Originally published in Bentley's Miscellany (Richard Bentley) vol.27 #162 (Jun 1850).
It is only from absolute necessity we Christians receive as facts what this history relates; we only do not disbelieve, because the historical evidences are such, that we cannot withhold our belief from the statement here made, that a few thousands of unlettered Arabs, within the lifetime of one man brought under their dominion, and converted to their faith all the nations, from the gates of Caucasus to the Pillars of Hercules, and from the banks of the Ganges to the Sus in Mauritania; the story would be incredible, if the proofs were not incontestable; and well might the Arabian Caliphs point to their continuous career of victory, to their ever advancing and conquering hosts, as the all-sufficient proof of the truth of their faith, and of the high pre-eminence of their prophet.
Such an uninterrupted succession of conquests of the wealthiest and most populous portions of the earth's surface—so speedy a disappearance of all the religions that once prevailed there—and so complete and steadfast the establishment of an entirely new religion in their stead, are circumstances that have never been paralleled in the world, since it was created; nor have they ever been rationally accounted for—and they remain still, even to this our day, as wonderful as inexplicable. That Mahomet should wrest to his faith so many millions who had been brought up in the Christian faith; that he should wield an almost absolute power over the souls, as over the bodies of his followers; that every Christian kingdom should quail before him—every Christian establishment in the countries he conquered, be broken up, and scattered abroad, or utterly destroyed by him, are marvels still in our eyes; nor can we do more than dimly discern the outlines of these strange beginnings to a yet, probably, far distant end. Yet great as were undoubtedly the triumphs he achieved by his immediate successors, and extended and enduring as was the empire he and they established; yet could he only have triumphed by sufferance of the Divine will, he could do no more than fulfil the mission and complete the work he was designed by Divine providence to do. He might, nevertheless, be a vile false prophet—a rank impostor, or a gross self-deceiver, and there may be no words bitter enough, or scornful enough, to express the wrath we feel, and the contempt we have for him, and for all the readers of his Koran, as of the veriest synagogue of Satan:—but this does not make him the less an historical personage of the very highest fame and consideration, who has for twelve hundred years exercised a more important influence in the world, and equally over the minds of men, as over their governments, and arts, and civilization, than any other mortal man that has ever lived on this earth. All our abuse of the man, therefore, and all our assumed contempt for the Koran and its doctrines, does not make Mahomet otherwise than he is, the most remarkable character that has appeared among men since the days of the Apostles: nor is his influence decreasing in the world, as many people, in their ignorance, imagine; on the contrary, more converts are yearly gained to Mahommedanism from the heathen tribes in Asia and Africa, than are gained to Christianity by all the labours of all the Missionary Societies throughout the world; while no converts whatever are gained from Mahommedanism to Christianity.
This is a distasteful truth, which makes missions to Moslems an expensive and wholly profitless undertaking; the fact is, they have much more to say for themselves than we suppose, and are far too well taught and grounded in their own tenets, and too well satisfied with their present enjoyments and future prospects, to give the least heed to what we write and say against them. Every man who has gone among them to convert them has, therefore, returned baffled and discomfited; as well he may, since there is not one, among ten thousand of us, who knows what the Mahommedan doctrines of the faith are, and how closely woven, and inseparably connected together, are all the laws and institutions of the state with the articles of the Moslem Creed. Our religion has so little to do with our legislation, that our government might be generally the same, although we became all infidels; but no such anomaly could possibly occur in a country where Mahommedanism was the national belief. This volume of Lives will greatly enlighten many of our minds on this matter; and will in part explain why a hundred millions of souls in India still remain in all the darkness and ignorance of Paganism, although we have been overrunning it with Christian armies for a century past; for where we have built one church, the Caliphs would have built ten thousand mosques. They, indeed, never advanced an army, but mosques arose in their track, and the plunder of palaces, the ransom of cities, the collected tribute from the conquered nations, were all liberally, or even profusely, bestowed to the founding of mosques in every town of their daily increasing empire. To establish their faith, to increase their converts, to do honour to their prophet, and to make their religion the religion of the world, was the leading thought with them in all their conquests. With us, religion is the last thing cared for, no churches mark our conquests—no Christian converts are found in the track of our armies; and of so little worth do our rulers regard our faith, that Christianity has never been considered by them as a gift worthy of the conquered nation's acceptance. Manchester goods they may have, by paying for, in any abundance, but the state makes no provision for sending to them the blessed and everlasting Gospel. We might well go back twelve hundred years for counsel in the matter; and in the "Lives of the Successors of Mahomet," we might learn much that, as rulers of nations, and as conquerors of empires, it would profit us to know and to act upon.
The lives are written in the gifted author's usually brilliant style; and such lives they are, so full of achievement and heroism—of daring deeds and wondrous exploits, that in Washington Irving's hands they could not but become highly-fascinating but deeply interesting biographies—such skill in council, and courage in battle—such unanimity, of will, and singleness of purpose—such sincerity and earnestness of faith—such encouragement and such rewards to the proselyting spirit, might well produce all that we here read of, as their consequence. The book is, indeed, a book of wonders, and in the details of spoils of plundered cities and camps, we are reminded of Aladdin's lamp, and of the jewels and heaps of gold that were exhibited to his view. The Arabian armies, on various occasions, almost realised his visions. But it is not of rubies of great price, or of victories that had empires for their reward, that the book alone speaks;for it contains matter upon which statesmen might ponder, and from which all Christian readers might gain instruction; since it was not for nothing that within a century so many Christian nations ceased to be Christian;—that the Crescent rose so high and the Cross was humbled so low that the land to which so peculiarly belonged the two Covenants, cared at length nothing for either; and that in the very country and district from which Christianity sprang forth, avowedly as a light to the nations, and as a blessing to the earth, there especially, it should be considered as a delusion, and the very name of Christian become a term of the vilest obloquy and reproach. What had Christians done to bring down such dire adversity upon them? and what they are now doing among themselves to make them still deserving of such chastisements? and what would be the gain to the Holy Land, if Mahommedanism was there suppressed to-morrow, and all the rival sects were at once let loose to exemplify to the world, what they considered to be the doctrines and precepts of the Christian faith, and the pure and simple spiritual worship which was due from the creature to the Creator? Bad as things are, they had better so remain for the present, until we Christians are agreed amongst ourselves, as to what the ritual and doctrines of our faith properly are, and until we are all of one mind as to what men must believe, and must do, to be Christians indeed. Then, and not till then, should we attempt to undo what the successors of Mahomet have done, or desire even to deprive them of an empire which they have gallantly won, and most skilfully held against all gainsayers; for it may be a question whether such Christianity with all its idolatries and buffooneries as the Greek and the Roman churches would carry amongst them, would be any peculiar blessing or advantage in any sense, and the Protestant communities are far too antagonistic in their opinions, as to what the truth is, to make them suitable teachers of the truth to others, or stable founders of Christian churches among a Mahommedan population.
We can do no more than cordially to recommend all Christians to read and attentively to read the "Lives of Mahomet and the Successors of Mahomet."
1. Lives of the Successors of Mahomet. By Washington Irving. Murray: 1850.