Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-03-01

- wives, Two had already pfecedec
him 10 the heavenly paradise.
Concerning The visions and
: ascension 10 heavep .of this Oriental
: Prophet. We are told the following
= He had his first vision on Mount
Hira, one hours journey from Nee.
ca. AS he was eneaaed IN prayer
e and meditation ! voice was heard;
: CRY" and he said, "What shall
. | cry?" Upon which came the an
swer. "Cry out, In thy name, q
Lond,'' These words are the first OF
the Koran, although first found
= in the p5th chapter Of its
present edition. As soon ms
Mohammed awoSe from his eestasies
hr felt - u book had been written
in his heart. his wife. whom he
always kept posted on his expert
ences, on hearing this, exclaimed:
"Rejoiee, dear husband, He in
whose hands i the fate Of Chadi-
diah is my witness that thou shalt
become the prophet Of this people. -
IL seems from this that Mohammed
was not only himself prophet,
but that he was fortunate enough TO
have n partner who was also in for
prophesying. AS the prophet, some
time after this, In great despair.
would throw himself down a preci-
pice on the mount, he saw Gabriel
standing n the end Of the horizon.
and the great atchaiigel cried with
a loud voice and said: 81 am Cab
riel, and thou art Mohammed. 4"
From this time revelations followed
Z each other with few intervals for
about twenty years. When he had
his revelations he roared like
camel, his eyes rolled wildly about
! in their sockets and shone like en-
bers. He sweat over his whole
body.
Mohammed's ascension to heaven
is also thus described. Gabriel took
his heart and washed il ia the well
Zenzem, filed it with faith and
knowledge and put it back
in It's place. After this
the prophet mounted BOrak
(the lightning) and rode to the
temple place in Jerusalem. From
here he went 20 heaven on Jacobs
ladder. In the second heaven the
two travellers, Gabriel and AIoham-
med, found Christ and John the
Baptist In the third Joseph and
David, in the fourth Enoch. in the
fifth Moses, who wept bitterly when
he saw that SlDhammei was 10 come
higher. In the last heaven was
Abraham. Then came the tree
where Gabriel lives, and from this
Mohammed went ON stil further.
until he chine rs far rs within two
bowshot lengths OF the throne Of
God. Here great silence pre-
vailed Nothing was heard but the
pen with which the Word of God is
written in the books Of fate. Conn.
Emmanuel Deutsch, Der Islam.l
do not think Il absolutely neces
sary, rs DO Catholic and Protestant
writers generally, TO class Moham-
med among the religious scoundrels
Of the world, TO call him the false
prophet or the son Of perdition.
thereby condemniDg him and his
followers without mercy 10 the bot
tomless pit. There is nothing that
L know Of, either in the character /
or history Of NOhammed, nor in the |
Word Of God, 70 warrant such q
Judgment.
Mohammed undoubtedly had Wis |
Ions and revelations. The evidence |
Of this Is, TO my mind, sufficient. !
His sincerity, and the moral charac-
ter OF the man, forbid me 10 think !
for a moment that he invented the
stories about his visions. The fact /
that his nearest relatives embraced I
his doctrine and acknowledged him
as n prophet Is proof enough that
they were satisfied rs 10 the genu-
lneness Of his visions. / 10 not
know Of any testimony to the con-
trary that can invalidate thells.
or course, in our day, as soon as
anybody claims 10 have had COM
municati0n with ''the other, world.
he IS denounced as a liar. n hypo-
critic, deceiver. The infidelity
OF the age and the caricatures Of
Christianity must in self-defense
send out these cries. So Il comes
that Mohammed's visions, too,
have been denied and he himself sci
down as liar. But the clamors Of
wild infidels and theological numb
skulls do not prove anything about
the point in question. The Oriental
prophet may have had real visions
for all that.
lt must be remembered that Mo-
BANNED was just as much an in
s,rument in the hands of God as {
was once Nebuchadnezzar or Cyrus.
The mission OF M0hammed was TO
raise up n people that were strong
and enthusiastic enough to sweep
with broom Of desolation the vari-
1us countries defiled by apOstacy
rom the doctrines Of the Son of
Sod. As the holy prophets have
'learly described the calamities that :
should come through the forces nut Z
m movement by Mohammed. what q
hey should be able 10 DO and not do,
IND how long time their power
LIQUID last (see Rev. tx: In. IL
nay fairly lie inferred that God had
to DO with his visions. ,
n one way or another. h
Hereby is not admitted, though e
hat his visions and revelations 5
we're Of the same nature as those Of
Moses, Of Ezekiel, Of John the
feveIator, or Joseph the Prophet, Y
Tor that Atohammed was. in the o
anne sense Of the word as these, n
'rophet Of God. Neither his visions
lor his revelations partake Of the
allure OF those communications a
which God has granted to His mes o
engers Of peace and love. For in a
lance, the first revelation, when u
be prophet hears a voice saying,
'Cry,S and he answers, "What Il
hall l Cry?" resembles so far n "
evelation to Isaiah (chap. 80, 6, y, Il
ut the following: .sCry. in 4
ne name Of God" is com n
!ete nothingness, rs compared to q
ie answer given to Isaiah. So W
18th the vision related above. Mo- N
ahmed is troubled i'm his soul, "
ntil life is burden to him. He
ants to commit suicide, but in the
ritical moment he is stayed by an
Dpearance calling himself Gabriel.
That has this chief Of the angels to
y in order to pour consolation into m
lie troubled heart? Nothing but ~
rs: 81 am Gabriel, and thou art ~
.ohammedv' That was not much W.
ter all. Again, that ascension to -
,aven, where Moses is seen cry n,
z, because left behind when Mo- -
lmmed passed on towards God.
ell, surely these visions and rev. a.,
atoms do not prove any Divine "a
lirit as the originator. 80
The case seems to be this: and II IL
I'll worthy the trouble Of inquiry: i'm
re Christian churches had fallen. he
e Church had been compelled TO III,
c into the wilderness. What was { 1
I Of Christendom was sunk in III,
perstiti0n and idolatry. God con- tn,
lded to punish the idolatruus peo-
5 with wars aud their cOneomit- on
Z. In accordance with this decree C..
)hammed came to this world and rer
Is from his childhood raar.d Z ~