THE religion of Mahomed is based chiefly on Judaism,
and partly on Zoroastrianism on which Judaism
itself is based. The first proposition is not denied
by the Mahomedans themselves, who only claim that their
Prophet has improved upon the Jewish religion in certain
respects. A detailed comparison of the two religions would,
however, show how closely Mahomed has followed the
Jewish religion even on points of detail, and would lead to
the conclusion that there is little or .nothing important in
Mahomedanism for which the Prophet could lay claim to
originality.
We shall in this branch of our enquiry follow Dr. Sale,
whose preliminary discourse, appended to his celebrated
translation of the Koran, contains a wealth of information
on this subject.
SECTION 1
THE ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE OR COSMOGONY
The idea that this universe is the first and the last of
its kind is purely a Jewish idea, and forms a distinctive feature
of Judaism, and the two great religions founded
upon it, Viz., Christianity and Mahomedanism. Again,
the belief that this world was created out of nothing by
a fiat of the Almighty is also borrowed from Judaism. The
story of Adam and Eve being created and placed in the
garden of Eden, where they were allowed to partake of
all things except the fruit of a particular tree; of their being
I tempted by Satan in the form of a serpent to eat of that very
fruit; and of their subsequent fall from paradise is borrowed
almost literally from the Jewish scriptures.
The same may be said of the existence of a higher order
of beings than man, Viz., the angels who have pure and
subtle bodies, created of fire, and who neither eat nor drink,
nor propagate species. These angels are supposed to have
various forms and offices, and the most eminent among them
are Gabriel, Michael, Azracl and Israfil. “This whole
doctrine concerning angels,” says Dr. Sale, “Mahomed
borrowed from the Jews, Who learned the names and offices
of those beings from the Persians, as they themselves confess.
-( Talmud Hieros and Roshbhashan). “:j:
The Koran teaches the existence of also an inferior class
of beings called jin or genii’ created also of fire, but of a
grosser fabric than angels, since they eat, drink and propagate
their species and are subject to death.’ “These notions,”
says Dr. Sale, “agree almost exactly with what the Jews
write of a sort of demons called Shedim. It
SECTION 2
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE UNIVERSe AND’
THE RESURRECTION
– The Mahomedans believe in the immortality of the
soul and think that there will be a day of resurrection
when the dead will rise to receive the rewards and punishment
of their actions in life according to their merits and
demerits. The whole of this doctrine has been taken from
Judaism.
The ,Resurreclion.-According to some writers the
resurrection will be merely spiritual. The generally received
opinion, however, is that both the body and the soul will
be raised.::: It might be asked: how will the body, which
has been decomposed rise again ~ “But Mahomed has
taken care to preserve one part of the body, whatever
becomes of the rest, to serve for a basis of future edifice, or
rather a leaven for the mass which is to be joined to it.
For he taught that a man t s body was entirely consumed by
the earth, except only the bone called AI Ajb which we
name the os coceygis or rumpbone; and that as it was the
first formed in the human body, it will also remain uncorrupted
till the last day, as a seed from whence the whole
is to be renewed; and this, he said, would be effected by
a forty days’ rain which Cod would. send, and which w~uld
cover the earth 10 the height of twelve cubits, and cause the
bodies to sprout forth like plants. Herein also is Mahomed
beholden to the Jews who say the same things of the bone,
Luz excepting that what Mahomed attributes to a great rain
would be effected according to them by a dew impregnating
the dust of the earth.
Signs of the Resurrection.-The approach of the day of
resurrection will be known from certain signs which are to
precede it; for example:-
- The rising of the sun’in the west.
(b) The appearance of the beast Dajjal, a monster of
the most curious appearance, who would preach
the truth of Islam in Arabic language. The
beast in the Revelation (Luke, xxiii: 8) seems,
according to Dr. Sale, to be responsible for this
idea.
( c) The coming of the Mehdi.
(d). The blast of the trumpet called Sur, which will be sounded three times.
All these are more or less Jewish ideas, So is the teaching that after the Resurrection, but before Judgment the resuscitated souls will have to wait for a long time
under the burning heat of the sun which would descend to
within a few yards of their heads
The Day of Judgment .-After mankind have waited
for fixed time God will, at length, appear to judge them,
Mahomed taking the office of intercessor. Then everyone
will be examined concerning all his actions in this life.
Some say that all the limbs and parts of the body ,will be
made to confess the sins committed by each. Each person
will be given a book in which all his actions arc recorded.
These books will-be weighed in a balance to be held by
Gabriel. Those whose good actions are heavier than the
bad ones, will be sent to Heaven; and those whose evil
actions preponderate, to the Hell. This belief has been taken
in its entirety from the Jews, “The old Jewish writers,”
says Dr, Sale, “make mention as well of the books to be
produced at the last day wherein men’s actions are registered,
as of the balance wherein they shall be weighed.
The Jews in their turn borrowed this idea from the
Zoroastrians. Dr. Sale hints that the Old Testament seems
to have given the first notion of both (Exod., xxxii, 32-33 ;
Dan., vii, 10; Revel., xx, 12; Dan., v, 27.) but, he
admits, “what the Persian Magi believe of the’ balance’
comes nearest to the Mahomedan opinion. They hold that
on the day of Judgment two angels named Mehr and Sarush
will stand on the bridge we shall describe by and by, to
examine every person as he passes; that the former ,,,ho
represents divine mercy will hold a balance in his hand to
weigh the actions of men; that according to the report he
shall make thereof to God sentence will be pronounced, and
those ‘whose good works are found more ponderous, if they
turn the scale but by the weight of a hair, will be permitted
to pass forward to paradise; but those whose good works
shall be found light will be, by the other angel who represents
God’s justice, precipitated from the bridge into hell.”*
On the road to heaven is the bridge called by
Mahomed Al Sirai. This bridge is thrown over the abyss
of hell, and is said to be finer than a hair, and sharper than
the edge of a sword. Over this bridge the Muslims will
easily pass led by Mahomed; whereas the wicked will
soon miss their footing and fall down headlong into hell
which is gaping beneath them. The Jews likewise speak
of the bridge of hell which, according to them, is no
broader than a thread. For this idea the Jews and
the Mahomedans seem to be equally indebted to the
Zoroastrians who teach that on the last day all men will be
obliged to pass over a bridge called Pul Chinavad.
Paradise.-After passing the Al Sirai, the faithful will
reach paradise ‘which is situated in the seventh heaven.
The Mahomedan conception of paradise is that of a
beautiful garden, furnished with springs, fountains, and
rivers flowing with water, milk, honey and balsam, and
trees having their trunks of gold, and producing the most
delicious fruits. Above all, there will be seventy resplendent
ravishing girls called hur-ul-ayun on account of their big
black eyes. For almost. the whole of this description
Mahomed is indebted to the Jews. “The Jews constantly
describe the future mansion of the just as a delicious garden,
and make it also reach the seventh heaven ( vide Gemar
Tanith, f. 25; Biracoth, f. 34; Midrash Sabboth, f. 37).
They also say it has three gates ……… and four rivers
Flowing with milk, wine, balsam and honey.-( MiJrash,
Yalkul Shcwini).”:::
It is more than probable that the Jews themselves
borrowed this idea from the Zoroastrians, who described
the felicities of paradise in similar language. Dr. Sale
observes: “The Persian Magi had also an idea of the
future happy state of the good, very little different from
that of Mahomed. Paradise they call Bihishl, and Minu,
which signifies crystal, where they believe the righteous’
shall enjoy all manner of delights and particularly, the
company of huran-i-Bihisht or black-eyed nymphs of
paradise, the care of whom, they say, is committed to the
angel Zamiyad and hence Mahomed seems to have taken the
first hint of his paradisiacal ladies. “t
We may also quote from Nama Mihabad, one of the
later writings of the Parsis: “The lowest order of heaven
is this that its inmates will enjoy all the delights of this
world: nymphs, male and female slaves, meat and drink,
clothing and bedding, articles of furniture, and other things
which ca~not be enumerated here.”-Mihabad, 40 & 41. :::
Hell.-Similarly the different torments of hell, the
seY~n compartments into ,,,·hich it is said to be divided,
and the partition called Al Aira/, separating heaven from
hell, all seem to be copied from the Jews.
SECTION 3
GOD AND THE DEVIL
The Mahomedan conception of God agrees almost
exactly with the Jewish notion. And the doctrine that there
arc two powers in the world, a good and benevolent
power, viz., God, and an evil’ and malevolent power, Viz.,
Satan, is also taken from the Jews. This notion, which
seriously mars the Monotheism of the Bible and the
Koran, was certainly borrowed by the Jews from the
Zoroastrians, vrho call these (wo principles Spenla Mainyu
and A ngira M ainyu. In a later chapter we shall discuss
this question more fully, and show how this Zoroastrian
idea can be traced to a beautiful allegory in the Veda,
describing the struggle of good and evil in this world; and
how this allegory was misunderstood till in the hands of the
Jews, Christians, and Mahomedans, it degenerated into a
belief in two powers, Satan having been elevated to a
position a little below that of the Deily. This is a very
important point, and will show, in a remarkable manner,
how the stream of religious thought has flowed from the
Vedas to the Zend Avesta, and thence to the Bible and
the Koran.
SECTION 4
RELIGIOUS PRACTICES
We have show’n so far that the principal dogmas of the
Mahomedan religion have a Judaic origin. We shall next
show that their religious practices can’be traced to the same
source.
There are four duties incumbent upon every
Mahomedan: viz., (i) Prayer; (ii) Fasting; (iii) Zakat
or charity; and ( iv) Pilgrimage to Mecca.
(i) Prayer.-The following extract from. the Dasalir
would show to the reader that the several postures of the
followers of the Prophet at prayers have been probably’
copied from the Zoroastrians:-
II During prayer a pious and wise man should stand
ahead, and the rest should stand behind him. A man
(during prayer) should stand erect and join his hands
together; then bow down, then prostrate himself on the
ground; then again stand erect, place one of his hands on
the head, and removing it place the other hand on the
head; then raise his head and clasp his hands without
joining the thumbs, place his thumbs on his eyes, making
the fingers reach the head, then bend his head down to his
breast; then raise it; then sit on the ground; then putting
his hand on the ground and kneeling down touch the
ground with his forehead, and then with each side of the
face; then prostrate himself on the ground like a staff;
then stretch his hand till the breast touches the ,ground,
then do the same with, the thighs; then kneel down;
then squat, and place his head on his folded hands.
Such prayer is to be addressed to none but God.”:::
The practice among Mahomedans of saying their
prayer with their faces towards the Kabah is likewise
borrowed from the Jews who constantly pray with their
faces turned towards the temple of Jerusale~. ” The
same,” observes Dr. Sale, ” was the Kibla of Mahomed
and his followers for six or seven months (some say eighteen
months, vide Abulfed, Nit. Moh., p. 54), till he found
himself obliged to change it for the. Kabah. tt;:;
The practice of performing before prayers ablutions
with water or sand is also borrowed from the Jews and
the Persians. The. circumcision is well-known to be a
Jewish custom.
(ii) Fasling.-Speaking of Mahomed’s ordinances
concerning fasting, Dr. Sale traces them to those of the Jews,
and observes: “That nation, when they fast abstain not
only from eating and drinking but from women and from
anointing themselves, from daybreak until sunset ……….. :
spending the night in taking what refreshments they please,
(Gemar Yama, f. 40, etc. )”
(iii) Charily.-This is of two kinds, viz., ( 1 ) Zakat,
and ( 2) Sadka; and specific rules are laid down for the
giving of these alms. In these rules also Dr. Sale observes the
footsteps of the Jews, ( Vide. Prel. Dis., p. 87).
(iv) The Haj or Pilgrimage to Mecca . …;;.. The pilgrimage
to Mecca was not borrowed from the Jews, but was a
relic of the pagan Arabs. The temple of Mecca had long
been held in singular veneration by the Arabs, and the
Prophet considered it inexpedient to disturb the belief.
SECTION 5
NEGATIVE PRECEPTS
Among the negative precepts common to the Jews and
the Mahomedans may be mentioned abstaining from gaming ;:::
wine ; usuryt and certain kinds of prohibited meats.
Regarding prohibited meats we read in the Koran as
follows :-” Ye are forbidden to eat that which diet of
itself, and blood, and swine’ s flesh, and that on which the
name of any besides God has been invocated, and that
which hath been strangled or killed by a blow, or by a
fall, or by the horns of another beast, and that which has
been eaten by a wild beast, except what ye shall kill yourselves,
and that which, had been sacrificed to idols.”
In these particulars,” says Dr. Sale, ” Mahomed seems chiefly
to have imitated the Jews, by whose law, as is well-known,
all those things are for bidden, but he allowed some things
to be eaten which Moses did not. ”
SECTION 6
CIVIL INSTITUTIONS
The civil institution of the Mahomedans are founded
upon the Koran, as those of the Jews are founded on the
Pentateuch. That the former were copied from the latter
would be evident from the following!-
( i) Polygamy is allowed by both, but no Mussalman
may marry more than four wives at a time. U In
making the above mentioned limitation,” observes Dr. Sale
Mahomed was directed by the decision of the Jewish
doctors who, by way of counsel, limit the number of wives
to four ( rJide Maimon in Halachoth Ishath, c. 14), though
their law confines them not to any certain number. “:::
( ii) Dirvorce is an institution common to both religions.
In allowing divorce Mahomed has followed Jews. When
a woman is divorced, she must wait for three months before
she can re-marry. This period, is called iddal. At the end
of this period, if she is found with child, she must be
delivered of it before she can marry again. These rules”
says Dr. Sale, are also copied from the Jews, according to
whom a divorced woman or widow cannot marry another
man till ninety days be passed after the divorce or death
of the husband.” Dr. Sale adds: “The institutions of
Mahomed relating to the pollution of women during their
courses, the taking of slaves to wife, and the prohibiting of
marriage within certain degrees, have likewise no small
affinity with the institution of Moses.
SECTION 7
SOME MINOR SIMILARITIES
( 😉 The setting apart of one day in the week for
the special service of God is also an institution of the Jews
who keep Saturday sacred. THe Christians have Sunday for
their Sabbath day. Mahomed has imitated these religions
in this respect; but for the sake of distinction he has ordered
his followers to observe Friday, instead of Saturday or
Sunday. ,
(if) The celebrated formula of the Koran “La-Elah-illillah” (there is no God but God) is a mere paraphrase of the Zoroastrian formula, “Nest ezad magar
Yazdan.”
( iii ) It should be further noted that every chapter of the Koran (excepting only the ninth) opens with the words “Bismillah uar Rahman er Rahim,” which. exactly
correspond to the formula with which the Zoroastrians begin
their books, Viz., fI Banam Yazdan bakhshish gar dadar (in the name of the most merciful God ).
SECTION 8
SUMMARY
The above is sufficient to show that Mahomedanism
has borrowed almost all its doctrines and precepts mainly
from Judaism and partly from Zoroastrianism. The religion
of the Koran cannot, therefore, claim to be a new revelation,
or a special dispensation of the Will of God. Our
Mahomedan brethren will perhaps urge; “the monotheism
of the Koran is purer and better than that of Judaism and
Christianity, to speak nothing of Zoroastrianism which is not
monotheism at all, being a belief in two gods.”· Now there
can be no doubt that the Christian conception of God is’, in
several ways, superior to the Mahomedan conception. God
is represented by the Christians as a more righteous, more
merciful, more holy and more loving being than the God of
the Koran. In another way, the theism of Christianity is
certainly inferior to that of the Koran. Christianity teaches
the doctrine of Trinity which is virtually a belief in three
gods. and in this respect the Koran teaches a stricter monotheism
than Christianity. But it is difficult to understand how
Mahomedanism can claim to teach a better theism than
Judaism; because both are equally monotheistic or equally
dualistic. Both raise Satan to a position all but equal to
that of God, and thus equally mar the purity of their
monotheism. Both have the same conception of the Divine
character; and the anthropomorphic, vacillating, and
revengeful Jehovah of the Jews finds an exact counterpart
in the Allah of the Koran, who is described as an intolerant
and despotic potentate, urging his worshippers to make war
upon, and slay, the infidels.
As for Zoroastrianism, its theism is in no way inferior ,
to that of either Judaism or Mahomedanism. ” Ahurmazda ”
says the Rev. L. H. Mills, “is one of the purest conceptions
which had yet been produced,”::: and-we may add,-is
undoubtedly the prototype ~ of the God of the Koran as
well as the God of the Bible. We shall revert to this
subject in detail later on it The great value of Mahomed’s
doctrine of the unity of God lies in its being a protest against
the degenerate Christianity of his time and the polytheism
of the Arabs among whom he lived. But however superior
to the belief of his contemporaries, the theism of the Koran
can hardly be said to be superior to that of Judaism. The
claim of the Koran, therefore, to be an independent
revelation of God, on the plea of teaching a better theism
than Judaism and Zoroastrianism, to which it can be
traced, is untenable.
