Ishmael Or A Natural History Of Islamism And Its Relation To Christianity Primary Source Edition

Author : J. D. Bate
Publisher : Forgotten Books
ISBN 13 : 9781330279113
Total Pages : 446 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (791 download)

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Download or read book An Examination of the Claims of Ishmael as Viewed by Muhammadans written by J. D. Bate and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2015-06-12 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from An Examination of the Claims of Ishmael as Viewed by Muhammadans: Being the First Chapter of Section I. Of Studies in Islam The reason for writing this book needs to be stated. - It might well be asked in reference to it - What is the use of crushing dead flies? And, in truth, the religion of Muhammad has no better basis now than it had when its founder was alive to foster its early struggles. The light of history and the march of intellect have not improved its position in the judgment of the dispassionate seeker after a religion. But there are many scores of millions of our cotemporaries who are not able to think thus; and who accept this weird decoction of deism and idolatry, of truth and fable, as a veritable Revelation from 'the Father of Lights' for their guidance to heaven. It is among these that the lot of the missionary is cast; and it is in the hope of making him acquainted, in some measure at least, with the nature of the situation, that I have ventured to commend to his study, at some early period in his career, the pages which follow. The difficulty of the task assumed by the evangelist who seeks the salvation of Muhammadans in any portion of the world, is so generally admitted as to have become almost proverbial. But the difficulty is, in truth, more imaginary than real. It does not arise from the logical strength of the Islamic position, but from its weakness. It is always easier to deal with intelligence than with ignorance, and with avowed unrest than with self-contentment. 'They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.' The nature of the difficulty is well exemplified by the respective theological positions of the Muhammadan and the Hindu. In regard to his religion, the latter is a born philosopher - exceptions aside - and the former is by all reasonable men understood to be a born fanatic. It is impossible to give thoughtful attention to the religious system of the Hindu, without feeling that the men who made it in the first instance were earnest, great, and wise. But the study of the religious system of the Muhammadan awakens no such sentiment. Let but the missionary be possessed of the necessary information, and of skill in the use of it, and the Muhammadan, however learned he may be, is at the end of his tether in no time: but the Hindu, misguided though he is, can give a reason for the hope that is in him. A genuine Hindu philosopher, put on his defence, is no mean antagonist; but the Muhammadan, if not on the offensive, is nowhere. When he has to assume the defence of his religion, he is like a bull at bay: no position is too irrational for him, no dogma too self-contradictory, no stratagem too contemptible. Evangelists, at the beginning of their experience, are apt to be thrown off their guard by the evasive and unprincipled tactics of the Muhammadan opponent of Christianity. Studies of Islam, of which this is the first instalment, is designed to meet what the writer has himself felt to be a want at that stage. The present imperfect Treatise is offered to the young missionary as a help to the apprehension of the bearings of a fundamental question. The dogma of which it treats - that Ishmael, and not Isaac, was 'the Child of Promise' - lies at the root of Islam. The point is so neatly put by Palgrave in his Article on Arabia in the latest Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica that we can hardly do better than cite his remarks here. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com