Chapter VII: Part 7

"Put not God with other gods, or thou wilt sit despised and forsaken.
Thy Lord has decreed that ye shall not serve other than Him; and
kindness to one's parents, whether one or both of them reach old age
with thee, and say not to them, 'Fie,' and do not grumble at them, but
speak to them a generous speech. And lower to them the wing of
humility out of compassion, and say, 'O Lord! have compassion on them
as they brought me up when I was little!' Your Lord knows best what is
in your souls if ye be righteous, and, verily, He is forgiving unto
those who come back penitent.

"And give thy kinsman his due and the poor and the son of the road;
and waste not wastefully, for the wasteful were ever the devil's
brothers, and the devil is ever ungrateful to his Lord.

"But if thou dost turn away from them to seek after mercy from thy
Lord, which thou hopest for, then speak to them an easy speech.

"Make not thy hand fettered to thy neck, nor yet spread it out quite
open, lest thou shouldest have to sit down blamed and straightened in
means. Verily, thy Lord spreads out provision to whomsoever He will or
He doles it out. Verily, He is ever well aware of and sees His
servants.

"And slay not your children for fear of poverty; we will provide for
them; beware! for to slay them is ever a great sin.

"And draw not near to fornication; verily, it is ever an abomination,
and evil is the way thereof.

"And slay not the soul that God has forbidden you, except for just
cause; for he who is slain unjustly we have given his next of kin
authority; yet let him not exceed in slaying; verily, he is ever
helped.

"And draw not near to the wealth of the orphan, save to improve it,
until he reaches the age of puberty, and fulfil your compacts; verily,
a compact is ever enquired of.

"And give full measure when ye measure out, and weigh with a right
balance; that is better and a fairer determination.

"And do not pursue that of which thou hast no knowledge; verily, the
hearing, the sight and the heart, all of these shall be enquired of.

"And walk not on the earth proudly; verily, thou canst not cleave the
earth, and thou shalt not reach the mountains in height.

"All this is ever evil in the sight of your Lord and abhorred."

(E. H. Palmer's translation.)

Eschatology.

The eschatology of the Koran is especially prominent in its earlier parts. The resurrection, last judgment, paradise and hell are all described. At death the body again becomes earth, while the soul sinks into a state of sleep or unconsciousness. At a time decreed, known as "the hour" (_as-Sa`a_), "the day of resurrection" (_yaum ul-qiyyama_), "day of judgment" (_yaum-ud-din_), &c., an angel will call or will sound a trumpet, the earth will be broken up, and the soul will rejoin the body. God will appear on his throne with angels. The great book will be opened, and a list of his deeds will be given to every man, to the good in his right hand, to the evil in his left (_sura 69_). A balance will be used to weigh the deeds. The _jinn_ will testify against the idolaters. The righteous will then obtain eternal peace and joy in the garden (_al-janna_) and the wicked will be cast into the fiery ditch (_Jahannam_), where pains of body and of soul are united.

2. The _Tradition._--The revelation of God is twofold--in a writing and by a prophet. The former was contained in the Koran, the latter was known from the actions of Mahomet in the different circumstances of life. The manner of life of the Prophet (_sunna_) was contained in the tradition (_al-hadith_). The information required was at first naturally obtained by word of mouth from the companions and helpers of Mahomet. These in turn bequeathed their information to their younger companions, who quoted traditions and gave decisions in their names.

For long these traditions circulated orally, the authority of each
depending on the person who first gave it and the reliability of the
chain (_isnad_) of men who had passed it on from him. At first this
tradition was regarded as explanatory of, or at the most supplementary
to, the teaching of the Koran. Early Moslem teachers pointed to the
Jews as having two law-books--the _Taurat_ and the _Mishna_--while
Islam had only one--the Koran. But opinion changed, the value of
tradition as an independent revelation came to be more highly esteemed
until at last it was seriously discussed whether a tradition might not
abrogate a passage of the Koran with which it was at variance. The
writing of traditions was at first strongly discouraged, and for more
than a century the stories of the Prophet's conduct passed from mouth
to mouth. Had all the narrators been pious men, this might have been
tolerable, but this was not the case. The Omayyad dynasty was not a
pious one. Men who were not religious but wished to appear so invented
traditions to justify their manner of life. The sectarians did not
hesitate to adopt the same means of spreading their own teaching. Many
Moslem writers testify to the fact that forged traditions were
circulated, and that religious opinion was confused thereby. The need
for some sort of authoritative collection seems to have been felt by
the one pious Omayyad caliph, Omar II. (717-720), who is said to have
ordered Ibn Shihab uz-Zuhri to make such a collection. Of this work,
if it was carried out, we know nothing further. It was, however, by a
man born during this reign that the first systematic collection of
traditions was made--the _Muwatta`_ of Malik ibn Anas (q.v.). Yet this
work is not a book of tradition in the religious sense, it is really a
corpus juris and not a complete one. The object of Malik was simply to
record every tradition that had been used to give effect to a legal
decision. The work of sifting the vast mass of traditions and
arranging them according to their relation to the different parts of
religious life and practice was first undertaken in the 3rd century of
Islam (A.D. 815-912). In this century all the six collections
afterwards regarded as canonical by the Sunnites (orthodox) were made.
By this time an immense number of traditions was in circulation.
Bukhari in the course of sixteen years' journeying through Moslem
lands collected 600,000, and of these included 7275 (or, allowing for
repetitions, 4000) in his work. The six collections of tradition
received by the Sunnites as authoritative are: (i) The _Kitab ul-jami`
us-Sahih_ of Bukhari (q.v.) (810-870). This is the most respected
throughout the Moslem world and most carefully compiled (ed. L. Krehl
and T. W. Juynboll, Leiden, 1862--and frequently in the East; also
with many commentaries. French translation by O. Houdas and W.
Marcais, Paris, 1903 sqq.). (ii) The _Sahih_ of Muslim (817-875) with
an introduction on the science of tradition (ed. Calcutta, 1849, &c.).
(iii) The _Kitab us-Sunan_ of Abu Da`ud (817-888) (ed. Cairo, 1863,
Lucknow, 1888, Delhi, 1890). (iv) The _Jami` us-Sahih_ of Tirmidhi
(q.v.). (v) _The Kitab us-Sunan_ of Nasa` i (830-915) (ed. Cairo,
1894). (vi) The _Kitab us-Sunan_ of Ibn Maja (824-866) (ed. Delhi,
1865 and 1889). The last four are not held in the same repute as the
first two.

3. _Ijma`_ is the universal consent which is held to justify practices or beliefs, although they are not warranted by the Koran or tradition, and may be inconsistent with the apparent teaching of one or both of these. These beliefs and practices, which had often come from the pre-Islamic customs of those who had become believers, seem to have escaped notice until the Abbasid period. They were too deeply rooted in the lives of men to be abolished. It became necessary either to find a tradition to abrogate the earlier forbidding one, or to acknowledge that _ijma`_ is higher than the tradition. The former expedient was resorted to by some later theologians (e.g. Nawawi) by a fiction that such a tradition existed though it was not found now in writing. But in earlier times some (as Ibn Qutaiba) had adopted the latter alternative, saying that the truth can be derived much earlier from the _ijma`_ than from the tradition, because it is not open to the same chances of corruption in its transmission as the latter. Tradition itself was found to confirm this view, for the Prophet is related to have said, "My people does not agree to an error."

But _ijma`_ itself has been used in different senses: (i) The _ijma`_
of Medina was used to indicate the authority coming from the practices
of the people of Medina (see below). (ii) The _ijma`_ of the whole
community of Moslems is that most commonly recognized. It was used to
support fealty to the Abbasid dynasty. By it the six books of
tradition mentioned above are recognized as authoritative, and it is
the justification of the conception of Mahomet as superhuman. (iii)
Some of the more thoughtful theologians recognize only the _ijma`_ of
the doctors or the teachers of Islam (the _mujtahidun_), these being
restricted by the orthodox to the first few generations after Mahomet,
while the Shi`ites allow the existence of such up to the present time.

4. The fourth basis of Islam is _qiyas_, i.e. analogy. It is that process by which a belief or practice is justified on the ground of something similar but not identical in the Koran, the tradition or _ijma`_. Originally it seems to have been instituted as a check upon the use of private opinion (_ra'y_) in the teaching of doctrine. The extent to which it may be used is a subject of much discussion among theologians. Some would apply it only to a "material similarity," others to similarity of motive or cause as well.

_Worship and Ritual._--The acts of worship required by Islam are five in number: (i) the recital of the creed; (ii.) observance of the five daily prayers; (iii) the fast in the month of Ramadhan; (iv) giving of the legal alms; (v) the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Creed.

i. The creed is belief--"la ilaha illa-llahu, Muhammad rasul allahi,"
"there is no god but God (Allah), Mahomet is the apostle of God." It
is required that this shall be recited at least once in a lifetime
aloud, correctly, with full understanding of its meaning and with
heartfelt belief in its truth. It is to be professed without
hesitation at any time until death.

Prayer.

ii. Every man who professes Islam is required in ordinary life to pray
five times in each day. In the Koran these prayers are commanded,
though four only are mentioned. "Wherefore glorify God, when the
evening overtaketh you, and when ye rise in the morning, and unto Him
be praise in Heaven and earth; and in the evening and when ye rest at
noon" (xxx. 16-17), but commentators say the "evening" includes the
sunset and after sunset. The five times therefore are: (1) Dawn or
just before sunrise, (2) just after noon, (3) before sunset, (4) just
after sunset, and (5) just after the day has closed. Tradition decides
within what limits the recitals may be delayed without impairing their
validity. Prayer is preceded by the lesser ablution (_wadu_)
consisting in the washing of face, hands (to the elbows) and feet in
prescribed manner. Complete washing of the body (_ghusl_) is required
only after legal pollution. In prayer the worshipper faces the _qibla_
(direction of prayer), which was at first Jerusalem, but was changed
by the Prophet to Mecca. In a mosque the _qibla_ is indicated by a
niche (_mihrab_) in one of the walls. The prayers consist of
prescribed ejaculations, petitions, and the recital of parts of the
Koran, always including the first _sura_, accompanied by prostrations
of the body. Detailed physical positions are prescribed for each part
of the worship; these vary slightly in the four orthodox schools (see
below). On a journey, in time of war or in other special
circumstances, the set form of prayers may be modified in accordance
with appointed rules. Besides these private prayers, there is the
prayer of the assembly, which is observed on a Friday (_yaum
ul-jam'a_, "the day of assembly") in a mosque, and is usually
accompanied by an address or declamation (_khutba_) delivered from a
step of the pulpit (_minbar_). Special prayers are also prescribed for
certain occasions, as on the eclipse of the sun or the moon, &c. Among
the Sufis special attention is given to informal prayer, consisting
chiefly in the continual repetition of the name of God (_dhikr_) (see
SUFI'ISM). This is still a characteristic of some of the dervish
(q.v.) communities.

Fasting.

iii. The command to fast begins with the words, "O ye who believe!
There is prescribed for you the fast, as it was prescribed for those
before you." The expression "those before you" has been taken to refer
to the Jews, who fasted on the day of atonement, but more probably
refers to the long fast of thirty-six days observed by the Eastern
Christians. In the passage of the Koran referred to (ii. 179-181)
Moslems are required to fast during the month of Ramadhan, "wherein
the Koran was revealed," but if one is on a journey or sick he may
fast "another number of days," and if he is able to fast and does not,
"he may redeem it by feeding a poor man," but "if ye fast, it is
better for you." This fast was probably instituted in the second year
at Medina. At that time the corrected lunar year was in use and
Ramadhan, the ninth month, was always in the winter. A few years later
Mahomet decreed the use of the uncorrected lunar year, which remains
the standard of time for the Moslem world, so that the month of
fasting now occurs at all seasons of the year in turn. The fast is
severe, and means entire abstinence from food and drink from sunrise
to sunset each day of the month. The fast is associated with the
statement that in this month God sent down the Koran from the seventh
heaven to Gabriel in the lowest that it might be revealed to the
Prophet.

Alms.

iv. Alms are of two kinds: (1) the legal and determined (_zakat_), and
(2) voluntary (_sadaqat_). The former were given in cattle, grain,
fruit, merchandise and money once a year after a year's possession.
For cattle a somewhat elaborate scale is adopted. Of grain and fruit a
tenth is given if watered by rain, a twentieth if the result of
irrigation. Of the value of merchandise and of money a fortieth is
prescribed. In the early days of Islam the alms were collected by
officials and used for the building of mosques and similar religious
purposes. At the present time the carrying of these prescriptions is
left to the conscience of the believers, who pay the alms to any needy
fellow-Moslem. A good example of a _sadaqa_ is found in a gift to an
unbeliever (see C. M. Doughty, _Arabia deserta_, i. 446, ii. 278,
Cambridge, 1888).

Pilgrimage.

v. The fifth religious duty of the Moslem is the pilgrimage (_hajj_)
to Mecca, which should be performed once by every Moslem "if he is
able," that is if he can provide or obtain the means to support
himself on pilgrimage and his family during his absence, and if he is
physically capable. The pilgrimage is made at one time of the (Moslem)
year, namely, from the 7th to the 10th of the month Dhu'l-Hijja. For
the arrangements for the journey from various countries to Mecca see
CARAVAN. When the pilgrim arrives within five or six miles of the holy
city he puts off his ordinary dress after ablution and prayer, and
puts on the two seamless wrappers which form the dress of the pilgrim
(the _ihram_), who goes without head-covering or boots or shoes. He
must not shave at all, or trim the nails or anoint the head during the
ceremonial period. The chief parts of the ceremonial are the visit to
the sacred mosque (_masjid ul-haram_), the kissing of the black stone,
the compassing of the Ka`ba (the _Tawaf_) seven times, three times
running, four times slowly, the visit to the Maqam Ibrahim, the ascent
of Mount Safa and running from it to Mount Marwa seven times, the run
to Mount `Arafat, hearing a sermon, and going to Muzdalifa, where he
stays the night, the throwing of stones at the three pillars in Mina
on the great feast day, and the offering of sacrifice there (for the
localities see MECCA). After the accomplishment of these ceremonies
the ordinary dress is resumed, the pilgrimage is finished, but the
pilgrim usually remains another three days in Mecca, then visits
Medina to pay his respects to the tomb of Mahomet. Beside the _hajj_
(great pilgrimage) Islam also recognizes the merit of the _`umra_ (or
lesser pilgrimage), i.e. a religious visit to Mecca at any time
accompanied by most of the ceremonies of the _hajj_.

The ceremonies of the _hajj_ have been described by several European
travellers who have witnessed them, such as J. L. Burckhardt in 1814,
Sir Richard Burton in 1853 (see bibliography to MECCA). A concise
account of them is given in T. P. Hughes, _Notes on Muhammadanism_
(3rd ed., London, 1894). Details in vol. i. of Bukhari's traditions
(Houdas and Marcais's French translation, i. 493-567).

_The Development of Islam._--The battle of Siffin (657) between `Ali and Moawiya was the occasion of the first breach in the unity of Islam, and the results remain to this day. The occasion was in the first case political, but politics were at that time too intimately connected with religion to be considered apart from it. After the battle (see CALIPHATE) `Ali was practically compelled to submit his claims to arbitration, whereupon a number of his supporters broke away from him, saying that there should have been no appeal save to the Book of God. These men were for the most part country Arabs, and, inspired by the free spirit of the desert, were democratic, claiming that the caliph should be elected by the whole community from any family (and not from the Koreish alone), and that the caliph might be deposed for sin. A few extremists were republicans and would do without a caliph altogether. The whole party was known as the Kharijites (Kharijiyya or Khawarij). The Moslems who disagreed with them were regarded by them as renegades and were to be put to death. They were soon divided into extremists and moderates. The former put to death the children of unbelievers and refused to hold intercourse in daily life with unbelievers. The moderates, who came to be known as Ibadites (from their leader `Abdallah ibn `Ibad), would allow the children of unbelievers to grow up, and would then deal with them according to their choice. In ordinary life they would mix with all men, but marriage with other Moslems outside their own ranks was forbidden. These still remain in Oman, parts of Algeria and East Africa.

Another party, consisting mainly of city Arabs infected with Persian ideas as to the divinity of the ruler, clung to `Ali with inconvenient affection. They regarded `Ali and his descendants as the only legitimate caliphs, and came to be known as Shi`ites (q.v.). They remain to-day the largest part of Islam outside orthodoxy. During the Omayyad caliphate (661-750) there were three centres of religious thought and influence; students and teachers often passed from one to the other, thus making universal the teachings which in their origin were due to local circumstances. These centres were Damascus (the seat of the caliphate), Medina and the East (Irak, &c.). In Damascus the court was worldly and indifferent to the interests of Islam. The early Omayyads were distinguished for their striving after dominion (_mulk_). Instead of attempting to propagate Islam, they tolerated other religions and favoured Christians who were distinguished as poets (e.g. Akhtal) or officials (John of Damascus), or men likely to be of use to them in any way. The doctrines of Christianity began to influence even serious Moslems and to affect their way of stating Moslem belief. John of Damascus (d. before 767), the Greek theologian, and his pupil, Theodorus Abucara (d. 826), have written controversial works on Islam, from which it seems probable that disputations on subjects pertaining to religion were held between Christians and Moslems. Two schools of heretical Moslem sects arose under these influences--that of the Murjiites and that of the Qadarites. The Murjiites ("postponers") were so called because they postponed the judgment of human actions until the Day of Judgment. In politics they accepted the Omayyads as _de facto_ rulers, since they were Moslems, and left the judgment of their actions to God. As theologians they taught that religion consists in belief (_iman_) in the unity of God and in his apostle, and in that alone, consequently no one who held this faith would perish eternally, though he had been a sinner. This was opposed to the Kharijite doctrine that the unrepentant sinner would perish eternally, even though he had professed Islam.

The Qadarites were concerned with the doctrine of predestination and free-will. So long as Moslems were fighting the battles of Islam they naturally paid most attention to those revelations which laid stress on the absolute determination of a man's destiny by God. They fought with great bravery because they believed that God had foreordained their death or life and they could not escape His will. In the quieter realm of town and court life and in their disputations with Christians they were called upon to reconcile this belief with the appeals made in the Koran to man's own self-determination to good, to courage, &c. Mahomet was not a systematic theologian and had done nothing to help them. The Qadarites declared that man had power over his own actions. But the teaching of predestination had gained too great a hold on Moslems to be thus displaced. The teaching of the Qadarites was held to be heresy, and one of its first professors, Ma`bad ul-Juhani, was put to death in 699.[3] During this period Medina was the home of tradition. Those who had been in closest relation with the Prophet dwelt there. The very people of the city derived a certain splendour and authority from the fact that Mahomet had lived and was buried there. Free thought in religion had little chance of arising, less of expressing itself, in the holy city. But the Koran was diligently studied, traditions were collected (and invented) though not yet written in books, and innovation (_bid`a_) was resolutely avoided. At the same time it really did contribute a new element to religious practice, for the custom (_ijma`_, see above) of Medina gained a certain authority even in Syria and the East.

In the East, on the other hand, there was more mental activity, and the religious teachers who came from Medina had to be prepared to meet with many questions. The wits of the Moslems were sharpened by daily contact with Christians, Buddhists, Manichaeans and Zoroastrians. Hasan ul-Basri (q.v.), who has been claimed as one of the first mystics, also as one of the first systematic theologians of Islam, was remarkable alike for his personal piety and his orthodoxy. Yet it was among his pupils that the great rationalist movement originated. Its founder was Wasil ibn `Ata, who separated himself (whence his followers were called Motazilites, strictly Mu`tazilites, "Separatists") from his teacher and founded a school which became numerous and influential. The Mu`tazilites objected to the attributes of God being considered in any way as entities beside God; they explained away the anthropomorphisms used in speaking of the deity; they regarded the Koran as created and as a product of Mahomet writing under the divine influence. Briefly, they asserted the supremacy of reason (_`aql_) as distinct from faith received by tradition (_naql_). They also called themselves "the people of justice and unity" (_Ahl ul-`adl wat-tauhid_). Such a faith as this naturally found favour rather with the thinking classes than with the uneducated multitude, and so went through many vicissitudes. At the time of its appearance and until the reign of Ma`mun its adherents were persecuted as heretics. After discussions among the theologians Ma`mun took the decided step of proclaiming that the Koran was created, and that a belief in this dogma was necessary. Other Mu`tazilite doctrines were proclaimed later. Mu`tazilites were appointed to official posts, and an inquisition (_mihna_) was appointed to enforce belief in their doctrines. This movement was strongly opposed by the orthodox and especially by Ahmad ibn Hanbal (q.v.). By him the founding of theology on reason was rejected, and he suffered persecution for his faith (see W. N. Patton, _Ahmed ibn Hanbal and the Mihna_, Leiden, 1897). Mu`tazilism retained its sway until 849, when the caliph Motawakkil again declared the Koran uncreate and restored orthodoxy. It was during the early years of the Abbasid rule that the four legal schools of Abu Hanifa (d. 767), Malik ibn Anas (d. 795), ash-Shafi'i (d. 819) and Ibn Hanbal (d. 855) came into existence (see MAHOMMEDAN LAW). As the bases of religion and law were the same, so the methods applied in the treatment of the one affected the other. Abu Hanifa depended little on tradition, but referred back to the Koran, making use of individual opinion (_ra`y_) as controlled by analogy (_qiyas_) with a written ordinance. Malik Ibn Anas supplemented the Koran and Sunna by customary law founded largely on the custom (_ijma`_) of Medina, and by what he conceived to be for the public good (_istislah_). Shafi`i recognized tradition as equal to the Koran, and even as being able to supersede its ordinances, while he also recognized the universal custom (_ijma`_) of the Moslem world as divine and binding. His four bases of religion--Koran, sunna, qiyas and ijma`--have been generally accepted in Islam (see above). Ibn Hanbal's position has been already mentioned. All these four schools are reckoned orthodox, and all orthodox Moslems belong to one or another of them. Another teacher of this time, who founded a school which did not succeed in being recognized as orthodox, was Da`ud uz-Zahiri. Trained as a Shafi`ite, he became too strict for this school, rejected analogy, restricted _ijma`_ to the agreement or custom of the companions of Mahomet, and accepted the whole of the Koran and tradition in the most literal and external sense. His followers were called Zahirites (i.e. externalists). After Ash`ari's time these principles were applied to theology by Ibn Hazm (q.v.) see I. Goldziher, _Die Zahiriten, ihr Lehrsystem und ihre Geschichte_ (Leipzig, 1884).

Before turning to the reform of Ash`ari and the introduction into orthodox theology of scholastic philosophy it is necessary to notice another phase of religious life which became the common property of orthodox and heretics. This was the introduction of asceticism in religions practice and of mysticism in religious thought. Sufi`ism (q.v.), which combined these two, is rightly not counted among the sects of Islam. Asceticism seems to have won a certain amount of approval from Mahomet himself, who much respected the Christian monks. The attention paid in early Islam to the joys and punishments of the future life led to self-denial and simple living in this world. An Arabian writer, speaking of the simplicity of manners of the first four caliphs, says that their affairs were conducted with more consideration of the future life than of this world. Many Moslems went even farther than these caliphs, and gave up all concern as far as possible with the affairs of this world and lived in poverty, in wanderings or in retirement (see DERVISH). For the historical development of this movement, with its accompanying mysticism, see SUFI`ISM. Ash`ari (d. before 942) was for forty years a Mu`tazilite, then became orthodox (see ASH`ARI), and at once applied rational methods for the support and interpretation of the orthodox faith. Before him, reason had not been allowed any scope in orthodox theology. He was not the first to use it; some teachers (as al-Junaid) had employed it in teaching, but only in secret and for the few. The methods of scholastic philosophy were now introduced into Moslem theology. The chief characteristic of his religious teaching was the adoption of the _via media_ between materialistic grossness and the ideas of pure speculative philosophy. Thus he taught, as to the attributes of God, that they exist, but are not to be compared with human attributes; as to His visibility, that He can be seen but without the limitations of human sight. As to the great question of free will, he denied man's power but asserted his responsibility. So he passed in review the doctrines of God, faith, the Koran, sin, intercession, &c., and for the first time in the history of Islam produced a systematic theology. The teaching of Ash`ari was taken up and propagated by the Buyids soon after his death, and was developed and perfected by Abu Bekr ul-Baqilani, the Cadi (d. 1012), but up to the middle of the 5th century of Islam (c. A.D. 1058) was suspected elsewhere and confounded with Mu`tazilism. The Ash`arite al-Juwaini (known as Imam ul-Haramain) was persecuted under Toghrul Beg (c. 1053) and exiled, but was restored under Alp Arslan by the vizier Nizam ul-Mulk, who founded an Ash`arite college (the Nizamiyya). In the West, Ibn Hazm (q.v.) fiercely opposed the system, but Ghazali established its orthodoxy in the East, and it spread from Persia to Syria and Egypt under the Ayyubites and Mamelukes and thence to the Almohades in Africa under Ibn Tumart (1130). It remains the predominating influence to the present day, its only serious rival being the theological system of al-Mataridi, a Hanifite (d. 945), whose creed as represented in that of an-Nasafi is still used largely by the Turks. Since the 12th century no great theological movement has been made in Islam. The quiet of religious life has twice been broken, once by Wahhabism (q.v.) in Arabia, once by Babism (q.v.) in Persia.

THE SECTS

According to an early tradition Mahomet said that Islam would be divided into seventy-three parties (sects),[4] of which seventy-two would perish and one would be saved. The orthodox Arabian writers on heretical sects of Islam feel compelled by this tradition to make up their number to seventy-two, and, as different writers adopt different divisions or are familiar with different parties, the names of sects amount to some hundreds. Each writer, however, adopts certain main classes under which he attempts to group the others. Abu Muti` Makhul at the beginning of the 10th century in his "Refutation" (MS. in Bodleian Library) has six such chief classes: Harurites (i.e. Kharijites), Rafidites (i.e. Shi`ites), Qadarites, Jabarites, Jahmites and Murjiites. Ibn Hazm (q.v.) adopts four classes: Mu`tazilites (Motazilites), Murjiites, Shi`ites and Kharijites. Shahrastani (q.v.) complains of the want of system in earlier writers, and suggests as bases of classification the position of parties with regard to the doctrines as to (1) the divine attributes, (2) predestination and free-will (3) promises and threats, faith and error, (4) revelation, reason, the imamate. In one part of his preface he gives as the chief parties the Qadarites, Sifatites, Kharijites and Shi`ites, proposing to divide these classes according to leaders who agreed with the main doctrines of their class but differed in some points. In another place he mentions four opposite pairs of sects: (1) the Qadarites with their doctrine of free-will, and the Jabarites, who are necessitarians; (2) the Sifatites, who maintain the eternal nature of the attributes of God, and the Mu`tazilites, who deny it; (3) the Murjiites, who postpone judgment of actions until the Last Day, and the Wa`idites, who condemn in this life; (4) the Kharijites, who consider the caliphate a human institution, and the Shi`ites, who deify their ruler. In his detailed treatment of the sects Shahrastani arranged them under the headings: Mu`tazilites, Jabarites, Sifatites, Kharijites, Murjiites and Shi`ites. About the same time as Shahrastani two other Arabian writers wrote on the sects--Tahir ul-Isfaraini (d. 1078), whose MS. is in the Berlin library, and `Abd ul-Qadir ul-Jilani (1078-1166) in his _Kitab ul-Ghaniyya li-Talibi Tariq il-Haqqi_ (Cairo, 1871). Both adopt as main classes Rafidites (or Shi`ites), Qadarites (or Mu`tazilites), Kharijites, Murjiites, Najjarites, Dirarites, Jahmites, Mushabbiha, to which Tahir adds Bakrites, Karramites, and a class including those sects which are not reckoned as Moslem though they have sprung from Islam. Jilani adds to the eight the Kilabites.

The following list is not a complete list of names of sects but is founded on that of Shahrastani.[5]

_Aftahites._--Shi`ites of the Imamite class, who ascribe the imamate
to `Abdallah ul-Aftahi, the son of Sadiq.

_Ajarida._--Kharijites, followers of Ibn `Ajarrad, who agreed for the
most part with the Najadat (below), considered grave sins as
equivalent to unbelief, but remained friendly with those who professed
Islam but did not fight for it. They rejected _sura_ 7 as a fable.
Shahrastani enumerates seven divisions of this sect.

_Akhnasites._--A section of the Tha`aliba not so strict in treatment
of those who fear to fight for Islam.

_Ash`arites._--Followers of Ash`ari (q.v.) who are counted by
Shahrastani among the Sifatites.

_Atrafites._--A division of the `Ajarida who agree with the Hamzites
except that they excuse the lower classes for inaction when they are
ignorant of the law.

_Azraqites._--Kharijites who followed al-Azraq in the days of Ibn
Zubair. They held `Ali to be an unbeliever; those who did not fight
were unbelievers; the children of unbelievers were to be put to death
and went to hell. Sin is unbelief.

_Bahshamites._--Mu`tazilites akin to the Jubba`ites.

_Baihasites._--Kharijites, followers of Abu Baihas ul-Haitham, who was
put to death by the caliph Walid. They asserted the necessity of
knowledge for religion.

_Baqirites._--Shi`ites who followed Abu Ja`far ul-Baqir, the fifth
imam, and looked for his return.

_Batinites._--Isma`ilites, so called because they believe that every
external has an internal (_batin_), and every passage in the Koran has
an allegoric meaning.

_Bishrites._--Mu`tazilites, followers of Bishr ibn Mu`tamir, one of
the most learned men of his party. His teaching was philosophical and
was distinguished by his doctrine of "origination" (_tawallud_).

_Bunanites._--Kaisanites, followers of Bunan ibn Sim`an un-Nahdi, who
claimed that the imamate passed from Abu Hashim to himself and that he
had also acquired the divine element of `Ali.

_Butrites._--Zaidites, followers of Kathir un-Nawa ul-Abtar, who
agreed with the Suleimanites (Sulaimanites) except that he suspended
judgment as to whether Othman was a believer or not.

_Dirarites._--Jabarites who empty God of his attributes, and assert
that man has a sixth sense by which he will see God on the day of
resurrection. The actions of man are "created" and acquired by him. A
caliph need not be chosen from the Koreish.

_Ghaliites_ (Ghula) are the extreme Shi`ites (q.v.) in ascribing deity
to the imams. Their heresies are said to be four in number: (1) Making
God resemble man, (2) ascribing change of mind to God, (3) looking for
the return of the imam, (4) metempsychosis. They are divided by
Shahrastani into ten classes.

_Ghassanites._--Murjiites, followers of Ghassan ibn ul-Kufi, who say
that faith consists of knowledge of God, his apostle, and the Koran in
general not in detail, and that faith increases but is not diminished.

_Habities_ = Hayitites (below).

_Hadathites_ (Hudabites) are Mu`tazilites, followers of Fadl ibn
ul-Hadathi, who agreed with the Hayitites (below).

_Hafsites._--Ibadites, followers of Hafs ibn abi-l-Miqdam, who
distinguished between idolatry (_shirk_) and unbelief (_kufr_).

_Hamzites._--`Ajarida, followers of Hamza ibn Adrak in Sijistan. They
agree with the Maimunites, but condemn the children of unbelievers to
hell.

_Harithites._--Ibadites who differ from others in holding the
Mu`tazilite doctrine of free-will.

_Harurites._--A name given to the first Kharijites, who rebelled
against `Ali, and met in Harura near Kufa.

_Hashimites._--Shi`ites who supported Abu Hashim, son of Mahommed ibn
ul-Hanafiyya, although they held that his father had gone astray.

_Hashwiites._--A party who asserted the eternity even of the letters
of the Koran. They are not mentioned as a separate sect by
Shahrastani; cf. van Vloten, "_Les Hachwia et Nabita_," in the _Acts
of the 11th Oriental Congress_ (Paris, 1899), pt. iii., pp. 99 sqq.

_Hayitites._--Mu`tazilites who agreed with the Nazzamites, but added
three heresies of their own: (1) the divinity of the Messiah, (2)
metempsychosis, (3) the interpretation of all references to the vision
of God as referring to the "first Reason" or "creative Reason."

_Hishamites._--A name given to two sects: (1) Mu`tazilites, strong in
their assertion of man's free-will, even opposing the statement of the
Koran. (2) Shi`ites of the extreme kind, who attributed to God a body
with quantities (measurements) and qualities.

_Hudabites._--See Hadathites.

_Hudhailites_ (Hodhailites).--Mu`tazilites, followers of Abu-l Hudhail
Hamdan, who was a leading teacher of his party and developed the
philosophical side of its teaching. Ten of his main doctrines are
given by Shahrastani.

_Ibadites._--Kharijites of moderate tendencies (see above).

_Ilbaites._--Ghaliites who put `Ali above Mahomet and blamed the
latter because he called men to himself instead of to `Ali.

_Imamites._--One of the chief divisions of the Shi`ites (q.v.).

_Ishaqites._--Ghaliites agreeing with the Nusairites except that they
incline to speak of the imams' participation in the prophetic office
rather than of their divinity.

_Isma`ilites._--This name is applied to all who consider Isma`il ibn
Ja`far the last imam, some believing that he did not die but will
return, others, that at his death his son Mahommed became imam (see
ASSASSINS); it is also used as equivalent to the Batinites.

_Ithna`asharites._--Imamites who accept the twelve imams (see
SHI`ITES).

_Jabarites._--Those who deny all actions and power to act to man and
ascribe all to God (see above).

_Ja`farites._--Imamites who carry the imamate no farther than Ja`far
us-Sadiq.

_Jahizites._--Mu`tazilites, followers of the celebrated writer Jahiz
(q.v.), who indulged in philosophical speculations, believed in the
eternity of matter, and was regarded as a naturalist (_taba`i_) rather
than a theist (_allahi_).

_Jahmites._--Jabarites, followers of Jahm ibn Safwan, who was put to
death at Merv toward the close of the Omayyad period. He was extreme
in his denial of the attributes of God.

_Jarudites._--Zaidites who held that Mahomet designated `Ali as imam,
not by name but by his attributes, and that the Moslem sinned by not
taking sufficient trouble to recognize these attributes.

_Jubba`ites._--Mu`tazilites who followed the philosophical teaching of
Abu `Ali Mahommed ul-Jubba`i of Basra.

_Kaisanites._--A main class of the Shi`ites (q.v.).

_Kamilites._--Ghaliites, followers of Abu Kamil, who condemned the
companions (_Ansar_) because they did not do allegiance to `Ali, and
`Ali because he surrendered his claims.

_Karramites._--Sifatites, followers of Ibn Karram, who went so far as
to ascribe a body to God, and assimilated his nature to human nature.

_Kayyalites._--Ghaliites, followers of Ahmad ibn Kayyal, who, after
supporting a propaganda for an Aliite, claimed to be the imam himself
on the ground of his power over the spheres.

_Khalafites._--`Ajarida of Kerman and Multan, who believed that God
wills good and evil, but condemned the children of unbelievers to
hell.

_Kharijites._--One of the earliest sects of Islam (see above).

_Kharimites._--`Ajarida, agreeing mostly with the Shu`aibites and
teaching that the relation of God to a man depends on what he
professes at the end of his life.

_Khattabites._--Ghaliites, followers of Abu-l Khattab, who was put to
death by Ibn Musa at Kufa. He was a violent supporter of Ja`far
us-Sadiq, who however disowned him.

_Khayyatites._--Mu`tazilites, followers of Abu-l Hosain ul-Khayyat, a
teacher in Bagdad, part of whose philosophical teaching was that the
non-existent is a thing.

_Ma`badites._--Tha`labites who differed from the Akhnasites on the
question of the marriage of believing women and from Tha`lab on the
question of taking alms from slaves.

_Maimunites._--`Ajarida, followers of Maimun ibn Khalid, who believed
that God wills good only and that man determines his actions.

_Majhulites._--Tha`labites, agreeing generally with the Kharimites,
but teaching that he who knows some names and attributes of God and is
ignorant of some knows God.

_Ma`lumites._--Tha`labites agreeing generally with the Kharimites but
alleging that a believer must know all the names and attributes of
God.

_Mansurites._--Ghaliites, followers of Abu Mansur ul-`Ijli, who at
first supported al-Baqir, but, rejected by him, claimed the imamate
for himself. He was crucified by the caliph Hisham ibn `Abd ul-Malik
(Abdalmalik).

_Mu`ammarites._[6]--Mu`tazilites who strongly denied the
predestination of God, and affirmed that God created bodies only, and
that the accidents spring naturally from them.

_Mufaddalites._[6]--The same as the Musaites (q.v.).

_Mughirites._[6]--Ghaliites, followers of Mughira ibn Sa`id ul-`Ijli,
who claimed the imamate and prophetic office and held extremely gross
views of God.

_Muhakkima_[6] (the first).--Another name for the Harurites (above).

_Mukarramites._[6]--Tha`labites who taught that sin consists in
ignorance of God.

_Mukhtarites._[6]--Kaisanites, followers of al-Mukhtar ibn `Ubaid, who
held to Mahommed ibn ul-Hanafiyya but was disowned by him. He allowed
the possibility of change of mind on the part of God.

_Murjiites._--Those who postponed judgment of actions until the Day of
Judgment. See above.

_Musaites._--Imamites who held to the imamate of Musa ibn Ja`far, who
was imprisoned by Harun al-Rashid and poisoned.

_Mushabbiha._[6]--Sifatites who compared God's actions with human
actions. They said that the Koran was eternal with all its letters,
accents and written signs.

_Mu`tazilites._[6]--The rationalists of Islam. See above, cf. also H.
Steiner, _Die Mu`taziliten oder die Freidenker im Islam_ (Leipzig,
1865).

_Muzdarites._[6]--Mu`tazilites, followers of al-Muzdar, a pupil of
Bishr (cf. Bishrites) whose teaching he developed further. He taught
that God has power to do evil, but, if he acted thus, would be an evil
God; also that man can produce the equal of the Koran.

_Najadat_ (also known as _`Adhirites_).--Kharijites, who followed
Najda ibn `Amir of Yemama as he went to join the Azraqites but
withdrew from these, being more orthodox than they. He held that fear
of fighting was not sin.

_Nawisites_ take their name from a person or a place. They are
Ja`farites who believe in Sadiq as the mahdi.

_Nazzamites._--Mu`tazilites, followers of Ibrahim ibn Sayyar
un-Nazzam, who was an extremist in his teaching of man's free-will and
other philosophical doctrines.

_Nu`manites._[6]--Ghaliites agreeing in some points with Hishamites,
but holding that God is a light in the form of a man, yet not a body.

_Nusairites._[6]--Ghaliites who agree with the Ishaqites except that
they lay more stress on the incorporation of the deity.

_Qadarites._--The upholders of free-will (see above).

_Qata`ites._--Musaites who regard the rank of the imams as closed with
the death of Musa.

_Rafidites._--A term used by some writers to denote the Shi`ites as a
whole; by others given to a class of the Shi`ites who forsook Zaid ibn
`Ali because he forbade them to abuse the Companions.

_Rashidites._--Tha`labites, followers of Rashid ut-Tusi, sometimes
called `Ushrites ("tithers") because they differed from others on the
question of tithing the produce of land watered by rivers and canals.

_Rizamites._--Kaisanites of Khorasan at the time of Abu Muslim, to
whom they ascribed the imamate and the Spirit of God. They also
believed in metempsychosis.

_Saba`ites._--Ghaliites, who followed `Abdallah ibn Saba (see
SHI`ITES).

_Salihites._--(a) Zaidites, followers of al-Hasan ibn Salih, who
agreed with the teachings of the Butrites (above); (b) Murjiites,
followers of Salih ibn Amr, who united with the doctrines of their own
party those of the Qadarites.

_Saltites._--`Ajarida who had nothing to do with the children of
believers until they had grown up and professed Islam.

_Shaibanites._--Tha`labites, followers of Shaiban ibn Salama, who was
killed in the time of Abu Muslim (Moslem). They arose chiefly in
Jorjan and Armenia and agreed in doctrine with the Jahmites.

_Shamitites._--Ja`farites, followers of Yahya ibn Abu Shamit.

_Shi`ites._--See separate article.

_Shu`aibites._--`Ajarida who said that God creates the actions of men,
and men appropriate them.

_Sifatites_ are those who ascribe eternity to all the attributes of
God, whether they denote essence or action, or are of the class called
descriptive attributes.

_Sifrites_, the same as Ziyadites (below).

_Sulaimanites_ (Suleimanites).--Zaidites, followers of Suleiman ibn
Jarir, who held that the appointment to the imamate was a matter of
consultation and that the imamates of Abu Bekr and Omar were legal
although `Ali had a better claim.

_Tha`labites._--A party of the Kharijites, followers of Tha`lab ibn
Amir, who agreed with the `Ajarida except that he was friendly with
children until they actually denied the faith. He also took alms from
slaves when they were rich, and gave alms to poor slaves.

_Thaubanites._--Murjiites who said that faith consists in the
knowledge and confession of God and His apostle, and what the
intellect is not capable of doing. What the intellect can do (or
leave) is not of faith.

_Thumamites._--Mu`tazilites, followers of Thumama ibn Ashras in the
days of Mamun, who taught that all non-Moslems would become dust on
the day of resurrection.

_Tumanites._--Murjiites who taught that faith depends on obedience
rather to the principles than to the commands of Islam.

_`Ubaidites._--Murjiites who believed that anything but idolatry might
be forgiven, and that if a man died professing the unity of God his
sins would not hurt him.

_Wa`idites._--Those who, opposed to the Murjiites, pronounced judgment
in this life; they are not counted as a separate sect by Shahrastani
(see above).

_Wasilites._--A name given to those who followed Wasil ibn `Ata, the
founder of Mu`tazilitism, who denied the attributes of God, asserted
the power of man over his own actions, taught the existence of a
middle place between heaven and hell, and despised the parties of
Othman and `Ali alike.

_Yazidites._--Ibadites who said that they followed the religion of the
Sabians in the Koran, and believed that God would send an apostle from
the Persians.

_Yunusites._--Murjiites who taught that faith consists in knowledge of
God, subjection to Him, abandonment of pride before Him, and love in
the heart. Obedience apart from knowledge is not of faith.

_Zaidites._--The moderate Shi`ites (see SHI`ITES).

_Ziyadites._--Kharijites, followers of Ziyad ibn ul-Asfar, who did not
regard those who abstained from fighting for Islam as unbelievers, and
did not kill the children of idolaters or condemn them to hell.

AUTHORITIES.--For the philosophy and theology of Ash`ari see M. A. F.
Mehren, _Exposé de la réforme de l'Islamisme par Abou-`l Hasan Ali
el-Ash`ari_ (Leiden, 1878); W. Spitta, _Zur Geschichte Abu-l Hasan
al-Ash`aris_ (Leipzig, 1876); M. Schreiner, _Zur Geschichte des
Ash`aritenthums_ (Leiden, 1891); D. B. Macdonald, _Development of
Muslim Theology, Jurisprudence and Constitutional Theory_ (London,
1903). The last work contains translations of the creeds of Ash`ari
and Nasafi (Mataridite). A further bibliography of works on the faith
and outlook of Islam will be found in D. B. Macdonald's _Muslim
Theology_.

The text of the Koran has been edited by G. Flügel, Leipzig, various
dates; and by G. M. Redslob, Paris, 1868 and 1880. There are also
hundreds of Eastern editions. Concordances have been published by G.
Flügel, Leipzig, 1842 (several times reprinted), also in Egypt,
Palestine and India. A dictionary and glossary were published by J.
Penrice, London, 1873. English translations have been made by G. Sale,
London, 1734 (the fullest edition is that with notes by E. M. Wherry,
4 vols., London, 1882-1886); by J. M. Rodwell with notes, London, 1861
and 1876; and by E. H. Palmer in vols, vi. and ix. of the "Sacred
Books of the East," Oxford, 1880-1882. Among the best or best-known
Arabic commentaries are those of Tabari (q.v.), Zamakhshari (q.v.),
Baidhawi (q.v.), the Jalalain (see SUYUTI), and such later ones as the
Mafatih ul-Ghaib of ar-Razi (d. 1210). The composition and theology of
the Koran are treated in the works of Nöldeke and Grimme referred to
above.

On the eschatology of Islam see M. Wolff, _Muhammedanische
Eschatologie_ (Leipzig, 1872); and on the doctrine of revelation. Otto
Pautz, _Muhammeds Lehre von der Offenbarung_ (Leipzig, 1898).
(G. W. T.)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] See also KORAN.

[2] Underlined = with interpolations.

[3] For the doctrines of these two sects see Shahrastani's _Book of
Sects_, and for the Qadarites, A. de Vlieger's _Kitab ul-Qadr,
matériaux pour servir à l'étude de la doctrine de la prédestination
dans la théologie musulmane_ (Leiden, 1903).

[4] For the origin and significance of this number see M.
Steinschneider, "Die kanonische Zahl der muhammedanischen Secten und
die Symbolik der Zahl, 70-73," _in Zeitschr. d. deutschen morgenl.
Gesellschaft_, iv., 145-170 (1850); and I. Goldziher, "Le
Denombrement des sectes mohamétanes" in _Revue de l'hist. des
religions_, xxvi. 129-137 (1892).

[5] The names are given throughout in the anglicized form on the
analogy of Shi`ites, which is recognized in common usage. The strict
termination according to the scheme of transliteration adopted in
this work is _iyya_, or _iya_, e.g. Hishamiyya for Hishamites. For
information regarding the important sects see separate articles and
the preceding portion of this article.

[6] All these names are alternatively spelt Mo- instead of Mu-.

MAHONY, FRANCIS SYLVESTER (1804-1866), known as "Father Prout," Irish priest and author, son of a woollen manufacturer, was born in Cork in 1804. His classical education was chiefly obtained at a Jesuit college at Amiens, and after studying in Paris he entered the Jesuit college at Rome and was admitted into the Society of Jesus. He served in Switzerland and at Clongoweswood, Ireland, where he was prefect of studies and subsequently master of rhetoric. Here he was involved in scandals that led to his resignation. On going to Italy he was told at Florence that he was expelled from the Society. He succeeded, however, in obtaining priest's orders at Rome in 1832, and returned to Ireland, but subsequently went to London, officiating for some time in the chapel of the Bavarian Legation. While there he fell in with William Maginn, and about 1834 began to contribute his celebrated "Prout Papers" to _Fraser's Magazine_. These consist of episodes in the life of the parish priest "Father Prout," and dialogues after the model of "Christopher North," varied by translations of well-known English songs into Latin, Greek, French and Italian verse, which he humorously represents as being the true originals from which the English authors had merely plagiarized them. Mahony's translations have been universally admired for the extraordinary command which they display of the various languages into which his renderings are made, and for their spirit and freedom both of thought and expression. His original verse tends chiefly to show that with all his sarcastic and cynical wit his genius had also its tender, serious and sentimental side. His "Bells of Shandon" has always been greatly admired. In 1846 Mahony became correspondent at Rome to the _Daily News_, and his letters from that capital gave very vivid pictures of the first years of the reign of Pius IX. The last twelve or fifteen years of his life were spent in Paris, whence he supplied the _Globe_ with a series of piquant letters on the incidents of the day. He died in Paris on the 18th of May 1866.

The _Reliques of Father Prout_ were collected from _Fraser's Magazine_
and published in two volumes in 1836; _The Final Reliques of Father
Prout_, chiefly extracted from the _Daily News_ and the _Globe_, were
edited by Blanchard Jerrold in 1876, and an edition of his works,
edited by Charles Kent, was published in 1881.

MAHOUT (Hind. _mahawat_), an elephant-driver. The mahout sits on the elephant's neck and directs him by voice and by the use of a goad called _ankus_.

MAHRATTAS, a people of India, inhabiting the district known by the ancient name of Maharashtra (Sans. "great kingdom or region"). This large tract, extending from the Arabian Sea on the west to the Satpura mountains in the north, comprises a good part of western and central India, including the modern provinces of the Konkan, Khandesh, Berar, the British Deccan, part of Nagpur, and about half the nizam's Deccan.

The etymology of the word Mahratta (_Maratha_) is uncertain. The name does not indicate a social caste, or a religious sect; it is not even tribal. Strictly, it is confined to the upper class from whom Sivaji's generals were mostly drawn, and who sometimes claim a Rajput origin. In a wider sense it may be extended to include all who inhabit Maharashtra and speak Mahratti as their mother-tongue. In 1901 the total number of speakers of Mahratti in all India exceeded 18 millions.

The Mahrattas have always been a separate nation or people, and still regard themselves as such, though nowadays they are almost all under British or Mahommedan jurisdiction; that is, they belong either to British India or to the nizam's dominions. There are indeed still three large native states nominally Mahratta: that of Sindhia near the borders of Hindustan in the north, that of Holkar in Malwa in the heart of the Indian continent, and that of the gaekwar in Gujarat on the western coast. But in these states the prince, his relatives and some of his ministers or officials only are Mahrattas; the mass of the people belong to other sections of the Hindu race. These states then are not to be included in the Mahratta nation, though they have a share in Mahratta history.