not be preparing the way for Christianity,—all such questions must be regarded as of quite secondary importance to this. If we believe that only through Christ can GOD the Father be properly known to us,—that only through Christ's atoning death can we hope for salvation,—that only through union with Him can we possess the true life which He came to give us,—then it must be

Importance of the Question.

plain that our judgment of the Muhammadan religion must depend upon the question which our Divine Lord Himself propounded so many centuries ago, "What¹ think ye of Christ? Whose son is He?" Muhammad by his words and his deeds also has given us a very distinct answer, "neque cornutum neque dentatum," as Luther would say.² In a previous lecture we have

Christ a Great Prophet.

noticed that Muhammad acknowledged that Christ was a great Prophet, and also that His miraculous birth, His miracles, His ascension are recorded in the Qur'an. Moreover, particularly high titles are accorded to Him, and He is the only Prophet to whom Musalmans apply the title اْلمَعْصُومُ , or "the Blameless." Yet Muhammad claimed to be a far greater Prophet than Christ, and asserted that our

"The Blameless.

Lord bore witness to him. Muhammadan writers have invented marvellous legends about Muhammad's birth, his miracles, his sayings and doings, and even his death, which are all in

imitation¹ of those of Christ Jesus as recorded in Holy Scripture, but the object of which is to exalt their Master far above Christ. If angels heralded the birth of Christ,—a host of

Muhammad far greater.

angels was sent down to the earth to guard Aminah, Muhammad's mother, from the eyes of demons. Did Magi come to worship our Lord during His infancy,—the King of Persia was struck with terror on the night of Muhammad's birth, his palace tottered to its foundation and fourteen towers fell, and the sacred fires in the temples, which had burned for a thousand years, suddenly went out. Did a star appear in connexion with the advent of our Lord,—a great commotion among the stars was observed at the time of Muhammad's birth, and they seemed about to fall to the earth. Christ's intercession was effectual, but Muhammad is chosen at the last day by the suffrages of all the Prophets ² to intercede for mankind. In these and countless other instances Muhammad is represented as far eclipsing Christ. In fact Muhammadan writers have purposely so depicted him that one cannot err in regarding the Muhammad of tradition, the "Prophet" as now honoured by all Muslims, as a most unmistakable