78

BIOGRAPHIES OF MOHAMMED

inner hath, during these 200 years, committed; and verily he never could have been pardoned. But one day this wicked man was reading the Towrât, and seeing there the name of the blessed Mohammed, he wept and pressed the page to his eyes. This honour and reverence shown to my beloved was pleasing unto me, and from the blessed effects of that single act, I have blotted out the sins of the whole 200 years." Lovers of the blessed Mohammed! rejoice in your hearts, and be assured, that love for the holy Prophet, the Lord of the creation, is in every possible condition the means of salvation (p. 3).

A tradition follows regarding the Judgment Day, the proceedings of which are so to be conducted as to show to Mohammed how much the Lord forgives for his sake. Again, when Adam sinned and fell, the sentence went forth to expel him from Paradise. He begged for pity, appealing in every variety of way to God's mercy and to the promise of future prophets. But of no avail; after every entreaty, the command was repeated for the angels to carry him away. At last, as they were dragging him off, the blessed word passed his lips, "Have mercy on me for the sake of Mohammed"; instantly the Lord commanded the angels to let him go, and even treat him with reverence, "for he hath taken hold of a great intercessor, and his sins are, forgiven for Mohammed's sake."

Where such absurd legends are received as facts, to what a state of superstitious credulity must the spiritual and intellectual faculties of the Mohammedans be reduced! Another example will suffice. Satan used every day to receive from an angel a blow upon his face, so severe that the effects remained till the following day. When the Lord of Creation, the Prophet of Islam, appeared, Satan besought that he should not be shut out from the benefits of his advent, seeing that these are promised in the Coran to all creation: the Lord therefore commanded that from that day forward the blow should be discontinued. "Oh Moslems, consider this! If the rejected Satan was delivered from these calamitous blows, by the appearing of the blessed Mohammed, what wonder that his followers shall be kept safe from the pains of hell-fire?"

The history of the "Light of Mohammed" is then resumed, of which the following is the briefest sketch. God wishing to manifest Himself, formed this Light of Mohammed a thousand