Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society
PART-4
ISLAM: THE RELIGION—IN TERMS OF THE SCOPE
AND NATURE OF THE QUR’ANIC GUIDANCE
Chapter 1
ISLAM AMONG
RELIGIONS
The Holy Qur’an claims that all the problems of human life that relate
directly or indirectly to the fulfilment of human destiny, in the earthly
environment as well as in the next world, have been dealt with therein
explicitly or implicitly:
“… And We have revealed unto you (O Muhammad!) the Book (i. e., the Qur’an) as an
(explicit and implicit) exposition of everything (requisite in respect of
perfect Guidance) …” (16: 89).
That comprehensive guidance has been projected, however, under the name
of al-Islam (‘submission to God’) —termed as ‘Islam’ in popular usage—and on
the basis of Faith in God and all that it implies. As such, it is theocentric,
as distinct from the anthropocentric and the nihilistic.
The terms ‘theocentric’, ‘anthropocentric’ and ‘nihilistic’ refer to
three basic attitudes towards Reality that humanity has entertained in history.
Among the better-known and representative systems—or, we may call them
‘religions’ in the broadest sense of the word, the broad [1]
classification emerges, subject to certain inherent reservations, thus: systems
like Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and certain schools of thought in Hinduism,
stand in the civilised sector, and systems like Shintoism stand in the
primitive sector, of the first category; systems like Buddhism, Jainism and
Confucianism relate to the second; and systems like Marxist Dialectical
Materialism and Atheistic Existentialism fall under the third.
In the theocentric view at its highest, the Ultimate Reality is
supra-cosmic, personal and divine. It is ‘Being’. It is God. It is the
fountain-head of the highest values and ideals. It reveals itself in the Cosmic
Order, which is its creation. Man is ‘from God and for God’. He is the pilgrim
of eternity with his source of existence and capabilities in the Ultimate
Reality, whose Grace he should seek. His function is to promote harmony with
the Ultimate Reality through worship, in order to acquire perfection adequate
to his nature. His ideal is to reflect the Divine Attributes in the mirror of
his personality, thereby fulfilling his destiny. His outlook is positive and
optimistic, and is grounded in the concept of ‘affirmation of personality’.[2]
In the anthropocentric view at its highest, the Ultimate Reality is
intra-cosmic and impersonal. It is ‘Becoming’. It is immanent in the Cosmic
Order, which consists of the ‘natural’ and the ‘supra-natural’. Man is the
child of the cosmos. The ‘supra-natural’ element in him is the source of his
power. His function is to renounce the ‘natural’, which is evil. His ideal is
to efface his personality for attaining freedom from the bondage of the
‘natural’. His outlook is negative, because salvation lies through
Renunciation. His worship bears reference to ascetic exercises and magical
concepts. His ethics is the ethics of asceticism. His goal is the submergence
of his personality in that Impersonal Reality.
In the nihilistic view at its highest, the Ultimate Reality is Illusion,
and the cosmos is mere accident. Man is an ephemeral speck of mechanical
activity in a chance-order. His power lies in the cunningness that he may be
able to employ for ‘making the best of a bad bargain’. His ideal is the
acquisition of maximum physical happiness, towards which all human struggle is
conceived to be directed. The outlook that emerges logically for him is
incapable of accommodating any element of hope, because of the notion of double
tragedy in terms of the world being a chance-order as well as hostile. His
approach to the domain of moral behaviour is possible only through the shifting
sands of expediency. His destiny is the annihilation of his personality in the
all-consuming Illusion.[3]
We have distinguished the theocentric from the anthropocentric and the
nihilistic attitudes to Reality, including not only the first but also the
second and the third under the category of ‘religion’. That we have done on the
basis that any system of thought which may bind anyone to any specific view of
life, together with its emotional and ethical implications, is religion,
because the very word ‘religion’ stands etymologically for the idea of being
bound or linked to something. This is how the concept of religion is viewed in
the wider sense.
Thus, for instance, Ralph Barton Perry says, referring to
Marxism and Buddhism, in his Realms of Value:[4]
“Whether one says that Communism is atheistic or that it has made a god of
Economic Force depends on whether one is thinking in terms of a particular
religion or in terms of religion in general. The god which, Communism denies is
a particular variety of God—such as the Christian God. The god it affirms is
another variety of universal God. Both gods answer the description of God as
Cosmic Power viewed from the stand-point of what men take to be their paramount
good. It is clear that esoteric Buddhism as well as Marxian Communism
recognises no god in the Christian sense. But Buddhism teaches that Nirvana is
the supreme good and that the constitution of things—the view of Karma and
ultimate illusoriness of existence—permits Nirvana to be attained. Buddhism is
thus a religion in its conjoining of a heirarchy of values with a cosmology;
and it can even be said to have its god, if by ‘god’ is meant the saving grace
of man’s total environment” (p. 464).
However, taking up the theocentric view alone, vital differences exist
between the different theocentric systems. In the first instance, these systems
are divisible into those which claim to be revealed and those which do not.
Thus, for example, Islam and Christianity and Judaism lay claim to Divine
Revelation as the source of their guidance, while the theocentric systems of
Hinduism make no such claim. Then, as we have already seen, the Divine
Revelation which Islam projects is unadulterated and authentic, while in the
case of Judaism and Christianity it is adulterated and unauthentic. Again, as
regards the ‘unrevealed’ systems, they are divisible into vulgar (or,
primitive) and civilised. Hence, going from lower to higher levels, we arrive
at four categories: (1) Unrevealed—of the vulgar or primitive level; (2)
Unrevealed—of the civilised level; (3) Revealed but adulterated and
unauthentic; (4) Revealed and existing in unadulterated and authentic
form.
Religions falling under the above categories admit of comparative
normative evaluation in seven dimensions, namely: (1) Concept of God; (2)
Outlook; (3) Stand-point; (4) Ideal; (5) Standard of Behaviour; (6) Mission;
(7) Programme. It is necessary to undertake this study here in order to
establish the nature of Qur’anic Guidance in the perspective of theocentric
religions. The evaluation of each category emerges as follows:
[1] It should be noted that
there is a certain amount of intermixing of concepts and attitudes which damage
the logic of structural purity in respect of classification. Therefore, only a
broad classification with reservations is possible in a summary appraisal.
[2] This statement of the
theocentric view is genuinely and comprehensively correct in respect of Islam
alone. Because: For instance, Christianity presents the picture of a mixture of
certain elements of the theocentric view with certain elements of the anthropocentric
view.
[3] Ref: For instance,
Bertrand Russell’s statement in the forthcoming discussion on ‘Life after
Death’.
[4] Harvard University Press,
Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1954.
Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society
THE
STYLE AND STRUCTURE OF THE Qur’ân
THOUGHT:
The Qur’an says about itself that it was sent down during the
month of Ramadan (2:185), in the Night of Power (97:1), its primary and eternal
existence being in a “Tablet Preserved” (85:21-22), “in the Mother of the Book,
in Our (i.e., God’s) Presence, high (in dignity), full of wisdom” (43:4).
The question is: Does the coming down of the Qur’an in the
Night of Power imply the commencement of revelation to the Holy Prophet (Peace
be upon him!), or its revelation to him in its entirety on that single
occasion, or its descent from the ‘Tablet Preserved’ in some other dimension?
As to the first, we have already recorded in the foregoing
that the first revelation came to the Holy Prophet on the 12th of Rabi‘
alAwwal, that being the fact to which a critical study of all the relevant
reports leads us. Taking up the second alternative: It is denied by the Qur’an.
We are told therein: “And (this is) a Recitation (lit., Qur’an) that We have
divided (into parts from time to time), that you (O Muhammad!) mayest recite it
to humankind at intervals, and We have revealed it (to you) by (successive)
revelation.” (17:106).[1]
Thus we are left only with the third alternative, and here we
get to the correct answer. Abdullah ibn Abbas, whose authority in respect of
the problems relating to the Qur’an has been held in very high esteem all
through Islamic history, is reported by different authorities, like Nasai,
Baihaqi, al-Hakim, al-Tibrani and al-Bazzar, to have held that the entire Qur’an,
as we have it today, came down in the Night of Power from the “Divine Presence”
“to the nether heaven” (i.e., the heaven nearest to the earth), where in the
“House of Power, Honour and Glory (bait al-‘izzat)”, it dwelt, like the stars,
by the order of God, and from where its portions came to the Holy Prophet
(Peace be on him!) as occasions arose, even “as the stars fall from heaven”,
under the Decree of God,—whereafter the revelations were arranged, under Divine
guidance, by the Holy Prophet, through his Scribes, in accordance with the
original eternal Qur’an and not in their chronological sequence. The
Commentator Ibn Kathir has concurred with this view in his TafsÊr (vol. 4, p.
529), while the famous Suyuti proclaims, quoting al-Qurtubi, thus: “The
consensus of learned verdict is to the effect that the the Qur’an came down all
at one time from the ‘Tablet Preserved’ to the ‘House of Power, Honour and
Glory’ in the nether heaven.” (Al-ItqÉn, vol. 1, p. 40).
The report of Ibn Abbas directs our attention to sura Ha Mim
(41), which begins with the claim of the Qur’an as a revealed book; then, after
reference to those who contested its divine origin and the Divine Messengership
of the bearer of its Message, speaks of the bounties of God as manifested in
the earth and of the wahy of God to the seven firmaments in respect of the
assignment of their duty and command,—thereafter emphasising: “And We adorned
the nether heaven with lights, and rendered it inviolable. Such is the Decree
of (Him) the Exalted in Might, Full of Knowledge” (verse 12). Maybe, the
reference in the adornment of the nether heaven with lights and the
establishment of inviolability, is concerned not only with the physical
phenomenon as the human beings know it but also with the spiritual phenomenon
so explicitly spoken of by Ibn Abbas.
Anyhow, the main point to be noted is that the Qur’an we
possess today existed in ‘Divine Presence’ eternally as a ‘Book’[2]
and that, although it was revealed piece-meal as occasions arose,[3]
the Holy Prophet (Peace be on him!) arranged it in accordance with the eternal
arrangement as revealed to him. It may be emphasised that unless thisfact is accepted, the style of the Qur’an
cannot be properly the understood.
Now, a collection of haphazard statements cannot be genuinely
named as a book. There should be a sequence and a system inherent in it, which
alone bestows that status properly. Thus, because the Qur’an insisted upon
designating itself as a Book, much before it acquired the book-form with the
ending of the Revelation, there must be present in it some definite type of
sequence. And that it does possess. In fact, there are two types of sequence enshrined in the
Holy Qur’an: one sequence relating to the chronological order of revelations,
the other relating to the order in which the revealed messages were arranged.
The chronological sequence guides us, not only in respect of
the commencement and progress of theHoly Prophet’s mission, but also about the future technique concerning
the reform and development of human communities, and of individuals, on the
Islamic pattern. Hence Islamic scholars took the greatest pains in preserving
the knowledge of chronological sequence as best as they could.
What light we receive through the consideration of
chronological sequence may be illustrated here very briefly by way of example.
The first revelation that came to the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him!) and
formed, thus, the starting point for his mission, consisted of the first five
verses of the sura named al-‘Alaq (96). Now, the basic problem projected in
those verses is that of the conflict of Faith and Reason and the solution
thereof. The immense importance of this problem in human history in respect of
the establishment of peace and harmony between religion, on the one hand, and
philosophy and science, on the other, cannot be over-estimated, especially when
we consider that the Holy Prophet stood at the helm of the modern era of
scientific advancement—of which he himself was to be the inaugurator, while his
basic role was to establish Religion on sound footing as God Himself had
revealed it before him time to time. Hence, placing the human knowledge
cultivated through the pen in the embrace of a dynamic Faith in God, as those
verses do, it was only logical and natural that they should have been revealed
first. Moreover, the importance given there to the cultivation of knowledge
lend to those verses pre-eminence in view of the fact that it was the Holy
Prophet’s mission to “teach new knowledge” (2:151).
Then, the first verses that were revealed after the short
suspense in Revelation, i.e., 74:1-5, reflect in essence the five Pillars of
Islam, as we find them mentioned in the Hadith,[4] the
first two verses reflecting the Divine Messengership of Muhammad (Peace be on
him!); the third verse reflecting the belief in God, the fourth reflecting the
concept of purity, for which prayer, compulsory charity and pilgrimage, have
been prescribed as Pillars of Islam;[5] the
fifth verse reflecting fasting (among the Pillars) in respect of the
elimination of impurities—spiritual, moral and physical.
Thereafter, we come to the following verses which, by general
consent of the authorities, are accepted as having been revealed in the first
year of the Call, forming thus a part of the very earliest revelations: “And
what will make you comprehend what the uphill road (of virtue) is: (It is:) the
setting free of a slave; or the giving of food in a day of privation to the
orphan with claims of relationship, or to the indigent (down) in the dust; and
to be of those who believe, and enjoin patience, (constancy and
self-restraint), and enjoin deeds of kindness and compassion” (90:12-17). The
emphasis in these verses on the abolition of slavery, which had been one of the
greatest curses of the pre-Islamic civilisations, on service to fellow-beings,
and on the cultivation of a serene personality, has an importance in
understanding the approach of Islam to human problems and its system of
priorities in respect of the role of religion.
As regards the arrangemental sequence, the Holy Qur’an
contains two levels of understanding Nature, it being the Book of the Religion
of Ideal Human Nature and (al-Din al-Fitrah) authored by the Author of
Nature.The two levels that relate to the understanding of Nature
are: the commonsense level and the probe-level. Human commonsense feelsthe existence of a system—an order,
and witnesses the beauty and the grandeur of the starry heavens, the luminous
moon and the blazing sun, the majestic mountains, the enchanting landscapes,
and manymany other parts of Nature
besides. It is, however, the scientists who, through their probe into the
depths of the mysteries of Nature, define the system—though not unerringly in
every detail—and discover the facts that exist below the surface, revealing the
knowledge progressively as they attain level after level.
The two levels that relate to the understanding of the Holy Qur’an
are: (1) the level of religious consciousness, which is embraced by unperverted
human commonsense; (2) the level of theoretic consciousness, which necessitates
probe and research below the surface of the Qur’anic text. The logic of
religious consciousness is the instrument for acquiring understanding at the
first level; while the logic of theoretic consciousness serves the other level.
The logic of religious consciousness witnesses in the Holy Qur’an
the sequence and the concordance as grounded in the demands of Religion. The
logic of theoretic consciousness observes the sequence and inter-relatedness as
grounded in the requirements of theoretic Reason.
The Holy Qur’an has come to guide all human beings, including
the common men and women, and not merely the scholars; and its primary function
is: (1) religious and not speculative; (2) development of human personality and
the social order on the basis of Religion, and not speculation in terms of the
deduction and induction of Reason; (3) exhortation for guidance on the basis of
the absolute Knowledge and Wisdom of God and in the form of direct and
categorical statements of the Truth, and not the presentation for academic
interest of any imperfect findings of the struggling human mind which, if it is
to succeed in its labours in any measure, has perforce to proceed within the
framework of certain fixed categories and under a certain ‘system’.
Thus the primary level of sequence in the Holy Qur’an is that
of the logic of religious consciousness, and in that respect there exists
perfect and multi-dimensional sequence [6] from
the beginning to the end,—a sequence that, has been demonstrated by the
classical commentators. Indeed, even a cursory glance at the Qur’anic text
bears out this fact. For instance, the very starting point of the the Holy Qur’an
is: “In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful”—the quest for God
being the highest quest, nay, the very basic quest, of religious consciousness.[7]
Then it continues to speak of God, together with the emphasis on His relation
with the universe and man: “Praise be to God Allaah, the Cherisher and
Sustainer of the Worlds, the Beneficent, the Merciful, Ruler of the Day of
Judgment” (1:1-3). Then, because man seeks God primarily in the perspective of
his needs, the 4th verse is: “You (alone) do we worship; and your aid (alone)
we seek.” Then the dimensions, positive and negative, of the Path that leads to
the fulfilment of human destiny, have been crisply projected in verses 5-7:
“Show us the Straight Path, the path of those on whom you have bestowed your
Grace; not (the path) of those whose portion is Wrath nor of those who
stray.”
The first chapter ends here, and the second chapter begins.
There, the opening verse forms the response to the prayer contained in the
first chapter, with the words: “A. L. M. This is the Book; in it is guidance,
with no dubiousness, for the godfearing: who believe in the Unseen, are
steadfast in prayer and spend out of what We have provided for them; and who
believe in the Revelation sent to you (O Muhammad!), and before your time, and
(in their hearts) have the assurance of the Hereafter. They are on the right
path, guided by their Lord, and they shall prosper” (2:1-5). Here the basic
qualifications of the Acceptors of the Truth, or, the Pursuers of the Straight
Path, mentioned in the first chapter, have been referred to. Immediately after
that comes the reference to the Rejectors of the Truth, and then of those who
swing between Truth and Falsehood, i.e., the Hypocrites,—and so on the
narration proceeds.
Similarly, when we look at the last portion of the Holy Qur’an,
we find that, after its multi-dimensional and elaboration of the Straight Path,
it enters into certain very important and relevant topics. Picking up the last
one dozen chapters for the illustration of sequence, the picture that emerges
in respect of one dimension of sequence is that, having taught the Islamic Way
of Life in detail, the Holy Qur’an renders advice to the Muslims with regard to
their status as promoters of the mission for which Islam came. In this
perspective, chapter 103 deals with the principles of the rise and fall of
nations,—providing to the Muslims certain positive dimensions of the basic emphasis;
chapters 104 and 105 project the fatal consequences attendant upon the evils of
love of wealth and lust for power; chapter 106 recalls the principles of
devotion to God and trust in His Providence as opposed to indulgence in worldy
aggrandisement; chapter 107 emphasises that lack of the spirit of human
fellowship constitute the very denial of religion and Divine Judgement; chapter
108 emphasises that the Holy Prophet, who is the highest embodiment of service
to others based on love for God, is the recipient of unlimited Divine
favours—thus indirectly inviting the Muslims to a life of service to
fellowbeing and devotions to God in conformity with the Idealthat the Holy Prophet’s life present; chapter
109 highlights toleration, with devotion to Islam, as the virtue to be pursued,
in combination with the virtues emphasizes positively and negatively in the
preceding chapters just mentioned, by the Muslims in their world-mission
relating to the establishment of all that is good for humanity and the elimination
of all that is evil; chapter 110 directs to the assurance of the triumph of
Truth and emphasises the spirit of humanity and godliness that should be
observed in victory; chapter 111 reflects inevitability of destruction of the
forces of evil; chapter 112 lifts up into the appreciation of God concerning
such of His Attributes as are basic for faith in Him,— establishment of a
dynamic and living relation with Him being the goal towards which entire
Islamic activity is directed; chapters 113 and 114, which are the last two,
teach the principle that, with all the positive technique taught by the Holy Qur’an
for the pursuit of godliness, a Muslim should ever remain vigilant against the
impact of even the slightest evil,—thus to ensure his progress on the path of
godliness and the attainment of the final goal, namely, complete harmony with
God.
Here we must record one of the miracles relating to the holy
book, to which our attention has been drawn thus:
“Allaah has revealed (from time to
time) the most excellent Message in the form of a Book, consistent with itself
and conformable in its various parts, repeating (its teaching in various
aspects) …”[8]
(39:23).
The Holy Qur’an was revealed in portions during a long period
of well-nigh twenty-three years, wherein the Holy Prophet’s life passed through
very complicated and varied circumstances, and events of very different types
took place. Indeed, the situation remained throughout such as to invite
discrepancies in the Holy Prophet’s conduct and in the projection of principles
by him. Had the Holy Qur’an been a product of the Holy Prophet’s mind, it was
bound to have registered numerous inconsistencies,129 and those
inconsistencies were bound to have been present in it because its piecemeal
revelation was recorded once for all on all the occasions of revelation and was
preserved as such. But under the circumstances that we have noted, the presence
of consistency in it is a definite and miraculous proof of the truth of its
revelation, as well as of its preservation, by God.
Now, besides consistency, the conformability of the Holy Qur’an
in its various parts, as mentioned in the above verse, brings us to the logic
of theoretic consciousness, which, too, is inherent in the holy book, even as
the logic of religious consciousness is enshrined therein. The conformability,
however, signifies, in the estimation of the best Qur’anic authorities, not
only uniformity of teaching but also the principle that all the verses of the
holy book are inter-related as parts of an intelligible system—whereby the
existence of a system of meaning in the Holy Qur’an is positively established,
as also the technique of the exposition of that system. The present work is a
humble attempt towards the presentation of that system, and the author hopes
that he has accomplished that task,—of course, in accordance with his
limitations, and not in accordance with the greatness of the Holy Qur’an.
The fulfilment of the demands of theoretic consciousness is
contained so richly and so emphatically in the Qur’anic Guidance that even
non-Muslim scholars, who are naturally devoid of the eye of faith, could not
fail to notice it. As examples of this appreciation, we may quote the judgment
of two Western scholars.
Eduard Montet observes:
“Islam is a religion that is essentially rationalistic in the
widestsense of this term,
considered etymologically and historically. The definition of rationalism as a
system that bases religious beliefs on principles furnished by the reason,
applies to it exactly. It is true that Muhammad, who was an enthusiast and
possessed also the ardour of faith and the fire of conviction, the precious
quality that he transmitted to so many of his disciples, brought forward his
reform as a revelation; but this kind of revelation is only one form of
exposition, and his religion has all the marks of a collection of doctrines
founded on the data of reason… A creed so precise, so stripped of all
theological complexities and consequently so accessible to the ordinary
understanding might be expected to possess and does indeed possess a marvellous
power of winning its way into the consciences of men.”[9]
Dr. A. Bertherand remarks:
“‘To seek knowledge is a duty for every Muslim man and
woman’. ‘Seek knowledge even though it be in China’. ‘The savants are the heirs
of the Prophets’. These profound words of the great reformer (Muhammad) are an
indisputable contradiction to those who seek and exert themselves in putting
the responsibility of the intellectual degradation of Muslims upon the spirit
of the Qur’an. Let them read and meditate upon this great Book and they will
find in it, at every passage, a constant attack upon idolatry and materialism;
they will read that the Prophet incessantly called the attention and the
meditation of his people to the splendid marvels, to the mysterious phenomenon
of creation. The incredulous, skeptical and un-believing may convince
themselves that the importance of this Book and its doctrine was not to throw
back, eventually, the intellectual and moral faculties of a whole people. On
the contrary, those who have followed its counsels have been, as we have
described in the course of this study, the creators of a civilization which is
astounding unto this day.”[10]
[2] That the Qur’an calls itself a Book even in the early revelations
forms proof of the fact that it was a ‘Book’ before its revelation to the Holy
Prophet (Peace be on him!).
[3] It should be clearly noted that though the revelations came as
occasions arose, the message contained therein was not confined to the
exigencies of the situation.
[4] For instance: Imam Ahmad: Musnad, vol. 1, p. 27.
[5] The expression: “Thy raiments purify” covers, in the widest sense,
physical, moral and spiritual purity,—these three forms of purity bearing reference to the three
pillars of Islam mentioned in that connection. The words ‘raiment’ and
‘garment’ have been used in the Holy Qur’an in wider significance than clothes
(2:187; 7:26).
[6] It should be emphatically noted that a multi-dimensional sequence,
which is richer than the single-dimensional sequence that is found in the
literary works of the greatest human writers, emerges in the Holy Qur’Én
primarily in the order and arrangement that has been given by God through the
Holy Prophet to the verses that constitute its text, as well as to the words of
rich connotation employed therein.
[7] The Quranic narrative begins with God, both chronologically and
arrangementally, in response to religious consciousness. The Biblical narrative
begins with the story of “Creation”, in response to what? Mark the
contrast.
[8] The reference here is to multi-dimensional sequence mentioned in
the foregoing.
[9] Eduard Montet: La propagande Chretienne et es adversaires
Musulmans, Paris 1890, pp. 17-18.
[10] Dr. A. Bertherand: Contribution des Arabes au Progress des Sciences
Medicales, Paris 1883, p. 6.
129 Also: if
Muhammad (Peace be on him!) had not been truly a Divine Messenger, living his
entire life under the guidance of God, his conduct was bound to have registered
numerous discrepancies. But we find his whole conduct and his entire career as
absolutely self-consistent. Bosworth Smith confesses this fact in these words:
“On the whole the wonder to me is not how much, but how little, under different
circumstances, Muhammad differed from himself. In the shepherd of the desert,
in the Syrian trader, in the solitary of Mount Hira, in the reformer in the
minority of one, in the exile of Madina, in the acknowledged conqueror, in the
equal of the Persian Chosroes and the Greek Heraclitus, we can still trace a
substantial unity. I doubt whether any other man, whose external conditions
changed so much, ever himself changed less to meet them: the accidents are
changed, the essence seems to be the same in all.” (Mohammad and Mohammadanism,
London 1874, p. 93).
