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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1Christianity 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. But it had not penetrated deeply into their hearts, and its miracles, its doctrine of the Trinity, and the subtle disputes of monophysites and monothelites were absolutely incomprehensible to them. Judaism was more in accordance with their habits and traditions: a number of Jews had found their way into the INTRODUCTION. XV country after the repression of the revolt against the emperor Adrian, and had made numerous converts. Their creed, however, being based on the idea that they alone are the chosen people, was too exclusive for the majority of the Arabs, while the numerous and vexatious restrictions of its ritual and regulations for every-day life were but ill suited to the free and restless spirit of the sons of the desert. At the time of Mohammed’s appearance the national religion of the Arabs had so far degenerated as to have scarcely any believers. The primeval Sabzeanism was all but lost, and even the worship of the powers of nature had become little more than a gross fetishism; as one of Mohammed’s contemporaries said, when they found a fine stone they adored it, or, failing that, milked a camel over a heap of sand and worshipped that. , But by far the greater number had ceased to believe in anything at all; the pilgrimages, sacrifices, and worship of the tribal idols were still kept up, but rather for political and commercial reasons than as a matter of faith or conviction. Some, indeed, did consult the oracles, or vow an offering to their god in case of some desired event coming to pass; but, if their hopes were disappointed, the deity was assailed with childish abuse, while, if they succeeded, the vow was evaded by some less expensive sacrifice. Yet the mere existence amongst them of Christians and of Jews caused the monotheistic idea to attract the attention of some of the more earnest and enquiring minds. Amongst those who had endeavoured to search for the truth among the mass of conflicting dogmas and superstitions of the religions that surrounded them were Waraqah, the prophet’s cousin, and Zeid ibn ‘Amr, surnamed ‘the Enquirer.’ These enquirers were known as ‘Hanifs, a word which originally meant ‘inclining one’s steps towards anything,’ and therefore signified either convert or pervert. They did not constitute a united party, but each for himself investigated the truth. There was, however, another Xvi THE QUR'AN. sect who professed to have found the truth, and who preached the faith of their father Abraham, nothing more nor less, in fact, than the doctrine of the unity of God. These also called themselves ‘Hanifs, and Mohammed himself at first adopted the title as expressing the faith of Abraham }, but subsequently changed it to Muslim.
2These also called themselves ‘Hanifs, and Mohammed himself at first adopted the title as expressing the faith of Abraham }, but subsequently changed it to Muslim. The chief seat of the cult of the deities of Arabia was Mecca, also called Bekka, both names signifying a place of concourse; another name of the city is Umm el QurA, ‘the mother of cities,’ or metropolis. It was built about the middle of the fifth century of our era by the Qurdis on their obtaining possession of the Kaabah, the most ancient shrine in the country. It is situated in a narrow sandy valley shut in by bare mountains, The soil around the city is stony and unproductive, and the inhabitants are obliged to import their own provisions. To furnish this supply with more regularity Hashim, Mohammed’s grandfather, appointed two caravans, one in winter and the other in summer, to set out yearly; they are mentioned in the Qur'an, Chapter CVI. The territory of Mecca was held sacred; it was a sanctuary for man and beast, since it was unlawful to take any life there save those of the animals brought thither for sacrifice, at the time of the great gatherings of pilgrims who flocked yearly to the shrine. The Kaabah is mentioned by Diodorus as a famous temple whose sanctity was even then revered by all the Arabians ; its origin must therefore be ascribed to a very remote period. The name, which simply means ‘a cube, was given it on account of its shape, it being built square of unhewn stones. It was supposed to have been built by Adam from a model brought from heaven, and to have been subsequently restored by Seth, and later on by Abraham and Ishmael. The stone on which Abraham stood when.-rebuilding the 1 See Qur'an II, 129. INTRODUCTION, xvii Kaabah is still shown there ; it is called the maqam Ibrahim or Abraham’s station, and is mentioned several times in the Qur’4n. The well Zemzem, amongst the most venerated objects in the sacred precincts of Mecca, is believed to be the spring which Hagar discovered when she fled out into the wilderness with her son Ishmael. It was a small stream flowing from one of the surrounding hills, and this having in course of time dried up, Abd al Mu/Z¢alib, Mohammed’s grandfather, caused the well to be dug on the spot whence the spring originally issued. The Kaabah, so far as the dim legends of antiquity throw any light on the subject, remained for a long period in the hands of the descendants of Ishmael, and on their migrating to other parts of the peninsula its guardianship became vested in their kinsmen, the Jorhamites. These were driven out by the Amalekites, who were in turn defeated by the combined forces of the Ishmaelites and Jorhamites, the latter of whom again became masters of the temple. The Jorhamites were defeated and deposed by a coalition of the Benu Bakr and Benu ‘//uzahah, and the charge of the Kaabah remained with the last-mentioned tribe.
3The Jorhamites were defeated and deposed by a coalition of the Benu Bakr and Benu ‘//uzahah, and the charge of the Kaabah remained with the last-mentioned tribe. ‘Amr ibn La‘hy, a chief of the Benu ‘Huza’hah, now assumed the political and religious chieftainship of Mecca, and it was in his reign that the idols were placed in the Kaabah. The result of this was vastly to increase the importance of the city and its temple, as the various objects to which individual tribes paid worship were then all concentrated within its precincts. QuzAi, an ancestor of the prophet, making common cause with the Benu Ken4nah, defeated the Benu Bakr and Benu ‘Huzahah and restored the custody of the Kaabah to his own tribe, the Qurdis. From Quzai it descended to his eldest son “Abd ed _ Dar, from whom the principal offices were however transferred to his brother ‘Abd Menaf. These were the privilege of supplying the pilgrims with water and food at the time of the ‘Hagg; the command of the army and civic head- [6] b XVili THE QUR’AN. ship of the town; and the custody of the Kaabah before alluded to. ‘Abd Menéf left four sons, ‘Abd Shems, Hashim, al MudZzalib, and N4ufel. To Hashim was entrusted the guardianship of the Kaabah and the right of supplying food to the pilgrims, together with the princedom of Mecca, while to the descendants of ‘Abd ed Dar was left only the office of supplying them with water. HAshim and his son ‘Abd al Muffalib filled’ the office with so much liberality that the wealth of the family, though considerable, was nearly all dissipated, and the rival family of Ommaiyeh, son of “Abd Shems, took over the more expensive offices with the prestige which they naturally carried. It was during the reign of ‘Abd al Muzfalib that the invasion of Mecca by the Abyssinian army under Ashram the Abraha took place; they were however repulsed with great loss. This year was afterwards known as the ‘ Year of the Elephant,’ from the fact of these animals having been employed against the holy city. ‘Abd al Mufalib’s youngest son, Abd allah, married a kinswoman settled at YatHrib (Medinah), by whom he had one posthumous child Mohammed, the future prophet. The exact date generally given of Mohammed’s birth is April 20, 571 A. D., but all that is absolutely certain: is that he was born in the Year of the Elephant. All that the child inherited from his father was five camels and a slave girl. According to the fashion of the country he was provided with a Bedawi wet nurse, one ‘Halimah, who took him with her to the tents of her people and reared him amidst the invigorating surroundings of desert life. At the age of six Mohammed lost his mother, Aminah. The orphan was taken care of by his grandfather ‘Abd al MuZ¢alib, who showed for him very great affection, and at his death, which happened two years later, left him to the guardianship of his son Abu T4lib, afterwards one of the most prominent persons in Muslim history.
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.
1Christianity 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. But it had not penetrated deeply into their hearts, and its miracles, its doctrine of the Trinity, and the subtle disputes of monophysites and monothelites were absolutely incomprehensible to them. Judaism was more in accordance with their habits and traditions: a number of Jews had found their way into the INTRODUCTION. XV country after the repression of the revolt against the emperor Adrian, and had made numerous converts. Their creed, however, being based on the idea that they alone are the chosen people, was too exclusive for the majority of the Arabs, while the numerous and vexatious restrictions of its ritual and regulations for every-day life were but ill suited to the free and restless spirit of the sons of the desert. At the time of Mohammed’s appearance the national religion of the Arabs had so far degenerated as to have scarcely any believers. The primeval Sabzeanism was all but lost, and even the worship of the powers of nature had become little more than a gross fetishism; as one of Mohammed’s contemporaries said, when they found a fine stone they adored it, or, failing that, milked a camel over a heap of sand and worshipped that. , But by far the greater number had ceased to believe in anything at all; the pilgrimages, sacrifices, and worship of the tribal idols were still kept up, but rather for political and commercial reasons than as a matter of faith or conviction. Some, indeed, did consult the oracles, or vow an offering to their god in case of some desired event coming to pass; but, if their hopes were disappointed, the deity was assailed with childish abuse, while, if they succeeded, the vow was evaded by some less expensive sacrifice. Yet the mere existence amongst them of Christians and of Jews caused the monotheistic idea to attract the attention of some of the more earnest and enquiring minds. Amongst those who had endeavoured to search for the truth among the mass of conflicting dogmas and superstitions of the religions that surrounded them were Waraqah, the prophet’s cousin, and Zeid ibn ‘Amr, surnamed ‘the Enquirer.’ These enquirers were known as ‘Hanifs, a word which originally meant ‘inclining one’s steps towards anything,’ and therefore signified either convert or pervert. They did not constitute a united party, but each for himself investigated the truth. There was, however, another Xvi THE QUR'AN. sect who professed to have found the truth, and who preached the faith of their father Abraham, nothing more nor less, in fact, than the doctrine of the unity of God. These also called themselves ‘Hanifs, and Mohammed himself at first adopted the title as expressing the faith of Abraham }, but subsequently changed it to Muslim.
2These also called themselves ‘Hanifs, and Mohammed himself at first adopted the title as expressing the faith of Abraham }, but subsequently changed it to Muslim. The chief seat of the cult of the deities of Arabia was Mecca, also called Bekka, both names signifying a place of concourse; another name of the city is Umm el QurA, ‘the mother of cities,’ or metropolis. It was built about the middle of the fifth century of our era by the Qurdis on their obtaining possession of the Kaabah, the most ancient shrine in the country. It is situated in a narrow sandy valley shut in by bare mountains, The soil around the city is stony and unproductive, and the inhabitants are obliged to import their own provisions. To furnish this supply with more regularity Hashim, Mohammed’s grandfather, appointed two caravans, one in winter and the other in summer, to set out yearly; they are mentioned in the Qur'an, Chapter CVI. The territory of Mecca was held sacred; it was a sanctuary for man and beast, since it was unlawful to take any life there save those of the animals brought thither for sacrifice, at the time of the great gatherings of pilgrims who flocked yearly to the shrine. The Kaabah is mentioned by Diodorus as a famous temple whose sanctity was even then revered by all the Arabians ; its origin must therefore be ascribed to a very remote period. The name, which simply means ‘a cube, was given it on account of its shape, it being built square of unhewn stones. It was supposed to have been built by Adam from a model brought from heaven, and to have been subsequently restored by Seth, and later on by Abraham and Ishmael. The stone on which Abraham stood when.-rebuilding the 1 See Qur'an II, 129. INTRODUCTION, xvii Kaabah is still shown there ; it is called the maqam Ibrahim or Abraham’s station, and is mentioned several times in the Qur’4n. The well Zemzem, amongst the most venerated objects in the sacred precincts of Mecca, is believed to be the spring which Hagar discovered when she fled out into the wilderness with her son Ishmael. It was a small stream flowing from one of the surrounding hills, and this having in course of time dried up, Abd al Mu/Z¢alib, Mohammed’s grandfather, caused the well to be dug on the spot whence the spring originally issued. The Kaabah, so far as the dim legends of antiquity throw any light on the subject, remained for a long period in the hands of the descendants of Ishmael, and on their migrating to other parts of the peninsula its guardianship became vested in their kinsmen, the Jorhamites. These were driven out by the Amalekites, who were in turn defeated by the combined forces of the Ishmaelites and Jorhamites, the latter of whom again became masters of the temple. The Jorhamites were defeated and deposed by a coalition of the Benu Bakr and Benu ‘//uzahah, and the charge of the Kaabah remained with the last-mentioned tribe.
3The Jorhamites were defeated and deposed by a coalition of the Benu Bakr and Benu ‘//uzahah, and the charge of the Kaabah remained with the last-mentioned tribe. ‘Amr ibn La‘hy, a chief of the Benu ‘Huza’hah, now assumed the political and religious chieftainship of Mecca, and it was in his reign that the idols were placed in the Kaabah. The result of this was vastly to increase the importance of the city and its temple, as the various objects to which individual tribes paid worship were then all concentrated within its precincts. QuzAi, an ancestor of the prophet, making common cause with the Benu Ken4nah, defeated the Benu Bakr and Benu ‘Huzahah and restored the custody of the Kaabah to his own tribe, the Qurdis. From Quzai it descended to his eldest son “Abd ed _ Dar, from whom the principal offices were however transferred to his brother ‘Abd Menaf. These were the privilege of supplying the pilgrims with water and food at the time of the ‘Hagg; the command of the army and civic head- [6] b XVili THE QUR’AN. ship of the town; and the custody of the Kaabah before alluded to. ‘Abd Menéf left four sons, ‘Abd Shems, Hashim, al MudZzalib, and N4ufel. To Hashim was entrusted the guardianship of the Kaabah and the right of supplying food to the pilgrims, together with the princedom of Mecca, while to the descendants of ‘Abd ed Dar was left only the office of supplying them with water. HAshim and his son ‘Abd al Muffalib filled’ the office with so much liberality that the wealth of the family, though considerable, was nearly all dissipated, and the rival family of Ommaiyeh, son of “Abd Shems, took over the more expensive offices with the prestige which they naturally carried. It was during the reign of ‘Abd al Muzfalib that the invasion of Mecca by the Abyssinian army under Ashram the Abraha took place; they were however repulsed with great loss. This year was afterwards known as the ‘ Year of the Elephant,’ from the fact of these animals having been employed against the holy city. ‘Abd al Mufalib’s youngest son, Abd allah, married a kinswoman settled at YatHrib (Medinah), by whom he had one posthumous child Mohammed, the future prophet. The exact date generally given of Mohammed’s birth is April 20, 571 A. D., but all that is absolutely certain: is that he was born in the Year of the Elephant. All that the child inherited from his father was five camels and a slave girl. According to the fashion of the country he was provided with a Bedawi wet nurse, one ‘Halimah, who took him with her to the tents of her people and reared him amidst the invigorating surroundings of desert life. At the age of six Mohammed lost his mother, Aminah. The orphan was taken care of by his grandfather ‘Abd al MuZ¢alib, who showed for him very great affection, and at his death, which happened two years later, left him to the guardianship of his son Abu T4lib, afterwards one of the most prominent persons in Muslim history.
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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