AL BÎRÛNI, in his "Vestiges of Ancient Nations," written
A.D. 1000 (A.H. 390), while describing the customs of the
Sabeans, cites the authority of Ibn Ishâc al
Kindy, the Christian, in these words:—
Likewise Abd al Masîh ibn Ishâc al Kindy,
the Christian, in his reply to the Epistle of Abdallah
ibn Ismaîl the Hâshimite, relates of them (the Sabeans)
that they are notorious for Human sacrifice, but that
at present they are not able to practise openly the
same.1
A work answering the above description
has recently been published by the Turkish Mission Aid
Society, in Arabic, under the following title : "The
Epistle
