2?5 



MOHAMMED. 



MOIK, DAVID MACBETH. 



236 



reprinted by G. Fluegel (Leipz., 1834). A French version by Savary 

 (1783), carefully corrected by Gorcin de Tassy, appeared in 1>25. 

 The English translation by G. Sale, accompanied with a learned Pre- 

 liminary Discourse and Notes, was first published in 1734, and has 

 been often reprinted. 



The religious system of Mohammed, designated- by the name of 

 Islam, or Salvation, is displayed throughout the Koran in single and 

 often-repeated precepts. It consists of two parts; of a dogmatical 

 (or Iman) faith, and a practical (or Din) religion. The principal 

 articles of belief are the following : There is but one God, eterual, 

 omnipotent, most wise, and most merciful, to whom alone obedience 

 and adoration are due, and whose majesty is daily proclaimed by a 

 host of angels above, as well as by his own works around us ; he is 

 the author, preserver, and governor of the universe, and the supreme 

 ruler of fate, by whose divine providence and absolute predestination 

 the destinies of mankind have from eternity been decreed. The will 

 of God and his divine law were often and fully declared by the former 

 prophets, Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Christ, whose authority aud 

 station rise in gradation above each other; but among whom Abraham 

 u the chief prototype of a true believer. " The patriarch was neither 

 a Jew nor a Christian, for he believed in the unity of God : he was a 

 religious Moslem, and the friend of God, as the Ishiin is nothing more 

 than the faith of Abraham." (' Sur.,' ii. 134 ; xvi. 120.) Nor is 

 Isaac to be considered as the beloved son of the patriarch; for it 

 was Ismael, the pious father of the Arabian race, whom God asked 

 for a sacrifice (xix. 55 ; xxi. 5 ; xxxvii. 101) ; and it may be worth 

 remarking that the author of the Koran is often so totally absorbed 

 by bis thoughts, and the truth of his assertions so deeply worked on 

 his mind, as to identify his own feelings with those of the biblical 

 characters. Equal veneration and deferential respect are paid to our 

 Saviour : " Verily, Christ Jeeu.-, the son of Mary, is the apostle of 

 God, and his word, which he conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit pro- 

 ceeding from him, honourable in this world and in the world to couie ; 

 aud cue of those who approach near to the presence of Uod. Yet 

 Jesus was a mere mortal, and not the son of God ; his enemies con- 

 spired against big life, but a phantom was substituted for him on the 

 cross, while he was translated to heaven " (iii. 54; iv. 156, 151*). But 

 after all, it is reiterated in the Koran, Mohammed ii the last aud by 

 far the most illustrious apostle; with him, who is the seal of the 

 prophets (xxiii. 40), thediviu missions have ceased ; and us the Scrip- 

 ture aud Go-pels have been altered i.y superstitious Jews and idolatrous 

 Christians, the Koran must be revered as the only genuine revelation 

 by which former religious are corroborated and verified (ii. 89 ; xlv i. 11). 

 The soul of man is immortal, and at the day of resurrection aud the 

 final judgment of mankind every one shall receive the just reward of 

 his vu tuen, or the punishment due to his evil deeds. Sinners, aud 

 1 articularly unbelievers and idolaters, shall bo hurled about in a dark 

 or burning hell ; whereas the virtuous and pious Moslems shall be 

 rewarded with everlasting happiness iu a paradise, enlivened by 

 heavenly virgius, and abounding with shady groves, clear streams of 

 water, and delicious fruits the most desirable enjoyments in the 

 sandy deserts of Arabia, But the hope of salvation is not confined to 

 the Moslem, for every lean who believes in God and doe* good works 

 shall be saved. 



Besides the most weighty obligation to pi omote the propagation of 

 Islam, which we have already uoticed as incumbent ou every Moslem, 

 the first practical duties are prayers directed towards the temple of 

 Mecca at live appointed hours of the day, fasting during the mouth 

 of Itauiadhan, aud alms, to which the fortieth part of a person's pro- 

 perty must be appropriated, aud which must be bestowed even on 

 foes and on the biute creation. 1'rayer will carry the Moslem half-way 

 to God; fasting will bring him to the door of his palace; but charity 

 and benevolence towards his fellow-creatures, by which tho Supreme 

 Being is best worshipped, will gain him admittance. Cleanliness of 

 body and frequent religious ablutions are strongly recommended, i.nd 

 likewise attendance at divine service in the mosques on every Friday ; 

 and once in the course of a man's life, if possible, the performance of 

 a holy pilgrimage to the temple of Mecca, the sacied birth-place of 

 Islam. The ancient Arabian custom of circuiucieiou, generally piac- 

 tised in the eighth year, the legislator retained ; and in many usages 

 eremouies he indulged the prejudices of his countrymen, either 

 by connecting a prevalent superstition with the morals of a purer 

 faith, or by restricting an abusive practice wilhin its jufct limits. 

 For example, iufcUad of the former polygamy, four wives, at most were 

 legally allowed, and the matrimonial i ulcs wei e more strictly regulated. 

 The Koran enumerates as deadly sins wilful muider, adultery, 

 calumny, perjury, and false testimony. Usury, gaming, aud the us* 

 t>f wine and pork, are btiongly forbidden ; aud it is but doitg justice 

 to Mohuiumtd to ul seive, that every precept enjoined upon his lollowers 

 had been fully confirmed by his own example, if we except his incon- 

 tinence with the eex. The prophet married no less than seventeen 

 wives, strangely enough all widows, except Ayesha, the daughter of 

 Abubeker. This sensuality, the chief stain ou his character, can 

 r be palliated by the natural temperament of the Arabs nor by 

 bis hope of posterity an<t lineal succession, which nevertheless failed, 

 M the four sous of Mohammed died iu tl.eir infancy. Lut Moham- 

 med was a great man, and one who in every icspect is described as 

 perfect icodel of Arabian virtue, hiavc and liberal, eloquent aud 



vigorous, noble and ample in all his dealings, and of irreproachable 

 morals. That fraud, cruelty, and injustice were often subservient to 

 the first propagation of Islam, caunot be denied ; but a religious 

 enthusiast is compelled to act according to the overpowering sugges- 

 tions of his imagination, which he persuades himself to be^tlie inspira- 

 tions of Heaven, and according to his own conviction of the importance 

 and justice of his mission. As to this, the prophet repeatedly and ia 

 the strongest terms expresses his purpose of uniting and reconciling 

 the hostile tribes of his country by destroying their gross idolatry, 

 and by bestowing on them the most salutary and precious gift of a 

 purer creed, in whose truth and divine origin lie himself firmly believed. 

 And indeed it will readily be admitted that the religion of the Koran, 

 by which prayers and alms were substituted for the blood of human 

 victims, and which, instead of hostility and perpetual feuds, breathed 

 a spirit of benevolence and social virtues, has been a blessing to the 

 Eastern world, and has had a most important influence on its civilisa- 

 tion. It is not merely to the conquering sword and to the intrepid 

 courage of the reformer and his successors, but also to the intrinsic 

 merits and attractive features of a system, rich with all the luxuriance 

 of Eastern poetry, and most congenial to an ignorant and sensual 

 generation, that the rapid progress of the Arabian conquests must be 

 attributed, although favoured and promoted by the discord, internal 

 revolutions, and weakness of the neighbouring governments. 



MOIU, DAVID MACBETH, was born at Musselburgh, in the 

 county of Edinburgh, on the 5th of January 1798. He was educated 

 at the grammar-school there, and when only thirteen was apprenticed 

 to Dr..Stewart, a medical practitioner in that town. He was a diligent 

 and attentive student in his profession, but became very early inclined 

 to literary pursuits. In 1812 he produced some poems, which, though 

 neat, haxi little originality ; shortly afterwards he appeared in print 

 with two brief essays in prose, in a small local magazine. During the 

 last year of his apprenticeship, which was for four years, he attended the 

 University of Edinburgh, which he continued to do after his appren- 

 ticeship terminated, aud obtained his diploma as surgeon iu the spring 

 of 1816. It had been his intention to enter the army, but the peace 

 offering few hopes of advancement in that direction, he abandoned his 

 purpose, returned home, and for awhile devoted himself to literature, 

 writing occasionally for the Scots Magazine,' and published an anony- 

 mous volunif, entitled ' The Bombardment of Algiers and other 

 Poems,' which brought him little profit or fame. He was also a 

 member of ' The Musselburgh Forum,' a debating society, in which he 

 favourably distinguished himself. In 1817 he eutered into business 

 as a partner, in bis native town, with Dr. Brown, who had an extensive 

 but laborious practice. Moir worked hard at his professional duties, 

 but, when the toils of the day were ended, he employed a great part 

 of the night iu his literary pursuits. He was at this time a frequent 

 contributor in prose and verse to Constable's ' Edinburgh Magazine." 

 When ' Blackwood's Magazine' was started, he became a still more 

 constant contributor to its pages. He wrote for it both prose and 

 poetry, both comic and serious. Among his comic effusions were ' The 

 Eve of St. Jerry," and 'TheAuncient Waggouero,' and at the time 

 some of them were supposed to be from the pen of Dr. Maginn. His 

 serious poems were marked as by_A, a signature which he retained in 

 that magazine until hia death. In 1823 he formed a strong friendship 

 with John Gait, who, when -he departed for America, left his novel, 

 ' The Last of the Lairds,' unfinished, and Moir wrote the concluding 

 chapters for him. In 1824 he published 'The Legend of Genevieve, 

 with other Tales and Poems,' consisting of selections from his maga- 

 zine contributions, with some original additions. In the same year he 

 commenced, in ' Blackwood's Magazine,' his novel of ' The Auto- 

 biography of Mansio Waucb,' which was continued for nearly three 

 years, and afterwards published separately. It had great success, and 

 the character of its hero is a clever embodiment of some of the peculiari- 

 ties of .Scottish character. During all these literary labours he con- 

 tinued to attend to his professional duties with indefatigable assiduity 

 and extreme kindness. Between 1817 and 1828 he is stated never to 

 have slept a night out of Museelburgh. He was now recommended to 

 remove to Edinburgh, where he might have readily attained a more 

 lucrative practice, but his attachment to his old haunts aud his old 

 patients and neighbours caused him to refuse. In 1829 he married. 

 In 1831 he published his ' Outlines of the Ancient History of Medicine, 

 being a View of the Healing Art among the Egyptians, Greeks, 

 Homans, and Arabians.' In 1832, after having exerted himself in a 

 most energetic manner when the cholera was raging iu hia district, he 

 published as a pamphlet '1'ractical Observations on Malignant 

 Cholera,' which had a very extensive circulation ; and this was followed 

 by ' Proofs of the Contagion of Malignant Cholera;' both works being 

 allowed to possess great merit, even by those who differed from the 

 author's conclusions. In 1832 Mr. Moir attended the meeting of the 

 British Association for tho Advancement of Science at Oxford, and 

 afterwards visited London, where he extended his acquaiutauce among 

 the literary celebrities. In lS4:j hu published 'Domestic Verses,' 

 in which, among other things, he records, with much tenderness, the 

 loss of two of his eons, who died young. In 1845 he contributed the 

 account of the civil history and antiquities of the parish of Invercsk, 

 of which Mnsselburgh is the chief town, to the 'New Statistical 

 Account of Scotland. 1 In 1846 he met with an accident, being thrown 

 from a carriage, by which he was rendered lame for life. Iu the 



