Arizona republican., 1903-04-12

prophet of a new order. But this was not all. With this idea of the unity of God was joined that of His suprs- macy. and that the most absolute. Fatherhood was given to any of His attributes. Above all. infinite, omnipo- tent. He was the very impersonation of eternal force. Indeed, some one has aptly described the Moslem religion as "a pantheism of will In some of his aspects we are reminded of the God of Judaism: but even in Judaism we find very important attribute which is absent from Islams Allah. namely, that of justice Islam's God is not q just God so much as He is an all-poIv- erful God. He is the universal sover- eign. and obedience is the prime duty of his subjects everywhere.
 God brings himself into relation with His subjects in number of different ways. sometimes through inspired prophets, and sometimes through sacred writings. Mohammed and his followers believed that he himself was to be the legitimate and final successor of Adam. Noah, Moses. Jesus. and other men, who were considered espe- cial ambassadors, chosen by the Al mighty. The Pentateuch was not dis carded. and the Psalms and Gospels were accepted as sacred books. But | taking precedence of all these is the koran, the personal product of Moham- med, in which he embodied his creed for his followers.
 This book is divided into one hur- dred and fourteen suras, or chapters,
 originally written on bits Of stone, | leather. (thigh) bones.' and on all sorts of material. After the death of Mo hammed these scattered materials were | collected, and, supplemented by the | Arabs retentive memory, they were | put together regardless of time or SUD- | ject one chapter following another | without even chronological sequence
 Thus, while the teachings of the koran are sufficiently plain, yet this manifest l lack of logical order renders it of all | books the least intelligent. But the
 koran is not the whole of Islamism.
 There are traditions which are as pow
 erful as. and even more respected, than
 the koran itself. When there is notn- | ing in the koran to meet an issue, the
 Moslem would draw upon the oral law,
 of the prophet on the basis of what
 Mohammed said. what he did. what he l to say unrebuked. In the sixteenth century Sultan Suleyman the Magnifi- cent codified the Moslem law in a vol | ume of fifty-five books. which included, together with all the practices of wor- | ship, the laws-the moral, civil. politI- cal. judiciary, military and agrarian. It would be entirely foreign to the
 purpose of this sketch to make an ex-
 haustive survey of even the prominent tenets of this, to the Moslem. book of
 all books.
 | One of the prominent doctrines of the
 koran is that of predestination. which
 is presented in it's most absolute form.
 God has foreordained some to an eter-
 nal happiness in paradise; others are | foreordained to the everlasting tor
 ment or hell. and naught can intervene between the purpose of the Supreme
 Being and it's eternal execution.
 As to the practical morality of the precepts Of the koran, we find that in-
 toXicating drinks of all kinds are pro-
 hibited the true believer, and in the
 orient the difference between precep;
 and practice is not so very great. We
 also find gambling deprecated as a s.l
 and prescribed by punishment.
 l From my childhood I have noted with
 admiration the devotional spirit )f the Turks in their ceremonies and in the | observance of feasts and religious hOli- days. A visit to one of the mosques
 on a quiet Friday noon, which day Is the Sabbath of Islam, would be ar ] eloquent homiiy on the true spirit with
 which to approach the Almighty, l laa a1- in, he hri tiar +
 people, Not only on Fridays, but five
 times every day, at regular and stated hours the Moslem rehearses his prayer (The time for prayers is regulated bJ the sun. Morning prayer is said be | tween dawn and sunrise. It is due tC this requirement that Mohammedans are early risers. Monday prayer i' said just as the sun is passing tht meridian, and afternoon prayer at aES
 time between four and five o'clock. Tho fourth prayer comes at sunset, and the last prayer of the day before retiring. The ritual for prayer is not optiona but imperative. Before worship a pre- paratory service of ablution is obligs;-
 tory. For this purpose in the cour, yard of every mosque large basin O
 water is provided. where the faithful in strict conformity with the estao lished usage, wash different parts O
 their body, repeating sacred words 2! they proceed in their ceremony. So ex
 tremely exacting is this ritual that thu slightest Aggression or omission neces
 sitates an entire repetition. else subse
 quent prayers would be of no avail.
 At almost every quarter of a mile i,
 q Mohammedan city are built tn
 mosuues-solid, substantial building
 whose minarets are the most beautiful
 spires that pierce the Levantine skies
 symmetrical, lofty and majestic. The
 contain neither pealing chimes nor toll
 ing bells, but five times daily from tn top of these are heard the call l.
 prayer, in deep, long-drawn tones, II l the strange and impressive Meccal dialect of the Arabic.
 God is almighty. Mohammed is hi } apostle, Prayer is better than sleep , Hasten to worship, Hasten to pro-;
 perity,"
 The sacred voice rings from minare 1 t.1