November 29, 2011
PRINTED AT THE
S. P. C. K. PRESS, VEPERY, MADRAS
1907
T H E
FAITH OF ISLAM
BY THE
REV. EDWARD SELL, D.D., M.R.A.S.
FELLOW OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS
AUTHOR OF "THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE QUR'AN,"
"ESSAYS ON ISLAM," 1 ' ISLAM: ITS RISE AND PROGRESS"
THIRD EDITION
REVISED AND ENLARGED
SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE,
LONDON: NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, W.C.
NEW YORK: EDWIN. S. GORHAM.
MADRAS: S. P. C. K. DEPOSITORY.
1907
The rights of translation and of reproduction are reserved.
PREFACE
TO THE THIRD EDITION
THIS edition has been considerably enlarged and improved and some errors in the last one which friendly critics pointed out have been corrected. I have also made a much larger use of Baidawi's Commentary. The references are to the edition edited by Fleischer, published in two volumes at Leipsic in 1848. I have added a list of the verses cited from the Qur'an and a table showing the approximate chronological order of the Suras in the Qur'an. In the transliteration of Arabic names and terms, I have followed the rules laid down by the Royal Asiatic Society, namely,
th / for / ث / t / for / طh / “ / ح / z / “ / ظ
kh / “ / خ / ‘ / “ / ع
dh / “ / ذ / gh / “ / غ
s / “ / ص / q / “ / ق
d / “ / ض / , / “ / ء
E. S.
MADRAS, July 1, 1907.
PREFACE
TO THE SECOND EDITION
THIS edition is the result of another fifteen years' study of Islam, and of further intercourse with Musalmans. It deals with certain phases of modern Muslim thought in India and in Persia which found no place in the first edition. The result is that a considerable amount of fresh matter has been added, though the general form of the book has not been altered. The Arabic editions of the Sahihu'l-Bukhari and of the al-Milal wa'n-Nihal of Shahrastani have been freely used, and many extracts from these important works have been made. I have also added two appendices, one of which enters into a technical and detailed account of the art of reading the Qur'an, and of its peculiar spelling, and also gives illustrations in Arabic of the "various readings;" the other, on the law of jihad, I have inserted in order to show the most recent method adopted by a liberal-minded Musalman of dealing with this very important subject.
The criticisms on the first edition of this work were highly favourable, and the general conclusions arrived at in it have not been controverted by any competent Muslim authority, except on the questions of the finality of the Muhammadan Law and of the present use of ijtihad, on which subjects the late Maulavi Cheragh 'Ali differs from me; but in Chapter iv I have dealt with the objections of the modern rationalistic school in
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION vii
India to the views held by orthodox Muslims and expounded by European Oriental scholars. I have seen nothing yet from any authoritative source in Islam which leads me to depart from the conclusions arrived at on these and other points in the former edition. On the contrary, recent events in Turkey show how hopeless it is to expect religious liberty, freedom of thought, security of life and property, and all that is involved in the term " modern progress " in a purely Muhammadan State.
E. S.
LONDON, June 1, 1896.
PREFACE
TO THE FIRST EDITION
THE following pages embody a study of Islam during a residence of fifteen years in India, the greater part of which time I have been in daily intercourse with Musalmans. I have given in the footnotes the authorities from which I quote. I was not able to procure in Madras a copy of the Arabic edition of Ibn Khaldun's great work, but the French translation by Baron M. de Slane, to which I so frequently refer, is thoroughly reliable. The quotations from the Qur'an are made from Rodwell's translation. The original has been consulted when necessary.
E. S.
MADRAS, December 1, 1880.
Oasis
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION / xiii
CHAPTER I
THE FOUNDATIONS OF ISLAM
The Qur'an — Its revelation — Miraculous nature — Arrangement of Qur'an — 'Uthman's recension — The Sunnat — The authority of Sunnat — Tradition — Bid'at or innovation — Shi'ah Traditions — Ijma' — Ijtihad — Four Orthodox Imams, Hanifa, Malik, Shafi'i and Hanbal —Qiyas — Sterility of Islam — The theocratic system. / 1
Note to Chapter I. — Ijtihad / 49
CHAPTER II
EXEGESIS OF THE QUR'AN AND THE TRADITIONS
Inspiration — Methods of revelation — The seven dialects — The various readings — Gradual revelation of the Qur'an — Work of a Commentator — Words, sentences, and verses of the Qur'an — Deductions of arguments from the Qur'an — Divisions of the Qur'an — Abrogation — Eternal nature of the Qur'an — Hadith or Tradition — Collections of Traditions —Classification of Traditions / 56
CHAPTER III
THE SECTS OF ISLAM
The Shi'ahs — The Imam and the Imamat-Nur-i-Muhammadi —Isma'ilians and Imamites — Difference between Shi'ahs and Sunnis — The Sultan's claim to the Khalifate — Sufiism-Persian poetry
x CONTENTS
— Darwishes — 'Umar Khayyam — The Bab and the Babis —Wahhabis — Their rise — Spread in India — Doctrines and Influence / 102
CHAPTER IV
THE CREED OF ISLAM
Iman — God — Attributes of God — Discussions on the nature of God —The rise of the Mu'tazilas — The Sifatians — Mushabihites — Names of God — Creation of the Qur'an — Modern Mu'tazilas — Angels — Recording Angels — Harut and Marut — Munkar and Nakir — Jinn —Books — Abrogation — Tarif — The Prophets — Rank and inspiration of prophets — Nabi and Rasul — Sinlessness of prophets — The Anbiya'-Ulu'l-'Azm — Miracles of prophets — The Mi'raj — The resurrection and the last day — The trumpets — Descent of the books — Balances —Bridge — al-A'raf — al-Barzakh — Intercession of Muhammad — Heaven — Hell — The Predestination of good and evil — Jabarians — Qadarians — Ash'arfans — Free-will — Apostasy / 185
Note to Chapter IV. — Muslim Philosophy / 281
CHAPTER V
THE PRACTICAL DUTIES OF ISLAM
Fard, wajib, sumiat, mustahab, and mubah actions — Haram or unlawful acts — Tashahhud — Salat — Wadu' — Ghusl — Tayammum — Namaz — Fard, mustahabb, sunnat, witr, and nafl rak'ats — Appointed hours of prayer — Friday Namaz and Khutba — Namaz on a journey and in time of war — Namaz in Ramadan and during an eclipse and in time of drought —Funeral service — Its ritual and prayers — Fasting — Its time and nature — Zakat — Nisab — Proportion of property given as alms — Recipients of the Zakat — The Hajj — Fard, sunnat, wajib, and mustahabb duties connected with the Hajj — Time for the Hajj — Arrival of the Haji at Mecca — Tawaf — Ceremonies of the Hajj — Conclusion of the Hajj —Formal nature of Islam / 292
Note to Chapter V. — Fatwa on the Namaz / 348
CONTENTS xi
THE FEASTS AND FASTS OF ISLAM
PAGE
Muharram — 'Ashur Khana — Marthiyah — Waqi'a Khan — 'Alams —Ceremonies of the 'Ashura — Fatihas for 'Ali, for Hasan and Husain —Akhir-i-char Shamba — Bara Wafat — Jashn-i-milad-i-Sharif — Atharu'sh-Sharif — Laylatu'l-Barat — Ramadan and 'Idu'-l-Fitr — 'Itikaf-Sadaqa — Sermon on the 'Idu'l-Fitr — Baqr'id or 'Idu'd-Duha — Sermon on the 'Idu'd-Duha — The Qurban or sacrifice / 353
APPENDIX A. — 'Ilmut-Tajwid / 376
APPENDIX B. — The Law of Jihad / 406
INDEX / 415
LIST OF VERSES CITED FROM THE QUR'AN / 420
THE APPROXIMATE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF THE SURAS OF THE QUR'AN / 426
INTRODUCTION
IT is necessary to enter into some explanation as regards the contents of this work. It does not fall in with its plan to enter into an account either of the life of Muhammad or of the wide and rapid spread of the system founded by him. The first has been done by able writers in England, France, and Germany. The political growth of Muslim nations has also been set forth in various ways.1
It seems to me that the more important study at this time is that of the religious system which has grown out of the Prophet's teaching, and of its effect upon the individual and the community. What the Church in her missionary enterprise has to deal with, what European Governments in the political world have to do with, is Islam as it is, and as it now influences those who rule and those who are ruled under it.
I have, therefore, tried to show, from authentic sources and from a practical knowledge of it, what the Faith of Islam really is, and how it influences men and nations in the present day. I think that recent fatwas
1 I have dealt to some extent with these subjects in my Historical Development of the Qur'an, Essays on Islam, and Islam: its rise and progress.
xiv INTRODUCTION
delivered by the 'Ulama in Constantinople show how firmly a Muslim State is bound in the fetters of an unchangeable Law, whilst the present practice of orthodox Muslims all the world over is a constant carrying out of the precepts given in the Qur'an and the Sunnat, and an illustration of the principles I have shown to belong to Islam. On this subject it is not too much to say that there is, except amongst Oriental scholars, much misconception.
Again, much that is written on Islam is written either in ignorant prejudice or from an ideal standpoint. To understand it aright, one should know its literature and live amongst its people. I have tried faithfully to prove every statement I have made; and when I have quoted European authors, it is only by way of illustration. I rest my case entirely upon Musalman authorities themselves. Still more, I have ascertained from living witnesses that the principles I have tried to show as existing in Islam are really at work now, and are as potent as at any previous period.
I have thus traced up from the very foundations the rise and development of the system, seeking wherever possible to link the past with the present. In order not to interfere with this unity of plan, I have had to leave many subjects untouched, such as those connected with the civil law, with polygamy, concubinage, slavery, and divorce. A good digest of Muhammadan Law will give all necessary information on these points.1 The basis of the Law which determines
1 A very good account in given of these subjects in the Religion of Islam by Klein, pp. 178-226.
INTRODUCTION xv
these questions is what I have described in my first chapter. Ijtihad, for example, rules quite as effectually in a question of domestic economy or political jurisprudence as on points of dogma. It was not, therefore, necessary for me to go into details on these points.
When I have drawn any conclusion from data which Muhammadan literature and the present practice of Muslims have afforded me, I have striven to give what seems to me a just and right one. Still, I gladly take this opportunity of stating that I have found many Muslims better than their creed, men with whom it is a pleasure to associate, and whom I respect for many virtues and esteem as friends. I judge the system, not any individual in it.
In India there are a number of enlightened Muhammadans, ornaments to Indian society, useful servants of the State, men who show a laudable zeal in all social reforms, so far as is consistent with a reputation for orthodoxy. Their number is far too few, and they do not, in many cases, represent orthodox Islam, nor do I believe their counterpart would be found amongst the 'Ulama of an independent Muslim State. The fact is, that the wave of scepticism which has passed over Europe has not left the East untouched. Hindu and Muslim alike have felt its influence, but to judge of either the one system or the other from the very liberal utterances of a few men who expound their views before English audiences is to yield oneself up to delusion on the subject.
Islam in India has also felt the influence of contact with other races and creeds, though, theologically speaking, the Iman and the Din, the faith and the
xvi INTRODUCTION
practice, are unchanged, and remain as I have described them in chapters iv. and v. If Islam in India has lost some of its original fierceness, it has also adopted many superstitious practices, such as those against which the Wahhabis protest. The great mass of the Musalman people are quite as superstitious, if not more so, than their Hindu neighbours. Still the manliness, the suavity of manner, the deep learning, after an Oriental fashion, of many Indian Musalmans, render them a very attractive people. It is true there is a darker side—much bigotry, pride of race, scorn of other creeds, and, speaking generally, a tendency to inertness.
Looking at the subject from a wider standpoint, I think the Church has hardly yet realised how great a barrier this system of Islam is to her onward march in the East. Surely special men with special training are required for such an enterprise as that of meeting Islam in its own strongholds. No better pioneers of the Christian Faith could be found in the East than men won from the Crescent to the Cross.
All who are engaged in such an enterprise will perhaps find some help in this volume, and I am not without hope that it may also throw some light on the political questions of the day.
THE FAITH OF ISLAM
CHAPTER I
THE FOUNDATIONS OF ISLAM
THE creed of Islam — "La ilaha illa'llahu: Muhammad Rasulu'llah" — There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Apostle of God is very short, but the system itself is a very dogmatic one. Such statements as: "The Qur'an is an all-embracing and sufficient code, regulating everything," "The Qur'an contains the entire code of Islam — that is, it is not a book of religious precepts merely, but it governs all that a Muslim does," "The Qur'an contains the whole religion of Muhammad," "The Qur'an which contains the whole Gospel of Islam," are not simply misleading, they are erroneous. So far from the Qur'an alone being the sole rule of faith and practice to Muslims, there is not one single sect amongst them whose faith and practice is based on it alone. No Musalman ever disputes its authority or casts any doubt upon its genuineness. Its voice is supreme in all that it concerns, but its exegesis, the whole system of legal jurisprudence and of theological science, is largely founded on the Traditions. Amongst the orthodox Musalmans, the foundations of Islam are considered to be four in number, the Qur'an, Sunnat, Ijma', and Qiyas. The fact that all the sects do not agree with the orthodox—