teachings implied and in places seems to deny conclusions
which follow logically from other statements which he
emphatically made.
The Qur'an teaches that this one God reveals Himself
to man, that He enters into relations with mankind,
whereby He guides and directs and strengthens and encourages.
As soon as Muhammad comes to the practical question
of explaining how this is done, he finds himself, of
necessity, compelled to fall back on those expressions
which were employed by the Jews and Christians, and
speak of 'the Spirit' and 'the Word'.
Apart from the Spirit and the Word, God remains afar
off, unapproachable by man, and, we may say it reverently,
unable Himself to approach man.
It is through His Spirit and His Word, that, according
to the Qur'an, He does as a historical fact enter
into relations with mankind and reveal Himself.
The conclusion to which we are compelled to come is
that without references to the Spirit and the Word,
Muhammad was unable to explain how God could have any
relations with mankind at all.
The teaching concerning the Spirit and the Word must,
therefore, be regarded as having essential importance
in any attempt to estimate Muhammad's teaching as
to the Nature of God; and yet it is not too much to
say that this has been wholly and absolutely neglected
by the Muhammadan Theologians in their endeavours to
explain and systematize the Qur'anic teaching on
the Nature of God.
It is for this reason that according to orthodox Muhammadan
theology God is a God afar off, while according
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