75 
1874.] J. O’Kinealy —History and Doctrines of the Wahhabis. 
we done so, neither do we fight with other nations. Finally, we do not 
consider it lawful to kill women or children. 
As to those liars and concealers of the truth who say, that we explain 
the Qoran according to our own views and only hold those traditions which 
agree with our opinions, without having recourse to the well known com¬ 
mentaries on the one or taking into consideration the narrators of the other ; 
that we lower the dignity of our prophet Muhammad (may, &c.) and say that 
he has rotted in his grave, and that any one of us would derive more ad¬ 
vantage from his staff than from him ; that he cannot intercede for us ; that 
pilgrimage to his tomb is improper ; and that he was so ignorant, as not to 
know positively “ There is no God except God” until he became inspired ;—we 
answer, ‘ only consider that this sentence “ There is no God hut God” was 
given forth in Madinah.’ Moreover, they say, we do not attend to the 
sayings of the learned and destroy the writings of those adhering to any 
• one sect, because though partly true, they are also partly false ; that being- 
numerous, we proclaim as infidels not only the people of our time, hut all 
since the beginning of the tenth century (Hijrah), except those who 
hold as we do ; that we do not enrol any person in our sect until he admits 
that he was a Mushrik, and his father died one ; that we prohibit the 
invocation of our prophet (may, &c.) and pilgrimage to his grave even in 
cases where it is lawful; that whoever joins us, is considered as free of all 
incumbrances, even his debts; that we do not allow the Ahl-ul-bait (may 
the Lord be pleased with them !) any superior rights ; that we compel 
them to marry inferiors, and that we force those who are old to put away 
their young wives, in order to marry them to young men among us, although 
no suit for a divorce has been instituted before us, nor is it desired by the 
parties. All this is simple nonsense, and when we are asked about them, 
we only answer in the words of the Qoran, “ Praised be you. These are great 
calumnies.” In short, whoever asserts any such thing of us, lies against us. 
He who has seen how we order our lives, has visited our meetings, or knows 
what we hold, can affirm that all these have been made up, and that the 
disseminators of them are enemies of religion, brothers of the devil, who 
lure men away from offering up their prayers to God, the exalted, in per¬ 
fect accord with His Unity, and prevent them from abandoning those different 
kinds of shirk of which the Lord has declared that He will never forgive, 
though He will forgive whatever else He wishes. We believe that whoever 
commits a mortal sin, such as putting a Muslim to death, fornication, taking 
interest, drinking wines, or whoever repeats such, does not cease to be a 
Muslim, nor will he suffer eternal punishment, provided he dies entertain¬ 
ing a true belief in the Unity of God. 
We believe that our prophet Muhammad (may he, &c.) is more exalted 
by God than any other created being; that he is alive, lives in his grave 
