beings. In it are evident signs, even the standing place of Abraham: and he who entereth it is safe. And the pilgrimage to the temple is a service due to God from those who are able to journey thither' [Suratu Ali Imran (iii) 90-1]. The obligation thus laid upon the Muslims corresponds to that once binding on the Jews of visiting the ark of the covenant, and, later, the temple of Jerusalem, three times a year (see Exod. xxiii. 17; Deut. xvi. 16). This latter ordinance, respecting the Jews, rested upon the promise given them by God, that he would especially dwell and reveal Himself to them in that chosen sanctuary, as we can gather from Exod. xxv. 22; Num. vii. 89; Deut. xii. 5-14. But at a later period, when God had suffered their nation to be broken up, on account of their many sins (see 2 Chron. xxxvi. 13-19), He made the person of the Lord Jesus Christ a new temple in which to reveal Himself to man (see John ii. 19, 21; iv. 6, 9; Heb. i. 2-3), and poured out His Holy Spirit into the hearts of believers, making them likewise temples of the living God (see Acts ii; 1 Cor. iii. 16-17; 2 Cor. vi. 16). This is the great fulfilment of which His dwelling in Israel's sanctuary was only a type. After this it could not be expected that He should again choose any particular temple, constructed by human hands, in order to make it the place of His special manifestation to mankind. Accordingly the gospel enjoins

no pilgrimage to any place whatsoever, and the Word of the Lord Jesus Christ must hold good to the end of time, which we find written in John iv. 21, 23: 'The hour cometh, when neither in this mountain (i.e. on Gerizim, near Nablus), nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father . . . . But the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be His worshippers.' If, therefore, the religion of Islam again points to a stone-built temple in a special locality, and enjoins people to make pilgrimages thither, in order thus to obtain blessings which cannot be procured elsewhere, it recedes from the high standard of spirituality attained by the Christian religion, and returns to a position which has been long since abandoned.

Fasting during the month of Ramadan may also be mentioned as one of the religious duties enjoined upon the Muslims. It is ordained for them in these terms: 'O believers, a fast is prescribed to you, as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may fear God. As to the month of Ramadan, in which the Qur'an was sent down to be man's guidance, as soon as any one of you observeth the moon, let him set about the fast; but he who is sick, or upon a journey, shall fast a like number of other days' [Suratu'l-Baqara (ii) 179-183]. The clause 'as it was prescribed to those before you', is an intimation that the custom of