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CHAP. III.

Of the Mohammedan Religion.

BEFORE

we put an end to this part of our history, we must give some account of the religion which Mohammed founded, and of the peculiar sentiments which he established. The creed of Mohammed is free from suspicion or ambiguity, and the Koran is a full testimony to the unity of God. The prophet of Mecca rejected the worship of idols and men, of stars and planets. In the Author of the universe, his rational enthusiasm confessed and adored an infinite and eternal Being, without form or place, without equal or similitude, present to our most secret thoughts, existing by the necessity of his own nature, and deriving from himself all moral and intellectual perfection. These sublime truths are firmly held by his disciples, and defined with great precision by the interpreters of the Koran. The first principle of reason and revelation was confirmed by the voice of Mohammed; his proselytes, from India to Morocco, are distinguished by the name of Unitarians, and the danger of idolatry has been prevented by the interdiction of images. The doctrine of eternal decrees and absolute predestination is strictly embraced by the Mohammedans.

The God of Nature has written his existence on all his works, and his law in the heart of To restore the knowledge of the one, and the practice of the other, has been the real or

man.

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pretended aim of the prophets of every age the liberality of Mohammed allowed to his predecessors the same credit which he claimed for himself; and the chain of inspiration was prolonged from the fall of Adam to the promulgation of the Koran. The authority and station of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Christ, and Mohammed, rise in just gradations above each other; but whosoever hates or rejects any one of the prophets, is numbered with the infidels. The miraculous history of Moses is consecrated and embellished in the Koran. For the divine Author of Christianity, the Mohammedans are taught by the prophet to entertain an high and mysterious reverence; yet Jesus was a mere mortal, and, at the day of judgment, his testimony will serve to condemn both the Jews, who reject his pretensions to the character of a prophet, and the Christians, who pay him religious worship. The malice of his enemies aspersed his reputation, and conspired against his life; but their intention was only guilty, a phantom or a criminal was substituted on the cross, and the innocent saint was translated to the seventh heaven. ing six hundred years the gospel was the way of truth and salvation, but the Christians forgot the laws and example of their founder. The piety of Moses, and of Christ, rejoiced in the assurance of a future prophet, more illustrious than themselves; the evangelic promise of the Holy Spirit was prefigured in the name, and accomplished in the person, of Mohammed, the greatest and last of the apostles of God.

Dur

With respect to the Koran, the prophet was content with the simple character of an editor: according to himself and his disciples, that work

is uncreated and eternal, inscribed with a pen of light on the table of his everlasting decrees. A paper copy, in a volume of silk and gems, was brought down to the lowest heaven by the angel Gabriel. Instead of a perpetual and perfect measure of the divine will, the fragments of the Koran were produced at the discretion of Mohammed; each revelation is suited to the emergencies of his policy or passions. The word of God, and of the apostle, was diligently recorded by his disciples on palm-leaves, and the shoulderbones of mutton; and the pages, without order or connection, were cast into a domestic chest, in the custody of one of his wives. Two years after the death of Mohammed, the sacred volume was collected, and published, by his friend and successor, Abu Becr: the work was revised by the caliph Othman, in the thirtieth year of the Hegira. In the spirit of enthusiasm, or vanity, the prophet rests the truth of his mission on the merit of his book, and audaciously challenges both men and angels to imitate the beauties of a single page; and presumes to assert, that God alone could dictate this incomparable performance. This argument is most powerfully addressed to a devout Arabian, whose ignorance is incapable of comparing the productions of human genius. The harmony and copiousness of style will not, in a version, reach the European infidel. The divine attributes exalt the fancy of the Arabian missionary; but his loftiest strains must yield to the sublime simplicity of the book of Job, composed in a remote age, in the same country, and the same language. At the end of two hundred years, the Sonna, or oral law, was fixed and consecrated by

the labours of Al Bochari, who discriminated the genuine traditions from those of a more doubtful or spurious character. Each day the pious author prayed in the temple of Mecca ; the pages were successively deposited on the pulpit, and the sepulchre of the apostle, and the work, has been approved by the four orthodox sects of the Sonnites.

The mission of Moses and of Jesus had been confirmed by many splendid prodigies; and Mohammed was repeatedly urged, by the inhabitants of Mecca and Medina, to produce similar evidence of his divine legation. As often as he was pressed by the demands of the Koreish, he involved himself in the obscure boast of vision and prophecy, appealing to the internal proofs of his doctrine, and shielding himself behind the providence of God, who refused signs and wonders that would depreciate the merit of faith, and aggravate the guilt of infidelity. The votaries of Mohammed are more fully assured than himself of his miraculous gifts, and their confidence and credulity increase, as they are farther removed from the time and place of his spiritual exploits. They believe, or affirm, that trees went forth to meet him; that he was saluted by stones; that water gushed from his fingers; that he fed the hungry, cured the sick, and raised the dead; that a beam groaned to him; that a camel complained to him; that a shoulder of mutton informed him of its being poisoned; and that both animate and inanimate nature were equally subject to the apostle of God.

The precepts of Mohammed inculcate simple and rational piety: prayer, fasting, and alms,

are the religious duties of a Mussulman; and he is encouraged to hope, that prayer will carry him half way to God; fasting will bring him to the door of his palace; and alms will gain him admittance. At first his disciples were enjoined to the performance of fifty prayers every day. By the advice of Moses he applied for an alleviation of that intolerable burthen: the num- * ber was gradually reduced to five; at day-break, at noon, in the afternoon, in the evening, and at the first watch of the night. Cleanliness is the key of prayer: the frequent lustration of the hands, the face, and the body, is solemnly enjoined by the Koran; and a permission is formally granted to supply with sand the scarcity of water. The words and attitudes of supplication, as it is performed either sitting or standing, or prostrate on the ground, are prescribed by custom or authority; but the prayer is poured forth in short and fervent ejaculations. Among the priests, who reject the use of images, it has been found necessary to restrain the wanderings of fancy, by directing the thought to a kebla, or visible point of the horizon. The prophet was, at first, inclined to gratify the Jews by the choice of Jerusalem, but he finally determined upon the temple of Mecca, to which the Mohammedans turn their eyes five times every day; their prayers are offered indifferently, in their chamber or in the street. Friday is the day in each week which is set apart for public worship. The Mohammedan religion is destitute of priesthood or sacrifice, and the spirit of fanaticism looks down with contempt on the ministers and slaves of superstition. The voluntary penance of ascetics was odious to a prophet, who cen

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