use among the Jews, and one, which existed also among the Pagan Arabs! In omitting to notice its existence, we infer that Mohammed possibly disapproved of the rite, or did not consider it of a religious import, or, that he passed it over as the selfunderstood and natural mode of initiating into the religion of Abraham: the latter assumption seems at variance with the fact that Mohammed admitted his first converts by the rite of baptism, corresponding to the baptism of Jewish proselytes. Among the forty kinds of ablutions, given by Reland, one is the baptism of Kaffers on their becoming Moslemin: we here discover one of those singular vacillations which so frequently appear in Mohammed's mind and practice, and find the national custom eventually restored to its primitive character as a religious ordinance, one moreover to which his countrymen were already reconciled. Circumcision is not administered by the Mohammedans in the thirteenth year as among the ancient Arabs, but generally as soon as the candidate can say the confession of the Moslem creed: "There is no God, but God, and Mohammed is his prophet," or whenever a convenient time occurs between the ages of six and sixteen. These few remarks on the history and leading dogmas of the Koran may suffice for the present; other doctrines will be brought forward in later chapters of this work; in the two following, it will be our object to notice those portions of the Koran which were more particularly borrowed from Judaism and Christianity.

CHAPTER V.

WHAT MOHAMMED BORROWED FROM JUDAISM.

"I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, but he lied unto him." 1 Kings XIII. 18.

1. The Koran frequently assumes a polemical bearing towards the Jews and the Jewish religion, and Arab writers frankly admit that Mohammed now and then made alterations in his plan to diminish, as far as possible, the analogy which his creed bore to that of the Jews. 10 The Jews are styled the enemies of Moslemin because they killed the Prophets, are bigotted, proud and self-conceited, consider Ezra to be the Son of God, believe Paradise to be created only for themselves, trust to the intercession of their pious ancestors and corrupt their sacred Scriptures. 11 Hence the Koran is not scrupulous in opposing Judaism in its laws of divorce, 12 in abolishing certain laws concerning particular kinds of meat, 13 and in the laws of retaliation. Yet in spite of this opposition, Mo

10

14

from necessity كراهة لموافقة النفى التشبيه باليهود

to abolish the analogy with the Jews." Pocock. not. miscell. cap. IX. pag. 369.

11 Sur. V. 85. II. 58. V. 74. 21. II. 88. LXII. 6. IX. 30. II. 128. 135. II. 73.

12 Sur. II. 229. 230. with Deut. XXIV. 1.

13 Sur. IV. 158. III. 44. 86. IV. 158. V. 89. 90. V. 4. VI. 146. XVI. 116. VI. 47. cfr. Leo. XI. 3. VII. 27. III. 9.

14 Sur. V. 94. with Exod. XXI. 23-25. M. admits of expiation by money, only where the offended parties agree; but the Rabbis, whom he calls "unjust" extend it to all cases: R Dy Oy N2Q

hammed borrowed so largely from Judaism, that his creed could not exist without it. This gross plagiarism has long been universally acknowledged, but few have taken the trouble to point out in what it consists. 15

We have already noticed the frequent collisions between Mohammed and the Jews, who were at that time numerous and powerful, dreading them both in argument and on the battle-field, the shrewd Arab prophet found it expedient to conciliate their deeprooted prejudices on various occasions 16 and also to advise his followers to deal gently with them. 17 There was cause therefore, why Mohammed should desire to adopt as much of Judaism as he possibly could without sacrificing any of the distinctive doctrines of Islamism; he had every opportunity of becoming acquainted with Jewish divinity and practises: 18 but that this knowledge was neither very correct nor profound is abundantly shown in the Koran! 19 His igno

15 Much may be gleaned from Eisenmenger, Pococke, Sale, Maraccio, Wahl, Hottinger and others, but pre-eminent still remains the Prize-essay of a Jewish Rabbi, Abraham Geiger, in answer to the question put by the University at Bonn: "Inquiratur in fontes Alcorani seu legis Mohammedicae eos, qui ex Judaeismo derivandi sunt." We shall follow in this chapter the published translation: "Was hat Mohammed aus dem Judenthume aufgenommen?" Bonn 1833.

16 Sur. II. 38. XVI. 119. XXVII. 78. XXXII. 25. XLV. 15. II. 136.

ولا تجادلوا أهل الكتان الا بالتي .45 .Sur. XXX

18 His intercourse with Jews on his travels, with Abdallah, Waraka and Habib Ebn Malek are well known.

19 His order of enumerating the prophets: Job, Jonas, Aaron, Solomon, David, Sur. IV. 161. Still more ridiculous: Sur. VI. 84. 85. 86: David, Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Zacharias, John, Jesus, Elijah, Jonas, Lot!

rance of Jewish history is proved for instance by his solemnly declaring that before John the Baptist, no one bore that name at any time. 20 To return to our subject, it was perfectly consistent with Mohammed's avowed principles to adopt freely from Judaism, since he professed to reveal nothing but what was in harmony with all that had come down before him. At other times he plainly styles it a "repetition:" "God sent down the most beautiful news, a repetition similar to other Scriptures:"21 with this distinction however, that he desired to be considered the "seal of the prophets," whose book was so "clear and perspicuous" that no occasion could arise to make any other prophet necessary after him. 22

The contemporaries of Mohammed not only recognised in some of his prophetic communications a reproduction of what had previously been considered divine revelation, but suspected that he was assisted by a certain man, or men of Jewish or Christian be

20 John,,, Iwars, in the name of which we

XIX. 8.

Mohammed لم نجعل له من قبل سميا . . read Sur. I

It arose

however knew nothing of 1 Chron. III. 15. 24. V. 36. 36. 2 King XXV. 23. Ezra VIII. 12. Jer. XL. 8. 1 Macc. II. 1. 2. evidently from misunderstanding Lu. I. 61.

مصدق

21 The peculiar charm of the Koran was, that it was W: in accordance with what they already possessed. Sur. II.

معهم

22 M. is said to be the seal of the prophets:

Sur. XXXIII. 4. and his book,; so clear as not to be doubted or liable to be disputed.

lief." If these coadjutors were Jews, as doubtless were some of them, we can thus account for the Hebrew ideas and expressions we meet with in the Koran, which cannot be explained from analogy of language or idiom, but are considered to be directly imported from Judaism. The word "Ark" as used in the history of Moses and in connection with the "ark of the covenant" is applied in the Koran exactly in the same way as in the old Testament. 24 Again Torah the law, is made to signify the entire Old Testament as it is in the New Testament, and the term clearly dates its origin from the Hebrew; again, the Hebrew name for Paradise was also adopted by Mohammed, as well as the Rabbinical description of the place itself. 26 The same may be said of the Hebrew term for hell. Gehinnom was originally nothing but

25

27

23 Sur. VIII. 31. XVI. 26. XXIII. 85. XXV. 5. 6. XXVII. 70. XLVI. 10. 16. LXVIII. 15. LXXXIII. 13.

24 Sur. XX. 39. Exod. II. 3. Sur. II. 249. The word,

is not Arabic in its termination,

Rabbinical NADA.

25

وت

and answers to or the

,, the law, is always used in a sense analogous to o róuos in the New Test.

26 "Das Paradies ist ein Ort, wo man ohne alle körperliche Anstrengung ist und trinkt, und wo die Edelsteine zu Hause sind, seidene Betten, Ströme von Wein, wohlriechende Dele, und anderes der Art." Again: "Eden ist ein Ort der Wonne, das fruchtbarste Land, wo sehr viele Bäche und Fruchtbäume sind, welche Gott künftig den Menschen zeigen wird, um dort erfreut zu werden." Maimonides. apud Sanhed. XI. 1. ☺liș de from 1773 is the usual name of Paradise, seldom liṣ well from naradeivos.

27 Gehenna,, ; in the New Test yéɛvva. The term

occurs Sur. II. 201. III. 10. 198. IV. 58.95.99.115.120. That was adopted direct from the Jews is proved by the final letter

༩

K