people, by alighting from a pinnacle of the temple, replied to the tempter, 'It is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.'

But besides this, there are other grave doubts attaching to the miracles ascribed to Muhammad; and it is, in truth, highly probable that he never performed a single one. The fact which must lead any candid inquirer with almost irresistible force to such a conclusion is this, that Muhammad himself never appealed to his power of working miracles in proof of his prophetic mission; but, on the contrary, admits in the Qur'an that he possessed no such power, in language sufficiently plain. Now from all we know of Muhammad, it is indubitably clear that he was entirely free from any rationalistic tendency to explain away miraculous things by natural causes; but that, on the contrary, he was by no means disinclined to regard in the light of a miracle that which was quite natural. So, e.g. he does not hesitate repeatedly to speak of the language of the Qur'an as something miraculous, and altogether beyond the reach of mere men [Suratu Yunas (x) 38-9] It is certain, therefore, that if Muhammad had ever done any miracles, he would have referred to them in proof of his apostleship; and this all the more, as for a long time the most thoughtful and influential among the Arabs doubted his prophetic mission, and repeatedly challenged him to prove it by miracles. The Qur'an itself alludes to these challenges in the

words 'They (i.e. the unbelievers) say, By no means will we believe on thee till thou cause a fountain to gush forth for us from the earth, or till thou have a garden of palm-trees and grapes, and thou cause gushing rivers to burst forth in its midst; or thou make the heaven to fall on us, as thou hast given out, in pieces; or thou bring God and the angels to vouch for thee' [Suratu Bani Isra'il (xvii) 92-4]. Compare also [Suratu'r-Ra'd (xiii) 30]. Now, how does Muhammad meet these demands? Does he say: 'I will do the miracles you require?' or can he reply: 'It is unnecessary to perform the miracles you demand, for I have already done so many that the superhuman power at my command can no longer be reasonably questioned?' By no means; his reply cannot be regarded by the impartial otherwise than as an admission that he possessed no power of working miracles, though demanding belief in his pretensions. The following is the reply which, according to the Qur'an, was given to the above-mentioned challenges: 'Praise be to the Lord! Am I more than a man, an Apostle? And what hindereth men from believing, when the guidance hath come to them, but that they say, Hath God sent a man as an Apostle?' [Suratu Bani Isra'il (xvii) 95-6.] In full agreement with this we read in Suratu'l-An'am (vi) 109, that Muhammad replied to those who swore by God a solemn oath that they would believe in him if a sign were shown