* 5 z A L C O 
firff tranfcript Ivas been from everlafting by God’s throne, 
written on a taVple oi vail bignefs, called the preferred ta¬ 
ble, in which are alfo recorded the divine decrees pail and 
future ; that a copy from this table, in one volume on pa¬ 
per, was by the miniftry of the angel Gabriel fent down 
to the lowed heaven, in the month of Ramadan, on the 
night of power: from whence Gabriel revealed it to Ma¬ 
homet by parcels) fome at Mecca, and fome at Medina, 
at different times, during the fpaceof twenty-three years, 
as the exigency ot affairs required; giving him, however, 
the confolation to (hew the whole (which they tell us was 
bound in lilk, and adorned with gold and precious (tones 
of paradife) once a-year; but in the laft year of his life 
lie had the favour to fee it twice. They fay, that few 
chapters were delivered entire, the mod part being re¬ 
vealed piecemeal, and written down from time to time by 
the prophet’s amanuenfis in fuch a part of fuch and fuch 
a chapter, till they were completed, according to the di¬ 
rections of the angel. * 
After the new-revealed paffages had been from the pro¬ 
phet’s mouth taken down in writing by his feribe, they 
were publiffied to his followers; fcveral of whom took 
copies for their private ufe, but the far greater number 
got them by heart. The originals, when returned, were 
put promifeupufly into a chelt, obferving no order of time ; 
for which reafon it is uncertain when many paffages were 
revealed. When Mahomet died, he left his revelations 
in the fame diforder, and not digeffed into the form in 
which we now find them. This was the work of his fuc- 
ceffor Abu Beer; who ordered the whole to be collected, 
not only from the palm-leaves and (kins on which*they 
had been written, and. w hich were kept between two boards 
or covers, but alfo from the mouths'of fuch as had got¬ 
ten them by heart. From this it is generally imagined 
that Abu Beer was really the compiler of the, Koran; 
though, for aught appears to the contrary, Mahomet left 
the chapters complete as we now have,them, excepting 
Inch paffages as his fuccell’or might add or correct'from 
thofe who had gotten them by heart. 
However, in the 30th year of the Hegira, Othman be¬ 
ing then caliph, and obferving the great difagreement in 
the copies of the Koran in the feveral provinces of the 
empire, ordered a great number of copies to be tranferi- 
bed from that of Abu Beer; which copies were afterwards 
difperfed in the feveral provinces of the empire, and the 
old ones burnt. Yet, though many irregularities were cor¬ 
rected by this means, fome few various readings ftiil exift. 
With fo much efteem and reverence do Muffulmans re¬ 
gard the book of the Alcoran, that they dare notfo much 
as touch it without being firff waffled, or legally purified; 
to prevent which, an infeription is put on the cover or 
label, “ Let none touch but they who are clean.” It is 
read wdth great care and refpeft; being never held below 
the girdle. They fwear by it ; take omens from it on all 
weighty occafions; carry it with them to war; write fen- 
tences of it in their banners; adorn it with gold and pre¬ 
cious ffones; and knowingly fufter it not to be in thepof- 
feffion of any of a different religion. Some fay that it is 
puniffiable even with death, in a Chriffian, to touch it; 
others, that the veneration 0: the Muffulmans leads them 
to condemn the tranflating it into any other language as a 
profanation: but thefe feem to be aggravations. The 
Mahometans have taken care to have their feripture tranf- 
lated into the Perfian, the Javan, the Malayan, and other 
languages; though, out of refpeft to the original, thefe 
verfions are generally, if not always, inteflineated. 
By the advocates of Mahometanifm, the Koran, as al¬ 
ready obferved, lias always been held forth as the great- 
eft of miracles, and equally fitupgiidous with the aft of 
raifing the dead. The miracles of Mofqs and Jefus, they 
Gy, were tranfient and temporary; but that of the Koran 
is permanent and perpetual; and therefore far furpaffes 
all the miraculous events of preceding ages. We will 
not detraft from the real merit of the Koran: we allow it 
to be generally elegant, and often fublime: but at the 
R A N. 
fame time we rejeft with difdain its arrogant pretence to 
any thing Supernatural; all the real excellence of the work 
being eafily referable to natural and vilible caufes. 
“ In the language of Arabia, a language extremely lov¬ 
ed and diligently cultivated by the people to whom it Was 
vernacular, Mahomet found advantages which were never 
enjoyed by any former or fucceeding impoftor. It re¬ 
quires not the*eye of a philofopher to di(cover jn every 
foil and country a principle of national pride: and, if we 
look back for many ages on the hiftory of the Arabians, 
we (hall eafily perceive that pride among them invariably 
to have confided in the knowledge and improvement of 
their native language. The Arabic, which lias been juft- 
ly efteemed tiie mod copious of the eaftern tongues ; which 
had exifted from the remo.teft antiquity; which had been 
einbelliffied by numberlefs poets, and refined by the con- 
ftant exercife of the natives ; was the mod fuccelsful in- 
ftruvnent which Mahomet employed in planting his new 
religion among them. Admirably adapted by its unrival¬ 
led harmony, and by its endlefs variety, to add painting to 
expreilion, and to purine the imagination in its unbound¬ 
ed flight; it became in the hands of Mahomet an irreliffa- 
ble charm to blind the judgment, and to captivate the 
fancy of his followers. 
“ Of that defeription of men, who firff compofed the 
adherents of Mahomet, and to whom the Koran wasad- 
drelled, few, probably, were able to pafs a very accurate 
judgment on the propriety of the fentiments, or on the 
beauties of the diftion: but all could judge of tiie mili¬ 
tary abilities of their leader ; and in tiie midft of their ad¬ 
miration it is not difficult to conceive, that they would af- 
cribe to his conipofitions every imaginary beauty of infpir- 
ed language. 
“The ihepherd and the foldier, though awake to the 
charms of thole wild but beautiful conipofitions, in which 
were celebrated their favourite occupationsof loveor war, 
were yet little able to criticile any other works than thofe 
which were addreffed'to their imagination .or the heart. 
To ubfrraft reafonings on the attributes and the difpenfa- 
tions of the Deity, to the comparative excellencies of ri¬ 
val religions, to the confiftency of any one religious fyf- 
tem in all its parts, and to the force of its various proofs, 
they were quite inattentive. In fuch a fituation, the ap¬ 
pearance of a work which poffeffed fomething like wifdom 
and confiffence ; which preferibed the rules, and iiluftrated 
the duties, of life; and which contained the principles of 
3 new and comparatively fublime theology, independently 
of its real and permanent merit; was likely to excite their 
affoniffiment, and to become the ffandard of future com- 
pofition. 
“ In the firff periods of the literature of every country^ 
fomething of this kind has happened. The fatherof Gre¬ 
cian poetry very obvioufly influenced the tafte and imita¬ 
tion of his countrymen. The modern nations of Europe 
all poffefs fome original author, who, riling from the 
darknefs of former ages, has begun the career of compo- 
(ition, and tinftured with-the charafter of his own imagi¬ 
nation the ftream which has flowed through his pollerity. 
“ But the prophet of Arabia had in this refpeft advan¬ 
tages peculiar to himfelf. His conipofitions were not to 
his followers the works of man, but the genuine language 
of Heaven, which had fent him. They were not confined 
therefore to that admiration which is fo libeiaily bellowed 
on the earlieft produftions of genius, or to that fond at¬ 
tachment with which men every where regard the origi¬ 
nal compofitions of their country : but with their admira¬ 
tion they blended their piety. To know and to feel the 
beauties of the Koran, was in fome refpeft to (hare in the 
temper of heaven; and he who was moft affefted with ad¬ 
miration in the perufal of its beauties, feerned mod fitly 
the objeft of that mercy which, had given it. to ignorant 
man. The Koran, therefore, became naturally and ne- 
ceffarily the ffandard of tafte. With a language thus hal¬ 
lowed in their imaginations, they were too well fatisiied, 
either to difpute its elegance or improve its ftruftpre. In 
fucceeding 
l 
