The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-08-12

best sense OF the word. democratic. No reliR.
ion. says sprenser, Is 40 completely the uo1 pop
ut a. Islam.
~.
SO much concerning Mohammed AZ = man.
Regarding him next as a teacher, are we 70
describe as false the declaration that he was q
prophet in the proper sense Of the word. com
missloned from on high for the work Of spiritual
and moral revelation ? That he himself believed
this Is not open 10 doubt and naturally Syed
Amer Ali contends that his belief was war
ranted. IL will, perhaps, surprise some persons
to learn that Mr., Lilly agrees with him. He
af1rms wi.n Cardinal Newman that revelation,
properly speaking, is a universal, not a local
gift. and that there is something true and
divinely revealed in every religion all over the
earth. We are reminded that in the grandest of
Latin hymns, the sybil is mentioned side by side
with the Psalmist, as illuminated from on
high, and that Sc. Paul describes q poet Of the
Greeks as a prophet OF their own" May we
not. the author asks. "believe without Gre
dulity that to Mohammed also, brooding over
the abysses of space and being. v~oyseing through
dark seas of thought alone, that inefable reality
was verify revealed which thenceforth was to
be to him the light of life I" Touching this
point, the author recalls the story OF Moham-
med's reply to Abu Bekr when the two, flying
W AANN~NN u hNN"s IL =" WV VI ASNA'
Thaurus and the heart OF his companion quaked
with fear as they heard the steps Of his pur-
suers. I'VE are but two.' said Abu Bekr.
Nay answered Mohammed, I'VE are three;
God is with u.s." On another occasion. late in
his life, the same dominant thought is mani
Tested. The prophet was sleeping at the foot Of
a tree at sol lie distance from his camp. He awoke
and beheld Gurthur. a hostile warrior, standing
over him with drawn sword and heard the chal-
lap0a. N0h Mohan,mad vvhn Ia fhara now
to save thee ~ God" was the reply. The
sword dropped from the hand Of the awe
stricken soldier. Mohammed grasped IL, and. in
turn held It over him. "who is there now TO
save thee, Gurthur ~ ALAS: no one" Then,
learn TO be merciful." surely, :" thinks Mr.. Lilly,
I'VE may hold concerning this man that he en-
dured as seeing Him who is invisible, seeing
indeed, through q glass darkly. Broken lights
these revelations Of his may be termed. but is
not true that the best in this kind are but
shadows" On this point the author quotes Mr..
Freeman. who has said. 81 cannot conceal my
convictions that, in O certain sense, Mohammed's
belief In his own mission was well founded.
Surely a good and sincere man, full Of confidence
in his Creator, who works an immense reform
both In faith and practice, is a direct instru-
ment in the hands Of God. and may be said to
have q commission from Him."
Thus far the author of this book may be said
hkEUo buuobahtihhy Wi cSeu AAhco Al.
But now we como to the parting of the ways.
The apologist for Islam is not content with
vindicating the personal rectitude and pro-
phetic mission of the founder Of his religion. II
is not enough for him that Islam Is acknowl-
edged to have been q true reformation. specially
adapted to the needs Of the country and age IL
which II was introduced. The Syed will have
It that Mohammed is "the grandest OF figures
upon whom the light of history has shone;"
AI.s - tAz l-, ali
the fragmentary lights which had ever fallen
upon the heart Of man. and that /" the wonder
full adaptability Of the Islamic precepts to all
ages and nations, their entire concordance with
the light of reason. and the absence of all mys-
FERROUS doctrines TO cast a shade Of sentimental
ignorance around the primal truths planted in
the human heart, all prove that Islam repre-
sents the latest development of the religions
faculties Of our being"
These claims are rejected by Mr.. Lilly as IN
tenable. He will not concede that, considered
rs q universal religion, Islam represents an ad-
vance upon Christianity. MohAmmed's great
work was first, that In his native country he
substituted for polytheism . theism akin to that
of the Hebrew prophets; and secondly, that he
substituted a higher morality for n lower. His
ethics flowed from his theism. Religion meant
for him submission to the will OF a moral gov
ernor of the universe. But. in his view. such
suDmlSslOn was not Ihthllsm. Inc cXlstcnCo OF
God and the free will OF mar were the postulates
on which all his teaching was based. The value OF
the great fundamenta truths taught by Moham-
med Is fully admitted in the book before US. But
II Is pointed out that Christianity possesses them
as fully as Islam, and that IL possesses in rich
abundance much else which Islam does not
offer. What Islam lacks is " that gift Of fascl-
nation. strange, mysterious, truly divine. which
has united all civilized mankind without dis
same ideal issuing from Judea." This IL pro- !
nounced the incommunicable prerogativo Of
Christianity. To Mr.. Lilly there seems to yawn
a gap as wide as the universe between the crude
realism OF Mohammed and the perfect idealism
OF Christ.
Syed Amer AL regards II as a fundamental
defect in Christianity that the work Of its
founder was left unfinished, and contrasts with
this inchoate achievement the complete
though simpler system OF Mohammed." The
author of this book, on the other hand. would
detect In the very simplicity OF Islam the cause
OF its intellectual barrenness. Neither poetry
nor philosophy nor science has taken deep root
In its thin soil. IL has no principle OF develop
ment. II is monotonous and infexible. The fact
that the founder OF Christianity inculcated prin-
ciples rather than laid down rules is a main source
OF its marvellous fecupdity. While Islam Is
certainly one OF the poorest OF religions. Chris.
tlahity as certainty Is tho richest. rlch with
the spoils of time" as treasured in Hebrew
theology, Greek philosophy, Roman j~urispru-
dence. Teutonic and Celtic traditions. In brief,
Mr.. Lilly would describe It, in contradistinction
TO Islam. as the heir OF all the ages, and the
nursing mother OF all the higher forms OF moral
and spiritual life.
So much may surnce to show why Syed Ameer
Ais view OF the comparative merits OF Islam
and Christianity is rejected. II should also
be noted that, although by his eminent position
and wide culture the Syed Is admitted 10 he an