Rensselaer Republican, Volume 15, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 October 1882 — THE KORAN. [ARTICLE]

THE KORAN.

A Book FoH of Poerllo Tales and Vfclso Teaching. [From the Nineteenth Century.] Perhaps the ohief distinctive mark to be noted in comparing the Moslem’s Koran with the Christian Holy Bible is that the Koran is believed to have no human element at all. Nor is it even held to be a reoord of what Mohammed said or did, for that is recorded in the traditions. The Koran was a wholly objective, not a subjective, revelation. It was revealed to one man only. It did not pass through many men’s minds during successive generations for nearly 2,000 years like the Christian revelation. The continuous subjectivity of our sacred Scriptures protracted thrqugh so long a period, and the fact of our acknowledging a human element in them, causes the Mussulman to place them in the same category with his sunnafiT or tradition. Aooording to his view even our Gospels are not a direct revelation, but only a record of Christ’s words and actions compiled by His followers and handed down to others. Though admitted to be inspired, the inspiration is of a very different kind from that of the Koran. It is an imparting of ideas, not of words. The very words of* the Koran, on the other hand, and indeed the whole complete work, not a mere portion of it, descended from God in a fixed and unalterable form on one particular night, called the “night of power,” though happily for Mohammed’s purposes its descent was arrested at the lowest of the seven heavens. There it remains treasured up, so to speak, stored away in reserve, portion after portion being delivered os successive declarations of doctrine, law or state policy became needed. Then an audible voice communicated each word in a low tone to Mohammed, or, as some say, whispered every sentence into his ear. This accounts for the constant repetition of the word “say” before each revelation. A very important . factor in the success of this wonderful book, which, notwithstanding its unequal merit, utter -want of system and the adulteration of its sublime ideas by a frequent admixture of puerile and false teaching, is still revered as a direct emanation from God by about 150,000,000 of human beings, was, without doubt, this disjointed and fragmentary dolivery. It was never, in fact, either written or composed like any other book. It grew like patchwork, little by little, piece after piece, patch added to patch. Even the Koran’s warmest admirers must admit that it has often the appearance of being clumsily botched. The Koran’s own account of itself is that it descended in a succession of parcels. Some of these parcels were delivered at Mecca, some at Medina, during a period of twenty-three years, the angel Gabriel being the supposed medium of delivery. About ninety of the 114 chapters, or more than two-tliirds of the whole, are thought to have been the proportion assignable to the Mecca period; and of these the earlier portions, delivered at a time when Mohammed really believed himself to be stirred by divine impulses, though spoken in plain prose, are frill of poetic fire. They are the utterances of an enthusiast wrought up by an intense consciousness of the truth of his prophetic message, and often rise to great sublimity.