Mohammed, The Prophet of Islam

The whole spiritual activity of the Mohamedans, from the time of the prophet to the present day, is a dream; but it is a dream in which a large portion of the human race have lived; and it has all the interest which things relating to mankind always possess for man."

Islam owes not a little to her life and influence, and were it more widely recognised, might possibly lead to an improvement of the position of the poor unfortunate daughters of the system, who are enslaved and degraded to a saddening degree.

change so potent, that, in the lifetime of one man, it was able to obliterate partly by absorption, and chiefly by annihilation, the sanctions and beliefs of centuries, and which fostered a hatred so bitter, and a brotherhood so strong, between man and man, that by its sanction the dearest, tenderest, and strongest ties of humanity have been broken, while those who for years had lived in enmity were united in bonds stronger than death. Under its malevolent influence, children have ruthlessly slain their parents, believing that thus would they merit heaven. And men of different race have fought side by side under one banner, hurling themselves with fanatical heroism upon their enemies, believing that to die in such a way meant the winning of an immortal crown.

all are alike tools of the one solitary Force which employs them to crush or to

benefit, to truth or to error, to honour or shame, to happiness or misery, quite independently of their individual fitness, deserts, or advantages, and simply because 'He wills it,' and 'as He wills it . . . .'

There is, therefore, lacking amongst Moslems that need which grows out of personal relationship with the Divine—that need which leads to moral transformation and spiritual intensity on the part of those who enjoy such fellowship. The Creator exists apart from His handiwork. He has predetermined the actions of men. They are destined to eternal bliss or destruction by an Inflexible Will, so that there is no need for Divine Interference in their affairs. "

He knew the

Creator only from what he heard from the lips of sinful, ignorant men, whose ideas of Deity were base and ignoble. These ideas, and the passions that made up such a large portion of his life, obscured his vision, warped his judgment, and led him to postulate a God that inhabited not a Holy Spiritual Realm, but a grossly carnal and sensuous paradise.

Contrast this summary with the teaching of the Old Testament prophets, the following quotations of which are but a small sample:—
"Come, now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
"Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned."
"The spirit of the Lord God is upon me: because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek. He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, etc."
"As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you, saith the Lord."
"Who is a god like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy. He will turn again; He will have compassion upon us. He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."
"He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God."
"The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him."

On the 7th of June, 632 A.D., ten years after the flight from Mecca, he died in the arms of Ayesha, leaving a work that wrought havoc in the Christian Church for centuries, and which, inspired by his immortal spirit, still exists in unyielding enmity against the faith of the meek and lowly Nazarene, whose native soil, in the providence of God,