,,notes ,,on ,,islam ,,by ,,sir ,,ahmed ,,hussain1 ,k4,c4,i4,e41 ,c4,s4,i4 7,,nawab ,,amin ,,jung ,,bahadur7 ,collected and ,edited by ,khan ,bahadur ,hajee ,khaja ,muhammad ,hussain ,the fear of the ,lord is the beginning of knowledge4--,proverb ,,hyderabad1 ,,deccan ,,government ,,central ,,press #aibb ,,all ,,rights ,,reserved ,,to ,,the ,,memory ,,of ,k4 ,,amjud ,,hussain4 ,one of the four for whom these ,notes were first written1 in #aiag4 ---------------------------------------- ----- ,transcriber's note3 ,bold characters are shown with signs4 ,arabic names are kept as in the original text4 ,arabic transliterations are according to ,,iso #bcc system in most cases and from the version by the ,,canadian ,,society ,,of ,,muslims with their kind permission4 ---------------------------------------- ----- ,printer's mark ,,foreword ,the following ,notes were enclosed by the author in his weekly letters to his brother and sons who were students in the ,universities of ,cambridge1 ,edinburgh and ,birmingham4 ,i persuaded him to allow me to have them printed1 as ,i thought they were suggestive and useful4 ,he has however desired me to say that they should not be regarded as anything but concise memoranda jotted down 7at short intervals between the busy hours of his official life7 as general answers to questions put to him4 ,they contain some passages which are too concise or abstract1 if not vague or enigmatic4 ,but1 the author says1 he left them designedly so in order to induce his readers to try to understand them or at least to seek explanation and illustration4 ,numerous foot-notes have been added for the same purpose4 ,he frankly admits that his view of ,islam is neither quite orthodox nor quite heterodox but something midway between the two4 ,it was put forward in order to make his boys think for themselves and argue with him4 ,the first three ,notes may be 'skipped' at the first reading4 ,sincere acknowledgments are due to ,nawab ,imad-ul-,mulk ,bahadur ,bilgrami1 ,c4,s4,i41 ,mr4 ,j4,c4 ,molony1 ,i4,c4,s41 ,khan ,bahadur ,abdur ,rahim1 ,b4,a41 ,b4,l41 ,mr4 ,syed ,ross ,masood1 ,m4,a41 and others who very kindly read the proofs and favoured the author with valuable suggestions4 ,banganapalle1 #aath ,august #aibb4 ,k4,m4,h4 ,duty is ,deity ,work is ,worship4--,sanskrit ,proverb ,,contents ,,page ,,foreword #g ,,muslim ,,prayer #i ,,note #a4 ,,introduction #aa #b4 ,,the ,,first ,,chapter ,,of ,,the ,,qur',,an #ae #c4 ,,what ,,is ,,religion8 #bj #d4 ,,what ,,is ,,true ,,islam8 #be #e4 ,,what ,,is ,,not ,,islam #bi #f4 ,,islam ,,and ,,not-,,islam #ce #g4 ,,why ,,is ,,islam ,,the ,,best ,,religion8 #dc #h4 ,,unity ,,union #di #i4 ,,perfection ,,self-,,help #eg #aj4 ,,moderation ,,via ,,media #fc #aa4 ,,evolution ,,survival #gc #ab4 ,,religion ,,begins ,,with ,,the ,,fear ,,of ,,the ,,lord ,,and ,,ends ,,in ,,the ,,love ,,of ,,man #gi ,,appendix3 ,,muslim ,,reformation #hg ,,our ,,prayer #ig ,worship ,truth ,love ,humanity4--,islamic ,maxim ,,the ,,muslim ,,prayer4#a ,surai ,fatiha ,praise be to ,thee my ,god1 ,lord of the ,worlds6 ,o ,merciful1 ,compassionate art ,thou6 ,the ,king of all on ,day of ,reckoning1 ,thee only do we worship and adore1 ,to ,thee1 most merciful1 we cry for help2 ,o guide us ever more on the straight path1 ,the path of those to whom ,thou gracious art ,on whom ,thine anger falls not then nor now1 ,the path of them that from ,thee go not stray4 ,amen4 ,grant that the knowledge ,i get may be the knowledge worth having4--,thomas a ,kempis4 ,,notes ,,on ,,islam ,note #a4 ,introduction4 ,two of you--,lateef and ,altaf--will recollect that more than a year ago you wrote to me saying that you were puzzled by certain questions which a ,missionary had put to you4 ,i remember that ,amjud or ,mahmood even went so far as to ask what was the good of ,islam1 when countries and people professing that faith had weak governments and were crumbling to pieces under the influence of ,christian ,powers4#b ,i answered your queries only in a general way as your ,university education had not then advanced far enough4 ,but ,i think the time has now come when ,i should try to explain to you what ,i conceive to be the true spirit of the religion of our fore-fathers4 ,i firmly believe that ,islam is the best#c religion in the world--,i mean1 ,islam rightly understood and interpreted and not the ,muhammadanism#d of some of our formularist ,maulavies1#e who say that a man goes to ,hell or ,heaven according as he wears his trousers lower or higher than his ankles6 ,they have degraded our religion by paying undue attention to formulas and forms to the exclusion and neglect of its living spirit and reality#f4 ,the poet ,hafiz rightly stigmatised their vain controversies when he said that ,persian3 ,chon nadiden haghighat afsaneh zadend since they did not see the fact1 they ran after fiction4 ,i am more than ever convinced of two characteristics of ,islam3-- #ast4--,it is not inconsistent with true ,christianity1 or with any other true religion#g of which the fundamental principle is ,arabic3 ,tawhid ,one ,god ,arabic3 wadah la arka lah the ,peerless ,one4#h #bnd4--,it conforms to modern scientific ideas better than any other religion4 ,i have already explained1 in some of my letters#i to you1 why ,i believe that ,islam is but a continuation and consummation of ,christianity as taught by ,jesus himself in his own speeches which are reported in the ,synoptic ,gospels of the ,new ,testament4 ,we have nothing to do with the interpretation of his words by his ,apostles and others after them4 ,if we take the plain words and the plain meaning of those words reported to have proceeded from his own blessed mouth1#aj we clearly see that they teach the same sublime truths as our ,prophet himself inculcated4 ,jesus did not live long to complete his mission1 ,muhammad completed it4 ,both were ,god's holy messengers ,arabic3 ,rusul-u-llah4 ,says the ,qur'an3 ,this day ,i have completed your religion for you4 ,arabic3 l-yawma akmaltu lakum dnakum ,i need not now go into details1 or refer to other religions1 to shew that the spirit of ,islam is not inconsistent with their true spirit1 if rightly conceived and interpreted in the light of modern science4 ,i hope ,i shall be able some day to write down the result of my own thought and investigation in the matter4 ,i content myself at present with drawing your attention to the first characteristic of ,islam1 and ,i propose to write a few ,notes to draw your special attention to its second characteristic which is the more remarkable--the characteristic that it is quite consistent with modern ideas of science4 ,no scientific idea influenced the thought of the last century more profoundly than the idea of progress or development embodied in what is called the ,law of ,evolution4 ,it is now widely accepted4 ,you will be surprised to know that many an ,islamic tenet is entirely in accord with it4 ,indeed ,maulana ,rumi outlined it poetically in his famous ,masnavi in the thirteenth century1 in the same manner as ,lord ,tennyson did in his ,princess in the nineteenth4 ,i desire that you should try to understand it in its modern form4 ,i strongly recommend that you should read an admirable book by ,edward ,clodd called ,the ,story of ,creation#aa4 ,when ,i first read it1 some years ago1 ,i felt it was as pleasant and interesting as a novel4 ,its introduction and ,part ,,ii are quite easy to read4 ,they will give you a very good idea of the great revolution which ,darwin and ,wallace1 ,huxley and ,spencer have wrought in the thought of our own times4 ,note #b4 ,the ,first ,chapter of the ,qur'an4 ,the following is a translation of the ,opening ,chapter of our ,holy ,qur'an4 ,i have analysed it by placing ,roman and ,arabic numerals1 the first indicating verses ,arabic3 ayyat and the second indicating sub-divisions of verses4 ,opening ,chapter4 ,arabic3 ,sura al-ftia ,in the ,name of ,god the ,arabic3 bi-smi llhi r-ramni r-ram ,compassionate1 the ,merciful4 ,i4 ,praise be to ,god1 ,arabic3 al-amdu li-llhi 4,i 7#a7 ,lord 7,nourisher7 ,arabic3 rabbi l-lamn 7#a7 of the ,worlds1 7#b7 the ,compassionate1 ,arabic3 ar-ramni r-ram 7#b7 the ,merciful 7#c7 ,king of the ,day ,arabic3 mliki yawmi d-dn 7#c7 of ,reckoning 7 day of judgment47 ,,ii4 4,,ii 7#a7 ,thee only do we ,arabic3 iyyka nabudu 7#a7 worship1 7#b7 and ,thee only do ,arabic3 wa-iyyka nastan 7#b7 we ask for aid4 7#c7 ,guide us in the ,arabic3 ihdin -ira l-mustaqm 7#c7 right ,path 7that is7 ,,iii4 the ,path of those ,arabic3 ira llana 4,,iii 7#a7 to whom ,thou ,arabic3 anamta alayhim 7#a7 art gracious1 7#b7 who are not objects ,arabic3 ayri l-mabi alayhim 7#b7 of wrath1 7#c7 and who go not ,arabic3 wa-l -lln 7#c7 astray4 ,amen#ab ,arabic3 mn ,the whole ,sura divides itself into three parts and each part into three divisions thus3-- ,part ,i4--,nature of ,god4 ,three principal attributes of ,god3-- 7#a7 ,creator or ,nourisher ,arabic3 ,rab 7#b7 ,protector ,arabic3 ramni wa r-ram 7#c7 ,adjuster ,arabic3 mliki yawmi d-dn ,part ,,ii4--,man's duty to ,god lies in1 7#a7 ,worship ,arabic3 ibdat 7#b7 ,seeking ,his ,protection ,arabic3 ,isti'ant 7#c7 ,seeking ,his ,guidance ,arabic3 ,istihd ,part ,,iii4--,the ,straight ,path ,arabic3 islm madhab for ,man being3-- 7#a7 the path of ,grace 7 path of those who obtain ,grace7 7#b7 not the ,path of ,sin 7path of those who deliberately go wrong74 7#c7 nor the ,path of ,error 7path of those who by mistake go astray74 ,observe3-- 7a7 ,each of the three duties in the second part corresponds with the three attributes mentioned in the first part4 7b7 ,the third part1 the ,path of ,grace1 i4e41 the straight path1 is the mean between two extremes--the path of deliberate sinners on the one hand and the path of unwitting stragglers on the other4 7c7 ,the ,islamic prayer is simpler than the ,christian prayer4 ,i do not say the one is good and the other is bad4 ,no2 both are very good indeed1 but the one seems simpler than the other4 ,compare them4 ,the ,christian ,prayer4 ,the ,muslim ,prayer4 ,,the ,,lord',s ,,prayer4 ,,the ,,fatiha4 ,adoration4 ,adoration4 7a7 ,our ,father which art in 7a7 ,praise be to ,god1 ,lord heaven1 ,hallowed be thy of the worlds1 the compassionate1 name4 ,thy ,kingdom the merciful1 ,king of the day come4 of reckoning4 ,submission4 ,submission4 7b7 ,thy will be done in earth 7b7 ,thee only do we worship and as it is in heaven4 of ,thee only do we ask aid4 ,supplication4 ,supplication4 7c7 ,give us this day our daily 7c7 ,guide us into the right bread4 ,and forgive us our path--the path of those debts as we forgive our to whom ,thou hast debtors4 been gracious1 ,and lead us not into not the path of those temptation1 but deliver who are the objects us from evil3 for ,thine of wrath nor of those is the ,kingdom1 and the who have gone astray4 power1 and the glory for ,amen4 ever4 ,amen4 ,st4 ,matthew1 vi #i-ac4 ,the ,qur'an1 i4 ,if you will carefully compare the parts of each ,prayer which ,i have written as separate paragraphs marked 7a71 7b7 and 7c71 you will observe that there is difference only in the language1 but no difference whatever in the real meaning4 ,there is in both ,prayers absolutely the same spirit of 7a7 ,adoration1 7b7 ,submission1 and 7c7 ,supplication4 ,both begin with the praise of the ,lord to whom all praise is due4 ,this is followed in both by an expression of our entire dependence on ,him and submission to ,his will4 ,lastly1 there is solicitation for guidance1 positive and negative1 viz41 guidance towards right action and guidance for avoiding temptation4 ,the three parts 7a71 7b7 and 7c7 of the ,christian as well as of the ,muslim ,prayer are in perfect accord with the results of a comparative study of the religious systems of the world4 ,they correspond to three essential elements in all religions1 viz41 7a7 ,belief in the existence of a ,supreme ,power which is ,infinite and ,absolute1 7b7 ,feeling of man's entire dependence on that ,power1 and 7c7 ,desire to seek or solicit guidance of that ,power in the daily life of man4 ,you will thus see that both the ,lord's ,prayer in the ,bible and the ,opening ,chapter of the ,qur'an go to the roots of all religions ever professed by man4 ,they are truly ,universal ,prayers4 ,no man need hesitate to join in the solemn recitation of either4 ,we ought to view all monotheistic religions--religions which enjoin belief in one ,god--in the spirit in which ,st4 ,peter viewed them when he said 7,acts x4 #cd-e73 ,of a truth ,i perceive that ,god is no respecter of persons1 but in every nation he that feareth ,him and worketh righteousness is accepted with ,him4 ,the same is the spirit of the oft-repeated definition of ',muslims' in the ,qur'an3 ,arabic3 llana man minkum wa-amil -lit those who believe and work righteousness4 ,trust in the ,lord and do good1 as the psalm says4 ,note #c4 ,i4--,what is ,religion8 ,i have said that true ,islam is the best religion in the world4 ,i must prove my assertion4 ,in order to do so ,i have to explain3-- ,i4 ,what do ,i mean by religion8 ,,ii4 ,what is true ,islam8 ,,iii4 ,why is it the best religion8 ,i4--,religion1 ,god and ,nature4 ,religion4--,no thinking man can help asking himself the questions3 ,whence has this world come8 ,whither is it bound to go8 in other words1 ,what was the origin 7,arabic3 mabd7 and what will be the end 7,arabic3 ma'd7 of the world of men1 animals1 plants and things that ,i perceive8 ,the answers which each man gives to these questions constitute his religion4 ,a few earnest persons 7poets1 philosophers and theologians7 try to answer these questions for themselves by patient study and earnest thought#ac4 ,but a large majority of men and women merely take the answers taught them by their parents1 teachers or priests4 ,there may possibly be a small number of men who do not trouble themselves about these questions4 ,these are not thinking men and may therefore be left out of account4 ,religion is a silent and subtle power that works in the heart of man and makes for righteousness4 ,it is generated by his conviction as to the beginning and end of himself and the world in which he lives and moves#ad4 ,god4--,no intelligent and intelligible answers can be given to questions as to the origin and the end or the government of ,nature#ae without assuming the existence of the ,one and only one ,god who is ,infinite and ,absolute1 i4e41 ,one who hath neither beginning nor end and who is not conditioned or limited by anything whatever#af4 ,the ,infinite and ,absolute ,one has been called by different names by different people at different times#ag4 ,yezdan1 ,ishwara1 ,jehovah1 ,god1 and ,allah are the names1 in different languages1 of the same ,infinite and ,absolute ,god4 ,god of the ,granite and the ,rose ,soul of the ,sparrow and the ,bee6 ,the mighty tide of being flows ,through countless channels1 ,lord1 from ,thee4 99,conceptions of ,god1 ,his attributes1 and ,his relation to ,nature4--,these have been and will ever be many and various4 ,but ,i summarise three principal conceptions under each head1 for ,i believe that other ideas1 notions or conceptions are but combinations of two or more of these3-- ,i4 ,conceptions of ,god3-- #a4 ,god as the ,ultimate ,law4 #b4 ,god as the ,omnipotent ,energy or ,power4 #c4 ,god as the ,supreme ,being or ,person#ah4 ,,ii4 ,notions of ,god's principal attributes3-- #a4 ,god as ,creator or ,nourisher4 #b4 ,god as ,preserver or ,protector4 #c4 ,god as ,adjuster or ,judge#ah4 99 ,paragraphs marked with asterisks and their footnotes may be omitted at the first reading4 ,,iii4 ,ideas of ,god's relation with ,nature#bj 7i4e41 with the world of men1 animals1 plants and other objects1 and their inter-relations1 of which men are aware73-- #a4 ,all is from ,god ,god is above ,nature which ,he created and governs 7,theism74 #b4 ,god is in ,all ,god is in ,nature although ,nature is not ,god 7,panentheism74 #c4 ,god is ,all ,god is ,nature and ,nature is ,god 7,pantheism7#ba4 99 ,the above is but a rough summary4 ,i have neither time nor space to explain and illustrate it4 ,i have ventured to give some hints--imperfect hints1 ,i fear--in the footnotes4 ,i may however state here that1 of the above three conceptions1 notions or ideas ,islam accepts the medium or the middle one which1 as a little thought will show1 includes the other two conceptions also4 ,you need not at present try to understand the summary or the words given in brackets4 ,my subsequent ,notes will explain it to some extent4 ,please remember that there are many men and many minds1 and that there are likely to be as many religions1 as many conceptions of ,god1 as many notions of ,his attributes1 and as many ideas of the beginning or end of things1 7,arabic3 mabd' wa ma'd7 as there are thinking minds#bb4 ,let me conclude this ,note with a short answer to the question why religion is necessary to ,man#bc4 ,no society is possible without religion1 because of the dual nature of ,man4 ,as our poet says1 ,persian3 ba bahaa'm bahra dari ba malaa'ik neez ham and as all modern men of science 7such as ,sir ,oliver ,lodge and others7 admit1 there is a higher and a lower in every man's nature1 the one lifts him up and the other pulls him down in the scale of animal and social existence4 ,religion is necessary in order that every man's higher nature may conquer his lower nature in order that he may become a social being who is virtuous and does good of his own accord1 and may not remain a mere beast whom the whip alone prevents from doing mischief4 ,it is religion that fosters high-thinking and holy-living1 so necessary for the advancement of the human race4 ,note #d4 ,,ii4--,what is true ,islam8 ,the answer to this question is contained within the four corners1 as it were1 of the ,opening ,sura#bd ,arabic3 ,sura al-ftia which is a general summary of the whole ,qur'an4 ,i have already analysed it and asked you to compare it with the ,christian prayer called the ,lord's prayer4 ,i am sure you have noted and admired its simplicity and clearness and its almost scientific precision and comprehensiveness4 ,i am only amplifying what ,i have already said when ,i say that the ,sura teaches three cardinal and eternal truths3-- #ast4--,there is but ,one ,god who has created the worlds1 maintains them1 and rules them4 ,in the inimitable words of the ,sura of ,purity4 ,arabic3 ,sura al-il ,arabic3 qul huwa llhu aad ,say1 ,god is one4 ,one4 ,arabic3 allhu -amad ,god is ,eternal4 ,infinite4 ,arabic3 lam yalid ,he does not beget ,arabic3 wa-lam ylad nor is ,he begotten4 ,absolute4#be ,arabic3 wa-lam yakun lah kufuwan aad and ,he hath no kith or kin4 #bndly4--7a7 ,god being our ,creator1 we have to worship1 adore and love ,him and ,him alone4 ,this is the duty we owe to ,god4 7b7 ,again1 ,god being our merciful ,preserver1 we have to seek the protection of ,him and ,him alone4 ,this is the duty we owe to ourselves4 7c7 ,finally1 ,god being our ,judge or ,ruler1 we have to solicit guidance of ,him and ,him alone4 ,this is the duty we owe to our fellow-creatures 7including lower animals7 in the world we live in4 ,you must not fall into the error of believing that ,god is ,creator at one time or place1 that ,he is ,maintainer or ,preserver at another time or place1 and that ,he is ,judge or ,ruler at a third time or place4 ,no1 no2 ,he1 being the ,one and only ,god1 is all the three together1 ,creator1 ,preserver and ,ruler1 at all times and in all places4 ,it is we who1 in order to understand ,him properly and adore ,him rightly1 separate in our minds ,his three principal attributes1 and think of ,him as our ,creator when we worship ,him1 think of ,him as our ,preserver when we seek ,his protection1 and think of ,him as our ,ruler or ,judge when we solicit ,his guidance4 ,it is only we1 finite and conditioned creatures1 that are tied down to and limited by time1 place and circumstances4 ,to ,god there are none such4 ,he is the ,one ,infinite and ,absolute1 the ,one who hath neither beginning nor end--the ,one who is absolutely unlimited and unconditioned by time1 place1 circumstances1 or anything else4 ,this is the ,islamic conception or idea of ,god4 #crdly4--,what does the ,sura teach us as to the guidance which we have to ask of ,god in our dealings with our fellow-creatures8 ,it is guidance into the straight path4 ,what is the straight path8 ,it is the path of righteousness or the path of ,grace which is between two extremes1 the path of ,sin and the path of ,error4 ,a ,muslim's right path1 i4e41 his right course of conduct1 lies between two extreme paths or courses of conduct1 viz41 on the one hand1 the path of those who sin1 who knowingly and deliberately go against the will of ,god1 which is manifest in ,nature1 and on the other hand1 the path of those who unwittingly1 through ignorance1 go against ,his will4 ,the right path lies thus3-- ,path of ,sin ,path of ,grace ,path of ,error which leads which leads to which leads to to ruin or eternal bliss4 confusion worse destruction4 confounded4 ,you thus see that true ,islam consists in a threefold duty to ,god1 to oneself1 and to others1 and this duty is to be discharged by simply adopting1 under ,god's guidance1 the mean between two extremes4 ,as our ,prophet has pithily expressed it ,arabic3 khair ul umoor-e ausatiha1 the best of things is the medium thing4 ,this is the fundamental principle which underlies everything which is ,islamic or ,muslim4#bf ,please remember it1 as also the three-fold ,islamic ,duty3-- 7a7 ,duty to ,god1 which is ,worship or ,adoration implying1 as it does1 complete submission to ,his will ,arabic3 islm 7b7 ,duty to yourself1 which is self-preservation or self-perfection ,arabic3 ,aslm 7c7 ,duty to others1 which is peace and good will towards them ,arabic3 islm ,islam#bg as a religion means nothing more nor less than those three duties4 ,islam is not ,philosophy1 much less is it ,science4 ,it is but a ,religion1 an attitude of man's mind towards his environment--the attitude of self towards others and ,god4 ,both ,philosophy and ,science influence one's attitude of mind4 ,to that extent ,islam has to reckon with both4 ,it is therefore that ,sufis and other philosophic sects have risen in ,islam from time to time4 ,the sphere of ,islam is ,faith manifesting itself in good works2 and the spheres of ,science and ,philosophy are ,knowledge and ,reason4 ,the latter often come into contact with the former1 but can never be identified with it4 ,note #e4 ,what is not ,islam4 ,in my previous ,note ,i tried to sketch briefly what is true ,islam4 ,i now offer a few observations on1 or illustrations of1 what is not ,islam4 ,in order to know anything quite well1 it is desirable not only to know what it is but also to know what it is not4 #a4 ,the religion taught by the ,qur'an and the ,traditions ,arabic3 ahdith of our ,prophet is ,islam and not ,muhammadanism1 as it is often named4 ,those who profess ,islam are ,muslims and not ,muhammadans1 as they are called4 ,the word ,musalman is but a corruption of the ,arabic plural ,arabic3 muslimn_/muslimn of the singular ,arabic3 ,muslim4 ,we and our religion have been called#bh after the name of ,muhammad just as the terms ,christians and ,christianity have been derived from the name ,christ4 ,but ,muhammadanism and ,muhammadans are not at all the correct names of ,islam and ,muslims as you will presently see4#bi #b4 ,from the point of view of ,islam1 all religions may be divided thus3 ,religions are either1 ------------------------------ ,false3 being beliefs ,true3 being beliefs in more gods than or in one and only ,god2 one1 and ,true ,religions 7,paths of ,sin7 are either1 -------------------- ,pure1 such as ,mixed1 such as true ,islam religions which unmixed with any mix up inconsistent inconsistent or ideas with ideas4 the idea of one ,god4 7,paths of ,grace7 7,paths of ,error7 ,observe that a pure ,religion1 such as true ,islam1 comes in between false ,religions and mistaken or mixed ,religions1 just as the ,quranic ,path of ,grace lies between the ,path of ,sin and the ,path of ,error4 ,it is the mean between two extremes4 #c4 ,it is not ,islam to believe that there has been no true religion besides ,islam4#cj ,such an erroneous belief leads to intolerance1 thereby begetting bigotry and fanaticism ,arabic3 taa'ssub4 ,it is contrary to the teaching of the ,qur'an and the ,prophet4 ,the first verse of the second ,sura ,arabic3 ,baqrah -l-m commands us to believe in not only what was revealed to ,muhammad but also in what was revealed to those who went before him4 ,it clearly indicates that there are1 and will ever be1 many true religions of which ,islam is one4 ,almost the first saying of our ,prophet reported in collections of his traditions ,arabic3 ahaadith is whoever says 'there is no god but ,god1' will attain ,salvation i4e41 will obtain eternal bliss4 ,this shews clearly that all religions which inculcate belief in one ,god are true religions--are right ,paths of ,grace which lead to eternal bliss4 ,observe that most ,muhammadans 7not ,muslims7 of to-day have forgotten this principle and have therefore become intolerant fanatics1#ca which accounts largely for the loss of political power of most ,muhammadan ,governments of modern times4 #d4 ,neither is it ,islam to believe that all religions are true4 ,such an erroneous belief leads to indifference1 thereby begetting caprice and impiety4 ,it is obviously contrary to the teaching of the ,qur'an and the ,prophet1 for they both denounce many a false religion4 ,if everybody thinks that every religion is true1 there will be no two men professing the same religion1 and there will be no real agreement between their thoughts and actions4 ,co-operation#cb ,arabic3 ittifq wa ittihd among men 7which is the root of ,family1 ,society and ,state7 would tend to become impossible4 ,note that it is the indifference to religion and the consequent impiety of some of the ,muhammadans of to-day that accounts mostly for their lack of co-operation1 and for their loss of political power in modern times4 ,degradation is the lot of faithless ,muslims1 for as the ,qur'an says1 ,ye will be exalted only if ye be faithful ,muslims4 ,from what has been said you can easily infer that we should adopt the mean between two extremes and must therefore believe that neither are all religions true nor are they all false1 but that some religions are true and that ,islam is one of them4 ,the characteristic mark of true religions is belief in one ,god2 and this indeed is the reason why ,muslims are permitted to eat and live with1 and even marry1 ,jewesses1 ,christians and others who believe in one ,god and possess sacred ,scriptures4 #e4 ,i1 for one1 would not hesitate to call all ,monotheists 7,jews1 ,christians1 and other ,unitarians ,arabic3 muwahiddin7 ,muslims1 because they believe in one ,god3 but ,i would not call them ,momins ,arabic3 ,momins11 because they do not believe in one ,god in accordance with the teaching of our ,prophet4 ,you know that our ,creed ,arabic3 kalimah consists of two parts3-- 7i7 ,there is no god but ,god1 7ii7 ,and ,muhammad is ,his ,messenger4 ,those who believe in the first part are ,muslims 7,arabic3 ,muslim the peaceful7#cc and those who believe in the first as well as the second part of the ,creed are ,momins 7,arabic3 ,mumins the faithful74 ,both ,muslims and ,momins are believers in one ,god2 the only difference between them is that ,muslims may not 7like ,momins7 accept ,muhammad as their guide in the belief4 ,the ,qur'an 7iii4 #hc7 defines ,islam thus3-- ,say ye2 ,we believe in ,god1 and that which hath been sent down 7revealed7 to us1 and that which hath been sent down to ,abraham and ,ismail and ,issac and ,jacob and the tribes2 and that which hath been given to ,moses and to ,jesus and that which was given to the ,prophets from their ,lord4 ,no difference do we make between them--and to ,god we are resigned 7,muslims74 #f4 ,there is no deity but ,god4 ,since ,god is ,one1 ,his ,revelation to ,man cannot be other than one and the same for all time4 ,there has therefore been and will ever be but one true religion4 ,that religion is ,islam4 ,arabic3 inna d-dna inda llhi l-islm ,verily the 7only7 religion with ,god is ,islam 7,q4 iii #ai74 ,all the prophets from ,adam to ,muhammad received but one and the same ,revelation and therefore preached ,islam and ,islam only4 ,arabic3 lika d-dnu l-qayyim ,it was 7and is7 the standard religion--,q4 xii4 #dj4cd ,whenever any people went astray and deserted ,islam for idolatry a prophet arose among them to preach ,islam and bring them back to righteousness4#ce ,each prophet or messenger of ,god did nothing but try to restore the universal religion to its pristine simplicity and purity4 ,it was only in interpreting the ,revelation and applying it to the practical needs of their age1 that successive prophets and their followers differed2 and the differences gave rise to the so-called religions and religious systems of the world4 ,note #f4 ,islam and not-,islam4 ,i must devote this ,note also to my observations on ,islam and not-,islam in order to prepare you for a just appreciation of my contention that there are many good religions in the world but ,islam is the best of them#cf4 #a4 ,the ,prophet ,muhammad lived and died more than thirteen hundred years ago4 ,there are now on the face of the earth no less than #bej millions 7 #be crores7 of human beings who profess his religion1 and who love and respect him just as his own immediate followers loved and respected him4 ,these two simple facts are enough to prove-- 7#a7 that there must be something real and true in the religion professed by so many people1 and 7#b7 that the man who preached and established it must have been both great and good to an extraordinary degree2 for common experience leads us to conclude 7a7 that nothing which is false or unreal can survive centuries of change and 7b7 that none who is not good and great can be loved and respected by millions of men4 ,no ,muslim or ,momin need therefore believe in any thing more than3-- 7i7 that ,islam is a real and true religion1 and 7ii7 that ,muhammad was a very great and good man4#cg ,thus1 your belief in one ,god ,arabic3 l ilha illlh makes you a ,muslim#ch 7 peaceful71 no matter by what other name you call yourself2 and your belief in the goodness and greatness#ci of ,muhammad ,arabic3 ,muhammad raslullah makes you a ,mumin 7 faithful71 no matter by what name others may call you4 ,let me quote here a passage from ,sir ,edwin ,arnold's ,preface to his beautiful poem ,the ,pearls of ,faith3 the ,ninety-,nine ,names of ,allah3 ,arabic3 asmu l-usn ,the soul of ,islam is its declaration of the unity of ,god3 its heart is the inculcation of an absolute resignation to ,his will4 ,not more sublime1 in religious history appears the figure of ,paul the tent-maker1 proclaiming 'the ,unknown ,god' at ,athens1 than that of the camel-driver ,muhammad1 son of ,abdullah and ,amina1 abolishing all the idols of the ,arabian ,pantheon1 except their chief--,allahu ta ',ala1 ,god the ,most ,high--and under that ancient and well-received appellation establishing the one-ness of the origin1 government1 and life of the ,universe4 ,thereby that marvellous and gifted ,teacher created a vast empire of new belief and new civilization1 and prepared a sixth part of humanity for the developments and reconciliations which later times will bring4 ,for ,islam must be conciliated2 it cannot be thrust scornfully aside or rooted out4 ,it shares the task of the education of the world with its sister religions1 and it will contribute its eventual portion to --that far-off divine event ,towards which the whole creation moves4 ,the italics are mine4 ,i shall have to refer to them in my subsequent ,notes4 ,observe1 the cosmopolitan poet uses only the word ,islam and not ,muhammadanism4 #b4 ,it is not ,islam or ,eman ,arabic3 mn to deify ,muhammad or to represent him to be akin to ,god1 as sometimes some ,moulvies represent him and call him the ,one 7,ahad7 in the guise of ,ahmad#dj4 ,our ,prophet himself never claimed that he was anything more than a mere man4 ,indeed1 he taught us all to say ,arabic3 ,ash-hadu all ilha illallh1 wa ,ash-hadu anna ,muhammadan raslullh that he was but a servant and messenger of ,god4 ,the only thing he ever claimed for himself was that ,god had chosen him to be a messenger ,arabic3 rasl payghambar to convey ,his messages to men4 ,that an immense mass of fable and silly legend1 says ,rodwell1 has been built up upon the basis of the ,qur'an1 is beyond a doubt2 but for this ,muhammad is not answerable1#da any more than he is for the wild and bloodthirsty excesses of his followers in after ages4 #c4 ,god's messages which ,muhammad delivered to men were all collected soon after his death and are preserved intact in a remarkable book called the ,,qur',,an--a book which has lived through no less than thirteen centuries without undergoing the least alteration in a single word or even a dot6 ,the difference in the messages contained in the ,qur'an and the ordinary sayings of the ,prophet reported in books on ,hadis ,arabic3 hadith is simply this3--that when delivering ,god's messages ,muhammad himself felt1 and those who were in his company witnessed1 that he was inspired by some divine energy or power which impelled him to say what he said2 whereas at other times1 when he was talking like an ordinary man1 no signs of divine energy or inspiration were visible4 ,it will carry me too far if ,i endeavour to explain here the real nature of the divine inspiration under which he delivered what he and others believed to be divine messages4 ,you will understand it if you read such books as ,professor ,james's ,varieties of ,religious ,experience4 ,let us1 like good ,momins1 take it as a fact1 what our ,prophet's intimate companions ,arabic3 bah vouched1 that he appeared to be quite a different man when he uttered such messages4 ,their style or matter itself even to this day proves to all unbiassed minds that they are no ordinary sayings of an ordinary man4 ,there is something unique in them which we can only feel but cannot define or express in words4 ,even historians and biographers like ,gibbon and ,muir and translators like ,rodwell1 ,palmer and ,lane-,poole are obliged1 in spite of themselves1 to admit and admire1 what some of them call1 the rugged grandeur and eloquence of the ,qur'an4 ,even ,sale says that some passages are really sublime4 #d4 ,we call the ,qur'an the word of ,god1 chiefly because it contains messages of high spiritual value delivered by an illiterate man like ,muhammad4 ,it is neither a history like some of the books of the ,old ,testament1 nor a biography like the four ,gospels of the ,bible4 ,it is only a collection of sermons1 commands1 and instructions delivered and issued from time to time as occasions required4 ,it contains1 indeed1 references to stories of older ,prophets and previous events well known to the people of ,arabia4 ,but they are less by way of narration than by way of illustration4 ,they are parables more or less 7,arabic3 tilka l-amlu naribuh li-n-ns7#db4 ,commentators like ,zamakh-shari 7,arabic3 tafsr-e-kashshf7 and ,imam ,razi 7,arabic3 tafsr-e-kabr7 whose learning and authority cannot be questioned1 have clearly proved that there is nothing in the ,qur'an which is improbable or cannot be rationally explained to be quite in accordance with the laws of ,nature ,arabic3 qanun-u qadat4 ,if you read ,sir ,syed ,ahmad's ,commentary ,arabic3 tafsir ahmadi or his ,essays ,arabic3 khutbt you will find rational explanations of the ideas of ,paradise and ,hell1 the ,day of ,judgment1#dc etc4 ,i need not dwell on them here4 ,i would however draw your attention to what is called the rule of ,parsimony in ,thought which is in vogue among men of ,science4 ,it is that if and when you can explain anything by what is well-known and understood by every one1 you should not believe in the existence of supermen or assume the occurrence of supernatural events4 ,when1 for example1 we can explain any action of ,muhammad as an ordinary action of a reasonable man1 we should not assume or believe that he performed a miracle4 ,if we can explain the defeat and discomfiture of ,abraham's ,army by natural causes1 such as an epidemic1 we ought not to assume the occurrence of any supernatural event#dd4 #e4 ,the ,qur'an does not favour any particular system of ,philosophy4 ,it leaves ,muslims free to adopt any system of thought that commends itself to them1 provided that it is not inconsistent with the 7,arabic3 tawhd7 idea of the one eternal and absolute ,god4 ,thus the ,qur'an confines itself to the sphere of religion--the sphere where man is brought face to face with his ,god4 7a7 ,what1 then1 is the object or aim of the ,qur'an8 ,to reveal a man unto himself4 ,arabic3 mun arafa nafsa hu arafa rabba hu 7,he who has understood himself has understood his ,god47 7b7 ,why should a man be revealed unto himself8 ,in order that he might know his true relation with the rest of the world so that he might shape his conduct accordingly i4e41 be true to himself1 true to others1 and true to his ,god in thoughts1 words1 and deeds4 7c7 ,how does the ,qur'an reveal a man unto himself8 ,by showing him3-- 7#a7 ,god in ,history#de 7,arabic3 huwa l-awwalu wa-l-ir ,he is the ,first and the ,last47 7#b7 ,god in ,nature#df 7,arabic3 wa--hir ,he is the ,manifest47 7#c7 ,god in ,man's ,conscience#dg 7,arabic3 wa-l-bin and ,he is the ,hidden--,qur'an lvii4 #c47 ,in this sense the ,qur'an is truly a revelation6 ,his sign is in all things1 99 ,arabic3 fa fi kulli ayin lah ,indicating that ,he is ,one4 99 ,arabic3 aayah naral anna hu wid ,note #g4 ,,iii4--,why is ,islam the best religion8 ,my real task begins with this ,note4 ,i have to explain to you why ,i consider ,islam#dh the best of the religions that are now professed by men all over the world4 ,mark1 ,i do not say that other religions are not good1 but ,i only say that ,islam is the best religion of all those ,i know4 ,why do ,i say so8 ,because no other religion accords so well as ,islam with the modern ideas of ,science4 ,by applying the adjectives good1 better and best to religions1 ,i indicate the degree to which each religion1 by its tenets and teaching1 induces men to seek their welfare ,arabic3 falh3 and by the word ,science ,arabic3 ilm ,i mean simply the systematised knowledge of things known and knowable4 ,science discovers things that are necessary or desirable for human welfare4 ,arts generally show the way in which those things can be obtained or manufactured4 ,governments provide1 or ought to provide1 facilities for scientific investigation and for improvement in arts4 ,and it is ,religion that should move men to take the fullest advantage of the science and arts of the time4 ,you may take a horse to a river but you cannot make him drink unless he is thirsty4 ,if he is thirsty he will drink of his own accord2 but if he is not1 neither the appearance of clear water1 nor the easy way to get at it1 nor indeed your whip or coaxing can ever induce him to drink4 ,in the same way ,science may show you water or anything that is useful1 ,arts may show you different ways of getting it1 the ,government of your ,state may offer rewards or even threaten punishment2 but you will not drink1 that is to say1 you will not take advantage of the good things shown you and placed at your disposal1 unless you are thirsty1 unless there is something in you which impels you to it4 ,this thirst1 this something that is the moving force or motive1 is created or furnished by ,religion4 ,the chief use of religion lies in the desire that it fosters in men to live well1 and virtuously4#di ,it is true that for most men the fear of punishment and the hope of reward1 either here or hereafter1 are motives for right conduct3 and some religions 7and even ,islam as taught by some ,moulvies7 give glowing pictures of ,heaven and ,hell awaiting good and bad people after death4#ej ,but these motives are unworthy of the higher nature ,arabic3 qu wa ye malakti of man4 ,they are like the crack of a whip or the show of green grass to a horse that will not run4 ,they are not so effective and lasting as the high spiritual motive for a virtuous life furnished by true religion4 ,i cannot dwell further on this point without entering upon a philosophical or metaphysical discussion which is foreign to the purpose of these ,notes4 ,suffice it to say that the spiritual or religious motive for virtuous conduct is the best of all motives1 as it conforms to the higher or angelic ,arabic3 malakti nature of man and assists him in subduing his lower or animal ,arabic3 ba ha'i mi nature4#ea ,the son of man is a unique and complex product 7of ,evolution7 which has combined in him the natures of ,persian3 ,aadmi zada turfah m'a both the angel and the beast4 joo ne ast za fa-rish-ta sa-rish-ta ,if he leans towards the latter1 hay wan gar kunad mayl een shuwad his animal nature1 he wa kum azeen dar kunad qasn falls lower than the beast aanshuwad beh azaan4 itself1 but if he turns his attention to the former1 his angelic nature1 he rises higher than the angel himself4 ,it is but religion1 true ,religion1 that enables the son of man i4e41 mankind to surpass angels in godliness4 ,note1 this is exactly what ,sir ,oliver ,lodge says in his book1 ,the ,substance of ,faith allied with ,science4 ,there is another use of ,religion to which ,i should refer briefly before ,i pass on to the main argument4 ,you always intend doing many things but never succeed in doing them all1 either because you change your mind or because somebody or something prevents you from carrying them out4 ,it is nevertheless important to yourself and society that your wishes1 which are naturally more numerous than your actions1 should be as good as the actions themselves4 ,laws and social conventions cannot adequately control them1 for they take account of only outward manifestations1 that is1 actions which flow or result from your inward desires1 passions and prejudices4 ,these are controlled by such religions as true ,christianity and true ,islam which take that as done which was merely intended to be done1 and inhibit bad intentions even before they appear in action4 ,now1 whatever religion supplies the best motives for virtuous conduct and most effectively prevents mischievous intentions1 must necessarily be one which conforms best with the most approved ideas of the science and arts of the time4 ,i hold that ,islam is such a religion4#eb ,let me begin by showing a conformity of ,islam to a modern idea1 that there are more worlds than one4#ec ,there are still some religions which assume that there is no other world than the world we live in1 and that ,god created and maintains it for men only4 ,science has proved that such assumptions are unwarranted1 and has even suggested grounds for believing that there are beings in the innumerable worlds of stars4 ,this world of ours with its inhabitants has therefore no right to monopolise ,god to itself4 ,nor indeed have we1 human beings1 any right to consider ourselves as its superior inhabitants4 ,science is now-a-days on the track of finding out beings who are or who may be superior to man4 ,note that all this is implied in the expression ,arabic3 rabbi l-lamn the ,lord of the worlds contained in the ,sura and other parts of the ,qur'an4 ,it does not say the king of the world 7,arabic3 rabbi l- lam7 or of men ,arabic3 rabbi l- insn but says generally and truly that ,god is the ,king or ,lord of great or grand worlds3 ,arabic3 rabbi l-lamn1 the definite article ,arabic3 al in ,arabic is often used to express greatness or grandeur as in the word ,arabic3 ,allah which means the ,most ,high ,god4 ,according to ,islam there are two sources of knowledge1 ,science and ,revelation3 the one represents man's effort to learn ,god's ways1 and the other represents ,god's grace to discover ,his ways to man4#ed ,i for one believe that the difference between the two sources of knowledge corresponds to the difference between ,experience and ,intuition1 between ,acquired ,ideas and ,innate ,ideas--a difference which modern philosophers 7,spencer and ,bergson7 consider to be one of degree only and not of kind4 ,note #h4 ,unity#ee and ,union4 ,i cannot go over the whole field of ,muslim theology to show how its ideas are in accord with the scientific thought of our days4 ,i will confine myself to three principles and three maxims implied in the analysis of the ,opening ,sura ,arabic3 ,sura al-ftia given in one of my previous ,notes#ef4 ,i4 ,the verse ,arabic3 al-amdu li-llhi rabbi l-lamn2 ar-ramni r-ram points to the ,principle of ,unity3 ,there is but one ,god who created the worlds1 maintains and rules them4 ,from this results the ,maxim of ,union ,loyalty3 ,union is strength ,be loyal to your ,king4 ,,ii4 ,the verse ,arabic3 iyyka nabudu wa-iyyka nastan points to the ,principle of ,perfection3 ,worship of ,god1 ,his protection1 and guidance are necessary for the perfection of our mind and body4 ,from this results the ,maxim of ,self-help3 ,god helps those who help themselves ,be true to yourself4 ,,iii4 ,the verse ,arabic3 ira llana anamta alayhim ayri l-mabi alayhim wa-l -lln points to the ,principle of ,moderation3 ,it is the straight path of righteousness that enables you to avoid crooked paths of sin and error and leads you to happiness4 ,from this results the ,maxim of the ,average3 ,adopt the mean of two extremes ,be moderate in everything4 ,i will now endeavour to shew1 as briefly and as simply as possible1 how the principles and maxims ,i have stated correspond with the best scientific ideas of the present age4 ,by the best scientific ideas1 ,i mean nothing more than conclusions arrived at by eminent men of science after severe study and prolonged investigation4 ,i can only refer to the conclusions as such without attempting to summarise the reasoning1 etc4 by which they have been reached4 ,you may read the works of authors ,i shall name1 if you wish to learn more of their thoughts4 ,i4 ,principle of ,unity4 #a4 ,the first ,principle of ,unity ,arabic3 tawhd implies that there is but one ,energy or ,force whose different transformations we call forces1 but one ,life whose appearance in different shapes we call lives1 and but one ,mind whose different manifestations we call minds4 ,but the universal ,energy1 the ,sidenote3 #a4 ,herbert ,spencer4 #b4 ,dr4 ,a4,r4 ,wallace4 #c4 ,prof4 ,james4 #d4 ,sir ,oliver ,lodge4 #e4 ,dr4 ,theodore ,merz4 universal ,life1 and the universal ,mind#eg ,arabic3 rabbi l-lamn1 ar-ramni r-ram1 mliki yawmi d-dn are themselves but so many forms1 appearances or manifestations of the one ,being ,arabic3 ,allah who is ,infinite ,arabic3 -amad and ,absolute ,arabic3 lam yalid1 wa-lam ylad4 ,this is exactly what scientific men and philosophers have said and are saying to-day4 ,read the works of any of the eminent men mentioned in the margin1 and you will find that the conclusion they have reached after life-long investigations1 tallies remarkably with the conception of ,god which ,islam formulated centuries ago4 ,every child begins with the experience of ',this is mine' and ',that is not mine4' ,this experience matures in the adult into ,i and not-,i--the subject that knows and the object that is known4 ,we call the knower or subject1 ,mind2 and the known or object1 ,matter4 ,most modern ,philosophers agree in believing that ,mind and ,matter are but two aspects of ,one ,reality underlying ,all4 ,just as a big building like the ,falaknuma ,palace presents different aspects when viewed from different directions1 and yet is one and the same building2 so the ,reality of ,existence appears to us in different aspects as ,mind and ,matter1 and yet is one and the same ,reality#eh4 ,dr4 ,theodore ,merz of the ,durham ,university1 at the end of his grand survey of the ,scientific ,thought of ,europe in the #aith ,century1#ei says3 ,the scientific mind advances from the idea of ,order or arrangement to that of ,unity through the idea of ,continuity4 ,the process adopted by ,science of arriving at ,unity is only the reverse of what ,islam adopted3 the former begins a posteriori with ,order finds ,continuity and arrives at ,unity1 but the latter started a priori with ,unity1 passed over ,continuity1 and found ,order1 thus3-- ,science4 ,islam4 #a4 ,order #a4 ,unity ,arabic3 rabbi l-lamn ,arabic3 ,allah ,the ,reality#ej of which both ,mind and ,matter are different aspects4 #b4 ,continuity #b4 ,continuity ,arabic3 ramni wa r-ram ,force or ,energy4 #c4 ,unity #c4 ,order#fj ,arabic3 mliki yawmi d-dn ,order or ,process4 ,what ,sir ,edwin ,arnold calls the soul of ,islam1 i4e41 the ,principle of ,unity1 so patently corresponds with the ultimate results of modern ,science and ,philosophy1 that ,i need not dwell on it at any great length4 ,it is sufficient to point out that ,science has now proved three ,unities1 the ,unity of ,substance1 the ,unity of ,force1 and the ,unity of ,process2 and ,philosophy has shown that the three ,unities resolve themselves into ,one ,infinite ,power4#fa ,there is no strength 7to avoid evil7 nor ability 7to do good7 ,arabic3 ,la hawla wa la quwwata great and supreme4 ill bi-llhi alee-eil am4 ,maxim of ,union and ,loyalty4 #b4 ,how is the ,maxim of ,union and ,loyalty inferred from the principle of ,unity8 ,man1 being a creature of ,god1 should try to be godly and godlike1 try to imitate ,god in actions1 try to co-operate with his fellow creatures for the good of all1 and should thus attain the ideal3 ,union is ,strength4 ,this is the ,islamic doctrine of ,atonement#fb 7 at-one-ment ,arabic3 fana fil-lah73 to be at one with ,god by union and co-operation with ,god's creatures so far as your and their constitutions and environments allow4 ,but you need not bother yourself with theories at present4 ,it will be enough if you remember that the ultimate aim or the sole object of the ,prophet's mission was to establish the universal union and brotherhood of mankind by means of a firm belief in the eternal truth of ,god's unity4 ,he preached the ,unity of ,god and worked all his life for the union of men into a universal ,brotherhood4 ,in order that you should co-operate1 i4e41 work together with your fellow-men for the good of all1 your work must needs be co-ordinated4 ,it must be guided and directed so that it tallies with the work of others4 ,this guidance and direction comes from your leader1 whom you and your fellow-workers must obey1 in order to attain the best results4 ,co-operation thus implies ,co-ordination which requires a leader--,caliph or ,king--whom you ought to follow loyally4 ,loyalty to your leader is therefore the gist of co-operation4 ,the ,qur'an and the ,traditions are full of injunctions for obedience to those in authority among you ,arabic3 ul l-amri minkum#fc ,the surest way of pleasing ,god is to obey the ,king4 ,modern ,science teaches exactly the same thing4 ,i have a series of little books in my ,library called ,people's ,books published at #f;d4 each by ,messrs4 ,jack1 ,london4 ,one of them on ,zoology is written by ,professor ,mac,bride1 ,f4,r4,s4 ,he traces the development of ,man from ,protozoa1--little specks of animalcul--and points out how each species of animals has risen higher than another by 7i7 greater inventive capacity1 the capacity of adopting new means to an old end and old means to a new end3 and 7ii7 higher tribal morality implied in co-operation and loyalty to leaders4 ,he says3 ,mankind progresses by the appearance of individuals in whom 7besides the inventive genius7 the instincts of co-operation and loyalty are more strongly developed4 ,it is precisely those instincts that ,islam fosters by its doctrine of the universal brotherhood of ,muslims--a doctrine which implies primarily loyalty to your ,king4 ,just as the affairs of a family like yours1 consisting of a dozen members1 cannot prosper unless each follows loyally the lead of the eldest1 or the wisest among you2 so the affairs of a nation can never be in a satisfactory condition unless each individual is loyal to his ,king and country1 and co-operates with his ,government by willingly doing what is required of him4 ,muhammad enjoined ,arabic3 utlibul ilm wa lov kaana bis seen ,seek knowledge even if thou hast to go for it to ,china--7the farthest country known in his days74 ,delve gems of ,science divine ,ev'n unto ,cathay's mine4 ,he said that wisdom was the birthright of every ,muslim who should seize it wherever he found it4 ,he thus encouraged the learning of ,science and the consequent acquirement of inventive capacity which is biologically as essential for human progress as co-operation and loyalty4 ,a study of animal life from the lowest animalcule to the highly civilized man1 teaches us to know1 feel and act1 in a particular manner1 viz41 7a7 to know our environment1 i4e41 to know the ,laws of ,nature in order to improve our general capacity for invention1 manufacture and commerce1 7,knowledge7 7b7 to feel for our fellow-men in order to increase mutual good-will so necessary for co-operation1 7,sympathy7 7c7 and to act for the general good of our race under the guidance of our political and social leaders1 7,loyalty74 ,knowledge1 ,sympathy and ,loyalty are thus the watchwords of the ,science of to-day no less than of the ,islam of our ancestors4#fd ,note #i4 ,perfection and ,self-help4 ,allow me to explain here that my object is not to persuade you to believe what ,i say but only to make you think for yourself4 ,i will therefore avoid arguments and discussions as much as possible and content myself with bare outlines of certain ,islamic doctrines and brief references to the corresponding ideas of modern ,science4 ,i shall be very pleased if they serve to excite your curiosity and stimulate your thought4 ,,ii4 ,principle of ,perfection4 #a4 ,the second ,muslim doctrine which ,i have called the ,principle of ,perfection may be inferred from the second part of the ,sura3--,it is essential for our perfect development that we should worship ,god and implore ,him for help and guidance in the discharge of the three-fold duty of our life4 ,no sane man thinks that he is perfect as he is4 ,there is always a feeling of some sort in our mind that somehow1 and in some respect or other1 we are not as perfect as we should be4 ,it is to remove this feeling of imperfection inherent in us that we have to worship ,god and supplicate ,his help and guidance4 ,if you ask3 ,why should ,i worship ,god8 ,islam answers your question by asking another3 ,why should you admire beauty in ,nature and ,art8 ,you can answer only3 ,because it is beautiful4 ,i am so constituted that ,i cannot do otherwise than admire a beautiful object when ,i see it4 ,you are unable to give any other reason satisfactorily accounting for your admiration of the beautiful4 ,islam returns a similar answer to your question3 ,you should worship ,god because ,he is ,god4 ,you1 as one of ,his creatures1 cannot help worshipping or reverently adoring ,him when you see1 at every instant of your life1 manifold manifestations of ,his divine ,goodness and ,beauty4 ,some ,sufis#ee even go to the extent of identifying ,god with ,infinite ,beauty ,arabic3 husn-e azlee which is the object of their love ,arabic3 ishq and ecstasy ,arabic3 wajd4 ,you remember the verse which every devout ,muslim recites when he hears the news of the death of any one3 ,arabic3 inna lil lahi wa inna ilaihi raji-n ,verily we are ,god's and to ,him we shall return4 ,this as well as some other verses support the ,islamic belief in the re-union of a man's soul with ,god4 ,as ,i have mentioned in my previous ,note1 ,islam conceives that there is but one ,universal ,soul4 ,small parts--infinitesimal fractions--of the ,universal ,soul are confined in men's bodies and break free at death to re-join the ,whole#ef4 ,this belief is in entire accord with ,sir ,oliver ,lodge's theory 7or speculation1 as he calls it7 put forward in his book1 ,faith allied to ,science4 ,without stopping to enquire how far the belief indicated by ,qur'anic verses1 or the theory advanced by a man of science1 is supported by scientific facts1 ,i would only point out that it gives a clear and intelligible meaning to the word worship ,arabic3 ibadt4 ,it is the communion of the fractional soul1 which is somehow confined in a man's living body1 with the ,whole ,soul1 the ,soul of the ,universe1 to which it--the fractional soul--shall return some day freed from the trammels of the flesh4 ,this communion ,arabic3 ibadt includes ,adoration ,arabic3 tasbh wa tahll and ,prayer ,arabic3 du'4 ,i cannot do better than quote ,sir ,oliver ,lodge's admirable description of the meaning and object of ,prayer3-- ,in prayer we come into close communion with a ,higher than we know1 and seek to contemplate ,divine perfection4 ,its climax and consummation is attained when we realize the universal ,permeance1 the entire ,goodness and the ,fatherly ,love of the ,divine ,being4 ,arabic3 al-amdu li-llhi rabbi l-lamn1 ar-ramni r-ram4 ,praise be to ,god1 ,lord of the worlds1 compassionate and merciful1 ,king of the day of ,reckoning4 ,through prayer we admit our dependence on a ,higher ,power1 for existence and health and everything we possess2 we are encouraged to ask for whatever we need as children ask parents2 ,arabic3 adnee istajib lakum ,call upon me--,i will hearken unto you and we inevitably cry for mercy and comfort in times of tribulation and anguish4 ,the spirit of simple supplication may desire chiefly3-- #a4 ,insight and receptiveness to truth and knowledge4 ,arabic3 iyyaka na'budu ,we worship ,thee alone4 #b4 ,help and guidance in the practical management of life4 ,arabic3 iyyaka nasta'een ,we seek help from ,thee alone4 #c4 ,ability and willingness to follow the light withersoever it leads4 ,arabic3 ihdinas sirtal musta-qm ,guide us into the right path ,compare the verses ,i have placed in brackets with what ,sir ,oliver says1 and you will observe how well he has interpreted the ,qur'an4 ,it looks as if he had the ,opening ,sura ,arabic3 ,sura al-ftia before him when he wrote4 ,even the sequence of his ideas corresponds practically with the order of the verses4 ,but you may be quite sure that he never thought of the ,qur'an at all4 ,he evolved it all from his own inner consciousness well trained by scientific studies4 ,maxim of ,self-help4 #b4 ,there are numerous verses in the ,qur'an which enjoin purification ,arabic3 tazkm of one's self and prohibit cruelty ,arabic3 ,tazkya to one's own mind4 ,they obviously imply the rule of conduct which ,i have called the ,maxim of ,self-help4 ,no one has expressed it more beautifully and truthfully than ,shakespeare in the well-known speech of ,polonius4 ,this above all3 to thine own self be true1 ,and it must follow1 as the night the day1 ,thou canst not then be false to any man4 ,sidenote3 ,herbert ,spencer1 ,prof4 ,t4,h4 ,green1 ,lecky 7,historian71 ,profs4 ,muirhead1 ,mackenzie1 and ,sen4 ,it is the basis of the ethical system advocated by authors mentioned in the margin4 ,there are at present two contending schools of ,morality4 ,each tries to determine what is 'good' or 'bad'1 and sets up a 'standard' or test by which men's actions should be judged as 'right' or 'wrong'4 ,the standard according to the one school is ,happiness 7the surplus of pleasure over pain72 according to the other it is ,perfection 7the fullest development of men as social beings74 ,i think the latter school is more in favour now than it was at the end of the last century4 ,men of science now-a-days realize with ,herbert ,spencer that every one ought to develop himself by freely exercising all the powers of his mind and body to the fullest extent consistent with1 and limited by1 the like exercise by his fellow men4#eg ,i cannot expatiate on this subject without entering into the realms of philosophy and metaphysics4 ,i have only to say that the teaching of ,islam as regards self-development is in entire accord with the views of latter-day moralists4 ,if you are a student of ,ethics you will observe that the doctrine of making the most of oneself 7,perfection7 is1 in accordance with the ,islamic principle of ,moderation1 the mean of two extreme doctrines3--the doctrine of duty for duty's sake 7,rigourism7 on the one hand1 and the doctrine of the greatest happiness of the greatest number 7,utilitarianism7 on the other4 ,duty--,perfection--,utility4 ,i have to add that self-perfection really means self-help1 due exercise of one's faculties with patience and perseverance4 ,if you have not read ,dr4 ,smiles' book on ,self-help1 you had better read it at your earliest convenience4 ,i can recommend no better commentary on the saying3 ,god helps those who help themselves4#eh ,note #aj4 ,moderation and ,via ,media4 ,islam#ei is1 so to speak1 the youngest of all the great religions that are now professed by millions of people4 ,like a child who is heir to all the mental and physical tendencies inherited and acquired by his ancestors1 ,islam inherited all the revelations which one hundred and eighty thousand 7i4e4 innumerable7 prophets had communicated to the world before the advent of ,muhammad4 ,i have already referred to the injunction1 contained in the ,qur'an1 that we should believe not only what was revealed to ,muhammad himself1 but also what was revealed to all ,messengers of ,god who had come before him2 provided always that we have authentic records of those revelations4#fj 7,this proviso is very important47 ,it is therefore no detraction from the merits of ,islam that some of its doctrines resemble those of other revealed religions4 ,parsis say that ,islam borrowed3 ,arabic3 bi-smi llhi r-ramni r-ram ,in the name of ,god the most merciful and most compassionate#fa from their holy scripture1 ,zendavesta1 which begins with the words ,persian3 ba nam eezad ba bakh sha-inda bakhs ha bikasr meher ban gar4 ,some ,christian writers on ,islam seem to take delight in pointing out that the ,prophet of ,arabia borrowed this1 that1 and the other doctrine from certain ,christians and ,jews whom he had met in his earlier life4 ,it is very doubtful whether he had ever met such people4 ,but it is certain that he was too illiterate ,arabic3 umm to understand their recondite doctrines if they had condescended to teach him4 ,even if we admit that he borrowed doctrines from other religions1 his own religion is not thereby rendered the less valuable2 for there is no religion which is absolutely original4 ,he never denounced former religions but only claimed to have confirmed and supplemented them by the religion revealed to him4 ,he always referred to former revelations with great respect4 ,muslims picture the ,supreme ,truth as a beautiful citadel built on the top of a steep mountain4 ,different religions are but so many paths ,arabic3 madhhib leading to it from different directions4 ,in their estimation ,islam is the best and the easiest path of all4 ,this fanciful idea implies that some of the paths might cross each other at different parts of their course1 and others might run parallel to one another or even run together for a considerable distance4 ,many religions may therefore have certain doctrines bearing close resemblance to each other like parallel paths4 ,some religions may even have certain doctrines in common1 like paths running together4 ,all religions are1 and purport to be1 paths leading to one and the same citadel of ,truth4#gb ,none the less has each of them an individuality of its own and a claim that it is better and easier than all others4#gc ,,iii4 ,principle of ,moderation4 ,i have prefaced this ,note with the above remarks because the ,principle of ,moderation and the connected ,maxim of the ,mean1 which are indicated in the third and last part of the ,sura1 were enunciated by ,plato ,arabic3 ,flatun and his disciple ,aristotle ,arabic3 ,aristo who lived more than #a1jjj years before ,muhammad4 ,some ,muslims count those great sages of ancient ,greece among the innumerable 7#ahj1jjj7 ,messengers of ,god who preceded our ,prophet4#gd ,the records#ge ,arabic3 sahaif of their sayings possess an authority second only to that of the ,qur'an itself1 being in fact revelations which ,god vouchsafed from time to time for the benefit and guidance of mankind4 #a4 ,i need not repeat what ,i have already said as to 'the ,path of ,grace' ,arabic3 ihdin -ira l-mustaqma being the mean between two extremes1 'the ,path of ,sin' ,arabic3 ayri l-mabi alayhim and 'the ,path of ,error' ,arabic3 wa-l -lln4 ,i may however explain that the pursuit of the ,path of ,grace implies the ,principle of ,moderation in the sense that we should fully and freely exercise all our mental and physical powers with due regard to their respective limitations4 ,for all practical purposes1 you may take ,reason1 ,passion and ,action as the principal representatives of a man's powers1 and view ,reason as the guiding force in his constitution1 ,passion as the moving force1 and ,action 7voluntary acts and omissions7 as the resultant of the guiding and moving forces thus3-- ,y ------------------------------------ ,p _/ 4-' _/ 4 _/ ary7 4-' _/ n _/ unt 4-' _/ o _/ 7,guide7 7,vol 4-' _/ s _/ _/ ion 4-' _/ a _/ _/ ,act 4-' _/ e _/ _/ 4-' ant7 _/ ,r _/ _/ 4-' ult _/ _/ 4-' 7,res _/ _/ 4-' _/ _/4-' --- ,passion4 _/ ,o------------------------------------ ,x 7,mover7 ,now1 the ,principle of ,moderation means simply that you should not allow your passions to influence your actions unduly1 nor should you allow your reason to control your passions unduly2 but you should ever try to hold the balance even between them in order that the resultant action might be quite right--might discharge the three-fold duty of man1--and might thereby tend 7be it in ever so small a degree7 to the perfection of the individual and the race4 ,if at any time your passion over-rides your reason1 you commit ,sin2 and on the contrary1 if you exercise your reason so much as to stifle your passion altogether1 you fall into ,error4 ,if you permit neither reason1 nor passion to discharge their respective functions1 you lapse into ,inaction which is again an ,error4 ,undue suppression of ,passion1 and over-exercise of ,reason1 as well as non-exercise of both--militate against the ,principle of ,moderation1 the essence of which is 7as ,aristotle pointed out7 that no power should tyrannize over any other in our constitution4 ,what is due or undue exercise of a power1 is a question which your common sense should decide in each case with reference to the person acting and the circumstances under which he acts4 ,the only general rule that can be laid down is implied in the ideal of perfection explained in the previous ,notes4 ,every exercise of any of your mental or bodily power is right or wrong according as it does1 or does not1 tend to the perfection of yourselves or your offspring1 and your community or race4 ,i have only to add that the ,principle of ,moderation1 in the form in which ,i have roughly described it1 is fully recognized by such up-to-date writers on the ,science of ,ethics as ,sir ,leslie ,stephen1 one of the two talented ,editors of the ,dictionary of ,national ,biography4 ,maxim of the ,mean or ,average4 #b4 ,addressing ,muslims the ,qur'an says3-- ,arabic3 wa-ka-lika aalnkum ummatan wasaan li-takn uhada al n-ns ,we have thus made you a middle nation 7 a moderate people7 in order that you should be an example to mankind4--i4 #acg4 ,one of the ways in which ,god has made ,muslims a moderate people is by enjoining them to avoid extreme courses of action and to adopt the middle or the mean course whenever and wherever it is possible#gf4 ,the ,maxim of the ,mean is the objective counter-part of the subjective ,principle of ,moderation4 ,the latter says3 ,don't over--1 or under-exercise any of your faculties2 and the former says3 ,don't have too much or too little of any thing4 ,too much of any thing is good for nothing4 ,too little of it is worse than nothing4 ,too much and too little are relative terms and signify nothing by themselves4 ,it is only with reference to oneself and one's environment at any particular time and place that they acquire a meaning as excess and defect respectively4 ,i cannot explain it better than give a few instances in a tabular form where the mean comes between the excess and the defect of a quality of the head or heart1 or a course of action4 7#a7 ,qualities of the ,head 7,reason73-- ,excess4 ,mean4 ,defect4 ,caution ,prudence ,neglect ,doubt ,conviction ,uncertainty ,conceit ,modesty ,diffidence ,sensitive ,attentive ,indifferent 7#b7 ,qualities of the ,heart 7,passions73-- ,cowardice ,courage ,rashness ,sensuality ,temperance ,abstinence ,bigot ,enthusiastic ,lukewarm 7#c7 ,courses of ,action3-- ,restriction ,liberty ,licence ,flattery ,courtesy ,rudeness ,favouritism ,justice ,injustice ,prodigal ,generous ,miserly ,you will find out for yourself what are the appropriate qualities or courses of conduct1 of which the excess1 mean and defect are expressed by the words given above4 ,fear1 for example1 is the feeling of which excess is ,cowardice and defect is ,rashness1 while the mean is ,courage4 ,similarly as regards one's own opinion of one's powers1 excess is ,conceit and defect is ,diffidence1 while the mean is ,modesty4 ,again too much or too little restraint on action is ,restriction or ,licence while the mean is ,liberty4 ,it will be a useful exercise to make a long list of such words as express the difference of degrees of the various qualities or functions of ,reason1 ,passion and ,action 7 ,knowledge1 ,feeling and ,will47 ,but it will not always be possible to find three contrasted words1 like those in the table1 for every quality or action2 because no language is so perfect as to have separate and single words to express the immense number and manifold shades of ideas which our mind is capable of entertaining4 ,still the fact is duly recognized by modern ,science that there are differences not only of kind but also of degree in everything--ideas1 feelings1 desires1 actions1 objects and attributes of objects--with which we are concerned4 ,although you may not have a word expressive of degree in every case1 yet you can practically ascertain the extremes and the mean in all cases without exception1 and can so order your conduct as to avoid the one and adopt the other in all cases4 ,i may point out here that the ,mean is not the arithmetical mean 7like #f which is the arithmetical mean of #e and #h7 but only an approximately medium or middle course of conduct--via media4#gg ,arabic3 khair ul umr ausatuha ,you may object that1 since the ascertainment of the mean in each case requires calm thought with reference to yourself and your environment1 the rule is too difficult to follow in these days of quick communication1 speedy locomotion1 and urgent action4 ,i answer that it is but an ideal rule of conduct4 ,like all rules of ,logic 7,thought71 sthetics 7,beauty71 or ,ethics 7,conduct71 it sets before you an ideal which you should ever strive to attain though you may not attain it fully at any time4 ,no thinker may have been absolutely logical1 no ,artist may have wrought a perfect work of beauty1 and no man may have ever been quite moral4 ,but that is no reason why thinkers1 artists1 and men generally1 should not endeavour to attain perfection in their respective spheres of thought and action4 ,there is a further and greater objection to the rule of the middle course1 viz41 that1 if followed strictly1 it will reduce all men to a dead level of mediocrity1 and will not foster the development of men of genius4 ,i have to admit regretfully that such will be the case1 and1 as my next ,note will show1 it will be in accordance with a ,law of ,nature recently discovered4 ,some writers have even attempted to prove that genius or excessive intelligence is a form of madness as bad as its opposite form1 imbecility or defective intelligence4 ,they seem to believe that only the men of average intelligence are quite sane4 ,great wits are sure to madness near allied ,and thin partitions do their bounds divide4--,dryden4 ,the late ,sir ,john ,gorst created a sensation when he declared in the ,house of ,commons that great countries were governed by mediocrities only4 ,the world knows nothing of its greatest men4--,sir ,h4 ,taylor4 ,note #aa4 ,evolution and ,survival4 ,it was ,adolphe ,quetelet1 ,astronomer-,royal of ,belgium1 who in the seventies of the last century attempted to prove that the average man is to a nation what the centre of gravity is to a body4 ,a similar1 if not quite the same1 conclusion has since been reached by ,sir ,francis ,galton and ,professor ,karl ,pearson in their researches into men's physical and intellectual qualities in the light of ,darwin's theory of ,natural ,selection or ,survival of the ,fittest4 ,this theory which1 in its more extended form1 is called the ,law of ,evolution1 has profoundly influenced1 if not entirely revolutionized1 the ,science and ,philosophy of our own times4 ,it has not however succeeded1 as was at first feared1 in destroying men's belief in ,god1 the ,creator and ,ruler of the ,universe4 ,for it has done no more than disclose but a few of the numerous ways in which ,he creates and rules4 ,i have been a student of ,evolution ,literature ever since ,i left ,college4 ,speaking for myself ,i can say that my study of it has not in the least shaken my belief in ,god1 but has rather strengthened it4 ,i entirely agree with a popular writer#gh on the ,scientific ,ideas of ,to-day1 who says3 ,true ,science does not seek to deprive man of his ,soul or to drive the ,creator from his ,universe1 but it honestly endeavours to study ,his marvellous works 444 to see the manner in which ,he has caused ,nature to work out ,his design4 ,the ,law of ,evolution or the ,development ,hypothesis1 as it has been called1 is in fact a clever guess at truth--very valuable as a formula which enables us not only to remember the result of numerous observations and experiments1 but also to predict certain events to be verified by subsequent observations and experiments4 ,it is impossible to convey a clear idea of it in a few sentences4 ,a great man like ,herbert ,spencer spent #ej years of his life in explaining and illustrating it in no less than ten stout volumes of his ,synthetic ,philosophy4 ,the central idea may however be expressed in the following propositions1 using the word thing in its widest sense as any object of perception1 or knowable objects#gi4 #a4 ,nothing exists absolutely by itself2 everything exists in relation with something else which is its environment4 #b4 ,a thing and its environment cannot exist side by side for any considerable time without each affecting or influencing the other in some respects at least3 a thing ,a and its environment ,b1 which cannot but exist together1 must needs act and re-act on each other4 ,illustration #c4 ,the action and re-action of the thing ,a and its environment ,b on each other1 brings about mutual adjustment1 the fitting of each into the other4 #d4 ,according as this mutual adjustment or fitting is relatively complete or incomplete1 there is ,evolution or ,dissolution1 survival or extinction1 of the thing 7,a7 itself4#hj #e4 ,the process of ,evolution or ,survival is characterized by3-- 7a7 ,integration3 grouping together of certain like units 7such as atoms or molecules1 living cells or individuals7 into a whole1 7b7 ,differentiation3 certain parts 7or functions7 of the aggregated whole becoming unlike each other or specialized1 and 7c7 ,adjustment3 fitting of the aggregated and differentiated whole into its environment4 #f4 ,in the opposite process of ,dissolution or ,extinction the thing undergoes the same changes in the reverse order before it disappears as such4 ,in other words1 given a thing and its environment1 the one has to adapt and adjust itself to the other1 or cease to exist4 ,nothing survives1 as an individual1 which does not change4 ,like a picture in its setting1 a thing has to fit itself to its environment in order that it might survive for the best advantage of itself and its kind4 ,thus1 the fit lives and the unfit dies#ha4 ,as the ,qur'an expresses it ,arabic3 anna l-ara yariuh ibdiya -lihn the ,earth is inherited by only the fit among ,my creatures4#hb ,this applies not only to plants and animals1 man and society1 but also to inanimate or inorganic things1 as the ,president of the ,british ,association announced some years ago4 ,a man1 for example1 has for his environment1 the atmosphere of the place he inhabits1 the society he lives in1 the occupation he follows1 the laws he obeys1 etc4 ,he can live long and happily only when the qualities of his body and mind befit him to that environment1 i4e41 when they enable him 7to become ,arabic3 salih7 to adapt himself continuously to the circumstances of his position4 ,what1 then1 is the general nature of such qualities8 ,you know that one of the best methods of ,science is ,measurement4 ,no scientific knowledge is exact unless it enables you not only to distinguish one quality from another1 but also to measure each quality or determine its degrees in some way or other4 ,it is not sufficient to know hot from cold but the degrees of temperature must be measured by a thermometer4 ,the new methods of ,statistics and graphic representation have been applied to a large number of men and women for the purpose of finding the fittest qualities or characters as they are technically called4 ,professor ,karl ,pearson#hc and others have thus found that among a large number of men and women in a given community any physical or mental character which deviates largely1 by excess or defect1 from the mean or average1 renders them the less fit to survive the struggle for existence4 ,individuals possessing any character which deviates extremely from the mean tend to disappear4 ,for example1 the average height of men has been found by measurement of a large number of people to be 7say7 #e;ft4 #f;in4 and it has also been found by statistical methods that men who are #g;ft4 or men who are only #c;ft4 are very rare4 ,it is therefore concluded that men who are too tall or too short i4e41 who deviate extremely from the mean1 tend to disappear and are therefore unfit to survive4 ,this is only a rough and ready example of what is called the ,law of ,periodic ,selection which has now superseded the ,belgian philosopher's ,law of the ,average 7or the ,mean74 ,it applies to human conduct as well as to human qualities4 ,that conduct alone 7i4e41 only that particular course of deliberate action7 befits a man to his environment1 which deviates the least from a standard or average of such conduct4 ,it is the indispensable condition of his happiness and longevity4 ,you thus see that the ,islamic ,maxim of the ,mean is justified by ,science4 ,note #ab4 ,religion begins with the fear of the ,lord and ends in the love of ,man4#hd ,let me devote this concluding ,note to a few general remarks4 ,the meanings and definitions of certain words given below are somewhat arbitrary1 but ,i trust they will enable you to understand and remember certain abstruse matters4 ,i4 7a7 ,take the word thing to mean any object of thought1 such as1 for example1 a house1 a labourer1 redness1 distance1 home1 charity1 eloquence1 or the ,british ,constitution4 ,all these are things which you can think of4 7b7 ,you may then define a fact as a known or knowable thing or relation between things2 in other words1 a fact is any thing or relation1 which you know or can know if you take the necessary trouble4 7c7 ,the word ,nature1 with a capital ,n1 is but a name for the sum-total of all facts known and knowable4 ,poets1 philosophers1 and even some men of ,science1 personify this sum-total of facts known and knowable1 i4e41 ,nature and refer to it as she or her4 ,it is but a convenient way of saying1 by implication1 that there is the same uniformity1 continuity and unity in ,nature as in our idea of a person4 ,now1 all thinking men of all ages of history have ever tried to understand ,nature as a whole and to answer regarding her three important questions represented by three interrogatives1 what8 how8 and why8 7#a7 ,what is ,nature8 ,what are the facts which constitute ,nature4 7,knowledge of ,nature74 7#b7 ,how has ,nature come to be what she is8 ,how is it that facts constituting ,nature have become as we perceive them8 7,explanation of ,nature74 7#c7 ,why is ,nature as she is and not otherwise8 ,why is it that facts constituting ,nature have a certain uniformity 7order7 continuity and unity in spite of changes that take place continuously8 7,reason of ,nature74 ,broadly speaking1 ,i may say that ,science 7with its various departments called ,sciences7 tries to answer the first question what1 the question as to facts of ,nature4 ,philosophy tries to answer the second question how1 the question as to the explanation of ,nature4 ,religion or ,theology 7which includes highest ,poetry7 tries to answer the third and last question why1 the question as to the reason of ,nature4 ,you may thus clearly remember the respective provinces of ,science1 ,philosophy and ,religion by remembering three words ,what1 ,how and ,why4 ,when you read a book which treats of facts or the what of ,nature2 or of the explanation or the how of her2 or of the reason or the why of her2 you may be sure it is ,science1 ,philosophy or ,religion respectively that you are reading1 whatever be the name of the book itself4 ,i have said that ,science1 ,philosophy or ,religion tries to answer and not answers1 because the answer of any of them can never be final or immutable4 ,none of them can ever reach finality4 ,as the experience of mankind grows continuously1 new facts or new phases of old facts are discovered in the course of time4 ,just as men have to adapt or adjust themselves to new facts 7or to changes in old facts7 or else die2 so men's ,science1 ,philosophy and ,theology have to adjust themselves to new facts or else become empty nothings4#he ,,ii4 ,i have often said that ,i believe ,islam to be the best religion because 7so far as ,i know7 it accords best with the current ideas of ,science4 ,if you accept my view of the respective provinces of ,science1 ,philosophy1 and ,religion1 you can easily comprehend that a ,religion like ,islam which purports to expound the reason why of ,nature must needs correspond with the what 7,science7 as well as with the how 7,philosophy7 of ,nature4 ,the three great divisions of ,human ,thought--,i mean1 ,science1 ,philosophy and ,religion--are necessarily connected with one another1 as otherwise they cannot make up the whole ,universe of ,human ,thought and cannot satisfy men's craving for complete and consistent knowledge4 ,,iii4 ,the ,law of ,evolution which ,i mentioned in the previous ,note is but a ,theory of ,creation1 an explanation of how ,nature has come to be what she is4 ,new facts which future ages may discover may prove the theory to be either right or wrong4 ,at present it is the best hypothesis--the best guess--because it accords best with known facts4 ,it acts as a guide to knowable facts as well4 ,it has shown that men cannot progress1 indeed cannot long survive1 if they fail to adapt themselves to the circumstances of their position1 if they fail to fit into their environment which surrounds them like an envelope4 ,ceaseless change is the order of ,nature4 ,continuous adaptation is the law of life4 ,adaptability is therefore the sine qua non of men's life and existence4 ,the religion which suits them must also have the quality of adaptability4 ,i hold ,islam has this quality in an eminent degree and is therefore the most suitable religion4 ,please remember that ,i speak of ,islam as taught by the ,qur'an itself and not ,muhammadanism as professed by some so-called followers of the ,prophet4 ,you have to interpret the ,qur'an#hf quite naturally as any other book or historic document1 but not in the way in which some ,muhammadans do it with the aid of marvellous fictions and miraculous traditions4 ,islam has to resist 7to use a big word7 the anthropomorphic tendency of the human mind1 viz41 the tendency to view abstract qualities or agencies as persons having a separate existence as individual beings4 ,,iv4 ,i have said that there is no inherent antagonism between ,christianity and ,islam if and when the sayings and doings of the founders of each are rightly viewed and understood in a simple and natural manner4 ,muhammad never ceased saying that he had come to attest and complete the mission of ,jesus and his predecessors1 who were ,god's messengers like himself4#hg ,the greatest and the best rule of human conduct which ,jesus laid down was3 ,love thy neighbour as thyself4 ,you remember the well-known lines of ,burns3 ,o wad some power the giftie gie us ,to see oursels as others see us4 ,the gift which the poet prays for is vouchsafed to very few mortals4 ,almost all of us have naturally1 and often unconsciously1 such a high opinion of ourselves that1 even if we would1 we could not see ourselves as others see us4 ,the next best thing that we can do is1 therefore1 to see others as we see ourselves1 to cherish the same regard for others as we instinctively cherish for ourselves4 ,if 7to take an extreme case for example7 we cannot detest ourselves as others sometimes detest or hate us1 we can at least try to love others as we love ourselves1 try to do unto others as we wish that others should do unto us4 ,thus the rule3 ,love thy neighbour as thyself1 is quite consistent with human nature and is the most comprehensive rule of conduct which has ever been laid down for the guidance of mankind4 ,to my mind there is no better proof of the identity in spirit of ,christianity and ,islam than the confirmation of ,christ's command by ,muhammad himself4 ,no-one will be a faithful ,muslim until he loves his ,arabic3 ,la yu'minu ahdakum hatta neighbour as he loves himself4 yuhibbu li ma yajib nafsahu ,for this reason1 ,i believe that there is no difference between the two religions if the metaphysical doctrines engrafted on both be eliminated4 ,true ,islam is but true ,christianity writ short4#hh ,both recognize that the source of virtue is love1 ,for love is ,heaven and ,heaven is love4 ,,appendix4 ,we are indebted to ,mr4 ,j4,c4 ,molony for the following illuminating criticism which affords food for serious thought--,editor4 ,if we assume the existence of a ,god1 interested in the governance of this world1 it becomes impossible to deny that ,muhammad was ,god's messenger1 or1 at least1 ,god's prophet4 ,it seems to me unlikely that a man could change the belief of nations by chance1 incredible that he should do so were he an impostor4 ,muhammad was certainly honest2 the persistence of the faith called after him leads me to consider him as inspired4 ,or1 if inspired be objected to as a general religious term of very indefinite meaning1 let us say that he saw into the heart and reality of life further and more clearly than any man has done since his day4 ,how then comes the fact1 noted by ,amjad and ,mahmood and admitted by you1 that ,islamic countries in the main have wretched governments1 and are crumbling away before ,christian ,powers8 ,i do not think that you have answered this question#hi4 ,you have merely pointed out that ,islam1 if rightly understood1 is an excellent religion4 ,the boys1 ,i think1 have stated their dilemma too sharply2 the contrast is not entirely between ,islam and ,christianity4 ,india is for all practical purposes a ,hindu country1 and the power of the old ,indian ,kingdoms has faded before ,christian invaders4 ,in that section of the world in which ,christianity is the prevailing and accepted form of religious belief1 the temporal might of those nations professing one great form of the ,christian creed1 the ,roman ,catholic1 has undoubtedly waned in comparison with that of the nations professing what is generally called the ,protestant faith4 ,there are many varieties of non-,roman ,catholic ,christianity1 but ,protestantism is a label sufficiently comprehensive and sufficiently well understood for our purposes4 ,i speak without sectarian bitterness2 ,i am not1 ,i fear1 a convinced adherent of any particular form of religious faith4 ,i have met many good men1 and have many friends1 among ,muhammadans1 ,hindus1 and ,roman ,catholics4 ,but ,i think that the objective truth of what ,i say1 particularly in the ,christian sphere1 is indubitable4 ,compare for instance the decay of ,spain with the grandeur of ,england1 the feebleness of ,austria with the strength and order 7turned to ill uses though they may be7 of ,germany4#ij ,the question at once arises whether religion has anything to say to the matter4 ,i think that it has4 ,muhammadanism1 ,hinduism1 and ,catholicism 7,i omit the prefix ,roman7 have concerned themselves too much with ,heaven and ,hell1 with the avoidance of future damnation and the obtaining of future bliss4 ,these religions have afforded some justification for the gibe that ,auguste ,comte levelled at ,christianity2 he said that it sprang from a servile terror and an immense cupidity4 ,religion should be rather a guide of life here than a guide to a life to come4 ,kant would have curtailed the beatitude blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see ,god into blessed are the pure in heart4 ,it is good to be good2 it is not good to be good in the hope of some ultimate gain thereby4#ia ,the great ,catholic ,bishop of ,pondicherry1 ,monseigneur ,bonnand1 wrote to one of his desponding priests3 ,continue a missionary to the end1 and you will assuredly be saved4 ,in my opinion he was wrong2 ,i should think little of a missionary1 whether ,christian or ,muhammadan1 who endured the trials of a missionary life 7and some of those old ,french priests did endure abundantly7 solely in the hope of making a personal1 albeit spiritual and eternal1 profit at the end of it all4 ,now1 ,bishop ,blougram1 a character created by the poet ,browning1 though supposedly inspired by the personality of ,cardinal ,wiseman1 says in his ,apology3 ,there's one great form of ,christian faith ,i happened to be born in--which to teach ,was given me as ,i grew up1 on all hands ,as best and readiest means of living by4 ,the same1 ,i fear1 might now be said of ,muhammadanism4 ,but to my mind there is no fixity1 no absolute truth in any form of religious dogma4 ,religion is a thing that must grow with man's intelligence2 it is not a box of spiritual truths packed once and for ever1 and unpacked for the gaze of successive generations4 ,it is not enough to believe in certain facts that happened long ago1 or to obey certain injunctions given long ago in a particular country2 we must apply the spirit of a religion to the circumstances in which we live4 ,we shall never attain to final absolute truth1 the end is not yet1 and the purposes of ,god to man are but half revealed 7,jowett74 ,unfortunately when any religion has taken itself as final it has developed a priesthood1 and that priesthood has been apt to lay down a code of fixed rules wherewith alone compliance is required4 ,it is a fatally easy thing to live in conformity with any definite code of rules4 ,muhammad himself1 ,i imagine1 was a singularly liberal theologian4 ,he laid down certain regulations for the conduct of life1 excellent considering his place and time2 the modern ,muhammadan has accepted these as a maximum spiritual demand1 ignoring the fact that they probably represented the minimum demands of common sense in ,muhammad's time and country4 ,muhammad directed that a ,muhammadan should not drink alcohol4 ,this is a maxim of excellent sense in ,arabia2 ,haji ,burton1 who much appreciated good wine1 has told us that in the ,arabian deserts wine is positively distasteful as well as unwholesome4 ,i have not the least desire that ,muhammadans should drink wine4 ,i merely say that there is no merit1 other than that of common sense1 in obeying this excellent instruction in countries wherein circumstances render it excellent4 ,i do not believe that ,muhammad would find the least fault with disregard of his maxim in countries where the climate makes the moderate drinking of wine both pleasant and beneficial4 ,muhammad instituted the ,ramzan fast1 mainly1 ,i am told1 to harden his soldiers4 ,but the ,muhammadan of to-day finds a positive merit in fasting4 ,there is none2 else the jockey's profession comprises the most virtuous men in the world4 ,muhammad permitted polygamy1 and enjoined the practical seclusion of women4 ,this1 as ,sir ,syed ,ahmad has pointed out1 was the counsel of common sense in ,arabia at the time of the ,prophet4 ,apparently there were more women than men1 and if a woman was not under the protection of some man1 and was not under guard1 she was very likely to come to harm4 ,but ,i do not think that this counsel holds good for all time4 ,polygamy among ,indian ,muhammadans is dying out1 but the general ,muhammadan here still imprisons his womankind in the comfortable assurance that he is thereby paving his own way to salvation4 ,i do not see much hope for the physical and mental development of ,muhammadans so long as one half of the people remains in seclusion and ignorance1 in a habit of life necessarily unhealthy4 ,if you observe that you thereby escape the evils that are published to the world in ,european divorce courts1 ,i would answer that in the first place ,i doubt the completeness of your escape1 7it is a matter on which ,i have heard much sardonic comment from ,muslim friends71 and that in the second place1 even granting what you say1 #hj of women free1 educated1 virtuous and healthy1 is a far better result than #ajj merely virtuous1 and that by constraint4 ,muhammad laid down that a man should pray five times a day4 ,to my mind this was merely the ,prophet's way of saying that man's whole life should be a prayer3 the modern ,muhammadan too often repeats prayers five times a day and is satisfied4 ,he might as well repeat the multiplication table five times a day4 ,words without thoughts to ,heaven never go said the king in ,hamlet4 ,i do not know if our friend ,d4,b4 prays ten times a day1 or five times1 or not at all1 and 7candidly7 ,i do not care4 ,all ,i know is that in his responsible position he would die rather than take a bribe1 tell a lie1 intrigue against his master4 ,and ,i fancy that the ,prophet1 could he return to earth1 would find this abundantly sufficient4 ,you mention a few other points of orthodoxy2 the cut of one's hair1 the length of one's trousers4 ,dr4 ,khaja ,hussain told me that he once saw a ,muhammadan ,street aroused to frenzy and riot by the appearance of a true believer in ,feringhi 7or ,kafir7 boots4 ,it is all of a piece4 ,muhammadans have concentrated their attention on these ready-made rules for getting to heaven2 their prophet found no such easy road to bliss4 ,i do not imagine that it would ever have occurred to his great soul to claim any particular merit in that he did not drink wine1 in that he repeated prayers 7he at least understood these prayers7 five times a day1 in that he did not let his wives roam the country a prey to any marauder of those wild times4 ,after all any one can obey these regulations with very little trouble to himself2 it is not quite so easy to adopt the spirit that guided ,muhammad's life4 ,sir ,afsur1 ,i do not doubt1 will tell you that it is an advisable thing for a soldier to drill smartly1 to keep his arms and accoutrements clean1 and that with a little trouble it is not difficult for a soldier to do all this4 ,but he will tell you1 ,i feel sure1 that this is far from being all2 the supreme duty of a soldier is to be brave in battle--an affair of much more difficulty4 ,a soldier may be smart and clean1 but if he fails in battle his smartness and cleanness are worth nothing--he is a bad soldier4 ,muhammadanism has lost touch with life2 it contents itself with the letter of the ,prophet's teaching and shuts its eyes to1 does not search for1 the indwelling spirit4 ,it is a small kernel rattling in a very big shell1 as ,charles ,kingsley said in ,yeast of the ,church service at ,st4 ,paul's in the fifties of the last century4 ,religion has been divorced from life1 and so the followers of ,islam as nations have decayed4 ,it is the same with the other religions that ,i have mentioned4 ,the old time ,brahmin called himself such because he was educated1 intelligent1 sanitary in his habits1 upright2 he did not claim to be all this simply because he was the son of his father4 ,the great obstacle to progress down here is the fact that people imagine it is sufficient to follow in a mechanical unintelligent way the letter1 while totally disregarding the spirit1 of some old and after all not very important rules4 ,ireland is said to have been an ,isle of ,saints1 ,i have my doubts on the subject1 but suppose it so4 ,it is now full of fine churches and religious establishments2 no people in the world go to church with greater regularity1 abstain more thoroughly from meat on ,fridays1 etc4 etc4 ,but with the mechanical observances they are1 ,i fear1 too well satisfied4 ,drunkenness1 idleness1 utter disregard for truth1 are rampant in ,southern ,ireland1 and therefore ,southern ,ireland is what it is4 ,formal devotion is no substitute whether in the daily battle of the world1 or 7,i believe7 in the ultimate judgment of ,god1 for the proper ordering of one's every day actions4 ,if ,muhammadans breathe the breath of life on the dry bones of their religion ,i see no reason why the temporal power of ,islamic countries and the spiritual strength of the ,muhammadan ,church should not revive4 ,something of the kind has happened in ,france4 ,zola cried out against the nightmare of ,catholicism2 antagonism to the ,catholic ,church had been growing up long before ,m4 ,combes started to strafe the religious establishments of the country4 ,the orthodox imagined that ,france was losing all religion3 ,auguste ,comte1 an unbeliever1 proclaimed that ,france was daily becoming more religious4 ,rn ,bazin1 a ,catholic writer1 implicitly admits that ,comte was right4 ,the people were sick of the dry1 lifeless1 formal rules that were offered to them2 the priesthood have had this truth hammered into them1 and they are quickening their formul with life to fit the life of the people1 not striving to dessicate the people's life to fit their formul4 ,j4,c4,m4 ,as a socio-political institution ,islam is1 in the middle of its fourteenth century 7#acdj ,a4,h471 in the same vicissitudes of development1 as ,christianity was in the middle of its fourteenth century 7#acej ,a4,d47--an institution weakened by contending sects and rendered stagnant by rigid formalism4 ,it is a dispensation of providence1 says ,syed ,ameer ,ali1 that whenever a religion becomes reduced to formalism cross-currents set in to restore spiritual vitality4 ,as in ,christianity in its fourteenth century1 so in ,islam of our own times1 the vitalising cross-currents have set in and we are now witnessing a ,muslim ,renaissance all over the world4 ,its pioneers in ,india were ,sir ,syed ,ahmad1 ,mowlana ,shibli1 and the poet ,hali4 ,the ,rt4 ,hon4 ,ameer ,ali1 ,dr4 ,iqbal and a host of others bear aloft the ,new ,light4 ,the ,muslim ,reformation is coming on as surely as the ,christian ,reformation came in the wake of ,patristicism and ,formalism4 ,it need not necessarily mean ,political ,revolutions as in ,europe4 ,a4,h4 ,,our ,,prayer4 #a4 ,all praise is due to ,thee1 ,o ,god6 ,none other than ,thee we adore4 ,thou art the ,master of the ,worlds1 ,thine aid alone do we implore4 #b4 ,thou art ,compassion2 lead ,thou on ,to ,thy right path our human race4 ,thy ,mercy floweth evermore1 ,do guide us to the path of ,grace4 #c4 ,thou art the ,lord of ,judgment-day1 ,for sure shall all be judged by ,thee1 ,o keep us off the path of ,sin ,and ,error's way4 ,so mote it be6 ,abdur ,rahim4 ,,footnotes #a ,translated by ,mushtari ,begum of ,bejnor and published in the ,islamic ,review ,april #aiaf4 #b ,this was written in #aiag4 #c ,by the word best ,i mean the most suitable for both the spiritual and material needs of man4 ,i do not wish to cast any reflection on any other religion4 ,see ,note #g4 #d ,i make a difference between ,islam and ,muhammadanism4 ,the latter is not pure ,islam4 ,it has forgotten the spirit of ,islam and remembers only the letter of its law4 ,the dry bones of a religion are nothing2 the spirit that quickens the bones is all4 ,see ,note #e4 #e ,there is no place in ,islam for either priests or monks4 ,yet the ,muhammadanism of to-day has both4 ,there are ,tartuffes and ,pecksniffs in this religion as well as in any other religion4 #f ,this is the real reason of the political and social weakness of most ,islamic countries of our own times4 #g ,the teaching of ,muhammad has been admirably summarised by a ,christian writer as follows3-- ,there is no deity but ,god4 ,he created the ,universe and rules it with love and mercy4 ,he alone is to be worshipped2 in ,him confidence is to be placed in time of adversity4 ,there must be no murmurings at ,his decrees2 life--your own and others dearer than your own--must be placed in ,his hands in trust and love4 ,i do not believe that there is any monotheistic religion in the world which will dissent from this teaching4 ,the writer 7in the ,harmsworth ,encyclopedia7 goes on to say3-- ,the fatalism which has come to be regarded as part of the ,moslem creed had no place in the system established by ,muhammad who again and again distinctly and emphatically repudiated the idea4 ,muhammad taught reform1 not revolution4 ,in these days of political unrest ,i cannot impress on you too strongly the meaning of the last sentence in which ,i have italicised two words4 #h ,see p4 #cc para4 #f4 #i ,the ,author has not kept copies of these letters4--,ed4 #aj ,the ,qur'an speaks very highly of ,jesus3-- ,arabic3 smuhu lmasu s bnu maryama wahan f d-duny wa-l-irati wa-mina l-muqarrabn ,his name is ,messiah1 ,jesus the son of ,mary1 illustrious both in this and in the next world4 ,he is one of those who have near access to ,god4--iii4 #dj4 #aa ,published and sold by the ,rationalistic ,press1 ,london for #f;d4 #ab ,the translation of the ,sura in this analysis is slightly different from that given in the succeeding page4--,ed4 #ac ,it is strange3 says ,havelock ,ellis1 men seek to be1 or to seem1 atheists1 agnostics1 cynics1 pessimists2 at the core of all these things lurks religion4444 ,the men who have most finely felt the pulse of the world and have1 in their turn1 most effectively stirred its pulse1 are religious men4--,new ,spirit1 #bbh4 #ad ,the word religion also means a system of beliefs and rites pertaining to them4 ,i do not use the word in that sense here4 #ae i4e41 the world such as we perceive and conceive it4 #af ,i know that even the unaided reason1 when correctly exercised1 leads to a belief in ,god1 in the immortality of the soul1 and in a future retribution--,cardinal ,newman4 #ag ,prof4 ,scott ,elliot at the end of his book1 ,prehistoric ,man 7p4 #cha7 writes thus3 ,it seems true that almost every race of man is not only capable of believing in a ,supreme ,god but1 so far as the evidence goes1 did reverence one ,god who was often also thought of as the ,creator of the ,sky or of the ,world4444 ,there is a very strong body of evidence showing that every race of mankind possessed quite early in its development a feeling of awe and reverence towards an ,unknown ,god4 #ah ,there are at present three missionary religions in the world--religions which were intended and designed by their respective founders to unite all men without any distinction into a ,universal ,brotherhood4 7#a7 ,buddhism asserts that ,god is ,law or ,wisdom4 7#b7 ,islam teaches that ,god is ,energy or ,power4 7#c7 ,christianity says that ,god is ,father or ,love4 ,but all these religions inculcate in fact one and the same ,truth in its three aspects1 as ,muslim ,sufis would say4 ,i believe the gist of doctrines held by them is that ,god is ,omnipotent ,energy manifesting itself uniformly as ,law and operating benevolently as ,love4 ,wisdom ,power ,love4 ,you should try to solve the equation for yourself4 ,you will not fail to understand it if you think hard4 #ai ,here again taking the three missionary religions mentioned above1 the ,identity is3-- ,creator ,preserver ,adjuster4 ,god said unto ,moses1 ,i am that ,i am--,exodus1 iii1 #ad4 #bj ,some ,sufis define ,nature as ,individual plus his ,environment4 ,by individual they mean any one capable of thinking of himself as ,i or ,me and every thing else as not ,i or not me which is his environment4 #ba ,it may be said that all the three ideas of ,god's relation with ,nature 7the three isms ,i have mentioned in brackets7 are but different degrees of a man's desire for communion with his ,god4 ,says ,rumi in his celebrated ,masnavi3 ,all religions are in substance one and the same--,bk4 iii1 story #ab 7,st4 ,daqqi74 #bb ,see last para4 of ,note #d and also ,note #aj4 ,arabic3 at uruq li-llah-i bi is-bil anfus ,there are as many ways leading to ,god as there are minds4 #bc ,religion places the human soul in the presence of its highest ideal 7,god71 it lifts it above the level of ordinary goodness1 and produces at least a yearning after a higher and better life in the light of ,god4--,max ,muller4 #bd ,sura ,chapter4 #be ,absolute not conditioned by place time measure or circumstances4 ,infinite without beginning or end4 #bf ,the proper name of the religion preached by ,muhammad is ,islam4--,sale #bg ,the word ,islam means literally 7#a7 resignation 7#b7 preservation and 7#c7 peace4 ,lord ,tennyson has most admirably expressed the ,islamic ideal of self-surrender to the will of ,god and has incidentally decided the vexed question of free-will in a single line3-- ,our wills are ours to make them ,thine4 #bh ,by ,christians in ,european countries4 #bi ,the proper name of the religion preached by ,muhammad is ,islam--,sale4 ,see p4 #cg4 #cj ,i use the word in the restricted sense of ,islam as taught by ,muhammad4 ,if you take ,islam to mean belief in one ,god and virtuous conduct in life1 you may say that there has not been and will never be any true religion besides ,islam4 ,in this sense ,islam is the only true religion4 ,see p4 #bg1 last para4 of ,note #b p4 #ai1 and of this ,note pp4 #cc1 #cd4 #ca ,a man must not do reverence to his own sect or disparage that of another man without reason4 ,deprecation should be for specific reasons only1 because the sects of other people all deserve reverence for one reason or other4 ,by thus acting1 a man exalts his own sect1 and at the same time does service to the sects of other people4 ,by acting contrariwise1 a man hurts his own sect and does disservice to the sects of other people4--,king ,asoka's ,edict ,,xii4 ,every sect favourably regards him who is faithful to its precepts1 and1 in truth1 he is to be commended4--,akbar1 7,ain ,akbari ,,iii74 #cb ,see p4 #ee4 #cc ,muslim resigned and submissive1 therefore1 peaceful4 #cd ,see ,foot note #cj4 #ce ,compare the ,bhagvat ,gita1 iv4 #g-h3-- ,whenever there is decay of righteousness1 ,o ,bharata1 and there is exaltation of unrighteousness1 then ,i myself come forth2 ,for the protection of the good1 for the destruction of evil-doers1 for the sake of firmly establishing righteousness1 ,i am born from age to age4 ,the words italicised suggest the ,hindu doctrine of ,incarnation and ,metempsychosis4 ,orthodox ,muslims do not believe in any such doctrine 7,arabic3 hulool wa it-ti-had7 but would substitute for the italics the words3 ,i send a messenger or reformer4 ,see1 e4g41 ,quran1 xvi4 #cf4 #cf ,to students of ,islam and its history ,i cannot recommend better and more useful books than the ,rt4 ,hon4 ,dr4 ,syed ,ameer ,ali's ,spirit of ,islam and ,history of the ,saracens4 ,new and revised editions have been recently published4 ,they present the various aspects of ,islam in their proper perspective4 ,they are classics for ,english readers4 #cg ,grant the existence of ,god and it is impossible to deny that ,muhammad was ,his ,messenger4 ,a man does not change the belief of half the world by chance4 ,so wrote a ,christian friend of mine4 #ch ,muslim resigned or submissive1 therefore1 peaceful4 #ci ,i mean goodness and greatness as a human being1 for ,muhammad never said or did anything to show that he was not a human being4 ,the ,qur'an commanded him1 ,say ,i am a man like yourself4 ,arabic3 qul ana baarun milukum ,he therefore insisted that men should attach greater importance to the nature of the message than to the character of the messenger himself4 ,i am1 said he no more than a man3 when ,i order you anything with respect to religion1 receive it1 and when ,i order you about the affairs of the world then ,i am nothing more than a man4 #dj ,ahmad is another name of ,muhammad4 ,i have nothing to say to those mystics1 who1 by a reasoning peculiar to their doctrines1 identify the ,messenger 7,prophet7 with the ,master 7,god74 #da ,nor indeed is ,jesus answerable for the ,inquisition and autos-da-fe4 #db ,these are parables which we have set forth for men--,q4 xxix4 #dc4 #dc ,arabic3 yow-mud-dn the day of the ,faith the time of ,dissolution predicted by ,islam as well as by ,science4 ,sir ,syed ,ahmad fully explains the meaning of ,arabic3 qiya mat-e-kubr ,universal ,destruction and of ,arabic3 qiya mat-e-sughr individual destruction1 7i4e41 death7 from the viewpoint of modern ,science4 #dd ,as regards miracles1 the beliefs that are held do not matter so much as the spirit in which they are held4 ,if the spirit is right and leads to virtuous conduct in life1 any reasonable belief will quite do4 ,here comes in the ,pragmatism of ,islam4 ,it does not object to anything which has a practical value unless it is unreasonable1 immoral1 or inconsistent with the ,islamic ideas of the unity of ,god and the brotherhood of man4 #de ,we will soon show them our sign in all horizons 7 regions7 and in their own souls1 until it shall become quite clear to them that it is the ,truth--,qur'an xli #ec4 ,arabic3 sa-nurhim ytin f l-fqi wa-f anfusihim att yatabayyana lahum annahu l-aqqu #df ,god's is the ,east and the ,west1 therefore whichever side you turn1 you will see the face 7 presence7 of ,god--,qur'an i4 #aae4 ,arabic3 wa-li-llhi l-mariqu wa-l-maribu fa-aynam tuwall fa-amma wahu llhi #dg ,and ,he is within you 7 in your mind71 why don't you see ,him8--,qur'an li4 #ba4 ,arabic3 wa-f anfusikum a-fa-l tubirna #dh ,islam must not be confounded with what is called ,muhammadanism which is but an ossified form of ,islam1 clothed in ,medival beliefs and disfigured by pagan practices4 ,see ,mr4 ,j4,c4 ,molony's admirable report of the ,census of the ,madras ,presidency for #aiaa1 where1 quoting from the poet ,hali's famous ,musaddas1 he describes how far ,muhammadanism in ,southern ,india has been influenced by ,hinduism4 ,read also ,hali's excellent pamphlet called ,arabic3 al-dnu sarih the ,simplest ,religion which describes how ,islam has been ossified1 i4e41 rendered rigid and unprogressive4 #di ,i know of no religion which does not say1 ,do good and avoid evil and ,i consider it no religion which does not say1 ,live well and happily4 #ej ,ghalib3 ,urdu3 99 ,hum ko ma'loom hai jannat ki haqiqat laikin 99 dil kay khoosh rakhnay ko ghalib ye khiyal achcha4 #ea ,see p4 #bd above4 #eb ,it supplies the best motive for overcoming the perversity of human nature to which ,st4 ,paul directs our attention in these beautiful words3 ,the good that ,i would1 ,i do not3 and the evil which ,i would not1 ,i do4--,rom4 vii4 #ai4 #ec ,read ,draper's ,conflict between ,science and ,religion which is a historical account of how some scientific ideas had to contend with religious prejudices--a book which1 by the way1 disproves the charge that ,caliph ,omar destroyed the great ,library at ,alexandria4 #ed ,god reveals ,himself to everybody at every instant of his life4 ,it depends entirely on the spirituality or spiritual capacity of each individual to what extent he knows ,god and ,god's ways4 ,the spiritual capacity is partly inherited from one's ancestors and partly acquired by faith and devotion1 as well as by right conduct and good works4 #ee ,persian3 ,neest bar lohe delam joz alefe ghamat yar 99 che konam harf degar yaad nadad ostadam ,the ,alif of the ,loved ,one's form is engraven on my heart1 ,no other letter did my ,shaikh ever to me impart--,hafiz4 #ef ,see ,note #b4 #eg ,i have neither time nor space to explain the full significance of the ,qur'anic verses ,i have quoted here4 #eh ,some would call this ,reality1 ,god2 but others would say that ,god is greater and higher than the ,reality which manifests itself in different forms4 ,he is above all that any man can think of or imagine4 ,arabic3 ,au bar taraz khiyal wa qiyas guman wo waham4 #ei ,vol4 ii4 #gdh4 ,you have to read the book itself to understand this4 ,i cannot explain it in a short note4 #fj ,i have neither time nor space to explain the full significance of the ,qur'anic phrases ,i have mentioned here4 #fa ,in the world there is nothing so great as man4 ,in man there is nothing so great as mind--,sir ,william ,hamilton4 ,in the mind of man there is nothing so great as the idea of ,god--,islam4 #fb ,this is quite different from the ,christian doctrine of ,atonement4 #fc ,it was the spirit of co-operation which ,islam engendered among wild and unruly ,arabs1 that enabled them to put aside their tribal feuds1 to unite and conquer more than half the known world in the first century of the ,hijri era 7 the #gth century of the ,christian era74 ,it was the lack of that spirit in the next two centuries that dismembered the ,muslim ,empire4 #fd ,i say the ,islam of our ancestors1 because the ,islam of some of our contemporaries1 called ,muhammadanism1 is not quite the same4 ,read ,prof4 ,gregory's ,discovery or the ,spirit and ,service of ,science4 #fe ,sufis are those ,muslims who claim with ,mowlana ,rumi ,persian3 maazey quraan ra badashtaim istekhwan beish sagaan andakhtum ,we have taken the marrow out of the ,qur'an and thrown the bones to dogs1 meaning by dogs those who quarrel over words 7,arabic3 mutakallimin7 of the sacred texts4 #ff ,man says ,carlyle1 is a symbol of ,eternity imprisoned into ,time4 #fg ,this proviso defines also the ,liberty of ,subjects in a ,state4 ,every man should be free to do whatever he wishes provided that he does not thereby prevent others from enjoying the like liberty of action4 ,it is the basis of all good ,laws which should provide equal opportunities to all subjects without distinction4 #fh ,muhammadans generally misunderstand and misapply the doctrine of ,qismat or ,fate4 ,the ,prophet distinctly taught that we should first of all do whatever lies in our power and then leave the rest to ,god4 ,we are apt to forget the first part of his precept and cling to its second part only which accords with our tropical laziness4 ,see footnote 7#g7 on page #ab4 #fi ,arabic3 lika d-dnu l-qayyim ,it 7,islam7 is the standard religion4--,q4 xii4 #da4 #gj ,islam rejects some previous revelations not because they are untrue but because their records that have come down to us are not quite genuine and trustworthy4 #ga ,the heading of all chapters except one of the ,qur'an4 #gb ,mankind comes to ,me along many roads2 and on whatever road a man approaches ,me on that road do ,i welcome him1 for all roads are ,mine4--,bhagawat ,gita4 al turuk ila-allah bihasbi anf ,see p4 #bd4 #gc ,see ,note #b 7concluding part7 which mentions three common factors in all religious systems of the world4 ,the city of the ,hindu ,god is ,benares and the city of the ,muslim ,god is ,mecca4 ,but search your hearts and there you will find the ,god both of ,hindus and ,muslims4 ,if the ,creator dwells in tabernacles only1 whose dwelling is the ,universe8--,kabir4 #gd ,some ,muslims believe that ,zoraster1 ,krishna1 ,buddha1 and ,confucius were also prophets or messengers of ,god but that they were no more than good and great men4 ,they do not attribute any divinity to them4 ,religion1 said ,hitchcock1 implies ,revelation4 ,by ,revelation is meant a set of sublime 7and therefore1 divine7 truths revealed1 i4e4 communicated from time to time to chosen men 7 ,prophets7 who had the necessary spirituality to comprehend them and to convey them1 as ,god's messages1 to their fellow-men in the human language of themselves4 ,the defects 7if any7 found in the authoritative records 7 ,scriptures ,arabic3 aif7 are the defects in the human language and not certainly in the sacred and sublime truths revealed to the chosen men1 the ,messengers of ,god4 ,it is the defect of human understanding1 no less than the poverty of human language1 that has often prevented the full comprehension of the divine dispensation and the sublime truths in the messages of ,prophets4 ,it is our comprehension of the truth itself that has given rise to diversity in religious beliefs and practices4 #ge ,provided they are authentic and genuine and not altered by interpolations and omissions4 #gf ,neither the ,bible nor the ,qur'an is responsible for the cruel excesses committed by ,christians or ,muhammadans in the name of ,religion4 #gg ,the best of things is the medium thing--,muhammad4 #gh ,charles ,r4 ,gibson4 #gi ,vide ,note #ab para4 marked 7a7 p4 #gi4 #hj ,for the purpose of this ,note it will be enough if you understand the first four propositions4 ,i am afraid you will find some difficulty in understanding the remaining two propositions without illustrative examples1 for which ,i have no space here4 #ha ,for such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth1 and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off4--,psalm #cgth1 #bb4 #hb ,qur'an1 xxi4 #aje4 ,following the late ,mr4 ,justice ,karamat ,hussain of ,allahabad1 ,i take the word ,arabic3 saleh to mean fit in the evolutionary sense4 ,see his book ,arabic3 ilm-ul-akhlakh4 #hc ,he edits a journal called ,biometrika which is devoted to the statistical study of biological problems4 #hd ,prof4 ,muirhead of the ,university of ,burmingham1 in his kind letter to the author on these ,notes4 #he ,hence ,formalism creeps into every ,religion and renders it lifeless when its doctrines fail to adjust themselves to new facts or to changes in old facts4 ,see ,appendix4 #hf ,it should be construed and applied to new ideas and changed circumstances of each age in quite the same manner as ,judges in a ,court of ,law construe and apply old ,statutes to facts of cases that come before them4 ,see ,hali's ,arabic3 al-din yassin #hg ,see the verse of the ,qur'an quoted on p4 #cc4 #hh ,or say3 ,true ,christianity is but true ,islam writ large4 ,on the whole this religion of ,mahomet's is a kind of ,christianity4--,thomas ,carlyle4 #hi ,see hints3--,para #c of ,note #e pp4 #ca1 #cb2 ,footnote 7#dh7 p4 #dc2 ,footnotes 7#d7 and 7#e7 page #ab2 ,footnote 7#he7 p4 #ha4 #ij ,written in #aiag4 #ia ,cp4 ,note #g4