MAH 
aftmael in i6*r. This fortrefs, which was originally built 
Sit' the mouth of the river Seboo, is now two miles diftant 
from it, in ccmfequence of the drifted fand-banks and 
bars, which have rendered the entrance of the river l'o dif¬ 
ficult and dangerous, as to be no longer of any ufe to 
commerce or navigation. At this fort there are about 
thirty-five or forty families, which gain a wretched fub- 
filtence by the profits of their ferry, and filhing for lhads, 
of which they take fuch numbers a3 to be able to fupply 
the whole neighbouring country between November and 
the end of March.. Mahmora is diftant about five leagues 
north-north-eaft from Sallee, and about twenty fouth of 
Laracha. Between thefe two lafl places the country is va¬ 
riegated by lakes, forells, and valleys, which were for¬ 
merly tolerably populous. Some of the lakes are nearly 
eight leagues in extent, and fupply great numbers of 
ducks and water-fowls, and alfo of eels. The boats ufed 
by the filhermen are a kind of ikiffs, made of reeds and 
rufhes, about fix feet long, and two broad, and will 
icarcely hold a fingle perfon. The filherman guides them 
■with a pole, and pierces the eels, when lie fees them on the 
•water, with a fort of dart. On the banks of thefe lakes 
are feveral fan&uaries of the Marabouts, who are held in 
great veneration for their fuppofed holinefs, and a number 
of c. mps of the Moors, who cultivate the adjacent lands, 
which are but moderately productive. This valley is very 
pleafant in winter and fpring, but in fummer it is parched 
and difagreeable. At the fouthern extremity is a fanciuary, 
on an eminence, appertaining to which are habitations and 
gardens. 
MAH'MSTEIN, a town of Bavaria, in the bifhopric of 
Bamberg: four miles fouth-weft of Weifmain. 
MAHMUDPOU'R, a town of the country of Bengal, 
capital of the circarof Boofnah : eighty-four miles fouth- 
eaft of Moorthedabad, and eighty north-eaft of Calcutta. 
Lat. 23. 35. N. Ion. 89. 41. E. 
MAHMUDPOU'R, a town of Bengal: fourteen miles 
tfouth of Boglipour. 
MAHMUD'SHI, a circar of Bengal, bounded on the 
siorth-eaft and fouth by Boofnah, on the weft by Shah- 
jole, and on the north-weft by Raujefhy, about thirty-five 
miles long and twenty-two broad. Nuldingah h» the ca¬ 
pital. 
MA'HO-TREE. See Hibiscus. 
MAHO'BA, a town of Hindooftan, in the circer of 
Gohud : twenty miles fouth-eaft of Raat. 
MAHOG'ANY, f A wood brought from fome of the 
Weft-India iflands, and from the Spanifh main : 
Say thou, that doft thy father’s table praife. 
Was there mahogena in former days ? Bramfon. 
M AHOG'ANY-TREE. See Swietenia. 
MA'HOL, [Hebrew.] A Scripture name. 
MAHOM'DY, a town of Hindooftan, in the country 
of Oude : leventy miles north-weft of Lucknow, and 150 
eaft-fouth-eaft of Delhi. Lat. 27. 54. N. Ion. So. 32. E. 
MAHOMEDABAD', a town of Hindooftan, in Oudes 
thirteen miles eaft of Azimgur. 
MAH'OMET, or Moham'med, commonly called the 
Impoftor. See the article Arabia, vol. ii. p. 3-7. 
MAH'OMET, the name of four emperors of the Turks. 
See the article Turkey. 
MAIIOM'ETAN, adj. Of the religion inftituted by 
Mahomet.—The Mahometan clergy feem to have a different 
policy. Shaflejbury. 
MAHOMETAN, f A worfhipper of Mahomet.— 
Mecca and Medina are curiofities only through the fuper- 
Itition of the Mahometans. Guthrie. 
MAHOM'ETANISM, f. The religion of Mahome¬ 
tans.—This fuperftition is named Mahometanifm. Rycaut. 
Mahometanifm is profeffed by the Turks, Perfians, and 
feveral nations among the Africans, and many among the 
Eaft Indians. Brerewood fays, that,if we divide the known 
countries of the earth into thirty equal parts, five of them 
are Chriftian, fix Mahometan, and nineteen Pagan, 
Vol. XIV. No. 96a. 
M A H 131 
The fyftem of Mahometanifm is contained in the Ko¬ 
ran, commonly called the Alcoran ; which fee, vol. i. 
This religion is divided into two general parts, faith and 
praftice; of which the firft is divided into fix diftindt 
branches: belief in God, in his angels, in his fcriptures, 
in his prophets, in the refurreffion and final judgment, 
and in God’s abfolute decrees. The points relating to 
praftice are, prayer, with wafhings, See. alms, failing, pil¬ 
grimage to Mecca, and eircumciiion. 
1. Of the Mahometan Faith. 1. That both Mahomet, 
and thofe among his followers who are reckoned orthodox, 
had, and continue to have juft and true notions of Gou 
and his attributes, appears fo plain from the Koran itfelf, 
and all the Mahometan divines, that it would ne lofs of 
time to refute thofe who fuppofe the God of Mahomet to 
be different from the true God, and only a fictitious deity 
or idol of his own creation. 
2. The exiftence of angels, and their purity, are abfo- 
lutely required to be believed in the Koran; and he is 
reckoned an infidel who denies there ate fuch beings, or 
hates any of them, or aflerts any diftin&ion of fexes 
among them. They believe them to have pure and fubtle 
bodies, created of fire ; that they neither eat nor drink, 
nor propagate their fpecies ; that they have various forms 
and offices, fome adoring God in different poftures, 
others finging praifes to him, or interceding for mankind. 
They hold, that fome of them are employed in writing 
down the aftions of men; others in carrying the throne 
of God, and other fervices. The four angels, whom they 
look on as more eminently in God’s favour, and oftert 
mention on account of the offices affigned them, are, Ga¬ 
briel, to whom they give feveral titles, particularly thofe 
of the holy fpirit, and the angel of revelations, fuppofing hint 
to be honoured by God with a greater confidence than 
any other, and to be employed in writing down the di¬ 
vine decrees; Michael, the friend and proteftor of the 
Jews; Azrael, th 0 angel of death, who feparates men’s fouls 
from their bodies; and Ifrafil, whofe office it will be t» 
found the trumpet at the refurre&ion. The Mahometans 
alfo believe, that two guardian angels attend on every 
man to obferve and write down his a6tions, being changed 
every day, and therefore called al Moakkibat , or “ the an¬ 
gels who continually fucceed one another.” 
The devil, whom Mahomet names Eblis, from his defpair, 
was once one of thofe angels who are neareft to God’s pre¬ 
fence, called Ar.azil\ and fell, according to the do&rine 
of the Koran, for refufing to pay homage to Adam at the 
command of God. 
Befides angels and devils, the Mahometans are taught 
by the Koran to believe an intermediate order of creatures, 
which they call jin, or genii, created alfo of fire, but of a 
groffer fabric than angels, fince they eat and drink, and 
propagate their fpecies, and are fubjeft to death. Somo 
of thefe are fuppofed to be good, and others bad, and ca¬ 
pable of future falvation or damnation, as men are; whence 
Mahomet pretended to be fent for the converfion of genii 
as well as men. 
3. As to the Scriptures, the Mahometans are taught by 
the Koran, that God, in divers ages of the world, gave 
revelations of his will in writing to feveral prophets, the 
whole and every one of which it is abfolutely neceffary for 
a good Moflem to believe. The number of thefe facred 
books was, according to them, 104. Of which 10 were 
given to Adam, 50 to Seth, 30 to Edris or Enoch, 10 to 
Abraham ; and the other four, being the Pentateuch, the 
Pfalms, the Gofpel, and the Koran, were fuccceffively de¬ 
livered to Moles, David, Jefus, and Mahomet; which laft 
being the feal of the prophets, thofe revelations are now 
clofed, and no more are to be expended. All thefe divine 
books, except the four laft, they agree to be now entirely 
loft, and their contents unknown ; though the Sabians 
have feveral books which they attribute to fome of the 
antediluvian prophets. And of thofe four, the Penta¬ 
teuch, Pfalms, and Gofpel, they fay, have undergone fo 
siany alterations and corruptions, that, though there may 
N n pofiibly. 
