RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Mohammed
people, and much that he had gathered from his converse with Jews and Christians, though in the latter case the real origin was apocryphal rather than canonical, while the Jewish matter was haggadic rather than derived from the Old Testament.
IV. The Religion: The coming of Mohammed
was in a sense opportune. The local religions of
the Arabs were growing effete. Allah was already
known, but much in the same way as Baal was in
pre-Israelitic Canaan — each tribe might
i. The call its own deity Allah, and a process
Back- of unification had already begun.
ground. That this was due in part to the influence of Judaism and Christianity is very probable. There were a number of Jewish tribes in Arabia, and to Arabs Jews were " the people of the book." Jewish accounts of Arab origins were accepted, and both peoples claimed Abraham as the common ancestor. That from the Jews in his early journeys the founder derived his tendency toward a rigid monotheism is at least possible; and Mohammedanism employs many Jewish theological terms. Christianity also, through two channels, affected Islam: (1) through the hermits whose huts and caves dotted the desert, while they themselves were respected by the nomads; (2) through the faith of the Abyssinians, whose country was the refuge of Mohammed's followers in the stormy times of the close of the first Meccan period. By Mohammed and his followers Jesus was recognized as a prophet second in honor only to Mohammed, while the devout Moslem never speaks of him without uttering the benediction " on whom be peace." But the complexion Christianity takes on as reflected in Islam is, like that of Judaism, apocryphal rather than as portrayed in the Gospels. A third source of Mohammed's inspiration was the Hanifs —a discovery comparatively recent. Hanif probably means " penitent," and the name was applied to men who, not constituting a sect, were scattered through Arabia as recluses, individual seekers after God. Among these men had developed belief in a deity like Allah, who was rising into lofty superiority above the idols of the tribes. The problems of sin and judgment were real to these Hanifs, and the practise of austerity and penitence were parts of their solution of the question. Through a cousin of Hadijah Mohammed came into contact with these men and their developing monotheism; and the light gained from Judaism and Christianity doubtless illumined for him the meditations of the Hanifs as communicated to him. His own rapid logic and invincible spirit conducted him to his own absolute monotheism, and the later steps followed as already indicated: instruction of his friends, public preaching, intensification of purpose through opposition, development at Medina, assimilation of elements not absolutely incompatible with the system, break with Judaism, politicalization of the faith, and the submission of Arabia.
The fundamental theological doctrine of Islam is the unity of God, whose will, declared by the prophet Mohammed, is law for man. The doctrine of God is intensely and baldly unitarian. Special points antagonized were the Christian trinity and the deity of Christ. Emphasis was laid upon the
sovereignty of Allah and his omnipotence. Allah was not a philosophic first cause, but a present
active agency ever working in his world
2. The and accomplishing his purposes. In
Theology other words, Mohammed's was a prac-
and its tical, not a speculative monotheism.
Implicates. Allah was sharply distinguished from
his creation, and the latter included evil as well as good. From no logical consequences of this doctrine did the founder shrink. Right is right not because of its essence but because Allah decrees it. Hence Mohammedan predestination is arbitrary in its absoluteness, acquiring the force of fatalism. The practical result was the inspiration of a magnificent but terrible courage. Arab warriors went into battle convinced that their life-span was so definitely determined that whether they stayed at home or went to the fight their hap would surely overtake them. This fanaticism was intensified by the eschatology of the faith, which is gross, crude, and vivid. Both heaven and hell are material, both are preceded by resurrection and judgment, through which all Moslems pass with success — though some may have to be purified in purgatory. But the warrior who dies in battle is sure of paradise. It is to these facts that the dread of a jehad or holy war is due. Hell is in seven regions, of which the first is purgatory; to hell all infidels (non-Mohammedans) are destined. Heaven is across a chasm over which is a bridge broad and easy for the believer, but shrinking to the width of a razor's edge when infidels attempt its passage, and they then fall from it into the fire which for them is eternal. While the delights of the Moslem heaven as portrayed in the Koran are sensual, there can be no doubt that, as in other religions, the idea conveyed depends upon the mental and spiritual culture of the individual. One may well compare the conceptions inspired in Christians by the reading of the Book of Revelation, though the adjectives sensuous and sensual well distinguish the views held by Christian and Mohammedans respectively. Surah xiii. proves that the prophet's heaven was not bounded by the delights of the senses. Another consequence of the doctrine of the unity of God was the prohibition of idolatry, both of the making and worshiping of images. The only inconsistency is the retention of the Black Stone of the Kaaba — an inconsistency recognized and denounced by some of the sects of the religion. Equally a corollary of the doctrine of the absoluteness of deity is the angelology of Islam. Angels are a postulate of the faith. They are required as ministers of Allah, who is too exalted to accomplish his ends by personal ministrations. The angelology is elaborate, the angelic beings are arranged in order of rank, with the archangels Gabriel, Michael, Israfil, and Asrael at the head, each of whom has duties here or hereafter in relation to mankind. There are also recording angels whose records appear as testimony at the judgment. Of angels of lesser rank there are hosts; besides these there are genii, good and bad. The devil is a fallen angel named Iblis.
Briefly, the four practical points of the Mohammedan creed are: (1) prayer five times a day; directed toward Mecca; (2) almsgiving on a fixed
Mohammed