“TRACTS” ‘ | FOR MUHAMMADANS: ) | © THEREV.6.H. ROUSE,M.A.,D-D. 9) i 7 7 TRANSLATED FROM THE BENGALI. | } iz | Bice EDITION, 2,000—rtoraL copizs, 3,000. i TE CHRISTIAN LITERATURE SOCIETY FOR INDIA: ; LONDON AND MADRAS. : Se as 5a J 139072 e PITTS THEOLOGY , LIBRARY Gift from Prof: Paul Courtright 2000 EMORY UNIVERSITY ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30322 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. BY THE REV. G. H. ROUSE, M.A., D.D, | TRANSLATED FROM THE BENGALI. OO Ih Own SECOND EDITION, 2,000—tToTaL copins, 3,000. OP OOO" t THE CHRISTIAN LITERATURE SOCIETY FOR INDIA: LONDON AND MADRAS, —— 1897. po — iy. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. Oo. Soe Sie es CON TEMES InrEeGerity OF THE GosPEL 1 Jusus og Mupammab, ON WHOM WILL You Rey ? it Tue Sin_ess PRopHET DA JESUS CHRIST : oe Ow DratH AND RESURRECTION oF Jesus Curist. 41 PROPHECIES REGARDING JEsuS CHRIST a MunamMaD... 63 Tue Trove Istam 73 Isaac AND ISHMAEL 84 Tor Koran oe OAs Fatrna ies AGS Tur Names oF Gop ye coos ene NAMAz 20 FAsrinG 72133 Tar PARACLETE oo ho Tue Curistian Din ... ‘ee tA Gov’s Ten ComMANDMENTS INTRODUCTION. =0-059700—= THe tracts contained in this volume were origin- ally written in Bengali, in order to bring Christian truth to bear upon the Muhammadans who speak that language, and who number nearly twenty millions. They have been translated into English for two or three reasons. One is that they may be read by Muhammadans who know English, Another reason is that some of them might be ~ suitable for translation into other languages, or might form the basis on which longer tracts or pamphlets might be written. It is also possible that some English or American readers may be interested in the volume. During the last few years, much attention has been drawn to the Muhammadan religion, and English Christians might like to know what are the essential tenets of that religion, in contrast with the doctrine of Christ. Muhammadanism has some features of special interest. Of all non-Christian religions it contains the largest amount of truth; and its adherents are less readily won for Christ than the adherents of almost any other religion. In many respects - the Muhammadan occupies much the same position in regard to Christianity as did the Jew in the early history of the Church. In India we might adapt the Apostle’s words and say, ‘‘ We v1 INTRODUCTION. preach Christ crucified, to the Muhammadans a stumbling-block and to the Hindus foolishness ; but to them which are called, both Muhammadans and Hindus, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” The Jew hated the preaching of Christ crucified, the Greek despised it; so at the present day, the Muhammadan loathes the doctrine of the Son of God dying on the cross to atone for sin, while the Hindu despises it as the religion of the unclean foreigner. Fifty years ago it was the custom to call Muhammad a “vile impostor,” and his religion a mass of absurdity or wickedness. Now-a-days the pendulum has swung to the other side, and some would have us believe that for many tribes Muhammadanism is better than Christianity. The truth, as usual, lies in the mean. Muhammad was for many years a sincere enquirer after the truth, disgusted with the idolatry around him and feeling after the true God. For years he suffered contempt, obloquy, persecution; very few became his fol- lowers, yet he went on preaching what he believed to be true. In reading the early life of Muhammad the Christian preacher often feels almost as if he were a brother, preaching the same God “ whether men would hear or whether they would forbear.” If only he had then come in contact with pure Christianity, he might have become one of the great Apostles of the cross. But sad to say, the Christianity which he saw worshipped the Virgin and bowed down to images; and he would have none of it. In time, as the number of adherents increased, Muhammad began to gain power, and with this immediately came deterioration of character. He would attack and rob caravans ruthlessly slay his enemies, add to his harem thoes INTRODUCTION, Vil who pleased his eye, and bring revelations from God to justify him in all that he did. The earlier Suras of the Koran breathe a much finer spirit than those written by him in his later years. The tracts contained in this volume bring out many of the important points in which Muham- madanism comes practically into conflict with the teaching of Christ. The first tract is on the *‘ Integrity of the Gospel.” Inthe Koran Muham- mad again and again acknowledges that the Gospel, or Injil (which is a corruption of the Greek word Huangelion) is the word of God. The Christian preacher quotes this, and urges his Muhammadan brethren to read and follow the Injil; he adds that the Injil expressly states that Jesus was the Son of God, and that He died on the cross to atone forsin. ‘Thisis in direct contradiction to the teaching of the Koran; if therefore the Injil is the word of God, the Koran cannot beso. Here therefore the two religions join issue; if the Christian Gospel is substantially the same as the original Gospel, and is the Injil which existed in Muhammad’s time, the Koran contradicts God’s word, and the Muhammadan religicn is false. I¢ is an essential part of Islam that the Taurat (Law), Zabir (Poetical and Prophetical Scriptures), Injil (Gospel) and Koran were all given by God, and were authoritative until each of the first three in turn was superseded by that which came after it, ‘The aim of the tract is to show that the Ingil has not been corrupted by Christians ; the Gospel which they hold is in its teaching essentially the sameas that which Muhammad recognised as the revelation of God. The second tract, ‘‘ Jesus or Muhammad, on which will you rely ?” brings out the main points Vill INTRODUCTION. of contrast between the two,and shows how far superior Jesus is. This ideais brought out again in the third tract in reference specially to the sinlessness of Jesus, in contrast with all the other prophets. Jesus is recognised by Islam as the greatest of all the prophets who preceded Muham- mad, On pp. 12, 18, 25, 26, are quoted some of the remarkable testimonies of the Koran to Jesus. But He is not regarded as the Son of God, or as being Himself divine. The fourth tract gives the main facts as to the nature, life, character and work of this great Prophet, who is called by the Muhammadans “ Isa Masih”, or Jesus the Messiah. One very important point of difference between Christians and Muhammadans relates to the death of Christ. The testimony of the Koran on this subject is contradictory, as is shown on p. 16. But the general belief is, in accordance with the last passage there quoted, that Christ did not really die; He was too good a man for God to allow the Jews to kill Him ; God therefore took Him up to © heaven and left somebody (some say Judas Iscariot) — in his place, and the Jews took this man and crucified him, thinking that he was Jesus. Here then we | have another of the great battle-fields of the — Muhammadan controversy. If Jesus did not die, the Christian Gospel is false, and the Christian doctrine of Salvation by the death of Christ igs — overturned. On the other hand, if Jesus did die, the Koran is falsified, and cannot be the word of God; and if He rose from the dead God honoured Him more than he honoured Muhammad. The fifth tract discusses this important question, and shows what ample testimony we have to the fact that Jesus died and rose again. tothe grea ly veel leath byect i the 2 last ally allow up {0 sari0} oie en We I of th 0) di hist pris did 8 woh af Gt amit resi {o ti INTRODUCTION. 1x In the sixth tract, on ‘ Prophecies regarding Jesus Christ,” it is shown how the Tanrat (Law) and Zabur (Prophecy) pointed to Christ as the Great Saviour who was to come. The seventh tract gives a brief account of Mu- hammad’s character and life, points out his excel- lencies and his faults, and contrasts him with Christ. The eighth tract is on the True Islam. By this term Muhammadapsunderstand theonetrue religion, revealed to Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, in increasing clearness, but yet in substantial harmony all through. This idea isa correct one, except in its regarding Muhammad as the last prophet ; and in the tract it is shown what are the essential elements of the religion which was held by all the people of God, from Abel to the Lord Jesus ; and it is further shown that these essential elements are, in the main, contrary to. the teaching of the Koran, which therefore cannot really be a revelation from God. These main elements are five in number, which we call “ pillars’ in allusion to the Mubammadan statement that the five pillars of religion are repetition of the Muhammadan creed, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, pilgrimage. The ninth tract brings out another great point at issue. Muhammad, as an Arab, was descended from Ishmael, and the Muhammadans honour Ishmael, as the eldest son of Abraham, above Isaac. They believe it was Ishmael, and not Isaac, whom Abraham was ready to offer upon Mount Moriah. If the promise ran in the line of Ishmael, Muham- madanism might be a true religion; but ifit ran in the line of Isaac, it could not be. The tract shows that the blessing came through Isaac, not through Ishmael. INTRODUCTION, i The tenth tract is on the Kordn, and shows that i it cannot be regarded as the word of God. | Muhammadans, in their prayers, constantly HI repeat the, first chapter of the Koran, called | FAtiha, hey recite it in Arabic, generally without il understanding the meaning of what they say. HI The prayer in question is short and very beautitul, — i and the eleventh chapter shows how its fullmeaning — iii can be understood only by one who believes in — Jesus and His atoning sacrifice. | The twelfth chapter takes somewhat similar ground but at greater length. The Muhammadans believe in a number of different special names of God, and these all represent different attributes of the Divine Nature. The tract aims to show how important are the attributes of God thus brought out, and at the same time that such names as The Merciful One, and The Just One can only be reconciled in Christ and His cross. The thirteenth chapter treats of Namazor Prayer. | i) Tt points out the defects that adhere to the usual — Hi Muhammadan formal worship, and it gives the © teaching of Scripture as to the true nature of the — Pi prayer which is acceptable to God. «a 1 Fasting is one of the five “pillars” of Islam. i In the fourteenth chapter it is shown what kind of fasting is acceptable to God. Muhammadans hold that Muhammad was the — ai “Comforter” or ‘‘Paraclete’” spoken of by our i Lord. The fifteenth chapter shows the ground- a) lessness of this idea. ik Muhammadans divide religion into the two great i branches of articles of faith and practice. The | latter 1s called Din, and in the sixteenth chapter . ' the Sermon on the Mount is given as the Christian — Din, or practical religion. | i i , v8 thy stant) ) calle With ey kay, eantit meaning lees 1 SU mada ames 0! bates a hon rough Mes ag only be ayer. , usual (on) the of thi slam kind @ was ll by @ grout INTRODUCTION. Xl The last chapter is on the Ten Commandments, showing how they are to be interpreted, and how we can obtain pardon for our violation of them. There are many other subjects on which suitable tracts might be written, such as the following: The doctrine of Sacrifice, The Judgment Day, _Heaven, and how to get there. The doctrine of Intercession. The Divine Sonship of Christ. The Trinity. Christ’s Ascension and Second Com- ing. What Jesus and Muhammad said about themselves. The Titles and Names of Christ. The First and Second Adam. Satan, our danger from him and the means of deliverance. The way of Salvation—by works or faith, by form or spirit. The Testimony of the Koran to the Injil. The nature of Sin and its Remedy. The Lord’s Prayer (as compared with the Fatiha). Repentance. Faith, Love, the Essence of Religion. For the sake of English Readers it may be well to mention that the words Sura and Aydt mean respectively chapter and verse of the Koran. May He who is the true Paraclete, whose ‘work it is to ‘‘ convince the world of sin,” show those who like the Jews of old, “ have a zeal of God but not according to knowledge,” that Jesus is the only Saviour, and that, according to His own words, not to believe in Him is the sin of sins. G. Bo: Note.—The proofs were kindly revised by the Rev. M.G. Goldsmith, B.A., of the Church Missionary Society. TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS, 1, INTEGRITY OF THE GOSPEL. Muhammadan brethren, you acknowledge that God has given to man the four books,—Taurat, Zabir, Injil and Koran. Why then do you not give heed to the words of Christians when they preach to you the Injil? I suppose that you will give this answer, “It is true that we acknowledge the Injil to be the word of God, but our Moulvies tell us that the Christians have corrupted it; in fact that they have cut out of it several words and have changed several other passages.” Let us consider this matter. In the first place we ask, Can they give any proof of what they say ? Suppose a certain man is doing the work of a clerk in an office, all the office accounts are in his hands, and his enemy brings a charge against him that he has falsified his accounts, that he has received money without entering it in the books, and that he has entered amounts as spent which he has not spent at all. Suppose the clerk comes forward with the books and says, ‘‘'These books are correct, I have entered exactly what has been spent and what received.” Doyou not see that the man who had accused him would have to show some proof ; and if he could show no proof, no one would pay any attention to his words. Now it is just like this, when the Muhammadans say that the Chris- tians have corrupted the Gospel; we take the Gospel and say, ‘‘ This book is ccrrect, we have not ee know that after him she would se 2 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. changed it.” If you reply, “The Christians home : changed it ;” then.we ask, “‘ Where is your proot ? 3a In truth no one has been able to give any proof of ; this charge. The Moulvies simply make the assertion, they have given no proof, and can give — none. On the other hand, we can prove that the Christians have not corrupted the gospel, that 1s to * say, they have not cut out of it anything about Muhammad, and have not changed its teaching. Muhammadan brethren, your Moulvies say that the Christians have altered the Injil. Now you must acknowledge that if the Christians have © altered the Injil, they must have done it either before or after the birth of Muhammad Sahib. I I. If any one says that the Christians corrupted the Injil before Muhammad Sahib’s birth, then we reply : te No one knows anything about a man before that man is born; who knows anything about the myriads of children who will be born into the world after our day? No one knows anything about them. Just so, before the birth of Muham- mad, the Christians knew nothing about him, conse- | peer _ quently the wish to alter anything about him in — the Gospel could not have entered into their mind. — 2. Ifany one says that there were some pro- phecies about Muhammad in the Injil, but that the — Christians, not liking them, cut them out, then our — answer is this: Every man desires his own welfare; _ if in any book it is written that such and such persons will have much trouble, then those persons — might indeed cut such words out. But why should any one cut out words telling him of the good which is to happen to him? Suppose now the Queen were to order the present Viceroy to let every one ud a Governor- INTEGRITY OF THE GOSPEL. ° 3 US hay ‘General, of such a name, who would save all the a people of India from sorrow and suffering, and . a would keep everyone in the greatest happiness a " and prosperity. Would not the people rejoice th fH when they heard such a proclamation ¢ When the ne th ‘Governor-General prints the proclamation and posts vats it on the walls, or gives notice of it in the news- 6 aby papers, will the people tear down the notices or in ching any way destroy them? No, certainly they would sy ti not, they would rather guard them most carefully. Nowm Just so, if Jesus Christ had said that after him Mu- ns ba hammad Sahib would come, that he would be the last ib eithe prophet and would benefit all people, would not the ib. ‘Christians have rejoiced and preserved those words ou! most carefully ? Certainly they would have done thu so. It is altogether absurd to suppose that the ‘Christians would have wished to change the Gospel n belo! before the birth of Muhammad. boat th «86 * 8. God has: said in the Guspel— ‘If any man nto the ~=.shall add unto these things, God shall add unto nything ~=him the plagues that are written in this book ; and uhm if any man: shall take away from the words of the nce book of this prophecy, God shall take away his i bmi part out of the book of life.” (Rev. xxii. 18, 19.) heir wil Now consider, would not any one hearing these one pv © awfal words of God, fear to eut out anything from ttt) the Gospel? And although some wicked men t thew §=6- might have the audacity to do so, would not all the avis other Christians make known their wickedness ? ais! And although those wicked men might have altered sep «= SOME few copies of the Gospel, would. not all the hy sl other copies have remained true to the original ? sd? Certainly they would have remained correct. We 2 Qa conclude, therefore, that the Gospel was not ry) corrupted before the birth of Muhammad. re a _ 4, We have accounts of the Tayrat and Injil in A, TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. in many places of the Koran. It is written in the - Koran that God gave Moses the Taurat and Jesus. — the Injil. But it is nowhere stated in the Koran that the Christians have corrupted the Gospel. On the contrary, Jews and Christians are ordered in the Koran to read the Taurat and the Injil. In the 113th Ayat of Sura 9, (Tauba), it is written, “ The promise is certainly true by the Taurat, Injil and Koran.” In the 73rd Ayat of Sura 5, (Maida), it is written, ‘‘ O ye who have received the Scriptures, ye are not grounded on.anything until ye observe the law and the gospel, and that which hath been sent down unto you from your Lord.” In the 45th Ayat of Sura 29, (Anqabut), it is written in regard to the ‘‘ people of the book,” that is Jews and Christians, ‘‘ We believe in the revelation which hath been sent down unto us, and also in that which hath been sent down unto you ; our God and your God is one.” By such words as these it is clearly proved that at the time of Muhammad the ~ Taurat and the Injil were correct, because in the Koran the Christians are not once accused of having altered them, but are rather exhorted to read them. The Injil which was then in their hands is praised as being the Word of God. Ifthe Injil had been corrupted before the time of Muham- mad, it would never have been praised in this way in the Koran. By all these arguments we clearly prove that the Injil was not corrupted before the birth of Muhammad. II. We shall now show proofs that the Injil a not been corrupted since the birth of Muham- mad. 1. In every community good and bad men are | to be found, amongst the Christians as well as in the Jesu Kor pel. ered it Tat 0, “Th ul al Laia} npr obsere th bee the dit Lega ems all which in thet rod aul ¢ It Is d the n the ad of ed to thelr If the uhant- 18 Wa) > thab rth ol In]! shaw 1 ale I]. as INTEGRITY OF THE GOSPEL. 5 -amongst others. This is acknowledged in the Koran. In Sura 3, (Imran), Ayat 113, we read, ~** Amongst the people of the Book there is an upright race... These are the virtuous ones.” Again in Ayat 199, ‘‘ Verily of the people of the Book there are those who believe in God.” Now we ask—Did the good Christians corrupt the ~ Gospel? How could they have possibly have done so? Do good men do evil works; and is it not an evil work to corrupt the Word of God? It certain- _ly is a great evil, and there can hardly be a greater sin than this. Good Christians could never have done such a wicked act. If any one replies—It was not the good, but the bad Christians, who corrupted the gospel, then we ask, First, why should they do so? Wicked people in the world desire wealth and fame. Now in a very short time the Musalman rule was established -in many countries; those wicked Christians would know that if they became Musalmans they would get wealth and honour, but if they remained Chris- tians they must suffer much trouble ; knowing this, - did they want to corrupt the Word of God in order that they might remain Christians? Never. They would know that if they did so, they would meet with persecution in this world for not becoming Musalmans, and go to hell hereafter for corrupting - the WordofGod. Then it is plain that wicked people have not done this work of corrupting the Gospel. Consider again, if the bad Christians had -_ corrupted the Gospel, would not the good Christians, in whose hands the true Gospel was, have published -abroad their wickedness? Certainly they would ; - consequently we maintain that the bad Christians could not have corrupted the Gospel. TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. 2. The Christian religion had been established — in many countries before the time of Mubammad ~ Sahib. The gospel had been preached in Arabia, — Egypt, Greece, Italy, Spain, North Africa, England 4 and other countries. Myriads of Christians were | living in thousands of cities and towns: in all | places Christians were reading and hearing the | Gospel. It is clear then that at the time of © Muhammad, thousands of Injils must have existed — in different countries. Now consider, if any wicked — Christian had tried to corrupt the Gospel, could he have corrupted those thousands of genuine copies ? {f in Arabia any evil-disposed Christian had altered — the Gospel, would the hundreds of gospels in Spain and England and elsewhere, thousands of miles away from Arabia, have been altered? If wicked Christians had corrupted the Gospel, would not good Christians living in all those countries have — kept with the greater care the genuine Gospels — which they possessed? But although the Muham- ~ madan Moulvies assert that the Christians have | corrupted the Gospel, they are not able to show | one single copy of those genuine gospels, which the | Koran acknowledges to have been in existence at | the time of Muhammad. There are at the present 1 day several hundred manuscript copies of the Gospel, but the Moulvies cannot say that any one of them is the genuine Gospel according to their ae ee Ee teaching about Jesus is the same in them all, and not one word can be got of them about Muhammad. oe 3. At the time of Muhammad, and before and after his time, there were several sects amongst the Christians. Just as amongst the Musalmans. | there are Sunnis, Shiahs and several other sects. so it bas always been amongst the Christians. Mubammad | vblisha hamng 1 Arabiy Engl LANs We; Ss: ng aring tk 8 tine ¢ AVE exist, any wick 1, cull ne copie ad alter s in Spa of milk If wicks rould x ries han - Gospel Voham- s have 0 show ich the ‘ence at preseat of the any One to ther 1e salle om al] sre ail mongs! 4 }mats > secs tials INTEGRITY OF THE GOSPEL. Now if the Christians of one sect had attempted to corrupt the Gospel, would not the people belonging to the other sects have made the fact known ? They would have done so most certainly. But no sect has accused another sect of having cut out of the Gospel words relating to Muhammad. 4. Very many manuscript copies of the Gospel are in existence at the present day. Among them are some which were written many years before Muhammad Sahib was born. There are five copies of the Gospel which were written nearly two hundred years before the birth of Muhammad. They are to -be seen at Rome, London, Cambridge, Paris and St. Petersburg. Now when we read all these copies, we see that they agree with the Chris- tians’ Gospel. There is not a word about Muham- mad written in any one of them. Thus it is proved clearly that the Christians have not cor- rupted the Gospel after the birth of Muhammad Sahib, because the gospels which are now current among Christians are the same as those which were current about two hundred years before his death. By these four arguments we have clearly shown that the Injil has not been corrupted since the birth of Muhammad ; and by four other arguments we have shown that it was not altered before his birth. You are therefore bound to acknowledge that the Injil which the Christians have is the genuine Injil. But the Moulvies say further thatthe Injil has been cancelled, that is to say, it has been repealed or set aside ; just as the Governor-General makes a law, and afew years afterwards repeals it by making another law, so, the Moulvies say, God repealed, that is set aside the gospel when He gave the Koran. But you must consider this, although 8 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. a law may in this way be changed or repealed, yet what is true remains true for ever, it cannot become alie. Andall mustacknowledgethat God can never | tell a lie. What therefore God has once said in the Taurat or Injil, must be true. About this there can be no doubt. He has said inthe Taurat that Adam 7 fell under the evil influence of Satan and became ~ a sinner; as the statement was true in former times it is true for ever. In the same way what God has said in the Injil and what He has taught, is true to the present day and always will remain true. Now seeing that the Injil is the Word of God, everything written in it must of necessity be true. Let us consider what is the very essence of the Injil. In the Injil (John iii. 16), itis written, “‘ God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten — Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not — perish, but have everlasting life.” When Muham- ~ madans hear the words “Son of God,” they say ~ that God has no Son. In so saying they probably misunderstand the words of the Injil.. When the © Injil says that Jesus Christ is the ‘Son of God,’’ a a it does not mean that Jesus Christ is soin the same _ way as ason is born of a human father. To say sucha thing would be awful blasphemy. Christians — would shrink with horror from making such a statement just as much as Musalmans. But when the Injil says that Jesus Christ is the ‘“ Son of God,” it is to be understood in this way :—(1) that aie sia the Father and Son are of one nature, as a man’s © sonis aman; so when Jesus Christ is called the “Son of God,” it means that the Son of God is God. In truth Jesus Christ is not anordinary man or pro- phet. He is very God; it was with this idea that He said in the Gospel, “I and my Father are one2 a ‘led, Ye b Decoy CaN Dey sad in i § thers (a that Adn decay 10 fore way hy as tanh rill Tena rd of Gi y be tr ce of tk en, “ Gil hegotta hould nei Muham: 1ey say robably hen the God,” he salle To si rristiats such 4 af whet 6 Sou dt (1) th 5, mad! led th is Gol or pri: ea thal 1 6 one. INTEGRITY OF THE GOSPEL. 9 (John x. 30.) (2) We understand by the expres- sion “ Son of God” that Jesus Christ is inexpressi- bly great. A few years ago when the Queen’s eldest son came to India, what honour and respect all people showed to him. If the Queen’s son was thought worthy to receive such honour, then how great must the “Son of God” be? (8) The term “Son of God” expresses the love of God to Christ ; as a father loves his own son above everything, ep God’s love to Jesus Christ exceeds all other ove. It is stated in the Injil thatin another sense also Jesus is the Son of God, namely, that He was born of a virgin, by the special power of God. That He -was thus born, both the Koran and the Injil teach expressly. The Angel Gabriel, when announcing to Mary the birth of her Son Jesus, said: “ The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke i. 35.) As Jesus thus had no earthly father, he was the Son of God, born by His special power. Now the message of the Injil is, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God in the way we have des- cribed. As God is greater than man, so Jesus Christ is certainly greater than all other prophets. He is the Saviour, and no one but He, can give sal- vation. The Injil says, “Neither is there salva- tion in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.”? (Acts iv. 12). God “ gave” Jesus Christ, that is, He sent Him into the world. Therefore the Injil says, ‘“‘ Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. i. 15). He became man to save us. After- 10 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. wards He stayed in this world for many years, ever remaining without sin, He instructed men 10 the truth, and He worked many miracles. in this 3 way He showed men the true path, that 1s to say, the way of true religion. 0 Afterwards He was nailed to the cross and died, | and so’ became a Sacrifice, that is, made an atone- | ment for sin. Without a sacrifice for sin there can be no forgiveness, and a suitable sacrifice | is needed. You cannot buy a thing worth a | rupee with a pie, neither can the blood of goats | or camels be a sacrifice for the sins of men. But — Jesus Christ took our sins upon Himself. The © Injil says, ‘‘ He taketh away the sin of the world.” — (John i. 29). “ He himself bare our sins in his own ~ body on the tree.” (1 Pet. ii. 24). ‘‘ He is the pro- — pitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.” (1 John ii.2.) Thus in © our stead He bore our chastisement and died ~ on the cross; and now He can give us deliverance — from sin. | Afterwards, on the third day, Jesus Christ rose from the grave, and after forty days went to heaven. By this we know that He has overcome — death. The Injilsays that all powerin heavenand — earth is given to Him, and that He can do all things. (Matt. xxviii. 18.) He has conquered Satan and so can without doubt deliver us from — his power. He will give us power to fight against — Satan and ali his works. The Injil says (Heb. vii. | 20), “ He is able to save them to the uttermost _ that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to’ make intercession for them.” Brethren, take refuge in Jesus Christ, believe in Him and you will obtain salvation. In the Injil He Himself says, “ Whosoever believeth in me TS, 67h D init Tn th 18 tomy and die AD atom, in ther Sacrify worth of ol en, bh lt Th worl hison the pm oly, ba Thus i id dei prallce iL TOS? nt te COME enanl dol yuere s {rl gaunt a, Wl ayTnOHl liveth aye Ini! ) me JESUS OR MUHAMMAD, ON WHOM WILL YOU RELY? 11 hath everlasting life.” ‘Iam the way, the truth and the life, no one cometh unto the Father” (that is God) “but by me.” (John vi. 47; xiv. 6.) 2. JESUS OR MUHAMMAD, ON WHOM WILL YOU RELY? Muhammadans and Christians are of one mind in many things. Both acknowledge that there is- one God, and that He has created all men; that the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, being: deceived by Satan became sinners; that God has sent many prophets and teachers into the world to instruct men as to what is right and what is wrong ; among them were Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David and several others. By them God gave man the Tauraét [the Law] and the Zabir | Psalms]. Afterwards he sent Jesus Christ and by him He gave men the Injil [Gospel]. Muhammadans and Christians acknowledge all this. But cur Muham- madan brethren say further that, after Jesus Christ, Muhammad Sahib came asa prophet. They say that he is the final prophet, and greater than all the prophets, that his religion is the true religion, and that only by observing his religion can men obtain salvation. The Christians reply, No; Jesus Christ: is the last prophet, and He is by far the greatest: of allthe prophets, and only by him can salvation: be obtainen. Between Muhammadans and Chris-- tians the real difference therefore is this—The Christians say that Jesus, and the Muhammadans say that Muhammad is the last and great prophet, and the giver of salvation. Let us now compare- the two, and let us accept the one whom we find to: be the greater. 12 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. I. First, let us consider Muhammad and Jesus \ with regard to their birth. Muhammad’s father q was Abdulla and his mother Amina; he was born of his father and mother like other men. Nothing extraordinary occurred at the birth of Muhammad Sahib, it took place in the ordinary way, and for ‘several years no extraordinary sign or mark is — recorded about him; afterwards when he reached the age of forty, he began to say that the angel Gabriel — had spoken to him. But before that time, no sign ~ -was seen by which people could understand that he was one destined to be a great prophet. It is true ‘that ignorant Musalmans tell wonderful stories — about the birth of Muhammad; but intelligent Musalmans know that there is nothing about this in the Koran, and that these tales were invented many years after Muhammad’s death. “a But the birth of Jesus Christ was very wonderfal. — Listen to what is written in the Koran aboutit. In the 16th Ayat of the 19th Sura, (Mariam), it is written that when Gabriel appeared to Mary she was _ ‘terrified and said, “Itake refuge with the Merciful — One.” Gabriel said, “ Truly I am an angel of God, I have come to give you a holy son.” Mary said, — “ How can I beget a son, no man has ever touched ~ me, and I am nota harlot.” Gabriel said, “This — will take place, thy God says, ‘ This is no difficulty — ‘to me, we will make him’ (that is thy Son) ‘a sion — to mankind, and a mercy from us.’” The Koran therefore clearly says that Gabriel came from God _ to make known to Mary beforehand the birth of _ Jesus Christ, and that without consorting with any — man Jesus’ mother begat Him. Again, in the 91st — Ayat ofthe 21st Sura, (Ambiya,) itis written, — ae We breathed of our Spirit into her who remain a virgin ; and thus have made her and her Son to _ ia JESUS OR MUHAMMAD, ON WHOM WILL YOU RELY? 13 4 beasign toall people.”” Muhammadan brethren, you “ht acknowledge the Koran to be the Word of God, a you will therefore be bound to acknowledge that bs Jesus was born in this wonderful way. The Chris- mattt tians do not acknowledge the Koran, they ac- “ knowledge the Injil, and in the Injil a similar ark |i account is to be found. Seven hundred years before viel the birth of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah (vii. 14.) Gat wrote these words, ‘‘ Behold, a virgin shall conceive Wi and bear a son, and thou shalt call his name dtth = Tmmanuel.” In the Injil it is said that the meaning lett of the name Immanuel is “God with us.” The | so account of the fulfilment of this prophecy is record- tell’ ed as follows in the Injil, Luke chapter i. verses bot 28 to 36;°** The angel Gabriel came to her (Mary): iva? ~=and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the: Lord is with thee : blessed art thou among women. nderil And when she saw him, she was troubled at his i, i saying, and cast in her mind what manner of , ¢% salutation this should be; and the angel said unto hewas her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour ercitd with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy {Gol womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his ‘7 sal, mame Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be once ©©called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God “Thi shall give unto him the throne of his father David. ificily And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, ‘ag and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then Kou said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, see- mG ing I know nota man? And the angel answered ith’ andsaid unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon hai thee, andthe power of the Highest shall over- tej shadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which wit) Shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of maitdl God.” The Koran and the Tnjil give the same Sui account of the birth of Jesus Christ,. that it came 14 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. about in this wonderful way. Therefore between — Muhammad and Jesus there is this difference, that ; Muhammad was born in the ordinary way, but | Jesus Christ was born in a very extraordinary way, — by the special power of God. aT. Now let us consider the character of beth, iia and we shall see that in this second particular there — is agreat difference between them. Muhammad was born like other men, and go of gua necessity was a sinner like other men. In the — Koran very clear proof of this may be found. In ~ Sura 93, (Zuha,) Ayat 7, it is written, “ Did he © not find thee in the way of error and showed thee the way?” Sura 40, (Mumin,) Ayat 57, it is | written, ‘‘ Ask pardon for thy faults.” In Sura 110, — (Nasr,) Ayat 3, it is written, “Praise thy God — and seek pardonfrom him.” In Sura 48, (Fatah,) — Ayat 2, itis written, “‘ May God pardon thy first — and last sins.” From these proofs it may be clear-_ ly seen that Muhammad was a sinner like other men. But Jesus Christ was sinless. In the Koran the proof of this may be obtained. All the other pro- phets whose names are found in the Koran sought for pardon from God, they were therefore certainly sinners. But the Koran does not give the account of a single sin of Jesus Christ. Nay rather in Sura 4, (Nisa,) 169th Ayat, it is written, “Verily Christ the son of Mary, is the Apostle of God, and his Word, which he conveyed unto Mary, and a Spirit proceeding from him.” Since therefore Jesus is — the Word of God and the Spirit of God, He must of necessity be sinless. And in the Injil the same account of Jesusis recorded. Bafore His birth the angel Gabriel said to Mary, that He would be holy. — Jesus himself said, “I always do the will of Him that sent me.” And Jesus said to his enemies, — and s04 hh th and, | “Did h wed. tl a7, itt Sara Ill thy Gu (Fatal thy fin be cleat ler me ran the er pro -sough! ertaial accontl in Sun Chri! a i 4, Spit Jest ! He moll he sil irth th 7¢ hol of His emits & JESUS OR MUHAMMAD,.ON WHOM WILL YOU RELY? 15 ‘‘Which of you conyinceth me of sin??? (John viii. 29 and 46). Auother time he said, “The prince of this world [Satan] hath nothingiu me.” (John xiv. 30.) In the first epistle of the apostle Peter, it is written about him, “He did no sin.” Thus the second point of difference between Muhammad and Jesus Christ is this, Muhammad was a sinner, but Jesus was siuless. III. The third point of difference between Jesus Christ and Muhammad Sahib is this, Jesus worked several miracles but Muhammad worked no miracle. It is true that Muhammadaus say that Muhammad split the moon into two parts, and worked several other miracles. But if we look into the matter, it will be seen that the accounts of all the miracles of Muhammad were written more than a hundred years after Muhammad’s death: we cannot there- fore say that they are true. Ifa man were to say, “Twenty years ago such a one gave a blind man sight,” several could -give evidence as to the truth or falsehood of the statement. - But if he says, “One hundred, or two hundred years’ ago such a one worked a miracle,”’ how is his work to be tested, when such a statement is made for the first time so long after the alleged fact? All who were alive at that time will have died, no one will accept his bare word as true. Just so there is no proof that what has been written about the miracles of Muhammad a great many years after his death is true. We rather regard all such accounts as false, because in the Koran Muhammad clearly says that he never worked a miracle. In several places of the Koran. it is written that when the unbelievers asked Mu- hammad to show them asign, he said God did not “want to show any miracle by him. We shall quote two passages. In the 49th Ayat of Sura 29, (Anga- ae III ‘His death given. In the 48th Ayat of the 3rd verily I will cause thee to die and I will take thee: | 16 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. — but), it is written, “ They say, unless a sigD be sent® down unto him from his God we will not believe ;. answer, signs are in the power of God alone, and J am no more than a preacher.” And in the 61st Ayat of Sura 17, (Bani Israel), it is written, © “Nothing hindered us from sending thee with — miracles except that the people of former days have said that they were impostures.” In this way the — Koran plainly says that Muhammad Sahib showed © no sign, that is, did no miracle. But Jesus Christ did several miracles. He gave; several blind men ~ sight; He gave the lame power to walk and the dumb power to speak; He healed several lepers. and very many sick; more than this, He raised to life three dead persons, one of whom had lain in © the grave four days. Moreover this ought to be noticed, that when all other prophets wrought — miracles they wrought them in the name of God, — but Jesus Christ used to work His miracles in His © own name and by His own power, He who made | known His own infinite power and mercy by so many works of this kind is undoubtedly the Saviour, — 4 IV. _ The fourth point is this, Muhammad died ; | and everybody knows it. He was born like other | men, and like other men he died. At the city of Mecca he was born, and at the city of Medina he © died. After his death he was buried, and like | the body of other men, his body went into corrup- q tion. But the end of Jesus Christ was not like | that. Inthe Kordn there are two accounts about Sura, (Imran), it is written, “God said, O Jesus, | up unto me.” And in the 34th Ayat of the 19th Sura, (Mariam), Jesus says, “Peace was on me JESUS OR MUHAMMAD, ON WHOM WILL YoU RELY? 17 a the day | was born, and will be the day I shall wt die, and the day I shall be raised to life.” Butin the i = «16th Ayat of Sura 4, (Nisa), it is written, “ They te fi slew him not, neither crucified him, but he was re- a presented by one in his likeness..... They did not » " really kill him ; but God took him up unto himself.” lays If any one says the second account is correct, then ‘ti)! they must acknowledge that Jesus did not die, but a that God took him to heaven alive. Now Muham- SDS Uh mad did die and his body went into corruption. lind Which of these two prophets then shall we call the ‘all Saviour of mankind? The one who has died or allt the one who has never died ? ral But in the Injil it is plainly written that Jesus ii lin) += Christ died. The Jews took him and nailed Him shit! to the cross. In six hours he died and his body wu was laid in the grave. Nowsome may say,“ Well, a6 both Muhammad and Jesus died, what then is the smi difference between them?’ The difference is this, oud Muhammad died, but never rose again from the ‘by’ grave; Jesus Christ came to life again, and rose ly ti from the grave on the third day. In the Gospel, the four evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and dd John have written an account of Jesus Christ ; the cect four say that he rose from the grave and appeared i tomany. EHarly on Sunday morning, when a few )- believing women went to the grave to anoint his nd li body, they saw the grave open and the body of } Jesus was not there. Then two angels appeared not i to them and said, ‘‘ Fear not, I know that ye seek ‘sali Jesus who was crucified ; He is not here, he is te? risen, as he said. Come see the place where the ) ji Lord lay, and go quickly and tell his disciples that ket? he has risen from the dead.’”’ Afterwards Jesus i) himself appeared to the women, then to the apostle om? Peter, and after that to the eleven apostles. After- 2 18 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. s he appeared to several disciples many times, | Lee Aat aeshuele he appeared to five hundred people in one place. After rising from the dead he remained forty days in the world and several times met his disciples. At that time his body was not a common body ; he could go where he liked and as he liked; he could goin and out of the house while the doors were shut; he kad no need to eat anything. At last he took his disciples to a mountain near Jerusalem, and blessed them, and while he blessed them, he went up to heaven ina cloud in their sight. | Now perhaps some one will ask, “ Why did- Jesus Christ die, seeing that he was born so mira- culonsly, that he was sinless and that he wrought several miracles? If he is indeed truly the greatest of all the prophets, why did not God deliver him out of the hands of the Jews?” The answer to this is, Jesus Christ is indeed the sinless One, and death — is the penalty for sin, but he took our sins upon himself, and made an atonement for us, and this | was the reason why he died. The prophet Isaiah | in the 6th verse of the 53rd chapter of his book | says, ‘‘ He was wounded for our transgressions, he | was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we | are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray ; | we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Jesus himself said, “I have come to give my life a ranso for many; and in the first Hpistle of Peter iti written, “‘ He himself bore our sins in his own body | on the tree.” ‘Christ hath once suffered for sins, _ the just for the unjust.” d 4 Now my Muhammadan brethren, consider. who | can give.us real salvation,—Muhammad or J oate 4 DY tiny hunt the ty Dd sere body i 5 he lh mnt of f ad nom ciple then, « paved i Why ji n SO Mt e Wri e grea er hind to this nd dest nS upd and thi t [said nis hod gions, b emelt! ripes F » asttsf andi [y Jes a ralil eter yn bol for si ler, mh Jest JESUS OR MUHAMMAD, ON WHOM WILL You RELY? 19 Muhammad was born in the ordinary way, Abdul- lah was his father and Amina his mother. Before his birth no angel brought the tidings of it to his father or mother. But before the birth of Jesus, the angel Gabriel gave tidings about the greatness of Jesus. He was born in the womb of the Virgin Mary. He iias received the name Spirit-of God (Ruh Allah) and word of God (Kalam Allah). Again, Muhammad confessed himself a sinner. Tn his birth and in his life he was like other men. He married several times, he kept several wives among them was even Zeinab, the divorced wife of his adopted son Zeid. Muhammad too slew several people. But Jesus Christ did not come to earth to please himself, but to save men ; therefore he never married, and never slew any one; he came from heaven not to kill, but to save men’s lives. He never in thought, word or deed committed sin. Brethren, upon whom then will you put your trust? On the sinner Muhammad or the sinless Jesus? Which of these can give us salvation? How can he who is himself a sinner give you deliverance from sin? Can the blind lead the blind? Can one debtor become surety for another debtor? Only He who never sinned can give you deliverance from sin. Again, Muhammad never wrought a miracle, but Jesus did many wonderful works. He who gave sight to the blind and life to the dead can save you from the dire effects of sin. Finally Muhammad is dead, his body has turned into dust ; but Jesus Christ, although he once died to make an atonement for sin, is not dead now, he has risen from the grave, he has ascended to heaven, and ever liveth to save his people. He is interced- ing for sinners. What use will it beif Muhammad intercedes for you? What is the good of one sin- 20 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. ner interceding for another sinner? Willa judge be pleased if one thief makes intercession to him on behalf of another thief? We want a holy sin- less intercessor. And who is that intercessor? It” is Jesus Christ. The apostle John says, “ If any ON i Ti a oa re Le a man sin we bavean Advocate with the Father [that ‘ is God], Jesus Christ, the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but — also for the sins of the whole world.”? Another apostle has said, “ He is able to save to the utter- most those who come unto God through Him, see- ing that he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Brethren, take refuge in Jesus Christ, put your trust in Him, know Him as the only Saviour, you-will then obtain deliverance from sin and will certainly go to heaven. Jesus Christ Himself said, “Come unto me all : ye that labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give © yourest. ‘Take my yokeupon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find” rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and m burden is light.” (Matt. xi. 28-30). Through His death you can obtain pardon of your sins, and by His help you will be enabled to strive against sin, — and to overcome Satan; He will deliver you from all evil, and will intercede with God the Father for you; and when He comes at the Last Day to judge the world He will receive you as His people and will — bid you enter into His infinite joy in heaven. He says, “I am the way, the truth and the life:” He is _ i ee Spi ss the only way to heaven, and if you believe in Him, — and take Him to be your Saviour and Lord, you will certainly go there. ———o1 La Tuk 1 to hy hog s80r! | ; : If q ther [i he igi only, Ant the ot Hin, essi0n us (hn the a e froms io mek wall gr rm of th hall fin and 1) ugh Hi and h ist: sil you ft ather fi to jul and ren, 1 a” Bel 1 10 it ord, jo THE SINLESS PROPHET. 3. THE SINLESS PROPHET. The Muhammadan Moulvies say that God has sent many prophets into the world. The chief of these are the following six:— Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mahomed. Many say that all these prophets were sinless and therefore they were able to save their disciples. But this can- not be if they were sinners, because those who are themselves sinners cannot save others from sin. In the Taurdat it is clearly stated that Adam, Noah, _Abraham, Moses, and the other prophets, in one way or another, sinned against God, and the Koran says the same. Hence they cannot have been saviours. et us now examine the Taurat, Injil and Koran and see whether the six prophets mentioned above committed sin or not. If we do this we shall find that among these six there was only one sinless one, and only through that sinless prophet can we obtain freedom from sin. First consider the case of Adam. With regard to him the Taurat says that God created first Adam and then Hve, and at the time of creation Adam was sinless. God put them into the Garden of Hden, and told them that they might eat the fruit of any of the trees of the garden, except the tree which Muhammadans call Gandam, or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They were forbidden to eat the fruit of that tree? But Satan, in the form of a serpent, induced them to eat of the forbidden fruit. Eve, deceived by Satan, ate it, and giving it to Adam her husband, he also ate of it. In this way they both broke the law of God and became sinners. The teaching of the Koran agrees with this. In the Sura Araf from the 20th to 24th Ayat itis written, ‘God said RES ARSON 22 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS- dam ‘Thou and thy wife dwell in the garden ~ oe what you like, bat do not eat of the fruit of that tree lest you become sinners ...---... but Satan said, ‘ The reason why your Lord has forbidden you to eat of that fruit is simply lest you should become angels and immortal’......... so Satan deceived | them, and when they ate of the fruit of the tree” then they learned that they were naked, and began to cover themselves with leaves, and their Lord ~ called them and said, ‘I have forbidden you to eat — of that fruit and said Satan is your clear enemy.’ — They said ‘Oh our Lord we have destroyed our life. Ifthou do not pardon us and show mercy — toward us then we shall be hopeless.’ ”” , From this we learn that Adam was a sinner, — more than that, he was the root of the sin of all of — us, because by his committing sin all men bave be- — come sinful. Consequently Adam was nota sinless | prophet. a The second great prophet was Noah. Itis written | in the Taurat that Noah was a God-fearing prophet, | and God in a wonderful way delivered him from | the great flood ; yet he also was not sinless. . After — he escaped from the flood he began to cultivate the | vine, and drinking the fruit of the vine he became drunk; and although no other sin of Noah is | narrated in the Taurat, yet itis certain that he was | sinful like all other men. Consequently Noah was | not a sinless prophet. The Koran speaks of the same fact; in Sura Hud, 47th Ayat, it says with © regard to Noah that he said, “ Behold I take refuge with thee...... If thou do not pardon me and show _ mercy then I shall be reckoned with the people of ’ hell.” In Sura Noah, 2%th Ayat, it is written, — “Oh my Lord, pardon me and my father and mother and all the believing people that dwell in — S parte he fry ‘out Se ridden qi ed et L deceig of the ty and ben their In JOU tos ar Eley royed OW a SiMe notal hare k ta sink 5 Writtle mrophet m {rol Atte vate th becaui Noah | ; he Ww oah m 3 of th ys wi relll nd shi eoplet wri er ah well! THE SINLESS PROPHET. my house and all believing men and women.” Consequently the Koran teaches that Noah was not sinless, because he asked from God pardon for his sins. The third chief prophet was Abraham. He was a very righteous man and was specially noted for his faith. Yet the Taurat teaches that he also was not sinless ; for twice, from fear of man, he said of his wife, She is my sister ; he thus deceived people, so much so that even an idolatrous king reproved him. Abraham therefore was a sinner. And with this also the Koran agrees. In Sura Ibrahim, 42nd Ayat, itis written that Abraham prayed, “Omy Lord, receive my prayer; O my Lord, in ‘the day of account forgive me, my father and mother and all the faithful.’ Tbe Koran teaches therefore that though Abraham was the Friend of God, Khalil Ullah, yet he was not sinless ; for if he had been sinless he would not have prayed for pardon. The fourth chief prophet is Moses. He also was a very righteous man and a great prophet ; but he was not sinless. When God commanded him to go to Pharaoh he manifested such fear that God was angry with him. And when the Israelites, after being delivered from Egypt were wandering in the wilderness, Moses once spoke so unadvisedly that God would not permit him to enter Canaan, but he had to die in the desert. The Koran also teaches that Moses was asinner. In Sura Araf, 150th Ayat, itis written that Moses said, “O Lord, forgive me and my brother, and give us a place in thy mercy.”” And in regard to one special act of Moses it is written in Sura Kasas, 16th Ayat, that he said, “ O Lord, I have injured my soul, there- fore do thou forgive me.” 24 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. We see then that according both to the Taurat and the Koran, Adam, Noah, Abraham and Moses | were all sinners, all sought pardon from God, not one of them was sinless. Now out of the six chief prophets whom Muham- madans recognise only Jesus and Muhammad re- — main. We will first consider the case of Muham- mad. Moslems consider him the last Prophet, Akhar- — i-Paighambar, yet the Koran teaches clearly that | Muhammad also was not sinless, because like Adam, ~ Noah, Abraham and Moses, healso sought pardon of God. In Sura Zuha, 7th Ayat, it is written, “ Did He not find thee in the path of error and show thee the path?” And in Sura Mumin, 57th Ayat, God says to Muhammad, “ Ask pardon of thy fault.” And in Sura Muhammad, 21st Ayat, it is written, “* Ask pardon of thy sin, and also for believing men and women.” And in Sura Fatah, 2nd Ayat, it is written, ‘That God may pardon thy former and | thy latter sin.” From these Ayats of the Koran © we see Clearly that, like other men, Muhammad also ~ was a sinner. ‘The teaching of the Hadis agrees — with this, for in many places it is written that | Muhammad prayed in this way: “O Lord, pardon | my sins, the former and the latter, the secret and | the manifest, and open the door of thy mercy for — me.” Consequently Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, — and Muhammad were none of ther: sinless. But when we inquire regarding Jesus Christ, we find that no man was ever able to accuse Him of sin. In the Taurat and Zabiir there are many prophecies regarding Him, and in all of them nothing but praise is spoken of Jesus. In the Injil we have the history of His birth, works, teaching, death, resurrection, ascension, and the teaching of the apostles regard- ing Him; but from beginning to end of the Gospel THE SINLESS PROPHEDS. 2D ut not one fault is attributed to Him. In the Korém Bal also there are many things spoken about Him, but "it although in the Koran there is clear proof that Vey Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Muhammad were sinners, yet not in any one Ayat is any fault ids attributed to Jesus. All the other prophets asked Mt pardon of God, but Jesus never did so. This is tay very noteworthy. arly First let us consider the testimony of the Koran ce Ad to Jesus Christ. We shall find that in not a ‘fat single verse is any fault, great or small, ascribed a") to Jesus. Nothing is said but that which is for id) His honour and praise. In Sura Imran, 30 and yjaiti 45 Ayat, Jesus is called the “ Word of God,” yh Kalam Ullah. In Sura Nisa, 169th Ayat, He is mitt called “ Spirit of God,” Ruh-Ullah. In this last mgm 6 Ayatitis written, “ Jesus, the Son of Mary, the yat, ti Prophet of God, and His Word, which He put mer ai into Mary, and a Spirit from Him.” Kort Other Prophets are called Habib-Ullah, ‘‘ Be- xdalso ~=loved of God,” or Khalil-Ullah,*‘ Friend of God,” agreed «= Or ~Rasul-Ullah, “ Apostle of God,” and all these nthi attributes belong to men, for a mere man may be pad: + beloved of God,” “friend of God,” “ Apostle of retad God.” But in the Koran Jesus is called the cyt ‘Word of God’’-and the “Spirit of God.’ A ls man’s thoughts and nature find expression in his words; and for this reason Jesus is called the isn “¢ Word of God.’ But a man’s words correspond jf to his thoughts ; if the thoughts are bad the words joi Will be bad, and if the thoughts are good the words ; wy will be good. ‘his is certainly true where the sad man is good, because though a bad man may some i, times utter good words, yet a good man will never speak bad words. A good man’s words represent himself ; therefore God’s Word represents Himself, ect } egal Gos 26 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. and must therefore, like Himself, be pure and ~ sinless. Jesus then, being ‘ God’s Word” must, 4 be sinless; but even if Muhammad be, as the Muslims say, ‘‘God’s Apostle,” 2.e., His sent one, he may yet be a sinner like other men whom God has sent to make known His will. Again, Jesus is called Ruh-Ullah, that is, the “ Spirit of God.” Now the spirit of a man is the man himself; Jesus therefore, being the Spirit of God, must be Him- self God, and therefore perfectly sinless. The teaching of the Koran shows thus clearly that | Jesus, as the Word and the Spirit of God, is far © greater than any other prophet. j In the Taurat, Zabir and Injil the sinlessness of ~ Jesus is very clearly shown. It is true that the | Taurat and Zabir were written hundreds of years | before Jesus came into the world; but in them ~ God gave several predictions regarding Him. As — soon as Adam sinned God promised that the ‘‘ seed — of the woman,” that is Jesus, would ‘‘ bruise the head” of the serpent, that is of Satan. God promised to Abraham that in “his seed,” that. is, in Jesus, “all the nations of the earth should — be blessed.’ Through the prophet Isaiah God — foretold that Jesus should ‘‘do no violence, — neither should any deceit be in his mouth.” Jesus himself said to his disciples, “ Which of you con- vinceth me of sin?” At another time he said that in Him there dwelt nothing of Satan (John ~ vii. 46; xiv. 30). In other places in the Injil it — is said that He was sinless (2 Cor. v. 21), pureya harmless and undefiled (Heb. iv. 15, vii. 26), without blemish and without spot, and that Hedid | no sin (1 Pet.i.19; ii. 22). Many such passages — are met with in the Injil. | Jesus from birth to death was perfectly sinless. | of ye + in the lio. 4 ese 1158 th God thal shoul sh Gul jolene Jos 00 cée he wi n (Joh Tn , pat i. Hed assaf nls THE SINLESS PROPHET. 27 He never cast evil eyes on any woman, spoke any bad word, did any evil deed. In thought, word, act, from first to last, He was perfectly sinless. This is very wonderful. The point then is this. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Muhammad were all sinners, all asked pardon for their sin, and confessed that if God did did not pardon them they would perish. Only Jesus Christ was pure and spotless. Consider, then, brethren, on whom will you rely, on a sinner or on the Sinless One? On the guilty or the guilt- less? How can the guilty one save you from guilt? Let him first save himself. How can the sinner save you from sin? Can the blind lead the blind? Can the man who is fallen into a pit deliver out of it another man who has also fallen into it ? Can the man who is drowning deliver another from the water? Can the debtor pay another man’s debt? Never. Thus Abraham, Moses, and Muhammad can save no one. And yet millions of Muhammadans to this day rely on the sinner Muhammad for salvation’from sin! Muhammad confessed that he himself depended only on the mercy of God; by his own merits he could not even deliver himself, how then can he deliver you ? But Jesus is sinless, spotless, and therefore He can deliver from sin those who put their trust in Him. He can do this for the following reasons :— 1. Because He is sinless, Jesus has been able to make atonement for sin. As the debtor cannot pay another’s debt, when he cannot even pay his own, so he who is himself a sinner cannot make atonement for sin. But as a benevolent rich man may pay the debt of the poor, so the sinless Jesus has been able to make atonement for our sins. It is said in the Injil (John i. 28 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. 1, 4, 14:) “In the beginning was the Word © (that is : esus, Kalam Ullah), and the Word 1 was with God, and the Word was God. In him © was life, and the life was the light of men. ‘The ‘ Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, full of © grace and truth.” Man, by sin, has become debtor © to God; but Kalam-Ullah and Ruh-Ullah, Jesus ~ the Word of God and the Spirit of God, is so rich | in merit that He can pay this our debt; the punish- © ment which we ought to have borne for sin, He ~ bore in our stead. Therefore, though He was sin- | less, it was necessary for Him to die upon the ~ cross. For death is the fruit of sin, and therefore ~ Jesus died upon the cross in order that we might — have eternal life. Thus, because Jesus is sinless, | He has been able to make atonement for our sins; — He therefore is the Saviour. So the Injil says, “He ~ bare our sins in his own body on the tree.” “He — who knew no sin was made sin for us.” 2. Because Jesus issinless, He can show us the — right path, and can give us strength to walk therein. He who is sinless can make no mistake, and will therefore never lead us wrong. The path ~ that He points out is certainly the way to heaven, ~ If we follow the teaching of Jesus we cannot go wrong, if we obey His commands we shall ever keep — in the right path. If we follow a man who © wanders this way and that, we shall wander too; — but if we follow him who walks in the straight — path, we also shall go in the straight path. So if we follow sinners, we shall be sinners; but if we lay hold on Him who is sinless, and follow Him, become His disciples and obey His commands, we too at the end shall find ourselves sinless. 3. Jesus, being sinless, can be our Advocate.in the Court of God. We areall sinners, and therefore THE SINLESS PROPHET. 29 s Satan can rightly accuse us before God. Who 1 ; then can be our Advocate to plead for us? Can “a Mubammad be our Advocate? He was himself a : ' , sinner, he will have to render account of himself to yi God; how then can he plead for us? Can one et Griminal be the advocate for another ? Certainly ila not If a sinner pleads for us, it will be of no “ot avail. But if the sinless Jesus is our Advocate, Pf! then we need not fear, we shall certainly be "il delivered. He is not only sinless, but He is the "St very Word and Spirit of God. If He then pleads tpt for us, all will be well. there Blessed be God, Jesus is willing to be our Advo- rete ate. Itis written in the Injil, “If any man sin ‘silk we have an Advocate with the Father (that is, with ars God), Jesus Christ the righteous. And he is the 51 propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but ’ “I also for the whole world” (1 John ii. 1, 2.) and in another passage in the Injil it is written: “He ‘sth ever liveth to make intercession for us.” (Heb. walk vii. 26.) i istake Brethren, take refuge in the sinless Jesus. His e pal teaching is found in the Injil, read it therefore, and cava «=6you will be able to learn about Him. Believe on mit Him, then you will obtain pardon through the erke? atonement that he has made; and He will ever be 1 your Advocate with God. He, the Sinless One, ert. will lead you in the right path till death ; He will mit? then make you perfectly sinless and take you to wi heaven. itt It is said in the Injil that at the last day the ; fc Lord Jesus Christ will come from heaven to earth x31 to judge all men. Being sinless His judgment will ae be perfectly righteous. Those who seek pardon ai through His atonement and strive to lead a hol wit life, He will then take to heaven. But those who 30 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. forsake him and trust in Muhammad or any other person will suffer terrible punishment. — Because — only through the perfect atonement which Jesus — Christ has made can pardon be obtained; those therefore who do not rest on Him will have to bear | the burden of their own guilt. But those who trust in the sinless Saviour will be delivered from sin. 4. JESUS CHRIST. Jesus Christ was born at Bethlehem, in the © country of Judea, nearly 1900 years ago. — His © mother’s name was Mary ; therefore he is called Ibn-Mariam. No man was his father, at his birth Mary was a virgin; but the special power of God descended on Mary, and through this Jesus was — born. In reference to this matter we read in the” Koran, Sura Ambiya, 91 Ayat. j “She who remained a virgin, we put within her our spirit (Ruh), in this way we have made her and her son a sign to all peopie.” 3 In the Injil we have this narrative as to the | birth of Jesus through the special power of God: — “ And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And — when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, — and castin her mind what manner of salutation this _ should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and © bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of _ the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto 7 ALY dl Bay neh ly hed th ave 0 fy those i ered fy am, in| 218 cl at his bi wer Of Gi Jesus m ead inh * thin he ade he as to th of Got nd sal Lord! n,. Al 3 say ition Peart AM mb, # justi Son? e ull JESUS CHRIST. ok him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. ‘Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing | know not aman? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke i. 28—35.) Mary and her husband Joseph lived at the city of Nazareth. But by the command of the Roman Emperor, they had to go to the city of Bethlehem to be enrolled; and whilst they were there, Jesus Christ was born. On the night of His birth a company of shepherds were keeping watch over their flocks by night. An angel appeared to them and said, “‘ Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, whichis Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Yeshall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke ii. 10—14.) The shepherds then went to Bethlehem to worship the child Jesus. Mary’s husband Joseph took her and the child to Egypt, in accordance with God’s command, to preserve Him from the hand of King Herod, who wished to kill Him; but after Herod’s death He returned to Nazareth with Mary and Jesus. There Jesus remained nearly 30 years. “Henever did any evil deed, He was perfectly holy. Whilst He wasa boy, He remained obedient to His parents, according on TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. to God’s law ;and when He grew up He did the work ~ of a carpenter, helping Joseph in his work. At the age of 30 years Jesus began to go to | different places and preach the kingdom of God. 4 Just before He began to do this, He was at one time | standing, and it was seen that the door of heaven | was opened, and the Spirit of God like a dove | descended on Him, and out of heaven came this | voice, “‘ This is my beloved Son, in whom I am | well pleased.” (Matt. iii. 17.) 1 In the Injil it is very clearly stated that this | divine voice was heard; we learn therefore that | we are bound to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is | indeed the Son of God, for God Himself said go. 7 Hven before the birth of Jesus, the angel Gabriel | had said to Mary, ‘Therefore that holy thing ~ which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke i. 35.) But, what do we mean by the word ‘‘ Son” here? It is not meant that Jesus Christ was the Son of God in the same sense in which an ordinary man is © the son of his father. As the Musalmans would | call such a thought kufr (blasphemy) so the | Christians would do the very same. But when it f is said, as it is again and again in the Injil that | Jesus was the Son of God, the meaning is this: The son is of the same nature as the father, as the | son of man is man, so the Sonof God isGod. And as the father exceedingly loves the son, so God the | Father loves Jesus Christ with a very special love; and as the son of a king is greater than all his ministers and subjects, so Abraham, Moses, David { were all only servants of God, but Jesus Christ was | HisSon, and therefore greater than all the prophets. q All other prophets were sinners; Jesus Christ was | a man, it is true, but He was also the sinless God. — Sk 4 a a the NW LTO oy) m th Ab OLE ar ike 8 came ff whom | ad that eretore th aus (hry self sail ngel Gal holy th led the Son” her the Son | ary Ha pans Wol ny) 90 t But whe he Jnl me 3 i rather,’ isGol. 4 mn, 80 Gat! 7 get i » than Moses, 1g Chri he pry! J C hr 1st f sinless JESUS CHRIST. This is not merely the saying of Christians, it is also the teaching of the Injil, which Muhammadans acknowledge to be the word of God. After the Spirit of God had thus descended on Jesus, He went into a jungle, and there Satan tempted Him. In that place no man lived, only wild beasts were there. Jesus there ate nothing for 40 days and nights, afterwards He hungered, and then Satan sought in various ways to tempt Him. Jesus had never committed any sin from the time of His birth, and Satan knew that if He commit- ted only one sin Hecould never be the Saviour of sinners; for He who is Himself a sinner can never deliver othersfrom sin. Forthis reason Satan tried many ways to tempt Jesus to sin: he said to Him, “if thou wilt but once worship me, I will give thee the whole world.” But none of his attempts suc- ceeded. Jesus conquered Satan, and, though so hungry, committed no sin. Afterwards for 34 years Jesus went about in many different places in the land of Palestine, preached the gospel of God, and wrought many miracles. These miracles were of various kinds. One day He fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two little fishes; all ate asmuch as they wished, and when they had finished tweive baskets of fragments were taken up. On that night His disciples were rowing their boat on the lake with great difficulty, the wind being against them. As they were doing this Jesus Himself appeared, walking on the water near them. He also cured a large number of sick people, ill of various diseases. Sometimes He gave eyesight to the blind. He cured the lepers by a word. He enabled-the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. Out of many persons He cast devils. In this way 3 84 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. | He wrought hundreds of miracles. Itis written in 7 ey the Injil: roma ly « And his fame went throughout ali Syria: and | they brought unto him all sick people that were | ! | taken with divers diseases and torments, and those | : which were possessed with devils, and those which | a were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and | Hie! he healed them.” (Matt. iv. 24.) He even gave life to three persons who were 7 dead. Once He restored life to a girl, then to a | young man, and last of all to a man named Lazarus | who bad been four days dead. q Jesus Christ could heal not only the diseases of | the body, but the disease of the soul, that is, sin | rp He often after healing people said, “ Go in peace, "| — thy faith hath made thee whole.” One day He) in healed a paralytic and said, “‘ Thy sins be forgiven thee.” Hearing this people began to complain saying, ‘‘ This man speaketh blasphemies, only God | can forgive sin.’”’ But Jesus said, “ I have power to | forgive sin.” In this way also Jesus said that He} was God. ‘4 Not only did Jesus Christ work miracles, He also | gave much very importayt teaching. He taught | that God’s kingdom had come: therefore all ought | to repent. We must not rely on mere outward | worship, for God looks at the heart ; we must wor- | ship Him with the heart if we would worship Him acceptably. We learn therefore that the true namdz is nota matter of rakat, but of heart worship, | As a child goes to its mother and asks for food or | something else; so we ought to go to God and ask | in our own language for what we need, and He will hear us. ‘True religion therefore is not a mere matter of externalism, it is a matter of the heart. | Jesus Christ also taught that we ought to love all | Mitten} ria: g that ) and iy hose Wh paby: a 3 WO , then ned Lan: 2 diseay thai 18, Go in pe Ine day s be fon to con es, only re poet aid that £ es, Hed He tat ore al ere oni we musi wrorsilD at the peart Wl! for fm God al JESUS CHRIST. men, not only those of the true religion, but Kafirs and infidels also. To kill such persons is sin, and if is also sin to attempt by force to make them acknowledge even the true religion. Wearé bound to love all and try and lead all by persuasion in the right path. We ought to love even those who hate us, and to pray to God for those who curse us. God acts thus Himself; He sends sun and rain on the evil as well as the good, and like Him we too ought to love and do good to all men. One day a man asked Jesus, ‘‘ What is the greatest command- ment in the law?” Jesus said unto him, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This ig the first and greatcommandment. And the second is lke unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Matt. xxii. 37-39.) Jesus also said that salvation could be obtained only through Him. He said: “ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath ever- lasting life.” (John vi. 47.) ‘I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” (x. 9.) “TI and my Father areone.” (x. 30.) ‘Iam the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (xiv. 6.) One special and very important point to notice in regard to Jesus Christ is that He was sinless All the other prophets who have come into the world were sinners; but Jesus Christ from birth to death was completely sinless. He never did any evil deed, or spoke any evil word, or indulged any sinful thought. He always obeyed God perfectly and did good to men. He did not seek his own happiness, but the happiness of others. He was always loving, He loved even his enemies ; He pray- 386 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. ed for those who nailed Him to the cross. In this ' way Jesus Christ for 34 years went from place to place, gave His teaching and wrought many mira- ~ cles. At last the Jews killed Him. The reason was that the Jewish teachers and moulvies thought them-_ selves very religious; but really their religion was purely external, they did not serve God in their hearts. For this reason, they hated the teaching of Jesus, and urged the people to seek to put Him to death. One of His disciples was covetous and trea- 7 cherous. One night he brought the servants of the high priest and betrayed Jesus into their hands. They seized him and bronght Him to the » high-priest. There the people treated Him with great disrespect, they abused Him, spit in His face and beat Him. Then they brought Him to the hakim and urged him to put Him to death. The | hakim was an idolater, and yet was a better mati | than the moulvies of the Jews. He understood | that Jesus had committed no sin, and therefore he wished to deliver Him, and tried many ways Of | doing so. But at length, from fear of the people, | and desire to please them, he gave the order that | Jesus should be scourged and crucified. After- | wards the soldiers mocked Him, then they took Him to a place called Calvary, where they nailed His hands and feet to the cross and thus crucified Him. © On the cross He suffered six hours of great agony, | and then He died. a Here one may ask, when Jesus was so great a prophet, why did not God deliver Him out of the , hands of the Jews? Why did He allow a sinless | prophet to die? The answer is this: Jesus Christ | came into the world to accomplish a special pur: | pose, namely, to make atonement by His death for | | | JESUS CHRIST. 37 Thi r tas Tite} g in of man. W ANY ty = nothing ae aman is heavily i fe ie him and pa ver to pay, if a sl gimnol Sleds nish i ebtor will se vys his debt f rich man has ot antl had become — plage) SG him, then the hienon Pec of sin i s it wered we all, by ou tind — become ee are th ee to Gan an dunt be ible aaa erefo ; the eat oe to hell. aan only to egies : our sin, put in Be y His death He e sinless Jesus a also to ante ea Mace ee atonement - in our erat’ their ae rest on Him believe in the Th, sin. In itv ‘but fon a ia Hae ee oe a Hi to o not » like oth rom iat ~ Peor debtor go to hell, the er men, they die; inj man did eould not b Y go to heavy 3 nfst mot eee pay his debt ie 5 Scalia if tha he - jin pi it in no or sin we co - if Jesus Chri - ae id h hrist h ih t B way. For thi uld have b ad le He Z epeered fen e a ae ac from niest) By Hi not ; and alth e hands of - could erefore | Him 5 own divine ough Jesus Chri ae yet se f from th power, could st Himself y Ways = do so, He did hand of the Jew ee aceeeea the ped “2 ee aleati ieee ler sif He had wi - tion In order th wished 5 order! death ons » He willi at man mi ia , much ulingly bo might ed. it i After Jesus eee did He A the pains of tok uried Him. The thus died, one oe igs v3) reste 0 eaghi wae at yr a : en ig 4 “ Seitedan oatibens p : ) e great i oh shad saat ee ee on that a =" but, wonderful re sweet spices to cman ai am bb was o say, wh anoint His b Ae aid empty. ees en they came t ody 5 oe” ‘* Jesus Christ angels appeared o the tomb wa bas risen from te has become eee them and sn Ub Teen. astounded and grave.” At this eo ad imself appea went home. O e women pp red to th n the w em and said, ‘ he Jesus 2 eace be pe unt al 9 you.” Af ter this Jesus for 40 da ys again 38 - TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. and again showed Himself to the disciples, and spoke words to comfort and teach them ; they often | saw, heard, and touched Him. By this they learnt for certain that He who had died on the cross to | atone for sins, had really again become alive and | risen from the grave. One of the apostles was | named Thomas; he did not believe that Jesus had | risen, and said: ‘Except I see the print of the | nails in his hand, and thrust my hand into his side | I will not believe.” A few days after Jesus again | appeared to the disciples and said to Thomas, | ‘‘ Behold my hands and feet, thrust thy hand into | my side, and be not faithless but believing.” Thomas said to Jesus, “ My Lord and my God.” — Jesus said unto Thomas, ‘‘ Because thou hast seen | me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that | have not seen and yet have believed.” (John xx. , o6—20), q Forty days after, He took the disciples to the | village of Bethany and said, “‘ Remain in the city of Jerusalem a few days, and the Holy Ghost shall come upon you; afterwards you will go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, | All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth; | and to the end of the world I will abide with you.” | He then blessed the disciples; as He blessed them | He was separated from them, and slowly went up 4 towards heaven. At length He entered into a cloud, and was seen no more. Then an angel said | to them, As Jesus Christ has now gone up to heaven, | so at the last day He will come again and judge all — men. ’ It is written in many places of the gospel that | the Lord Jesus Christ va come again cai judge : the earth. Jesus Himself said: “The Son of man | will come in the glory of his Father, with his | les, ey th 89 len 8 CH alive NT Jest mt tt ato hiss Jessa to Tho hand 2 belien | my Ge m haste they | (Johns ples tot mn the ci Thost sha yp tO creat ni inet aml yt Jessel ty aly vatl neh n ans po kt nd sp and [ yi of s mith) JESUS CHRIST. 39: angels and he shall render to every man according to his deeds.” (Matt. xvi. 27.) Jesus Christ often called himself the “ Son of man,” because He Him- self became perfect man to save man from sin. Yet in this place also he called God His “ Father;” consequently He was not a mere man. In another place He said: ‘‘ Whenthe Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took mein: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me 40 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? ‘Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch ag ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not tome. And these shall go away into everlast-— ing punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” (Matt. xxv. 31-46.) In another place of the Injil it is written, “ And — to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his — mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on © them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the — presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” (2 Thes. i. 7-9.) : Jesus Christ was in many respects greater than all the other prophets. 1. His birth was miraculous. All other prophets were born by the union of man and woman ; but Jesus Christ’s mother was a virgin, He was born by the special power of God on Mary. 2. Jesus Christ was sinless. All the other — prophets were sinners, and prayed to God for the — pardon of their sins; but Jesus Christ never sought pardon of sin because He had never com- mitted sin. : 3. Jesus Christ Himself is able to forgive sin. — When He was in this world, even then He forgave men’s sins. Now He has gone to heaven, and has — sat down on the right hand of God, now He — certainly can forgive sin. | j ioe See iad eS 4. By His death Jesus Christ has made atone y DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST. 4] a: ment for the sins of men; no other prophet has or At hey OVEr been able to do this. e i 5. Jesus Christ died, but rose again from the Ha dead and will never die again. Noah, Abraham, *ty Moses, Muhammad have all died, and remain dead. a 6. Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, and now “a sits at the right hand of God, and intercedes with avert God for all those who believe in Him. No other hfe chemi prophet has been able to do this. 7. Jesus Christ will come again at the last day miie,£ and will judge all men. No other prophet will do lai this. Those who receive the gospel and believe way in Jesus Christ, will then go to heaven and vengealti enjoy everlasting life. But those who reject the ieymtt gospel, and do not trust in Jesus Christ, will then ro sul . be thrown into hell-fire. on from | Consequently, in many respects, Jesus Christ is gayi! greater than all other prophets. Muhammadan brethren, forsake the refuge of Muhammad, and mater th take refuge in Jesus Christ: only by Him can salvation be obtained. er prophe oman ; hi 5. DEATH AND RESURRECTION » was bt OF JESUS CHRIST. the ol Both Muhammadans and Christians very highly ni ji honour Jesus Christ. All acknowledge that He is a very great Prophet, He was born in a miraculous wrist manner by the power of God, He gave very good oer teaching, and wrought many miracies. Both the _.. Injil and the Koran also represent Him as sinless. ing” From birth to death He did not commit even one Hpi sin. But in some points there isa difference of ge opinion. One point is this. Some say that He 1 ) never died, others say that He died, but after three 4 ali days returned to life, rose from the dead, and 42 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. afterwards went up to heaven. We need to inquire which of these two opinions is correct, for — this is a very important matter. It is written again and again in the Injil that if — Jesus Christ had not died, and risen from the dead, ~ none could have been saved. But praise to God, © we can give many proofs that Jesus did die and — rise again. Teaching of the Taurat and Zabur. In the Taurat and Zabur God gave many prophe- ’ cies regarding Jesus Christ, and said much also about His death. The sacrifices which He com- © manded by Noah, Abraham, Mosesand other devout — men were all types of the coming death of Jesus Christ. For, as we cannot buy an article wortha | rupee by giving apie for it, so by the blood of | mere ordinary beasts, the sin of man cannot be | atoned for. But God knew that Jesus Christ would be born and by His death make atonement — for sin, and pointed to this by ordering the sacrifice of various animals. We give an instance; — When God determined to destroy all the first-born | in Egypt, He commanded the Israelites to do the © following thing for their deliverance; they were — to kill a lamb for every household, and sprinkle its blood on the lintel and sideposts of their house; | by this means the people in the house would live, the eldest would not die. It is clearly stated in the Injil that this pointed to the sacrifice of Jesus. — “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, | and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh | away the sin ofthe world.” (Johni. 29.) << Purge | out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new _ lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our | passover is sacrificed for us.” (1 Cor. y. 7.) Pa 2 np much i 1 He te herdert hot ks Je work e bloat cannot! us (hn joneuie ing th stance nst-ot 0 doth ey We nnkle! how mil I tated! of Jes to ld h take “ Por 0 a mist DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST. 493 And in the 22nd Psalm, Isaiah liii, Daniel ix. 26, and many other places, the death of Christ was foretold hundreds of years before He was born. Jesus Christ’s own Teaching about His Death. Jesus again and again told his disciples that He would die. ‘‘ From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” (Matt. xvi. 21—23). We see then that when the Apostle Peter wished to dissuade Jesus from dying, Jesus said He was like Satan. And once Jesus said to his disciples ; * Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the propbets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mock- ed, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: and they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.” (Luke xvii. 31—33). On another occasion He said “I lay down my life for the sheep.” ‘‘ Therefore doth the Father love me, because J lay down my life that I may take it again.” On another occasion He said that He came from heaven expressly to make atonement for sin by His death. ‘‘ Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his lifea ransom for many.” (Matt. 4.4. YRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. xx. 28.) Two days before His death he said to His : disciples: “ Ye know that after two days 1s the | feast of the passover, and the Son of man is — betrayed to be crucified.” (Matt. xxvi. 2.) The | next day, as He sat at meat with his disciples, it is ~ said, “‘ And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, ~ and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the — disciples, and said Take, eat; this is my body. © And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave 1b to them, saying, Drink ye allof it; for this is my — blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matt. xxvi, — 26—28,) 4 According to this command of Jesus, from that — day till now Christians are accustomed to meet | together and eat bread and drink from a cup of } wine in remembrance of His death. From all these — proofs we learn clearly that Jesus often said that — He would certainly die and rise again, After His resurrection also He often spoke about His death. At one time He said to His disciples, ‘‘ Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day.” (Luke xxiv. 46.) After He ascended to heaven also, after the lapse of many years, He appeared to the Apostle — John and said, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; ~ ae the keys of hell and of death.” (Rev. — i, 18. We see therefore that we may learn clearly from the very words of Jesus Christ Himself that He really died and really rose from the dead. Teaching of the Injil. In the Injil the death of Jesus Christ is given in — a very detailed way ; it is thus recorded, not once — DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST. 45 1d tj only, but in four separate narratives and in very Y%\ full detail. In the same way the resurrection of it w Jesus Christ is also recorded in four separate -‘)| narratives. We have no room to give the whole “pet of these narratives in this small pamphlet; we will ‘uk’y put what we have space for. Those who wish to ‘itm know the whole history should get a copy of the uh Injil and read Matt. xxvi-xxvili; Mark xiv-xvi; wig; Luke xxiii, xxiv; John xviii-xx. rts iy In Matt. xxvii. 1, 2; 26-31; 35-46; 50.54; sie: 57-60 it is thus written : “ When the morning was lin ¢ome, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: fmt + And when they had bound him, they led him away, ate and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor. naw When He hadscourged Jesus, he delivered him to be mali: crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took igii) Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him {fer} the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, jis deal! and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they is iti had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his fer, head, and a reed in his right hand : and they bowed ikem the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, ati | © Sing of the Jews! and they spit upon him, and , Apo took the reed, and smote him on the head. And a ¢ after that they had mocked him, they took the robe Ane off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and i ,, led him away to crucify him. And they crucified A) him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the pro- phet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. And sitting down they watched him there; and set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then were there giv’ two thieves crucified with him, one on the right pot ost aly I that f 46 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. hand, and another on the left. And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, and | saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou he the Son of God, come down from the cross. Like. wise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, ‘‘ He saved others ; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver © him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.” The thieves also, which were crucified © with him, cast the same in his teeth. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land ~ unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, lili, Jama q sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why } hast thou forsaken me? Jesus, when he had cried | again with aloud voice, yielded up the ghost. And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; and the graves were opened ; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resur- rection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earth- © quake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph, who | also himself was Jesus’ disciple: he. went to Pilate, ) and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it ina © clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, ‘ DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST. AT Ae which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled say, 2 STeat stone to the door of the sepulchre, and "Ta departed.” In this very clear and detailed way “tit is written in the Injil that Jesus Christ did “ really die. = mi The statement of the Injil that Jesus returned to es life and rose from the dead is equally clear. “In 1 Lag the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene _and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake : for the angel : of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and lor! rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon rill it. His countenance was like lightning, and his ‘mth yaiment white as snow: and for fear of him the ii, lit keepers did shake, and became asdead men. And uy G0’ the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear igtai’ not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was ght: crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he inti said. Come, see the place where the Lofd lay. thd And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is ayes We «© risen from the dead ; and, behold, he goeth before whichst you into Galilee ; there shall ye see him: lo, I have bstat told you. And they departed quickly from the appa sepulchre with fear and great joy ; and did run to adi) bring his disciples word. And as they went to thee? tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, say- ne, ing, All hail. And they came and held him by te! the feet, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus ree! © unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren yi,’ that they go into Galilee, and there shall they i py see me.” (Matt. xxviii. 1—10). ‘ Then the eleven a fi disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain And Wh where Jesus had appointed them. And when iii they saw him, they worshipped him: but some i doubted, And Jesus came and spake unto them, , and Te + him ty sad, [an vere crue 48 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. ing, All power is given unto me in heaven and fal ea rid Go ye thotardet and teach all nations, ] baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to — observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, 1 am with you alway, even unto the © end of the world. Amen.” .(Matt. xxviii. 16-20), After 40 days Jesus ascended to heaven. The following is the statement of the Injil: ‘ And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up © his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.” (Luke xxiy, © 50, 51.) ’ In many other passages of the Injil also much is — said as to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 7 The Import of Christ’s Death. Jesus was perfectly sinless: why then was it - necessary for Him to die? We will answer this. Men had all sinned, and without an adequate atone- — ment sin cannot ke forgiven. For this reason the - Lord Jesus Christ died, in order to make atonement _ for sin. Many proofs of this are found in the Injil. — We give some. Jesus Christ Himself said that he — came to give His life a ransom for many, and that ~ His blood was shed for the remission of sins. 1 In many other passages of the Injil we read like this : ‘‘ When we were sinners Christ died for — the ungodly ;” that is, man, by breaking God’s Jaw, — had become accursed, but “‘ Christ hath delivered — us from the curse of the law, having been made a — curse for us ;” that is, by taking our sins upon Him, He became accursed and died in our stead. In _ another place it is said: “In whom we have ~ DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST. 49 “Yale redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness ll tk Of sins.” ‘But now in Christ Jesus ye who some- lea) times were far off are made nigh by the blood of tg tly Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both (iim; one, and hath broken down the middle wall of Lub, partition between us.” (Eph. i. 18,14.) “ And uli! having made peace through the blood of his cross, | aa, | by him to reconcile all things unto himself ; by him, | : “hl Tsay, whether they be things in earth, or things in | heli; heaven.” (Col. i. 20). ; it cane For by sin we had all wandered far from God, reli but Jesus Christ, by His blood, has reconciled us to | lan God. Now we can return to God through Him. | In other places of the Gospel also it is said that om) “‘ through death he destroyed him that had the eus( Power of death, that is the devil.” ‘‘ Christ was once offered to bear the sinsof many.” ‘‘ The blood 7 of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.” ‘‘ He is the atonement for our sin.” In heaven also the my ®ngels and saints praise Jesus Christ and say: . rer ti ‘' hou wast slain, and didst purchase unto God with H teats thy blood men of every tribe and tongue and people asp! @nd nation.” In many other passages also of the tmeng LnJilit is written that only through the death of Jesus teh 38 there the forgiveness of sm. Seven hundred 1 du! years before His birth, through the prophet Isaiah aij © the Zabtr, God revealed thus: “ But he was i} wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for nS. Be ae er our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was | ! ii i upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” | it , Csaiah lit, 5.) I J It delivet The Import.of Jesus Ohrist’s Resurrection, I} te By the resurrection of Jesus Christ we learn this } mm’, great truth that God has accepted the atonement if i which He made for sin. Through sin we had become, ro it 4, 50 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. as it were, debtors to God; we had nothing what- — ever to pay, but the Lord Jesus Christ took our | burden of the debt of sin on Hisshoulder, and died ~ in our stead. Then He was buried, as it were was ~ put in prison for our debts. But when God raised — Him from the dead, it implied that He delivered ~ Him from that prison; hence we learn that the © Lord Jesus had indeed paid our debt of sin. By ~ His resurrection, therefore, we clearly learn that — He has made a real atonement, and that God has © accepted it. He has completely conquered Satan, — sin, and death. Consequently those who believe ~ in Him will have complete salvation. It is written — in the Injil, ‘ Now is Christ risen from the dead, — and become the first fruits of them that slept,” — that is those who died in the faith of Christ. “For | as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be ~ made alive.” Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, and now prays for us to God. It is written, ‘‘ Who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea — rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right © hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” (Rom. viii. 34.) ‘‘ Wherefore he is able also to save them-to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession — for them.” (Heb. vii. 25.) Teaching. We may learn these lessons from what we have ~ been considering: 1. Jesus Christ is greater than — all other prophets. They were righteous men, taught God’s word, and wrought miracles, it is true. But they could not do what Jesus Christ — did, namely, make atonement for sin. All the — other prophets, Adam, Noah, Abraham, &c., died, — a took y aud ty Were Tod ni eli a tht sn, | learn ty i God | red Sa ho bel 18 Wel the de at sla rat,“ all all ) heare a “Th Hed, y he righ for us, also t | God j Ces we ti ter th 18 3 I Ch ne di PROPHECIES REGARDING JESUS CHRIST. ol but they died as sinners, for their own sin; only Jesus Christ, being Himself sinless, died for sinners as their substitute. 2. Only through the Lord Jesus Christ can there be salvation. The Taurd4t, Zabiir, and Injil all declare that without atonement there can be no forgiveness of sin. Consequently only through Jesus Christ, who alone has made atonement, can men be saved. He is the one only Saviour. It is written in the Injil: ‘“ Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts iv. 12.) Muhammad did not make atonement for sin. Consequently men cannot be saved through him. 3. The Koran says that atonement is not neces- sary, and it also says that Jesus Christ did not die. But in the Injil it is again and again said that there can be no salvation without atonement, and it is also again and again said that Jesus Christ died in order to make atonement for sin. All acknow- ledge that the Injil isthe Word of God, and there- fore true; it follows that the Koran, when it thus contradicts the teaching of the Injit, speaks untruly, and therefore it cannot be tke word of God. It is therefore absolutely necessary that we receive and obey the Injil, and exercise faith in Jesus Christ as the only one through whom men can be saved. 6. PROPHECIES REGARDING JHSUS CHRIST. Christians and Muhammadans alike agree that the Taur4t, Zabiir, and Injil are the word of God. In the Injil we read about Is4 Masih (Jesus Christ). ae oer eS 52 The TaurAt and Zabir were revealed hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, yet in them also TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. there are many things written about Him. God knows all things, not only the past and the present, — but also the future. Consequently, even before — the birth of Jesus, He knew all that would happen ~ to Him, and in the Taurat and Zabar revealed many predictions regarding Him. God created Adam and Eve holy, and placed © them in the garden of Eden. He told them they — might eat of all the fruit of the garden, except that — of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But — Satan, taking the form of a serpent, deceived them, ~ and induced them to eat of the forbidden fruit, — and thusho made them sinners. For this reason © God cast them out of the garden of Hden, and ! cursed Satan, and said, “ I will put enmity between ~ pees thee and the woman, and between thy seed and ~ her seed; he shall bruise thine head and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Gen. iii. 15.) The meaning — of this is that in the race of the woman, that is of — Eve, a person shall be born who will himself — suffer, yet will conquer Satan. This was fulfilled — in Jesus Christ, for He wag born of the Virgin ~ Mary, and He delivers all His people from the ~ power of sin. He thus bruised the head of Satan. — But for this purpose it was necessary that He ~ should die upon the cross, and by causing that — death Satan bruised His heel. Four thousand years | after Adam became a sinner, Jesus Christ was born ; after so long a delay God’s word was ful- * filled. God sometimes delays the fulfilment of His word, but He always certainly fulfils it at the right time. Two thousand years after the creation of Adam, God gave this promise to Abraham: “In thy seed | adredsy hen 4 in, (i 16 Drag en bel ld bane ‘ aled ny md ply them ih cept emi, & ved the dden fri this reay Hiden, w y betne "goed and th MEAL that 1s ( hime! ’ full e Ving from th of Salt that ! ging Bb and ya hrist 1 was I nt of b the 1 thy #8 PROPHECIES REGARDING JESUS CHRIST. d3 shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. xii. 3: xxii. 18.) By this God revealed that the great Saviour, whose advent He had promised to Adam, should be born in the race of Abraham, Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael was the son of Abraham’s slave-woman, and Isaac was the son of his wife. In which of these two lines was the Saviour to be born? The answer to this question is found in the Taurat, for God did not repeat Abraham’s blessing to Ishmael, but to Isaac He gave this special blessing, “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.’? (Gen. xxvi. 4.) Afterwards He gave exactly the Same promise and blessing to Isaac’s son Jacob, saying, “In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. xxviii. 14.) We see then that Muhammad cannot be the pro- mised Saviour, because he was born, not of the seed of Isaac, but in that of Ishmael. But Jesus Christ was born of the seed of Isaac, and through Him salvation can be obtained. Nearly a thousand years after Abraham, God said to David that the great Saviour was to be born in his race. For this reason Jesus was called Ibn- David (son of David). And through the prophet Micah it was revealed that the Saviour should be born in the city of David, Bethlehem. ‘‘ But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” (Micah v. 2.) In accordance with this prophecy it is expressly stated in the Injil that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem. David himself had been born in Beth- lehem, for this reason it was called “the city of 54 : TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. David.” After the birth of Jesus an angel appeared to the shepherds in the field and said, ‘‘ Fear not: — for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, — which shall be to all people. Forunto youisborn this — day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ — the Lord.” (Luke ii. 10, 11.) 7 Seven hundred years before the birth of Jesug — Christ, God revealed in the book of the prophet © Tsaiah, that the birth of Jesus should be in a very ~ wonderful way. He said, ‘‘Therefore the Lord ~ himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin © shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his © name Immanuel.” (Is. vii. 14.) These words — were fulfilled. In regard to this the Injil states, © “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: — When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, © before they came together, she was found with © child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her hus- — band, being a just man, and not willing to make ~ her a public example, was minded to put her away — privily. But while he thought on these things, — behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in © a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear — not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which ~ is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she — shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name — Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. — Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, — saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and ~ shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his ~ name Emmanuel, which being interpreted iv, God with us.” (Matt. i. 18-23.) } God had revealed by the prophet Isaiah that — Jesus should work many wmiracles. In Isaiah — xxxy- 4-6, it is written, “Say to them that are of — PROPHECIES REGARDING JESUS CHRIST. 55 vee a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your "God will come with vengeance, even God with a At recompence ; he will come and save you. Then the nak eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the sli deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man _ leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: is for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and Ik streams in the desert.?? mang The fulfilment of these words is given in many ikl passages of the Injil. “And Jesus went about im all Galilee teaching in their synagogues and preach- luli img the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing all “jit manner of sickness and all manner of disease among jl sk the people.” (Matt. iv. 23.) ‘And great multi- ism tudes came unto him, having with them those that 0J were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, min and cast them down at Jesus’ feet ; and he healed let them, insomuch that the multitude wondered, when tp wi they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, rari the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they thn glorified the God of Israel.” (Matt. xv. 380, 31.) o him! It was also said in the Zabir that the Saviour, “id, f# Masih, should suffer much, and at last die. “ For stmt he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and And 8 a root out of a dry ground : he hath no form nor ism comeliness ; and when we shall see him, there is DO arg beauty that we should desire him. He is despised i) and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and rl acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our ‘ , faces from him ; he was despised, and we esteemed ik him not. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, . j yet he opened not his month : he is brought as a "lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her 4 Shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. ah He was taken from prison and from judgment : and et who shall declare his generation? for he was cut Ae 56 TRACTS FOR MUAHAMMADANS. off out of the land of the living : for the trausgres- — sion of my people was he stricken.”’ (Isa. litt, Spars 16.) ny This prophesy was exactly fulfilled. The Jews hated and despised Jesus Christ, and brought Him © before the Roman Magistrate Pilate, who scourged © Him, and put Him to death on the cross. The his- tory of this is given very clearly in the Injil. In many other passages of the Injil also it is stated that the Messiah should suffer much, and at last — die. Not only so, but even several details of his © sufferings are given in the Zabir. God, by the — prophets, revealed that the Messiah should be — betrayed by one of his friends. ‘ Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which ~ ‘ did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel | against me.” (Ps. xli. 9.) “And I said unto” them, If ye think good, give me my price; andif not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prized at of them. And I took the thirty pieces | of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.” (Zech. xi. 12, 13.) The history of the fulfilment of this is given in the Injil. When the Jewish high priest and elders sought some means to put Jesus to death, | Satan entered into one of His disciples, called Judas — Iscariot ; and led him to go to the chief priests and offer to betray Jesus to them for thirty pieces — of silver. “ And he said unto them, What will ye — give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of — silver.’ (Matt. xxvi. 15.) ‘“ And the chief priests — and scribes sought how they might kill him; for — they feared the people. Then entered Satan into | PROPHECIES REGARDING JESUS CHRIST. 57 Judas, surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might. betray him unto them. And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money. And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude.” (Luke xxii. 2—6.) Judas received the money, and betrayed Jesus to them. Soon afterwards he threw away the money in remorse, and the chief priests bought with it the potter’s field as a place of burial. Again in Psalm me. 7, 8, 16, 18, and: lxix. (21, and ‘saiah.-]. 6°it is written : “All they that see me laugh me scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him; let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. “For dogs have compassed me; the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me; they pierced my hands and my feet. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. “They gave me also gall for my meat ; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. *‘T gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.” This was fulfilled. Pilate took Jesus and scourg- ed Him and the soldiers made a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and clothed Him in mockery with a purple robe, and saluted Him, “‘ Hail, King of the Jews!” then they smote Him, and spit on Him. After they had thus despitefully treated Him they took off the purple robe, and nailed Him to the cross. ‘Those who passed by shook the head and mocked Him, saying, ‘‘ If thou be the Son of God come down from the cross.” ‘The chief priests 58 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. and elders also in the same way reviled him, says ing, ‘He saved others, himself he cannot save; if he be the King of Israel, let him come down | from the cross, and we will haligee on him. He believed in God ; let him deliver him if he delight- eth in him.” (See Matt. xxvii. 27—43.) The ~ soldiers also derided him, and divided his garments among them. It was also written i in the Zabur that the Messiah would die, but would rise from the dead, ascend to — heaven, and live for ever. (Ps. xvi. 10, stale lxviil, © 18; Isaiah liu. 11, 12. « For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell ; noite 7 wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. — Thou wilt shew me the path of life; im thy pre- — sence is fulness of joy ; at thy right hand thereare ' pleasures for evermore. “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led 7 captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; ~ yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God — might dwell among them.” “* He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall ; be satisfied ; by his knowledge shall my righteous — servant justify many, for he shall bear their ini- — quities. Therefore will I divide him a portion — with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with ~ the strong, because he hath poured out his soul — unto death ; and he was numbered with the trans- gressors ; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” These words were fulfilled. In the holy Injil it ig written that Jesusthe Messiah died, was buried, and on the third day, according to the Book (Kitab) rose again alive. “To whom also he shewed himself alive after his ’ passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of | PROPHECIES REGARDING JESUS CHRIST. 59 a them forty days, and speaking of the things pertain- ‘i ing to the Kingdom of God. And, being assem- 4 bled together with them, commanded them that a | they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait thi for’ the promise of the Father, which, saith he, )l yehave heard of me. For John truly baptized tt with water ; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy _ Ghost not many days hence. When they there- lh fore were come together, they asked of him, saying, “tai Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the ‘Ii kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is _ not for you to know the times or the seasons, which ti the Father hath put in his own power. But ye mpit Shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost typ 48 come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto het «me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in _ Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. us| And when he had spoken these things, while they omg «© beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received rd Gi him out of their sight. “ And he led auc out as far as to Bethany, and dst he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it ‘hte came to pass, while he blessed them, he was part- iz ed from them, and carried up into heaven.” pot In this way the birth, miracles, sufferings, death, jin Tesurrection and ascension of Jesus were revealed ;s3q¢ beforehand by God in many passages of the Taurat i and Zabtr. All these predictions were fulfilled in 4 Him. ' We will now consider some of the predictions Il regarding the greatness of Jesus Christ. God revealed by the prophet Micah that the il Messiah is from everlasting. There never was a time when he was not. In Micah v. 2 it was said verb that he is of old, even from everlasting. For although Jesus was born in this world, yet before 2 G0 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. His birth He existed in heaven. He never came into being ; like God Heabidesever. All the other — prophets, even the angels, were created by God, © but Jesus Christ was never created, He never hada - beginning, He always has been and always will be, He also is the Son of God. In Psalm ii. 7 it is written, ‘Thou art my Son.” The fulfilment of this is given in the Injil, for the angel Gabriel was © sent by God to Nazareth to a virgin, named Mary, - “‘ And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Na. zareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David ; and the virgin’s- name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, - and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women, — And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary : for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in ~ thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his _ name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall” give unto him the throne of his father David: And — he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; © and of his kingdom there shall be no end. ‘hen ~ said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, see- 4 ing I know not aman? And the angel answered — and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come ~ upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall over- — shadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of © God.” (Luke i. 26—35.) ; q For this reason Christians, in accordance with — the clear teaching of the Injil, believe that Jesus is — he vi nano ured, ng Wot led at} malin | sald 1d fant 1celVe | lt call be call rod sb nid: A for ert! d, Th g be, anism yall cat all ov ha ' ng wi sol! noe f Jet PROPHECIES REGARDING JESUS CHRIST. 61 the Son of God. This means that God loves and honours Him to an infinite extent; it also means that, the Son of God is Himself God. For, just as the son of a man is man, so the Son of God is God. Tn saying that Jesus is the Son of God, the Injil does not meant thatHe was bornas ordinary men are born, because Jesus has existed from everlasting. But as the son of a king has more honour than any one else in the kingdom, so Jesus, as the great Son of God, possesses a glory and power infinitely above that ofall others. Jesus Himself said, “Iand the Father are one.” In accordance with this it is said in one passage of the Injil that one name of the Messiah is “Emmanuel,” that is, God with us. (Isa. vii. 14.) And in Isaiah ix. 6, 7 itis written: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Coun- sellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his govern- ment and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” Consequently, according to the Zabir and the Injil, Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Himself God. It is also written in the Zabtr that the Messiah should be sinless, and yet should die, and by that death should offer sacrifice, and make atonement for sin. Jesus was sinless, it was therefore not necessary for Him to die for His own sin; but He died for our sin, by His death He made atonement for our sin. In regard to this in the prophet Isaiah we read, “ All we like sheep have gone 62 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. astray ; we have turned every one to his own way; — and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us © all.” (Isa. liii. 6.) ‘‘ And he made his grave with — the wicked, and with the rich in his death ; because — he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in ~ his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make © his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he ~ shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.”’ (9, 10.) Many similar passages occur in the Injil. Because he has made atonement for sin, Jesus Christ is able to save from sin. For this reason He is called “Redeemer” in the Zabir, By the prophet Isaiah God said, ‘‘ The Redeemer shall come to Zion, and © unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, * saith the Lord.”’ (Isa. lix. 20.) Consequently He is the foundation vf salvation, we must build upon Him. He is the only Saviour In Zechariah xiii. 1 God said, “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.” That fountain is the bood of Christ, for it is said in the Injil that His blood cleanses us from sin. Only Jesus Christ can purify us from sin. — It is also written in the Zabar that Jesus will not only suffer; having made atonement by His death, He will become a King; those who are His subjects will receive perfect blessedness from Him. But those who reject Him, and refuse to become — his subjects, will receive terrible punishment. In “ Psalm ii. 6—12 it is written: “Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare — the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art — my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine in- _ salrate y Sari day tt f Dar and! of Chri paises! frome ests f by 0 atel rob 0 belt edt. ' ave I de ‘Thos! Ast! thse! MUHAMMAD. 63 — heritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them witha rod of iron ; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of theearth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” If we rest on Jesus we shall obtain salvation, and we can obtain it in no other way. He is the only Saviour. 7. MUHAMMAD. Muhammad was born in the 52nd year before the Hijra in the city of Mecca. His grandfather Abdul-Muttalib had many sons, the youngest of them was named Abdulla. At the age of twenty- four years Abdulla married a woman named Amina. A little time after his marriage Abdulla left his wife pregnant, went abroad to carry on merchan- dise, and on his way home, in the city of Medina, he took ill and inashort time died. After his death his son Muhammad was born. At the age of six, Muhammad’s mother took him to Medina. On the return journey she became ill and died. In this way at so young an age Muhammad lost both father and mother. Then his grandfather took charge of him, but in two years he also died at the age of eighty. Afterwards his son, Mubam- mad’s uncle, Abutalib, took charge of Muhammad. When his uncle journeyed into another country for the sake’ of merchandise, Muhammad went with him. At the age of twelve, when Muhammad was grown up, he wished to engage in business. 64: TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. At that time there was a rich widow Khadija, and Muhammad entered into her service. The mer- — chantsof Mecca used to send their agents topurchase — goods in other countries and Muhammad went inthis — way into other countries in the service of Khadija — and amassed much money for her. Returning — Muhammad gave a full account of his travels to — her, and she was so pleased with him that although © she was forty and he only twenty-five years old, yet the rich widow married the poor Muhammad. — They had two sons and four daughters. The © two sons died at an early age, so Muhammad | adopted two sons and named them Ali and Zaid, © Muhammad always loved to meditate on the sub-~ ject of religion, and when he got to be forty years © old he gave himself up specially to this, and going ' into the mountains he dwelt in a cave, and began to meditate much on the subject of religion. At that time there were three chief religions in” Arabia. Most of the people were idolaters. The Arabians were descended from Abraham, through Ishmael, and therefore knew something about them both ; but they had forsaken the true religion and worshipped idols. q This made Muhammad very sad, because he: know that idolatry was contrary to the will of God. Beside idolaters, Jews and Christians lived in Arabia. They worshipped one God. But the Christians had become very much corrupted. The Gospel was in their hands, but they did not act in accordance with it. They had many idols in ther ¥ churches, and they worshipped Mary the Mother of Jesus almost as God. Therefore Muhammad could not accept their religion. Still he kept on proclaiming to the people of Mecca his teaching about the true God. He said that they must for- and Ds n thes only ye and 9 an be 00, eligi ers, | thro ig alt e rel acai ill oft ; live Bil ted | polit leit, he dit fohav! 16 it g tet pus J MUHAMMAD, 65 sake idolatry and worship only God. He stated that the angel Gabriel had revealed himself to him. Muhammad simply said this, he gave no proof of it. Itis possible that in the excitement of his meditations he had a trance and saw a sort of dream in it, and supposed that he saw not a dream but a reality. However it may be, he ‘be- gan to proclaim to the people that he was a prophet of God, and that his word was not his own but God’s. Hearing this almost all the people of Mecca disbelieved him, they refused to listen to him in any way. A few people however received his message, among them his wife Khadija and his two adopted children, Ali and Zaid. After he had preached about four years only forty or fifty people believed in him. The idola- ters at first despised Muhammad, afterwards they began to hate and persecute him and his followers, but because his uncle Abutalib was a great man, they were not able to destroy him. When Muhammad was about fifty years old Abutalib died. Five weeks before that his wife Khadija also died. At this Muhammad was deeply grieved, and his enemies took fresh courage, and persecuted bim and his followers all the more. Two months after the death of Khadija he married a woman, named Sauda, and afterwards a young girl, named Ayesha. In a house called the Kaba at Mecca there is an old black stone. The Arabians used to go on pilgrimage there every year in order to worship the gods. One day Muhammad in the course of his preaching, saw that six people of the city of Medina were present, they listened to him and received his message. Next year twelve men came from Medina and they also received the Muhammadan religion. Afterwards they returned TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. 66 to Medina and told the people about Muhammad, so that many more became his adherents. 4 Hearing this Muhammad determined that he and 4 all his people would remove to Medina. They went — there one by one, and at last Muhammad went also. ~ The time of this removal to Medina is called the Hijra. ' At Mecca Muhammad was only a preacher, he — preached to the people that they should forsake - idolatry and worship the one God. Some people believed him, but the rest disbelieved and persecuted © him; but after he reached Medina the case was entirely altered. In that city many people believed © on him, so that he was no longer persecuted, but — rather began to rule. By this means his trials were — lessened, but his mind became rather corrupted than ~ otherwise. We often see that when a poor man © becomes rich he deteriorates; when he was poor ih, he was mild and humble, but when he becomes rich — Hae he is selfish and oppressive. Perhaps he begins to © i drink and so live an evil life in other ways. Just so Muhammad when he became a great man began to kill and rob people. Medina is about 250 miles” from Mecca. The merchants of Mecca when they went to other countries for merchandise used to go” always towards Syria northwards. For fear of — Arabs, they used to go in companies together im hi caravans. Medina lying to the north of Mecca it — i was necessary for them to go near that city. Muhammad decided to seize the merchandise. The ~ first battle was at Badr, where Muhammad was | victorious. Many people of Mecca were killed; and a large sum of money was obtained as ransom — money for those who were captured in this battle. Muhammadans now began to be rich, and after- — wards they attacked and robbed other countries. — a y 4 Ny, P hevg Ne ny led her, | te : TE Nett 488 Dele wed ale We tet oor a 38 fi mesh eg . It 1 beg 50) mh en ty eto} feat et Meo ab p is0, | mad f ) ie s ral i id all ont! MUHAMMAD, 67 In this way their numbers increased, and many other people seeing their success received the Mussulman religion. Thus Muhammad constantly fought with the people of Mecca. At last he con- quered them and gained possession of their city. Thus the power of Muhammad increased day by day and more people became his adherents. Still he was only a man and like all other men he had to die. Inthe tenth year of the Hijra at the age of sixty-two, he died at Medina. We have thus given a brief summary of the life of Muhammad, and.there is much to praise and much to blame init. We must acknowledge that he had many good points. He hated idolatry and proclaimed the unity of God. For many years he suffered much for his convictions, for the people of Mecca persecuted him, still he would not forsake what he believed to be the truth. He loved his friends and they loved him. Wesee therefore that there were many good points in Muhammad; yet he had many faults. 1. For instance he did not at first entirely break from idolatry. Itis true that he, himself, did not worship idols, but he sanctioned many useless actions which the idolaters performed. The idola- ters very highly honoured the Kaba. Therefore Muhammad made it the Kibla (Holy Place—a place towards which prayer is to be made) of his religion. Muhammad did not reject the black stone of the Kaba which the idolaters worshipped, - but he himself honoured it by making pilgrimage to Mecca, and did many foolish actions. The Muhammadans still make pilgrimage to Mecca, kiss the black stone, walk round the Kaba seven times, and then go round to Mount Arafat, &. But before the time of Muhammad the idolaters a 68 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS, did these very same things. Consequently Mubam- — mad in several points kept to the religion of the ~ idolaters and taught his disciples to doso. Muham- q madans still practise these idolatrous rites in the | city of Mecca. a 2. Muhammad loved the people of his own © religion, but those who did not receive his religion, » such as Jews and idolaters, he treated with great cruelty. Again and again he attacked and robbed © the caravans, and even killed the people whom he © attacked. 4 There was a woman called: Asma. She did not acknowledge Muhammad, and composed a song © against him. Hearing this Muhammad was very displeased, and a man of the name of Omir learning — this killed the woman. When he went to tell — Mubammad about it, he, instead of being displeased, — praised the murderer. On another occasion a chief, named Kab-Ibn-Afak, wrote many things against him, and Muhammad said to his people, ‘“‘ Who will deliver me from Kab-Ibn-Afak ?” Then Muham- mad-Ibn Masalma said “I will kill him.” Then be took some others with him, took that man ont for a walk, under pretence of friendship, and killed him. At this also Muhammad, instead of being displeased, praised the murderer. At one time Muhammad being displeased with the Jewish tribe called Beni-Karetsa made war with them, and when they were defeated and fell into the hands of Muhammad he gave orders to kill all the men and to make slaves of the women and * children. In this way 800 Jews were killed in } Muhammad’s presence and by his hand. How much cruelty was shown in this. 7 8. Another fault of Muhammad’s was he had many wives, from which we learn that he was i a MUHAMMAD. 69 \iy under the power of passion. As long as his first i 1: wite Khadija lived Muhammad married no one else, li but only two months after her death he married a wy Widow named Sauda; afterwards a girl named | Ayesha. Four years after he married another ligg woman of the name of Hafza. One year after he si) married Zeinab. One month after that he married ith m Om-Salma. He thus had five wives; but not iy, Content with this he one day went to the house of tly, 218 adopted son Zaid and saw his wife, and he became'so much under passion for her that Zaid 2 ij, divorced his wife and Muhammad married the wife J,y Of his own adopted son. van According to Muhammadan law a man may have ly, £Our wives but not more; but Muhmmad had six ty; @nd one the wite of his adopted son. In order that ila people might not object to this Muhammad pro- nat c#imed a passage in the Koran, 33rd Sura 37 and 2 i 49th Ayat, in which God is represented saying to ‘Th; Bim that he was pleased with this kind of action, Vokg ‘hat Muhammad might have as many wives as he » 7, Pleased, that God had given to him this special a, favour above all the other Mussulmans. But God megan never be pleased with sin; and the special My prophet of God, instead of having more wives than ad _ any other man, ought to be less under the power of ‘aif _ passion and more holy. How can a man who does _ an evil thing and then says that God told him to a do it, be a prophet of God? Ab Two or three years after, Muhammad married another wife. Her name was Safiya. Afterwards a’y he married an Egyptian slave named Mary; after- lt Wards he married Maimuna. He thus had nine i: * wives and two concubines alive at the same time. Is it well to have so many wives? alt We see that Muhammad robbed merchants, slew 70 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. men, and kept many wives. So we see that he had these three evil qualities—lust, anger, covetous- 4 ness. His wife Ayesha used to say that Muhammad was specially fond of women, sweet odours, and — food. Is it right to give one’s mind to worldly — pleasures of this sort ? We will now compare Muhammad with our Lord 7 Jesus Christ. 1. Muhammad originally was wander- — ing in the path of error, and sinned like other men. — In the Koran, Sura Juha 7th Ayat, it is written: | <“‘Did he not find thee in the path of error and ~ showed thee the way?” In Sura Mumin 57th © Ayat it 1s written— Seek pardon for thy sins. But the Lord Jesus Christ never was in the path — of error, never committed any fault from birth to death. He was perfectly holy all His life; neither — in word, deed nor thought did He ever commit — even one fault. 2. Jesus Christ never did any idolatrous deed; had no connection with idolatry. Idolaters go on pilgrimage, but Jesus Christ taught explicitly that all places are alike in the sight of God. So Jesus _ Christ practised none of the deecs of idolaters. God is in all places, and therefore in all places we may worship Him alike. Jesus Christ taught thet God cannot be specially worshipped at Jerusalem, or elsewhere, more than at any other place. “ God is © a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship — Him in spirit and in truth.” John iy. 24. 3. Jesus Christ was never under the power of passion. He never looked upon any woman with — an evil eye. In the Fnjil Jesus said, ‘ Whoso — looketh upcn a woman to Ivst «fter her committeth — adultery with her in his heart.” Jesus Christ — MUHAMMAD. a never did this even once, but Muhammad looked with an evil eye upon the wife of his own adopted son, and said that God was pleased with it. And Jesus Christ gave express teaching against the marrying of more than one wife. It is true that Dayid and many other godly men of old had many wives, yet this was not according to the will of God. In this matter the teaching of Jesus Christ is this. It is written in the Injil in Matt. xix. 8,9: “ He said unto them, Moses, because of the hard- ness of your hearts, suffered you to put away your wives ; but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery : and whoso marrieth her that is put away doth commit adultery.” This is the teaching of the Injil, and Muham- madans acknowledge that the Injil, is the word of God ; consequently Muhammad, in marrying many wives, did not act according to the will of God. 4. Jesus Christ never killed anybody. He taught that He came from heaven, not.to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. The Jewish moul- vies brought many charges against Him, and- sought to kill Him, but He never did them any harm. Thus when men nailed Him to the cross He did nvt curse them, but rather prayed for them saying, ‘‘ Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” He who had given life to three dead people, if He had wished, could surely have de- stroyed these wicked men. But instead of doing so He prayed for them. He came from heaven to save sinners, therefore He killed none and injured none, but only loved men and tried to do them good. : 5. Muhammad wrovght no miracles and could 72 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. not prove that he was a prophet of God; he only said ‘I am God’s prophet’, but gave no proof of it, 3 and from his conduct we may learn that he was not really a prophet of God. But Jesus wrought many ~ miracles ; He gave eyesight to the blind, Hehealed © the sick, He fed thousands, He cast out devils, He © restored three persons to life. q And Muhammad made no atonement for sin, — He only taught people, but as teaching a debtor ~ will not pay his debts, so teaching sinners will not — make atonement for the sins they have done. We — have committed numberless sins against God; if — these sins are not atoned for we cannot be saved. — Muhammad made no atonement for sin. Jesus © Christ did make it. He gave His life for sins. He © took our sins upon Him and Himself bare our © punishment. By the death of the sinless One men ~ obtain pardon for sin. Therefore only through — Jesus Christ can salvation be obtained. 7. Muhammad died. His body went into cor- — ruption like the body of any other man. The body © of Jesus Christ did not become corrupted. On the third day He rose from the dead, and after His resurrection again and again appeared to His dis- — ciples. Forty days after He ascended into heaven. — He rose from the dead and He will never die again. ~ Therefore He is able to save His people for ever. » — 8. Muhammad was an ordinary man like other ~ men. He did good deeds.and bad deeds like other — men. He was a’sinner and asked pardon for his ~ sin. We therefore cannot be saved by him; rather “ he needed to be saved himself. Only through the mercy of God could he himself be saved from hell. Consequently he himself was a sinner like other men and deserved hell so that he cannot deliver us from sin and hell. But Jesus Christ was perfectly ee pie et OR a ee be a dt Ws ht a lobe mj {org 9 J & (be 3 Wily ne, | Gods Ie SaTk ns, f bare One nt thro nto co he bol On th er I His heard Q agtl evel oO THE TRUE ISLAM. sinless. He never asked pardon of God. He needed no pardon. He was not an ordinary man. {n the Injil He is called “ Lord.” He was both man and God. Therefore He has reconciled man to God. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only Saviour. Only through taking refuge in Him can we be sawed. Muhammad had both good and bad qualities, and in the Koran we find good and bad teaching. But Jesus Christ had only good qualities, and the Injil contains nothing but truth. Therefore, brethren, cease to trust in Muhammad and the Koran, receive the Injil, and exercise faith in Jesus Christ. 8. THE TRUE ISLAM. God is one, there is none else. Therefore His religion alsoisone. Abel, Noah, Abraham, David, Moses and all the other godly men who have been born into the world have all of them worshipped that God from the beginning in one spirit. There is only one true religion in the world, but that one religion in course of time has been manifested in different forms. The little child gradually grows up to be a full-grown man. The grown up man is very different from the child, and yet that child and the grown up man are one person, and his life is one. A tree is very different from the seed, yet the seed gradually becomes the tree, and the seed and the tree are one. A river is very different from a small spring, yet the water coming from that spring gradually becomes a great river. Just so, the religion of Abel was lke the child, seed, and spring. His knowledge was small. But God revealed that one religion more and more clearly TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS,. 74, through Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, and - Jesus Christ. Consequently they all had one ~ religion. The Muhammadans call that religion Islam, — The meaning of this word is, Subjection to God, — faith in God. In fact faith in God is the essence sas Rel a Ch. of religion. Let us then now consider what is the — true Islam. What was the religion of Abel, Noah, 4 Abraham, and all the other prophets and holy men — that have lived in the world? ‘That religion has 4 five pillars. The jirst pillar of the true religion is :— ** God is one.”’ Abel, Noah, Abraham and all the other prophets j worshipped only one God. On all sides were idola- a tcrs—the greater part of mankind worshipped } idols—but these did not. People worshipped — various gods and goddesses, but these worshipped — only one God. So it has been from the beginning, — In the TaurAt it is written: “ H ear O Israel! The “Lord our God is one Lord. The Lord is God. ~ “‘ There is none other but He in the heavens above - “‘and in the earth beneath. The Lord is God, ‘‘there is none else.” In the Zabir it is written “‘Tam the Lord. That is myname. My glory] will not give to another, nor my praise to graven — images. I am the first and I am the last. I am God, there is none else. I am God, there is none like me. The Lord made the heavens. God made — the earth. He saith,‘1 am God, there is none 4 else.’ The Lord is the true God. Heis the Living } God and the Everlasting King.” In the Injil it is q written: “No idol ig anything in the world. There is no God but one.” Consequently the first pillar of the true religion is:—There is one God. 4 THN TRUE ISLAM, Idol worship is a sin. Men ought to worship only . one God. The second pillar of the true religion is this :— a , “Man is sinful and needs to be made holy.” ea Probably all will acknowledge this, but few under- lity? stand what sin is and what holiness is. The idly Taurat, Zabor and Injil clearly declare that sub- ‘toyy Mission to God is holiness, and opposition to God lin 28 Sin. a God has created all men and loves them like a father. We therefore may call him ‘ Our Father.’ As a son is bound to love his father, so we are all bound to love God, and to obey his commands. mn Therefore it is written in the Taurat and IJnjil: epi’ ** The Lord our God is one Lord” and ‘‘ Thou shalt usin“ love the Lord thy God with all thy mind, and nip “with all thy soul, and with all thy strength.” ri It is written in the Injil that this is the greatest of rin all commands, and the second great command is jf? ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour’ (that is all men) (as thyself.” g aby Many think that sin and holiness are simply a ‘3 (/ matter of outside religion. To do one thing js sin, wi to.do another thing is holiness; but the Taurat, oo Zabtir, and Jnjil, in many places, state that true ri religion is not merely an external matter. It is jy imternal. With the mind-we must love God, and seek the welfare of man. io God commanded the children of Israel that they ., Should circumcise their children, and offer up _cer- ; a tain sacrifices, and keep certain feasts. They a thonght that whatever was the state of the mind, if they attended to these outward acts, they would be righteous. This is a great mistake. In the Faurat and Zabir it is said that mere external 19.10 il 76 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. circumcision is unavailing. Circumcision of the = heart is needed. Itis written, ‘‘ Circumcise your — hearts.” In the Zabir it is said that God does not require more outward sacrifices. ‘lhe sacrifice that — He loves is the broken heart, that is, a humble soul — and repentance. In another part of the Zabur itis — written, ‘I will have mercy and not sacrifice,’ and in the Injil it is said that he who is devout out-— wardly is not really devout, and outside circumci- sion is not true circumcision ; but the circumcision — of the heart is the true circumcision, whose praise — is not of men, but of God. Consequently the ~ Taurat, Zabur, and Injil all give the same teaching ~ about sin and holiness. God requires both internal ~ and external love and obedience, that of the heart — and that of the life. Nothing is gained by mere ~ outward prayer, fastings and so forth, apart from } inward holiness. Love to God and man and a holy © life are needed. If a man prays, gives alms and so — forth in the right way, and at the same time tells © lies and does evil, God will not accept his prayer and will even hate it. We see then that the second pillar of the true religion is this: Man is a sinner and needs to be made holy. 4 The third pillar of the true Islam is :— q “Salvation can be obtained only through a great q Saviour.” j It is written in the Taurat, Zabir and Injil that — sin came into the world through Satan—that is — that he deceived our first mother Eve and made her a sinner. In this way, first Adam, and then all men became sinners. We all have thus fallen into the hands of Satan, and are in great danger. Satan is very strong, we cannot escape out of his hand by any device of our own. If some Saviour mn tt Neg - dog mad ump Latin} rte’ EVOL f Cea ToD O88 rently Le teachy think the ba 1 by part and ak ms atl ume te $ pray 2 Sel 5 Si THE TRUE ISLAM. ny does not deliver us we shall remain in the hands of Satan, and in the end fall into hell. We need a Saviour stronger than Satan. Thanks be to God there is sucha Saviour. Who is He? In many places of the Taurat, Zabir and Injil we read about that great Saviour. As soon as Adam and Eve sinned God cursed Satan, and said to him, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed ; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” That is, a being will be born in the seed of the woman, Eve, who will suffer, but will conquer Satan. Two thousand years afterwards God gave this promise - to Abraham, ‘‘ In thy seed shall all kindreds of the earth be blessed.’ God here says that the great Saviour, whom He had promised to Adam should be born in the race of Abraham. After- wards God gave exactly the same promise to Isaac, and to his son Jacob, “ In thee and in thy seed all the kindreds of the earth shall be blessed.” We may learn from this that not in the race of Ishmael, but in the race of Isaac the Saviour should be born. Almost a thousand years afterwards God told David that the great Saviour should be born in his family; and in the Zabtr, in the bcok of the prophet Micah, it is said that that Saviour should be born in Bethlehem. Inthe Zabur, in the book of the prophet Isaiah, it is written that he should be born in a very wonderful way in the womb ofavirgin. Inthe Zabur it is also written that that Savicur will perform many miracles, that he will suffer much and then die, and afterwards rise from the dead. Many other things are also written in the Taurat and Zabtr, and those who wish to know them should read the tract in this series called “‘ The Prophecies regarding Jesus Christ.’ It is written Se SSR Se SERRE Sao ee EIST TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. 78 in the Injil that all these predictions were fulfille in Isa Masih. He was born at Bethlehem, in the womb of the Virgin Mary, of the family of Abraham — and David, and wrought many miracles; He eyen — gave life to three dead people. In the end He died a crue! death, and came to life again. After- wards He went to heaven, now He abides in heaven, and has all power. It is written in the Injil, | «‘ Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for thom,” (Heb. vii. 25). 4 We see then that the Taurat, Zabir, and Injil all clearly teach that there is a great Saviour—only | through Him can salvation be obtained. This is the third pillar of the true Islam. The fourth pillar of the true Islam is— 4 q $ “There is no salvation without atonement.” It is written again and again in the book of God that sin is very evil. God utterly hates it. Many think sin a small matter. They suppose that if they sin no very great evil will come. They: say, “God knows that we are weak, he will not exercise | harsh judgment, but he willslacken hislaw. If men attend to prayer and the other outward duties in~ the proper manner, then, even if they do sin, they will not have any very great punishment. God will — not take account of many kinds of sin, especially — small ones.” 4 But this is a very great mistake. All sin ig a _ very terrible thing. Adam and Eve just once ate} that fruit which God had forbidden them to eat, and — as the result of the one sin both of them, and even — the whole world became sinful, and in danger of hell. — It is written in the Taurat and Injil, that he 1 a THE TRUE ISLAM. 79 | . if that keepeth not the whole law is accursed; and it i “Su 4g written in the Zabar, “ The soul that sinneth it Ht {Mh shall die.” Consider :—if a person just once commits ike a theft and keeps the law in every other respect, ttl’ yet for that one offence he will have to go to prison; 1% so even if we had committed only one sin yet we ‘thy should have to go to hell for it. God is ’Adil, that ‘th iY is, ‘a righteous Judge, He will judge righteously. We therefore need an atonement. Without it we cannot obtain pardon of sin. In many passages of the Taurat we read that God _ formerly commanded His worshippers to offer sacri- uli fieesin His name. He ordered them to sacrifice certain animals; but it is impossible that pardon j could come through the blood of these animals; for _ as by paying a pice we cannot buy a thing that is - | worth a rapee, so the blood of an animal can never | put away the sin of a man. ao But all the sacrifices that God commanded are kil merely types of the true atonement. Suppose I want , li to buy a house for 1,000 rupees; the owner shows me a picture of a house ; I will not give the money hey for the picture, but when I see the picture I know ‘eet What kind of a house itis. So the sacrifices that _I God commanded are mere pictures of the true iiia atonement. By killing animals and offering i! Sacritices the people of old time understood that a (ic Yeal atonement is necessary, and that that atone- _ ment must be by blood. In the Taurat and Zabtr we have the mere pictures of the atonement, but in the Injil the true atonement is revealed very J} clearly. Atonement is necessary and without it there is no forgiveness. On this point the Taurat, Zabur and Injil are agreed, hence, this is a main jy =“ Part of the true Islam. i It is written in the Taurdt that Abel offered a 80 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. sheep in sacrifice to God—that is he sought pardon — of sin through an atonement. With this God was | pleased ; but Cain offered up merely the fruit of the © ground and God was displeased with this, because Cain thought he was not in need of atonement, — From this we learn that atonement is essential, Abraham also offered to God beasts and birds, God gave to the children of Israel a law, and according to that law many oxen and sheep had to be sacrificed at different times. A't the passover a Lamb had to be sacrificed for each house; on the great day of atonement a bullock, a sheep and two kids were sacrificed for the sins of the people. When a Jew had committed any fault, according to God’s law he confessed his fault, and sacrificed a bullock or sheep, or bird. 7 In this way from the time of Adam unto the | time of the Injil animals were sacrificed ; and after the law of Moses was promulgated thousands of animals were sacrificed every year among the Jews. All this was a picture of the true atonement. Afterwards we read in the Injil, Isa Masih by His death wrought out the true atonement. In truth, as by giving one diamond a debt of thousands of rupees may be liquidated, so by the blood shed by that great Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, millions: of sinners may obtain pardon of sin. Thusit is said in the Injil, ‘‘ Without shedding of blood thereis no forgiveness.” ‘Heis the atonement for our sins; *« By his blood we obtain remission and forgiveness | of sins.” ‘‘ We were redeemed by the precious — blood of Christ.” .‘* Behold the Lamb of God which | taketh away the sin of the world.” ‘‘ Who bare our ~ sins in his own body on the tree.” In the Zabtr - also it is written that He should make an end of — sins and make reconciliation for iniquity. THE TRUE ISLAM, 81 Wesee then that in the Taurat, Zabir, and Tnjil God again and again declares that without atone- ment there is no forgiveness. The fifth pillar of the true Islam is that— “ Salvation is by faith.” It is written in the Injil that all the godly men of old time were saved, not by their own good works— for God, who searches our hearts, sees defects even in our best acts—but by faith in God, and in the Saviour and sacrifice which He appointed in order to put away sin. Owing to Abel’s faith his sacrifice was accepted by God; and by faith Enoch went to heaven without dying. By faith Noah obtained deliverance from the flood. Abraham was so strong in faith that he obtained the name of ‘the father of the faithful’ of all countries and of all times. It is written in the Taurat, “‘ Abraham believed 3, God and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Tt is written in the Zabtr, “ The just shall live by faith.” It is written in the Injil that Abraham saw the day of Jesus Christ. That is, he believed in God that that Great Saviour would be born, and that through Him he, himself, would be saved. In this way Moses, David, Isaiah, and all the other godly men were saved through faith. In many places of the Injil we read that by believing on Jesus Christ we are saved. Moreover the faith of the believer is not a dead faith. As a good tree brings forth good fruit, so true faith brings forth good works. He who has true faith within will do deeds of righteousness. A true believer obeys all the commands of God. His mind becomes holy and his life pure. True faith brings forth all manner 6 / 82 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. of good fruit. Salvation is by faith, it is true, but if we do not de good works it is a proof that there — is no faith, and therefore no salvation. wala ee By reading the Taurat, Zabar, and Injil we learn q that all the godly men who have been born have ~ from the first all had one religion, and that the — pillars of that true religion are :— 1. God is One. 2. Man is sinful and needs to be made holy. 3. Salvation can be obtained only through a 7 great Saviour. 4. ‘There is no salvation without atonement. 5. Salvation is by faith. Many say that the Taurat has been repealed by ] the Zabir and the Zabur by the Injil; but this ig — not true. The Taurat, Zabur, and Injilall teach the — same doctrine. When a man’s son is young heacts like a child, when he grows up he acts like a grown- 4 up man, but from childhood to death the child has — the same reverence for his father. A tree comes from the seed. The tree does not — destroy the seed, but fulfils it. The child when he — grows up is not destroyed but perfected. Thechild first learns the alphabet, afterwards he becomes the ~ learned man; but when he is a learned man his © knowledge of the alphabet is not destroyed but per- fected. So the Taurat is the seed, the Injil is the — tree. The Taurat is the child, the Injil isthe man. ~ The Taurat is the alphabet, the Injil is perfected — knowledge. But perhaps somebody would say, ‘‘ Why doyou | not refer to the Koran? As the Injil comes after the Zabar, so the Koran comes after the Injil.” — This is not true. In fact the Taurat, Zabur, and Injil © give one teaching, but the Koran gives the very opposite teaching. If the Koran is true all tho ] UE THE TRUE ISLAM. 83 other books are false. It is true that the Koran agrees with the other books in saying that God is One, but the Koran breaks down the other four pillars of the true Islam. The Taurat, Zabir, and Injil say that sin is a very evil thing. God will not slacken His law even for one sin. Man deserves to go to hell. But the Koran says that God will slacken His law, and will not exercise strict judgment. ‘The three books say that we need a great mediator, a great Saviour, and that Saviour will be sinless, and will be born in the race of Isaac, and David. But the Kor4n says that we need no mediator. The Muhammadans say that Muhammad is their mediator ; but Muham- mad was a sinner, and was born not in the race of Isaac,—but in the race of Ishmael. These three books say that without an atonement there is no forgiveness of sin, but the Koran says that we need no atonement at all. The Taurat, Zabir, and Injil say that salvation is by faith, but the Koran says that man is saved by his own good works. We see then that the Taurat, Zabur, and Injil say one thing, but the Koran says just the opposite. The Injil fulfils the Tanrat and Zabur, but ifthe Koran is true then these three are rendered nought. All acknowledge that the Tauradt, Zabir, and Injil are the word of God. It is clear therefore that the Koran which gives teaching contrary to the word of God, cannot be itself the word of God. Dear friends, forsake the Koran, and lay hold of the true Islam. Receive the Injil. Exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, regard Him as the One Saviour, be His disciple; then you will obtain salvation and reach heaven. ee Adam. Seth. Enos. €ainan. Mahalaleel. Jared, Enoch. Methuselah. Lamech. Noah. Ham, Shem, Japhet. Arphaxad. Cainan, Salah. Eber. Peleg. Reu. Serug. Nahor. Terah. Abraham. Ishmael, Isaac. Jacob. Reuben, Judah, &c, Parez. Hezron. Aram. Amminadab. Naasson, * Salmon. Boaz. Obed. Jesse. David. Solomon. Nathan. Rehoboam. Abijab, Menan. Asa, Melea. ehoshaphat, Joram. Jonan, Uzziah. Joseph. Jotham. Judas. Ahaz. Simeon, Levi. TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS. 9, ISAAC AND ISHMAEL. Mattatha, Hliakim. In the margin we give the ~ genealogy of Jesus Christ, God created Adam and Eveand — placed them in the Garden of — Eden, and told them that they might eat of any tree of the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They were forbidden to eat of that. At that time they were God-fearmg and sinless, but Satan, in the guise of a serpent, | deceived them so that they ate of that forbidden fruit and — became sinners. At that time God said to Satan, “I will” put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and ‘thou shalt bruise his heel’,’ (Gen. wi, 16), and thus He promised man that although Satan had done him great harm, yet in the seed 1 of the woman, that is Hve, 4 person should be born whl would undothis work of Satan ay that is, would deliver man from the hand of Satan and would — bring him to heaven. From _ that day till now man has been — in the expectation of the comma of a great Saviour. The eldest son of Adam and d thot en. mused gn batt ISAAC AND ISHMAEL. 85 Hezekiah. Matthat, Jorim. Manasseh. Eliezer. Jose, Amon. Er. Elmodam. Josiah. Cosam, Addi. i Jeconiah. Melchi. Neri. Salathiel. Zerubbabel. Rhega. Abihud. Joanna. Juda. Eliakim. Joseph. Semei. Azor. Mattathias. Maath. Sadok. Nagege, Ksli. Achim. Nahum. Amos. Klihnud. Mattathias. Joseph. Hleazar, Janna. Melchi. Matthan. Levi. Matthat. Jacob. Heli. Joseph. Joseph’s betrothed wife Mary was the mother of Jesus Christ. Eve was named Cain, after him Abel was born. But wicked Cain hated God-fearing Abel, and killed him; and then he went to live in a far country. Afterwards Seth was born. God settled that the Saviour should be born in his race. After eight generations Noah was born, and in his time the flood took place, in which all the world except Noah and his family were destroyed. He had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japhet. God fixed it that the Saviour should be born in the family of Shem. After ten generations Abraham was born in that family. God settled it that the Saviour should be born in the race of Abraham. His wife was named Sarah. For many years she was barren. Abraham had an Kgyptian slave whose name was Hagar, and when he was about 90 and Sarah about 80 years old, and yet they had no children, Sarah said to Abraham, “‘ Go in to that bond woman, and by her my race will be preserved.” Abraham did so, and as the result Hagar bare a son and he called his name Ishmael. Twelve years after, when Abraham was 100 and Sarah 90 years old, even at so advanced an age as that, according to God’s promise, and by His strength specially given, Sarah had a son whose name was Isaac. 86 TRACTS FOR MUHAMMADANS, After the death of Sarah, Abraham married a — woman named Keturah, and had more children. 7 Ishmael became the father of the Arabians, Isaac — became the father of the Jews, and in his race — Jesus Christ was born. Isaac had two sons, Esau ~ and Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons, the name of © one of them was Judah. After about 700 years, King David was born in the race of Judah. Ho had many sons and among them were two named Solomon and Nathan. i About 900 years afterwards a man named Jacob was born in the family of Solomon; and a man_ named Heli in the family of Nathan. The mother of Jesus Christ was named Mary, and she was betrothed to a man named Joseph, but before they ~ came together, by the special power of God, Jesus” Christ was born. In two passages of the Injil the genealogy of Jesus Christ is given. According to one Joseph was the son of Jacob, and according to” the other he was the son of Heli. He could not have had two fathers, so probably Mary was the- daughter of Heli, so that Joseph when he married | Mary was called the son of Heli. This was the custom formerly, and in many countries at the present day the father-in-law is called ‘ father’ and the son-in-law ‘son.’ Muhammadans and Christians” agree in acknowledging that the Saviour was to be born and has been born in the race of Abraham. God told him to go from his own country into the land of Canaan. ‘“ Now the Lord had said unto Abraham: Get thee out of thy country, and | from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing, and I will bless them that bless thee, and — ISAAC AND ISHMAEL. 87 ‘mi’ curse him that curseth thee ; and in thee shall all lt families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. xii. 1—8.) wk Afterwards He frequently gave him that promise. i God’s purpose was that through the birth, in his m1 family, of the world’s Saviour all kindreds of ‘lm the earth should obtain a blessing. The Muham- Vm madans say that the Saviour has been born in the wh race of Ishmael, Christians say that he has been mm born in the race of Isaac. Let us consider the matter. met First.— Hagar was Abraham’s slave, and Sarah alii was his wife, consequently Ishmael was the son of Tent the slave, but Isaac was the son of. the wife. it) Consider which is the greater—the wife or the ide’ «©6060 Slave. As the wife is greater than the slave, so (i, the son of the wife is greater than the son of the pli Slave. Consequently Isaac'is greater than Ishmael. wiv The Taurat also says this,Gen. xvi.l to 4. ‘ Now nt? Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children ; and she of had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was wn Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram: Behold now, jem the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray