Chaibar." Then, so say his admirers, the angel of death came to the door of his chamber. Gabriel said to the prophet, "The angel of death is waiting at the door, shall he come in?" and they add, that this was a politeness which he never paid to any one else, and which he never intends to pay any one again. The prophet said, "Let him come in." The angel of death then told the prophet that the Almighty was very desirous to have him, but had given him instructions just to take his soul or leave it, as the prophet might please. The prophet said, "Take it;" and so the angel of death bore him away.

Such, then, was the rise of Mohammedanism. I will now allude to its tenets, which we can not do without looking first at its relative position toward other systems of religion.

Taking its relations in retrospect, Mohammedanism. claims to stand to Judaism and Christianity just in the very position in which Christianity stands to Judaism. That is, Mohammed recognizes the sacred Scriptures of the Jews and of the Christians as revelations from God; says that they are books given by God; that he has been sent to men as an additional prophet to confirm the Scriptures, and to be the seal of all the other prophets who had gone before. Accordingly, we find that the Koran is full of allusions to Scripture, and almost every notable person to be found in the word of God is there introduced. For instance, Adam is continually referred to, and we are told that when the Lord created Adam he created him of stiff clay, and having so done, he called all the angels to worship Adam. All the angels fell down, except one angel called Eblis. He said, "Why am I to worship Adam? I was made of fire and he of stiff clay; I am much nobler than he is, I will not worship Adam." This

angel was immediately condemned, and he is the Satan of the Mohammedans. Then, again, we have Noah fully recognized, and the Deluge described. He is introduced perhaps one hundred times in the Koran, but always as threatening the people of Arabia, that if they reject the prophecy of Mohammed a woe would overtake them, like to that which fell on the people of the old world who rejected Noah. Abraham is introduced with many strange tales. Joseph is introduced, and his tale told; and really, to look at the way in which Mohammed mangles that incomparable history, one would hardly believe that the man ever read it. Had he read it, one can not but think that some traces of its simplicity and sublimity would have lingered, in spite of his fables and bad taste. Then, again, Moses is introduced, and a great many fine things, and a great many foolish things are said of him; nearly all the facts mentioned in Scripture being alluded to, with the addition of much fable. David is also introduced, and we find the Lord saying: "We heretofore bestowed on David excellence from us, and we said, O mountains, sing alternate praises with him; and we obliged the birds also to join therein."

Then Solomon is introduced, and Mohammed adds many particulars on which the Christian Scriptures are silent. He introduces the divine Being as saying, "We made the wind subject to Solomon," so that it blew as he pleased. He also made a great number of genii subject to Solomon, and some of these genii were employed to make statues, fish-ponds, large dishes, and caldrons. He also made demons subjected to Solomon; them he employed to dive for pearls. Then he taught Solomon the language of birds, so that he knew all that the birds said. On one occasion Solomon assembled his army, composed partly of men, partly of genii,

and partly of birds; and as they were marching along an ant said to the other ants, "Don't you hear Solomon coming with all his army? let us run away, or they will tread us to death." Solomon, perfectly understanding what the ant said, laughed. Then he looked round to review his army, and found that they had all assembled, but that from the birds the lapwing was wanting. He said, "Where is the lapwing?" So, after a time, the lapwing came, and told him she had been away to the south, that she had seen a country that was very fine, and that it had a queen, well qualified to reign; but that the queen was so unhappy as to worship the sun. Then this queen is brought to Solomon by the mediation of the lapwing, and several absurdities take place. Then we come down to the New Testament, and, for the sake of giving the matter in the precise words of the Koran, we will read the passage which describes the birth of the Redeemer: "And remember in the book of the Koran the story of Mary, when she retired from her family to a place toward the east, and took a vail to conceal herself from them, and we sent our spirit Gabriel unto her, and he appeared unto her in the shape of a perfect man. She said, I fly for refuge to the merciful God, that he may defend me from thee; if thou fearest him thou wilt not approach me. He answered, Verily, I am the messenger of thy Lord, and am sent to give thee a holy son. She said, How shall I have a son, seeing a man hath not touched me, and I am no harlot? Gabriel replied, So shall it be; thy Lord saith this is easy with me: and we will perform it that we may ordain him for a sign unto men and a mercy from us, for it is a thing decreed. Wherefore she conceived him, and she retired aside with him in her womb to a distant place, and the pains of childbirth came upon her near the trunk of a palm-tree.

She said, Would to God I had died before this, and had become a thing forgotten, and had been lost in oblivion! And he who was beneath her, called to her, saying, Be not grieved; now hath God provided a rivulet under thee, and do thou shake the body of the palm-tree, and it shall let fall ripe dates upon thee, ready gathered. And eat and drink, and calm thy mind. Moreover, if thou see any man, say, Verily, I have vowed a fast unto the merciful, wherefore, I will by no means speak to a man this day. So she brought the child to her people, carrying him in her arms. And they said to her, O Mary, now hast thou done a strange thing: O sister of Aaron, thy father was not a bad man, neither was thy mother a harlot. But she made a sign unto the child to answer them; and they said, How shall we speak to him who is an infant in the cradle? Whereupon, the child said, Verily, I am the servant of God, he hath given me the book of the Gospel, and appointed me a prophet. And he hath made me blessed, wherever I shall be, and hath commanded me to observe prayer, and to give alms, as long as I live; and he hath made me dutiful toward my mother, and hath not made me proud or unhappy. And peace be on me, the day whereon I was born, and the day whereon I shall die, and the day whereon I shall be raised to life. This was Jesus, the son of Mary, the word of truth, concerning whom they doubt. It is not meet for God that he should have any son; God forbid."

This is the doctrine of the Koran with respect to the Redeemer; his Divine mission is recognized, his divinity denied.

As to the relation of Mohammedanism to other systems, prospectively, war was declared against them all. "Attack," says the Koran, "the hypocrites, with arguments, and the infidels with weapons." "War is enjoined against infidels." "Fight against the friends of

Satan." "God hath purchased from true believers their souls, and their substance, promising them the enjoy ment of paradise, on condition that they fight for the cause of God."

With respect to the positive character and tenets of Mohammedanism, its own disciples divide them into two heads; namely, FAITH and PRACTICE. FAITH has six great articles-the first, respecting God; the second, respecting angels; the third, respecting the Scriptures; fourth, respecting the prophets; fifth, respecting the resurrection; and, sixth, respecting predestination.

Upon the first article, that of God, every thing that is said, so far as the Divine attributes are concerned, is taken from the sacred Scriptures. The Scriptural doctrine of the Trinity is altogether rejected, and everywhere in the Koran confounded with tritheism.

With respect to angels, we are told that they exist in innumerable multitudes; but, among them are four that are particularly celebrated. First, Gabriel, who is called the angel of revelation, because he revealed the Koran, and is supposed to have revealed all other sacred books. Second, Michael, whom they look upon as the special friend and guardian of the Jews. Third, Azrael, or the angel of death, who takes away the souls of all mankind, removing those of true believers with great gentleness, and those of infidels with great severity. And, fourth, Israfil, whose voice is more melodious than that of any other creature, who will be employed to sound the trumpet of the resurrection. Besides angels, there is a world, of immense population, consisting of genii, invisible to us, but continually occupied about us. Some of them have fallen, some of them are pure.

With respect to the Scriptures, the Mohammedans hold that, in all, one hundred and four sacred books have been revealed. Of these, ten were given to Adam,