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x PREFACE.
that these are not merely chapters in a book, but real lectures actually delivered. I trust I have not to any extent been guilty of tautology, however.

Whatever I have said under any of the heads treated of in these Lectures has been drawn from Oriental authorities at first hand, and also in part from my own personal knowledge of Muslims of various lands and from conversations held with them during my work as a Missionary. I have fully acknowledged in every case in the notes my obligations to any English or German writers to whom I am at all indebted.

In a few instances it will be noticed that I have ventured in my notes to have recourse to a dead language in order in some degree to veil a few peculiarities of Muhammadanism, which I felt ought not to be treated of in plain English, and to entirely omit or conceal which (as has generally been done hitherto) would be dishonest, and would be inconsistent with my purpose to give, as far as in me lay, a fair and impartial view of the Religion of the 'Prophet' of Arabia. One of the great difficulties which beset any attempt to represent to English people at all correctly any non-Christian religion is that such religions for the most part contain so many things that are unmentionable. To omit all the worst points and to exaggerate the

PREFACE. xi
merits of all the good ones may procure a writer the credit of being "extremely liberal" in his views, but can hardly be said to be quite a fair way of dealing either with the subject itself or with one's readers.

I trust that these Lectures, in spite of their manifold imperfections and shortcomings, may be found useful to those who are anxious to understand Orthodox Islam, and still more that they may be instrumental in impressing upon Christians in general the terrible responsibility which they will incur if they any longer neglect the duty of preaching to the followers of Muhammad the unsearchable riches of Christ.

W. S. C. T.

JULFÂ, ISFAHÂN, PERSIA,
March, 1894.

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