (to become [Arabic: salih]) to adapt himself continuously tothe circumstances of his position. What, then, is the general nature ofsuch qualities?

You know that one of the best methods of Science is Measurement. Noscientific knowledge is exact unless it enables you not only todistinguish one quality from another, but also to measure each qualityor determine its degrees in some way or other. It is not sufficient toknow hot from cold but the degrees of temperature must be measured by athermometer. 

The new methods of Statistics and graphic representation have beenapplied to a large number of men and women for the purpose of finding"the fittest" qualities or "characters" as they are technically called. Professor Karl Pearson[83] and others have thus found that among a largenumber of men and women in a given community any physical or mentalcharacter which deviates largely, by excess or defect, from the mean oraverage, renders them the less fit to survive the struggle forexistence. _Individuals possessing any character which deviatesextremely from the mean tend to disappear_. For example, the averageheight of men has been found by measurement of a large number of peopleto be (say) 5ft. 6in. And it has also been found by statistical methodsthat men who are 7ft. Or men who are only 3ft. Are very rare. It istherefore concluded that men who are too tall or too short _i. E. _, whodeviate extremely from the mean, tend to disappear and are therefore_unfit_ to survive. 

This is only a rough and ready example of what is called the Law ofPeriodic Selection which has now superseded the Belgian philosopher'sLaw of the Average (or "the Mean"). It applies to human conduct as wellas to human qualities. That conduct alone (_i. E. _, only that particularcourse of deliberate action) befits a man to his environment, whichdeviates the least from a standard or average of such conduct. It is theindispensable condition of his happiness and longevity. 

You thus see that the Islamic Maxim of the Mean is justified byScience. 

+Note 12. +

_Religion begins with the fear of the Lord andends in the love of Man. [84]_

Let me devote this concluding Note to a few general remarks. Themeanings and definitions of certain words given below are somewhatarbitrary, but I trust they will enable you to understand and remembercertain abstruse matters. 

I. 

(_a_) Take the word "thing" to mean any object of thought, such as, forexample, a house, a labourer, redness, distance, home, charity, eloquence, or the British Constitution. All these are _things_ which youcan think of. 

(_b_) You may then define a "fact" as a known or knowable thing orrelation between things; in other words, a _fact_ is any thing orrelation, which you know or can know if you take the necessary trouble. 

(_c_) The word "Nature", with a capital N, is but a name for thesum-total of all facts known and knowable. Poets, philosophers, and evensome men of Science, personify this sum-total of facts known andknowable, _i. E. _, _Nature_ and refer to it as "she" or "her". It is buta convenient way of saying, by implication, that there is the sameuniformity, continuity and unity in Nature as in our idea of a person. 

Now, all thinking men of all ages of history have ever tried tounderstand Nature as a whole and to answer regarding her three importantquestions represented by three interrogatives, what? how? and why?

 (1) _What_ is Nature? = What are the facts which constitute Nature. (Knowledge of Nature). 

 (2) _How_ has Nature come to be what she is? = How is it that facts constituting Nature have become as we perceive them? (Explanation of Nature). 

 (3) _Why_ is Nature as she is and not otherwise? = Why is it that facts constituting Nature have a certain uniformity (order) continuity and unity in spite of changes that take place continuously? (Reason of Nature). 

Broadly speaking, I may say that Science (with its various departmentscalled "Sciences") tries to answer the first question _what_, thequestion as to _facts_ of Nature. Philosophy tries to answer the secondquestion _how_, the question as to the _explanation_ of Nature. Religionor Theology (which includes highest Poetry) tries to answer the thirdand last question _why_, the question as to the _reason_ of Nature. Youmay thus clearly remember the respective provinces of Science, Philosophy and Religion by remembering three words What, How and Why. When you read a book which treats of facts or the _what_ of Nature; orof the explanation or the _how_ of her; or of the reason or the _why_ ofher; you may be sure it is Science, Philosophy or Religion respectivelythat you are reading, whatever be the name of the book itself. 

I have said that Science, Philosophy or Religion "_tries_ to answer" andnot "answers", because the answer of any of them can never be final orimmutable. None of them can ever reach finality. As the experience ofmankind grows continuously, new facts or new phases of old facts arediscovered in the course of time. Just as men have to adapt or adjustthemselves to new facts (or to changes in old facts) or else die; somen's Science, Philosophy and Theology have to adjust themselves to newfacts or else become empty nothings. [85]

II. 

I have often said that I believe Islam to be the best religion because(so far as I know) it accords best with the current ideas of Science. Ifyou accept my view of the respective provinces of Science, Philosophy, and Religion, you can easily comprehend that a Religion like Islamwhich purports to expound the reason _why_ of Nature must needscorrespond with the _what_ (Science) as well as with the _how_(Philosophy) of Nature. The three great divisions of Human Thought--Imean, Science, Philosophy and Religion--are necessarily connected withone another, as otherwise they cannot make up _the whole Universe ofHuman Thought_ and cannot satisfy men's craving for complete andconsistent knowledge. 

III. 

The Law of Evolution which I mentioned in the previous Note is but aTheory of Creation, an explanation of _how_ Nature has come to be whatshe is. New facts which future ages may discover may prove the theory tobe either right or wrong. At present it is the best hypothesis--the bestguess--because it accords best with known facts. It acts as a guide toknowable facts as well. It has shown that men cannot progress, indeedcannot long survive, if they fail to adapt themselves to thecircumstances of their position, if they fail to fit into theirenvironment which surrounds them like an envelope. Ceaseless change isthe order of Nature. Continuous adaptation is the law of life. _Adaptability_ is therefore the _sine qua non_ of men's life andexistence. The religion which suits them must also have the quality ofadaptability. I hold Islam has this quality in an eminent degree and istherefore the most suitable religion. 

Please remember that I speak of Islam as taught by the Qur'an itself andnot "Muhammadanism" as professed by _some_ so-called followers of theProphet. You have to interpret the Qur'an[86] quite naturally as anyother book or historic document, but not in the way in which _some_Muhammadans do it with the aid of marvellous fictions and miraculoustraditions. Islam has to resist (to use a big word) the_anthropomorphic_ tendency of the human mind, _viz. _, the tendency toview abstract _qualities_ or agencies as persons having a separateexistence as individual beings. 

IV. 

I have said that there is no inherent antagonism between Christianityand Islam _if_ and _when_ the sayings and doings of the founders of eachare rightly viewed and understood in a simple and natural manner. Muhammad never ceased saying that he had come to attest and complete themission of Jesus and his predecessors, who were God's messengers likehimself. [87] The greatest and the best rule of human conduct which Jesuslaid down was: "Love thy neighbour as thyself". 

You remember the well-known lines of Burns:

 O wad some power the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us. 

The gift which the poet prays for is vouchsafed to very few mortals. Almost all of us have naturally, and often unconsciously, such a highopinion of ourselves that, even if we would, we could not see ourselvesas others see us. The next best thing that we can do is, therefore, _tosee others as we see ourselves_, to cherish the same regard for othersas we instinctively cherish for ourselves. If (to take an extreme casefor example) we cannot detest ourselves as others sometimes detest orhate us, we can at least try to love others as we love ourselves, "tryto do unto others as we wish that others should do unto us". Thus therule: "Love thy neighbour as thyself", is quite consistent with humannature and is the most comprehensive rule of conduct which has ever beenlaid down for the guidance of mankind. To my mind there is no betterproof of the identity in spirit of Christianity and Islam than theconfirmation of Christ's command by Muhammad himself. 

 No-one will be a faithful | Muslim until he loves his | [Arabic: La yu'minu ahdakum hatta neighbour as he loves himself. | yuhibbu li ma yajib nafsahu]

For this reason, I believe that there is no difference between the tworeligions _if_ the metaphysical doctrines engrafted on both beeliminated. _True Islam is but true Christianity writ short. _[88] Bothrecognize that the source of virtue is love, For love is Heaven and Heaven is love. 

APPENDIX. 

_We are indebted to Mr. J. C. Molony for the following illuminatingcriticism which affords food for serious thought--Editor. _

If we assume the existence of a God, interested in the governance ofthis world, it becomes impossible to deny that Muhammad was God'smessenger, or, at least, God's prophet. It seems to me unlikely that aman could change the belief of nations by chance, incredible that heshould do so were he an impostor. Muhammad was certainly honest; thepersistence of the faith called after him leads me to consider him asinspired. Or, if "inspired" be objected to as a general religious termof very indefinite meaning, let us say that he saw into the heart andreality of life further and more clearly than any man has done since hisday. How then comes the fact, noted by Amjad and Mahmood and admitted byyou, that Islamic countries in the main have wretched governments, andare crumbling away before Christian Powers? I do not think that you haveanswered this question[89]. You have merely pointed out that Islam, ifrightly understood, is an excellent religion. 

The boys, I think, have stated their dilemma too sharply; the contrastis not entirely between Islam and Christianity. India is for allpractical purposes a "Hindu" country, and the power of the old IndianKingdoms has faded before Christian invaders. In that section of theworld in which Christianity is the prevailing and accepted form ofreligious belief, the temporal might of those nations professing onegreat form of the Christian creed, the Roman Catholic, has undoubtedlywaned in comparison with that of the nations professing what isgenerally called the Protestant faith. There are many varieties ofnon-Roman Catholic Christianity, but Protestantism is a labelsufficiently comprehensive and sufficiently well understood for ourpurposes. I speak without sectarian bitterness; I am not, I fear, aconvinced adherent of any particular form of religious faith. I have metmany good men, and have many friends, among Muhammadans, Hindus, andRoman Catholics. But I think that the objective truth of what I say, particularly in the Christian sphere, is indubitable. Compare forinstance the decay of Spain with the grandeur of England, the feeblenessof Austria with the strength and order (turned to ill uses though theymay be) of Germany. [90] The question at once arises whether religionhas anything to say to the matter. I think that it has. 

Muhammadanism, Hinduism, and Catholicism (I omit the prefix Roman) haveconcerned themselves too much with Heaven and Hell, with the avoidanceof future damnation and the obtaining of future bliss. These religionshave afforded some justification for the gibe that Auguste Comtelevelled at Christianity; he said that it sprang from "a servile terrorand an immense cupidity. " Religion should be rather _a guide of lifehere_ than _a guide to a life to come_. Kant would have curtailed thebeatitude "blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God" into"blessed are the pure in heart". It is good to be good; it is not goodto be good in the hope of some ultimate gain thereby. [91] The greatCatholic Bishop of Pondicherry, Monseigneur Bonnand, wrote to one of hisdesponding priests: "Continue a missionary to the end, and you willassuredly be saved". In my opinion he was wrong; I should think littleof a missionary, whether Christian or Muhammadan, who endured the trialsof a missionary life (and some of those old French priests did endureabundantly) solely in the hope of making a personal, albeit spiritualand eternal, profit at the end of it all. 

Now, "Bishop Blougram", a character created by the poet Browning, thoughsupposedly inspired by the personality of Cardinal Wiseman, says in his"_Apology_":

 There's one great form of Christian faith I happened to be born in--which to teach Was given me as I grew up, on all hands As best and readiest means of living by. 

The same, I fear, might now be said of Muhammadanism. But to my mindthere is no fixity, no absolute truth in any form of religious dogma. Religion is a thing that must grow with man's intelligence; it is not abox of spiritual truths packed once and for ever, and unpacked for thegaze of successive generations. It is not enough to believe in certainfacts that happened long ago, or to obey certain injunctions given longago in a particular country; we must apply the spirit of a religion tothe circumstances in which we live. We shall never attain to finalabsolute truth, "the end is not yet, and the purposes of God to man arebut half revealed" (Jowett). 

Unfortunately when any religion has taken itself as final it hasdeveloped a priesthood, and that priesthood has been apt to lay down acode of fixed rules wherewith alone compliance is required. It is afatally easy thing to live in conformity with any definite code ofrules. Muhammad himself, I imagine, was a singularly liberaltheologian. He laid down certain regulations for the conduct of life, excellent considering his place and time; the modern Muhammadan hasaccepted these as a maximum spiritual demand, ignoring the fact thatthey probably represented the minimum demands of common sense inMuhammad's time and country. 

Muhammad directed that a Muhammadan should not drink alcohol. This is amaxim of excellent sense in Arabia; Haji Burton, who much appreciatedgood wine, has told us that in the Arabian deserts wine is positivelydistasteful as well as unwholesome. I have not the least desire thatMuhammadans should drink wine. I merely say that there is no _merit_, other than that of common sense, in obeying this excellent instructionin countries wherein circumstances render it excellent. I do not believethat Muhammad would find the least fault with disregard of his maxim incountries where the climate makes the _moderate_ drinking of wine bothpleasant and beneficial. 

Muhammad instituted the Ramzan fast, mainly, I am told, to harden hissoldiers. But the Muhammadan of to-day finds a positive merit infasting. There is none; else the jockey's profession comprises the mostvirtuous men in the world. 

Muhammad permitted polygamy, and enjoined the practical seclusion ofwomen. This, as Sir Syed Ahmad has pointed out, was the counsel ofcommon sense in Arabia at the time of the Prophet. Apparently there weremore women than men, and if a woman was not under the protection of someman, and was not under guard, she was very likely to come to harm. But Ido not think that this counsel holds good for all time. Polygamy amongIndian Muhammadans is dying out, but the general Muhammadan here stillimprisons his womankind in the comfortable assurance that he is therebypaving his own way to salvation. I do not see much hope for the physicaland mental development of Muhammadans so long as one half of the peopleremains in seclusion and ignorance, in a habit of life necessarilyunhealthy. If you observe that you thereby escape the evils that arepublished to the world in European divorce courts, I would answer thatin the first place I doubt the completeness of your escape, (it is amatter on which I have heard much sardonic comment from Muslim friends), and that in the second place, even granting what you say, 80% of womenfree, educated, virtuous and healthy, is a far better result than 100%merely virtuous, and that by constraint. 

Muhammad laid down that a man should pray five times a day. To my mindthis was merely the Prophet's way of saying that man's whole life shouldbe a prayer: the modern Muhammadan too often "repeats prayers" fivetimes a day and is satisfied. He might as well repeat the multiplicationtable five times a day. "Words without thoughts to Heaven never go" saidthe king in _Hamlet_. I do not know if our friend D. B. Prays ten times aday, or five times, or not at all, and (candidly) I do not care. All Iknow is that in his responsible position he would die rather than take abribe, tell a lie, intrigue against his master. And I fancy that theProphet, could he return to earth, would find this abundantlysufficient. 

You mention a few other points of orthodoxy; the cut of one's hair, thelength of one's trousers. Dr. Khaja Hussain told me that he once saw aMuhammadan Street aroused to frenzy and riot by the appearance of a truebeliever in Feringhi (or Kafir) boots. It is all of a piece. Muhammadanshave concentrated their attention on these ready-made rules for gettingto heaven; their prophet found no such easy road to bliss. I do notimagine that it would ever have occurred to his great soul to claim anyparticular merit in that he did not drink wine, in that he repeatedprayers (he at least understood these prayers) five times a day, in thathe did not let his wives roam the country a prey to any marauder ofthose wild times. After all any one can obey these regulations with verylittle trouble to himself; it is not quite so easy to adopt the spiritthat guided Muhammad's life. Sir Afsur, I do not doubt, will tell youthat it is an advisable thing for a soldier to drill smartly, to keephis arms and accoutrements clean, and that with a little trouble it isnot difficult for a soldier to do all this. But he will tell you, I feelsure, that this is far from being all; the supreme duty of a soldier isto be brave in battle--an affair of much more difficulty. A soldier maybe smart and clean, but if he fails in battle his smartness andcleanness are worth nothing--he is a bad soldier. 

Muhammadanism has lost touch with life; it contents itself with theletter of the Prophet's teaching and shuts its eyes to, does not searchfor, the indwelling spirit. It is a small kernel rattling in a very bigshell, as Charles Kingsley said in "Yeast" of the Church service at St. Paul's in the fifties of the last century. _Religion has been divorcedfrom life, and so the followers of Islam as nations have decayed. _

It is the same with the other religions that I have mentioned. The oldtime Brahmin called himself such because he was educated, intelligent, sanitary in his habits, upright; he did not claim to be all this simplybecause he was the son of his father. The great obstacle to progressdown here is the fact that people imagine it is sufficient to follow ina mechanical unintelligent way the letter, while totally disregardingthe spirit, of some old and after all not very important rules. Irelandis said to have been an "Isle of Saints", I have my doubts on thesubject, but suppose it so. It is now full of fine churches andreligious establishments; no people in the world go to church withgreater regularity, abstain more thoroughly from meat on Fridays, etc. Etc. But with the mechanical observances they are, I fear, too wellsatisfied. Drunkenness, idleness, utter disregard for truth, are rampantin Southern Ireland, and therefore Southern Ireland is what it is. Formal devotion is no substitute whether in the daily battle of theworld, or (I believe) in the ultimate judgment of God, for the properordering of one's every day actions. 

If Muhammadans breathe the breath of life on the dry bones of theirreligion I see no reason why the temporal power of Islamic countries andthe spiritual strength of the Muhammadan Church should not revive. Something of the kind has happened in France. Zola cried out against"the nightmare of Catholicism"; antagonism to the Catholic Church hadbeen growing up long before M. Combes started to "strafe" the religiousestablishments of the country. The orthodox imagined that France waslosing all religion: Auguste Comte, an unbeliever, proclaimed thatFrance was daily becoming more religious. Rènè Bazin, a Catholic writer, implicitly admits that Comte was right. The people were sick of the dry, lifeless, formal rules that were offered to them; the priesthood havehad this truth hammered into them, and they are quickening their formulæwith life to fit the life of the people, not striving to dessicate thepeople's life to fit their formulæ. 

J. C. M. 

As a _socio-political institution_ Islam is, in the middle of itsfourteenth century (1340 A. H. ), in the same vicissitudes of development, as Christianity was in the middle of _its_ fourteenth century (1350A. D. )--an institution weakened by contending sects and rendered stagnantby rigid formalism. "It is a dispensation of providence", says SyedAmeer Ali, "that whenever a religion becomes reduced to formalismcross-currents set in to restore spiritual vitality. " As in Christianityin its fourteenth century, so in Islam of our own times, the vitalisingcross-currents have set in and we are now witnessing a MuslimRenaissance all over the world. Its pioneers in India were Sir SyedAhmad, Mowlana Shibli, and the poet Hali. The Rt. Hon. Ameer Ali, Dr. Iqbal and a host of others bear aloft the New Light. The MuslimReformation is coming on as surely as the Christian Reformation came inthe wake of Patristicism and Formalism. It need not necessarily meanPolitical Revolutions as in Europe. 

A. H. 

 OUR PRAYER. 

 1. 

 All praise is due to Thee, O God! None other than Thee we adore. Thou art the Master of the Worlds, Thine aid alone do we implore. 

 2. 

 Thou art Compassion; lead Thou on To Thy right path our human race. Thy Mercy floweth evermore, Do guide us to the path of Grace. 

 3. 

 Thou art the Lord of Judgment-day, For sure shall all be judged by Thee, O keep us off the path of Sin And Error's way. So mote it be!

 _Abdur Rahim. _

FOOTNOTES

 [1] Translated by Mushtari Begum of Bejnor and published in the _Islamic Review_ April 1916. 

 [2] This was written in 1917. 

 [3] By the word "best" I mean "the most suitable for both the spiritual and material needs of man. " I do not wish to cast any reflection on any other religion. See Note 7. 

 [4] I make a difference between Islam and Muhammadanism. The latter is not pure Islam. It has forgotten the _spirit_ of Islam and remembers only the _letter_ of its law. "The dry bones of a religion are nothing; the spirit that quickens the bones is all. " See Note 5. 

 [5] There is no place in Islam for either priests or monks. Yet the Muhammadanism of to-day has both. There are Tartuffes and Pecksniffs in this religion as well as in any other religion. 

 [6] This is the real reason of the political and social weakness of most Islamic countries of our own times. 

 [7] The teaching of Muhammad has been admirably summarised by a Christian writer as follows:--

 "There is no deity but God. He created the Universe and rules it with love and mercy. He alone is to be worshipped; in Him confidence is to be placed in time of adversity. There must be no murmurings at His decrees; life--your own and others dearer than your own--must be placed in His hands in trust and love. "

 I do not believe that there is any monotheistic religion in the world which will dissent from this teaching. The writer (in the _Harmsworth Encyclopedia_) goes on to say:--

 "The fatalism which has come to be regarded as part of the Moslem creed had no place in the system established by Muhammad who again and again distinctly and emphatically repudiated the idea. Muhammad taught _reform_, not _revolution_. "

 In these days of political unrest I cannot impress on you too strongly the meaning of the last sentence in which I have italicised two words. 

 [8] See p. 33 para. 6. 

 [9] The Author has not kept copies of these letters. --_Ed. _

 [10] The Qur'an speaks very highly of Jesus:--

 [Arabic: smuhu lmasīḥu ʾīsā bnu maryama waǧīhan fī d-dunyā wa-l-ʾāḫirati wa-mina l-muqarrabīn]

 "His name is Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, illustrious both in this and in the next world. He is one of those who have near access to God. "--iii. 40. 

 [11] Published and sold by the Rationalistic Press, London for 6d. 

 [12] The translation of the Sura in this analysis is slightly different from that given in the succeeding page. --_Ed. _

 [13] "It is strange": says Havelock Ellis, "men seek to be, or to seem, atheists, agnostics, cynics, pessimists; at the core of all these things lurks religion.... The men who have most finely felt the pulse of the world and have, in their turn, most effectively stirred its pulse, are religious men. "--_New Spirit, 228. _

 [14] The word "religion" also means a system of beliefs and rites pertaining to them. I do not use the word in that sense here. 

 [15] _i. E. _, the world such as we perceive and conceive it. 

 [16] "I know that even the unaided reason, when correctly exercised, leads to a belief in God, in the immortality of the soul, and in a future retribution"--_Cardinal Newman. _

 [17] Prof. Scott Elliot at the end of his book, _Prehistoric Man_ (p. 381) writes thus: "It seems true that almost every race of man is not only capable of believing in a Supreme God but, so far as the evidence goes, did reverence one God who was often also thought of as the Creator of the Sky or of the World.... There is a very strong body of evidence showing that every race of mankind possessed quite early in its development a feeling of awe and reverence towards an Unknown God. "

 [18] There are at present three missionary religions in the world--religions which were intended and designed by their respective founders to unite all men without any distinction into a Universal Brotherhood. 

 (1) Buddhism asserts that God is Law or Wisdom. 

 (2) Islam teaches that God is Energy or Power. 

 (3) Christianity says that God is Father or Love. 

 But all these religions inculcate in fact one and the same Truth in its three aspects, as Muslim Sufis would say. I believe the gist of doctrines held by them is that God is Omnipotent _Energy_ manifesting itself uniformly as _Law_ and operating benevolently as _Love_. 

 Wisdom = Power = Love. 

 You should try to solve the equation for yourself. You will not fail to understand it if you think hard. 

 [19] Here again taking the three missionary religions mentioned above, the Identity is:--

 Creator = Preserver = Adjuster. 

 God said unto Moses, _I am that I am_--_Exodus, iii, 14. _

 [20] Some Sufis define Nature as Individual _plus_ his Environment. By _individual_ they mean any one capable of thinking of himself as "I" or "Me" and every thing else as "not I" or "not me" which is his _environment_. 

 [21] It may be said that all the three ideas of God's relation with Nature (the three "isms" I have mentioned in brackets) are but different _degrees_ of a man's desire for communion with his God. Says Rumi in his celebrated _Masnavi_: "All religions are in substance one and the same"--Bk. Iii, story 12 (St. Daqúqi). 

 [22] See last para. Of Note 4 and also Note 10. [Arabic: at ṭuruq li-llah-i bi ḥis-bil anfus] There are as many ways leading to God as there are minds. 

 [23] "Religion places the human soul in the presence of its highest ideal (=God), it lifts it above the level of ordinary goodness, and produces at least a yearning after a higher and better life in the light of God. "--_Max Muller_. 

 [24] Sura = Chapter. 

 [25] Absolute = not conditioned by place time measure or circumstances. Infinite = without beginning or end. 

 [26] "The proper name of the religion preached by Muhammad is Islam. "--Sale

 [27] The word "Islam" means literally (1) resignation (2) preservation and (3) peace. Lord Tennyson has most admirably expressed the Islamic ideal of self-surrender to the will of God and has incidentally decided the vexed question of free-will in a single line:--

 "_Our wills are ours to make them Thine. _"

 [28] By Christians in European countries. 

 [29] "The proper name of the religion preached by Muhammad is Islam"--_Sale_. See p. 37. 

 [30] I use the word in the restricted sense of "Islam as taught by Muhammad. " If you take Islam to mean belief in one God and virtuous conduct in life, you may say that there has not been and will never be any true religion besides Islam. In this sense Islam is the only true religion. See p. 27, last para. Of Note 2 p. 19, and of this Note pp. 33, 34. 

 [31] "A man must not do reverence to his own sect or disparage that of another man without reason. Deprecation should be for specific reasons only, because the sects of other people all deserve reverence for one reason or other. By thus acting, a man exalts his own sect, and at the same time does service to the sects of other people. By acting contrariwise, a man hurts his own sect and does disservice to the sects of other people. "--King Asoka's _Edict XII_. 

 "Every sect favourably regards him who is faithful to its precepts, and, in truth, he is to be commended. "--Akbar, (Ain Akbari III). 

 [32] See p. 55. 

 [33] Muslim = resigned and submissive, therefore, _peaceful_. 

 [34] See Foot note [30]. 

 [35] Compare _the Bhagvat Gita_, iv. 7-8:--

 "Whenever there is decay of righteousness, O Bharata, and there is exaltation of unrighteousness, then _I myself come forth_;

 For the protection of the good, for the destruction of evil-doers, for the sake of firmly establishing righteousness, _I am born_ from age to age. "

 The words _italicised_ suggest the Hindu doctrine of Incarnation and Metempsychosis. Orthodox Muslims do not believe in any such doctrine ([Arabic: hulool wa it-ti-had]) but would substitute for the italics the words: _I send a messenger or reformer. _ See, _e. G. _, Quran, xvi. 36. 

 [36] To students of Islam and its history I cannot recommend better and more useful books than the Rt. Hon. Dr. Syed Ameer Ali's _Spirit of Islam_ and _History of the Saracens_. New and revised editions have been recently published. They present the various aspects of Islam in their proper perspective. They are classics for English readers. 

 [37] "Grant the existence of God and it is impossible to deny that Muhammad was His Messenger. A man does not change the belief of half the world by chance. " So wrote a Christian friend of mine. 

 [38] Muslim = resigned or submissive, therefore, peaceful. 

 [39] I mean "goodness and greatness" as a _human being_, for Muhammad never said or did anything to show that he was not a human being. The Qur'an commanded him, "Say I am a man like yourself. " [Arabic: qul ʾana bašarun miṯlukum] He therefore insisted that men should attach greater importance to the nature of the message than to the character of the messenger himself. "I am, " said he "no more than a man: when I order you anything with respect to religion, receive it, and when I order you about the affairs of the world then I am nothing more than a man. "

 [40] "Ahmad" is another name of Muhammad. I have nothing to say to those mystics, who, by a reasoning peculiar to their doctrines, identify the Messenger (Prophet) with the Master (God). 

 [41] Nor indeed is Jesus answerable for the Inquisition and _autos-da-fe_. 

 [42] "These are parables which we have set forth for men--Q. Xxix. 43. 

 [43] [Arabic: yow-mud-dīn] = the day of the Faith = the time of Dissolution predicted by Islam as well as by Science. Sir Syed Ahmad fully explains the meaning of [Arabic: qiya mat-e-kubrā] = Universal Destruction and of [Arabic: qiya mat-e-sughrā] = individual destruction, (_i. E. _, death) from the viewpoint of modern Science. 

 [44] As regards miracles, the beliefs that are held do not matter so much as the spirit in which they are held. If the spirit is right and leads to virtuous conduct in life, any reasonable belief will quite do. Here comes in the Pragmatism of Islam. It does not object to anything which has a _practical value_ unless it is unreasonable, immoral, or inconsistent with the Islamic ideas of the unity of God and the brotherhood of man. 

 [45] "We will soon show them our sign in all horizons (= regions) and in their own souls, until it shall become quite clear to them that it is the Truth--Qur'an xli 53. 

 [Arabic: sa-nurīhim ʾāyātinā fī l-ʾāfāqi wa-fī ʾanfusihim ḥattā yatabayyana lahum ʾannahu l-ḥaqqu]

 [46] God's is the East and the West, therefore whichever side you turn, you will see the face (= presence) of God--Qur'an i. 115. 

 [Arabic: wa-li-llāhi l-mašriqu wa-l-maġribu fa-ʾaynamā tuwallū fa-ṯamma waǧhu llāhi]

 [47] And He is within you (= in your mind), why don't you see Him?--Qur'an li. 21. [Arabic: wa-fī ʾanfusikum ʾa-fa-lā tubṣirūna]

 [48] Islam must not be confounded with what is called "Muhammadanism" which is but an ossified form of Islam, clothed in Mediæval beliefs and disfigured by pagan practices. See Mr. J. C. Molony's admirable report of the Census of the Madras Presidency for 1911, where, quoting from the poet Hali's famous _Musaddas_, he describes how far Muhammadanism in Southern India has been influenced by Hinduism. Read also Hali's excellent pamphlet called [Arabic: al-dīnu sarih] "the Simplest Religion" which describes how Islam has been "ossified, " _i. E. _, rendered rigid and unprogressive. 

 [49] I know of no religion which does not say, "Do good and avoid evil" and I consider it no religion which does not say, "Live well and happily. "

 [50] Ghalib:

 [Urdu: * Hum ko ma'loom hai jannat ki haqiqat laikin * dil kay khoosh rakhnay ko ghalib ye khiyal achcha. ]

 [51] See p. 24 above. 

 [52] It supplies the best motive for overcoming the perversity of human nature to which St. Paul directs our attention in these beautiful words: "The good that I would, I do not: and the evil which I would not, I do. "--Rom. Vii. 19. 

 [53] Read Draper's "Conflict between Science and Religion" which is a historical account of how some scientific ideas had to contend with religious prejudices--a book which, by the way, disproves the charge that Caliph Omar destroyed the great Library at Alexandria. 

 [54] God reveals Himself to everybody at every instant of his life. It depends entirely on the spirituality or spiritual capacity of each individual to what extent he knows God and God's ways. The "spiritual capacity" is partly inherited from one's ancestors and partly acquired by faith and devotion, as well as by right conduct and good works. 

 [55] [Persian: Neest bar lohe delam joz alefe ghamat yar * che konam harf degar yaad nadad ostadam] The _Alif_ of the Loved One's form is engraven on my heart, No other letter did my Shaikh ever to me impart--_Hafiz_. 

 [56] See Note 2. 

 [57] I have neither time nor space to explain the full significance of the Qur'anic verses I have quoted here. 

 [58] Some would call this Reality, God; but others would say that God is greater and higher than the Reality which manifests itself in different forms. He is above all that any man can think of or imagine. [Arabic: Au bar taraz khiyal wa qiyas guman wo waham. ]

 [59] Vol. Ii. 748. You have to read the book itself to understand this. I cannot explain it in a short note. 

 [60] I have neither time nor space to explain the full significance of the Qur'anic phrases I have mentioned here. 

 [61] "In the world there is nothing so great as man. In man there is nothing so great as mind"--_Sir William Hamilton_. 

 "In the mind of man there is nothing so great as the idea of God"--_Islam_. 

 [62] This is quite different from the Christian doctrine of Atonement. 

 [63] It was the spirit of co-operation which Islam engendered among wild and unruly Arabs, that enabled them to put aside their tribal feuds, to unite and conquer more than half the known world in the first century of the Hijri era (= the 7th century of the Christian era). It was the lack of that spirit in the next two centuries that dismembered the Muslim Empire. 

 [64] I say "_the_ Islam of our ancestors", because the Islam of _some_ of our contemporaries, called Muhammadanism, is not quite the same. 

 Read Prof. Gregory's _Discovery or the Spirit and Service of Science_. 

 [65] "Sufis" are those Muslims who claim with Mowlana Rumi

 [Persian: maazey quraan ra badashtaim istekhwan beish sagaan andakhtum]

 "We have taken the marrow out of the Qur'an and thrown the bones to dogs, " meaning by "dogs" those who quarrel over words ([Arabic: mutakallimin]) of the sacred texts. 

 [66] "Man" says Carlyle, "is a symbol of Eternity imprisoned into Time. "

 [67] This proviso defines also the Liberty of Subjects in a State. Every man should be free to do whatever he wishes provided that he does not thereby prevent others from enjoying the _like_ liberty of action. It is the basis of all good Laws which should provide _equal opportunities_ to all subjects without distinction. 

 [68] Muhammadans generally misunderstand and misapply the doctrine of "Qismat" or Fate. The Prophet distinctly taught that we should first of all do whatever lies in our power and then leave the rest to God. We are apt to forget the first part of his precept and cling to its second part only which accords with our tropical laziness. See footnote (7) on page 12. 

 [69] [Arabic: ḏālika d-dīnu l-qayyim] = It (Islam) is the standard religion. --Q. Xii. 41. 

 [70] Islam rejects some "previous revelations" not because they are untrue but because their records that have come down to us are not quite genuine and trustworthy. 

 [71] The heading of all chapters except one of the Qur'an. 

 [72] "Mankind comes to Me along many roads; and on whatever road a man approaches Me on that road do I welcome him, for all roads are Mine. "--_Bhagawat Gita_. [al turuk ila-allah bihasbi anf] See p. 24. 

 [73] See Note 2 (concluding part) which mentions three common factors in all religious systems of the world. 

 "The city of the Hindu God is Benares and the city of the Muslim God is Mecca. But search your hearts and there you will find the God both of Hindus and Muslims. If the Creator dwells in tabernacles only, whose dwelling is the Universe?"--_Kabir_. 

 [74] Some Muslims believe that Zoraster, Krishna, Buddha, and Confucius were also prophets or messengers of God but that they were no more than good and great men. They do not attribute any divinity to them. 

 "Religion", said Hitchcock, "implies Revelation". By "Revelation" is meant a set of sublime (and therefore, divine) truths revealed, _i. E. _ communicated from time to time to chosen men (= Prophets) who had the necessary spirituality to comprehend them and to convey them, as God's messages, to their fellow-men in the _human_ language of themselves. The defects (if any) found in the authoritative records (= Scriptures [Arabic: ṣaḥif]) are the defects in the human language and not certainly in the sacred and sublime truths revealed to the chosen men, the Messengers of God. It is the defect of _human_ understanding, no less than the poverty of _human_ language, that has often prevented the full comprehension of the divine dispensation and the sublime truths in the messages of Prophets. It is _our_ comprehension of the truth itself that has given rise to diversity in religious beliefs and practices. 

 [75] Provided they are authentic and genuine and not altered by interpolations and omissions. 

 [76] Neither the Bible nor the Qur'an is responsible for the cruel excesses committed by Christians or Muhammadans in the name of Religion. 

 [77] "The best of things is the medium thing"--_Muhammad_. 

 [78] Charles R. Gibson. 

 [79] _Vide_ Note 12 para. Marked (a) p. 79. 

 [80] For the purpose of this Note it will be enough if you understand the first four propositions. I am afraid you will find some difficulty in understanding the remaining two propositions without illustrative examples, for which I have no space here. 

 [81] "For _such as be_ blessed of him shall inherit the earth, and _they that be_ cursed of him shall be cut off. "--Psalm 37th, 22. 

 [82] Qur'an, xxi. 105. Following the late Mr. Justice Karamat Hussain of Allahabad, I take the word [Arabic: saleh] to mean "fit" in the evolutionary sense. See his book [Arabic: ilm-ul-akhlakh]. 

 [83] He edits a journal called "Biometrika" which is devoted to the statistical study of biological problems. 

 [84] Prof. Muirhead of the University of Burmingham, in his kind letter to the author on these "Notes. "

 [85] Hence Formalism creeps into every Religion and renders it lifeless when its doctrines fail to adjust themselves to new facts or to changes in old facts. See _Appendix_. 

 [86] It should be construed and applied to new ideas and changed circumstances of each age in quite the same manner as Judges in a Court of Law construe and apply old Statutes to facts of cases that come before them. See Hali's [Arabic: al-din yassin]

 [87] See the verse of the Qur'an quoted on p. 33. 

 [88] Or say: True Christianity is but true Islam writ large. "On the whole this religion of Mahomet's is a kind of Christianity. "--_Thomas Carlyle. _

 [89] See hints:--Para 3 of Note 5 pp. 31, 32; Footnote (48) p. 43; Footnotes (4) and (5) page 12; Footnote (85) p. 81. 

 [90] Written in 1917. 

 [91] Cp. Note 7.