time," says Prideaux, "both he (the bishop of Rome) and Mohammed having conspired to found themselves an empire in imposture, their followers have been ever since endeavouring by the same methods, that is, those of fire and sword, to propagate it among mankind; so that Antichrist seems at this time to have set both his feet upon Christendom together; the one in the East, the other in the West, and how much each hath trampled upon the church of Christ, all succeeding ages have abundantly experienced." The agreement of dates here adverted to may be worth noticing; both events having occurred within the first six or eight years of the seventh century; but we have as yet met with no evidence to convince us of the propriety of applying the epithet Antichrist to Mohammed. It is, however, the opinion of many Protestant expositors of prophecy, that this appellation is properly attributable to that system of ecclesiastical domination so long exercised by the Romish hierarchy, and the continuance of which, it is maintained, is limited by the prophetic term of 1260 years. If, therefore, this predicted period, assigned to the reign of the Roman Antichrist, be dated from near the commencement of the seventh century, we are not very far from the era of great moral changes in the state of the world; and there are reasons to be adduced in a subsequent part of this work, which lead us to believe, that the career of Mohammedanism runs parallel to that of Popery, and that, taking their rise from nearly a common era, they are destined also to synchronise in their fall,

CHAPTER IV.

The Prophet announces his Mission among his kindred of the Koreish -Meets with a harsh repulse-Begins to declare it in public-View of his fundamental Doctrines-His pretensions respecting the Koran.-The disdainful Rejection of his Message by his fellow-citizens -His consequent Denunciations against them.

THE mission of Mohammed had hitherto been conducted in private. The proselytes he had thus far gained had been won over from among the circle of his immediate friends and connexions. The time had now come, he affirmed, when the Lord commanded him to make his message publicly known, beginning with his kindred of the tribe of Koreish. "O thou covered, arise and preach, and magnify thy Lord." "And admonish thy more near relations." To this end he directed Ali to prepare a generous entertainment, and invite to it the sons and descendants of Abdol Motalleb, where, when they were all convened, he would formally divulge to them the solemn fact of his apostolic commission. Some disturbance, occasioned by Abu Laheb, caused the company to break up before he had an opportunity of effecting his purpose, which induced him to give them a second invitation on the ensuing day. About forty of them accordingly assembled around his board, when the prophet arose, and thus addressed his

*Koran, ch. lxxiv.

↑ Ch. xxvi.

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wondering guests :-" I know no man in the whole peninsula of the Arabs who can propose any thing more excellent to his relations than what I now do to you; I offer you happiness both in this life and in that which is to come; God Almighty hath commanded me to call you unto him; who therefore among you will be my vizier (assistant), and will become my brother and vicegerent?" General astonishment kept the assembly silent; none offered to accept the proffered office till the fiery Ali burst forth and declared that he would be the brother and assistant of the prophet. "I," said he, "O prophet of God, will be thy vizier; I myself will beat out the teeth, pull out the eyes, rip open the bellies, and cut off the legs, of all those who shall dare to oppose thee.” The prophet caught the young proselyte in his arms, exclaiming, "This is my brother, my deputy, my succes sor; show yourselves obedient unto him." At this apparently extravagant command, the whole company burst into laughter, telling Abu Taleb that he must now pay obedience and submission to his own son! As words were multiplied, surprise began to give way to indignation, the serious pretensions of the prophet were seriously resented, and in the issue the assembly broke up in confusion, affording the ardent apostle but slender prospects of success among his kinsmen,

Undeterred by the failure of his first public attempt, Mohammed began to preach still more openly before the people of Mecca. He announced to them that he was commissioned by the

Almighty to be his prophet on the earth; to assert the unity of the Divine Being; to denounce the worship of images; to recall the people to the true and only religion; to bear the tidings of paradise to the believing; and to threaten the deaf and unbelieving with the terrible vengeance of the Lord. His main doctrine, and that which constitutes the distinguishing character of the Koran is, that there is but one God; that he only is to be worshipped; and that all idolatry is a foul abomination, to be utterly abolished. The 112th ch. of the Koran, entitled "The Declaration of God's Unity," is held in the most profound veneration by the Mohammedans, and declared, by a tradition of the prophet, to be equal in value to a third part of the whole Koran. It is said to have been revealed in answer to the Koreish, who inquired of the apostle concerning the distinguishing attributes of the God whom he invited them to worship. It consists of a single sentence. "In the name of the most merciful God. Say, God is one God; the eternal God; he begetteth not, neither is he begotten: and there is not any one like unto him." In the incessant repetition of this doctrine in the pages of the Koran, the author is aiming not only at the grosser errors of polytheism and idolatry, then common among the Eastern nations, but is levelling a blow also at the fundamental tenet of Christianity, that Jesus Christ is the son of God, "the only begotten of the Father." Like others in other ages, Mohammed could conceive of no mode of understanding the doctrine of the filia

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tion of Christ, as held by Christians, which did not directly militate with the truth of the essential unity of the Most High; and in his view the firstborn of absurdities was, to affirm in the same breath that Christ was the son of God, and yet coequal and coeternal with the Father. The New Testament declarations, therefore, respecting the person and character of the Messiah find no mercy at the hands of the author of the Koran, who either had not the candour or the capacity to discriminate beween the doctrine of the Trinity and that of Tritheism. "O ye who have received the Scriptures, exceed not the just bounds in your religion, neither say of God any other than the truth.”—i. e. either by rejecting Jesus as the Jews do, or by raising him to an equality with God as do the Christians. 66 Verily, Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, is the apostle of God, and his word, which he conveyed into Mary, and a spirit proceeding from him. Believe, therefore, in God and his apostles, and say not there are three Gods ; forbear this; it will be better for you. God is but one God. Far be it from him that he should have a son! Unto him belongeth whatsoever is in heaven and on earth; and he is sufficient unto himself." "They are certainly infidels who say, Verily, God is Christ the son of Mary. Whoever

shall give a companion unto God, God shall exclude him from paradise, and his habitation shall be hell-fire. They are certainly infidels who say God is the third of three: for there is no God be

*Koran, ch. iv.