that these are not merely chapters in a book, but
real lectures actually delivered. I trust I have not to any extent been
guilty of tautology, however.
Whatever I have said under any of the heads treated of in these Lectures
has been drawn from Oriental authorities at first hand, and also in part
from my own personal knowledge of Muslims of various lands and from
conversations held with them during my work as a Missionary. I have fully
acknowledged in every case in the notes my obligations to any English or
German writers to whom I am at all indebted.
In a few instances it will be noticed that I have ventured in my notes to
have recourse to a dead language in order in some degree to veil a few
peculiarities of Muhammadanism, which I felt ought not to be treated of in
plain English, and to entirely omit or conceal which (as has generally been
done hitherto) would be dishonest, and would be inconsistent with my purpose
to give, as far as in me lay, a fair and impartial view of the Religion of
the 'Prophet' of Arabia. One of the great difficulties which beset any
attempt to represent to English people at all correctly any non-Christian
religion is that such religions for the most part contain so many things
that are unmentionable. To omit all the worst points and to exaggerate the
