position he ascribes to the Qur'an he regards as far above that which the Christians ascribes to the Bible. And Muhammadanism which rests on this he therefore believes to occupy a higher plane than Christianity. 'According to Abu Hanifa, the great Sunni Imam, the Qur'an is eternal in its original essence. He says, "The Qur'an is the Word of God, and His inspired Word and Revelation. It is a necessary attribute of God. It is not God, but still it is inseparable from God. It is written in a volume, it is read in a language, it is remembered in the heart, and its letters, and its vowel points, and its writings are all created, for these are the works of men, but God's Word is uncreated (ghairu'l makhluq). Its words, its writings, its letters, and its verses, are for the necessities of man, for its meaning is arrived at by their use, but the Word of God is fixed in the essence (dhat) of God and he who says that the Word of God is created is an infidel".’ ¹

Ghazali in his 'Ihya'ulum-ud-Din', takes up the same position. It is not necessary to quote the passage in which his views are given, for there is no controversy as to the point. Indeed this is the orthodox belief concerning the nature of the Qur'an.

Let us try to understand what it really implies,

for though the ignorant Muhammadan undoubtedly thinks that in some miraculous way the very book which he holds in his hands is the eternal word of God, this is not what is really meant by the theologians. Many of them it is true appear to have no clear conception as to what is meant by the dogma of the eternity of the Qur'an, and are satisfied with the simple statement without attempting to grasp or explain to themselves what they truly mean by it. Yet such an attitude towards the dogmas of one's faith is not found among Muhammadans alone, and should not prejudice us against the doctrine however hard and apparently incomprehensible it may at first sight appear.

According to the Muhammadan position God has spoken many times during the past ages of the world's history. He has caused his word to be heard by prophet after prophet, and has thus revealed His will throughout successive generations and to various nations of mankind, and by this means has preserved alive his religion in the hearts of men, however grossly it may have been corrupted from time to time, and however widely that corruption may have spread. Further, the religion of God has ever been and always will be one; though He has revealed it to mankind according to the degree in which they have been able to receive it and comprehend it. The various laws and regulations