,,christianity    ,,and    ,,islam      
,,by    ,c4,h4 ,,becker1 ,,ph4,d4       
,,professor ,,of ,,oriental ,,history   
,,in  ,,the ,,colonial ,,institute ,,of 
,,hamburg    ,,translated ,,by  ,,rev4  
,h4,j4 ,,chaytor1 ,m4,a4    ,,headmaster
 ,,of ,,plymouth ,,college        #aiji 
,,table ,,of ,,contents      ,the       
subject from different points of view3  
limits of treatment    ,the nature of   
the subject3 the historical points of   
connection between  ,christianity and   
,islam      ,a4 ,christianity and the   
rise of ,islam3         #a4 ,muhammed   
and his contemporaries         #b4 ,the 
influence of ,christianity upon the     
development of ,muhammed         #c4    
,muhammed's knowledge of ,christianity  
#d4 ,the position of ,christians under  
,muhammedanism      ,b4 ,the similarity 
of ,christian and ,muhammedan           
metaphysics during the       middle     
ages3         #a4 ,the means and        
direction by which ,christian influence 
affected          ,islam         #b4    

,the penetration of daily life by the   
spirit of religion2          asceticism1
 contradictions and influences affecting
 the          development of a clerical 
class and the theory of                 
marriage         #c4 ,the theory of life
 in general with reference to the       
doctrine          of immortality        
#d4 ,the attitude of religion towards   
the ,state1 economic life1              
society1 etc4         #e4 ,the permanent
 importance to ,islam of these          
influences3 the          doctrine of    
duties         #f4 ,ritual         #g4  
,mysticism and the worship of saints    
#h4 ,dogma and the development of       
scholasticism      ,c4 ,the influence of
 ,islam upon ,christianity3         ,the
 manner in which this influence         
operated1 and the explanation       of  
the superiority of ,islam         ,the  
influence of ,muhammedan philosophy     
,the new world of ,european ,christendom
 and the modern ,east      ,conclusion4 
,the historical growth of religion      

,bibliography            ,,christianity 
,,and ,,islam      ,a comparison of     
,christianity with ,muhammedanism or    
with any other  religion must be        
preceded by a statement of the objects  
with which  such comparison is          
undertaken1 for the possibilities which 
lie in this  direction are numerous4    
,the missionary1 for instance1 may      
consider  that a knowledge of the       
similarities of these religions would   
increase  the efficacy of his           
proselytising work3 his purpose would   
thus be  wholly practical4 ,the         
ecclesiastically minded ,christian1     
already  convinced of the superiority of
 his own religion1 will be chiefly      
anxious to secure scientific proof of   
the fact3 the study of  comparative     
religion from this point of view was    
once a popular branch  of apologetics   
and is by no means out of favour at the 
present day4  ,again1 the inquirer whose
 historical perspective is undisturbed  
by  ecclesiastical considerations1 will 

approach the subject with somewhat      
different interests4 ,he will expect the
 comparison to provide him with  a clear
 view of the influence which            
,christianity has exerted upon  other   
religions or has itself received from   
them3 or he may hope by  comparing the  
general development of special religious
 systems to gain  a clearer insight into
 the growth of ,christianity4 ,hence the
 object of  such comparisons is to trace
 the course of analogous developments   
and  the interaction of influence and so
 to increase the knowledge of  religion 
in general or of our own religion in    
particular4    ,a world-religion1 such  
as ,christianity1 is a highly complex   
structure  and the evolution of such a  
system of belief is best understood by  
examining a religion to which we have   
not been bound by a thousand  ties from 
the earliest days of our lives4 ,if we  
take an alien religion  as our subject  
of investigation1 we shall not shrink   
from the  consequences of the historical

 method3 whereas1 when we criticise     
,christianity1 we are often unable to   
see the falsity of the  pre-suppositions
 which we necessarily bring to the task 
of inquiry3  our minds follow the       
doctrines of ,christianity1 even as our 
bodies  perform their functions--in     
complete unconsciousness4 ,at the same  
time  we possess a very considerable    
knowledge of the development of         
,christianity1 and this we owe largely  
to the help of analogy4  ,especially    
instructive is the comparison between   
,christianity and  ,buddhism4 ,no less  
interesting are the discoveries to be   
attained by an  inquiry into the        
development of ,muhammedanism3 here we  
can see the  growth of tradition        
proceeding in the full light of         
historical  criticism4 ,we see the plain
 man1 ,muhammed1 expressly declaring in 
the  ,qoran that he cannot perform      
miracles1 yet gradually becoming a      
miracle worker and indeed the greatest  
of his class3 he professes to  be       

nothing more than a mortal man3 he      
becomes the chief mediator  between man 
and ,god4 ,the scanty memorials of the  
man become voluminous  biographies of   
the saint and increase from generation  
to generation4    ,yet more remarkable  
is the fact that his utterances1 his    
logia1 if  we may use the term1 some few
 of which are certainly genuine1        
increase  from year to year and form a  
large collection which is critically    
sifted and expounded4 ,the aspirations  
of mankind attribute to him such  words 
of the ,new ,testament and of ,greek    
philosophers as were  especially popular
 or seemed worthy of ,muhammed2 the     
teaching also of  the new ecclesiastical
 schools was invariably expressed in the
 form of  proverbial utterances         
attributed to ,muhammed1 and these are  
now  without exception regarded as      
authentic by the modern ,moslem4 ,in    
this  way opinions often contradictory  
are covered by ,muhummed's authority4   
,the traditions concerning ,jesus offer 

an analogy4 ,our ,gospels1 for          
instance1 relate the beautiful story of 
the plucking of the ears of  corn on the
 ,sabbath1 with its famous moral        
application1 ,the ,sabbath  was made for
 man1 and not man for the ,sabbath4 ,a  
,christian papyrus  has been discovered 
which represents ,jesus as explaining   
the sanctity  of the ,sabbath from the  
,judaeo-,christian point of view4 ,if ye
 keep  not the ,sabbath holy1 ye shall  
not see the ,father1 is the statement   
in an uncanonical ,gospel4 ,in early    
,christian literature1 contradictory    
sayings of ,jesus are also to be found4 
,doubtless here1 as in  ,muhammedan     
tradition1 the problem originally was1  
what is to be my  action in this or that
 question of practical life3 answer is  
given in  accordance with the religious 
attitude of the inquirer and ,jesus and 
,muhammed are made to lend their        
authority to the teaching4 ,traditional 
literary form is then regarded as       
historical by later believers4          

,examples of this kind might be         
multiplied1 but enough has been said to 
show that much and1 to some extent1 new 
light may be thrown upon the            
development of ,christian tradition1 by 
an examination of ,muhammedanism  which 
rose from similar soil but a few        
centuries later1 while its  traditional 
developments have been much more        
completely preserved4    ,such analogies
 as these can be found1 however1 in any 
of the  world-religions1 and we propose 
to devote our attention more            
particularly to the influences which    
,christianity and ,islam exerted        
directly upon one another4 ,while       
,muhammedanism has borrowed from its    
hereditary foe1 it has also repaid part 
of the debt4 ,by the very fact  of its  
historical position ,islam was at first 
indebted to  ,christianity2 but in the  
department of ,christian philosophy1 it 
has  also exerted its own influence4    
,this influence cannot be compared with 
that of ,greek or ,jewish thought upon  

,christian speculation3 ,christian      
philosophy1 as a metaphysical theory of 
existence1 was however  strongly        
influenced by ,arabian thought before   
the outset of the  ,reformation4 ,on the
 other hand the influence of            
,christianity upon  ,islam--and also    
upon ,muhammed1 though he owed more to  
,jewish  thought--was so extensive that 
the coincidence of ideas upon the most  
important metaphysical questions is     
positively amazing4    ,there is a      
widespread belief even at the present   
day that ,islam was a  complete novelty 
and that the religion and culture of the
 ,muhammedan  world were wholly alien to
 ,western medievalism4 ,such views are  
entirely false2 during the ,middle ,ages
 ,muhammedanism and ,western  culture   
were inspired by the same spirit4 ,the  
fact has been obscured  by the contrast 
between the two religions whose         
differences have been  constantly       
exaggerated and by dissimilarities of   
language and  nationality4 ,to retrace  

in full detail the close connection     
which  unites ,christianity and ,islam  
would be the work of years4 ,within the 
scope of the present volume1 all that   
can be done is to explain the  points of
 contact between ,christian and         
,muhammedan theories of life  and       
religion4 ,such is the object of the    
following pages4 ,we shall  first treat 
of ,muhammed personally1 because his    
rise as a religious  force will explain 
the possibility of later developments4  
,this statement also explains the sense 
in which we shall use the term          
,christianity4 ,muhammedanism has no    
connection with post-,reformation       
,christianity and meets it only in the  
mission field4 ,practical  questions    
there arise which lie beyond the limits 
of our subject1 as  we have already     
indicated4 ,our interests are concerned 
with the  mediaeval ,church1 when       
,christianity first imposed its ideas   
upon  ,muhammedanism at the time of its 
rise in the ,east1 and afterwards       

received a material extension of its own
 horizon through the rapid  progress of 
its protg4 ,our task is to analyse and  
explain these  special relations between
 the two systems of thought4    ,the    
religion now known as ,islam is as near 
to the preaching of  ,muhammed or as    
remote from it1 as modern ,catholicism  
or ,protestant  ,christianity is at     
variance or in harmony with the teaching
 of ,jesus4  ,the simple beliefs of the 
prophet and his contemporaries are      
separated  by a long course of          
development from the complicated        
religious system  in its unity and      
diversity which ,islam now presents to  
us4 ,the course  of this development was
 greatly influenced by ,christianity1   
but  ,christian ideas had been operative
 upon ,muhammed's eager intellectual    
life at an even earlier date4 ,we must  
attempt to realise the working  of his  
mind1 if we are to gain a comprehension 
of the original  position of ,islam with
 regard to ,christianity4 ,the task is  

not so  difficult in ,muhammed's case as
 in that of others who have founded     
religious systems3 we have records of   
his philosophical views1  important even
 though fragmentary1 while vivid        
descriptions of his  experiences have   
been transmitted to us in his own words1
 which have  escaped the modifying      
influence of tradition at second hand4  
,muhammed  had an indefinite idea of the
 word of ,god as known to him from other
  religions4 ,he was unable to realise  
this idea effectively except as an      
immediate revelation2 hence throughout  
the ,qoran he represents ,god as        
speaking in the first person and himself
 appears as the interlocutor4  ,even    
direct commands to the congregation are 
introduced by the  stereotyped speak2 it
 was of primary importance that the     
,qoran  should be regarded as ,god's    
word and not as man's4 ,this fact       
largely  contributed to secure an       
uncontaminated transmission of the text1
  which seems also to have been left by 

,muhammed himself in definite  form4    
,its intentional obscurity of expression
 does not facilitate the  task of the   
inquirer1 but it provides1 none the     
less1 considerable  information         
concerning the religious progress of its
 author4 ,here we  are upon firmer      
ground than when we attempt to describe 
,muhammed's  outward life1 the first    
half of which is wrapped in obscurity no
 less  profound than that which veils   
the youth of the ,founder of            
,christianity4    ,muhammed's           
contemporaries lived amid religious     
indifference4 ,the  majority of the     
,arabs were heathen and their religious 
aspirations  were satisfied by local    
cults of the ,old ,semitic character4   
,they may  have preserved the religious 
institutions of the great ,south        
,arabian  civilisation1 which was then  
in a state of decadence2 the beginnings 
of ,islam may also have been influenced 
by the ideas of this  civilisation1     
which research is only now revealing to 

us3 but these  points must remain       
undecided for the time being4 ,south    
,arabian  civilisation was certainly not
 confined to the ,south1 nor could an   
organised township such as ,mecca remain
 outside its sphere of  influence3 but  
the scanty information which has reached
 us concerning  the religious life of   
the ,arabs anterior to ,islam might also
 be  explained by supposing them to have
 followed a similar course of           
development4 ,in any case1 it is        
advisable to reserve judgment until     
documentary proof can replace ingenious 
conjecture4 ,the difficulty of  the     
problem is increased by the fact that   
,jewish and especially  ,christian ideas
 penetrated from the ,south and that    
their influence  cannot be estimated4   
,the important point for us to consider 
is the  existence of ,christianity in   
,southern ,arabia before the ,muhammedan
  period4 ,nor was the ,south its only  
starting-point3 ,christian doctrine     
came to ,arabia from the ,north1 from   

,syria and ,babylonia1 and numerous     
conversions1 for the most part of whole 
tribes1 were made4 ,on the  frontiers   
also ,arabian merchants came into       
continual contact with  ,christianity   
and foreign merchants of the ,christian 
faith could be  found throughout        
,arabia4 ,but for the ,arabian migration
 and the  simultaneous foundation of a  
new ,arabian religion1 there is no doubt
  that the whole peninsula would have   
been speedily converted to              
,christianity4    ,the chief rival of   
,christianity was ,judaism1 which was   
represented in  ,northern as in         
,southern ,arabia by strong colonies of 
,jews1 who made  proselytes1 although   
their strict ritualism was uncongenial  
to the  ,arab temperament which         
preferred conversion to ,christianity   
7naturally  only as a matter of form74  
,in addition to ,jewish1 ,christian1 and
 ,old  ,semitic influences1 ,zoroastrian
 ideas and customs were also known in   
,arabia1 as is likely enough in view of 

the proximity of the ,persian  empire4  
,these various elements aroused in      
,muhammed's mind a vague idea of        
religion4 ,his experience was that of   
the eighteenth-century  theologians who 
suddenly observed that ,christianity was
 but one of  many very similar and      
intelligible religions1 and thus        
inevitably  conceived the idea of a pure
 and natural religious system           
fundamental  to all others4 ,judaism and
 ,christianity were the only religions  
which  forced themselves upon           
,muhammed's consciousness and with the  
general  characteristics of which he was
 acquainted4 ,he never read any part of 
the ,old or ,new ,testament3 his        
references to ,christianity show that   
his  knowledge of the ,bible was derived
 from hearsay and that his  informants  
were not representative of the great    
religious sects3  ,muhammed's account of
 ,jesus and ,his work1 as given in the  
,qoran1 is  based upon the apocryphal   
accretions which grew round the         

,christian  doctrine4    ,when ,muhammed
 proceeded to compare the great         
religions of the ,old and  ,new         
,testaments with the superficial pietism
 of his own compatriots1 he  was        
especially impressed with the           
seriousness of the ,hebrews and         
,christians which contrasted strongly   
with the indifference of the  heathen   
,arabs4 ,the ,arab was familiar with the
 conception of an  almighty ,god1 and   
this idea had not been obscured by the  
worship of  trees1 stones1 fire and the 
heavenly bodies3 but his reverence for  
this ,god was somewhat impersonal and he
 felt no instinct to approach  ,him1    
unless he had some hopes or fears to    
satisfy4 ,the idea of a  reckoning      
between man and ,god was alien to the   
,arab mind4 ,christian  and ,jewish     
influence became operative upon         
,muhammed with reference  to this       
special point4 ,the idea of the day of  
judgment1 when an  account of earthly   
deeds and misdeeds will be required1    

when the joys  of ,paradise will be     
opened to the good and the bad will be  
cast into  the fiery abyss1 such was the
 great idea1 which suddenly filled      
,muhammed's mind and dispelled the      
indifference begotten of routine and    
stirred his mental powers4              
,polytheism was incompatible with the   
idea of ,god as a judge supreme  and    
righteous1 but yet merciful4 ,thus      
monotheism was indissolubly  connected  
with ,muhammed's first religious        
impulses1 though the dogma  had not     
assumed the polemical form in which it  
afterwards confronted  the old ,arabian 
and ,christian beliefs4 ,but a mind     
stirred by religious  emotion only rose 
to the height of prophetic power after a
 long course  of development which human
 knowledge can but dimly surmise4       
,christianity and ,judaism had their    
sacred books which the founders of      
these religions had produced4 ,in them  
were the words of ,god1  transmitted    
through ,moses to the ,jews and through 

,jesus to the  ,christians4 ,jesus and  
,moses had been ,god's ambassadors to   
their  peoples4 ,who then could bring to
 the ,arabs the glad tidings which      
should guide them to the happy fields of
 ,paradise8 ,among primitive  peoples   
,god is regarded as very near to man4   
,the ,arabs had1 their  fortune-tellers 
and augurs who cast lots before ,god and
 explained ,his  will in mysterious     
rhythmical utterances4 ,muhammed was at 
first more  intimately connected with   
this class of ,arab fortune-tellers than
 is  usually supposed4 ,the best proof  
of the fact is the vehemence with  which
 he repudiates all comparison between   
these fortune-tellers and  himself1 even
 as early ,christian apologetics and    
polemics attacked the  rival cults of   
the later classical world1 which        
possessed forms of  ritual akin to those
 observed by ,christianity4 ,the        
existence of a  fortune-telling class   
among the ,arabs shows that ,muhammed   
may well  have been endowed with        

psychological tendencies which only     
awaited the  vivifying influence of     
,judaism and ,christianity to emerge as 
the  prophetic impulse forcing him to   
stand forth in public and to stir the   
people from their indifference3 ,be ye  
converted1 for the day of  judgment is  
at hand3 ,god has declared it unto me1  
as he declared it  unto ,moses and      
,jesus4 ,i am the apostle of ,god to    
you1 ,arabs4 ,salvation  is yours only  
if ye submit to the will of ,god        
preached by me4 ,this  act of submission
 ,muhammed calls ,islam4 ,thus at the   
hour of ,islam's  birth1 before its     
founder had proclaimed his ideas1 the   
influence of  ,christianity is          
indisputable4 ,it was this influence    
which made of the  ,arab seer and       
inspired prophet1 the apostle of ,god4  
,muhammed regarded ,judaism and         
,christianity as religious movements    
purely national in character4 ,god in   
,his mercy had announced ,his will  to  
different nations through ,his prophets4

 ,as ,god's word had been  interpreted  
for the ,jews and for the ,christians1  
so there was to be a  special           
interpretation for the benefit of the   
,arabs4 ,these  interpretations were    
naturally identical in manner and       
differed only  as regards place and     
time4 ,muhammed had heard of the ,jewish
 ,messiah  and of the ,christian        
,paraclete1 whom1 however1 he failed to 
identify  with the ,holy ,ghost and he  
applied to himself the allusions to one 
who  should come after ,moses and       
,jesus4 ,thus in the ,qoran #fa4f we    
read1  ,jesus1 the ,son of ,mary1 said3 
,children of ,israel1 ,i am ,god's      
apostle  to you4 ,i confirm in your     
hands the ,thora 7the law7 and ,i       
announce the  coming of another apostle 
after me whose name is ,ahmed4 ,ahmed is
 the  equivalent of ,muhammed4 ,the     
verse has been variously interpreted and
  even rejected as an interpolation3 but
 its authenticity is attested by  its   
perfect correspondence with what we know

 of ,muhammed's  pretensions4    ,to    
trace in detail the development of his  
attitude towards  ,christianity is a    
more difficult task than to discover the
 growth of  his views upon ,judaism2    
probably he pursued a similar course in 
either  case4 ,at first he assumed the  
identity of the two religions with one  
another and with his own doctrine2      
afterwards he regarded them as          
advancing by gradations4 ,adam1         
,abraham1 ,moses1 ,jesus1 and ,muhammed1
  these in his opinion were the chief   
stages in the divine scheme of          
salvation4 ,each was respectively       
confirmed or abolished by the           
revelation which followed it1 nor is    
this theory of ,muhammed's shaken  by   
the fact that each revelation was given 
to a different nation4 ,he  regards all 
preceding prophets in the light of his  
own personality4  ,they were all sent to
 people who refused them a hearing at   
the moment4  ,punishment follows and the
 prophet finds a body of believers      

elsewhere4 ,these temporary punishments 
are confused with the final  ,judgment2 
in fact ,muhammed's system was not      
clearly thought out4 ,the  several      
prophets were but men1 whose earthly    
careers were necessarily  crowned with  
triumph3 hence the crucifixion of ,jesus
 is a malicious  invention of the ,jews1
 who in reality crucified some other    
sufferer1  while ,jesus entered the     
divine glory4 ,thus ,muhammed has no    
idea of the  importance of the          
,crucifixion to the ,christian ,church1 
as is shown by  his treatment of it as a
 ,jewish falsehood4 ,in fact1 he        
develops the  habit of characterising as
 false any statement in contradiction   
with  his ideas1 and this tendency is   
especially obvious in his dealings  with
 ,judaism1 of which he gained a more    
intimate knowledge4 ,at first  he would 
refer sceptics to ,christian and ,jewish
 doctrine for  confirmation of his own  
teaching4 ,the fact that with no        
knowledge of  the ,old or ,new          

,testament1 he had proclaimed doctrines 
materially  similar and the fact that   
these ,scriptures referred to himself1  
were  proofs of his inspired power1 let 
doubters say what they would4 ,a  closer
 acquaintance with these ,scriptures    
showed him that the  divergencies which 
he stigmatised as falsifications denoted
 in reality  vast doctrinal differences4
    ,in order to understand ,muhammed's 
attitude towards ,christianity1 we  will
 examine in greater detail his view of  
this religion1 the portions  of it which
 he accepted or which he rejected as    
unauthentic4 ,in the  first place he    
must have regarded the ,trinity as      
repugnant to reason3  he considered the 
,christian ,trinity as consisting of    
,god the ,father1  ,mary the ,mother of 
,god1 and ,jesus the ,son of ,god4 ,in  
the ,qoran1 ,god  says1 ,hast thou1     
,jesus1 said to men1 ,regard me and my  
mother as ,gods  by the side of ,god8   
,jesus replies1 ,i will say nothing but 
the truth4  ,i have but preached1 ,pray 

to ,god1 who is my ,lord and your ,lord 
7#e4aaf1 f74 ,hence it has been inferred
 that ,muhammed's knowledge of          
,christianity was derived from some     
particular ,christian sect1 such as  the
 ,tritheists or the ,arab female sect of
 the ,collyridians who  worshipped the  
,virgin ,mary with exaggerated reverence
 and assigned  divine honours to her4   
,it is also possible that we have here a
  development of some ,gnostic          
conception which regarded the ,holy     
,ghost  as of feminine gender1 as       
,semites would do2,a instances of this  
change are to be found in the well-known
 ,hymn of the ,soul in the ,acts  of    
,thomas1 in the ,gospel to the          
,egyptians and elsewhere4 ,i am         
inclined1 however1 to think it more     
probable that ,muhammed had heard  of   
,mariolatry and of the mother of ,god1 a
 title which then was a  highly popular 
catchword1 and that the apotheosis of   
,jesus was known  to him and also the   
doctrine of the ,trinity by name4       

,further than this  his knowledge did   
not extend2 although he knows the ,holy 
,ghost and  identifies him with ,jesus1 
none the less his primitive reasoning1  
under the influence of many old beliefs1
 explained the mysterious  triad of the 
,trinity as husband1 wife1 and son4     
,this fact is enough to  prove that his 
theory of ,christianity was formed by   
combining isolated  scraps of           
information and that he cannot have had 
any direct  instruction from a          
,christian knowing the outlines of his  
faith4    ,footnote ,a3 ,the word for   
,spirit is of the feminine gender in the
  ,semitic languages4    ,muhammed must 
also have denied the divinity of        
,christ3 this is an  obvious result of  
the course of mental development which  
we have  described and of his           
characteristically ,semitic theory of   
the nature  of ,god4 ,to him1 ,god is   
one1 never begetting and never begotten4
  ,denying the divinity of ,jesus1      
,muhammed naturally denies the          

redemption through the ,cross and also  
the fact of the ,crucifixion4  ,yet1    
strangely enough he accepted the        
miraculous birth2 nor did he  hesitate  
to provide this purely human ,jesus with
 all miraculous  attributes2 these were 
a proof of his divine commission1 and   
marvellous details of this nature       
aroused the interest of his hearers4    
,mary the sister of ,ahron--an obvious  
confusion with the ,old ,testament      
,miriam--had been devoted to the service
 of ,god by her mother's vow1 and  lives
 in the temple under the guardianship of
 ,zacharias1 to whom a  later heir is   
born in answer to his prayers1 namely   
,john1 the  forerunner of the ,holy     
,ghost4 ,the birth is announced to ,mary
 and she  brings forth ,jesus under a   
palm-tree1 near which is a running      
spring  and by the dates of which she is
 fed4 ,on her return home she is        
received with reproaches by her family  
but merely points in reply to  the      
new-born babe1 who suddenly speaks from 

his cradle1 asserting that  he is the   
prophet of ,god4 ,afterwards ,jesus     
performs all kinds of  miracles1 forms  
birds out of clay and makes them fly1   
heals the blind  and lepers1 raises the 
dead1 etc41 and even brings down from   
heaven a  table ready spread4 ,the ,jews
 will not believe him1 but the youth    
follow him4 ,he is not killed1 but      
translated to ,god4 ,christians are  not
 agreed upon the manner of his death and
 the ,jews have invented the  story of  
the ,crucifixion4    ,muhammed's        
knowledge of ,christianity thus consists
 of certain isolated  details1 partly   
apocryphal1 partly canonical1 together  
with a hazy  idea of the fundamental    
dogmas4 ,thus the influence of          
,christianity  upon him was entirely    
indirect4 ,the ,muhammedan movement at  
its outset  was influenced not by the   
real ,christianity of the time but by a 
,christianity which ,muhammed criticised
 in certain details and forced  into    
harmony with his preconceived ideas4    

,his imagination was  profoundly        
impressed by the existence of           
,christianity as a revealed  religion   
with a founder of its own4 ,certain     
features of ,christianity  and of       
,judaism1 prayer1 purification1 solemn  
festivals1 scriptures1  prophets and so 
forth were regarded by him as essential 
to any  religious community1 because    
they happened to belong both to ,judaism
  and to ,christianity4 ,he therefore   
adopted or wished to adopt these        
institutions4    ,during the period of  
his life at ,medina1 ,muhammed abandoned
 his  original idea of preaching the    
doctrines which ,moses and ,jesus had   
proclaimed4 ,this new development was   
the outcome of a struggle with  ,judaism
 following upon an unsuccessful attempt 
at compromise4 ,in point  of fact       
,judaism and ,christianity were as      
widely different from one  another as   
they were from his own teaching and he  
was more than ever  inclined to regard  
as his special forerunner1 ,abraham1 who

 had  preceded both ,moses and ,jesus1  
and was revered by both religions as    
the man of ,god4 ,he then brought       
,abraham into connection with the       
ancient ,meccan ,ka'ba worship3 the     
,ka'ba or die was a sacred stone        
edifice1 in one corner of which the     
black stone had been built in3  this    
stone was an object of reverence to the 
ancient ,arabs1 as it  still is to the  
,muhammedans4 ,thus ,islam gradually    
assumed the form of  an ,arab religion1 
developing universalist tendencies in   
the ultimate  course of events4         
,muhammed1 therefore1 as he was the last
 in the ranks  of the prophets1 must    
also be the greatest4 ,he epitomised all
 prophecy  and ,islam superseded every  
revealed religion of earlier date4      
,muhammed's original view that earlier  
religions had been founded by  ,god's   
will and through divine revelation1 led 
both him and his  successors to make an 
important concession3 adherents of other
  religions were not compelled to adopt 

,islam4 ,they were allowed to  observe  
their own faith unhindered1 if they     
surrendered without  fighting1 and were 
even protected against their enemies1 in
 return for  which they had to pay      
tribute to their ,muslim masters2 this  
was levied  as a kind of poll-tax4 ,thus
 we read in the ,qoran 7ix4 #bi7 that   
those  who possess ,scriptures1 i4e4 the
 ,jews and ,christians1 who did not     
accept ,islam were to be attacked until 
they paid the gizja or  tribute4 ,thus  
the object of a religious war upon the  
,christians is not  expressed by the cry
 ,death or ,islam2 such attacks were    
intended  merely to extort an           
acknowledgment of ,muhammedan supremacy1
 not to  abolish freedom of religious   
observance4 ,it would be incorrect for  
the  most part to regard the warrior    
bands which started from ,arabia as     
inspired by religious enthusiasm or to  
attribute to them the  fanaticism which 
was first aroused by the crusades and in
 an even  greater degree by the later   

,turkish wars4 ,the ,muhammedan fanatics
 of  the wars of conquest1 whose        
reputation was famous among later       
generations1 felt but a very scanty     
interest in religion and  occasionally  
displayed an ignorance of its           
fundamental tenets which we  can hardly 
exaggerate4 ,the fact is fully          
consistent with the impulses  to which  
the ,arab migrations were due4 ,these   
impulses were economic  and the new     
religion was nothing more than a party  
cry of unifying  power1 though there is 
no reason to suppose that it was not a  
real  moral force in the life of        
,muhammed and his immediate             
contemporaries4    ,anti-,christian     
fanaticism there was therefore none4    
,even in early  years ,muhammedans never
 refused to worship in the same         
buildings as  ,christians4 ,the various 
insulting regulations which tradition   
represents ,christians as forced to     
endure were directed not so much        
against the adherents of another faith  

as against the barely tolerated         
inhabitants of a subjugated state4 ,it  
is true that the distinction is  often  
difficult to observe1 as religion and   
nationality were one and  the same thing
 to ,muhammedans4 ,in any case religious
 animosity was a  very subordinate      
phenomenon4 ,it was a gradual           
development and seems to  me to have    
made a spasmodic beginning in the first 
century under the  influence of ideas   
adopted from ,christianity4 ,it may seem
 paradoxical  to assert that it was     
,christian influence which first stirred
 ,islam to  religious animosity and     
armed it with the sword against         
,christianity1  but the hypothesis      
becomes highly probable when we have    
realised the  indifferentism of the     
,muhammedan conquerors4    ,we shall    
constantly see hereafter how much they  
owed in every  department of            
intellectual life to the teaching of the
 races which  they subjugated4 ,their   
attitude towards other beliefs was never

 so  intolerant as was that of          
,christendom at that period4            
,christianity may  well have been the   
teaching influence in this department of
 life as in  others4 ,moreover at all   
times and especially in the first       
century the  position of ,christians has
 been very tolerable1 even though the   
,muslims regarded them as an inferior   
class1 ,christians were able to  rise to
 the highest offices of state1 even to  
the post of vizier1  without any        
compulsion to renounce their faith4     
,even during the period  of the crusades
 when the religious opposition was      
greatly intensified1  again through     
,christian policy1 ,christian officials 
cannot have been  uncommon3 otherwise   
,muslim theorists would never have      
uttered their  constant invectives      
against the employment of ,christians in
  administrative duties4 ,naturally     
zealots appeared at all times on the    
,muhammedan as well as on the ,christian
 side and occasionally isolated  acts of

 oppression took place3 these were1     
however1 exceptional4 ,so  late as the  
eleventh century1 church funeral        
processions were able to  pass through  
the streets of ,bagdad with all the     
emblems of  ,christianity and           
disturbances were recorded by the       
chroniclers as  exceptional4 ,in ,egypt1
 ,christian festivals were also regarded
 to some  extent as holidays by the     
,muhammedan population4 ,we have but to 
imagine these conditions reversed in a  
,christian kingdom of the early  middle 
ages and the probability of my theory   
will become obvious4    ,the ,christians
 of the ,east1 who had broken for the   
most part with the  orthodox ,church1   
also regarded ,islam as a lesser evil   
than the  ,byzantine established        
,church4 ,moreover ,islam1 as being both
 a  political and ecclesiastical        
organisation1 regarded the ,christian   
church as a state within a state and    
permitted it to preserve its own        
juridical and at first its own          

governmental rights4 ,application was   
made to the bishops when anything was   
required from the community and  the    
churches were used as taxation offices4 
,this was all in the  interests of the  
clergy who thus found their traditional 
claims  realised4 ,these relations were 
naturally modified in the course of     
centuries2 the crusades1 the ,turkish   
wars and the great expansion of  ,europe
 widened the breach between             
,christianity and ,islam1 while as the  
,east was gradually brought under       
ecclesiastical influence1 the  contrast 
grew deeper3 the theory1 however1 that  
the ,muhammedan  conquerors and their   
successors were inspired by a fanatical 
hatred of  ,christianity is a fiction   
invented by ,christians4    ,we have now
 to examine this early development of   
,islam in somewhat  greater detail3     
indeed1 to secure a more general        
appreciation of this  point is the      
object of the present work4    ,the     
relationship of the ,qoran to           

,christianity has been already noted3   
it was a book which preached rather than
 taught and enounced isolated  laws but 
no connected system4 ,islam was a clear 
and simple war-cry  betokening merely a 
recognition of ,arab supremacy1 of the  
unity of ,god  and of ,muhammed's       
prophetic mission4 ,but in a few        
centuries ,islam  became a complex      
religious structure1 a confusion of     
,greek philosophy  and ,roman law1      
accurately regulating every department  
of human life  from the deepest problems
 of morality to the daily use of the    
toothpick1 and the fashions of dress and
 hair4 ,this change from the  simplicity
 of the founder's religious teaching to 
a system of  practical morality often   
wholly divergent from primitive         
doctrine1 is  a transformation which all
 the great religions of the world have  
undergone4 ,religious founders have     
succeeded in rousing the sense of  true 
religion in the human heart4 ,religious 
systems result from the  interaction of 

this impulse with pre-existing          
capacities for  civilisation4 ,the      
highest attainments of human life are   
dependent upon  circumstances of time   
and place1 and environment often exerts 
a more  powerful influence than creative
 power4 ,the teaching of ,jesus was     
almost overpowered by the               
,graeco-,oriental culture of later      
,hellenism4  ,dissensions persist even  
now because millions of people are      
unable to  distinguish pure religion    
from the forms of expression belonging  
to an  extinct civilisation4 ,islam went
 through a similar course of            
development and assumed the spiritual   
panoply which was ready to hand4  ,here1
 as elsewhere1 this defence was a       
necessity during the period of          
struggle1 but became a crushing burden  
during the peace which followed         
victory1 for the reason that it was     
regarded as inseparable from the  wearer
 of it4 ,from this point of view the    
analogy with ,christianity  will appear 

extremely striking1 but it is something 
more than an  analogy3 the ,oriental    
,hellenism of antiquity was to          
,christianity that  which the ,christian
 ,oriental ,hellenism of a few centuries
 later was to  ,islam4    ,we must now  
attempt to realise the nature of this   
event so important  in the history of   
the world4 ,a nomadic people1 recently  
united1 not  devoid of culture1 but with
 a very limited range of ideas1 suddenly
  gains supremacy over a wide and       
populous district with an ancient       
civilisation4 ,these nomads are as yet  
hardly conscious of their  political    
unity and the individualism of the      
several tribes composing  it is still a 
disruptive force3 yet they can secure   
domination over  countries such as      
,egypt and ,babylonia1 with complex     
constitutional  systems1 where climatic 
conditions1 the nature of the soil and  
centuries of work have combined to      
develop an intricate administrative     
system1 which newcomers could not be    

expected to understand1 much less  to   
recreate or to remodel4 ,yet the theory 
has long been held that the  ,arabs     
entirely reorganised the constitutions  
of these countries4  ,excessive         
importance has been attached to the     
statements of ,arab  authors1 who       
naturally regarded ,islam as the        
beginning of all things4  ,in every     
detail of practical life they regarded  
the prophet and his  contemporaries as  
their ruling ideal1 and therefore       
naturally assumed  that the             
constitutional practices of the prophet 
were his own  invention4 ,the           
organisation of the conquering race with
 its tribal  subordination was certainly
 purely ,arab in origin4 ,in fact the   
conquerors seemed so unable to adapt    
themselves to the conditions with  which
 they met1 that foreigners who joined   
their ranks were admitted  to the       
,muhammedan confederacy only as clients 
of the various ,arab  tribes4 ,this was1
 however1 a mere question of outward    

form3 the  internal organisation        
continued unchanged1 as it was bound to 
continue  unless chaos were to be the   
consequence4 ,in fact1 pre-existing     
administrative regulations were so far  
retained that the old customs  duties on
 the former frontiers were levied as    
before1 though they  represented an     
institution wholly alien to the spirit  
of the  ,muhammedan empire4 ,those      
,muhammedan authors1 who describe the   
administrative organisation1 recognise  
only the taxes which ,islam  regarded as
 lawful and characterise others as      
malpractices which had  crept in at a   
later date4 ,it is remarkable that these
 so-called  subsequent malpractices     
correspond with ,byzantine and ,persian 
usage  before the conquest3 but         
tradition will not admit the fact that  
these  remained unchanged4 ,the same    
fact is obvious when we consider the    
progress of civilisation in general4 ,in
 every case the ,arabs merely  develop  
the social and economic achievements of 

the conquered races to  further issues4 
,such progress could indeed only be     
modified by a  general upheaval of      
existing conditions and no such movement
 ever took  place4 ,the ,germanic tribes
 destroyed the civilisations with which 
they  met2 they adopted many of the     
institutions of ,christian antiquity1   
but  found them an impediment to the    
development of their own genius4 ,the   
,arabs simply continued to develop the  
civilisation of post-classical          
antiquity1 with which they had come in  
contact4    ,this procedure may seem    
entirely natural in the department of   
economic  life1 but by no means         
inevitable where intellectual progress  
is  concerned4 ,yet a similar course was
 followed in either case1 as may be     
proved by dispassionate examination4    
,islam was a rising force1 a faith      
rather of experience than of theory or  
dogma1 when it raised its  claims       
against ,christianity1 which represented
 all pre-existing  intellectual culture4

 ,a settlement of these claims was      
necessary and  the military triumphs are
 but the prelude to a great             
accommodation of  intellectual          
interests4 ,in this ,christianity played
 the chief part1  though ,judaism is    
also represented3 ,i am inclined1       
however1 to think  that ,jewish ideas as
 they are expressed in the ,qoran were  
often  transmitted through the medium of
 ,christianity4 ,there is no doubt that 
in ,medina ,muhammed was under direct   
,jewish influence of extraordinary      
power4 ,even at that time ,jewish ideas 
may have been in circulation1  not only 
in the ,qoran but also in oral          
tradition1 which afterwards  became     
stereotyped3 at the same time           
,muhammed's utterances against the      
,jews eventually became so strong during
 the ,medina period1 for  political     
reasons1 that ,i can hardly imagine the 
traditions in their  final form to have 
been adopted directly from the ,jews4   
,the case of  ,jewish converts is a     

different matter4 ,but in ,christianity 
also much  ,jewish wisdom was to be     
found at that time and it is well known 
that  even the ,eastern churches        
regarded numerous precepts of the ,old  
,testament1 including those that dealt  
with ritual1 as binding upon  them4 ,in 
any case the spirit of ,judaism is      
present1 either directly or  working    
through ,christianity1 as an influence  
wherever ,islam  accommodated itself to 
the new intellectual and spiritual life 
which  it had encountered4 ,it was a    
compromise which affected the most      
trivial details of life1 and in these   
matters religious scrupulosity  was     
carried to a ridiculous point3 here we  
may see the outcome of that  ,judaism   
which1 as has been said1 was then a     
definite element in  ,eastern           
,christianity4 ,together with ,jewish1  
,greek and classical ideas  were also   
naturally operative1 while ,persian and 
other ancient  ,oriental conceptions    
were transmitted to ,islam by           

,christianity3 these  instances ,i have 
collectively termed ,christian because  
,christianity  then represented the     
whole of later classical                
intellectualism1 which  influenced      
,islam for the most part through        
,christianity4    ,it seems that the    
communication of these ideas to         
,muhammedanism was  impeded by the      
necessity of translating them not only  
into a kindred  language1 but into one  
of wholly different linguistic          
structure4 ,for  ,muhammedanism the     
difficulty was lessened by the fact that
 it had  learned ,christianity in ,syria
 and ,persia through the ,semitic       
dialect  known as ,aramaic1 by which    
,greek and ,persian culture had been    
transmitted to the ,arabs before the    
rise of ,islam4 ,in this case1 as in    
many others1 the history of language    
runs on parallel lines with the  history
 of civilisation4 ,the necessities of   
increasing civilisation  had introduced 
many ,aramaic words to the ,arabic      

vocabulary before  ,muhammed's day3     
these importations increased            
considerably when the  ,arabs entered a 
wider and more complex civilisation and 
were  especially considerable where     
intellectual culture was concerned4     
,even  ,greek terms made their way into 
,arabic through ,aramaic4 ,this natural 
dependency of ,arabic upon ,aramaic1    
which in turn was connected with  ,greek
 as the rival ,christian vernacular in  
these regions1 is alone  sufficient     
evidence that ,christianity exerted a   
direct influence upon  ,muhammedanism4  
,moreover1 as we have seen1 the ,qoran  
itself regarded  ,christians as being in
 possession of divine wisdom1 and some  
reference  both to ,christianity and to 
,judaism was necessary to explain the   
many  unintelligible passages of the    
,qoran4 ,allusions were made to texts   
and  statements in the ,thora and the   
,gospels1 and ,god was represented as   
constantly appealing to earlier         
revelations of ,himself4 ,thus it was   

only natural that interpreters should   
study these scriptures and ask  counsel 
of their possessors4 ,of primary        
importance was the fact that  both      
,christians and ,jews1 and the former in
 particular1 accepted  ,muhammedanism by
 thousands1 and formed a new            
intellectual class of  ability          
infinitely superior to that of the      
original ,muslims and able  to attract  
the best elements of the ,arab          
nationality to their  teaching4 ,it was 
as impossible for these apostate        
,christians to  abandon their old habits
 of thought as it was hopeless to expect
 any  sudden change in the economic     
conditions under which they lived4      
,christian theories of ,god and the     
world naturally assumed a ,muhammedan   
colouring and thus the great process of 
accommodating ,christianity to          
,muhammedanism was achieved4 ,the       
,christian contribution to this end was 
made partly directly and partly by      
teaching1 and in the intellectual  as   

well as in the economic sphere the      
ultimate ideal was inevitably  dictated 
by the superior culture of              
,christianity4 ,the ,muhammedans were   
thus obliged to accept ,christian       
hypotheses on theological points and    
the fundaments of ,christian and        
,muhammedan culture thus become         
identical4    ,i use the term           
hypotheses1 for the reason that the     
final determination  of the points at   
issue was by no means identical1        
wherever the ,qoran  definitely         
contradicted ,christian views of        
morality or social laws4  ,but in these 
cases also1 ,christian ideas were able  
to impose  themselves upon tradition and
 to issue in practice1 even when opposed
  by the actual text of the ,qoran4     
,they did not always pass unquestioned  
and even on trivial points were obliged 
to encounter some resistance4  ,the     
theory of the ,sunday was accepted1 but 
that day was not chosen and  ,friday was
 preferred3 meetings for worship were   

held in imitation of  ,christian        
practice1 but attempts to sanctify the  
day and to proclaim  it a day of rest   
were forbidden3 except for the          
performance of divine  service1 ,friday 
was an ordinary week-day4 ,when1        
however1 the ,qoran was  in any sort of 
harmony with ,christianity1 the         
,christian ideas of the  age were       
textually accepted in any further       
development of the  question4 ,the fact 
is obvious1 not only as regards details1
 but also  in the general theory of     
man's position upon earth4           99 
99       99       99       99           
,muhammed1 the preacher of repentance1  
had become a temporal prince in         
,medina2 his civil and political        
administration was ecclesiastical in    
character1 an inevitable result of his  
position as the apostle of ,god1  whose 
congregation was at the same time a     
state4 ,this theory of the  state led   
later theorists unconsciously to follow 
the lead of  ,christianity1 which       

regarded the church as supreme in every 
department  of life1 and so induced     
,muhammedanism to adopt views of life   
and  social order which are now styled  
mediaeval4 ,the theological  development
 of this system is to be attributed     
chiefly to groups of  pious thinkers in 
,medina3 they were excluded from        
political life when  the capital was    
transferred from ,medina to ,damascus   
and were left in  peace to elaborate    
their theory of the ,muhammedan divine  
polity4 ,the  influence of these groups 
was paramount3 but of almost equal      
importance was the influence of the     
proselytes in the conquered lands  who  
were ,christians for the most part and  
for that reason far above  their ,arab  
contemporaries in respect of            
intellectual training and  culture4 ,we 
find that the details of jurisprudence1 
dogma1 and  mysticism can only be       
explained by reference to ,christian    
stimulus1  nor is it any exaggeration to
 ascribe the further development of     

,muhammed's views to the influence of   
thinkers who regarded the  religious    
polity of ,islam as the realisation of  
an ideal which  ,christianity had       
hitherto vainly striven to attain4 ,this
 ideal was the  supremacy of religion   
over life and all its activities1 over  
the state  and the individual alike4    
,but it was a religion primarily        
concerned  with the next world1 where   
alone real worth was to be found4       
,earthly  life was a pilgrimage to be   
performed and earthly intentions had no 
place with heavenly4 ,the joy of life   
which the ancient world had  known1 art1
 music and culture1 all were rejected or
 valued only as  aids to religion4      
,human action was judged with reference 
only to its  appraisement in the life to
 come4 ,that ascetic spirit was         
paramount1  which had enchained the     
,christian world1 that renunciation of  
secular  affairs which explains the     
peculiar methods by which mediaeval     
views  of life found expression4        

,asceticism did not disturb the course  
of life as a whole4 ,it might  condemn  
but it could not suppress the natural   
impulse of man to  propagate his race3  
it might hamper economic forces1 but it 
could not  destroy them4 ,it eventually 
led to a compromise in every department 
of  life1 but for centuries it retained 
its domination over men's minds  and to 
some material extent over their actions4
    ,such was the environment in which  
,islam was planted3 its deepest roots   
had been fertilised with ,christian     
theory1 and in spite of ,muhammed's     
call to repentance1 its most            
characteristic manifestations were      
somewhat worldly and non-ascetic4 ,islam
 knows not monasticism says  the        
tradition which this tendency produced4 
,the most important  compromise of all1 
that with life1 which ,christianity only
 secured by  gradual steps1 had been    
already attained for ,islam by ,muhammed
 himself  and was included in the course
 of his development4 ,as ,islam now     

entered the ,christian world1 it was    
forced to pass through this  process of 
development once more4 ,at the outset it
 was permeated with  the idea of        
,christian asceticism1 to which an      
inevitable opposition  arose1 and found 
expression in such statements as that   
already quoted4  ,but ,muhammed's       
preaching had obviously striven to      
honour the future  life by painting the 
actual world in the gloomiest colours1  
and the  material optimism of the       
secular-minded was unable to check the  
advance of ,christian asceticism among  
the classes which felt a real  interest 
in religion4 ,hence that surprising     
similarity of views upon  the problem of
 existence1 which we have now to        
outline4 ,in details of  outward form   
great divergency is apparent4           
,christianity possessed a  clergy while 
,islam did not3 yet the force of        
,christian influence  produced a        
priestly class in ,islam4 ,it was a     
class acting not as  mediator between   

,god and man through sacraments and     
mysteries1 but as  moral leaders and    
legal experts2 as such it was no less   
important than  the scribes under       
,judaism4 ,unanimity among these        
scholars could  produce decisions no    
less binding than those of the          
,christian clergy  assembled in church  
councils4 ,they are representatives of  
the  congregation which has no          
unanimity1 for such would be an error4  
,islam naturally preferred to adopt     
unanimous conclusions in silence  rather
 than to vote in assemblies4 ,as a      
matter of fact a body of  orthodox      
opinion was developed by this means with
 no less success than  in ,christendom4 
,any agreement which the quiet work of  
the scholars had  secured upon any      
question was ratified by ,god and was   
thus irrevocably  and eternally binding4
 ,for instance1 the proclamation to the 
faithful  of new ideas upon the         
exposition of the ,qoran or of tradition
 was  absolutely forbidden2 the         

scholars1 in other words the clergy1 had
  convinced themselves1 by the fact of  
their unanimity upon the point1  that   
the customary and traditional mode of   
exposition was the one  pleasing to     
,god4 ,ideas of this kind naturally     
remind us of ,roman  ,catholic practice4
 ,the influence of ,eastern             
,christianity upon ,islam is            
undoubtedly visible here4 ,this         
influence could not in the face of      
,muhammedan tradition and custom1 create
 an organised clergy1 but it  produced a
 clerical class to guard religious      
thought1 and as religion  spread1 to    
supervise thought of every kind4        
,christianity again condemned marriage1 
though it eventually agreed to  a       
compromise sanctifying this tie2 ,islam1
 on the contrary1 found in  the ,qoran  
the text ,ye that are unmarried shall   
marry 7#bd1 #cb74 ,in  the face of so   
clear a statement1 the condemnation of  
marriage1 which  in any case was        
contrary to the whole spirit of the     

,qoran1 could not  be maintained4 ,thus 
the ,muhammedan tradition contains      
numerous sayings  in support of         
marriage4 ,a childless house contains no
 blessing3 the  breath of a son is as   
the breath of ,paradise2 when a man     
looks upon  his wife 7in love7 and she  
upon him1 ,god looks down in mercy upon 
them  both4 ,two prayers of a married   
man are more precious in the sight of   
,god than seventy of a bachelor4 ,with  
many similar variations upon the  theme1
 ,muhammed is said to have urged        
marriage upon his followers4 ,on  the   
other hand an almost equally numerous   
body of warnings against  marriage      
exists1 also issued by ,muhammed4 ,i    
know no instance of direct  prohibition1
 but serious admonitions are found which
 usually take the  form of denunciation 
of the female sex and were early        
interpreted as  warnings by tradition4  
,fear the world and women3 thy worst    
enemies  are the wife at thy side and   
thy concubine3 the least in ,paradise   

are the women3 women are the faggots of 
hell2 pious women are rare  as ravens   
with white or red legs and white beaks2 
but for women men  might enter          
,paradise4 ,here we come upon a strain  
of thought  especially ,christian4      
,muhammed regarded the satisfaction of  
the sexual  instincts as natural and    
right and made no attempt to put        
restraint  upon it3 ,christian          
asceticism regarded this impulse as the 
greatest  danger which could threaten   
the spiritual life of its adherents1 and
  the sentences above quoted may be     
regarded as the expression of this      
view4 ,naturally the social position of 
the woman suffered in  consequence and  
is so much worse in the traditional     
,muhammedanism as  compared with the    
,qoran that the change can only be      
ascribed to the  influence of the       
civilisation which the ,muhammedans     
encountered4 ,the  idea of woman as a   
creature of no account is certainly     
rooted in the  ancient ,east1 but it    

reached ,islam in ,christian dress and  
with the  authority of ,christian       
hostility to marriage4    ,with this    
hostility to marriage are probably      
connected the regulations  concerning   
the covering of the body3 in the ancient
 church only the  face1 the hands and   
the feet were to be exposed to view1 the
 object  being to prevent the suggestion
 of sinful thoughts3 it is also likely  
that objections to the ancient habit of 
leaving the body uncovered  found       
expression in this ordinance4 ,similar  
objections may be found in  ,muhammedan 
tradition2 we may regard these as       
further developments of  commands given 
in the ,qoran1 but it is also likely    
that ,muhammed's  apocryphal statements 
upon the point were dictated by         
,christian  religious theory4 ,they     
often appear in connection with warnings
  against frequenting the public baths1 
which fact is strong evidence of  their 
,christian origin4 ,a bad house is the  
bath3 much turmoil is  therein and men  

show their nakedness4 ,fear that house  
that is called  the bathhouse and if any
 enter therein1 let him veil himself4   
,he who  believes in ,god and the last  
,judgment1 let him enter the bath only  
in  bathing dress4 ,nakedness is        
forbidden to us4 ,there is a story of   
the prophet1 to the effect that he was  
at work unclothed when a voice  from    
heaven ordered him to cover his         
nakedness6           99       99        
99       99       99    ,we thus see1   
that an astonishing similarity is       
apparent in the  treatment even of      
questions where divergency is           
fundamental4  ,divergency1 it is true1  
existed1 but pales before the general   
affinity  of the two theories of life4  
,our judgment upon ,christian           
medievalism  in this respect can be     
applied directly and literally to       
,muhammedanism4 ,either religion regards
 man as no more than a sojourner  in    
this world4 ,it is not worth while to   
arrange for a permanent  habitation1 and

 luxurious living is but pride4 ,hence  
the simplicity of  private dwellings in 
mediaeval times both in the ,east and   
,west4  ,architectural expense is       
confined to churches and mosques1 which 
were  intended for the service of ,god4 
,these ,christian ideas are reflected   
in the inexhaustible storehouse of      
,muhammedan theory1 the great           
collections of tradition1 as follows4   
,the worst use which a believer  can    
make of his money is to build4 ,every   
building1 except a mosque1  will stand  
to the discredit of its architect on the
 day of  resurrection4 ,these polemics  
which ,islam inherited from             
,christianity  are directed not only    
against building in general1 but also   
against  the erection and decoration of 
lofty edifices3 ,should a man build a   
house nine ells high1 a voice will call 
to him from heaven1 ,whither  wilt thou 
rise1 most profane of the profane8 ,no  
prophet enters a  house adorned with    
fair decoration4 ,with these            

prohibitions should be  connected the   
somewhat unintelligible fact that the   
most pious ,caliphs  sat upon thrones   
7mimbar1 president's chair7 of clay4    
,the simplest  and most transitory      
material thus serves to form the symbol 
of  temporal power4 ,a house is adorned 
not by outward show1 but by the  fact   
that prayer is offered and the ,qoran   
recited within its walls4  ,these       
theories were out of harmony with the   
worldly tendencies of the  conquerors1  
who built themselves castles1 such as   
,qusair ,amra3 they  belong to the      
spirit of ,christianity rather than to  
,islam4    ,upon similar principles we  
may explain the demand for the utmost   
simplicity and reserve in regard to the 
other enjoyments of life4 ,to  eat      
whenever one may wish is excess and two 
meals a day are more than  enough4 ,the 
portion set apart for one may also      
suffice for two4 ,ideas  of this kind   
are of constant recurrence in the       
,muhammedan traditions3  indispensable  

needs alone are to be satisfied1 as     
indeed ,thomas  ,aquinas teaches4       
,similar observations apply to dress3 he
 who walks in  costly garments to be    
seen of men is not seen of the ,lord4   
,gold and  silver ornaments1 and        
garments of purple and silk are         
forbidden by  both religions4 ,princes  
live as simply as beggars and possess   
only one  garment1 so that they are     
unable to appear in public when it is   
being  washed3 they live upon a handful 
of dates and are careful to save  paper 
and artificial light4 ,such incidents   
are common in the oldest  records of the
 first ,caliphs4 ,these princes did not1
 of course1 live  in such beggary1 and  
the fact is correspondingly important   
that after  the lapse of one or two     
generations the ,muhammedan historians  
should  describe their heroes as        
possessing only the typical garment of  
the  ,christian saint4 ,this one fact   
speaks volumes4    ,every action was    
performed in ,god or with reference to  

,god--an  oft-repeated idea in either   
religion4 ,there is a continual hatred  
of  the world and a continual fear that 
it may imperil a man's soul4 ,hence  the
 sense of vast responsibility felt by   
the officials1 a sense which  finds     
expression even in the ordinary official
 correspondence of the  authorities     
which papyri have preserved for us4 ,the
 phraseology is  often stereotyped1 but 
as such1 expresses a special theory of  
life4  ,this responsibility is          
represented as weighing with especial   
severity  upon a pious ,caliph4 ,upon   
election to the throne he accepts office
  with great reluctance protesting his  
unworthiness with tears4 ,the ,west  can
 relate similar stories of ,gregory the 
,great and of ,justinian4               
,exhortations are frequent ever to      
remember the fact of death and to       
repent and bewail past sins4 ,when a    
mention of the last ,judgment  occurs in
 the reading of passages from the ,bible
 or ,qoran1 the  auditors burst into    

tears4 ,upon one occasion a man was     
praying upon  the roof of his house and 
wept so bitterly over his sins1 that the
  tears ran down the waterspout and     
flooded the rooms below4 ,this          
hyperbolical statement in a typical life
 of a saint shows the high  value       
attributed to tears in the ,east4 ,it   
is1 however1 equally a  ,christian      
characteristic4 ,the gracious gift of   
tears was regarded by  mediaeval        
,christianity as the sign of a deeply   
religious nature4  ,gregory ,,vii is    
said to have wept daily at the sacrifice
 of the ,mass  and similar accounts are 
given to the credit of other famous     
,christians4    ,while a man should weep
 for his own sins1 he is not to bewail  
any  misfortune or misery which may     
befall him4 ,in the latter case it is   
his duty to collect his strength1 to    
resign himself and to praise ,god  even 
amid his sufferings4 ,should he lose a  
dear relative by death1 he  is not to   
break out with cries and lamentations   

like the heathen4  ,lamentation for the 
dead is most strictly forbidden in      
,islam4 ,we are  ,god's people and to   
,god we return says the pious ,muslim on
 receiving  the unexpected news of a    
death4 ,resignation and patience in     
these  matters is certainly made the    
subject of eloquent exhortation in the  
,qoran1 but the special developments of 
tradition betray ,christian  influence4 
,generally speaking1 the whole ethical  
system of the two religions is  based   
upon the contrast between ,god and the  
world1 though ,muhammedan  philosophy   
will recognize no principle beside that 
of ,god4 ,as a  typical example we may  
take a sentence from the ,spanish bishop
 ,isidor  who died in #fcf3 ,good are   
the intentions directed towards ,god and
 bad  are those directed to earthly gain
 or transitory fame4 ,any ,muhammedan   
theologian would have subscribed to this
 statement4 ,on the one hand  stress is 
laid upon motive as giving its value to 
action4 ,the first  sentence in the most

 famous collection of traditions runs1  
,deeds  shall be judged by their        
intentions4 ,on the other hand is the   
contrast between ,god and the world1 or 
as ,islam puts it1 between the  present 
and the future life4 ,the ,christian    
gains eternal life by  following        
,christ4 ,imitation of the ,master in   
all things even to the  stigmata1 is the
 characteristic feature of mediaeval    
,christianity4 ,nor  is the whole of the
 so-called ,sunna obedience anything    
more than the  imitation of ,muhammed   
which seeks to repeat the smallest      
details of  his life4 ,the infinite     
importance attached by ,islam to the    
,sunna seems  to me to have originated  
in ,christian influence4 ,the           
development of it  betrays original     
features1 but the fundamental principle 
is ,christian1  as all the leading ideas
 of ,islam are ,christian1 in the sense 
of the  term as paraphrased above4      
,imitation of ,christ in the first      
instance1  attempts to repeat his       

poverty and renunciation of personal    
property3  this is the great ,christian 
ideal4 ,muhammed was neither poor nor   
without possessions3 at the end of his  
life he had become a prince and  had    
directly stated that property was a gift
 from ,god4 ,in spite of  that his      
successors praise poverty and their     
praises were the best of  evidence that 
they were influenced not by the prophet 
himself but by  ,christianity4 ,while   
the traditions are full of the praises  
of poverty  and the dangers of wealth1  
assertions in praise of wealth also     
occur1 for the reason that the pure     
,muhammedan ideas opposed to            
,christianity retained a certain        
influence4 ,j4 ,goldziher has published 
an interesting study showing how many   
words borrowed from this source  occur  
in the written ,muhammedan traditions3  
an almost complete  version of the      
,lord's ,prayer is quoted4 ,even the    
idea of love towards  enemies1 which    
would have been unintelligible to       

,muhammed1 made its  way into the       
traditions3 the most virtuous of acts is
 to seek out him  who rejects thee1 to  
give to him that despises thee and to   
pardon him  that oppresses thee4 ,the   
,gospel precept to do unto others as we 
would  they should do unto us 7,matt4   
vii4 #ab1 ,luke vi4 #ca7 is to be found 
in  the ,arab traditions1 and many      
similar points of contact may be        
noticed4 ,a man's neighbour has ever    
been1 despite the teaching of  ,jesus1  
to the ,christian and to the            
,muhammedan1 his co-religionist4 ,the   
whole department of ,muhammedan ethics  
has thus been subjected to  strong      
,christian influence4    ,naturally this
 ecclesiasticism which dominated the    
whole of life1 was  bound to assert     
itself in state organisation4 ,an       
abhorrence of the  state1 so far as it  
was independent of religion1 a feeling  
unknown in  the ancient world1 pervades 
both ,christianity and ,muhammedanism1  
,christianity first struggled to secure 

recognition in the state and  afterwards
 fought with the state for predominance4
 ,islam and the state  were at first    
identical3 in its spiritual leaders it  
was soon  separated from the state4 ,its
 idea of a divine polity was elaborated 
to the smallest details1 but remained a 
theory which never became  practice4    
,yet this ideal retained such strength  
that every ,muhammedan  usurper was     
careful to secure his investiture by the
 ,caliph1 the  nominal leader of this   
ecclesiastical state1 even if force were
  necessary to attain his object4 ,for  
instance1 ,saladin was absolutely       
independent of the nominal ,caliph in   
,bagdad1 but could not feel that  his   
position was secure until he had        
obtained his sultan's patent from  the  
,caliph4 ,only then did his supremacy   
rest upon a religious basis  and he was 
not regarded by popular opinion as a    
legitimate monarch  until this ceremony 
had been performed4 ,this theory        
corresponds with  constitutional ideals 

essentially ,christian4 ,the tyranny1   
wrote  ,innocent ,,iv to the ,emperor   
,frederick ,,ii1 which was once         
generally  exercised throughout the     
world1 was resigned into the hands of   
the  ,church by ,constantine1 who then  
received as an honourable gift from  the
 proper source that which he had        
formerly held and exercised             
unrighteously4 ,the long struggle       
between ,church and ,state in this      
matter is well known4 ,in this struggle 
the rising power of ,islam had  adopted 
a similar attitude4 ,the great          
abhorrence of a secular  monarchy in    
opposition to a religious caliphate1 as 
expressed both  by the dicta of         
tradition and by the ,abbassid          
historians1 was  inspired1 in my        
opinion1 by ,christian dislike of a     
divorce between  ,church and ,state4    
,the phenomenon might be explained      
without reference  to external          
influence1 but if the whole process be  
considered in  connection1 ,christian   

influence seems more than probable4     
,a similar attitude was also assumed by 
either religion towards the  facts of   
economic life4 ,in either case the      
religious point of view is              
characteristic4 ,the reaction against   
the tendency to condemn secular  life is
 certainly stronger in ,islam1 but is   
also apparent in  ,christianity4 ,thomas
 ,aquinas directly stigmatises trade as 
a  disgraceful means of gain1 because   
the exchange of wares does not          
necessitate labour or the satisfaction  
of necessary wants3 ,muhammedan         
tradition says1 ,the pious merchant is a
 pioneer on the road of ,god4  ,the     
first to enter ,paradise is the         
honourable merchant4 ,here the  solution
 given to the problem differs in either 
case1 but in ,christian  practice1      
opposition was also obvious4 ,common to 
both religions is the  condemnation of  
the exaction of interest and monetary   
speculation1  which the middle ages     
regarded as usury4 ,islam1 as usual1    

gives this  ,christian idea the form of 
a saying enounced by ,muhammed3 ,he who 
speculates in grain for forty days1     
grinds and bakes it and gives it  to the
 poor1 makes an offering unacceptable to
 ,god4 ,he who raises  prices to        
,muslims 7by speculation7 will be cast  
head downwards by ,god  into the hottest
 fire of hell4 ,many similar traditions 
fulminate  against usury in the widest  
sense of the word4 ,these prohibitions  
were  circumvented in practice by deed  
of gift and exchange1 but none the  less
 the free development of commercial     
enterprise was hampered by  these       
fetters which modern civilisation first 
broke4 ,enterprise was  thus confined to
 agriculture under these circumstances  
both for  ,christianity and ,islam1 and 
economic life in either case became     
mediaeval in outward appearance4        
,methods of making profit without a     
proportional expenditure of labour  were
 the particular objects of this         
aversion4 ,manual labour was highly     

esteemed both in the ,east and ,west4 ,a
 man's first duty was to support        
himself by the work of his own hands1 a 
duty proclaimed1 as we know1  from the  
apostolic age onwards4 ,so far as ,islam
 is concerned1 this  view may be        
illustrated by the following utterances3
 ,the best of  deeds is the gain of that
 which is lawful3 the best gain is made 
by  sale within lawful limits and by    
manual labour4 ,the most precious  gain 
is that made by manual labour2 that     
which a man thus earns and  gives to    
himself1 his people1 his sons and his   
servants1 is as  meritorious as alms4   
,thus practical work is made incumbent  
upon the  believer1 and the extent to   
which manufacture flourished in ,east   
and  ,west during the middle ages is    
well known4    ,a similar affinity is   
apparent as regards ideas upon social   
position  and occupation4 ,before ,god  
man is but a slave3 even the mighty     
,caliphs  themselves1 even those who    
were stigmatised by posterity as secular

  monarchs1 included in their official  
titles the designation1 slave of  ,god4 
,this theory was carried out into the   
smallest details of life1  even into    
those which modern observers would      
consider as unconcerned  with religion4 
,thus at meals the ,muslim was not      
allowed to recline at  table1 an ancient
 custom which the upper classes had     
followed for  centuries3 he must sit1 as
 a slave1 according to the letter of the
  law4 ,all are alike slaves1 for the   
reason that they are believers3  hence  
the humiliation of those whom chance has
 exalted is thought  desirable4 ,this   
idealism is undoubtedly more deeply     
rooted in the  popular consciousness of 
the ,east than of the ,west4 ,in the    
,east great  social distinctions occur2 
but while religion recognises them1 it  
forbids insistence upon them4    ,as    
especially distinctive of social work in
 either religion we might  be inclined  
to regard the unparalleled extent of    
organizations for the  care of the poor1

 for widows and orphans1 for the old1   
infirm and  sick1 the public hospitals  
and almshouses and religious foundations
 in  the widest sense of the term2 but  
the object of these activities was  not 
primarily social nor were they          
undertaken to make life easier for  the 
poor3 religious selfishness was the     
leading motive1 the desire to  purify   
self by good works and to secure the    
right to pre-eminence in  heaven4 ,for  
the salvation of my soul and for        
everlasting reward is  the formula of   
many a ,christian foundation deed4 ,very
 similar  expressions of hope for       
eternal reward occur in ,muhammedan     
deeds of  gift4 ,a foundation           
inscription on a mosque1 published by   
,e4 ,littmann1  is stated in terms the  
purport of which is unmistakable4 ,this 
has  been built by ,n or ,m3 may a house
 be built for him in ,paradise 7in      
return74 ,here again1 the idea of the   
house in ,paradise is borrowed  from    
,christian ideas4    ,we have already   

observed that in ,islam the smallest    
trivialities of  daily life become      
matters of religious import4 ,the fact  
is especially  apparent in a wide       
department of personal conduct4 ,islam  
certainly  went to further extremes than
 ,christianity in this matter1 but these
  customs are clearly only further      
developments of ,christian  regulations4
 ,the call to simplicity of food and    
dress has already been  mentioned4 ,but 
even the simplest food was never to be  
taken before  thanks had been given to  
,god3 grace was never to be omitted     
either  before or after meals4 ,divine  
ordinances also regulated the manner of 
eating4 ,the prophet said1 ,with one    
finger the devils eat1 with two  the    
,titans of antiquity and with three     
fingers the prophets4 ,the  application 
of the saying is obvious4 ,similar      
sayings prescribe the  mode of handling 
dishes and behaviour at a common meal1  
if the  blessing of ,god is to be       
secured4 ,there seems to be a ,christian

 touch  in one of these rules which     
runs1 in the words of the prophet3 ,he  
who  picks up the crumbs fallen from the
 table and eats them1 will be  forgiven 
by ,god4 ,he who licks the empty dishes 
and his fingers will  be filled by ,god 
here and in the world to come4 ,when a  
man licks the  dish from which he has   
eaten1 the dish will plead for him      
before ,god4  ,i regard these words as  
practical applications of the text1     
,gather up  the pieces that remain1 that
 nothing be lost 7,matt4 xiv4 #aj3 ,john
 vi4  #ab74 ,even to-day ,south         
,italians kiss bread that has fallen to 
the  ground1 in order to make apology to
 the gift of ,god4 ,volumes might be    
filled with rules of polite manners in  
this style3 hardly any detail  is to be 
found in the whole business of daily    
life1 even including  occupations       
regarded as unclean1 which was not      
invested with some  religious           
significance4 ,these rules are almost   
entirely dictated by  the spirit of     

early ,christianity and it is possible  
to reconstruct the  details of life in  
those dark ages from these literary     
records which  are now the only source  
of evidence upon such points4 ,however1 
we must  here content ourselves with    
establishing the fact that ,islam       
adopted  ,christian practice in this as 
in other departments of life4    ,the   
state1 society1 the individual1         
economics and morality were thus        
collectively under ,christian influence 
during the early period of              
,muhammedanism4 ,conditions very similar
 in general1 affected those  conceptions
 which we explain upon scientific       
grounds but which were  invariably      
regarded by ancient and mediaeval       
thought as supernatural1  conceptions   
deduced from the phenomena of illness   
and dreams4 ,islam  was no less opposed 
than ,christianity to the practice of   
magic in any  form1 but only so far as  
these practices seemed to preserve      
remnants  of heathen beliefs4 ,such     

beliefs were1 however1 continued in both
  religions in modified form4 ,there is 
no doubt that ideas of high  antiquity1 
doubtless of ,babylonian origin1 can be 
traced as  contributing to the formation
 of these beliefs1 while scientific     
medicine is connected with the earlier  
discoveries of ,greece4 ,common  to both
 religions was the belief in the reality
 of dreams1 especially  when these      
seemed to harmonise with religious      
ideas3 dreams were  regarded as         
revelations from ,god or from his       
apostles or from the  pious dead4 ,the  
fact that man could dream and that he   
could appear to  other men in dreams    
after his death was regarded as a sign  
of divine  favour and the biographies of
 the saints often contain chapters      
devoted to this faculty4 ,these are     
natural ideas which lie in the  national
 consciousness of any people1 but owe   
their development in the  case of ,islam
 to ,christian influence4 ,the same may 
be said of the  belief that the prayers 

of particular saints were of special    
efficacy1  and of attempts by prayer1   
forms of worship and the like to procure
  rain1 avert plague and so forth3 such 
ideas are common throughout the  middle 
ages4 ,thus in every department we meet 
with that particular  type of ,christian
 theory which existed in the ,east      
during the seventh  and eighth          
centuries4    ,this mediaeval theory of 
life was subjected1 as is well known1 to
 many  compromises in the ,west1 and was
 materially modified by ,teutonic       
influence and the revival of classicism4
 ,it might therefore be  supposed that  
in ,islam ,christian theory underwent   
similar modification  or disappeared    
entirely4 ,but the fact is not so4 ,at  
the outset1 we  stated1 as will be      
remembered1 that ,muhammedan scholars   
were  accustomed to propound their dicta
 as utterances given by ,muhammed       
himself1 and in this form ,christian    
ideas also came into circulation  among 
,muhammedans4 ,when attempts were made  

to systematise these  sayings1 all were 
treated as alike authentic1 and1 as     
traditional1  exerted their share of    
influence upon the formation of canon   
law4 ,thus  questions of temporary      
importance to mediaeval ,christianity   
became  permanent elements in           
,muhammedan theology4    ,one highly    
instructive instance may be given4      
,during the century which  preceded the 
,byzantine iconoclastic controversy1 the
 whole of nearer  ,asia was disturbed by
 the question whether the erection and  
veneration  of images was permissible4  
,that ,constantinople attempted to      
prohibit  such veneration is well known3
 but after a long struggle the church   
gained its wishes4 ,islam was confronted
 with the problem and decided  for      
prohibition1 doubtless under ,jewish    
influence4 ,sayings of ,muhammed  forbid
 the erection of images4 ,this          
prohibition became part of canon  law   
and therefore binding for all time3 it  
remains obligatory at the  present day1 

though in practice it is often          
transgressed4 ,thus the  process of     
development which was continued in      
,christendom1 came to a  standstill in  
,islam1 and many similar cases might be 
quoted4    ,here begins the development 
of ,muhammedan jurisprudence or1 more   
exactly1 of the doctrine of duty1 which 
includes every kind of human  activity1 
duties to ,god and man1 religion1 civil 
law1 the penal code1  social morality   
and economics4 ,this extraordinary      
system of moral  obligations1 as        
developed in ,islam1 though its origin  
is obscure1 is  doubtless rooted in the 
ecclesiastical law of ,christendom which
 was  then first evolved4 ,i have no    
doubt that the development of           
,muhammedan  tradition1 which precedes  
the code proper1 was dependent upon the 
growth of canon law in the old ,church1 
and that this again1 or at  least the   
purely legal part of it1 is closely     
connected with the  pre-,justinian      
legislation4 ,roman law does not seem to

 me to have  influenced ,islam          
immediately in the form of ,justinian's 
,corpus  ,juris1 but indirectly from    
such ecclesiastical sources as the      
,romano-,syrian code4 ,this view1       
however1 ,i would distinctly state1 is  
merely my conjecture4 ,for our present  
purpose it is more important to         
establish the fact that the doctrine of 
duty canonised the manifold  expressions
 of the theory that life is a religion1 
with which we have  met throughout the  
traditional literature3 all human acts  
are thus  legally considered as         
obligatory or forbidden when            
corresponding with  religious commands  
or prohibitions1 as congenial or        
obnoxious to the  law or as matters     
legally indifferent and therefore       
permissible4 ,the  arrangement of the   
work of daily life in correspondence    
with these  religious points of view is 
the most important outcome of the       
,muhammedan doctrine of duties4 ,the    
religious utterances which also  cover  

the whole business of life were first   
made duties by this  doctrine3 in       
practice their fulfilment is impossible1
 but the theory  of their obligatory    
nature is a fundamental element in      
,muhammedanism4    ,where the doctrine  
of duties deals with legal rights1 its  
application  was in practice confined to
 marriage and the affairs of family     
life3  the theoretical demands of its   
penal clauses1 for instance1 raise      
impossible difficulties4 ,at the same   
time1 it has been of great  importance  
to the whole spiritual life of ,islam   
down to the present  day1 because it    
reflects ,muhammedan ideals of life and 
of man's place  in the world4 ,even     
to-day it remains the daily bread of the
 soul that  desires instruction1 to     
quote the words of the greatest father  
of the  ,muhammedan church4 ,it will    
thus be immediately obvious to what a   
vast  extent ,christian theory of the   
seventh and eighth centuries still      
remains operative upon ,muhammedan      

thought throughout the world4           
,considerable parts of the doctrine of  
duties are concerned with the  forms of 
,muhammedan worship4 ,it is becoming    
ever clearer that only  slight          
tendencies to a form of worship were    
apparent under ,muhammed4  ,the mosque1 
the building erected for the special    
purpose of divine  service1 was unknown 
during the prophet's lifetime2 nor was  
there any  definite church organisation1
 of which the most important parts are  
the common ritual and the preaching4    
,tendencies existed but no system1  was 
to be found3 there was no clerical class
 to take an interest in  the development
 of an order of divine service4 ,the    
,caliphs prayed  before the faithful in 
the capital1 as did the governors in the
  provinces4 ,the military commanders   
also led a simple service in their  own 
stations4    ,it was contact with       
foreign influence which first provided  
the impulse  to a systematic form of    
worship4 ,both ,christians and ,jews    

possessed  such forms4 ,their example   
was followed and a ritual was evolved1  
at  first of the very simplest kind4 ,no
 detailed organisation1 however1  was   
attempted1 until ,christian influence   
led to the formation of the  class which
 naturally took an interest in the      
matter1 the professional  theologians4  
,these soon replaced the military       
service leaders4 ,this  change denoted  
the final stage in the development of   
ritual4 ,the  object of the theologians 
was to subject the various occupations  
of  life to ritual as well as to        
religion4 ,the mediatorial or           
sacramental  theories of the priestly   
office were unknown to ,islam1 but      
ritual  customs of similar character    
were gradually evolved1 and are         
especially pronounced in the ceremonies 
of marriage and burial4    ,more        
important1 however1 was the development 
of the official service1  the           
arrangement of the day and the hour of  
obligatory attendance and  the          

introduction of preaching3 under        
,muhammed and his early followers1  and 
until late in the ,omajjad period1      
preaching was confined to  addresses1   
given as occasion demanded1 but by      
degrees it became part  of the regular  
ritual4 ,with it was afterwards         
connected the  intercession for the     
,caliphs1 which became a highly         
significant part  of the service1 as    
symbolising their sovereignty4 ,it seems
 to me very  probable that this practice
 was an adoption1 at any rate in theory1
 of  the ,christian custom of praying   
for the emperor4 ,the pulpit was then   
introduced under ,christian influence1  
which thus completely  transformed the  
chair 7mimbar7 of the ancient ,arab     
judges and rulers  and made it a piece  
of church furniture2 the ,christian     
cancelli or  choir screens were adopted 
and the mosque was thus developed4      
,before  the age of mosques1 a lance had
 been planted in the ground and prayer  
offered behind it3 so in the mosque a   

prayer niche was made1 a  survival of   
the pre-existing custom4 ,there are many
 obscure points in  the development of  
the worship1 but one fact may be        
asserted with  confidence3 the          
developments of ritual were derived from
 pre-existing  practices1 which were for
 the most part ,christian4    ,but the  
religious energy of ,islam was not      
exclusively devoted to the  development 
and practice of the doctrine of duties2 
at the same time  this ethical          
department1 in spite of its dependency  
upon ,christian and  ,jewish ideas1     
remains its most original achievement3  
we have pursued  the subject at some    
length1 because its importance is often 
overlooked  in the course of attempts to
 estimate the connection between        
,christianity and ,islam4 ,on the other 
hand1 affinities in the regions  of     
mysticism and dogma have long been      
matter of common knowledge and a  brief 
sketch of them will therefore suffice4  
,if not essential to our  purpose within

 the limits of this book1 they are none 
the less  necessary to complete our     
treatment of the subject4    ,by        
mysticism we understand the expression  
of religious emotion1 as  contrasted    
with efforts to attain righteousness by 
full obedience to  the ethical doctrine 
of duties1 and also in contrast to the  
hair-splitting of dogmatic speculation3 
mysticism strove to reach  immediate    
emotional unity with the ,godhead4 ,no  
trace of any such  tendency was to be   
found in the ,qoran3 it entered ,islam  
as a complete  novelty1 and the         
affinities which enabled it to gain a   
footing have  been difficult to trace4  
,muhammedan mysticism is certainly not  
exclusively ,christian3 its  origins1   
like those of ,christian mysticism1 are 
to be found in the  pantheistic writings
 of the ,neoplatonist school of         
,dionysius the  ,areopagite3 but ,islam 
apparently derived its mysticism from   
,christian  sources4 ,in it originated  
the idea1 with all its capacity for     

development1 of the mystical love of    
,god3 to this was added the theory  and 
practice of asceticism which was        
especially developed by  ,christianity1 
and1 in later times1 the influence of   
,indian philosophy1  which is           
unmistakable4 ,such are the fundamental 
elements of this  tendency4 ,when the   
idea of the ,nirwana1 the ,arab fana1 is
  attained1 ,muhammedanism proper comes 
to an end4 ,but orthodoxy controls  the 
divergent elements3 it opposes any open 
avowal of the logical  conclusion1 which
 would identify ,god and the ego1 but in
 practice  this group of ideas1         
pantheistic in all but name1 has been   
received  and given a place side by side
 with the strict monotheism of the      
,qoran  and with the dogmatic theology4 
,any form of mysticism which is pushed  
to its logical consequences must        
overthrow positive religion4 ,by        
incorporating this dangerous tendency   
within itself1 ,islam has averted  the  
peril which it threatens4 ,creed is no  

longer endangered1 and this  purpose    
being secured1 thought is free4         
,union with ,god is gained by ecstasy   
and leads to enthusiasm4 ,these  terms  
will therefore show us in what quarter  
we must seek the  strongest impulses to 
mysticism4 ,the concepts1 if not the    
actual  terms1 are to be found in       
,islam3 they were undoubtedly           
transmitted by  ,christianity and       
undergo the wide extension which results
 in the  dervish and fakir developments4
 ,dervish and fakir are the ,persian    
and ,arabic words for beggar3 the word  
sufi1 a man in a woollen  shirt1 is also
 used in the same sense4 ,the terms show
 that asceticism  is a fundamental      
element in mysticism2 asceticism was    
itself an  importation to ,islam4       
,dervishes are divided into different   
classes or  orders1 according to the    
methods by which they severally prefer  
to  attain ecstasy3 dancing and         
recitation are practised by the dancing 
and howling dervishes and other methods 

are in vogue4 ,it is an  institution    
very different from monasticism but the 
result of a course  of development      
undoubtedly similar to that which       
produced the monk3  dervishism and      
monasticism are independent developments
 of the same  original idea4    ,among  
these ,muhammedan companies attempts to 
reach the point of  ecstasy have        
developed to a rigid discipline of the  
soul2 the believer  must subject himself
 to his master1 resigning all power of  
will1 and  so gradually reaches higher  
stages of knowledge until he is         
eventually  led to the consciousness of 
his absolute identity with ,god4 ,it    
seems  to me beyond question that this  
method is reflected in the exercitiis   
spiritualibus of ,ignatius ,loyola1 the 
chief instrument by which the  ,jesuits 
secured dominion over souls4 ,any one   
who has realised the  enormous influence
 which ,arab thought exerted upon       
,spanish  ,christianity so late as the  
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries1 will

  not regard the conjecture as          
unfounded4    ,when a man's profession  
or position prevented him from          
practising  these mystical exercises1 he
 satisfied his religious needs by       
venerating persons who were nearer to   
the deity and whose intercession  was   
effectual even after their death and    
sometimes not until they were  dead3    
hence arose the veneration of saints1 a 
practice as alien as  pantheistic dogma 
to primitive ,islam4 ,the adoption of   
,christian saint  worship was not       
possible until the person of ,muhammed  
himself had been  exalted above the     
ordinary level of humanity4 ,early      
,muhammedans  observed that the founder 
of ,christianity was regarded by popular
  opinion as a miracle worker of        
unrivalled power3 it was impossible for 
the founder of ,islam to remain inferior
 in this respect4 ,thus the  early      
biographies of the prophet1 which       
appeared in the first century  of       
,muhammedanism1 recount the typical     

miracles of the ,gospels1 the  feeding  
of multitudes1 healing the sick1 raising
 the dead and so  forth4 ,two methods of
 adoption may be distinguished4 ,special
 features  are directly borrowed1 or the
 line of advance is followed which had  
introduced the worship of saints and    
relics to ,christianity a short  time   
before4 ,the religious emotions natural 
to any people produced a  series of     
ideas which pass from one religion to   
another4 ,outward form  and purport may 
be changed1 but the essential points    
remain unaltered  and are the living    
expression of that relation to ,god in  
which a  people conceives itself to     
stand4 ,higher forms of religion--a fact
 as  sad as it is true--require a       
certain degree not only of moral but of 
intellectual capacity4    ,thus we have 
traversed practically the whole circle  
of religious life  and have everywhere  
found ,islam following in the path of   
,christian  thought4 ,one department    
remains to be examined1 which might be  

expected to offer but scanty opportunity
 for borrowings of this kind2  this is  
dogma4 ,here1 if anywhere1 the contrast 
between the two  religions should be    
obvious4 ,the initial divergencies were 
so  pronounced1 that any adoption of    
,christian ideas would seem  impossible4
 ,yet in those centuries1 ,christianity 
was chiefly agitated  by dogmatic       
questions1 which occupied men's minds as
 greatly as social  problems at the     
present day4 ,here we can observe most  
distinctly1 how  the problems at least  
were taken over by ,islam4              
,muhammedan dogmatic theology is        
concerned only with three main          
questions1 the problem of free-will1 the
 being and attributes of ,god1  and the 
eternal uncreated nature of ,god's word4
 ,the mere mention of  these problems   
will recall the great dogmatic struggles
 of early  ,christianity4 ,at no time   
have the problems of free-will and the  
nature  of ,god1 been subjects of       
fiercer dispute than during the         

,christological and subsequent          
discussions4 ,upholders of freedom or of
  determinism could alike find much to  
support their theories in the  ,qoran3  
,muhammed was no dogmatist and for him  
the ideas of man's  responsibility and  
of ,god's almighty and universal power  
were not  mutually exclusive4 ,the      
statement of the problem was adopted    
from  ,christianity as also was the     
dialectical subtlety by which a solution
  was reached1 and which1 while         
admitting the almighty power of ,god1   
left man responsible for his deeds by   
regarding him as free to accept  or     
refuse the admonitions of ,god4 ,thus   
the thinkers and their demands  for     
justice and righteous dealing were      
reconciled to the blind  fatalism of the
 masses1 which again was not a native   
,muhammedan  product1 but is the outcome
 of the religious spirit of the ,east4  
,the problem of reconciling the         
attributes of ,god with the dogma of    
,his  unity was solved with no less     

subtlety4 ,the mere idea that a         
multiplicity of attributes was          
incompatible with absolute unity was    
only possible in a school which had     
spent centuries in the desperate        
attempt to reconcile the inference of a 
divine ,trinity with the  conception of 
absolute divine unity4    ,finally1 the 
third question1 ,was the ,qoran1 the    
word of ,god1 created  or not8 is an    
obvious counterpart of the ,logos       
problem1 of the  struggle to secure     
recognition of the ,logos as eternal and
 uncreated  together with ,god4 ,islam  
solved the question by distinguishing   
the  eternal and uncreated ,qoran from  
the revealed and created4 ,the eternal  
nature of the ,qoran was a dogma        
entirely alien to the strict  monotheism
 of ,islam3 but this fact was never     
realised1 any more than  the fact that  
the acceptance of the dogma was a       
triumph for  ,graeco-,christian         
dialectic4 ,there can be no more        
striking proof of the  strength of      

,christian influence3 it was able to    
undermine the  fundamental dogma of     
,islam1 and the ,muhammedans never      
realised the  fact4    ,in our review of
 these dogmatic questions1 we have met  
with a novel  tendency1 that to         
metaphysical speculation and dialectic4 
,it was from  ,christendom1 not directly
 from the ,greek world1 that this spirit
  reached ,islam3 the first attitude of 
,muhammedanism towards it was that      
which ,christianity adopted towards all 
non-religious systems of  thought4      
,islam took it up as a useful weapon for
 the struggle against  heresy4 ,but it  
soon became a favourite and trusted     
implement and  eventually its influence 
upon ,muhammedan philosophy became      
paramount4  ,here we meet with a further
 ,christian influence1 which1 when once 
accepted1 very largely contributed to   
secure a similar development of         
mediaeval ,christian and ,muhammedan    
thought4 ,this was ,scholasticism1      
which was the natural and inevitable    

consequence of the study of ,greek      
dialectic and philosophy4 ,it is not    
necessary to sketch the growth of       
scholasticism1 with its barrenness of   
results in spite of its keen            
intellectual power1 upon ground already 
fertilised by ecclesiastical  pioneers4 
,it will suffice to state the fact that 
these developments of  the ,greek spirit
 were predominant here as in the ,west3 
in either case  important philosophies  
rise upon this basis1 for the most part 
professedly ecclesiastical1 even when   
they occasionally struck at the  roots  
of the religious system to which they   
belonged4 ,in this  department1 ,islam  
repaid part of its debt to              
,christianity1 for the  ,arabs became   
the intellectual leaders of the middle  
ages4    ,thus we come to the concluding
 section of this treatise2 before we    
enter upon it1 two preliminary questions
 remain for consideration4 ,if  ,islam  
was ready to learn from ,christianity in
 every department of  religious life1   

what was the cause of the sudden        
superiority of  ,muhammedanism to the   
rising force of ,christianity a few     
centuries  later8 ,and secondly1 in view
 of the traditional antagonism between  
the  ,christian and ,muhammedan worlds1 
how was ,christianity able to adopt so  
large and essential a portion of        
,muhammedan thought8    ,the answer in  
the second case will be clear to any one
 who has  followed our argument with    
attention4 ,the intellectual and        
religious  outlook was so similar in    
both religions and the problem requiring
  solution so far identical that nothing
 existed to impede the adoption  of     
ideas originally ,christian which had   
been developed in the ,east4  ,the fact 
that the ,west could accept             
philosophical and theological  ideas    
from ,islam and that an actual          
interchange of thought could  proceed in
 this direction1 is the best of proofs  
for the soundness of  our argument that 
the roots of ,muhammedanism are to be   

sought in  ,christianity4 ,islam was    
able to borrow from ,christianity for   
the  reason that ,muhammed's ideas were 
derived from that source3 similarly     
,christianity was able to turn ,arab    
thought to its own purposes because     
that thought was founded upon ,christian
 principles4 ,the sources of  both      
religions lie in the ,east and in       
,oriental thought4    ,no less is true  
of ,judaism1 a scholastic system which  
was excellently  adapted by its         
international character1 to become a    
medium of  communication between        
,christianity and ,muhammedanism during 
those  centuries4 ,in this connection   
special mention must be made of the     
,spanish ,jews2 to their work1 not only 
as transmitting but also as  originating
 ideas a bare reference must here       
suffice4 ,but of greater  importance was
 the direct exchange of thought1 which  
proceeded through  literary channels1 by
 means of translations1 especially by   
word of  mouth among the ,christians and

 ,muhammedans who were living together  
in  ,southern ,italy1 ,sicily1 and      
,spain1 and by commercial intercourse4  
,the other question concerns the        
fundamental problem of ,european        
medievalism4 ,we see that the problems  
with which the middle ages in  ,europe  
were confronted and also that ,european 
ethics and metaphysics  were identical  
with the ,muhammedan system3 we are     
moreover assured  that the acceptance of
 ,christian ideas by ,islam can only    
have taken  place in the ,east3 and the 
conclusion is obvious that mediaeval    
,christianity was also primarily rooted 
in the ,east4 ,the transmission  of this
 religious philosophy to the            
non-,oriental peoples of the ,west  at  
first produced a cessation of progress  
but opened a new  intellectual world    
when these peoples awoke to life in the 
thirteenth  and fourteenth centuries4   
,but throughout the intermediate period 
between the seventh and thirteenth      
centuries the ,east was gaining         

political strength and was naturally    
superior to the ,west where  political  
organisation and culture had been       
shattered by the ,germanic  invasions2  
in the ,east again there was an organic 
unity of national  strength and         
intellectual ideals1 as the course of   
development had not  been interrupted4  
,though special dogmatic points had been
 changed1 the  general religious theory 
remained unaltered throughout the nearer
  ,east4 ,thus the rising power of      
,islam1 which had high faculties of     
self-accommodation to environment1 was  
able to enter upon the heritage  of the 
mixed ,graeco-,oriental civilisation    
existing in the ,east2 in  consequence  
it gained an immediate advantage over   
the ,west1 where  ,eastern ideas were   
acclimatised with difficulty4    ,the   
preponderance of ,muhammedan influence  
was increased by the fact  that ,islam  
became the point of amalgamation for    
ancient ,eastern  cultures1 in          
particular for those of ,greece and     

,persia3 in previous  centuries         
preparation had been made for this      
process by the steady  transformation of
 ,hellenism to ,orientalism4 ,persia1   
however1 had been  the main source of   
,eastern civilisation1 at any rate since
 the  ,sassanid period3 the debt of     
,byzantine culture to ,persia is well   
known4 ,unfortunately no thorough       
investigation has been made of these    
various and important changes1 but it is
 clear that ,persian  civilisation sent 
its influence far westward1 at first    
directly and  later through the medium  
of ,muhammedanism4 ,the same facts hold 
good  with regard to the diffusion of   
intellectual culture from ,persia4 ,how 
far ,persian ideas may have influenced  
the development of ,muhammedan  and even
 of ,christian eschatology1 we need not 
here discuss3 but the  influence of the 
great ,graeco-,christian schools of     
,persia was  enormous3 they made the    
,arabs acquainted with the most         
important works  in ,greek and ,persian 

literature4 ,to this fact was due the   
wide  influence of ,islam upon          
,christian civilisation1 which is       
evidenced  even to-day by the numerous  
words of ,arab origin to be found in    
modern  ,european languages2 it is in   
fact an influence the strength of which 
can hardly be exaggerated4 ,not only the
 commercial products of the  ,east1 but 
important economic methods1 the ideals  
of our so-called  ,european chivalry and
 of its love poetry1 the foundations of 
our  natural sciences1 even theological 
and philosophical ideas of high  value  
were then sent to us from the ,east4    
,the consequences of the  crusades are  
the best proof of the enormous          
superiority of the  ,muhammedan world1 a
 fact which is daily becoming more      
obvious4 ,here we  are concerned only   
with the influence exerted by           
,muhammedan  philosophy4 ,it would be   
more correct to speak of post-classical 
than  of ,muhammedan philosophy4 ,but as
 above1 the influence of ,christianity  

upon ,islam was considered1 so now the  
reverse process must be  outlined4 ,in  
either case it was the heir to the late 
classical age1 to  the mixed            
,graeco-,oriental culture1 which        
influenced ,islam at first in           
,christian guise4 ,islam is often able  
to supplement its borrowings from       
,christianity at the original sources1  
and when they have thus been  deepened  
and purified1 these adaptations are     
returned to ,christianity  in           
,muhammedan form4    ,christian         
scholasticism was first based upon      
fragments of ,aristotle  and chiefly    
inspired by ,neo-,platonism3 through the
 ,arabs it became  acquainted with      
almost the whole of ,aristotle and also 
with the  special methods by which the  
,arabs approach the problem of this     
philosophy4 ,to give any detailed       
account of this influence would be to   
write a history of mediaeval philosophy 
in its relation to  ecclesiastical      
doctrine1 a task which ,i feel to be    

beyond my powers4 ,i  shall therefore   
confine myself to an abstract of the    
material points  selected from the      
considerable detail which specialists   
upon the  subject have collected3 ,i    
consider that ,arab influence during the
  first period is best explained by the 
new wealth of ,greek thought  which the 
,arabs appropriated and transmitted to  
,europe4 ,these new  discoveries were   
the attainments of ,greece in the       
natural sciences and  in logic3 they    
extended the scope of dialectic and     
stimulated the rise  of metaphysical    
theory3 the latter1 in combination with 
ecclesiastical  dogma and ,greek        
science1 became such a system of thought
 as that  expounded in the ,summa of    
,thomas ,aquinas4 ,philosophy remained  
the  handmaid of religion and ,arab     
influence first served only to complete 
the ecclesiastical philosophy of life4  
,eventually1 however1 the methods of    
interpretation and criticism1  peculiar 
to the ,arabs when dealing with         

,aristotle became of no less  importance
 than the subject matter of their       
inquiries4 ,this form of  criticism was 
developed from the emphasis which ,islam
 had long laid  upon the value of       
wisdom1 or recognition of the claims of 
reason4  ,muhammedan tradition is full  
of the praises of wisdom1 which it also 
originally regarded as the basis of     
religion4 ,reason1 however1  gradually  
became an independent power3 orthodoxy  
did not reject reason  when it coincided
 with tradition1 but under the influence
 of  ,aristotelianism1 especially as    
developed by ,averros1 reason became a  
power opposed to faith4 ,the essential  
point of the doctrine was that  truth   
was twofold1 according to faith and     
according to reason4 ,any one  who was  
subtle enough to recognise both kinds of
 truth could preserve  his orthodoxy3   
but the theory contained one great      
danger1 which was  immediately obvious  
to the ,christian church4 ,the          
consequent struggle  is marked by the   

constant connection of ,arab ideas with 
the  characteristic expressions of      
,christian feeling2 these again are     
connected with the outset of a new      
period1 when the pioneers of the        
,renaissance liberate the ,west from the
 chains of ,greek ecclesiastical        
classicism1 from ,oriental metaphysical 
religion and slowly pave the  way for   
the introduction of ,germanic ideals    
directly derived from true  classicism4 
,not until that period does the ,west   
burst the bonds in  which ,orientalism  
had confined it4    ,christianity and   
,islam then stand upon an equal footing 
in respect  both of intellectual        
progress and material wealth4 ,but as   
the ,west  emerges from the shadow-land 
of the middle ages the more definite    
becomes its superiority over the ,east4 
,western nations become  convinced that 
the fetters which bind them were forged 
in the ,east1  and when they have shaken
 off their chains1 they discover their  
own  physical and intellectual power4   

,they go forth and create a new world1  
in which ,orientalism finds but scanty  
room4    ,the ,east1 however1 cannot    
break away from the theories of life and
  mind which grew in it and around it4  
,even at the present day the  ,oriental 
is swathed in mediaevalism4 ,a          
journalist1 for instance1  however      
,european his mode of life1 will write  
leaders supported by  arguments drawn   
from tradition and will reason after the
 manner of the  old scholasticism4 ,but 
a change may well take place4 ,islam may
  gradually acquire the spirit as well  
as the form of modern ,europe4          
,centuries were needed before mediaeval 
,christianity learned the need  for     
submission to the new spirit4 ,within   
,christendom itself1 it was             
non-,christian ideas which created the  
new movement1 but these were  completely
 amalgamated with pre-existing          
,christianity4 ,thus1 too1 a            
,renaissance is possible in the ,east1  
not merely by the importation and       

imitation of ,european progress1 but    
primarily by intellectual  advancement  
at home even within the sphere of       
religion4    ,our task is drawing to its
 close4 ,we have passed in review the   
interaction of ,christianity and ,islam1
 so far as the two religions are        
concerned4 ,it has also been necessary  
to refer to the history of the  two     
civilisations1 for the reason that the  
two religions penetrate  national life1 
a feature characteristic both of their  
nature and of  the course of development
 which they respectively followed4 ,this
  method of inquiry has enabled us to   
gain an idea of the rise and  progress  
of ,muhammedanism as such4    ,an       
attempt to explain the points of contact
 and resemblance between  the two       
religions naturally tends to obscure the
 differences between  them4 ,had we     
devoted our attention to ,islam alone1  
without special  reference to           
,christianity1 these differences1       
especially in the region  of dogmatic   

theology1 would have been more obvious4 
,they are1 however1  generally well     
known4 ,the points of connection are    
much more usually  disregarded3 yet they
 alone can explain the interchange of   
thought  between the two mediaeval      
civilisations4 ,the surprising fact is  
the  amount of general similarity in    
religious theory between religions so   
fundamentally divergent upon points of  
dogma4 ,nor is the similarity  confined 
to religious theory3 when we realise    
that material  civilisation1 especially 
when ,european medievalism was at its   
height1  was practically identical in   
the ,christian ,west and the ,muhammedan
  ,east1 we are justified in any        
reference to the unity of ,eastern and  
,western civilisation4    ,my statements
 may tend to represent ,islam as a      
religion of no special  originality2 at 
the same time1 ,christianity was but one
 of other  influences operative upon it2
 early ,arabic1 ,zoroastrian1 and       
,jewish  beliefs in particular have left

 traces on its development4 ,may not as 
much be said of ,christianity8          
,inquirers have seriously attempted to  
distinguish ,greek and ,jewish          
influences as the component elements of 
,christianity3 in any case1 the extent  
of the elements original to the  final  
orthodox system remains a matter of     
dispute4 ,as we learn to  appreciate    
historical connection and to probe      
beneath the surface of  religions in    
course of development1 we discover      
points of relationship  and             
interdependency of which the simple     
believer never even dreams4  ,the object
 of all this investigation is1 in my    
opinion1 one only3 to  discover how the 
religious experience of the founder of a
 faith  accommodates itself to          
pre-existing civilisation1 in the effort
 to  make its influence operative4 ,the 
eventual triumph of the new religion  is
 in every case and at every time nothing
 more than a compromise3 nor  can more  
be expected1 inasmuch as the religious  

instinct1 though one  of the most       
important influences in man1 is not the 
sole determining  influence upon his    
nature4    ,recognition of this fact can
 only be obtained at the price of a     
breach  with ecclesiastical mode of     
thought4 ,premonitions of some such     
breach  are apparent in modern          
,muhammedanism3 for ourselves1 they are 
accomplished facts4 ,if ,i correctly    
interpret the signs of the times1 a     
retrograde movement in religious        
development has now begun4 ,the         
religion inspiring a single personality1
 has secured domination over  the whole 
of life3 family1 society1 and state have
 bowed beneath its  power4 ,then the    
reaction begins3 slowly religion loses  
its  comprehensive force and as its     
history is learned1 even at the price   
of sorrow1 it slowly recedes within the 
true limits of its operation1  the      
individual1 the personality1 in which it
 is naturally rooted4                   
,,conclusion ,,and ,,bibliography       

,the purpose of the present work has    
been to show not so much the  identity  
of ,christian and ,muhammedan theories  
of life during the  middle ages1 as the 
parallel course of development common to
 both1 and  to demonstrate the fact that
 ideas could be transferred from one    
system to the other4 ,detail has been   
sacrificed to this general  purpose4    
,the brief outline of ,muhammedan       
dogmatics and mysticism was  necessary  
to complete the general survey of the   
question4 ,any one of  these subjects1  
and the same is true as regards a       
detailed life of  ,muhammed1 would      
require at least another volume of equal
 size for  satisfactory treatment4      
,the ,oriental scholar will easily see  
where ,i base my statements upon  my own
 researches and where ,i have followed  
,goldziher and ,snouck4 ,my  chief      
source of information1 apart from the   
six great books of  tradition1 has been 
the invaluable compilation of ,sojuti1  
the  great ,kanz el-',ummal 7,hyderabad1

 #acad74 ,to those who do not read      
,arabic may be recommended the ,french  
translation of the ,bochari1  of which  
two volumes are now published3          
,el-,bokhri1 les traditions  islamiques 
traduites 444 par ,o4 ,houdas and ,w4   
,marais4 ,paris1  #aijf4    ,of general 
works dealing with the questions ,i have
 touched1 the  following1 to which ,i   
owe a considerable debt1 may be         
recommended3--      ,j4 ,goldziher4     
,muhammedanische ,studien1 ,halle1 #ahhi
 and following      year4      ,die     
,religion des ,islams 7,kult4 d4        
,gegenw41 ,i1 iii4 #a74      ,c4 ,snouck
 ,hurgronje4 ,de ,islam 7de ,gids1      
#ahhf1 us4 #e f474      ,mekka4 ,the    
,hague1 #ahhh4      ,une nouvelle       
biographie de ,mohammed 7,rev4 ,hist4   
,relig41 #ahid74      ,leone ,caetani di
 ,teano4 ,annali dell' ,islam4 ,milan1  
#aije and      following years4      ,f4
 ,buhl4 ,muhammed's ,liv4 ,copenhagen1  
#aijc4      ,h4 ,grimme4 ,muhammed4     
,munich1 #aijd4      ,j4 ,wellhausen4   

,das arabische ,reich und sein ,sturz4  
,berlin1 #aijb4      ,th4 ,nldeke4      
,geschichte des ,qorns4 ,gottingen1     
#ahfj4 7,new edition by      ,f4        
,schwally in the press47      ,c4,h4    
,becker4 ,die ,kanzel im ,kultus des    
alten ,islam4 ,giessen1 #aijf4          
,papyri4 ,schott-,reinhardt1 ,i4        
,heidelberg1 #aijf4      ,th4 ,w4       
,juynboll4 ,handleidung tot de kennis   
van de ,mohammedaansche      ,wet4      
,leyden1 #aijc4      ,t4,j4 de ,boer4   
,geschichte der ,philosophie in ,islam4 
,stuttgart1 #aija      7also an ,english
 edition74      ,d4,b4 ,macdonald4      
,development of ,muslim ,theology1      
,jurisprudence and      ,constitutional 
,theory4 ,new ,york1 #aijc4      ,a4    
,merx4 ,idee und ,grundlinien einer     
allgemeinen ,geschichte der             
,mystik4 ,heidelberg1 #ahic4      ,a4   
,mller4 ,der ,islam im ,morgen- und     
,abendland 7,oncken's collection74      
,w4 ,riedel4 ,die ,kirchenrechtsquellen 
des ,patriarchats ,alexandrien4         

,leipsic1 #aijj4      ,g4 ,bruns and ,e4
 ,sachau4 ,syrisch-rmisches ,rechtsbuch4
 ,leipsic1 #ahhj4      ,e4 ,sachau4     
,syrische ,rechtsbcher1 ,i4 ,berlin1    
#aijg4      ,e4 ,zachariae v4           
,lingenthal4 ,geschichte des            
griechisch-rmischen      ,rechts4 #crd  
ed41 ,berlin1 #ahib4      ,h4 v4        
,eicken4 ,geschichte und ,system der    
mittelalterlichen      ,weltanschauung4 
,stuttgart1 #ahhf4      ,w4 ,windelband4
 ,lehrbuck der ,geschichte der          
,philosophie4 #dth ed41      ,tbingen1  
#aijg4      ,c4 ,baeumker und ,g4 v4    
,hertling4 ,beitrge zur ,geschichte der 
,philosophie des ,mittelalters          
7collected papers74      ,g4 ,gothein4  
,ignatius von ,loyola und die           
,gegenreformation4 ,halle1      #ahie4  
,in conclusion1 ,i may mention two      
works1 which deal with the subject of   
this volume1 but from a different       
standpoint3--      ,h4,p4 ,smith4 ,the  
,bible and ,islam 7,the ,ely ,lectures  
for #ahig74      ,w4,a4 ,shedd4 ,islam  

and the ,oriental ,churches             
7,philadelphia1 #aijd74