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www.muhammadanism.org 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, ط t for ث th for ظ “ z ح “ h ع “ ‘ خ “ kh غ “ gh ذ “ dh ق “ q ص “ s ء “ , ض “ d 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 PAGE INTRODUCTION xiii CHAPTER I THE FOUNDATIONS OF ISLAM The Qur'an — Its revelation — Miraculous nature — Arrangement of 1 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. 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 56 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 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 PAGE — Darwishes — 'Umar Khayyam — The Bab and the Babis —Wahhabis 102 — Their rise — Spread in India — Doctrines and Influence CHAPTER IV THE CREED OF ISLAM Iman — God — Attributes of God — Discussions on the nature of God — 185 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 Note to Chapter IV. — Muslim Philosophy 281 CHAPTER V THE PRACTICAL DUTIES OF ISLAM Fard, wajib, sumiat, mustahab, and mubah actions — Haram or unlawful 292 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 Note to Chapter V. — Fatwa on the Namaz 348 CONTENTS xi CHAPTER VI THE FEASTS AND FASTS OF ISLAM PAGE Muharram — 'Ashur Khana — Marthiyah — Waqi'a Khan — 'Alams — 353 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 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 426 OF THE QUR'AN 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.

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