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SECTION IV.

OF THE DOCTRINES AND POSITIVE PRECEPTS OF THE KORAN, WHICH
RELATE TO FAITH AND RELIGIOUS DUTIES.

IT has been already observed more than once, that the fundamental position on
which Mohammed erected the superstructure of his religion was, that from the
beginning to the end of the world there has been, and for ever will be, but
one true orthodox belief; consisting, as to matter of faith, in the
acknowledging of the only true GOD, and the believing in and obeying such
messengers or prophets as he should from time to time send, with proper
credential, to reveal his will to

2 Ahmed Ebn Moh. al Thalebi, in Princip. Expos. Alc. 3 Yahya Ebn
al Salâm al Basri, in Princep. Expos. Alc.
4 The Jews have the same veneration for their law; not daring to touch it
with unwashed hands, nor then neither without a cover. Vide Millium, de
Mohammedismo ante Moh. p. 366. 5 This they do by dipping into it,
and taking an omen from the words which they first light on: which practise
they also learned of the Jews, who do the same with the scriptures. Vide
Millium, ubi sup.
6 Sionita, de Urb. Orient. p. 41, et Marracc. de Alc. p. 33. 7
Reland. de Rel. Moh. p. 265.

mankind; and as to matter of practice, in the observance of the immutable and
eternal laws of right and wrong, together with such other precepts and
ceremonies as GOD should think fit to order for the time being, according to
the different dispensations in different ages of the world: for these last he
allowed were things indifferent in their own nature, and became obligatory by
GOD'S positive precept only; and were therefore temporary, and subject to
alteration according to his will and pleasure. And to this religion he gives
the name of Islâm, which word signifies resignation, or submission to the
service and commands of GOD;1 and is used as the proper name of the Mohammedan
religion, which they will also have to be the same at bottom with that of all
the prophets from Adam.
Under pretext that this eternal religion was in his time corrupted, and
professed in its purity by no one sect of men, Mohammed pretended to be a
prophet sent by GOD to reform those abuses which had crept into it, and to
reduce it to its primitive simplicity; with the addition, however, of peculiar
laws and ceremonies, some of which had been used in former times, and others
were now first instituted. And he comprehended the whole substance of his
doctrine under these two propositions, or articles of faith; viz., that there
is but one GOD, and that himself was the apostle of GOD; in consequence of
which latter article, all such ordinances and institutions as he thought fit
to establish must be received as obligatory and of divine authority.
The Mohammedans divide their religion, which, as I just now said, they call
Islâm, into two distinct parts: Imân, i.e., faith, or theory, and Dîn, i.e.,
religion, or practice; and teach that it is built on five fundamental points,
one belonging to faith, and the other four to practice.
The first is that confession of faith which I have already mentioned; that
"there is no god but the true GOD; and that Mohammed is his apostle." Under
which they comprehend six distinct branches; viz., 1. Belief in GOD; 2. In
his angels; 3. In his scriptures; 4. In his prophets; 5. In the
resurrection and day of judgment; and, 6. In GOD'S absolute decree and
predetermination both of good and evil.
The four points relating to practice are: 1. Prayer, under which are
comprehended those washings or purifications which are necessary preparations
required before prayer; 2. Alms; 3. Fasting; and, 4. The pilgrimage to
Mecca. Of each of these I shall speak in their order.
That both Mohammed and those among his followers who are reckoned orthodox,
had and continue to have just and true notions of GOD and his attributes
(always excepting their obstinate and impious rejecting of the Trinity),
appears so plain from the Korân itself and all the Mohammedan divines, that it
would be loss of time to refute those who suppose the GOD of Mohammed to be
different from the true GOD, and only a fictitious deity or idol of his own
creation.2 Nor shall I enter into any of the Mohammedan controversies
concerning the divine nature and attributes, because I shall have a more
proper opportunity of doing it elsewhere.3

1 The root Salama, from whence Islâm is formed, in the first and fourth
conjugations, signifies also to be saved, or to enter into a state of
salvation; according to which, Islâm may be translated the religion or state
of salvation: but the other sense is more approved by the Mohammedans, and
alluded to in the Korân itself. See c. 2 and c. 3.
2 Marracc. in Alc. p. 102. 3 Sect VIII.

The existence of angels and their purity are absolutely required to be
believed in the Korân; and he is reckoned an infidel who denies there are such
beings, or hates any of them,4 or asserts any distinction of sexes among them.
They believe them to have pure and subtle bodies, created of fire;5 that they
neither eat nor drink, nor propagate their species; that they have various
forms and offices; some adoring GOD in different postures, others singing
praises to him, or interceding for mankind. They hold that some of them are
employed in writing down the actions of men; others in carrying the throne of
GOD and other services.
The four angels whom they look on as more eminently in GOD'S favour, and
often mention on account of the offices assigned them, are Gabriel, to whom
they give several titles, particularly those of the holy spirit,1 and the
angel of revelations,2 supposing him to be honoured by GOD with a greater
confidence than any other, and to be employed in writing down the divine
decrees;3 Michael, the friend and protector of the Jews;4 Azraël, the angel of
death, who separates men's souls from their bodies;5 and Israfîl, whose office
it will be to sound the trumpet at the resurrection.6 The Mohammedans also
believe that two guardian angels attend on every man, to observe and write
down his actions,7 being changed every day, and therefore called al Moakkibât,
or the angels who continually succeed one another.
This whole doctrine concerning angels Mohammed and his disciples have
borrowed from the Jews, who learned the names and offices of those beings from
the Persians, as themselves confess.8 The ancient Persians firmly believed
the ministry of angels, and their superintendence over the affairs of this
world (as the Magians still do), and therefore assigned them distinct charges
and provinces, giving their names to their months and the days of their
months. Gabriel they called Sorûsh and Revân bakhsh, or the giver of souls,
in opposition to the contrary office of the angel of death, to whom among
other names they gave that of Mordâd, or the giver of death; Michael they
called Beshter, who according to them provides sustenance for mankind.9 The
Jews teach that the angels were created of fire;10 that they have several
offices;11 that they intercede for men,12 and attend them.13 The angel of death
they name Dûma, and say he calls dying persons by their respective names at
their last hour.14
The devil, whom Mohammed names Eblîs from his despair, was once one of
those angels who are nearest to GOD'S presence, called Azazîl,15 and fell,
according to the doctrine of the Korân, for refusing to pay homage to Adam at
the command of GOD.16
Besides angels and devils, the Mohammedans are taught by the

4 Kor. c. 2, p. 13. 5 Ibid. c. 7 and 38. 1 Ibid. c. 2, p.
12. 2 See the notes, Ibid, p. 13.
3 Vide Hyde, Hist. Rel. Vet. Pers. p. 262. 4 Vide Ibid. p. 271,
and not. in Kor. p. 13. 5 Vide not. Ibid. p. 4. 6 Kor. c.
6, 13, and 86. The offices of these four angels are described almost in the
same manner in the apocryphal gospel of Barnabas, where it is said that
Gabriel reveals the secrets of GOD, Michael combats against his enemies,
Raphael receives the souls of those who die, and Uriel is to call every one to
judgment on the last day. See the Menagiana, tom. iv. p. 333.
7 Kor. c. 10. 8 Talmud Hieros. in Rosh hashan. 9
Vide Hyde, ubi sup. c. 19 and 20.
10 Gemar. in Hagig. and Bereshit rabbah, &c. Vide Psalm civ. 4. 11
Yalkut hadash. 12 Gemar. in Shebet, and Bava Bathra, &c.
13 Midrash, Yalkut Shemûni. 14 Gemar. Berachoth. 15
Vide Reland. de Rel. Moh. p. 189, &c. 16 Kor. c. 2. See also c.7,
38, &c.

Korân to believe an intermediate order of creatures, which they call Jin or
Genii, created also of fire,17 but of a grosser fabric than angels; since they
eat and drink, and propagate their species, and are subject to death.1 Some
of these are supposed to be good, and others bad, and capable of future
salvation or damnation, as men are; whence Mohammed pretended to be sent for
the conversion of genii as well as men.2 The orientals pretend that these
genii inhabited the world for many ages before Adam was created, under the
government of several successive princes, who all bore the common name of
Solomon; but falling at length into an almost general corruption, Eblîs was
sent to drive them into a remote part of the earth, there to be confined: that
some of that generation still remaining, were by Tahmûrath, one of the ancient
kings of Persia, who waged war against them, forced to retreat into the famous
mountains of Kâf. Of which successions and wars they have many fabulous and
romantic stories. They also make different ranks and degrees among these
beings (if they be not rather supposed to be of a different species), some
being called absolutely Jin, some Peri or fairies, some Div or giants, others
Tacwîns or fates.3
The Mohammedan notions concerning these genii agree almost exactly with
what the Jews write of a sort of demons, called Shedîm, whom some fancy to
have been begotten by two angels named Aza and Azaël, on Naamah the daughter
of Lamech, before the Flood.4 However, the Shedîm, they tell us, agree in
three things with the ministering angels; for that, like them, they have
wings, and fly from one end of the world to the other, and have some knowledge
of futurity; and in three things they agree with men, like whom they eat and
drink, are propagated, and die.5 They also say that some of them believe in
the law of Moses, and are consequently good, and that others of them are
infidels and reprobates.6
As to the scriptures, the Mohammedans are taught by the Korân that GOD, in
divers ages of the world, gave revelations of his will in writing to several
prophets, the whole and every word of which it is absolutely necessary for a
good Moslem to believe. The number of these sacred books were, according to
them, 104. Of which ten were given to Adam, fifty to Seth, thirty to Edrîs or
Enoch, ten to Abraham; and the other four, being the Pentateuch, the Psalms,
the Gospel, and the Korân, were successively delivered to Moses, David, Jesus,
and Mohammed; which last being the seal of the prophets, those revelations are
now closed, and no more are to be expected. All these divine books, except
the four last, they agree to be now entirely lost, and their contents unknown;
though the Sabians have several books which they attribute to some of the
antediluvian prophets. And of those four the Pentateuch, Psalms, and Gospel,
they say, have undergone so many alterations and corruptions, that though
there may possibly be some part of the true word of GOD therein, yet no credit
is to be given to the present copies in the hands of the Jews and Christians.
The Jews in particular are frequently reflected on in the Korân for falsifying
and corrupting their copies of their law; and some instances of such pre-

17 Kor. c. 55. See the notes there. 1 Jallalo'ddin, in Kor. c. 2
and 18. 2 Vide Kor. c. 55, 72, and 74.
3 See D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient. p. 369, 820, &c. 4 In libro Zohar.
5 Gemara, in Hagiga.
6 Igrat Baale hayyim. c. 15.

tended corruptions, both in that book and the two others, are produced by
Mohammedan writers, wherein they merely follow their own prejudices, and the
fabulous accounts of spurious legends. Whether they have any copy of the
Pentateuch among them different from that of the Jews or not, I am not
entirely satisfied, since a person who travelled into the east was told that
they had the books of Moses, though very much corrupted;1 but I know nobody
that has ever seen them. However, they certainly have and privately read a
book which they call the Psalms of David, in Arabic and Persian, to which are
added some prayers of Moses, Jonas, and others.2 This Mr. Reland supposes to
be a translation from our copies (though no doubt falsified in more places
than one); but M. D'Herbelot says it contains not the same Psalms which are in
our Psalter, being no more than an extract from thence mixed with other very
different pieces.3 The easiest way to reconcile these two learned gentlemen,
is to presume that they speak of different copies. The Mohammedans have also
a Gospel in Arabic, attributed to St. Barnabas, wherein the history of Jesus
Christ is related in a manner very different from what we find in the true
Gospels, and correspondent to those traditions which Mohammed has followed in
his Korân. Of this Gospel the Moriscoes in Africa have a translation in
Spanish;4 and there is in the library of Prince Eugene of Savoy, a manuscript
of some antiquity, containing an Italian translation of the same Gospel,5
made, it is to be supposed, for the use of renegades. This book appears to be
no original forgery of the Mohammedans, though they have no doubt interpolated
and altered it since, the better to serve their purpose; and in particular,
instead of the Paraclete or Comforter,6 they have in this apocryphal gospel
inserted the word Periclyte, that is, the famous or illustrious, by which they
pretend their prophet was foretold by name, that being the signification of
Mohammed in Arabic:1 and this they say to justify that passage of the Korân,2
where Jesus Christ is formally asserted to have foretold his coming, under his
other name of Ahmed; which is derived from the same root as Mohammed, and of
the same import. From these or some other forgeries of the same stamp it is
that the Mohammedans quote several passages, of which there are not the least
footsteps in the New Testament. But after all we must not hence infer that
the Mohammedans, much less all of them, hold these copies of theirs to be the
ancient and genuine scriptures themselves. If any argue, from the corruption
which they insist has happened to the Pentateuch and Gospel, that the Korân
may possibly be corrupted also; they answer, that GOD has promised that he
will take care of the latter, and preserve it from any addition or
diminution;3 but that he left the two other to the care of men. However, they
confess there are some various readings in the Korân,4 as has been observed.
Besides the books above mentioned, the Mohammedans also take notice of the
writings of Daniel and several other prophets, and even

1 Terry's Voyage to the East Indies, p. 277. 2 De Rel. Moham.
p. 23. 3 A copy of this kind, he tells us, is in the library of
the Duke of Tuscany, Bibl. Orient. p. 924. 4 Reland, ubi sup.
5 Menagian, tom. iv. p. 321, &c. 6 John xiv. 16, 26, xv. 26,
and xvi. 7 , compared with Luke xxiv. 49. 1 See Toland's
Nazarenus, the first eight chapters. 2 Cap. 61. 3
Kor. c. 15.
4 Reland, ubi sup. p. 24, 27.

make quotations thence; but these they do not believe to be divine scripture,
or of any authority in matters of religion.5
The number of the prophets, which have been from time to time sent by GOD
into the world, amounts to no less than 224,000, according to one Mohammedan
tradition, or to 124,000, according to another; among whom 313 were apostles,
sent with special commissions to reclaim mankind from infidelity and
superstition; and six of them brought new laws or dispensations, which
successively abrogated the preceding: these were Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses,
Jesus, and Mohammed. All the prophets in general the Mohammedans believe to
have been free from great sins and errors of consequence, and professors of
one and the same religion, that is Islâm, notwithstanding the different laws
and institutions which they observed. They allow of degrees among them, and
hold some of them to be more excellent and honourable than others.6 The first
place they give to the revealers and establishers of new dispensations, and
the next to the apostles.
In this great number of prophets, they not only reckon divers patriarchs
and persons named in scripture, but not recorded to have been prophets
(wherein the Jewish and Christian writers have sometimes led the way1), as
Adam, Seth, Lot, Ismael, Nun, Joshua, &c., and introduce some of them under
different names, as Enoch, Heber, and Jethro, who are called in the Korân,
Edrîs, Hûd, and Shoaib; but several others whose very names do not appear in
scripture (though they endeavour to find some persons there to fix them on),
as Saleh, Khedr, Dhu'lkefl, &c. Several of their fabulous traditions
concerning these prophets we shall occasionally mention in the notes on the
Korân.
As Mohammed acknowledged the divine authority of the Pentateuch, Psalms,
and Gospel, he often appeals to the consonancy of the Korân with those
writings, and to the prophecies which he pretended were therein concerning
himself, as proofs of his mission; and he frequently charges the Jews and
Christians with stifling the passages which bear witness to him.2 His
followers also fail not to produce several texts even from our present copies
of the Old and New Testament, to support their master's cause.3
The next article of faith required by the Korân is the belief of a general
resurrection and a future judgment. But before we consider the Mohammedan
tenets in those points, it will be proper to mention what they are taught to
believe concerning the intermediate state, both of the body and of the soul,
after death.
When a corpse is laid in the grave, they say he is received by an angel,
who gives him notice of the coming of the two examiners; who are two black
livid angels, of a terrible appearance, named Monker and Nakîr. These order
the dead person to sit upright, and examine him concerning his faith, as to
the unity of GOD, and the mission of Mohammed: if he answer rightly, they
suffer the body to rest in peace, and it is refreshed by the air of paradise;
but if not, they beat him on the temples with iron maces, till he roars out
for anguish so loud, that

5 Idem, ibid. p. 41. 6 Kor. c 2, p. 27, &c. 1 Thus
Heber is said to have been a prophet by the Jews (Seder Olam. p. 2), and Adam
by Epiphanius (Adv. Hæres. p. 6). See also Joseph. Ant. l. I, c. 2.
2 Kor. c. 2, p. 5, 10, 16; c. 3, &c. 3 Some of these texts
are produced by Dr. Prideaux at the end of his Life of Mahomet, and more by
Marracci in Alcor. p. 26, &c.

he is heard by all from east to west, except men and genii. Then they press
the earth on the corpse, which is gnawed and stung till the resurrection by
ninety-nine dragons, with seven heads each; or as others say, their sins will
become venomous beasts, the grievous ones stinging like dragons, the smaller
like scorpions, and the others like serpents: circumstances which some
understand in a figurative sense.4
The examination of the sepulchre is not only founded on an express
tradition of Mohammed, but is also plainly hinted at, though not directly
taught, in the Korân,1 as the commentators agree. It is therefore believed by
the orthodox Mohammedans in general, who take care to have their graves made
hollow, that they may sit up with more ease while they are examined by the
angels;2 but is utterly rejected by the sect of the Mótazalites, and perhaps
by some others.
These notions Mohammed certainly borrowed from the Jews, among whom they
were very anciently received.3 They say that the angel of death coming and
sitting on the grave, the soul immediately enters the body and raises it on
its feet; that he then examines the departed person, and strikes him with a
chain half of iron and half of fire; at the first blow all his limbs are
loosened, at the second his bones are scattered, which are gathered together
again by the angels, and the third stroke reduces the body to dust and ashes,
and it returns into the grave. This rack or torture they call Hibbût
hakkeber, or the beating of the sepulchre, and pretend that all men in general
must undergo it, except only those who die on the evening of the sabbath, or
have dwelt in the land of Israel.4
It it be objected to the Mohammedans that the cry of the persons under such
examination has been never heard; or if they be asked how those can undergo it
whose bodies are burnt or devoured by beasts or birds, or otherwise consumed
without burial; they answer, that it is very possible notwithstanding, since
men are not able to perceive what is transacted on the other side the grave;
and that it is sufficient to restore to life any part of the body which is
capable of understanding the questions put by the angels.5
As to the soul, they hold that when it is separated from the body by the
angel of death, who performs his office with ease and gentleness towards the
good, and with violence towards the wicked,6 it enters into that state which
they call Al Berzakh,7 or the interval between death and the resurrection. If
the departed person was a believer, they say two angels meet it, who convey it
to heaven, that its place there may be assigned, according to its merit and
degree. For they distinguish the souls of the faithful into three classes:
the first of prophets, whose souls are admitted into paradise immediately; the
second of martyrs; whose spirits, according to a tradition of Mohammed, rest
in the crops of green birds which eat of the fruits and drink of the rivers of
paradise; and the third of other believers, concerning the state of whose
souls before the resurrection there are various opinions. For, I. Some say
they stay near the sepulchres, with liberty, however, of going wherever they
please; which they confirm with Mohammed's manner of saluting

4 Al Ghazâli. Vide Poc. not. in Port. Mosis, p. 241, &c. 1
Cap. 8 and 47, &c. 2 Smith, de Morib. et Instit. Turcar. Ep. 2, p.
57. 3 Vide Hyde, in Notisad Bobov. de Visit. Ægrot. p. 19.
4 R. Elias, in Tishbi. See also Buxtorf. Synag. Judaic. and Lexic.
Talmud. 5 Vide Poc. ubi sup. 6 Kor. c. 79. The Jews say
the same, in Nishmat bayim. f. 77. 7 Vide Kor. c. 23, and not. ib.

them at their graves, and his affirming that the dead heard those salutations
as well as the living, though they could not answer. Whence perhaps proceeded
the custom of visiting the tombs of relations, so common among the
Mohammedans.1 2. Others imagine they are with Adam, in the lowest heaven;
and also support their opinion by the authority of their prophet, who gave out
that in his return from the upper heavens in his pretended night journey, he
saw there the souls of those who were destined to paradise on the right hand
of Adam, and of those who were condemned to hell on his left.2 3. Others
fancy the souls of believers remain in the well Zemzem, and those of infidels
in a certain well in the province of Hadramaut, called Borhût; but this
opinion is branded as heretical. 4. Others say they stay near the graves for
seven days; but that whither they go afterwards is uncertain. 5. Others that
they are all in the trumpet whose sound is to raise the dead. And, 6. Others
that the souls of the good dwell in the forms of white birds, under the throne
of GOD.3 As to the condition of the souls of the wicked, besides the opinions
that have been already mentioned, the more orthodox hold that they are offered
by the angels to heaven, from whence being repulsed as stinking and filthy,
they are offered to the earth, and being also refused a place there, are
carried down to the seventh earth, and being also refused a place there, are
carried down to the seventh earth, and thrown into a dungeon, which they call
Sajîn, under a green rock, or according to a tradition of Mohammed, under the
devil's jaw,4 to be there tormented, till they are called up to be joined
again to their bodies.
Though some among the Mohammedans have thought that the resurrection will
be merely spiritual, and no more than the returning of the soul to the place
whence it first came (an opinion defended by Ebn Sina,5 and called by some the
opinion of the philosophers6); and others, who allow man to consist of body
only, that it will be merely corporeal; the received opinion is, that both
body and soul will be raised, and their doctors argue strenuously for the
possibility of the resurrection of the body, and dispute with great subtlety
concerning the manner of it.7 But Mohammed has taken care to preserve one
part of the body, whatever becomes of the rest, to serve for a basis of the
future edifice, or rather a leaven for the mass which is to be joined to it.
For he taught that a man's body was entirely consumed by the earth, except
only the bone called al Ajb, which we name the os coccygis, or rump-bone; 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 GOD
should send, and which would cover the earth to the height of twelve cubits,
and cause the bodies to sprout forth like plants.1 Herein also is Mohammed
also beholden to the Jews, who say the same things of the bone Luz,2 excepting
that what he attributes to a great rain, will be effected according to them by
a dew, impregnating the dust of the earth.
The time of the resurrection the Mohammedans allow to be a perfect