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The Preaching of Islam – A History of the Propagation of the Muslim Faith T.W. Arnold Ma. C.I.F

THE PREACHING OF ISLAM – A HISTORY OF THE PROPAGATION OF THE MUSLIM

The preaching of islam

Ever since Professor Max Müller delivered his lecture in Westminster Abbey, on the day of intercession for missions, in December, 1873, it has been a literary commonplace, that the six great religions of the world may be divided into missionary and non-missionary;

under the latter head fall Judaism, Brahmanism and Zoroastrianism, and under the former Buddhism, Christianity and Islam; and he well defined what the term,—a missionary religion,—should be taken to mean, viz. one ” in which the spreading of the truth and the conversion of unbelievers are raised to the rank of a sacred duty by the founder or his immediate successors. …

It is the spirit of truth in the hearts of believers which cannot rest, unless it manifests itself in thought, word and deed, which is not satisfied till it has carried its message to every human soul, till what it believes to be the truth is accepted as the truth by all members of the human family.”1

It is such a zeal for the truth of their religion that has inspired the Muhammadans to carry with them the message of Islam to the people of every land into which they penetrate, and that justly claims for their religion a place among those we term missionary.

 It is the history of the birth of this missionary zeal, its inspiring forces and the modes of its activity that forms the subject of the following pages. The 200 millions of Muhammadans scattered over the world at the present day are evidences of its workings through the length of thirteen centuries.

The doctrines of this faith were first proclaimed to the people of Arabia in the seventh century, by a prophet under whose banner their scattered tribes became a nation; and filled with the pulsations of this new national life, and with a fervour and enthusiasm that imparted an almost invincible strength to their armies, they poured forth over three continents to conquer and subdue.

Syria, Palestine, Egypt, North Africa, and Persia were the first to fall before them, and pressing westward to Spain and eastward beyond the Indus, the followers of the Prophet found themselves, one hundred years after his death, masters of an empire greater than that of Rome at the zenith of its power.

Although after years this great empire was split up and the political power of Islam diminished, still its spiritual conquests went on uninterruptedly.

When the Mongol hordes sacked Baghdād (A.D. 1258) and drowned in blood the faded glory of the ‘Abbāsid dynasty,—when the Muslims were expelled from Cordova by Ferdinand of Leon and Castile (A.D. 1236), and Granada, the last stronghold of Islam in Spain, paid tribute to the Christian king,—Islam had just gained a footing in the island of Sumatra and was just about to commence its triumphant progress through the islands of the Malay Archipelago.

In the hours of its political degradation, Islam has achieved some of its most brilliant spiritual conquests: on two great historical occasions, infidel barbarians have set their feet on the necks of the followers of the Prophet,—the Saljūq Turks in the eleventh and the Mongols in the thirteenth century,—and in each case, the conquerors have accepted the religion of the conquered.

Unaided also by the temporal power, Muslim missionaries have carried their faith into Central Africa, China, and the East India Islands.

At the present day the faith of Islam extends from Morocco to Zanzibar, from Sierra Leone to Siberia and China, from Bosnia to New Guinea. Outside the limits of strictly Muhammadan countries and of lands, such as China and Russia, that contain a large Muhammadan population, there are some few small communities of the followers of the Prophet, which bear witness to the faith of Islam in the midst of unbelievers.

Such are the Polish-speaking Muslims of Tatar origin in Lithuania, that inhabit the districts of Kovno, Vilno and Grodno;1 the Dutch-speaking Muslims of Cape Colony;

 and the Indian coolies that have carried the faith of Islam with them to the West India Islands and to British and Dutch Guiana. In recent years, too, Islam has found adherents in England, in North America, Australia and Japan.

The spread of this faith over so vast a portion of the globe is due to various causes, social, political and religious : but among these, one of the most powerful factors at work in the production of this stupendous result, has been the unremitted labours of Muslim missionaries, who, with the Prophet himself as their great ensample, have spent themselves for the conversion of unbelievers.

The duty of missionary work is no after-thought in the history of Islam, but was enjoined on believers from the beginning, as may be judged from the following passages in the Qur’ãn,—which are here quoted in chronological order according to the date of their being delivered.

” Summon thou to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and with kindly warning : dispute with them in the kindest manner, (xvi. 126.)

” They who have inherited the Book after them (i.e. the Jews and Christians), are in perplexity of doubt concerning it.

” For this cause summon thou (them to the faith), and walk uprightly therein as thou hast been bidden, and follow not their desires : and say : In whatsoever Books God hath sent down do I believe :

 I am commanded to decide justly between you : God is your Lord and our Lord : we have our works and you have your works : between us and you let there be no strife : God will make us all one : and to Him shall we return.” (xlii. 13-14.)

Similar injunctions are found also in the Medinite Sūrahs, delivered at a time when Muhammad was at the head of a large army and at the height of his power.

” Say to those who have been given the Book and to the ignorant, Do you accept Islam ? Then, if they accept Islam, are they guided aright: but if they turn away, then thy duty is only preaching; and God’s eye is on His servants. (iii. 19.)

” Thus God clearly showeth you His signs that perchance ye may be guided;

” And that there may be from among you a people who invite to the Good, and enjoin the Just, and forbid the Wrong; and these are they with whom it shall be well. (iii. 99-100.)

” To every people have We appointed observances which they observe. Therefore let them not dispute the matter with thee, but summon them to thy Lord : Verily thou art guided aright :

“ But if they debate with thee, then say : God best knoweth what ye do!” (xxii. 66-67.)

The following passages are taken from what is generally supposed to be the last Sūrah that was delivered.

” If any one of those who join gods with God ask an asylum of thee, grant him an asylum in order that he may hear the word of God; then let him reach his place of safety.” (ix. 6.)

With regard to the unbelievers who had broken their plighted word, who ” sell the signs of God for a mean price and turn others aside from His way,” and ” respect not with a believer either ties of blood or good faith,” … it is said :—

” Yet if they turn to God and observe prayer and give alms, then are they your brothers in the faith : and We make clear the signs for men of knowledge.” (ix. II)

Thus from its very inception Islam has been a missionary religion, both in theory and in practice, for the life of Muḥammad exemplifies the same teaching, and the Prophet himself stands at the head of a long series of Muslim missionaries who have won an entrance for their faith into the hearts of unbelievers.

Moreover it is not in the cruelties of the persecutor or the fury of the fanatic that we should look for the evidences of the missionary spirit of Islam, any more than in the exploits of that mythical personage, the Muslim warrior with sword in one hand and Qur’an in the other,1 —but in the quiet, unobtrusive labours of the preacher and the trader