I shall now make a few general observations on the religion of the
prophet of Arabia. Whatever Islam may have become through pharisaic
artificiality and theological subtlety, its leading principles are
as broad as the starriest heavens and as enduring as the everlasting
hills. It contains, in common with other great religions, those eternal
truths which are only too liable to be forgotten in blind zeal, in
warmth of controversy, in sectarian narrow-mindedness, in religious
fanaticism but which our education and culture teach us to discover
and appreciate, wherever we find them. The governing principle of all
religions is the same. In the language of the apostle James: “Pure
religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this; to visit the
fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unspotted
from the world.” This is the burden of all religions and this the
burden of Islam.
The kernel and doctrine of Islam, Goethe has found in the second
_surah_ which begins as follows:--“This is the Book. There is no
doubt in the same. A guidance to the righteous, who believe in the
unseen, who observe the prayer and who give alms of that which we have
vouchsafed unto them. And who believe in that which has been sent down
unto thee--(the Revelation) which had been sent down to those before
thee, and who believe in the life to come. They walk in the guidance of
their Lord, and they are the blessed. As to them who believe not--it
is indifferent to them whether thou exhortest them or not exhortest
them. They will not believe. Sealed hath Allah their hearts and
their ears and over their eye is darkness and theirs will be a great
punishment.--” “And in this wise,” Goethe continues, “we have _surah_
after _surah_. Belief and unbelief are divided into higher and lower.
Heaven and hell await the believers or deniers. Detailed inductions
of things allowed and forbidden, legendary stories of Jewish and
Christian religion, amplifications of all kinds, boundless tautologies
and repetitions, form the body of this sacred volume, which, to us, as
often as we approach it, is repellent anew, next attracts us ever anew
and fills us with admiration, and finally forces us into veneration.”
This passage, indeed, is as good a summary as any other, but there is
one, and in this same chapter, still more explicit, illustrating the
catholicity of the prophet’s mind and his discerning judgment. When
Mohamed, says Deutsch[25], told his adherents at Medina no longer to
turn in prayer towards Jerusalem but towards the Ka´bah at Mekka, to
which their fathers had turned, and he was blamed for this innovation
he replied:--“That is not righteousness: whether ye turn your faces
towards east or west, God’s is the east as well as the west. But verily
righteousness is his who believes in God, in the day of judgment, in
the angels, in the book and the prophets; who bestows his wealth for
God’s sake, upon kindred, and orphans, and the poor, and the homeless,
and all those who ask; and also upon delivering the captives; he who is
steadfast in prayer, giveth alms, who stands firmly by his covenants,
when he has once entered into them; and who is patient in adversity,
in hardship and in times of trial. These are the righteous, and these
are the God-fearing.” What a noble idea of life and religion do we find
here. It is not merely the recitation of prayers which constitutes
righteousness but in solemnly acting the religion we profess; in tender
regard for the poor and the orphan, the forlorn and the suffering; in
relieving the miseries of the captives, in holding by the promises
made, in enduring with calm fortitude the trials and reverses of
fortune. Here, in this passage, we have the key to Islam, nay, I would
go further and say a key to all religions. It is only the clouded
vision which sees difference between one religion and the other; to one
who has the eyes to see and the heart to feel, all religions appear as
but a reflection of one and the same light.
Where do you seek shelter? House of God or house of idols?
Oh, the house-wrecker there, which one is your house?
More holes on the roof will not give you more suns
And you, the diverged-minded, say house of God or house of idols?[26]
This was the spirit of the prophet’s religion which he preached in the
Qur´an in every accent of pleading and warning, of pathos and hope,
of repentance and forgiveness. He stood firm by his faith unshaken
by threats and persuasion. His success, indeed, marks the ascent of
the soul, of the higher and nobler nature of man from the darkness to
the light. Nor was it a different light to that which had appeared to
humanity “at sundry times and in divers manners.” His preaching fell
on the Arabs, still in the spring tide of their national life, and
laid a tremendous hold upon their mind and their imagination; changing
and transforming them and giving them as it were, a new existence.
It taught them firmness of resolve, contempt of death, singleness of
purpose, unity and fraternity, and it gave them that intensity of
religious fervour which became the most valued asset of their national
life. Above all, says Dr. Nöldeke, Islam gave and gives, to those who
profess it a feeling of confidence such as is imparted by hardly any
other faith.[27] And, indeed, it was this, again, which made them great
warriors and conquerors of the world.[28]
Islam possesses an inherent force and vitality which nothing can weaken
or destroy. It carries within it germs of progress and development
and has great powers of adaptability to changing circumstances. There
is nothing in its teachings which conflicts with or militates against
modern civilisation, and the moment Muslims realise this truth their
future will be assured and their greatness only a question of time.
Modern Islam, with its hierarchy of priesthood, gross fanaticism,
appalling ignorance and superstitious practices, is, indeed, a
discredit to the Islam of the prophet Mohamed. Instead of unity we
have Islam torn into factions, instead of culture we have indifference
to learning; instead of liberal-minded toleration we have gross
bigotry. But this intellectual darkness must necessarily be followed by
intellectual dawn and we trust, that it is not now far distant or too
long to come.
An impartial consideration of the life of the prophet and his
teachings cannot fail to awaken the warmest admiration for the man
and his mission. Whatever may be the defects in the Qur´an, even
non-Muslims must concede that it is a noble testimony to the unity
of God and whatever may be the blemishes in the life of the prophet,
none, but a perverse mind, will regard him as anything but sincere in
his conviction, honest in his purpose and unshaken in his resolve.
Mohamedan civilisation was the outcome of Mohamedan faith and nothing
but Islam alone can again give to the Mohamedans what they have lost:
their civilisation, their culture, and their empire.
The City Press, Allahabad.