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About Hesperian student / (Lincoln [Neb.]) 1872-1885 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 1885)
THE HESPERIAN STUDENT. the sky; omens pointed to naught but disaster. Now that crescent lay ntliwirt the fairest portion of the globe, one point resting on the Hellespont, the other on the Spanish Pyrenees. That crescent wns borne nlofl on tho banners of myriads of victorious Saracens, who prcsssd hard up on Christendom with a determination to blot it from the earth. The onward course of tho crescent was stayed only after centuries of heroic effort,- after the best blood of Europe had been poured forth in torrents. The meteoric appearance of this new faith, the exploits of its ienzied hosts, arc unique enough to command the attention of the world through all ages. Mahommetanism was and is great. An exception to the rule that great in stitutionsnrc developed, not created, its foundation was the work of one man. All the essentials of the religion of the Koran, all the powers that transformed and revitalized Ara bia, became potent with the warrior-prophet Mahomet. At the dawn of Arabian history he stands, behind him the black night of Fetich worship, before him a belt of light not the brightness of the Christian day, indeed, but still a zone of light ever broadening in its course down the ages until to-day 3Iohamctaiiism is upheld by one-fifih the human race; over one hundred and eighty millions of human beings icgard the Koran as the guide-book of the road to Paradise. The prophet is at once the most highlv praised and the most deeply execrated of mortals. Looking from the stand point of a devout Mussclmau our vision must pone late the haze of twelve hundred years of religious adora ion and we sec in him a god. Gazing through the hot vopojs from the venom of his foes, he appear a depraved sensualist, a delibciatc imposter, and nrch-hvpocrite. To judge him fairly it is not necissary to cast aside all religious prejudice ami don the impartial ermine. Broad charily not only permits but demand that whatever there is of good in the the life of any man should be uncovered. Christian toleration will not endeavor to check admira tion for traits of character shown in a toe, or enthusiasm lover htjoic deeds accomplished by an enemy. Follow Mohamet through his eventful life. Rest on his lowly tomb at Medina and balance well the deeds and misdeeds of the great reformer. Au innocent youlli 'and pure early manhood, a call to take up his mis sion at an age when rest is most welcome, arc not marks of imposture. Thirteen years of ridicule and persecution after the mission was announced, thirteen long years of sulk-ring with but a handful of converts and nothing in the future save a forlorn hope, could not have been borne by a designing hypocrite. He carried the load with manly patience. In the caves of Mount Ilira he hud passed in prayer and meditation the holy mouths of a decade of years. "Worshipping as a simple believer in the crude failh of the day, his devotion was interrupted by mysterious voices. Unseen bells mingled their chimes with bis simple supplication, and tailing into a trance he often held communion with angels and saw bey on J the portals of eternity the walls of Paradise. A diseased body had done its work. Tho earnest man was buffeted by nervous shocks, driven to despair by mental hallucinations. Suspecting that tho sights and sounds that haunted iiim were but phantoms from his own fevered brain, lie called in vaiu for the messenger of death to relieve him from his agony of apprehension. At englh the voices grow stronger. The highly-wrough t mind has yielded to the strain, shadows take shape and form, dim spectors become realities, and doubt and fear are past. Gabriel appears with revelations from God, and invests Mahomet with the dignity of a prophet. No genera) ever received his commission from the hands of his king witlt more faith in its genuineness than did this distracted Arab take from creations of his own diseased brain authority and instructions (or evangelizing the world. Willi life-work mapped he left the gloomy mountain, feeling, believing, living the truth of the newly learned formula. "There is no god but God, and Mahomet is his prophet." Enthusiasm born of deep conviction can be but feebly imitated. If the trials of the first years of the faith prove the prophet to be deeply sincere, his influence upon his companions throughout life shows that he was no hypo crite. Men watched every movement, studied every phase of character, saw his entire life, and believed. Kinsmen and bosom friends were tiic first to attach tncmselvcs to his cause, but not thorough selfish motivics, his bound less enthusiasm compelled belief. Iu bitter persecution at Mecca, when malice hurled the stone and sharpened the dagger; in the flight to Medina to escape the fury of of the rabble and the swords of their own tribesmen, his little band of followers never wavered in their devotion, never doubted that he was crowned with divine favor. Iu prosperity, when all Arabia bowed before the throne of Islam, deepest piety was found among those who stood nearest, who felt most stronglv the magnetism of the spiritual monarch. Unflinching loyalty followed him through life, and when he died the calamity seemed jio great that comrades threw themselves on their swords over his grave in despair. HcirU wMI go out, admiration will be felt for a life tried in this crucial personal test and not found wimting. Carlyle would place Mahomet on his roll of heroes fur this alone. Turn the tearching light of inquiry on this character let the mjs of 'ruth fall on every side, and many place will be found black only because they have rested iu the shadow. War. he cruel and sensual ? Serious charges, these, and not without foundation. But cruelty and sensual ity seethed in the race before him and faults in this direc. lion prove only the weakness of the flesh. If he over threw the church wherever his arms penetrated and built on its ruins tho mosque, in few cases was the change to be deeply deplored. Image worship and mystery, athe ism anu corruption, deluding the masses under the name of Christianity, fell before the advancing standards or Mahomet, aud it was well. Did he fiamc revelations to suit his own needs? Implicit faith in his own pro phetic power made every striking thought appear tho voice of the Infinite. The soaring mind, dazed by its elevatiou and confused by success must not be loo savagely attacked if it seemed to blend with the Almighty Spirit. The needs of tho man thus became the needs of his God, and it is not unreasonable to believe that the most arbilriary and selfish revelations were con scientiously regarded by Mahomet as expressions of di vine will. He was ambitious, but what ambition I A roof of palm leaves, the simplest food known to frugal Arabia, rough clothing, hard labor, and severe discipliue,-all thesa when he had the power lo demand the luxuries of the world. An absolute monarch with few temporal desires, L BT
