The Spirit of Islam: Or the Life and Teachings of Mohammed (Classic Reprint)

Since the promulgation of I slam the world has seen great changes ;empires have risen and disappeared ;great nationalities have been swept away making room for others ;knowledge and culture have drifted from theE astto theW est ;and with knowledge not only power but material prosperity has changed hands. Under the influence of their Prophet, a congeries of warring tribes consolidated into a nation, had for centuries carried aloft the torch of learning for the enlightenment of the world. With the fall of their dominion they ceased to be the preceptors of humanity. The younger nations who succeeded to their heritage continued some of their glory in arms but less in arts and literature. They too declined in power and influence, and now the greatest of them is but a shadow of its former self. And yet as an active, living faith, I slam has lost none of its pristine force nor the magic hold it possesses over its followers. In certain parts of the world it is spreading with greater rapidity than any other creed, and its acceptance among the less advanced races has invariably tended to raise them in the moral scale. As the study of comparative religion, like the study of comparative history, acquires importance in the estimation of scholars and students, the interest in I slam as a motive power in the world will deepen. For outsiders,, however, to undestand its genius, and the causes of its unparalleled success in vitalising humanity, and its vast potentiality for good, it is necessary to grasp its spirit, and its aims and aspirations from a philosophical point of view ;for the Islamist who desires to act up to the prescriptions of his religion, it is essential he should understand the significance of its ethics, the true meaning of its enunciations, and learn to differentiate between the permanent and the temporary.
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)

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