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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1Cruel, and superstitious too, they were, and amongst the inhuman customs which Mohammed swept away, none is more revolting than that, commonly practised by them, of burying their female children alive. Poe ee ee e INTRODUCTION. x1 The position of women amongst them was not an elevated one, and although there are instances on record of heroines and poetesses who exalted. or celebrated the honour of their clan, they were for the most part looked on with contempt. The marriage knot was tied in the simplest fashion and untied as easily, divorce depending only on the option and caprice of the husband. As for government they had, virtually, none; the best born and bravest man was recognised as head of the tribe, and led them to battle; but he had’ no personal authority over them, and no superiority but that of the admiration which his bravery and generosity gained for him. The religion of the Arabs was Sabzanism, or the worship of the hosts of heaven, Seth and Enoch. being considered as the prophets of the faith. This cult no doubt came from Chaldea, and the belief in the existence of angels, which they also professed, is traceable to the same source. Their practice of making the circuit of the holy shrines, still continued as part of the “Hagg ceremonies, probably also arose from this planetary worship. The comparatively simple star-worship of the Sabzans was, however, greatly corrupted; and a number of fresh deities, superstitious practices, and: meaningless rites had been introduced. The strange sounds that often break the terrible stillness of the desert ; the sudden storms of sand or rain that in a moment cover the surface of a plain, or change a dry valley into a roaring torrent; these and a thousand other such causes naturally produce a strong effect upon an imagination quickened by the keen air and the freedom of the desert. The Arab, therefore, peopled the vast solitudes amidst which he dwelt with supernatural beings, and fancied that every rock, and tree, and cavern had its ginn or presiding genius. These beings were conceived to be both beneficent and malevolent, and were worshipped to propitiate their help or avert their harm. From the worship-of these personifi- xii THE QUR'AN.
2These beings were conceived to be both beneficent and malevolent, and were worshipped to propitiate their help or avert their harm. From the worship-of these personifi- xii THE QUR'AN. cations of the powers of nature to that of the presiding genius of a tribe or of a place, is an easy transition, and we accordingly find that each tribe had its patron deity with the cult of which their interests were intimately bound up. The chief god of this vague national cult was Allah, and most tribes set up a shrine for him as well as for their own particular deity. The offerings dedicated to the former were set apart for the advantage of the poor and of strangers, while those brought to the local idol were reserved for the use of the priests. If Allah had by any chance anything better than the inferior deity, or a portion of his offerings fell into the lot of the local idol, the priests at once appropriated it; this practice is reprehended by Mohammed in the Qur’4n (VI, ver. 137). The principal deities of the Arab pantheon were— Allah ta‘4lah, the God most high. Hubal, the chief of the minor deities; this was in the form of a man. It was brought from Syria, and was supposed to procure rain. Wadd, said to have represented the heaven, and to have been worshipped under the form of a man. Suw4’h, an idol in the form of a woman, and believed to be a relic of antediluvian times. YagdTHu, an idol in the shape of a lion. Ya’dq, worshipped under the figure of a horse. Nasr, which was, as the name implies, worshipped under the semblance of an eagle. El ’HuzzA, identified with Venus, but it appears to have been worshipped under the form of an acacia tree, cf. note 2, p. 132. Allat, the chief idol of the tribe of THaqif at 72 if, who endeavoured to make it a condition of surrender to Mohammed that he should not destroy it for three years, and that their territory should be considered sacred like that of Mecca, a condition which the prophet peremptorily refused. The name appears to be the feminine of Allah. Manat, worshipped in the form of a large sacrificial stone by several tribes, including that of HuDHeil. INTRODUCTION. xiii Duwar, a favourite idol with the young women, who used to go in procession round it, whence its name. Is4f, an idol that stood on Mount Zafa. Naila, an image on mount Marwa. The last two were such favourite objects of worship that, although Mohammed ordered them to be destroyed, he was not able entirely to divert the popular regard from them, and the visitation of Zafé and Marwé are still an important part of the ‘Hagg rites. ’Hab’hab was a large stone upon which camels were slaughtered. El ’Huzza, Allat, and Manat are mentioned by name in the Qur’An, see Chapter LIII, vers. 19-20. The Kaabah, or chief shrine of the faith, contained, besides these, images representing Abraham and Ishmael, each with divining arrows in his hand, and a statue or picture representing the virgin and child.
319-20. The Kaabah, or chief shrine of the faith, contained, besides these, images representing Abraham and Ishmael, each with divining arrows in his hand, and a statue or picture representing the virgin and child. There were altogether 365 idols there in Mohammed’s time. Another object of worship then, and of the greatest veneration now, is the celebrated black stone which is inserted in the wall of the Kaabah, and is supposed to have been one of the stones of Paradise, originally white, though since blackened by the kisses of sinful but believing lips. The worship of stones is a very old form of Semitic cult, and it is curious to note that Jacob ‘took the stone that he had put for his pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it; and he called the name of the place Bethel?:’ and that at Mecca the principal object of sacred interest is a stone, and that the Kaabah has been known, from time immemorial, as Bait allah, ‘the house of God.’ The ginn, like the angels, were held by the ancient Arabs to be the daughters of Allah; they were supposed to be created out of fire instead of clay, but in all other respects to resemble mankind, and to be subject to the same laws of procreation and decease. * Genesis xxviii. 18-19. xiV THE Qur’AN. Mohammed believed that he was sent as an apostle to both men and ginnas, and Sdrah LXXII contains an allusion to a vision in which he beheld a multitude of the ginns bowing in adoration and listening to the message which man had disdainfully refused. Witches and wizards were also believed to exist, that is, persons who had contrived to subject one or more of these supernatural powers by spells, of which the holy name was the most powerful. Two fallen angels, Hardt and M4rdt, confined in a pit at Babylon, where they are hung by their heels in chains until the judgment day, are always ready to instruct men in the magical art. The belief in Allah himself was little more than a reminiscence, and as he had no priesthood, and was not the patron of any particular tribe, his supremacy was merely nominal. The belief in a future life had not as yet taken a definite hold on the people, and the few who, following the old savage plan, buried a camel with its master or tied it up to die of hunger at his grave, so that he might not be obliged to enter the next world on foot, probably did it rather from custom than from a belief in its real significance. In short, the Arab of Mohammed’s time was what the Bedawi of to-day is, indifferent to religion itself, but using a few phrases and practising, in a merely perfunctory manner, a few observances which his forefathers had handed down to him. Christianity had already established itself in Arabia. In Yemen, the city of Nagran had become the seat of a Christian bishopric, and some of the more important tribes, like Kindeh and Ghass4n, had embraced Christianity, which was also the religion of most of the Arabs of Syria.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1Cruel, and superstitious too, they were, and amongst the inhuman customs which Mohammed swept away, none is more revolting than that, commonly practised by them, of burying their female children alive. Poe ee ee e INTRODUCTION. x1 The position of women amongst them was not an elevated one, and although there are instances on record of heroines and poetesses who exalted. or celebrated the honour of their clan, they were for the most part looked on with contempt. The marriage knot was tied in the simplest fashion and untied as easily, divorce depending only on the option and caprice of the husband. As for government they had, virtually, none; the best born and bravest man was recognised as head of the tribe, and led them to battle; but he had’ no personal authority over them, and no superiority but that of the admiration which his bravery and generosity gained for him. The religion of the Arabs was Sabzanism, or the worship of the hosts of heaven, Seth and Enoch. being considered as the prophets of the faith. This cult no doubt came from Chaldea, and the belief in the existence of angels, which they also professed, is traceable to the same source. Their practice of making the circuit of the holy shrines, still continued as part of the “Hagg ceremonies, probably also arose from this planetary worship. The comparatively simple star-worship of the Sabzans was, however, greatly corrupted; and a number of fresh deities, superstitious practices, and: meaningless rites had been introduced. The strange sounds that often break the terrible stillness of the desert ; the sudden storms of sand or rain that in a moment cover the surface of a plain, or change a dry valley into a roaring torrent; these and a thousand other such causes naturally produce a strong effect upon an imagination quickened by the keen air and the freedom of the desert. The Arab, therefore, peopled the vast solitudes amidst which he dwelt with supernatural beings, and fancied that every rock, and tree, and cavern had its ginn or presiding genius. These beings were conceived to be both beneficent and malevolent, and were worshipped to propitiate their help or avert their harm. From the worship-of these personifi- xii THE QUR'AN.
2These beings were conceived to be both beneficent and malevolent, and were worshipped to propitiate their help or avert their harm. From the worship-of these personifi- xii THE QUR'AN. cations of the powers of nature to that of the presiding genius of a tribe or of a place, is an easy transition, and we accordingly find that each tribe had its patron deity with the cult of which their interests were intimately bound up. The chief god of this vague national cult was Allah, and most tribes set up a shrine for him as well as for their own particular deity. The offerings dedicated to the former were set apart for the advantage of the poor and of strangers, while those brought to the local idol were reserved for the use of the priests. If Allah had by any chance anything better than the inferior deity, or a portion of his offerings fell into the lot of the local idol, the priests at once appropriated it; this practice is reprehended by Mohammed in the Qur’4n (VI, ver. 137). The principal deities of the Arab pantheon were— Allah ta‘4lah, the God most high. Hubal, the chief of the minor deities; this was in the form of a man. It was brought from Syria, and was supposed to procure rain. Wadd, said to have represented the heaven, and to have been worshipped under the form of a man. Suw4’h, an idol in the form of a woman, and believed to be a relic of antediluvian times. YagdTHu, an idol in the shape of a lion. Ya’dq, worshipped under the figure of a horse. Nasr, which was, as the name implies, worshipped under the semblance of an eagle. El ’HuzzA, identified with Venus, but it appears to have been worshipped under the form of an acacia tree, cf. note 2, p. 132. Allat, the chief idol of the tribe of THaqif at 72 if, who endeavoured to make it a condition of surrender to Mohammed that he should not destroy it for three years, and that their territory should be considered sacred like that of Mecca, a condition which the prophet peremptorily refused. The name appears to be the feminine of Allah. Manat, worshipped in the form of a large sacrificial stone by several tribes, including that of HuDHeil. INTRODUCTION. xiii Duwar, a favourite idol with the young women, who used to go in procession round it, whence its name. Is4f, an idol that stood on Mount Zafa. Naila, an image on mount Marwa. The last two were such favourite objects of worship that, although Mohammed ordered them to be destroyed, he was not able entirely to divert the popular regard from them, and the visitation of Zafé and Marwé are still an important part of the ‘Hagg rites. ’Hab’hab was a large stone upon which camels were slaughtered. El ’Huzza, Allat, and Manat are mentioned by name in the Qur’An, see Chapter LIII, vers. 19-20. The Kaabah, or chief shrine of the faith, contained, besides these, images representing Abraham and Ishmael, each with divining arrows in his hand, and a statue or picture representing the virgin and child.
319-20. The Kaabah, or chief shrine of the faith, contained, besides these, images representing Abraham and Ishmael, each with divining arrows in his hand, and a statue or picture representing the virgin and child. There were altogether 365 idols there in Mohammed’s time. Another object of worship then, and of the greatest veneration now, is the celebrated black stone which is inserted in the wall of the Kaabah, and is supposed to have been one of the stones of Paradise, originally white, though since blackened by the kisses of sinful but believing lips. The worship of stones is a very old form of Semitic cult, and it is curious to note that Jacob ‘took the stone that he had put for his pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it; and he called the name of the place Bethel?:’ and that at Mecca the principal object of sacred interest is a stone, and that the Kaabah has been known, from time immemorial, as Bait allah, ‘the house of God.’ The ginn, like the angels, were held by the ancient Arabs to be the daughters of Allah; they were supposed to be created out of fire instead of clay, but in all other respects to resemble mankind, and to be subject to the same laws of procreation and decease. * Genesis xxviii. 18-19. xiV THE Qur’AN. Mohammed believed that he was sent as an apostle to both men and ginnas, and Sdrah LXXII contains an allusion to a vision in which he beheld a multitude of the ginns bowing in adoration and listening to the message which man had disdainfully refused. Witches and wizards were also believed to exist, that is, persons who had contrived to subject one or more of these supernatural powers by spells, of which the holy name was the most powerful. Two fallen angels, Hardt and M4rdt, confined in a pit at Babylon, where they are hung by their heels in chains until the judgment day, are always ready to instruct men in the magical art. The belief in Allah himself was little more than a reminiscence, and as he had no priesthood, and was not the patron of any particular tribe, his supremacy was merely nominal. The belief in a future life had not as yet taken a definite hold on the people, and the few who, following the old savage plan, buried a camel with its master or tied it up to die of hunger at his grave, so that he might not be obliged to enter the next world on foot, probably did it rather from custom than from a belief in its real significance. In short, the Arab of Mohammed’s time was what the Bedawi of to-day is, indifferent to religion itself, but using a few phrases and practising, in a merely perfunctory manner, a few observances which his forefathers had handed down to him. Christianity had already established itself in Arabia. In Yemen, the city of Nagran had become the seat of a Christian bishopric, and some of the more important tribes, like Kindeh and Ghass4n, had embraced Christianity, which was also the religion of most of the Arabs of Syria.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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