The Essence of the Koran

by Theodore Maximilian R. Von Keler

TEN CENT POCKET SERIES NO. 428
Edited by E. Haldeman-Julius

The Essence of
the Koran

Theodore M. R. von Keler

 

HALDEMAN-JULIUS COMPANY
GIRARD, KANSAS

TEN CENT POCKET SERIES NO. 428
Edited by E. Haldeman-Julius

The Essence of
the Koran

Theodore M. R. von Keler

 

HALDEMAN-JULIUS COMPANY
GIRARD, KANSAS

Copyright, 1923,
Haldeman-Julius Company.

THE ESSENCE OF THE KORAN

THE ESSENCE OF THE KORAN

INTRODUCTION

In order to understand fully the Koran (al Qur'an, as it is called in Arabic), one should devote considerable time and effort to a study of the state in which Arabia existed at the time when Mohammed lived. It is obviously out of the question to furnish in a short introduction a comprehensive survey of political, economical and religious conditions; it is equally impossible to go into any great detail as to Mohammed's origin, his life as a camel driver and his later life in affluence and power. We can only sketch the most important incidents of his career, and let the quoted portions of the Koran itself speak for his ideals, his opinions and his endeavors, as a God-sent prophet to warn his people of the dangers of unbelief, idolatry and sin.

At the time of Mohammed's birth, the Arabs and their neighbors were really nothing but bloodthirsty savages—yet this savagery was strangely mixed with chivalry, courage and a loyalty unto death to friends, tribe and family. The Arab was generous and hospitable to an extent rarely seen among other peoples of the earth. On the other hand, gambling, immorality and drunkenness were rampant amongst them; their treatment of their women was only a shade better than that they gave to their cattle; in fact a full-blooded horse was given more and better care than a wife. Marriage and divorce were simplicity itself: depending entirely on the desire or lack of desire on the part of the "husband."

Their religion was Sabaeanism—which comprised a worshipping of a plurality of gods, idols, spirits, jinns, to the total number of 365. It may be truthfully said that the ancient Arabs had a new god, or idol, for every day of the year!

One of the greatest idols venerated by them was, and still is, the famous black stone, now inserted in one of the walls of the Kaabah at <ecca, and an object of the deepest adoration to all "True Believers." This black stone is generally described as having originally been white, and as having been one of the stones brought out of Paradise. Its black color is explained by claiming that because of the thousands of millions of kisses implanted upon it by sinful and repentant lips, its color gradually became darker and darker as it absorbed the "sins forgiven by repentance."

The Kaabah, which contains the holy black stone, dates back to a very remote antiquity; in fact there is no record of the placing of this stone in any of the early histories. Legend claims that it was built by Adam; that after its destruction at one time it was rebuilt by Abraham. But these legends are so closely interwoven with the personages of the Jewish Bible, that one cannot go far astray by supposing them to have been brought to Arabia by some of the oldest of the Israelites, wandering into the deserts of Arabia. The frequent reference in the Koran to Moses and Noah; the stories of Lot, Joseph, Samuel and Solomon, plainly show the influence which early Hebrew traditions had on the Arabs and on Mohammed himself, in later years.

Mohammed was born in the "Year of the Elephant";^[1] the month and day have never been ascertained with, any exactness. Among the Mohammedans, however, his birth is usually celebrated (or recorded as having occurred) on April 20, 571. The interval between the death of Christ on the cross of Calvary, and the birth of the next "prophet" was 541 years. His father was Abd-allah, who died, however, before the child (the future Mohammed) was born. Abd-allah, although related to the most powerful families of Mecca, left to his family nothing except five camels and a young slave girl. Amînah, Mohammed's mother, died in 577, when Mohammed was six years old.

The orphan child seems to have been lucky in finding a home with kind relatives, where, he grew to strength and manhood. However, in order to support himself, after the death of his grandfather, he had to herd sheep and goats—a calling which was considered as suited only to a woman. His youth passed in complete obscurity; there is absolutely nothing definitely known of him up to the time he was 24 years old. At that time there came the turn in his life. A rich widow, about 40 years old, saw the young Mohammed and took a fancy to him; she engaged him as camel driver for the caravans which she sent to other lands. A year later she married him.

Mohammed was known to the people with whom he came into contact at the time of his travels and business dealings, as El Amin—"the trustworthy." There is, of course, no picture or painting existing at this time of him as he looked in those days, but he is described as of only middle height, but of commanding mien and presence; slender, but with a strong chest and broad shoulders; a strong, high forehead and a very clear complexion, with very dark eager eyes, a curved nose and a full and heavy dark beard. It is related that he was exceedingly nervous and of extraordinary sensitiveness, both in regard to physical and mental pain. He suffered intense agonies when forced to breathe unpleasant odors.

After Mohammed had passed his thirtieth year, he became subject to ever-recurring fits of hallucinations; he was certainly epileptic in a pronounced degree. Harried constantly by "voices" and "revelations" which called to him to improve the manners and morals of the people around him, he withdrew for days and weeks at a time into solitary places, in the desert and the mountains. During one of those sojourns on Mount Hira, near Mecca, an angel—Gabriel—appeared to him and ordered him to Read! Mohammed was unable to read or write and therefore could not obey the order, but the angel shook him and ordered him again to read, whereupon Mohammed fell upon the ground in fear and trembling. The angel himself then read aloud the five verses with which the 96th chapter of the Koran begins, and which are venerated throughout the Moslem world as the first words revealed to Mohammed by God:

Read, in the name of thy Lord!
Who created man from congealed blood!
Read, for thy Lord is most generous!
Who taught the pen!
Taught man what he did not know!

After this vision Mohammed became subjected more and more to these fits of hallucination, and although he was at first afraid that they were proof of his being "possessed by a spirit," he soon told of his "dreams" to the people with whom he came into contact and was considered by them as "possessed." His fits and hallucinations came at ever shorter intervals, until there was a time when he may have been said to pass weeks in hysterical fits, accompanied by high hectic fever. He saw angels at all times, and described them to his faithful wife, ʾHadichah, who remained always at his side during these fits and was his first convert to the new religion which he claimed to have been chosen by God to preach to humanity. Next were his daughters and some of his other relatives; a few friends followed, among them a greatly respected and revered rich merchant, named Abu-Bekr. A young Arab, Osman ibn Affar, became converted to the new religion of Islam—as it was later to be called—and the little band grew larger and larger. Soon some of its adherents were persecuted by other Meccans for their belief in the new teachings, and this "martyrdom" acted as oil upon fire—as it has acted in similar movements since the world began. His most important convert was Omar-ibn-el-Hattab, a warrior-chieftain who had been one of his bitterest enemies, but later became the strongest factor in spreading the new religion. (The Christian Church has an exact counterpart of this Omar, in Saul—Paul, who also changed from a persecutor to a defender.)

Mohammed's teachings will be found in the various chapters following. Here it may be said that the chief reason why they first found so great an opposition and later so strenuous a defense, was the doctrine of UNITY in God, which doctrine overthrew all of the 365 gods, idols and minor deities, then controlling the Arabs' life from cradle to grave. He would undoubtedly have been killed early in his life of preaching, as Christ was killed—and for exactly the same reason, namely, the attack on long-standing customs which interfered with the prerogatives and income of the priests!—had he been an insignificant or poor man. But, while Christ came from a poor carpenter's family of no influence whatever, Mohammed was related to one of the most powerful and noble famillies of Mecca! To kill him would have started a blood-feud with some of the fiercest warriors of the Arab tribes, and the priests and chiefs of Mecca dared not undertake such an attack. When they endeavored to have him silenced by the head of his own clean, Abu Talib, the latter resented the suggestion.

The people of Mecca, fearing that their traffic and the enormous gains from the big pilgrimages to the Kaabah, might be stopped by a spreading of the new doctrine, finally proposed to Mohammed an arrangement, under which they would agree to worship Allah, as Mohammed directed, provided he would acknowledge some of the deities which they worshipped, as "intercessors" before Allah. Mohammed did this, and there was great rejoicing—but on the next day he recanted and the feud broke out again. This time he was compelled to leave the city, together with the whole of the clan, under a public "ban" or boycott. This boycott lasted two years, and was lifted when the document ordering it was found to have been completedly eaten by worms, where it had been fastened to the walls of the Kaabah.

After strenuous years of preaching, Mohammed lost his wife, ʾHadichah, and married a widow Sauda; later a young girl named Ayeshah—who is undoubtedly the most important female figure in Mohammedan history. She exerted a tremendous influence upon all Islam. For ten years Mohammed traveled from place to place, preaching his religion, but finding few disciples. One day, however, he came upon two Arab tribes who were fighting against Mecca, and who had just taken a fairly good-sized city from the Jews. They welcomed the exile from Mecca with open arms, and the beaten Jews hailed him as the promised Messiah, for whom they had been waiting anxiously.

The Meccans were furious at Mohammed's sudden ascent to power and, on his return to Mecca, planned to murder him. He was warned, however, and managed to escape safely. Legend tells of a cave in which he slept, and which his pursuers were just about to search when one of them noted a spider net woven across the whole entrance, from which he argued that Mohammed could not be in there, and that it would only delay them if they searched where he evidently could never have entered. He reached Yathrib, his destination, in safety on June 16, 622. From this celebrated flight, or hegira, dates the Mohammedan calendar, or era. Yathrib henceforth was called El Medinah (the City of the Prophet).

Mohammed's new religion was carefully prepared and organized in this city of Medinah, where the Jewish population had a great influence on the preparation and wording of the Koran, where we find a great many of the Jewish stories and traditions incorporated as a whole. Medinah became a stronghold from which Mohammed and his adherents attacked the "infidels" at Mecca and other neighboring cities with such military success that his name spread throughout the land. One of the bloodiest events of that time took place when Mohammed's forces captured an entire tribe after a fierce battle, and 800 male captives—every single man of them—were ordered beheaded; their wives and children sold into slavery, in exchange for arms and horses.

After some desultory fighting with the Meccans, a truce of ten years between the contending forces was established and Mohammed was officially recognized by his enemies as a reigning prince. Mohammed seems thereupon to have suffered from an attack of the wildest conceit. He dispatched letters to all the great princes, emperors and kings of Western Asia, ordering them to embrace Islam (as his religion was now called by the people) or take the consequences! While Mohammed himself never succeeded in carrying his religion beyond the present borders of Arabia, his successors compelled all the princes and emperors to whom he had written, to acknowledge the supremacy of Islam, by force of arms!

In the month of March, 632, Mohammed completed his last pilgrimage to Mecca, and preached to some 40,000 people assembled around the base of Arafat. He died three months later, just after coming out of the Mosque at Medina, aged 61 years and two months.

 

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THE FUNDAMENTALS OF ISLAM

Islam—signifying resignation (to the will of God)—is one of the simplest religions in the world. It can be encompassed in a few paragraphs:

1. There is but one GOD—and Mohammed is his ambassador, or prophet.

2. Paradise is reserved to those who believe the above statement.

3. Hell is for all those who refuse to believe it.

(Islam differs from the Christian and Jewish religions mainly in the claim that Mohammed is God's ambassador, although it admits that both Moses and Jesus were earlier prophets sent to warn their peoples.)

 

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THE DUTIES OF A TRUE MOSLEM

1. The acknowledgment that there is but one God, Allah taʾhalia (God the Most High), and Mohammed, His Prophet.

2. The Prayer (repeated five times daily, with face towards Mecca); in Moslem cities the muezzin calls to prayer from the minarets of the mosques as follows:

God is great (repeated four times)

I bear witness that there is no god but God (twice)

I bear witness that Mohammed is His prophet (twice)

Come hither to prayers (twice)

Come hither to salvation (twice)

God is great

There is no other god but God!

3. To fast every day in the month Ramadan from dawn to sunset.

4. To give 1-40 of all possessions yearly to the poor.

6. To make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca.

 

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THE SEVEN HEAVENS OF ISLAM

1. The Garden of Eternity.

2. The Abode of Peace.

3. The Abode of Rest.

4. The Garden of Eden.

5. The Garden of Resort.

6. The Garden of Pleasure.

7. The Garden of Paradise.

Much has been written in modern times regarding the supposed sensual character of the Moslem heaven, little of which is actually found in the Koran or in any other Arab religious work. As in the case with many other races of men, Heaven and Hell were to the Arabs' imagination simply places in which certain earthly conditions existed in a greatly intensified manner. To a parched, hot, dusty and barren land, such as Arabia, Paradise could be represented most alluringly as a cool, shady garden with fountains playing and fruit trees yielding their shade and crop to the happy dwellers therein, who could rest on soft couches, have pleasant companionship and no work to do.

And, on the other hand. Hell presented itself to their imagination as Fire—pure and simple—although the Moslem Hell is divided into seven parts, corresponding to the seven parts of Heaven:

1. Gehenna.

2. The Flaming Fire.

3. The Raging Fire that Splits Everything.

4. The Blaze.

5. The Scorching Fire.

6. The Fierce Fire.

7. The Abyss.

Islam doe not furnish any authoritative teaching as to the condition of the soul during the time between death and the Resurrection. The general belief of Moslems is that souls are kept somewhere—the good in peaceful repose, the bad and wicked in foul dungeons.

 

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THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE KORAN

In its complete published form the Koran contains 114 chapters, or surahs, arranged in a seemingly haphazard manner. The subjects discussed in each chapter follow each other in no set form, nor in chronological order. The First Chapter—Surah 1—reads as follows:

In the name of the merciful and compassionate God.

Praise belongs to God, the Lord of the worlds, the merciful, the compassionate, the ruler of the day of judgment! Thee we serve and Thee we ask for aid. Guide us in the right path, the path of those to whom Thou art gracious, not of those with whom Thou art wroth; nor of those who err.

 

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The next chapter—The Surah of the Heifer—is the longest in the Koran, comprising more than 13,000 words. It is followed by the apter (Surah) of Imram's Family, containing more than 7,000 words. The chapters thereafter grow smaller and smaller towards the end, until the last few chapters average between fifty and one hundred words each. The shortest chapter in the Koran is the 112th—The Surah of Unity—which reads as follows:

In the name of the merciful and compassionate God.

Say, "He is God alone! God the Eternal! He begets not and is not begotten! Nor is there anyone like unto Him!"

 

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The entire Koran contains close upon 150,000 words.

 

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ON THE CREATION OF MANKIND

(The "speaker" in each verse of the Koran is always represented to have been the angel Gabriel, referring to God as "We" and addressing Mohammed directly).

We created mankind, then we fashioned you, then we said to the angels, "Adore Adam," and they adored, save Iblis^[2]; who was not of those who did adore. We said, "What hinders thee from adoring, when we ordered thee?" He said, "I am better than he; Thou hast created me from fire, and him from clay."

***

We said to Iblis: "Then go down therefrom; what aileth thee that thou shouldst be so big with pride? Go hence! Verily, thou art but a small one!" And he answered, "Respite me, until the day when they shall all be raised." We said: "Thou are respited!" And he said: "For that Thou hast led me into error, I will lie in wait for them in Thy straight path; then I will surely come to them, from behind them and from before them, and most of them shall not be thankful unto Thee!" And We said: "Go forth despised and expelled; whosoever follows thee, I will surely fill hell with you altogether. But, Adam, dwell thou and thy wife in Paradise and eat from whatever you will, but draw not nigh unto this tree, or ye will be of the unjust."

***

But Satan whispered to them to display to them what was kept back from them of their shame, and he said: "Your Lord has only forbidden you this tree lest you should be twain angels, or should become of the immortals"; and he swore to them both: "Verily, I am unto you a sincere adviser"; and he beguiled them by deceit, and when they twain tasted of the tree, their shame was shown to them, and they began to stitch upon themselves the leaves of the garden. And their Lord called, unto them, "Did I not forbid you from that tree there, and say to you, 'Verily Satan is to you an open foe'?" They answered, "O, our Lord! we have wronged ourselves—and if Thou dost not forgive us and have mercy on us, we shall surely be of those who are lost!" We said, "Go ye down, one of you to the other a foe; but for you in the earth there is an abode, and a provision for a season. Therein shall ye live and therein shall ye die, from it shall ye be brought forth."

 

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MOHAMMED'S MISSION

By the wise Koran, verily thou art of the apostles upon a right way. The revelation of the mighty, the merciful! That thou mayest warn a people whose fathers have not been warned before, and who themselves are heedless.

Now is the sentence due against most of them, for they will not believe. Verily, we will place upon their necks fetters, and they shall reach up to their chins, and they shall have their heads forced back; and we will place before them a barrier, and behind them a barrier; and we will cover them and they shall not see; and it is all the same to them if thou dost warn them or dost warn them not, they will not believe. Thou canst only warn him who follows the remainder, and fears the Merciful in the unseen; but give him glad tidings of forgiveness and a noble hire.

We have sent thee with the truth, a bearer of good tidings and of warning, and thou shalt not be questioned as to the fellows of hell.

The Jews will not be satisfied with thee, nor will the Christians, unless thou followest their creed. Say to them: "God's guidance is my guidance," and if thou followest their lusts after the knowledge that has come to thee, thou hast not then from God a patron or help.

***

Verily thou art of those who are sent by God. These apostles have we preferred one of them above another. Of them is one to whom God has spoken^[3]; and we have raised some of them degrees; and we have given Jesus, the son of Mary, manifest signs, and strengthened him by the Holy Spirit.

Mohammed is but an apostle; apostles have died before his time; what if he die or is killed, will ye retreat upon your heels? He who retreats upon his heels does no harm to God at all; but God will recompense the thankful.

***

Let not those who misbelieve reckon that our letting them range is good for themselves. We only let them have their range that they may increase in sin. And for them is shameful woe. God would not leave believers in the state which ye are in, until He discerns the vile from the good. And God would not inform you of the unseen, but God chooses of His apostles whom He pleases. Wherefore believe ye in God and His Apostle; and if ye believe and fear, for you is mighty hire.

***

Let it not deceive thee that those who misbelieve go to and fro in the earth. It is a slight possession, and then their resort is Hell; an evil couch it shall be.

***

Oh, ye people of the Book! our apostle has come to you, explaining to you the interval in the coming of apostles; lest ye say, "There came not to us a herald of glad tidings, nor a warner." But there has come to you now a herald of glad tidings and a warner, and God is mighty over all.

***

And We gave Moses the book, complete for him who acts aright, and a decision and a guidance and a mercy; haply in the meeting of their Lord they will believe.

This is the book which we have sent down; it is a blessing;; follow it then and fear; haply ye may obtain mercy. Lest ye say, "The Book was only sent down to two sects before us; verily we care naught for what they read." Or, lest ye should say, "Had we had a book revealed to us, we should surely have been more guided than they"; but there is come to them a manifest sign from their Lord and a guidance and a mercy; who then is more unjust than he who calls God's signs lies, and turns from them? We will reward those who turn from our signs with an evil punishment for that they turned away.

What do they expect, but that the angels should come for them, or that thy Lord should come, or that some signs^[4] of thy Lord should come? On the day when some signs do come, its faith shall profit no soul which did not believe before, unless it has earned some good by its faith. Say, "Wait ye expectant, then we wait expectant, too."

***

Oh thou prophet! Strive strenuously against the misbelievers and the hypocrites, and be stern against them; for their resort is hell, and an ill journey shall it be.

Ask forgiveness for them or ask not forgiveness for them seventy times, yet would not God forgive them; that is because they disbelieved in God and His Apostle, for God guides not a people who work abomination.

It is not for the Prophet and those who believe to ask forgiveness for the idolaters, even though they he their kindred, after it has been made manifest to them that they are the fellows of hell.

There has come to you an apostle from amongst yourselves; hard for him to bear as it is that ye commit iniquity; he is anxious over you after the believers, pitiful, compassionate.

 

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THE PROMISE OF PARADISE

Verily when it is said to them, "There is no god but God," they get too big with pride, and say, "What! shall we leave our gods for an infatuated poet?" Nay, he came with the truth, and verified the apostles; verily ye are going to taste of grievous woe, nor shall ye be rewarded save for that which ye have done!

Except God's sincere servants, these shall have a stated provision of fruits, and they shall be honored in the gardens of pleasure, upon couches facing each other; they shall be served all around with a cup from a spring, white and delicious to those who drink, wherein is no insidious spirit, nor shall they be drunk therewith; and with them damsels, restraining their looks, large eyed; as though they were a sheltered egg; and some shall come forward to ask others, and a speaker amongst them shall say: "Verily, I had a mate, who used to say, 'Art thou verily of those who credit?' What! when we are dead and have become earth and bones, shall we be surely judged?'" He will say, "Are ye looking down?" and he shall look down and see him in the midst of hell. He shall say, "By God! thou didst nearly ruin me! And had it not been for the favor of my Lord, I should have been among those arraigned."—"What! shall we not die save our first death? and shall we not be tormented? Verily this is mighty bliss! for the like of this then let the workers work!"

***

Verily, those who disbelieve in our signs, we will broil them with fire; whenever their skins are well done, then we will change them for other skins, that they, too, may taste the torment. But those who believe and do right, we will make them enter gardens beneath which rivers flow, and they shall dwell therein forever and aye, for them therein are pure wives and we will make them enter into a shady shade.

***

O my servants! There is no fear for you on that (judgment) day; nor shall ye be grieved who believe in our signs and who are resigned. Enter ye into Paradise, ye and your wives, happy!

Dishes and pitchers of gold shall be sent round to them; therein is what souls desire, and eyes shall be delighted, and ye therein shall dwell for aye; for that is Paradise which ye are given as an inheritance for that which ye have done. Therein shall ye have much fruit whereof to eat.

***

The similitude of Paradise is promised to the pious,—in it are rivers of water without corruption, and rivers of milk, the taste whereof changes not, and rivers of wine delicious to those who drink; and rivers of honey clarified; and there shall they have all kinds of fruit and forgiveness from their Lord!

***

These are they who are brought nigh in gardens of pleasure! And gold-weft couches, reclining on them face to face. Around them shall go eternal youths with goblets and ewers and a cup of flowing wine; no headache shall they feeel therefrom, nor shall their wits be dimmed!

And fruits such as they deem the best; and flesh of fowl as they desire; and bright and large-eyed maids like hidden pearls; a reward for that which they have done! They shall hear no folly there and no sin; only the speech, "Peace! Peace!"

And the fellows of the right—what right lucky fellows! Amid thornless lote trees, and talʾh trees piled with fruit, and outspread shade, and water outpoured; and fruit in abundance, neither failing nor forbidden; and beds upraised! Verily we have produced them^[5] a production; and made them virgins, darlings of equal age (with their spouses) for the fellows of the right!

***

And God will guard the righteous from the evil of that day (the judgment day), and will cast on them brightness and joy; and their reward for their patience shall be paradise and silk! reclining therein upon couches they shall see therein neither sun nor piercing cold (the cold moon); and close down upon them shall be its shadows; and lowered over them its fruits to cull; and they shall be served round with vessels of silver and goblets that are as flagons—flagons of silver which they shall mete out! and they shall drink therein a cup tempered with Zinjabil, a spring therein named Silsabil! and there shall go round to them eternal boys; when thou seest them thou wilt think them scattered pearls; and when thou seest them thou shall see pleasure and a great estate. On them shall be garments of green embroidered satin and brocade; and they shall be adorned with bracelets of silver; and their Lord shall give them to drink pure drink! Verily this is a reward for you and your efforts are thanked.

 

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THE NINETY-NINE NAMES OF GOD

GOD is invoked in the Koran under ninety-nine "good" names, which are:

The Merciful
The Holy
The Protector
The Great
The Fashioner
The Provider
The Knowing
The Guardian
The Destroyer
The Judge
The Aware
The Forgiving
The Great
The Reckoner
The Watcher
The Wise
The Raiser
The Compassionate
Peace
The Mighty
The Creator
The Forgiver
The Bestower
The Restrainer
The Exalter
The Hearer
Justice
The Clement
The Grateful
The Guardian
The Majestic
The Answerer of Prayer
The Loving
The Witness
The Ruler
The Faithful
The Repairer
The Creating Force
The Dominant
The Opener
The Spreader
The Honorer
The Seer
The Subtle
The Grand
The Exalted
The Strengthener
The Generous
The Comprehensive
The Glorious
Truth
The Guarding Spirit
The Patron
The Beginner
The Killer
The Existing
The Eternal
The Deferrer
The Last
The Governor
The Relenting
The Kind
The Equitable
The Enricher
The Distresser
The Guide
The Inheritor
The Strong
The Laudable
The Restorer
The Living
The Glorious
The Powerful
The Bringer-Forward
The Apparent
The Exalted
The Avenger
The Ruler of the World
The Collector
The Giver
The Profiter
The Incomparable
The Rightly-Directing
The Firm
The Counter
The Quickener
The Subsisting
The One
The Prevailing
The First
The Innermost
Righteousness
The Pardoner
Lord of Majesty
The Independent
The Withholder
Light
The Enduring
The Patient

 

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THE TERRORS OF HELL

Verily, hell is an ambuscade; a reward for the outrageous, to tarry therein for ages. They shall not taste therein cool nor drink, but only boiling water and filth—a fit reward

When they shall be cast therein they shall hear its roaring as it boils; whenever a troop of them is thrown in, its guardians shall ask them: "Did not a warner come to you? They shall say: "Yea, a warner came to us; had we but listened or had sense we would not have been among the fellows of the blaze!"

***

And those fellows of the left—what unlucky fellows! In hot blasts and boiling water; and a shade of pitchy smoke, neither cool, nor generous! They shall eat of the Zaqqum tree and fill their bellies with its fruit, and drink thereon boiling water, and drink as drinks the thirsty camel.

 

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JESUS IN THE KORAN

Note: In his capacity as "apostle" to the Arabs, Mohammed called attention at various times to the other prophets and apostles sent to their respective peoples before him. There are many passages in the Koran, which refer to Jesus by intimation and by name; in most cases he is represented as an apostle, or "warner" sent by God to the Jews who, however, rejected him and slew him.

And we followed up the footsteps of these prophets (Adam, Noah, Moses, Abraham) with Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming that which was before him and the law; and we brought him the gospel wherein is guidance and light, verifying what was before it of the law, and a guidance and an admonition unto those who fear. Then let the people of the gospel judge by that which is revealed therein, for whoso will not judge by what God has revealed, these be the evildoers.

***

And when Jesus, the son of Mary, said, O children of Israel! verily I am the apostle of God to you, verifying the law that was before me and giving you glad tidings of an apostle who shall come after me, whose name shall be Ahmed!"^[6]

When the angel said: "O Mary! Verily God gives thee the glad tidings of a Word from Him; his name shall be the Messiah Jesus, the son of Mary, regarded in this world and the next, and whose place is nigh unto God. And he shall speak to people in his cradle, and when grown up, and shall be among the righteous." She said: "Lord, how can I have a son, when man has not yet touched me?" He said: "Thus God creates what He pleaseth. When He decrees a matter, He only says 'BE' and it is! And He will teach him the Book and wisdom and the law and the gospel and he shall be a prophet to the people of Israel, saying, that I have come to you with a sign from God, namely that I will create for you out of clay as though it were the form of a bird, and I will blow thereon and it shall be a bird by God's permission; and I will heal the blind from birth, and lepers, and I will bring the dead to life by God's permission, and I will tell you what you eat and what you store in your houses."

***

When God said, "O Jesus! I will make Thee die and take Thee up again to me, and will clear Thee of those who misbelieve, and will make those who follow Thee, above those who misbelieve at the day of judgment; then to me is your return."

***

O ye people of the Book! do not exceed in your religion nor say against God aught save the truth. The Messiah Jesus, the son of Mary, is but the apostle of God and His word, which He cast into Mary and a spirit from Him; believe then in God and in the apostles, and say not "Three!" Have done! it were better for you. God is but one God! Celebrated be His praise, that He should create a son! His is what is in the Heavens and in the earth; and God sufficeth for a guardian.

 

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THE STORY OF JOSEPH

Note: Among the Biblical stories related in the Koran is the story of Joseph and his brethren, which is given in great detail in the Twelfth Chapter (Surah XII—Mecca). In reprinting part of this particular chapter, it is the intention to induce the reader to compare the Mohammedan story with that recorded in the Old Testament (Genesis XXXVII—L). In a similar manner the Koran has taken over the stories of Abraham, of Isaac, of Moses and the Golden Calf, of Solomon, and of some of the other characters of the Jewish records.

Those are the signs of the perspicuous Book. Verily, we have revealed it, an Arabic Koran; haply ye may understand. We tell thee the best of stories, in inspiring thee with this Koran, though thou wert before this among the heedless.

When Joseph said to his father, "O my sire! verily I saw eleven stars and the sun and the moon—I saw them adoring me!"

"He said, "O my boy! tell not thy vision to thy brethren, for they will plot a plot against thee; verily the devil is to man an open foe."

Thus does thy Lord choose thee and teach thee the interpretation of sayings, and fulfil His favor upon thee, and upon Jacob's people, as He fulfilled it upon thy two forefathers before thee, Abraham and Isaac,—verily, thy Lord is knowing, wise!

In Joseph and his brethren were signs to those who inquire.

When they said, "Surely, Joseph and his brother are dearer to our father than we, a band although we be; verily our father is in obvious error. Slay Joseph, or cast him in some land; that your father's face may be free for you, and ye may be, after he is gone, a people who do right."

A speaker from amongst them spake, "Slay not Joseph, but throw him into the bottom of the pit; some of the travelers may pick him up, if so ye do."

Said they, "O our father! what ails thee that thou wilt not trust us with Joseph while we are unto him sincere? Send him with us tomorrow to revel and play, and, verily, we over him will keep good guard."

Said he, "Verily it grieves me that ye should go off with him, for I fear lest the wolf devour him, while ye of him do take no heed."

Said they, "Why if the wolf should devour him, while we are such a large band, we then should deserve to lose."

And when they had gone off with him, and agreed to put him in the depths of the pit, and we inspired him, "Thou shalt surely inform them of this affair of theirs and they shall not perceive."

And they came to their father at eve, weeping, and said, "O our father! Verily we went forth to race and left Joseph by our goods, and the wolf devoured him—but thou wilt not believe us, truth tellers though we be."

And they brought his shirt with lying blood upon it. Said he, "Nay, but your souls have induced you to do this; but patience is fair! and God is He whom I ask for aid against that which ye describe!"

And travelers came and sent their water drawer; and he let down his bucket. Said he, "O glad tidings! This is a youth." And they kept his secret as a chattel; but God knew what they were doing.

And they sold him for a mean price,—drachmae counted out,—and they parted with him cheaply. And the man from Egypt who had bought him, said to his wife, "Honor his abiding here; it may be he will be of use to us, or we may adopt him as a son."

Thus did we establish Joseph in the land; and we did surely teach him the interpretation of sayings; for God can overcome His affairs though most men do not know.

And when he had reached his strength we brought him judgment and knowledge, for thus do we reward those who do good.

And she in whose house he was desired him for his person; and she locked the doors and said, "Come along with thee!" Said he, "Refuge in God! Verily, my Lord has made good my abiding here; verily the wrongdoers shall not prosper."

And she was anxious for him, and he would have been anxious for her, had it not been that he saw the demonstration of his Lord;^[7] thus did we turn evil and fornication from him; verily he was of our sincere servants.

And they raced to the door and she rent his shirt from behind; and they met her master at the door. Said she, "What is the recompense of him who wishes evil for thy family, but that imprisonment or a grievous torment?"

Said he, "she desired me for my person." And a witness from her own family bore witness: "If his shirt be rent in front, then she speaks the truth and he is of the liars; but if his shirt be rent from behind, then she lies and he is of the truth tellers."

And when he saw his shirt rent from behind, he said, "This is one of your tricks, verily your tricks are mighty! Joseph, turn aside from this. And do thou, woman, ask pardon for thy fault; verily, thou wert of the sinners."

And women in the city said, "The wife of the prince desires her young man for his person; he has infatuated her with love; verily we see her in obvious error." And when she heard of their craftiness, she sent to them and prepared for them a banquet, and gave each of them a knife; and she said, "Come forth to them!" And when they saw him, they cried: "Great God!" and cut their hands accidentally and said, "God forbid! This is no mortal, this is nothing but an honorable angel." Said she, "This is he concerning whom ye blamed me. I did desire him for his person, but he was too continent. But if he do not what I bid him, he shall surely be imprisoned and shall surely be among the small."

Said he, "My Lord! Prison is dearer to me than what they call on me to do; and unless Thou turn from me their craftiness, I shall feel a passion for them and shall be among the ignorant!" And his Lord answered him and turned from him their craftiness; verily. He both hears and knows.

Then it appeared good to them, even after they had seen the signs, to imprison him until a time.

And there entered the prison with him two young men. Said one of them, "Verily, I see myself pressing wine!" And the other said, "Verily, and I see myself bearing on my head loaves from which the birds do eat; inform us of the interpretation thereof; verily we see that thou art of those who do good."

He said, "There shall not come to you any food with which ye are provided, but I will inform you both of its interpretation before it comes to you. That is some of what my Lord has taught me; verily I have left the faith of a people who do not believe in God, while in the future, too, they disbelieve. And I have followed the faith of my fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; we could not associate aught with God; that is from God's grace upon us and upon me; hut most men give not thanks. O ye twain fellow-prisoners! Are manifold lords better, or God, the one, dominant? What ye worship beside him are naught but names which ye have names, ye and your fathers, for which God has sent down no authority. Judgment is only God's; He bids you worship only Him. That is the standard of religion—but most men do not know. O ye twain fellow-prisoners! as for one of you, he shall pour out wine for his Lord; and as for the other, he shall be crucified, and the birds shall eat of his head. The matter is decreed whereon ye asked me for a decision."

And he said to him who, he thought, would escape of those two, "Remember me with thy Lord!" But Satan made the prisoner forget the remembrance of Joseph, so he tarried in prison a few years.

Then said the king, "Verily I see seven fat kine, which seven lean kine devoured; and seven green ears of corn and seven dry. O ye chiefs! explain to me my vision, if a vision ye can expound!" said they, "Confused dreams, and naught of the exposition of such dreams know we."

Then he who had escaped of those twain in prison, said—remembering after a while—"Verily, I will inform you of the interpretation of the dream so send me." "Joseph, O thou truth teller! Explain to us the seven fat kine which the seven lean kine devoured, and the seven green ears of corn and others dry. Haply I may go back to the men, haply they then may know."

He said, "Ye shall sow for seven years as is your want; but what ye reap, let it remain in the ear, except a little whereof ye may eat. Then there shall come after that seven severe years which shall devour what ye have put by before them them, save a little of what ye shall preserve. Then there will come after that a year in which men shall have rain and in which they shall press."

Then said the king, "Bring him to me." And when the messenger came to him, he said, "go back to thy Lord, and ask him, "What meant the women who cut their hands? Verily my lord knows their craftiness!"

He said, "What was your design when ye desired Joseph for his person?" They said, "God forbid! we know no bad of him." Said the wife of the prince, "Now does the truth appear! I desired him for his person, and, verily, he is of those who tell the truth."

"That," said Joseph, "was that he might know that I did not betray him in his absence, and that God guides not the craft of those who do betray. Yet I do not clear myself, for the soul is very urgent to evil, save what my Lord has had mercy on; verily, my Lord is forgiving and merciful." And the king said, "Bring him to me. I will take him specially for myself." And when he had spoken with him, he said, "Verily today thou art with us in a permanent place of trust."

Joseph said, "Place me over the treasures of the land, verily, I will be a knowing keeper."

Thus did we establish Joseph in the land that he might settle in what part thereof he pleased—we overtake with our mercy whom we will, nor do we waste the hire of those who do good; and surely the hire of the future life is better for those who believe and who have feared.

And his brethren came to Joseph, and they entered in unto him and he knew them, but they recognized him not. And when he had equipped them with their equipment he said, "Bring me a brother that ye have from your father; do ye not see that I give good measure, and that I am the best of entertainers? But if ye bring him not to me, no measure shall ye have with me, nor shall ye come nigh me."

They said, "We will desire him of our father and we will surely do it."

Then he said to his young men, "Put their chattels in their packs, haply they may know it when they are come back to their family; haply they may return."

And when they returned to their father, they said, "O our father! Measure is withheld from us; so send with us our brother so that we may get measure, and, verily, him we will keep."

He said, "Shall I entrust you with him, save as I entrusted you with his brother before? but God is the best of keepers, and He is the most merciful of the merciful."

And when they opened their goods they found their chattels restored to them. Said they, "O our father! What more can we crave? Here are our chattels restored to us, and we shall guard our brother and we shall have an additional measure beside that—a small measure!"

He said, "I will by no means send him with you, until you give me a compact from God, that you will surely bring him to me, unless ye be encompassed" (by some unavoidable force).

So when they had given him their compact he said, "God over what ye say has charge."

And he said "O my sons, enter not by one gate, but by several gates; but I cannot avail you aught against God. Judgment is only God's; upon Him do I rely, and on Him do the reliant rely."

And when they had entered as their father had bade them, it availed them nothing against God, save for a want in Jacob’s soul which it fulfilled; for, verily, he was possessed of knowledge, for that we had taught him;—but most men do not know.

And when they entered in unto Joseph, he took his brother to stay with him and said, "Verily, I am thy brother—then take not ill that which they have been doing."

And when he had equipped them with their equipment he placed the drinking cup in his brother's pack, then a crier cried out, "O ye caravan! verily, ye are thieves!" They said, approaching them, "What is it that ye miss?"

Said they, "We miss the goblet of the king, and whoso brings it shall have a camel-load, and I am guarantee thereof." They said, "By God! Ye know we came not to do evil in the land and that we were not thieves." They said, "And what shall be the recompense thereof if ye be liars?" They said, "The recompense thereof is he in whose pack it is found—he shall be the recompense thereof; thus do we recompense the unjust." And he began with their sacks before the sacks of his brother; then he drew it forth from his brother's pack. Thus did we devise a stratagem for Joseph. He could not take his brother by the king's religion except as God pleased;—we raise the degrees of whomsoever we please, and over every possessor of knowledge is one who knows.

They said, "If he has stolen, a brother of his has stolen before him."

But Joseph kept it secret in his soul, and disclosed it not to them. Said he, "Ye are in a bad case, and God knows best about what ye describe." They said, "Prince! Verily, he has a father, a very old man; take then one of us, instead of him; verily, we can see that thou art of those who do good." Said he, "I seek refuge in God, from taking any save him with whom we found our property; verily, we should then be certainly be unjust." And when they despaired of them, they retired to consult privately. Said the eldest of them, "Do ye not know, that your father has taken a compact from God against you? Aforetime ye exceeded in the matter of Joseph—I will surely not quit the land until my father give me leave, or God judge for me, for He is the best of judges. Return ye to our father and say, "Father verily thy son has committed theft, and we bore testimony to naught but what we knew; for of the unforeseen we were not keepers. Ask then in the city where we were, and of the caravan in which we approached it, for, verily, we tell the truth.

Said he, "Nay your souls have induced you to do this thing. But patience is fair. It may be that God will give them to me altogether;—verily, He is knowing, wise!"

And he turned away from them and said, "O my lament for Joseph!" And his eyes grew white with grief, for he repressed his woe. They said, "By God! Thou wilt not cease to remember Joseph till thou art at the point of death, or art of those who perish." Said he, "I only complain of my emotion and of my grief to God, for I know that from God of which ye know nothing." O my sons! go and enquire concerning Joseph and his brother, and despair not of God's comfort; for, verily, none need despair of God's comfort save a misbelieving people."

And when they entered in unto him they said, "O prince! distress has touched both us and our families, and we have brought trifling chattels. So give us full measure and bestow upon us in charity; verily, God rewards the charitable."

He said, "Do ye know what ye did with Joseph and his brother, while ye were ignorant?"

They said, "Art thou indeed Joseph?" He said, "I am Joseph and this is my brother; God has been gracious towards us. Verily, whoso fears God and is patient,—verily, God wasteth not the hire of those who do good."

They said, "By God! God has chosen thee over us, and we are indeed sinners." He said, "No reproach against you today! God will pardon ye, for He is the most merciful of the merciful. Take this my shirt and throw it over the face of my father, he will become able to see; and bring me your families all together."

And when the caravan departed, their father said, "Verily I find the smell of Joseph, unless ye think I dote!" They said, "By God! Thou art in thy old error." And when the herald of glad tidings came, he threw it on his face, and he was restored to sight.

Said he, "Did I not tell you that I know from God, that which ye know not?" They said, "O our father! ask pardon for us of our sins, verily, we were sinners!" He said, "I will ask pardon for you from my Lord; verily, He is the pardoning and the merciful."

And when they entered in unto Joseph, he took his father to stay with him, and said, "Enter ye into Egypt, if it please God, safe." And he raised his father upon the throne, and they fell down before him adoring.

And he said, "O my sire, this is the interpretation of my vision aforetime; my Lord has made it come true and he has been good to me, in bringing me forth out of prison and bringing you from the desert, after Satan had made a breach between me^and my brethren; verily my Lord is kind to whomsoever He will; verily. He is the knowing and the wise.

"O my Lord! Thou hast given me dominion and hast taught me the interpretation of signs and sayings; O originator of the heavens and the earth! Thou art my patron in this world and the next. Take me to Thyself resigned and let me reach the righteous!"

That is one of the stories of the unseen that we inspire you with, though thou wert not with them when they agreed in their affair, when they were so crafty. And yet most men, though thou shouldst be urgent, will not believe. … It was not a tale forged, but a verification of what was before it, and a detailing of everything and a guide and a mercy to a people who believe.

Note: When we compare the Mohammedan version of the story of Joseph, Potiphar and Pharaoh with the Talmud, or the Christian Old Testament, we cannot fail to notice a number of important differences. These differences, naturally, are due to the limited knowledge which Mohammed possessed of the Jewish scriptures—being unable to read or write. He relied, in his XIIth Surah of the Koran, upon memory, and the discrepancies are due to his faulty memory. Added to this inaccuracy there must be taken into consideration his continuous interpolation of the basic Islamic statement: "There is but One God—and He knows!" And it is by comparison of the stories in the Koran, with the same stories as reported in the older scriptures, that we can best obtain a clear understanding of the construction of the Mohammedan "Book"—the Koran. It is a well-established fact that a man’s character and whole nature are, reflected in the manner in which he tells a story; and as we possess many of the stories told in the Koran, in other records, we thereby have a key to the character of Mohammed. Not only that, but we find in the treatment which these Biblical stories receive at the hands of the Arabs an unfailing guide to the moral and intellectual plane on which Mohammed's contemporaries lived. For this reason a study and comparison of the Koran stories of Biblical persons and incidents is of more real benefit to him who has but a little time to give to such study, than a deeply theological analysis of the supposed "heavenly" origin of the Koran.

 

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ISLAM AND DIVORCE

Note: The relations between husband and wife during the centuries before Mohammed had been of the most primitive kind in Arabia. If at any time a man became dissatisfied with one or more of his "wives" and wished to be rid of them, he could divorce them by the simple method of speaking this formula: "Thou art to me, henceforth, as my mother's back." There was practically no feeling of future responsibility on the part of the husband who had divorced his wife suddenly by the uttering of this dreaded formula; often these rejected wives were left to starve and die, as and where they pleased. It is therefore not to be wondered at, that the Arabian woman of pre-Mohammed time was but a slave to her husband, and in continuous dread of being "divorced" or turned adrift at a moment's notice, perhaps through no fault of her own, Mohammed realized the injustice of this method of divorce, and the Koran contains a large number of verses dealing with this divorce problem in great detail. To quote all of the matter relating to divorce would be impossible in a small booklet of this size; it is sufficient to cite a few of the rules and laws which Mohhamed laid down for the future treatment of wives by their husbands. The crime of adultery, if committed by a woman, was punished fiendishly by the old pagan Arabs: the victims were literally immured—walled up behind bricks and masonry, alive, and left to die a horrible slow death by starvation and gradual suffocation. If a wife did not give birth to a son within a reasonable time after "marriage," she was quite sure to be divorced; sons were considered a blessing, but daughters a curse; frequently girl babies were buried alive immediately after birth!

When ye divorce women, then divorce them at their term—(when they have had three periods of menstruation, or, if with child, after their delivery)—and calculate the term and fear God, your Lord. Do not drive them out of their houses, unless they have committed manifest adultery. And when they have reached their appointed time, then retain them with kindness or separate from them with kindness; and bring as witnesses men of equity from among you; and give upright testimony to God. . . . . And such of your women as despair of menstruation,—if ye doubt it, then their term is three months, and such as have not menstruated, too.

Let the divorced women dwell where ye dwell, according to your means and do not harm them, to reduce them to straits; and they be heavy with child, then pay for them until they lay down their burdens; and if they suckle the child for you, then give them their hire, and consult among yourselves in reason; but if ye be in difficulties and another woman shall suckle his child for him, let him who has plenty, expend of his plenty; but he, whose provision is doled out, let him expend of what God has given him.

Divorced women must wait for themselves three courses; and it is not lawful for them to hide what God has created in their wombs. Their husbands will do better to take them back in that case, if they desire a reconciliation; for the same is due to them, as from them; but the men should have the precedence over them.

Divorce may take place twice; then keep them in reason or let them go in kindness. It is not lawful for you to take from them anything that you have given them, unless both fear that they cannot keep within God's bounds. But if he divorce her a third time, then she shall not be lawful to him until she marry another husband; but if this last husband divorce her, too, it is no crime in them both to come together again, if they think they can keep within God's bounds.

When ye divorce women, do not prevent them from marrying their fresh husbands when they have agreed with each other reasonably.

Mothers must suckle their children two whole years for one who wishes to complete the time for suckling; and on him to whom it is born, its sustenance and its clothing are incumbent; but only in reason, for no one shall be obligated beyond his capacity. A mother shall not be forced for her child, nor he to whom it is born, for his child. And the same is also incumbent on the heir of the father, if the father die. But if both parties wish to wean, by their mutual consent and agreement, then it shall be no crime for them to do so. If ye wish to engage a wet-nurse for your children, it is no crime in you when you pay what you have promised her, in reason.

Those of you who die and leave wives behind, let these wives wait four months and ten days by themselves; and when this prescribed time has expired then there is no crime for them to do that with themselves what they please. Nor is it any crime to you, if you make them an offer of marriage, or that ye keep it secret in your minds, but do not propose to them in secret, unless ye do speak with honest intentions; and resolve not on the marriage tie until the time fixed by the Book shall have expired.

It is no crime for you to divorce your women, ere you have yet touched them or settled upon them a settlement. But provide maintenance for them; the wealthy according to his power, and the one in straightened circumstances according to his ability, must provide for them in reason.

But if ye divorce your women, ere ye have touched them, but have already settled for them a marriage settlement, the half of what ye have settled ye may remit, or have remitted to you; forget not liberality between you.

RESURRECTION DAY

When Abraham said, "Lord, show me how Thou wilt raise the dead," God said: "Take four birds, and keep them close to thyself, until thou knowest them and they know thee; then leave one at one mountain, and another on another mountain, and so on. Then go way off and call them and they will come to thee in haste."

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When the trumpet shall be blown with one blast, and the earth shall be borne away, and the mountains, too, and both be crushed with one crushing; on that day shall the inevitable happen and the heaven on that day shall be cleft asunder, for on the day shall it wane, and the angels upon the sides thereof. Above them eight shall bear the throne of the Lord.

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On the day when ye shall be sent forth, no hidden thing of yours shall be concealed.

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Does man think that we shall not be able to collect his bones? Able we are to rearrange even his finger tips!

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Verily the day of decision is an appointed time; and the day when the trumpet shall be blown, and ye shall come in troops, and the heavens shall be opened, and shall be all doors, and the mountains shall be moved and shall be like a mirage.

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The day when the Spirit (Jesus) and the angels shall stand in ranks, they shall not speak save to whom the Merciful permits, and who speaks aright.

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Verily the earthquake of the hour is a mighty thing. On the day ye Shall see it, every suckling woman shall be scared away from that to which she gave suck; and every pregnant woman shall lay down her load, and thou Shalt see men drunken, though they be not drunken; but the torment of God is severe.

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The day the heavens shall be cleft asunder with the clouds, and the angels shall be sent down descending. The true kingdom on that day shall belong to the Merciful, and it shall be a hard day for the misbelievers.

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Woe on that day for those who say that the judgment day is a lie! But none shall call it a lie except every, sinful transgressor, who when our signs are read to him, says. "Old folks' tales!"

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When the heaven is cleft asunder; and when the stars are scattered, and when the seas gush together, and the tombs are turned upside down, the soul shall know what it has sent on or kept back. . . . . Nay, but ye call the judgment day a lie! but over you are guardian angels set who write down; they know what you do. . . . . And what shall make thee know what Is the judgment day? A day when no soul shall control aught for another, and the bidding on that day belongs to God.

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When the sun is folded up, and the stars fall, and the mountains are moved, and the she-camels shall be neglected, and when the beasts shall be crowded together, and the seas shall surge up, and when souls shall be paired with bodies; and when the child buried alive shall be asked for what sin it was thus slain; and when the pages shall be spread out, and the heavens shall be flayed and all hell set ablaze—the soul shall know what it has produced.

 

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THE PILGRIMAGE

One of the important duties of a true Moslem is the pilgrimage to Mecca, which every true believer should make at least once in his lifetime. It is this not an ordinary journey, simply for the purpose of visiting the religious center of the Moslem world, but it is real hardship to the great majority of the Hadj pilgrims who come from the ends of the whole world at the prescribed time of the year, to gather at Mecca and take part in a series of imposing religious ceremonials.

Not every visit to Mecca and the Holy Kaabah is termed a Hadj, and no pilgrim is entitled to assume the title "El Hadj" unless he made the pilgrimage according to the strict rules of the Koran, and arrived at Mecca during the four-day period of the 7th to the 10th day of the month Dhul—ʾHidjeh. Should he make the journey at any other time of the year, he earns a "meritorious entry to his credit," but cannot call himself a Hadj. At the present time, a journey to Mecca is not the difficult undertaking which it was at the time of Mohammed, although there are tribes even now, whose members, in order to accomplish a Hadj to Mecca, must start out six and even nine months ahead of the time they desire to arrive in the Holy City.

In the course of the centuries which have gone by since Mohammed lived, the routine of a Hadj pilgrim has been fixed so carefully, and so all-embracingly, that there is hardly an hour of the four days which he may call his own. Mohammed himself is often mentioned as having instituted the annual pilgrimage, but this is not true. The custom of visiting the Holy Kaabah antedates Mohammed by many centuries, and Mohammed had nothing to do with its continuance; it is a fact that he could not have abolished it, even if he had so desired. By making the pilgrimage a sacred duty to all true Moslems, he facilitated the acceptance of Islam by the Meccans, who earned considerable revenue from the many thousands of pilgrims journeying to the Holy Kaabah from all parts of North Africa and Western Asia, where the wandering tribes of the desert Arabs had spread in their migrations.

When he arrives within a short distance of the Holy City, the Hadj pilgrim lays aside the clothing which he had worn during the journey, and dresses himself in two new seamless wrappers, called iram or "the garb of holiness." One of these wrappers is fastened at the waist by a cord or belt, and the second one is thrown loosely over the first, hanging from the shoulders and leaving the head uncovered. The putting on of the "garb of holiness" places the Hadj pilgrim on a different plane from that of the other travelers who may be journeying his way, or meeting him in the desert. He is not permitted to either shave his head or any part of his body; he must not wash or anoint his hair; must not pare or trim his finger or toenails, and, finally, must not take off the iram, or exchange it for any other garment, during the days of his visit to Mecca.

Upon entering the city of Mecca, he first performs the religious ablutions, prescribed by the Koran; he then proceeds to the Sacred Mosque, where he kisses the "black stone." After the ceremony of saluting the mysterious stone in the wall of the Kaabah, he makes the circuit of the whole Kaabah seven times; three times at a trot or fast walk, and four times at a slow pace. As soon as he has completed the seventh circuit he proceeds to the "Place of Abraham" (Makham Ibrahim), makes his ceremonious prostrations, then returns to the Kaabah and kisses the Holy Black Stone once more.

The Hadj pilgrim now walks to a low hill outside the gates of Mecca, called Zafa, where formerly there stood an idol (Isaf) which was greatly venerated, by the heathen Arabs before Mohammed's time. On "Mount" Zafa the pilgrim makes his obeisance to the place where this idol formerly stood (although not one in ten thousand Hadj pilgrims has any clear idea of what he is venerating there!), and then proceeds to the neighboring hill, Madwa, on the summit of which was once an image called Naila. Here he again bows down and worships. He then returns to the summit of Mount Zafa, then back again to Marwa, alternating between the two summits until he has made the round trip seven times. The ritual prescribes that this trip from hill to hill shall be made "running"—but few of the Hadj pilgrims take this order literally. They usually pass from summit to summit at a fast walk, running a few steps down hill, so as to comply with the letter of the ritual. The tasks set for this, the first day of the Hadj, are strenuous enough to tire the pilgrims thoroughly.

On the following day (the 8th day of the month) all the pilgrims congregate in the valley of Minah, where they pass the night.

On the morning of the ninth day of the month, as soon as morning prayers have been said, they run with great noise and tumult to the summit of Mount Arafat, where they remain the whole day, until sunset. When the sun drops behind the Western horizon they come down from the hill and assemble at a place called Muzdalifeh, where they pass the night.

On the following morning, the pilgrims again assemble in the valley of Minah, where they go through the ceremony of throwing stones at three high pillars standing there. This ritual is observed in commemoration of Abraham, who, it is said, met the devil at this spot and succeeded in driving him away with stones thrown at him.

After the stone throwing ceremony the pilgrims make their sacrifices—some animal which is killed upon a large flat stone-altar, in commemoration of the incompleted sacrifice of Ishmael by his father Abraham. (The Bible tells of this sacrifice, but gives Isaac as the intended victim).

After the sacrifice the pilgrim is permitted to divest himself of the iram, dress in his usual clothes, shave and pare his nails, etc. It is advisable, although not compulsory, that the pilgrims remain three more days at Mecca—the days of "drying up," i. e., till the blood of the sacrifices has dried. During this time the Kaabah should be visited again and the seven circuits of the Mosque repeated. After performing this ceremony, the pilgrim is a full-fledged Hadj—one who has made the great pilgrimage to Mecca according to all the laws of the Koran. Nearly every pilgrim to Mecca visits the tomb of the prophet Mohammed at Medinah, and in late years the visit to the tomb has become an obligatory part of the Hadj pilgrimage.

1. So called because the Abyssinian army attacked Mecca in that year, using elephants in the battle, and was repulsed (571).
2. Iblis = Satan.
3. Moses, called in Arabic Kalimu ʾllah—He with whom God spake.
4. Signs of the coming Judgment Day.
5. The heavenly maidens.
6. Note: (In the Gospel of St. John XVI, 7, we read: "It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment." The word Comforter is the English translation of the Greek word Parakletos used in the Greek version of the New Testament; Mohammed and his followers declare that a forgery has been made in the translation and that the real Greek word which was originally written in this verse, was Periklutos meaning "The Laudable, Praised." In Arabic these two words are translated by Aʾhmed, and Aʾhmed is equivalent to Mohammed in meaning. Islam, therefore, claims that Jesus himself foretold the coming of Mohammed.)
7. Note: According to Moslem tradition, the angel Gabriel appeared to Joseph in the form of his old father and warned him.