ITS ORIGIN, ITS STRENGTH, AND ITS WEAKNESS. 177 
by no means convincing to those who have even the very 
slightest acquaintance with Ibn Hishém and Muhammad’s 
other Arabian biographers (p. 162, sqq.). 
The Sayyid endeavours with great ability to show that 
the spirit of Islam has ever been forward in the encourage- 
ment of learning and science. But he (quite unintentionally) 
refutes himself by confessing that the very dynasties (e.g , that 
of the Fatimides in Egypt, and the ‘Abbasides in Mesopo- 
tamia) under which Muhammadan (so-called) learning flourished 
were devoted followers of the Istizal and similar schools of 
philosophy, which he himself compares (and rightly) with the 
Rationalistic movement in Modern Europe (pp. 496, 520, 571, 
610, sgg., 646), “ Distinguished scholars, prominent pbysi- 
cists, mathematicians, historians—all the world of intellect 
in fact, including the Caliphs, belonged to the Mu‘tazalite 
School” (p. 610). Alittle further on he adds :— 
‘When Mutawakkil was raised to the throne the Rational- 
ists were the directing power of the State; they held the 
chief offices of trust; they were professors in colleges, 
superintendents of hospitals, directors of observatories; they 
were merchants; in fact they represented the wisdom and 
wealth of the Empire; Rationalism was the dominating 
creed among the educated, the intellectual, and influential 
classes of the community” (p. 646), When these heretics 
lost their political power and orthodox Muhammadanism 
(styled Patristicism by Ameer Ali) again asserted its authority, 
tke short but brilliant period of intellectual growth and 
progress in Muslim lands swiftly passed away. It is unfair, 
therefore, to attribute to /sl@m results which ensued from the 
cultivation of Aristotelian philosophy and Grecian science, 
and which disappeared for ever when the true Spirit of Isl4m 
re-asserted itself. The result of the latter in every Muham- 
macdan land has been what the author well states regarding 
one part of the Muslim world:—* A death-like gloom settled 
upon Central Asia, which still hangs heavy and lowering over 
these unhappy countries” (p. 589), 
‘he Caairman (D. Howarp, Esq, D.L., F.C.S.).—We have to 
thank Mr. Tisdall for a very valuable paper, one of a kind that 
is much needed now. In spite of our pride as to the advance of 
