Religion of the Crescent

86	THE RELIGION OF THE CRESCENT.

did not occur to Muhammad. Nor did he understand that our true happiness must necessarily depend upon our nature¹ being restored to its original purity and our wills harmonised. with GOD'S will. Nay rather, in the "Prophet's" opinion, GOD'S commands are such as are foreign to and do violence to our nature, and Man feels himself restrained² through them from the true development of his being. He cannot therefore fulfil all GOD'S commands perfectly. Yet he can to some extent at least atone for the breach of one of these fettering precepts by doing some act of self-denial, something which GOD did not order

Merit.

dominant religion of fully one half of the entire continent, and is still spreading there to a very

[Footnote continued from previous page]
sind, so sind sie auch fur den Menschen, der zum Bilde Gottes geschaffen, also mit Gott wesensverwandt ist, nichts Fremdes. Gerade in ihrer Erfullung wird er selig. Selig sein und Gottes Willen thun ist eins und dasselbe. Die Moral des Islam aber ist heteronom und darum auch eudamonistisch. Wie in jeder Gesetzesreligion, so stehen auch im Islam die gottlichen Gebote dem Menschen als ein Fremdes gegenuber, durch das er sich in der Entfaltung seines wahren Wesens gehemmt fuhlt; ihre Erfullung kann ihn daher nicht beseligen, vielmehr muss die Seligkeit als ein auserer Lohn hinzukommen."—Hauri, "Der Islam," p. 53.
¹ "Haben wir durch unsere bisherigen Untersuchungen als Realprincip des sittlich Guten die Liebe zu Gott erkannt, so ergiebt sich von selbst, dass das Bose als Gegensatz gegen das Gute sein inneres Princip in der Entfremdung des Menschen von Gott, in dem Mangel der Liebe zu ihm hat."—J. Muller, "Die Christliche Lehre von der Sunde," vol. i., p. 169.
² V. also Osborn, "Islam under the Khalifs of Baghdad," pp. 138, 139.

THE WEAKNESS OF ISLAM.

him to do of necessity, or by performing some rite appointed for this very purpose, e.g. by making a pilgrimage to Mecca, or by giving voluntary alms (sadaqah, صَدَقَةٌ as distinguished from the legal "tithes" or zakat, زَكَوةٌ ).

Muslims often tell us that Sin is a disease. This is true in one sense, but the comparison may

Sin a
disease.

easily lead us to an erroneous conclusion. This it does in Islam. "If it be a disease," a Muslim is inclined to think, "we can hardly be very much to blame for it after all. GOD is Merciful and Compassionate, and He will not punish us very severely for being ill in this way, more especially if we are good Muslims, believing in His books and His prophets, offering the prayers He

Guilt of Sin
not recognised.

has commanded, and doing a great deal to please Him. Besides, He created us as we are, and He fated us to do what we are doing." The denial of Man's freewill, and the belief that all our actions are inalterably predestined for us, prevent Muslims from feeling the terrible guilt of sin. Of course Conscience frequently asserts itself, but Reason strives by this and similar arguments to silence the voice of the spirit. When hard pressed in discussion on this subject a Maulavi is

GOD the
Author
of Evil.

reported to have said, "We confess that we are sinners and have done wrong, but although we are obliged by our reverence for GOD to say this, yet if we go back to the root of the matter GOD is Himself the Author of our sinful acts. It is not reverent to

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