82 THE RELIGION OF THE CRESCENT.

the divorce between Religion and Morality be more complete?

§ 5. One of the greatest defects in the Muhammadan Religion is the false and unsatisfactory view

Unsatisfactory
view of Sin.

which it inculcates of Sin.1 According to the opinion of Muslims, it is a violation of GOD'S commandments, an acting contrary to His will. But that there is an inflexible and unchangeable Moral Law in the universe, which is identical with the very Nature of GOD, they are ignorant. The very words2 used for GOD'S will in Muhammadan languages convey rather the idea of fancy or whim than of anything else. A certain number of actions are right because GOD has happened to command them to be performed, and others are wrong because He has been pleased to forbid them. For example, although He forbade men to worship any other than Himself, and therefore it is an unpardonable3 crime to "associate partners with

1 Hooper, "Christian Doctrine in contrast with Hinduism and Islam," pp. 5-28.
2 In Arabic generally إرَادَةٌ , in Persian ditto, in Urdu مَرْضِى . V. Hooper, ut sup., p. 13.
3 Al Baidhawi calls "ash shirk," or polytheism ("associating others with GOD"), the unpardonable sin. V. Sale, "Prelim. Disc.;" also Surah iv., v. 51[48]:
إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاء
See also Sayyid Ahmad, "Essay on the Shaqq-i Sadr and the Mi'raj," pp. 30 and 32.
THE WEAKNESS OF ISLAM. 83

GOD," yet the angel 'Azazil1 was driven forth from Paradise and became Iblis or Satan (Shaitan) as a punishment for the sin of not worshipping Adam!

GOD, the Qur'an assures us,2 commanded all the angels to do this; all obeyed except 'Azazil, who therefore suffered punishment. That Man's original nature as created by GOD was in

Man's true
nature
Sensual.

complete harmony with the Divine Nature regarded as the eternal Moral Law, and that therefore sin is a subversion of our true being, does not appear from either the Qur'an or the Traditions. On the contrary, although a few passages mention the fact that Man was created3 upright, yet the general teaching of Islam in its authoritative documents is distinctly to the effect that his true nature is sensual,4 and that it is only by doing violence

1 V. "Qisasu'l Anbiya," Story of 'Azazil (Pers. and Arab. editions). See also Weil, "Biblische Legenden der Musselmanner," p. 15.
2 Surah vii., vv. 10[11-13], sqq. :
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلآئِكَةِ اسْجُدُواْ لآدَمَ فَسَجَدُواْ إِلاَّ إِبْلِيسَ لَمْ يَكُن مِّنَ السَّاجِدِينَ
قَالَ مَا مَنَعَكَ أَلاَّ تَسْجُدَ إِذْ أَمَرْتُكَ قَالَ أَنَاْ خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُ خَلَقْتَنِي مِن نَّارٍ وَخَلَقْتَهُ مِن طِينٍ
قَالَ فَاهْبِطْ مِنْهَا فَمَا يَكُونُ لَكَ أَن تَتَكَبَّرَ فِيهَا فَاخْرُجْ إِنَّكَ مِنَ الصَّاغِرِينَ
See also Surah ii., v. 32[34], and Surah xv., vv. 28[30], sqq.
3 E.g., Surah lxxxii. 7.
4 E.g., Surah iv. 32[28]:
يُرِيدُ اللّهُ أَن يُخَفِّفَ عَنكُمْ وَخُلِقَ الإِنسَانُ ضَعِيفًا