1850.] of the original text of Tabary. 12.3 



Page 98. Abu Jafar (i.e. Tabary) observes: "The first law of the 

 code of the Islam, which was given by God to Mohammad, after there 

 had been established the unity of God and the abjuring idolatry and 

 polytheism, was the injunction of prayers.'' 



Many authors place the promulgation of the law of prayer (errone- 

 ously) eighteen months before the Hijrah ; this passage which rectifies 

 this error is of some importance, Tabary transcribes the circumstances 

 under which Mohammad received this law from Ibn Ishaq. 



Page 99. The tradition of Anas on the transfiguration or ascension 

 to heaven of Mahommed. This is the most celebrated tradition on this 

 subject, and is also in the Mishkat, in the Taysyr, in the Shifa, &c, but 

 the version in Tabary differs in some points from the usual version. 



Page 181. On the first followers of Mohammad, Tabary inserts the 

 statements of Ibn Ishaq and Waqidy, and gives same original tradi- 

 tions. The most striking tradition is the following of Mohammad b. 

 Sa'd, " I asked my father : Was Abu Bakr the first among you who 

 embraced the Islam ? He answered no — more than fifty men had 

 embraced it before him, but he was the most distinguished in religious 

 zeal among us." 



^JjS] ilXi (JU dSJj 5 JUi ULI (fijl jb£) J6) ^i taJUf 



There is a great deal of sectarian spirit mixt up in the disputes, who 

 were the first believers ? The Sunnies say Abu Bakr, and the Shiahs 

 say Aly. 



Tabary was one of the greatest commentators to the Qoran, and in 

 the narrative of the first attempts of Mohammad to spread his religion, 

 and of the persecution of the Oosayshites, he constantly refers to the 

 Qoran and shows on what occasion many of the verses of that book 

 were revealed. This is exceedingly valuable, for it is not easy to bring 

 the Qoran in connexion with the life of its author. 



r 2 



