VOLUME XVII, SLICE IV

Magnetite to Malt

ARTICLES IN THIS SLICE:

MAGNETITE MAJOR, JOHN MAGNETOGRAPH MAJOR MAGNETOMETER MAJORCA MAGNETO-OPTICS MAJORIAN MAGNOLIA MAJORITY MAGNUS, HEINRICH GUSTAV MAJUBA MAGNY, CLAUDE DRIGON MAKALAKA MAGO MAKARAKA MAGPIE MAKART, HANS MAGWE MAKING-UP PRICE MAGYARS MAKÓ MAHABALESHWAR MAKRAN MAHAFFY, JOHN PENTLAND MAKSOORA MAHALLAT MALABAR MAHAN, ALFRED THAYER MALABARI, BEHRAMJI MAHANADI MALABON MAHANOY CITY MALACCA MAHAR MALACHI MAHARAJPUR MALACHITE MAHAVAMSA MALACHOWSKI, STANISLAW MAHAYANA MALACHY, ST MAHDI MALACOSTRACA MAHDIA MALAGA (province of Spain) MAHÉ MALAGA (city of Spain) MAHESHWAR MALAKAND PASS MAHI MALALAS, JOHN MAHI KANTHA MALAN, SOLOMON CAESAR MAHMUD I. MÄLAR MAHMUD II. MALARIA MAHMUD NEDIM PASHA MALATIA MAHMUD OF GHAZNI MALAYALAM MAHOBA MALAY ARCHIPELAGO MAHOGANY MALAIR MAHOMET MALAY PENINSULA MAHOMMED AHMED IBN ABDULLAH MALAYS MAHOMMEDAN INSTITUTIONS MALAY STATES (British) MAHOMMEDAN LAW MALAY STATES (Siamese) MAHOMMEDAN RELIGION MALCHIN MAHONY, FRANCIS SYLVESTER MALCOLM MAHOUT MALCOLM, SIR JOHN MAHRATTAS MALDA MAHSEER MALDEN MAI, ANGELO MALDIVE ISLANDS MAIA MALDON MAIDA MALEBRANCHE, NICOLAS MAIDAN MALER KOTLA MAIDEN MALESHERBES, CHRÉTIEN DE LAMOIGNON DE MAIDENHAIR MALET, LUCAS MAIDENHEAD MALHERBE, FRANÇOIS DE MAID MARIAN MALIBRAN, MARIE FÉLICITÉ MAIDSTONE MALIC ACID MAIHAR MALIGNANT MAIL MALIK IBN ANAS MAILLY, LOUISE JULIE MALINES MAIMANA MALLANWAN MAIMAND MALLARMÉ, FRANÇOIS RENÉ AUGUSTE MAIMBOURG, LOUIS MALLARMÉ, STÉPHANE MAIMING MALLECO MAIMON, SALOMON MALLEMUCK MAIMONIDES MALLESON, GEORGE BRUCE MAIN (river of Germany) MALLET, DAVID MAIN (power or strength) MALLET, PAUL HENRI MAINA and MAINOTES MALLET, ROBERT MAINE, ANNE LOUISE DE BOURBON MALLET DU PAN, JACQUES MAINE, SIR HENRY JAMES SUMNER MALLING, EAST and WEST MAINE (French province) MALLOCK, WILLIAM HURRELL MAINE (U.S. state) MALLOW (town of Ireland) MAINE DE BIRAN, FRANÇOIS-GONTHIER MALLOW (botanical genus) MAINE-ET-LOIRE MALMEDY MAINPURI MALMESBURY, JAMES HARRIS MAINTENANCE MALMESBURY, JAMES HOWARD HARRIS MAINTENON, FRANÇOISE D'AUBIGNÉ MALMESBURY MAINZ MALMÖ MAIRET, JEAN DE MALMSEY MAISTRE, JOSEPH DE MALOCELLO, LANCILOTO MAISTRE, XAVIER DE MALOLOS MAITLAND, EDWARD MALONE, EDMOND MAITLAND, FREDERIC WILLIAM MALONE MAITLAND, SIR RICHARD MALONIC ACID MAITLAND, WILLIAM MALORY, SIR THOMAS MAITLAND, EAST and WEST MALOT, HECTOR HENRI MAITREYA MALOU, JULES ÉDOUARD XAVIER MAIWAND MALOUET, PIERRE VICTOR MAIZE MALPIGHI, MARCELLO MAJESTY MALPLAQUET MAJLÁTH, JÁNOS MALSTATT-BURBACH MAJOLICA MALT

MAGNETITE, a mineral forming the natural magnet (see MAGNETISM), and important also as an iron-ore. It is an iron-black, opaque mineral, with metallic lustre; hardness about 6, sp. gr. 4.9 to 5.2. When scratched, it yields a black streak. It is an oxide of iron having the formula Fe3O4, corresponding with 72.4% of metal, whence its great value as an ore. It may be regarded as a ferroso-ferric oxide, FeO·Fe2O3, or as iron ferrate, Fe´´Fe2´´´O4. Titanium is often present, and occasionally the mineral contains magnesium, nickel, &c. It is always strongly magnetic. Magnetite crystallizes in the cubic system, usually in octahedra, less commonly in rhombic dodecahedra, and not infrequently in twins of the "spinel type" (fig. 1). The rhombic faces of the dodecahedron are often striated parallel to the longer diagonal. There is no distinct cleavage, but imperfect parting may be obtained along octahedral planes.

Magnetite is a mineral of wide distribution, occurring as grains in many massive and volcanic rocks, like granite, diorite and dolerite. It appears to have crystallized from the magma at a very early period of consolidation. Its presence contributes to the dark colour of many basalts and other basic rocks, and may cause them to disturb the compass. Large ore-bodies of granular and compact magnetite occur as beds and lenticular masses in Archean gneiss and crystalline schists, in various parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Urals; as also in the states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan, as well as in Canada. In some cases it appears to have segregated from a basic eruptive magma, and in other cases to have resulted from metamorphic action. Certain deposits appear to have been formed, directly or indirectly, by wet processes. Iron rust sometimes contains magnetite. An interesting deposit of oolitic magnetic ore occurs in the Dogger (Inferior Oolite) of Rosedale Abbey, in Yorkshire; and a somewhat similar pisolitic ore, of Jurassic age, is known on the continent as chamoisite, having been named from Chamoison (or Chamoson) in the Valais, Switzerland. Grains of magnetite occur in serpentine, as an alteration-product of the olivine. In emery, magnetite in a granular form is largely associated with the corundum; and in certain kinds of mica magnetite occurs as thin dendritic enclosures. Haematite is sometimes magnetic, and A. Liversidge has shown that magnetite is probably present. By deoxidation, haematite may be converted into magnetite, as proved by certain pseudomorphs; but on the other hand magnetite is sometimes altered to haematite. On weathering, magnetite commonly passes into limonite, the ferrous oxide having probably been removed by carbonated waters. Closely related to magnetite is the rare volcanic mineral from Vesuvius, called magnoferrite, or magnesioferrite, with the formula MgFe2O4; and with this may be mentioned a mineral from Jakobsberg, in Vermland, Sweden, called jakobsite, containing MnFe2O4. (F. W. R.*)

MAGNETOGRAPH, an instrument for continuously recording the values of the magnetic elements, the three universally chosen being the declination, the horizontal component and the vertical component (see TERRESTRIAL MAGNETISM). In each case the magnetograph only records the variation of the element, the absolute values being determined by making observations in the neighbourhood with the unifilar magnetometer (q.v.) and inclinometer (q.v.).

_Declination._--The changes in declination are obtained by means of a magnet which is suspended by a long fibre and carries a mirror, immediately below which a fixed mirror is attached to the base of the instrument. Both mirrors are usually concave; if plane, a concave lens is placed immediately before them. Light passing through a vertical slit falls upon the mirrors, from which it is reflected, and two images of the slit are produced, one by the movable mirror attached to the magnet and the other by the fixed mirror. These images would be short lines of light; but a piano-cylindrical lens is placed with its axis horizontal just in front of the recording surface. In this way a spot of light is obtained from each mirror. The recording surface is a sheet of photographic paper wrapped round a drum which is rotated at a constant speed by clockwork about a horizontal axis. The light reflected from the fixed mirror traces a straight line on the paper, serving as a base line from which the variations in declination are measured. As the declination changes the spot of light reflected from the magnet mirror moves parallel to the axis of the recording drum, and hence the distance between the line traced by this spot and the base line gives, for any instant, on an arbitrary scale the difference between the declination and a constant angle, namely, the declination corresponding to the base line. The value of this constant angle is obtained by comparing the record with the value for the declination as measured with a magnetometer. The value in terms of arc of the scale of the record can be obtained by measuring the distance between the magnet mirror and the recording drum, and in most observations it is such that a millimetre on the record represents one minute of arc. The time scale ordinarily employed is 15 mm. per hour, but in modern instruments provision is generally made for the time scale to be increased at will to 180 mm. per hour, so that the more rapid variations of the declination can be followed. The advantages of using small magnets, so that their moment of inertia may be small and hence they may be able to respond to rapid changes in the earth's field, were first insisted upon by E. Mascart,[1] while M. Eschenhagen[2] first designed a set of magnetographs in which this idea of small moment of inertia was carried to its useful limit, the magnets only weighing 1.5 gram each, and the suspension consisting of a very fine quartz fibre.

_Horizontal Force._--The variation of the horizontal force is obtained by the motion of a magnet which is carried either by a bifilar suspension or by a fairly stiff metal wire or quartz fibre. The upper end of the suspension is turned till the axis of the magnet is at right angles to the magnetic meridian. In this position the magnet is in equilibrium under the action of the torsion of the suspension and the couple exerted by the horizontal component, H, of the earth's field, this couple depending on the product of H into the magnetic moment, M, of the magnet. Hence if H varies the magnet will rotate in such a way that the couple due to torsion is equal to the new value of H multiplied by M. Since the movements of the magnet are always small, the rotation of the magnet is proportional to the change in H, so long as M and the couple, [theta], corresponding to unit twist of the suspension system remain constant. When the temperature changes, however, both M and [theta] in general change. With rise of temperature M decreases, and this alone will produce the same effect as would a decrease in H. To allow for this effect of temperature a compensating system of metal bars is attached to the upper end of the bifilar suspension, so arranged that with rise of temperature the fibres are brought nearer together and hence the value of [theta] decreases. Since such a decrease in [theta] would by itself cause the magnet to turn in the same direction as if H had increased, it is possible in a great measure to neutralize the effects of temperature on the reading of the instrument. In the case of the unifilar suspension, the provision of a temperature compensation is not so easy, so that what is generally done is to protect the instrument from temperature variation as much as possible and then to correct the indications so as to allow for the residual changes, a continuous record of the temperature being kept by a recording thermograph attached to the instrument. In the Eschenhagen pattern instrument, in which a single quartz fibre is used for the suspension, two magnets are placed in the vicinity of the suspended magnet and are so arranged that their field partly neutralizes the earth's field; thus the torsion required to hold the magnet with its axis perpendicular to the earth's field is reduced, and the arrangement permits of the sensitiveness being altered by changing the position of the deflecting magnets. Further, by suitably choosing the positions of the deflectors and the coefficient of torsion of the fibre, it is possible to make the temperature coefficient vanish. (See Adolf Schmidt, _Zeits. für Instrumentenkunde_, 1907, 27, 145.) The method of recording the variations in H is exactly the same as that adopted in the case of the declination, and the sensitiveness generally adopted is such that 1 mm. on the record represents a change in H of .00005 C.G.S., the time scale being the same as that employed in the case of the declination.

_Vertical Component._--To record the variations of the vertical component use is made of a magnet mounted on knife edges so that it can turn freely about a horizontal axis at right angles to its length (H. Lloyd, _Proc. Roy. Irish Acad._, 1839, 1, 334). The magnet is so weighted that its axis is approximately horizontal, and any change in the inclination of the axis is observed by means of an attached mirror, a second mirror fixed to the stand serving to give a base line for the records, which are obtained in the same way as in the case of the declination. The magnet is in equilibrium under the influence of the couple VM due to the vertical component V, and the couple due to the fact that the centre of gravity is slightly on one side of the knife-edge. Hence when, say, V decreases the couple VM decreases, and hence the north end of the balanced magnet rises, and vice versa. The chief difficulty with this form of instrument is that it is very sensitive to changes of temperature, for such changes not only alter M but also in general cause the centre of gravity of the system to be displaced with reference to the knife-edge. To reduce these effects the magnet is fitted with compensating bars, generally of zinc, so adjusted by trial that as far as possible they neutralize the effect of changes of temperature. In the Eschenhagen form of vertical force balance two deflecting magnets are used to partly neutralize the vertical component, so that the centre of gravity is almost exactly over the support. By varying the positions of these deflecting magnets it is possible to compensate for the effects of changes of temperature (A. Schmidt, loc. cit.). In order to eliminate the irregularity which is apt to be introduced by dust, &c., interfering with the working of the knife-edge, W. Watson (_Phil. Mag._, 1904 [6], 7, 393) designed a form of vertical force balance in which the magnet with its mirror is attached to the mid point of a horizontal stretched quartz fibre. The temperature compensation is obtained by attaching a small weight to the magnet, and then bringing it back to the horizontal position by twisting the fibre.

The scale values of the records given by the horizontal and vertical force magnetographs are determined by deflecting the respective needles, either by means of a magnet placed at a known distance or by passing an electric current through circular coils of large diameter surrounding the instruments.

The width of the photographic sheet which receives the spot of light reflected from the mirrors in the above instruments is generally so great that in the case of ordinary changes the curve does not go off the paper. Occasionally, however, during a disturbance such is not the case, and hence a portion of the trace would be lost. To overcome this difficulty Eschenhagen in his earlier type of instruments attached to each magnet two mirrors, their planes being inclined at a small angle so that when the spot reflected from one mirror goes off the paper, that corresponding to the other comes on. In the later pattern a third mirror is added of which the plane is inclined at about 30° to the horizontal. The light from the slit is reflected on to this mirror by an inclined fixed mirror, and after reflection at the movable mirror is again reflected at the fixed mirror and so reaches the recording drum. By this arrangement the angular rotation of the reflected beam is less than that of the magnet, and hence the spot of light reflected from this mirror yields a trace on a much smaller scale than that given by the ordinary mirror and serves to give a complete record of even the most energetic disturbance.

See also Balfour Stewart, _Report of the British Association_, Aberdeen, 1859, 200, a description of the type of instrument used in the older observatories; E. Mascart, _Traité de magnétisme terrestre_, p. 191; W. Watson, _Terrestrial Magnetism_, 1901, 6, 187, describing magnetographs used in India; M. Eschenhagen, _Verhandlungen der deutschen physikalischen Gesellschaft_, 1899, 1, 147; _Terrestrial Magnetism_, 1900, 5, 59; and 1901, 6, 59; _Zeits. für Instrumentenkunde_, 1907, 27, 137; W. G. Cady, _Terrestrial Magnetism_, 1904, 9, 69, describing a declination magnetograph in which the record is obtained by means of a pen acting on a moving strip of paper, so that the curve can be consulted at all times to see whether a disturbance is in progress.

The effects of temperature being so marked on the readings of the horizontal and vertical force magnetographs, it is usual to place the instruments either in an underground room or in a room which, by means of double walls and similar devices, is protected as much as possible from temperature changes. For descriptions of the arrangements adopted in some observatories see the following: U.S. observatories, _Terrestrial Magnetism_, 1903, 8, 11; Utrecht, _Terrestrial Magnetism_, 1900, 5, 49; St Maur, _Terrestrial Magnetism_, 1898, 3, 1; Potsdam, _Veröffentlichungen des k. preuss. meteorol. Instituts_, "Ergebnisse der magnetischen Beobachtungen in Potsdam in den Jahren 1890 und 1891;" Pavlovsk, "Das Konstantinow'sche meteorologische und magnetische Observatorium in Pavlovsk," _Ausgabe der kaiserl. Akad. der Wissenschaften zu St Petersburg_, 1895. (W. Wn.)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] _Report British Association_, Bristol, 1898, p. 741.

[2] _Verhandlungen der deutschen physikalischen Gesellschaft_, 1899, 1, 147; or _Terrestrial Magnetism_, 1900, 5, 59.

MAGNETOMETER, a name, in its most general sense, for any instrument used to measure the strength of any magnetic field; it is, however, often used in the restricted sense of an instrument for measuring a particular magnetic field, namely, that due to the earth's magnetism, and in this article the instruments used for measuring the value of the earth's magnetic field will alone be considered.

The elements which are actually measured when determining the value of the earth's field are usually the declination, the dip and the horizontal component (see MAGNETISM, TERRESTRIAL). For the instruments and methods used in measuring the dip see INCLINOMETER. It remains to consider the measurement of the declination and the horizontal component, these two elements being generally measured with the same instrument, which is called a unifilar magnetometer.

_Measurement of Declination._--The measurement of the declination involves two separate observations, namely, the determination of (a) the magnetic meridian and (b) the geographical meridian, the angle between the two being the declination. In order to determine the magnetic meridian the orientation of the magnetic axis of a freely suspended magnet is observed; while, in the absence of a distant mark of which the azimuth is known, the geographical meridian is obtained from observations of the transit of the sun or a star. The geometrical axis of the magnet is sometimes defined by means of a mirror rigidly attached to the magnet and having the normal to the mirror as nearly as may be parallel to the magnetic axis. This arrangement is not very convenient, as it is difficult to protect the mirror from accidental displacement, so that the angle between the geometrical and magnetic axes may vary. For this reason the end of the magnet is sometimes polished and acts as the mirror, in which case no displacement of the reflecting surface with reference to the magnet is possible. A different arrangement, used in the instrument described below, consists in having the magnet hollow, with a small scale engraved on glass firmly attached at one end, while to the other end is attached a lens, so chosen that the scale is at its principal focus. In this case the geometrical axis is the line joining the central division of the scale to the optical centre of the lens. The position of the magnet is observed by means of a small telescope, and since the scale is at the principal focus of the lens, the scale will be in focus when the telescope is adjusted to observe a distant object. Thus no alteration in the focus of the telescope is necessary whether we are observing the magnet, a distant fixed mark, or the sun.

The Kew Observatory pattern unifilar magnetometer is shown in figs. 1 and 2. The magnet consists of a hollow steel cylinder fitted with a scale and lens as described above, and is suspended by a long thread of unspun silk, which is attached at the upper end to the torsion head H. The magnet is protected from draughts by the box A, which is closed at the sides by two shutters when an observation is being taken. The telescope B serves to observe the scale attached to the magnet when determining the magnetic meridian, and to observe the sun or star when determining the geographical meridian.

When making a determination of declination a brass plummet having the same weight as the magnet is first suspended in its place, and the torsion of the fibre is taken out. The magnet having been attached, the instrument is rotated about its vertical axis till the centre division of the scale appears to coincide with the vertical cross-wire of the telescope. The two verniers on the azimuth circle having been read, the magnet is then inverted, i.e. turned through 180° about its axis, and the setting is repeated. A second setting with the magnet inverted is generally made, and then another setting with the magnet in its original position. The mean of all the readings of the verniers gives the reading on the azimuth circle corresponding to the magnetic meridian. To obtain the geographical meridian the box A is removed, and an image of the sun or a star is reflected into the telescope B by means of a small transit mirror N. This mirror can rotate about a horizontal axis which is at right angles to the line of collimation of the telescope, and is parallel to the surface of the mirror. The time of transit of the sun or star across the vertical wire of the telescope having been observed by means of a chronometer of which the error is known, it is possible to calculate the azimuth of the sun or star, if the latitude and longitude of the place of observation are given. Hence if the readings of the verniers on the azimuth circle are made when the transit is observed we can deduce the reading corresponding to the geographical meridian.

The above method of determining the geographical meridian has the serious objection that it is necessary to know the error of the chronometer with very considerable accuracy, a matter of some difficulty when observing at any distance from a fixed observatory. If, however, a theodolite, fitted with a telescope which can rotate about a horizontal axis and having an altitude circle, is employed, so that when observing a transit the altitude of the sun or star can be read off, then the time need only be known to within a minute or so. Hence in more recent patterns of magnetometer it is usual to do away with the transit mirror method of observing and either to use a separate theodolite to observe the azimuth of some distant object, which will then act as a fixed mark when making the declination observations, or to attach to the magnetometer an altitude telescope and circle for use when determining the geographical meridian.

The chief uncertainty in declination observations, at any rate at a fixed observatory, lies in the variable torsion of the silk suspension, as it is found that, although the fibre may be entirely freed from torsion before beginning the declination observations, yet at the conclusion of these observations a considerable amount of torsion may have appeared. Soaking the fibre with glycerine, so that the moisture it absorbs does not change so much with the hygrometric state of the air, is of some advantage, but does not entirely remove the difficulty. For this reason some observers use a thin strip of phosphor bronze to suspend the magnet, considering that the absence of a variable torsion more than compensates for the increased difficulty in handling the more fragile metallic suspension.

_Measurement of the Horizontal Component of the Earth's Field._--The method of measuring the horizontal component which is almost exclusively used, both in fixed observatories and in the field, consists in observing the period of a freely suspended magnet, and then obtaining the angle through which an auxiliary suspended magnet is deflected by the magnet used in the first part of the experiment. By the vibration experiment we obtain the value of the product of the magnetic moment (M) of the magnet into the horizontal component (H), while by the deflexion experiment we can deduce the value of the ratio of M to H, and hence the two combined give both M and H.

In the case of the Kew pattern unifilar the same magnet that is used for the declination is usually employed for determining H, and for the purposes of the vibration experiment it is mounted as for the observation of the magnetic meridian. The time of vibration is obtained by means of a chronometer, using the eye-and-ear method. The temperature of the magnet must also be observed, for which purpose a thermometer C (fig. 1) is attached to the box A.

When making the deflection experiment the magnetometer is arranged as shown in fig. 2. The auxiliary magnet has a plane mirror attached, the plane of which is at right angles to the axis of the magnet. An image of the ivory scale B is observed after reflection in the magnet mirror by the telescope A. The magnet K used in the vibration experiment is supported on a carriage L which can slide along the graduated bar D. The axis of the magnet is horizontal and at the same level as the mirror magnet, while when the central division of the scale B appears to coincide with the vertical cross-wire of the telescope the axes of the two magnets are at right angles. During the experiment the mirror magnet is protected from draughts by two wooden doors which slide in grooves. What is known as the method of sines is used, for since the axes of the two magnets are always at right angles when the mirror magnet is in its zero position, the ratio M/H is proportional to the sine of the angle between the magnetic axis of the mirror magnet and the magnetic meridian. When conducting a deflexion experiment the deflecting magnet K is placed with its centre at 30 cm. from the mirror magnet and to the east of the latter, and the whole instrument is turned till the centre division of the scale B coincides with the cross-wire of the telescope, when the readings of the verniers on the azimuth circle are noted. The magnet K is then reversed in the support, and a new setting taken. The difference between the two sets of readings gives twice the angle which the magnetic axis of the mirror magnet makes with the magnetic meridian. In order to eliminate any error due to the zero of the scale D not being exactly below the mirror magnet, the support L is then removed to the west side of the instrument, and the settings are repeated. Further, to allow of a correction being applied for the finite length of the magnets the whole series of settings is repeated with the centre of the deflecting magnet at 40 cm. from the mirror magnet.

Omitting correction terms depending on the temperature and on the inductive effect of the earth's magnetism on the moment of the deflecting magnet, if [theta] is the angle which the axis of the deflected magnet makes with the meridian when the centre of the deflecting magnet is at a distance r, then

r³H P Q --- sin [theta] = 1 + --- + --- + &c., 2M r r²

in which P and Q are constants depending on the dimensions and magnetic states of the two magnets. The value of the constants P and Q can be obtained by making deflexion experiments at three distances. It is, however, possible by suitably choosing the proportions of the two magnets to cause either P or Q to be very small. Thus it is usual, if the magnets are of similar shape, to make the deflected magnet 0.467 of the length of the deflecting magnet, in which case Q is negligible, and thus by means of deflexion experiments at two distances the value of P can be obtained. (See C. Börgen, _Terrestrial Magnetism_, 1896, i. p. 176, and C. Chree, _Phil. Mag._, 1904 [6], 7, p. 113.)

In the case of the vibration experiment correction terms have to be introduced to allow for the temperature of the magnet, for the inductive effect of the earth's field, which slightly increases the magnetic moment of the magnet, and for the torsion of the suspension fibre, as well as the rate of the chronometer. If the temperature of the magnet were always exactly the same in both the vibration and deflexion experiment, then no correction on account of the effect of temperature in the magnetic moment would be necessary in either experiment. The fact that the moment of inertia of the magnet varies with the temperature must, however, be taken into account. In the deflexion experiment, in addition to the induction correction, and that for the effect of temperature on the magnetic moment, a correction has to be applied for the effect of temperature on the length of the bar which supports the deflexion magnet.

See also Stewart and Gee, _Practical Physics_, vol. 2, containing a description of the Kew pattern unifilar magnetometer and detailed instructions for performing the experiments; C. Chree, _Phil. Mag._, 1901 (6), 2, p. 613, and _Proc. Roy. Soc._, 1899, 65, p. 375, containing a discussion of the errors to which the Kew unifilar instrument is subject; E. Mascart, _Traité de magnétisme terrestre_, containing a description of the instruments used in the French magnetic survey, which are interesting on account of their small size and consequent easy portability; H. E. D. Fraser, _Terrestrial Magnetism_, 1901, 6, p. 65, containing a description of a modified Kew pattern unifilar as used in the Indian survey; H. Wild, _Mém. Acad. imp. sc. St Pétersbourg_, 1896 (viii.), vol. 3, No. 7, containing a description of a most elaborate unifilar magnetometer with which it is claimed results can be obtained of a very high order of accuracy; K. Haufsmann, _Zeits. für Instrumentenkunde_, 1906, 26, p. 2, containing a description of a magnetometer for field use, designed by M. Eschenhagen, which has many advantages.

_Measurements of the Magnetic Elements at Sea._--Owing to the fact that the proportion of the earth's surface covered by sea is so much greater than the dry land, the determination of the magnetic elements on board ship is a matter of very considerable importance. The movements of a ship entirely preclude the employment of any instrument in which a magnet suspended by a fibre has any part, so that the unifilar is unsuited for such observations. In order to obtain the declination a pivoted magnet is used to obtain the magnetic meridian, the geographical meridian being obtained by observations on the sun or stars. A carefully made ship's compass is usually employed, though in some cases the compass card, with its attached magnets, is made reversible, so that the inclination to the zero of the card of the magnetic axis of the system of magnets attached to the card can be eliminated by reversal. In the absence of such a reversible card the index correction must be determined by comparison with a unifilar magnetometer, simultaneous observations being made on shore, and these observations repeated as often as occasion permits. To determine the dip a Fox's dip circle[1] is used. This consists of an ordinary dip circle (see INCLINOMETER) in which the ends of the axle of the needle are pointed and rest in jewelled holes, so that the movements of the ship do not displace the needle. The instrument is, of course, supported on a gimballed table, while the ship during the observations is kept on a fixed course. To obtain the _strength_ of the field the method usually adopted is that known as Lloyd's method.[2] To carry out a determination of the total force by this method the Fox dip circle has been slightly modified by E. W. Creak, and has been found to give satisfactory results on board ship. The circle is provided with two needles in addition to those used for determining the dip, one (a) an ordinary dip needle, and the other (b) a needle which has been loaded at one end by means of a small peg which fits into one of two symmetrically placed holes in the needle. The magnetism of these two needles is never reversed, and they are as much as possible protected from shock and from approach to other magnets, so that their magnetic state may remain as constant as possible. Attached to the cross-arm which carries the microscopes used to observe the ends of the dipping needle is a clamp, which will hold the needle _b_ in such a way that its plane is parallel to the vertical circle and its axis is at right angles to the line joining the two microscopes. Hence, when the microscopes are adjusted so as to coincide with the points of the dipping needle _a_, the axes of the two needles must be at right angles. The needle _a_ being suspended between the jewels, and the needle _b_ being held in the clamp, the cross-arm carrying the reading microscopes and the needle _b_ is rotated till the ends of the needle a coincide with the cross-wires of the microscopes. The verniers having been read, the cross-arm is rotated so as to deflect the needle _a_ in the opposite direction, and a new setting is taken. Half the difference between the two readings gives the angle through which the needle a has been deflected under the action of the needle _b_. This angle depends on the ratio of the magnetic moment of the needle _b_ to the total force of the earth's field. It also involves, of course, the distance between the needles and the distribution of the magnetism of the needles; but this factor is determined by comparing the value given by the instrument, at a shore station, with that given by an ordinary magnetometer. Hence the above observation gives us a means of obtaining the _ratio_ of the magnetic moment of the needle _b_ to the value of the earth's total force. The needle _b_ is then substituted for _a_, there being now no needle in the clamp attached to the microscope arm, and the difference between the reading now obtained and the dip, together with the weight added to the needle, gives the product of the moment of the needle _b_ into the earth's total force. Hence, from the two observations the value of the earth's total force can be deduced. In an actual observation the deflecting needle would be reversed, as well as the deflected one, while different weights would be used to deflect the needle _b_.

For a description of the method of using the Fox circle for observations at sea consult the _Admiralty Manual of Scientific Inquiry_, p. 116, while a description of the most recent form of the circle, known as the Lloyd-Creak pattern, will be found in _Terrestrial Magnetism_, 1901, 6, p. 119. An attachment to the ordinary ship's compass, by means of which satisfactory measurements of the horizontal component have been made on board ship, is described by L. A. Bauer in _Terrestrial Magnetism_, 1906, 11, p. 78. The principle of the method consists in deflecting the compass needle by means of a horizontal magnet supported vertically over the compass card, the axis of the deflecting magnet being always perpendicular to the axis of the magnet attached to the card. The method is not strictly an absolute one, since it presupposes a knowledge of the magnetic moment of the deflecting magnet. In practice it is found that a magnet can be prepared which, when suitably protected from shock, &c., retains its magnetic moment sufficiently constant to enable observations of H to be made comparable in accuracy with that of the other elements obtained by the instruments ordinarily employed at sea. (W. Wn.)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] _Annals of Electricity_, 1839, 3, p. 288.

[2] Humphrey Lloyd, _Proc. Roy. Irish Acad._, 1848, 4, p. 57.

MAGNETO-OPTICS. The first relation between magnetism and light was discovered by Faraday,[1] who proved that the plane of polarization of a ray of light was rotated when the ray travelled through certain substances parallel to the lines of magnetic force. This power of rotating the plane of polarization in a magnetic field has been shown to be possessed by all refracting substances, whether they are in the solid, liquid or gaseous state. The rotation by gases was established independently by H. Becquerel,[2] and Kundt and Röntgen,[3] while Kundt[4] found that films of the magnetic metals, iron, cobalt, nickel, thin enough to be transparent, produced enormous rotations, these being in iron and cobalt magnetized to saturation at the rate of 200,000° per cm. of thickness, and in nickel about 89,000°. The direction of rotation is not the same in all bodies. If we call the rotation positive when it is related to the direction of the magnetic force, like rotation and translation in a right-handed screw, or, what is equivalent, when it is in the direction of the electric currents which would produce a magnetic field in the same direction as that which produces the rotation, then most substances produce positive rotation. Among those that produce negative rotation are ferrous and ferric salts, ferricyanide of potassium, the salts of lanthanum, cerium and didymium, and chloride of titanium.[5]

The magnetic metals iron, nickel, cobalt, the salts of nickel and cobalt, and oxygen (the most magnetic gas) produce positive rotation.

For slightly magnetizable substances the amount of rotation in a space PQ is proportional to the difference between the magnetic potential at P and Q; or if [theta] is the rotation in PQ, [Omega]_P, [Omega]_Q, the magnetic potential at P and Q, then [theta] = R([Omega]_P - [Omega]_Q), where R is a constant, called Verdet's constant, which depends upon the refracting substance, the wave length of the light, and the temperature. The following are the values of R (when the rotation is expressed in circular measure) for the D line and a temperature of 18° C.:--

Substance. R × 10^5. Observer.

Carbon bisulphide / 1.222 Lord Rayleigh[6] and Köpsel.[7] \ 1.225 Rodger and Watson.[8] Water / .377 Arons.[9] \ .3808 Rodger and Watson.[8] Alcohol .330 Du Bois.[10] Ether .315 Du Bois.[10] Oxygen (at 1 atmosphere) .000179 Kundt and Röntgen (_loc. cit._) Faraday's heavy glass 1.738

The variation of Verdet's constant with temperature has been determined for carbon bisulphide and water by Rodger and Watson (_loc. cit._). They find if R_t, R0 are the values of Verdet's constant at t°C and 0°C. respectively, then for carbon bisulphide R_t = R0 (1 - .0016961), and for water R_t = R0 (1 - .0000305t - .00000305t²).

For the magnetic metals Kundt found that the rotation did not increase so rapidly as the magnetic force, but that as this force was increased the rotation reached a maximum value. This suggests that the rotation is proportional to the intensity of magnetization, and not to the magnetic force.

The amount of rotation in a given field depends greatly upon the wave length of the light; the shorter the wave length the greater the rotation, the rotation varying a little more rapidly than the inverse square of the wave length. Verdet[11] has compared in the cases of carbon bisulphide and creosote the rotation given by the formula

c² / di \ [theta] = mc[gamma] --------- ( c - [lamda] --------- ) [lambda]² \ d[lambda]/

with those actually observed; in this formula [theta] is the angular rotation of the plane of polarization, m a constant depending on the medium, [lambda] the wave length of the light in air, and i its index of refraction in the medium. Verdet found that, though the agreement is fair, the differences are greater than can be explained by errors of experiment.

Verdet[12] has shown that the rotation of a salt solution is the sum of the rotations due to the salt and the solvent; thus, by mixing a salt which produces negative rotation with water which produces positive rotation, it is possible to get a solution which does not exhibit any rotation. Such solutions are not in general magnetically neutral. By mixing diamagnetic and paramagnetic substances we can get magnetically neutral solutions, which, however, produce a finite rotation of the plane of polarization. The relation of the magnetic rotation to chemical constitution has been studied in great detail by Perkin,[13] Wachsmuth,[14] Jahn[15] and Schönrock.[16]

The rotation of the plane of polarization may conveniently be regarded as denoting that the velocity of propagation of circular-polarized light travelling along the lines of magnetic force depends upon the direction of rotation of the ray, the velocity when the rotation is related to the direction of the magnetic force, like rotation and translation on a right-handed screw being different from that for a left-handed rotation. A plane-polarized ray may be regarded as compounded of two oppositely circularly-polarized rays, and as these travel along the lines of magnetic force with different velocities, the one will gain or lose in phase on the other, so that when they are again compounded they will correspond to a plane-polarized ray, but in consequence of the change of phase the plane of polarization will not coincide with its original position.

_Reflection from a Magnet._--Kerr[17] in 1877 found that when plane-polarized light is incident on the pole of an electromagnet, polished so as to act like a mirror, the plane of polarization of the reflected light is rotated by the magnet. Further experiments on this phenomenon have been made by Righi,[18] Kundt,[19] Du Bois,[20] Sissingh,[21] Hall,[22] Hurion,[23] Kaz[24] and Zeeman.[25] The simplest case is when the incident plane-polarized light falls normally on the pole of an electromagnet. When the magnet is not excited the reflected ray is plane-polarized; when the magnet is excited the plane of polarization is rotated through a small angle, the direction of rotation being opposite to that of the currents exciting the pole. Righi found that the reflected light was slightly elliptically polarized, the axes of the ellipse being of very unequal magnitude. A piece of gold-leaf placed over the pole entirely stops the rotation, showing that it is not produced in the air near the pole. Rotation takes place from magnetized nickel and cobalt as well as from iron, and is in the same direction (Hall). Righi has shown that the rotation at reflection is greater for long waves than for short, whereas, as we have seen, the Faraday rotation is greater for short waves than for long. The rotation for different coloured light from iron, nickel, cobalt and magnetite has been measured by Du Bois; in magnetite the direction of rotation is opposite to that of the other metals. When the light is incident obliquely and not normally on the polished pole of an electromagnet, it is elliptically polarized after reflection, even when the plane of polarization is parallel or at right angles to the plane of incidence. According to Righi, the amount of rotation when the plane of polarization of the incident light is perpendicular to the plane of incidence reaches a maximum when the angle of incidence is between 44° and 68°, while when the light is polarized in the plane of incidence the rotation steadily decreases as the angle of incidence is increased. The rotation when the light is polarized in the plane of incidence is always less than when it is polarized at right angles to that plane, except when the incidence is normal, when the two rotations are of course equal.

_Reflection from Tangentially Magnetized Iron._--In this case Kerr[26] found: (1) When the plane of incidence is perpendicular to the lines of magnetic force, no rotation of the reflected light is produced by magnetization; (2) no rotation is produced when the light is incident normally; (3) when the incidence is oblique, the lines of magnetic force being in the plane of incidence, the reflected light is elliptically polarized after reflection, and the axes of the ellipse are not in and at right angles to the plane of incidence. When the light is polarized in the plane of incidence, the rotation is at all angles of incidence in the opposite direction to that of the currents which would produce a magnetic field of the same sign as the magnet. When the light is polarized at right angles to the plane of incidence, the rotation is in the same direction as these currents when the angle of incidence is between 0° and 75° according to Kerr, between 0° and 80° according to Kundt, and between 0° and 78° 54´ according to Righi. When the incidence is more oblique than this, the rotation of the plane of polarization is in the opposite direction to the electric currents which would produce a magnetic field of the same sign.

The theory of the phenomena just described has been dealt with by Airy,[27] C. Neumann,[28] Maxwell,[29] Fitzgerald,[30] Rowland,[31] H. A. Lorentz,[32] Voight,[33] Ketteler,[34] van Loghem,[35] Potier,[36] Basset,[37] Goldhammer,[38] Drude,[39] J. J. Thomson,[40] and Leatham;[41] for a critical discussion of many of these theories we refer the reader to Larmor's[42] British Association Report. Most of these theories have proceeded on the plan of adding to the expression for the electromotive force terms indicating a force similar in character to that discovered by Hall (see MAGNETISM) in metallic conductors carrying a current in a magnetic field, i.e. an electromotive force at right angles to the plane containing the magnetic force and the electric current, and proportional to the sine of the angle between these vectors. The introduction of a term of this kind gives rotation of the plane of polarization by transmission through all refracting substance, and by reflection from magnetized metals, and shows a fair agreement between the theoretical and experimental results. The simplest way of treating the questions seems, however, to be to go to the equations which represent the propagation of a wave travelling through a medium containing ions. A moving ion in a magnetic field will be acted upon by a mechanical force which is at right angles to its direction of motion, and also to the magnetic force, and is equal per unit charge to the product of these two vectors and the sine of the angle between them. For the sake of brevity we will take the special case of a wave travelling parallel to the magnetic force in the direction of the axis of z.

Then supposing that all the ions are of the same kind, and that there are _n_ of these each with mass _m_ and charge _e_ per unit volume, the equations representing the field are (see ELECTRIC WAVES):--

dX0 d[xi] d[beta] K0 --- + 4[pi]ne ----- = -------; dt dt dz

dX[0] d[beta] ----- = -------; dz dt

dY0 d[eta] d[alpha] K0 --- + 4[pi]ne ------ = - -------- dt dt dz

dY0 d[alpha] --- = - --------; dz dt

d²[xi] d[xi] / 4[pi] \ d[eta] m ------ + R1 ----- + a[xi] = ( X0 + ----- ne[xi] ) e + He ------ dt² dt \ 3 / dt

d²[eta] d[eta] / 4[pi] \ d[xi] m ------- + R1 ------ + a[eta] = ( Y0 + ----- ne[eta] ) e - He -----; dt² dt \ 3 / dt

where H is the external magnetic field, X0, Y0 the components of the part of the electric force in the wave not due to the charges on the atoms, [alpha] and [beta] the components of the magnetic force, [xi] and [eta] the co-ordinates of an ion, R1 the coefficient of resistance to the motion of the ions, and [alpha] the force at unit distance tending to bring the ion back to its position of equilibrium, K0 the specific inductive capacity of a vacuum. If the variables are proportional to [epsilon]^[l(pt - qz)] we find by substitution that q is given by the equation

4[pi]ne²p²P 4[pi]ne³Hp³ q² - K0p² - ----------- = ± -----------, P² - H²e²p² P² - H²e²p²

where

P = (a - (4/3)[pi]ne²) + R1[iota]p - mp²,

or, by neglecting R, P = m(s² - p²), where s is the period of the free ions. If, q1², q2² are the roots of this equation, then corresponding to q1 we have X0 = [iota]Y0 and to q2 X0 = -[iota]Y0. We thus get two oppositely circular-polarized rays travelling with the velocities p/q1 and p/q2 respectively. Hence if v1, v2 are these velocities, and v the velocity when there is no magnetic field, we obtain, if we neglect terms in H²,

1 1 4[pi]ne³Hp --- = -- + ------------, v1² v² m²(s² - p²)²

1 1 4[pi]ne³Hp --- = -- - ------------. v2² v² m²(s² - p²)²

The rotation r of the plane of polarization per unit length

/ 1 1 \ 2[pi]ne³Hp²v = ½p ( --- - --- ) = -------------. \ v1 v2 / m²(s² - p²)²

Since 1/v² = K0 + 4[pi]ne²/m(s² - p²), we have if µ is the refractive index for light of frequency p, and v0 the velocity of light in vacuo.

µ² - 1 = 4[pi]ne²v²0 / m(s² - p²) (1)

So that we may put

r = (µ² - 1)²p²H / s[pi]µne v0³ (2)

Becquerel (_Comptes rendus_, 125, p. 683) gives for r the expression

e H dµ ½ --- ---- ---------, m v0 d[lambda]

where [lambda] is the wave length. This is equivalent to (2) if µ is given by (1). He has shown that this expression is in good agreement with experiment. The sign of r depends on the sign of e, hence the rotation due to negative ions would be opposite to that for positive. For the great majority of substances the direction of rotation is that corresponding to the negation ion. We see from the equations that the rotation is very large for such a value of p as makes P = 0: this value corresponds to a free period of the ions, so that the rotation ought to be very large in the neighbourhood of an absorption band. This has been verified for sodium vapour by Macaluso and Corbino.[43]

If plane-polarized light falls normally on a plane face of the medium containing the ions, then if the electric force in the incident wave is parallel to x and is equal to the real part of A[epsilon]^[l(pt - qz)], if the reflected beam in which the electric force is parallel to x is represented by B[epsilon]^[l(pt + qz)] and the reflected beam in which the electric force is parallel to the axis of y by C[epsilon]^[l(pt + qz)], then the conditions that the magnetic force parallel to the surface is continuous, and that the electric forces parallel to the surface in the air are continuous with Y0, X0 in the medium, give

A B [iota]C ----------------- = ----------- = ---------- (q + q1) (q + q2) (q² - q1q2) q(q2 - q1)

or approximately, since q1 and q2 are nearly equal,

[iota]C q(q2 - q1) (µ² - 1)pH ------- = ---------- = ------------. B q² - q1² 4[pi]µne V0²

Thus in transparent bodies for which µ is real, C and B differ in phase by [pi]/2, and the reflected light is elliptically polarized, the major axis of the ellipse being in the plane of polarization of the incident light, so that in this case there is no rotation, but only elliptic polarization; when there is strong absorption so that µ contains an imaginary term, C/B will contain a real part so that the reflected light will be elliptically polarized, but the major axis is no longer in the plane of polarization of the incident light; we should thus have a rotation of the plane of polarization superposed on the elliptic polarization.

_Zeeman's Effect._--Faraday, after discovering the effect of a magnetic field on the plane of polarization of light, made numerous experiments to see if such a field influenced the nature of the light emitted by a luminous body, but without success. In 1885 Fievez,[44] a Belgian physicist, noticed that the spectrum of a sodium flame was changed slightly in appearance by a magnetic field; but his observation does not seem to have attracted much attention, and was probably ascribed to secondary effects. In 1896 Zeeman[45] saw a distinct broadening of the lines of lithium and sodium when the flames containing salts of these metals were between the poles of a powerful electromagnet; following up this observation, he obtained some exceedingly remarkable and interesting results, of which those observed with the blue-green cadmium line may be taken as typical. He found that in a strong magnetic field, when the lines of force are parallel to the direction of propagation of the light, the line is split up into a doublet, the constituents of which are on opposite sides of the undisturbed position of the line, and that the light in the constituents of this doublet is circularly polarized, the rotation in the two lines being in opposite directions. When the magnetic force is at right angles to the direction of propagation of the light, the line is resolved into a triplet, of which the middle line occupies the same position as the undisturbed line; all the constituents of this triplet are plane-polarized, the plane of polarization of the middle line being at right angles to the magnetic force, while the outside lines are polarized on a plane parallel to the lines of magnetic force. A great deal of light is thrown on this phenomenon by the following considerations due to H. A. Lorentz.[46]

Let us consider an ion attracted to a centre of force by a force proportional to the distance, and acted on by a magnetic force parallel to the axis of z: then if m is the mass of the particle and e its charge, the equations of motion are

d²x dy m --- + ax = -He --; dt² dt

d²y dx m --- + ay = He --; dt² dt

d²z m --- + ax = 0. dt²

The solution of these equations is

x = A cos (p1t + [beta]) + B cos (p2t + [beta]1)

y = A sin (p1t + [beta]) - B sin (p2t + [beta]1)

z = C cos (pt + [gamma])

where

a - mp1² = - He p1

a - mp2² = He p2

p² = [alpha]/m,

or approximately

He He p1 = p + ½ ---, p2 = p - ½ ---. m m

Thus the motion of the ion on the xy plane may be regarded as made up of two circular motions in opposite directions described with frequencies p1 and p2 respectively, while the motion along z has the period p, which is the frequency for all the vibrations when H = 0. Now suppose that the cadmium line is due to the motion of such an ion; then if the magnetic force is along the direction of propagation, the vibration in this direction has its period unaltered, but since the direction of vibration is perpendicular to the wave front, it does not give rise to light. Thus we are left with the two circular motions in the wave front with frequencies p1 and p2 giving the circularly polarized constituents of the doublet. Now suppose the magnetic force is at right angles to the direction of propagation of the light; then the vibration parallel to the magnetic force being in the wave front produces luminous effects and gives rise to a plane-polarized ray of undisturbed period (the middle line of the triplet), the plane of polarization being at right angles to the magnetic force. The components in the wave-front of the circular orbits at right angles to the magnetic force will be rectilinear motions of frequency p1 and p2 at right angles to the magnetic force--so that they will produce plane-polarized light, the plane of polarization being parallel to the magnetic force; these are the outer lines of the triplet.

If Zeeman's observations are interpreted from this point of view, the directions of rotation of the circularly-polarized light in the doublet observed along the lines of magnetic force show that the ions which produce the luminous vibrations are _negatively_ electrified, while the measurement of the charge of frequency due to the magnetic field shows that e/m is of the order 10^7. This result is of great interest, as this is the order of the value of e/m in the negatively electrified particles which constitute the Cathode Rays (see CONDUCTION, ELECTRIC III. _Through Gases_). Thus we infer that the "cathode particles" are found in bodies, even where not subject to the action of intense electrical fields, and are in fact an ordinary constituent of the molecule. Similar particles are found near an incandescent wire, and also near a metal plate illuminated by ultra-violet light. The value of e/m deduced from the Zeeman effect ranges from 10^7 to 3.4 × 10^7, the value of e/m for the particle in the cathode rays is 1.7 × 10^7. The majority of the determinations of e/m from the Zeeman effect give numbers larger than this, the maximum being about twice this value.

A more extended study of the behaviour of the spectroscopic lines has afforded examples in which the effects produced by a magnet are more complicated than those we have described, indeed the simple cases are much less numerous than the more complex. Thus Preston[47] and Cornu[48] have shown that under the action of a transverse magnetic field one of the D lines splits up into four, and the other into six lines; Preston has given many other examples of these quartets and sextets, and has shown that the change in the frequency, which, according to the simple theory indicated, should be the same for all lines, actually varies considerably from one line to another, many lines showing no appreciable displacement. The splitting up of a single line into a quartet or sextet indicates, from the point of view of the ion theory, that the line must have its origin in a system consisting of more than one ion. A single ion having only three degrees of freedom can only have three periods. When there is no magnetic force acting on the ion these periods are equal, but though under the action of a magnetic force they are separated, their number cannot be increased. When therefore we get four or more lines, the inference is that the system giving the lines must have at least four degrees of freedom, and therefore must consist of more than one ion. The theory of a system of ions mutually influencing each other shows, as we should expect, that the effects are more complex than in the case of a single ion, and that the change in the frequency is not necessarily the same for all systems (see J. J. Thomson, _Proc. Camb. Phil. Soc._ 13, p. 39). Preston[49] and Runge and Paschen have proved that, in some cases at any rate, the change in the frequency of the different lines is of such a character that they can be grouped into series such that each line in the series has the same change in frequency for the same magnetic force, and, moreover, that homologous lines in the spectra of different metals belonging to the same group have the same change in frequency.

A very remarkable case of the Zeeman effect has been discovered by H. Becquerel and Deslandres (_Comptes rendus_, 127, p. 18). They found lines in iron when the most deflected components are those polarized in the plane at right angles to the magnetic force. On the simple theory the light polarized in this way is not affected. Thus the behaviour of the spectrum in the magnetic field promises to throw great light on the nature of radiation, and perhaps on the constitution of the elements. The study of these effects has been greatly facilitated by the invention by Michelson[50] of the echelon spectroscope.

There are some interesting phenomena connected with the Zeeman effect which are more easily observed than the effect itself. Thus Cotton[51] found that if we have two Bunsen flames, A and B, coloured by the same salt, the absorption of the light of one by the other is diminished if either is placed between the poles of a magnet: this is at once explained by the Zeeman effect, for the times of vibration of the molecules of the flame in the magnetic field are not the same as those of the other flame, and thus the absorption is diminished. Similar considerations explain the phenomenon observed by Egoroff and Georgiewsky,[52] that the light emitted from a flame in a transverse field is partially polarized in a plane parallel to the magnetic force; and also Righi's[53] observation that if a sodium flame is placed in a longitudinal field between two crossed Nicols, and a ray of white light sent through one of the Nicols, then through the flame, and then through the second Nicol, the amount of light passing through the second Nicol is greater when the field is on than when it is off. Voight and Wiechert (_Wied. Ann._ 67, p. 345) detected the double refraction produced when light travels through a substance exposed to a magnetic field at right angles to the path of the light; this result had been predicted by Voight from theoretical considerations. Jean Becquerel has made some very interesting experiments on the effect of a magnetic field on the fine absorption bands produced by xenotime, a phosphate of yttrium and erbium, and tysonite, a fluoride of cerium, lanthanum and didymium, and has obtained effects which he ascribes to the presence of positive electrons. A very complete account of magneto- and electro-optics is contained in Voight's _Magneto- and Elektro-optik_.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] _Experimental Researches_, Series 19.

[2] _Comptes rendus_, 88, p. 709.

[3] _Wied. Ann._ 6, p. 332; 8, p. 278; 10, p. 257.

[4] _Wied. Ann._ 23, p. 228; 27, p. 191.

[5] _Wied. Ann._ 31, p. 941.

[6] _Phil. Trans._, A. 1885, Pt. 11, p. 343.

[7] _Wied. Ann._ 26, p. 456.

[8] _Phil. Trans._, A. 1895, Pt. 17, p. 621.

[9] _Wied. Ann._ 24, p. 161.

[10] _Wied. Ann._ 31, p. 970.

[11] _Comptes rendus_, 57, p. 670.

[12] _Comptes rendus_, 43, p. 529; 44, p. 1209.

[13] _Journ. Chem. Soc._ 1884, p. 421; 1886, p. 177; 1887, pp. 362 and 808; 1888, p. 561; 1889, pp. 680 and 750; 1891, p. 981; 1892, p. 800; 1893, pp. 75, 99 and 488.

[14] _Wied. Ann._ 44, p. 377.

[15] _Wied. Ann._ 43, p. 280.

[16] _Zeitschrift f. physikal. Chem._ 11, p. 753.

[17] _Phil. Mag._ [5] 3, p. 321.

[18] _Ann. de chim. et de phys._ [6] 4, p. 433; 9, p. 65; 10, p. 200.

[19] _Wied. Ann._ 23, p. 228; 27, p. 191.

[20] _Wied. Ann._ 39, p. 25.

[21] _Wied. Ann._ 42, p. 115.

[22] _Phil. Mag._ [5] 12, p. 171.

[23] _Journ. de Phys._ 1884, p. 360.

[24] _Beiblätter zu Wied. Ann._ 1885, p. 275.

[25] _Messungen über d. Kerr'sche Erscheinung._ Inaugural Dissert. Leiden, 1893.

[26] _Phil. Mag._ [5] 5, p. 161.

[27] _Phil. Mag._ [3] 28, p. 469.

[28] _Die Magn. Drehung d. Polarisationsebene des Lichts_, Halle, 1863.

[29] _Electricity and Magnetism_, chap. xxi.

[30] _Phil. Trans._ 1880 (2), p. 691.

[31] _Phil. Mag._ (5) 11, p. 254, 1881.

[32] _Arch. Néerl._ 19, p. 123.

[33] _Wied. Ann._ 23, p. 493; 67, p. 345.

[34] _Wied. Ann._ 24, p. 119.

[35] _Wied. Beiblätter_, 8, p. 869.

[36] _Comptes rendus_, 108, p. 510.

[37] _Phil. Trans._ 182, A. p. 371, 1892; _Physical Optics_, p. 393.

[38] _Wied. Ann._ 46, p. 71; 47, p. 345; 48, p. 740; 50, p. 722.

[39] _Wied. Ann._ 46, p. 353; 48, p. 122; 49, p. 690.

[40] _Recent Researches_, p. 489 et seq.

[41] _Phil. Trans._, A. 1897, p. 89.

[42] _Brit. Assoc. Report_, 1893.

[43] _Comptes rendus_, 127, p. 548.

[44] _Bull. de l'Acad. des Sciences Belg._ (3) 9, pp. 327, 381, 1885; 12 p. 30, 1886.

[45] _Communications from the Physical Laboratory_, Leiden, No. 33, 1896; Phil. Mag. 43, p. 226; 44, pp. 55 and 255; and 45, p. 197.

[46] _Arch. Néerl._ 25, p. 190.

[47] _Phil. Mag._ 45, p. 325; 47, p. 165.

[48] _Comptes rendus_, 126, p. 181.

[49] _Phil. Mag._ 46, p. 187.

[50] _Phil. Mag._ 45, p. 348.

[51] _Comptes rendus_, 125, p. 865.

[52] _Comptes rendus_, pp. 748 and 949, 1897.

[53] _Comptes rendus_, 127, p. 216; 128, p. 45.

(J. J. T.)

MAGNOLIA, the typical genus of the botanical order Magnoliaceae, named after Pierre Magnol (1638-1715), professor of medicine and botany at Montpellier. It contains about twenty species, distributed in Japan, China and the Himalayas, as well as in North America.

Magnolias are trees or shrubs with deciduous or rarely evergreen foliage. They bear conspicuous and often large, fragrant, white, rose or purple flowers. The sepals are three in number, the petals six to twelve, in two to four series of three in each, the stamens and carpels being numerous. The fruit consists of a number of follicles which are borne on a more or less conical receptacle, and dehisce along the outer edge to allow the scarlet or brown seeds to escape; the seeds however remain suspended by a long slender thread (the funicle). Of the old-world species, the earliest in cultivation appears to have been _M. Yulan_ (or _M. conspicua_) of China, of which the buds were preserved, as well as used medicinally and to season rice; together with the greenhouse species, _M. fuscata_, it was transported to Europe in 1789, and thence to North America, and is now cultivated in the Middle States. There are many fine forms of _M. conspicua_, the best being _Soulangeana_, white tinted with purple, _Lenné_ and _stricta_. Of the Japanese magnolias, _M. Kobus_ and the purple-flowered _M. obovata_ were met with by Kaempfer in 1690, and were introduced into England in 1709 and 1804 respectively. _M. pumila_, the dwarf magnolia, from the mountains of Amboyna, is nearly evergreen, and bears deliciously scented flowers; it was introduced in 1786. The Indian species are three in number, _M. globosa_, allied to _M. conspicua_ of Japan, _M. sphenocarpa_, and, the most magnificent of all magnolias, _M. Campbellii_, which forms a conspicuous feature in the scenery and vegetation of Darjeeling. It was discovered by Dr Griffith in Bhutan, and is a large forest tree, abounding on the outer ranges of Sikkim, 80 to 150 ft. high, and from 6 to 12 ft. in girth. The flowers are 6 to 10 in. across, appearing before the leaves, and vary from white to a deep rose colour.

The first of the American species brought to Europe (in 1688 by John Banister) was _M. glauca_, a beautiful evergreen species about 15 ft. high with obtuse leathery leaves, blue-green above, silvery underneath, and globular flowers varying from creamy white to pale yellow with age. It is found in low situations near the sea from Massachusetts to Louisiana--more especially in New Jersey and the Carolinas. _M. acuminata_, the so-called "cucumber tree," from the resemblance of the young fruits to small cucumbers, ranges from Pennsylvania to Carolina. The wood is yellow, and used for bowls; the flowers, 3 to 4 in. across, are glaucous green tinted with yellow. It was introduced into England from Virginia about 1736. _M. tripetala_ (or _M. umbrella_), is known as the "umbrella tree" from the arrangement of the leaves at the ends of the branches resembling somewhat that of the ribs of an umbrella. The flowers, 5 to 8 in. across, are white and have a strong but not disagreeable scent. It was brought to England in 1752. _M. Fraseri_ (or _M. auriculata_), discovered by John Bartram in 1773, is a native of the western parts of the Carolinas and Georgia, extending southward to western Florida and southern Alabama. It grows 30 to 50 ft. high, has leaves a foot or more long, heart-shaped and bluntly auricled at the base, and fragrant pale yellowish-white flowers, 3 to 4 in. across. The most beautiful species of North America is _M. grandiflora_, the "laurel magnolia," a native of the south-eastern States, and introduced into England in 1734. It grows a straight trunk, 2 ft. in diameter and upwards of 70 ft. high, bearing a profusion of large, powerfully lemon-scented creamy-white flowers. It is an evergreen tree, easily recognized by its glossy green oval oblong leaves with a rusty-brown under surface. In England it is customary to train it against a wall in the colder parts, but it does well as a bush tree; and the original species is surpassed by the Exmouth varieties, which originated as seedlings at Exeter from the tree first raised in England by Sir John Colliton, and which flower much more freely than the parent plant. Other fine magnolias now to be met with in gardens are _M. cordata_, a North American deciduous tree 40 to 50 ft. high, with heart-shaped leaves, woolly beneath, and yellow flowers lined with purple; _M. hypoleuca_, a fine Japanese tree 60 ft. high or more, with leaves a foot or more long, 6 to 7 in. broad, the under surface covered with hairs; _M. macrophylla_, a handsome deciduous North American tree, with smooth whitish bark, and very large beautiful green leaves, 1 to 3 ft. long, 8 to 10 in. broad, oblong-obovate and heart-shaped at the base; the open sweet-scented bell-shaped flowers 8 to 10 in. across, are white with a purple blotch at the base of the petals; _M. stellata_ or _Halleana_, a charming deciduous Japanese shrub remarkable for producing its pure white starry flowers as early as February and March on the leafless stems; and _M. Watsoni_, another fine deciduous Japanese bush or small tree with very fragrant pure white flowers 5 to 6 in. across.

The tulip tree, _Liriodendron tulipifera_, a native of North America, frequently cultivated in England, is also a member of the same family. It reaches a height of over 100 ft. in a native condition, and as much as 60 to 80 ft. in England. It resembles the plane tree somewhat in appearance, but is readily recognized by lobed leaves having the apical lobe truncated, and by its soft green and yellow tulip-like flowers--which however are rarely borne on trees under twenty years of age.

For a description of the principal species of magnolia under cultivation see J. Weathers, _Practical Guide to Garden Plants_, pp. 174 seq., and for a detailed account of the American species see C. S. Sargent, _Silva of North America_, vol. i.

MAGNUS, HEINRICH GUSTAV (1802-1870), German chemist and physicist, was born at Berlin on the 2nd of May 1802. His father was a wealthy merchant; and of his five brothers one, Eduard (1799-1872), became a celebrated painter. After studying at Berlin, he went to Stockholm to work under Berzelius, and later to Paris, where he studied for a while under Gay-Lussac and Thénard. In 1831 he returned to Berlin as lecturer on technology and physics at the university. As a teacher his success was rapid and extraordinary. His lucid style and the perfection of his experimental demonstrations drew to his lectures a crowd of enthusiastic scholars, on whom he impressed the importance of applied science by conducting them round the factories and workshops of the city; and he further found time to hold weekly "colloquies" on physical questions at his house with a small circle of young students. From 1827 to 1833 he was occupied mainly with chemical researches, which resulted in the discovery of the first of the platino-ammonium compounds ("Magnus's green salt" is PtCl2, 2NH3), of sulphovinic, ethionic and isethionic acids and their salts, and, in conjunction with C. F. Ammermüller, of periodic acid. Among other subjects at which he subsequently worked were the absorption of gases in blood (1837-1845), the expansion of gases by heat (1841-1844), the vapour pressures of water and various solutions (1844-1854), thermo-electricity (1851), electrolysis (1856), induction of currents (1858-1861), conduction of heat in gases (1860), and polarization of heat (1866-1868). From 1861 onwards he devoted much attention to the question of diathermancy in gases and vapours, especially to the behaviour in this respect of dry and moist air, and to the thermal effects produced by the condensation of moisture on solid surfaces.

In 1834 Magnus was elected extraordinary, and in 1845 ordinary professor at Berlin. He was three times elected dean of the faculty, in 1847, 1858 and 1863; and in 1861, rector magnificus. His great reputation led to his being entrusted by the government with several missions; in 1865 he represented Prussia in the conference called at Frankfort to introduce a uniform metric system of weights and measures into Germany. For forty-five years his labour was incessant; his first memoir was published in 1825 when he was yet a student; his last appeared shortly after his death on the 4th of April 1870. He married in 1840 Bertha Humblot, of a French Huguenot family settled in Berlin, by whom he left a son and two daughters.

See _Allgemeine deutsche Biog._ The Royal Society's _Catalogue_ enumerates 84 papers by Magnus, most of which originally appeared in _Poggendorff's Annalen_.

MAGNY, CLAUDE DRIGON, MARQUIS DE (1797-1879), French heraldic writer, was born in Paris. After being employed for some time in the postal service, he devoted himself to the study of heraldry and genealogy, his work in this direction being rewarded by Pope Gregory XVI. with a marquisate. He founded a French college of heraldry, and wrote several works on heraldry and genealogy, of which the most important were _Archives nobiliaires universelles_ (1843) and _Livre d'or de la noblesse de France_ (1844-1852). His two sons, Edouard Drigon and Achille Ludovice Drigon, respectively comte and vicomte de Magny, also wrote several works on heraldry.

MAGO, the name of several Carthaginians, (1) The reputed founder of the military power of Carthage, fl. 550-500 B.C. (Justin xviii. 7, xix. i). (2) The youngest of the three sons of Hamilcar Barca. He accompanied Hannibal into Italy, and held important commands in the great victories of the first three years. After the battle of Cannae (216 B.C.) he sailed to Carthage to report the successes gained. He was about to return to Italy with strong reinforcements for Hannibal, when the government ordered him to go to the aid of his other brother, Hasdrubal, who was hard pressed in Spain. He carried on the war there with varying success in concert with the two Hasdrubals until, in 209, his brother marched into Italy to help Hannibal. Mago remained in Spain with Hasdrubal, the son of Gisco. In 207 he was defeated by M. Junius Silanus, and in 206 the combined forces of Mago and Hasdrubal were scattered by Scipio Africanus in the decisive battle of Silpia. Mago maintained himself for some time in Gades, but afterwards received orders to carry the war into Liguria. He wintered in the Balearic Isles, where the harbour Portus Magonis (Port Mahon) still bears his name. Early in 204 he landed in Liguria, where he maintained a desultory warfare till in 203 he was defeated in Cisalpine Gaul by the Roman forces. Shortly afterwards he was ordered to return to Carthage, but on the voyage home he died of wounds received in battle.

See Polybius iii.; Livy xxi.-xxiii.; xxviii., chs. 23-37; xxix., xxx.; Appian, _Hispanica_, 25-37; T. Friedrich, _Biographie des Barkiden Mago_; H. Lehmann, _Der Angriff der drei Barkiden auf Italien_ (Leipzig, 1905); and further J. P. Mahaffy, in _Hermathena_, vii. 29-36 (1890).

(3) The name of Mago is also attached to a great work on agriculture which was brought to Rome and translated by order of the senate after the destruction of Carthage. The book was regarded as a standard authority, and is often referred to by later writers.

See Pliny, _Nat. Hist_, xviii. 5; Columella, i. 1; Cicero, _De oratore_, i. 58.

MAGPIE, or simply PIE (Fr. _pie_), the prefix being the abbreviated form of a human name (Margaret[1]), a bird once common throughout Great Britain, though now nearly everywhere scarce. Its pilfering habits have led to this result, yet the injuries it causes are exaggerated by common report; and in many countries of Europe it is still the tolerated or even the cherished neighbour of every farmer, as it formerly was in England if not in Scotland also. It did not exist in Ireland in 1617, when Fynes Morison wrote his _Itinerary_, but it had appeared there within a hundred years later, when Swift mentions its occurrences in his _Journal to Stella_, 9th July 1711. It is now common enough in that country, and there is a widespread but unfounded belief that it was introduced by the English out of spite. It is a species that when not molested is extending its range, as J. Wolley ascertained in Lapland, where within the last century it has been gradually pushing its way along the coast and into the interior from one fishing-station or settler's house to the next, as the country has been peopled.

Since the persecution to which the pie has been subjected in Great Britain, its habits have altered greatly. It is no longer the merry, saucy hanger-on of the homestead, but is become the suspicious thief, shunning the gaze of man, and knowing that danger may lurk in every bush. Hence opportunities of observing it fall to the lot of few, and most persons know it only as a curtailed captive in a wicker cage, where its vivacity and natural beauty are lessened or wholly lost. At large few European birds possess greater beauty, the pure white of its scapulars and inner web of the flight-feathers contrasting vividly with the deep glossy black on the rest of its body and wings, while its long tail is lustrous with green, bronze, and purple reflections. The pie's nest is a wonderfully ingenious structure, placed either in high trees or low bushes, and so massively built that it will stand for years. Its foundation consists of stout sticks, turf and clay, wrought into a deep, hollow cup, plastered with earth, and lined with fibres; but around this is erected a firmly interwoven, basket-like outwork of thorny sticks, forming a dome over the nest, and leaving but a single hole in the side for entrance and exit, so that the whole structure is rendered almost impregnable. Herein are laid from six to nine eggs, of a pale bluish-green freckled with brown and blotched with ash-colour. Superstition as to the appearance of the pie still survives even among many educated persons, and there are several versions of a rhyming adage as to the various turns of luck which its presenting itself, either alone or in company with others, is supposed to betoken, though all agree that the sight of a single pie presages sorrow.

The pie belongs to the same family of birds as the crow, and is the _Corvus pica_ of Linnaeus, the _Pica caudata_, _P. melanoleuca_, or _P. rustica_ of modern ornithologists, who have recognized it as forming a distinct genus, but the number of species thereto belonging has been a fruitful source of discussion. Examples from the south of Spain differ slightly from those inhabiting the rest of Europe, and in some points more resemble the _P. mauritanica_ of north-western Africa; but that species has a patch of bare skin of a fine blue colour behind the eye, and much shorter wings. No fewer than five species have been discriminated from various parts of Asia, extending to Japan; but only one of them, the _P. leucoptera_ of Turkestan and Tibet, has of late been admitted as valid. In the west of North America, and in some of its islands, a pie is found which extends to the upper valleys of the Missouri and the Yellowstone, and has long been thought entitled to specific distinction as _P. hudsonia_; but its claim thereto is now disallowed by some of the best ornithologists of the United States, and it can hardly be deemed even a geographical variety of the Old-World form. In California, however, there is a permanent race if not a good species, _P. nuttalli_, easily distinguishable by its yellow bill and the bare yellow skin round its eyes; on two occasions in the year 1867 a bird apparently similar was observed in Great Britain (_Zoologist_, ser. 2, pp. 706, 1016). (A. N.)

FOOTNOTE:

[1] "Magot" and "Madge," with the same origin, are names, frequently given in England to the pie; while in France it is commonly known as _Margot_, if not termed, as it is in some districts, _Jaquette_.

MAGWE, a district in the Minbu division of Upper Burma. Area, 2913 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 246,708, showing an increase of 12.38% in the decade. Magwe may be divided into two portions: the low, flat country in the Taungdwingyi subdivision, and the undulating high ground extending over the rest of the district. In Taungdwingyi the soil is rich, loamy, and extremely fertile. The plain is about 45 m. from north to south. At its southern extremity it is about 30 m. wide, and lessens in width to the north till it ends in a point at Natmauk. On the east are the Pegu Yomas, which at some points reach a height of 1500 ft. A number of streams run westwards to the Irrawaddy, of which the Yin and the Pin, which form the northern boundary, are the chief. The only perennial stream is the Yanpè. Rice is the staple product, and considerable quantities are exported. Sesamum of very high quality, maize, and millet are also cultivated, as well as cotton in patches here and there over the whole district.

In this district are included the well-known Yenangyaung petroleum wells. The state wells have been leased to the Burma Oil Company. The amount of oil-bearing lands is estimated at 80 sq. m. and the portion not leased to the company has been demarcated into blocks of 1 sq. m. and offered on lease. The remaining land belongs to hereditary Burmese owners called _twinsa_, who dig wells and extract their oil by the rope and pulley system as they have always done. Lacquered wood trays, bowls and platters, and cart-wheels, are the only manufactures of any note in the district.

The annual rainfall averages about 27 inches. The maximum temperature rises to a little over 100° in the hot season, and falls to an average minimum of 53° and 54° in the cold season.

The town of Magwe is the headquarters of the district; pop. (1901), 6232. It is diagonally opposite Minbu, the headquarters of the division, on the right bank of the Irrawaddy.

MAGYARS, the name of the dominant race in Hungary, or Hungarians proper. Though they have become physically assimilated to the western peoples, they belong in origin and language to the Finno-Ugrian (q.v.) division of the Ural-Altaic race. They form barely half of the population of Hungary, but are by far the largest and most compact of all its racial groups. Magyar is the official language of Hungary, the official name of which (_Magyarorzág_, or "country of the Magyars") enshrines the Magyar claim to predominance. While all Magyars are properly Hungarians, all Hungarians are not necessarily Magyars. "Hungarian" may be used as a generic term covering all the various races of Hungary, while "Magyar" is strictly specific to a single group. The Magyars themselves, indeed, sometimes apply the name _Magyarorzág_ to Hungary "proper," excluding Croatia-Slavonia, the whole kingdom being called _Magyarbirodalom_, the Magyar monarchy or realm. See HUNGARY.

MAHABALESHWAR, or MALCOLMPETH, a hill station in Satara district, and the principal sanatorium in the Bombay presidency, India. Pop. (1901), 5299. It is reached by carriage from Wathar railway station (39 m.) or by motor car from Poona (119 m.). Mahabaleshwar occupies the summit of a ridge of the Western Ghats, with a general elevation of 4500 ft. above sea-level. It was established in 1828 by Sir John Malcolm, governor of Bombay, who obtained the site from the raja of Satara in exchange for another patch of territory. The superior elevation of Mahabaleshwar renders it much cooler than Matheran (2460 ft.), a sanatorium about 50 m. E. of Bombay, but its heavy rainfall (292 in. annual average) makes it almost uninhabitable during the rainy season. The mean annual temperature is 67° F. In the hottest season (March-April) an extreme of a little over 90° is reached during the day. Mahabaleshwar forms the retreat usually during spring, and occasionally in autumn, of the governor of Bombay, and the chief officers of his establishment, and has the usual public buildings of a first-class sanatorium.

MAHAFFY, JOHN PENTLAND (1839- ), Irish classical scholar, was born in Switzerland on the 12th of July 1839. He received his early education in Switzerland and Germany, and later at Trinity College, Dublin, where he held the professorship of ancient history. Mahaffy, a man of great versatility, published numerous works, some of which, especially those dealing with what may be called the Silver age of Greece, became standard authorities. The following deserve mention: _History of Classical Greek Literature_ (4th ed., 1903 seq.); _Social Life in Greece from Homer to Menander_ (4th ed., 1903); _The Silver Age of the Greek World_ (1906); _The Empire of the Ptolemies_ (1896); _Greek Life and Thought from Alexander to the Roman Conquest_ (2nd ed., 1896); _The Greek World under Roman Sway from Polybius to Plutarch_ (1890). His translation of Kuno Fischer's _Commentary on Kant_ (1866) and his own exhaustive analysis, with elucidations, of Kant's critical philosophy are of great value. He also edited the Petrie papyri in the _Cunningham Memoirs_ (3 vols. 1891-1905).

MAHALLAT, a province of central Persia, situated between Kashan and Irak. Pop. about 20,000; yearly revenue about £2500. Until 1890 it was one of the five "central provinces" (the other four being Irak, Ferahan, Kezzaz, and Savah), which were under a governor appointed by the shah; since then it has formed part of the Isfahan government. It is traversed by the Anarbar or Kum River, and comprises the city of Mahallat, divided into upper and lower, or Rivkan and Zanjirvan, and twenty-two flourishing villages. It was known in former times as Anar, the Anarus of Peutinger's tables. The city, capital of the province, is situated at an elevation of 5850 ft. in 33° 51´ N., 50° 30´ E.; pop. about 9000.

MAHAN, ALFRED THAYER (1840- ), American naval officer and historian, was born on the 27th of September 1840 at West Point, New York. His father, Dennis Hart Mahan (1802-1871) was a professor in the military academy, and the author of textbooks on civil and military engineering. The son graduated at the naval academy in 1859, became lieutenant in 1861, served on the "Congress," and on the "Pocahontas," "Seminole," and "James Adger" during the Civil War, and was instructor at the naval academy for a year. In 1865 he was made lieut.-commander, commander in 1872, captain in 1885. Meanwhile he saw service in the Gulf of Mexico, the South Atlantic, the Pacific, and Asia, and did shore duty at Boston, New York and Annapolis. In 1886-89 he was president of the naval war college at Newport, Rhode Island. Between 1889 and 1892 he was engaged in special service for the bureau of navigation, and in 1893 was made commander of the "Chicago," of the European squadron. In 1896 he retired from active service, but was a member of the naval board of strategy during the war between the United States and Spain. He was a member of the peace congress at the Hague in 1899. This long and varied service gave him extensive opportunities for observation, which he supplemented by constant study of naval authorities and reflection on the interpretation of the problems of maritime history. His first book was a modest and compact story of the affairs in _The Gulf and Inland Waters_ (1883), in a series of volumes by various writers, entitled _The Navy in the Civil War_; in 1890 he suddenly acquired fame by the appearance of his masterly work entitled _The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783_. Having been impressed by the failure of historians to allow for the influence of sea power in struggles between nations, he was led to make prolonged investigations of this general theme (see SEA POWER). The reception accorded the volume was instant and hearty; in England, in particular, it was deemed almost an epoch-making work, and was studied by naval specialists, cabinet ministers and journalists, as well as by a large part of the general public. It was followed by _The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire_ (2 vols. 1892); _The Life of Nelson, the Embodiment of the Sea Power of Great Britain_ (1897); and _Sea Power in its Relations to the War of 1812_ (1905). The author's general aim in these works--some of which have been translated into French, German and Japanese--was to make the consideration of maritime matters paramount to that of military, political or economic movements, without, however, as he himself says "divorcing them from their surroundings of cause and effect in general history, but seeking to show how they modified the latter, and were modified by them." He selected the year 1660 as the beginning of his narrative, as being the date when the "sailing-ship era, with its distinctive features, had fairly begun." The series as a whole has been accepted as finally authoritative, supplanting its predecessors of similar aim, and almost--in the words of Theodore Roosevelt--founding a new school of naval historical writing.

Other works by Mahan are a _Life of Admiral Farragut_ (1892); _The Interest of America in Sea Power_ (1897); _Lessons of the War with Spain_ (1899); _The Story of the War with South Africa_ and _The Problem of Asia_ (1900); _Types of Naval Officers drawn from the History of the British Navy_ (1901); _Retrospect and Prospect_, studies of international relations (1902).

MAHANADI, or MAHANUDDY ("The Great River"), a river of India. It rises in 20° 10´ N., 82° E., 25 m. S. of Raipur town, in the wild mountains of Bastar in the Central Provinces. At first an insignificant stream, taking a northerly direction, it drains the eastern portion of the Chhattisgarh plain, then a little above Seorinarayan it receives the waters which its first great affluent, the Seonath, has collected from the western portion of the plain; thence flowing for some distance due E., its stream is augmented by the drainage of the hills of Uprora, Korba, and the ranges that separate Sambalpur from Chota Nagpur. At Padampur it turns towards the south, and struggling through masses of rock, flows past the town of Sambalpur to Sonpur. From Sonpur it pursues a tortuous course among ridges and rocky crags towards the range of the Eastern Ghats. This mountain line it pierces by a gorge about 40 m. in length, overlooked by forest-clad hills. Since the opening of the Bengal-Nagpur railway, the Mahanadi is little used for navigation. It pours down upon the Orissa delta at Naraj, about 7 m. west of Cuttack town; and after traversing Cuttack district from west to east, and throwing off numerous branches (the Katjori, Paika, Biropa, Chitartala, &c.) it falls into the Bay of Bengal at False Point by several channels.

The Mahanadi has an estimated drainage area of 43,800 sq. m., and its rapid flow renders its maximum discharge in time of flood second to that of no other river in India. During unusually high floods 1,500,000 cub. ft. of water pour every second through the Naraj gorge, one-half of which, uncontrolled by the elaborate embankments, and heavily laden with silt, pours over the delta, filling the swamps, inundating the rice-fields, and converting the plains into a sea. In the dry weather the discharge of the Mahanadi dwindles to 1125 cub. ft. per second. Efforts have been made to husband and utilize the vast water supply thrown upon the Orissa delta during seasons of flood. Each of the three branches into which the parent stream splits at the delta head is regulated by a weir. Of the four canals which form the Orissa irrigation system, two take off from the Biropa weir, and one, with its branch, from the Mahanadi weir. On the 31st of December 1868 the government took over the whole canal works from the East Indian Irrigation Company, at a cost of £941,368. The canals thus taken over and since completed, are the high-level canal, the Kendrapara canal, the Taldanda canal and the Machgaon canal, irrigating 275,000 acres.

MAHANOY CITY, a borough of Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., 56 m. N.E. of Harrisburg. Pop. (1890), 11,286; (1900), 13,504, of whom 3877 were foreign-born, mostly Slavs; (1910 census) 15,936. It is served by branches of the Lehigh Valley and the Philadelphia & Reading railways. The borough is situated in the valley of Mahanoy Creek, and has an elevation of 1240 ft. above the sea; Broad Mountain (1795 ft.), a ridge extending through Schuylkill county, overlooks it on the S.E. The valley is a part of the anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania, fire clay abounds in the vicinity, and the borough's principal industries are the mining and shipping of coal, and the manufacture of shirts and foundry products. Mahanoy City, originally a part of Mahanoy township (pop. in 1910, 6256), was incorporated as a borough in 1863.

MAHAR, the name of a servile caste in the Deccan, India. Their special function, apart from that of scavenger, is to act as village watchman, as guardian of the village boundaries, and as public messenger. In some parts they are also weavers of coarse cotton cloth. In 1901 their total number in all India was just under three millions.

MAHARAJPUR, a village in Gwalior state, Central India. Pop. (1901), 366. It was the scene of a battle (Dec. 29, 1843) in which Sir Hugh Gough, accompanied by the governor-general, Lord Ellenborough, defeated the insurgent army of the Gwalior state.

MAHAVAMSA, the _Great Chronicle_, a history of Ceylon from the 5th century B.C. to the middle of the 5th century A.D., written in Pali verse by Mahanama of the Dighasanda Hermitage, shortly after the close of the period with which it deals. In point of historical value it compares well with early European chronicles. In India proper the decipherment of early Indian inscriptions was facilitated to a very great extent by the data found only in the Mahavamsa. It was composed on the basis of earlier works written in Sinhalese, which are now lost, having been supplanted by the chronicles and commentaries in which their contents were restated in Pali in the course of the 5th century. The particular one on which our Mahavamsa was mainly based was also called the Mahavamsa, and was written in Sinhalese prose with Pali memorial verse interspersed. The extant Pali work gives legends of the Buddha and the genealogy of his family; a sketch of the history of India down to Asoka; an account of Buddhism in India down to the same date; a description of the sending out of missionaries after Asoka's council, and especially of the mission of Mahinda to Ceylon; a sketch of the previous history of Ceylon; a long account of the reign of Devanam-piya Tissa, the king of Ceylon who received Mahinda, and established Buddhism in the island; short accounts of the kings succeeding him down to Duttha Gamiin (Dadagamana or Dutegemunu); then a long account, amounting to an epic poem, of the adventures and reign of that prince, a popular hero, born in adversity, who roused the people, and drove the Tamil invaders out of the island. Finally we have short notices of the subsequent kings down to the author's time. The Mahavamsa was the first Pali book made known to Europe. It was edited in 1837, with English translation and an elaborate introduction, by George Turnour, then colonial secretary in Ceylon. Its vocabulary was an important part of the material utilized in Childer's _Pali Dictionary_. Its relation to the sources from which it drew has been carefully discussed by various scholars and in especial detail by Geiger. It is agreed that it gives a reasonably fair and correct presentation of the tradition preserved in the lost Sinhalese Mahavamsa; that, except in the earliest period, its list of kings, with the years of each reign, is complete and trustworthy; and that it gives throughout the view, as to events in Ceylon, of a resident in the Great Minster at Anuradhapura.

See _The Mahavamsa_, ed. by Geo. Turnour (Colombo, 1837); ed. by W. Geiger (London, 1908); H. Oldenberg, in the introduction to his edition of the _Dipavamsa_ (London, 1879); O. Franke, in _Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes_ (1907); W. Geiger, _Dipavamsa und Mahavamsa_ (Leipzig, 1905, trans. by Ethel M. Coomaraswamy, Colombo, 1908). (T. W. R. D.)

MAHAYANA ("Great Vehicle"), the name given to the later Buddhism, the popular religion which embraced all the people and had its pantheon of Buddhas and Bodhisatvas, with attendant deities and demons, spacious temples and images, pompous ceremonial and noisy festivals. It was thus contrasted with the Hinayana ("Little Vehicle") of the primitive Buddhism which had been only for the select few. (See BUDDHISM.)

MAHDI (Arab. "he who is guided aright"), a title assumed by the third Abbasid caliph (see CALIPHATE: _Abbasids_, § 3). According to Moslem traditionists Mahomet declared that one of his descendants, the imam of God, who would fill the earth with equity and justice, would bear the name of al-mahdi. The Sunnis hold that this mahdi has not yet appeared. The name of mahdi is also given by the Shi'ite Mahommedans to the last of the imams of the house of 'Ali. It was under the name of al-mahdi that Mokhtar proclaimed 'Ali's son Mahommed as the opponent of the caliph Abdalmalik, and, according to Shahrastani, the doctrine of the mahdi, the hidden deliverer who is one day to appear and fill the oppressed world with righteousness, first arose in connexion with a belief that this Mahommed had not died but lived concealed at Mount Radwa, near Mecca, guarded by a lion and a panther. The hidden imam of the common Shi'ites is, however, the twelfth imam, Mahommed Abu'I-Qasim, who disappeared mysteriously in 879. The belief in the appearance of the mahdi readily lent itself to imposture. Of the many pretenders to this dignity known in all periods of Moslem history the most famous was the first caliph of the Fatimite dynasty in North Africa, 'Obaidallah al-Mahdi, who reigned 909-933. After him was named the first capital of the dynasty, the once important city of Mahdia (q.v.). Another great historical movement, headed by a leader who proclaimed himself the mahdi (Mahommed ibn Abdallah ibn Tumart), was that of the Almohades (q.v.). In 1881 Mahommed Ahmed ibn Seyyid Abdullah (q.v.), a Dongolese, proclaimed himself al-mahdi and founded in the eastern Sudan the short-lived empire overthrown by an Anglo-Egyptian force at the battle of Omdurman in 1898. Concurrently with the claim of Mahommed Ahmed to be the mahdi the same title was claimed by, or for, the head of the Senussites, a confraternity powerful in many regions of North Africa.

MAHDIA (also spelt _Mehdia_, _Mehedia_, &c.), a town of Tunisia, on the coast between the gulfs of Hammamet and Gabes, 47 m. by rail S.S.E. of Susa. Pop. about 8000. Mahdia is built on a rocky peninsula which projects eastward about a mile beyond the normal coast line, and is not more than a quarter of a mile wide. The extremity of the peninsula is called Ras Mahdia or Cape Africa--Africa being the name by which Mahdia was designated by Froissart and other European historians during the middle ages and the Renaissance. In the centre of the peninsula and occupying its highest point is a citadel (16th century); another castle farther west is now used as a prison and is in the centre of the native town. The European quarter and the new port are on the south-west side of the peninsula. The port is available for small boats only; steamers anchor in the roadstead about a quarter of a mile from the shore. On the south-east, cut out of the rock, is the ancient harbour, or _cothon_, measuring about 480 ft by 240 ft., the entrance being 42 ft. wide. There are manufactories of olive oil, but the chief industry is sardine fishing, largely in the hands of Italians.

Mahdia occupies the site of a Phoenician settlement and by some authorities is identified with the town called Turris Hannibalis by the Romans. Hannibal is said to have embarked here on his exile from Carthage. After the Arab conquest of North Africa the town fell into decay. It was refounded in 912 by the first Fatimite caliph, 'Obaidallah-al-Mahdi, after whom it was named. It became the port of Kairawan and was for centuries a city of considerable importance, largely owing to its great natural strength, and its position on the Mediterranean. It carried on an active trade with Egypt, Syria and Spain. The town was occupied by the Normans of Sicily in the 12th century, but after holding it for about twelve years they were driven out in 1159 by the Almohades. In 1390 a joint English and French force vainly besieged Mahdia for sixty-one days. In the early part of the 16th century the corsair Dragut seized the town and made it his capital, but in 1550 the place was captured by the Spaniards, who held it until 1574. Before evacuating the town the Spaniards dismantled the fortifications. Under the rule of the Turks and, later, the beys of Tunis Mahdia became a place of little importance. It was occupied by the French in 1881 without opposition, and regained some of its former commercial importance.

During 1908 numbers of bronzes and other works of art were recovered from a vessel wrecked off Mahdia in the 5th century A.D. (see _Classical Review_, June 1909).

MAHÉ, a French settlement in the Malabar district of Madras, India, situated in 11° 43´ N. and 75° 33´ E., at the mouth of a river of the same name. Area, 26 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 10,298. It is the only French possession on the west coast of India, and is in charge of a _chef de service_, subordinate to the governor-general at Pondicherry. It is now a decaying place.

MAHESHWAR, a town in Indore state, Central India, on the N. bank of the Narbada (Nerbudda). Pop. (1901), 7042. Though of great antiquity and also of religious sanctity, it is chiefly noted as the residence of Ahalya Bai, the reigning queen of the Holkar dynasty during the last half of the 18th century, whose ability and munificence are famous throughout India. Close by her cenotaph stands the family temple of the Holkars.

MAHI, a river of western India, which rises in Central India and, after flowing through south Rajputana, enters Gujarat and falls into the sea by a wide estuary near Cambay; total length, 300 m.; estimated drainage area, 16,000 sq. m. It has given its name to the Mahi Kantha agency of Bombay, and also to the mehwasis, marauding highlanders often mentioned in Mahommedan chronicles.

MAHI KANTHA, a political agency or collection of native states in India, within the Gujarat division of Bombay. Over half the territory is covered by the native state of Idar. There are eleven other chiefships, and a large number of estates belonging to Rajput or Koli thakurs, formerly feudatories of Baroda. Several of the states are under British administration. Total area, 3125 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 361,545, showing a decrease of 38% in the decade, due to famine; estimated revenue, £76,000; tribute (mostly to the gaekwar of Baroda), £9000. Many of the inhabitants belong to the wild tribes of Bhils and Kolis. In 1897 a metre-gauge railway was opened from Ahmedabad through Parantij to Ahmednagar. At Sadra is the Scott College for the education of the sons of chiefs on the lines of an English public school. There are also Anglo-vernacular schools at Sadra, Idar and Mansa. The famine of 1899-1900 was severely felt in this tract.

MAHMUD I. (1696-1754), sultan of Turkey, was the son of Mustafa II., and succeeded his uncle Ahmed III. in 1730. After the suppression of a military revolt the war with Persia was continued with varying success, and terminated in 1736 by a treaty of peace restoring the _status quo ante bellum_. The next enemy whom Turkey was called upon to face was Russia, later joined by Austria. War went on for four years; the successes gained by Russia were outweighed by Austria's various reverses, terminating by the defeat of Wallis at Krotzka, and the peace concluded at Belgrade was a triumph for Turkish diplomacy. The sultan, throughout desirous for peace, is said to have been much under the influence of the chief eunuch, Haji Beshir Aga. In 1754 Mahmud died of heart-disease when returning from the Friday service at the mosque. He had a passion for building, to which are due numberless kiosques, where nocturnal orgies were carried on by him and his boon companions. In this reign the system of appointing Phanariote Greeks to the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia was instituted. (See PHANARIOTES.)

MAHMUD II. (1785-1839), sultan of Turkey, was the son of Abu-ul-Hamid I., and succeeded his brother, Mustafa IV., in 1808. He had shared the captivity of his ill-fated cousin, the ex-sultan, Selim III., whose efforts at reform had ended in his deposition by the janissaries. Mahmud was thus early impressed with the necessity for dissembling his intention to institute reforms until he should be powerful enough to carry them through. The reforming efforts of the grand vizier Bairakdar, to whom he had owed his life and his accession, broke on the opposition of the janissaries; and Mahmud had to wait for more favourable times. Meanwhile the empire seemed in danger of breaking up. Not till 1812 was the war with Russia closed by the treaty of Bucharest, which restored Moldavia and the greater part of Wallachia to the Ottoman government. But though the war was ended, the terms of the treaty left a number of burning questions, both internal and external, unsettled. This was notably the case with the claim of Russia to Poti and the valley of the Rion (Phasis), which was still outstanding at the time of the congress of Vienna (1814-1815) and prevented the question of a European guarantee of the integrity of Turkey from being considered.

Meanwhile, within the empire, ambitious valis were one by one attempting to carve out dominions for themselves at the expense of the central power. The ambitions of Mehemet Ali of Egypt were not yet fully revealed; but Ali (q.v.) of Jannina, who had marched to the aid of the sultan against the rebellious pasha Pasvan Oglu of Widdin, soon began to show his hand, and it needed the concentration of all the forces of the Turkish empire to effect his overthrow and death (1822). The preoccupation of the sultan with Ali gave their opportunity to the Greeks whose disaffection had long been organized in the great secret society of the _Hetaeria Philike_, against which Metternich had in vain warned the Ottoman government. In 1821 occurred the abortive raid of Alexander Ypsilanti into the Danubian principalities, and in May of the same year the revolt of the Greeks of the Morea began the war of Greek Independence (see GREECE: _History_). The rising in the north was easily crushed; but in the south the Ottoman power was hampered by the defection of the sea-faring Greeks, by whom the Turkish navy had hitherto been manned. After three abortive campaigns Mahmud was compelled, infinitely against his will, to summon to his assistance the already too powerful pasha of Egypt, Mehemet Ali, whom he had already employed to suppress the rebellious Wahhabis in Arabia. The disciplined Egyptian army, supported by a well organized fleet, rapidly accomplished what the Turks had failed to do; and by 1826 the Greeks were practically subdued on land, and Ibrahim was preparing to turn his attention to the islands. But for the intervention of the powers and the battle of Navarino Mahmud's authority would have been restored in Greece. The news of Navarino betrayed Mahmud into one of those paroxysms of rage to which he was liable, and which on critical occasions were apt fatally to cloud his usual good sense. After in vain attempting to obtain an apology for "the unparalleled outrage against a friendly power" he issued on the 20th of December a solemn _hatti sheriff_ summoning the faithful to a holy war. This, together with certain outstanding grievances and the pretext of enforcing the settlement of the Greek Question approved by the powers, gave Russia the excuse for declaring war against Turkey. After two hardly fought campaigns (1828, 1829) Mahmud was at length, on the 14th of September 1829, compelled to sign the peace of Adrianople. From this moment until his death Mahmud was, to all intents and purposes, the "vassal of Russia," though not without occasional desperate efforts to break his chains. (For the political events of the period between the first revolt of Mehemet Ali (Sept. 1832) and the death of Mahmud see MEHEMET ALI.) The personal attitude of the sultan, which alone concerns us here, was determined throughout by his overmastering hatred of the upstart pasha, of whom he had stooped to ask aid, and who now defied his will; and the importance of this attitude lies in the fact that, as the result of the success of his centralizing policy, and notably of the destruction of the janissaries (q.v.), the supreme authority, hitherto limited by the practical power of the ministers of the Porte and by the turbulence of the privileged military caste, had become concentrated in his own person. It was no longer the Porte that decided, but the Seraglio, and the sultan's private secretary had more influence on the policy of the Ottoman empire than the grand vizier.

This omnipotence of the sultan in deciding the policy of the government was in striking contrast with his impotence in enforcing his views on his subjects and in his relations with foreign powers. Mahmud, in spite of--or rather because of--his well-meant efforts at reform, was hated by his Mussulman subjects and stigmatized as an "infidel" and a traitor to Islam. He was, in fact, a victim to those "half-measures" which Machiavelli condemns as fatal to success. Ibrahim, the conqueror of Syria, scoffed at the sultan's idea "that reform consisted in putting his soldiers into tight trousers and epaulettes." The criticism is not entirely unjust. Mahmud's policy was the converse of that recommended by Machiavelli, viz. in making a revolution to change the substance while preserving the semblance of the old order. Metternich's advice to Mahmud to "remain a Turk" was sound enough. His failure to do so--in externals--left him isolated in his empire: _rayahs_ and true believers alike distrusted and hated him. Of this hatred he was fully conscious; he knew that his subjects, even many of his own ministers, regarded Mehemet Ali as the champion of Islam against the "infidel sultan;" he suspected the pasha, already master of the sacred cities, of an intention to proclaim himself caliph in his stead. This, together with the weakness due to military reforms but recently begun, drove him to rely on foreign aid; which, in the actual conditions of Europe, meant the aid of Russia. The long tradition of French friendship for Turkey had been broken, in 1830, by the conquest of Algiers. Austria was, for the time, but the faithful ally of the tsar. On the 9th of August 1832 Mahmud made, through Stratford Canning, a formal proposal for an alliance with Great Britain, which Palmerston refused to consider for fear of offending France. Mahmud bitterly contrasted the fair professions of England with the offers of effective help from Russia. His old ally having deserted him, he accepted the aid of his hereditary foe. The Russian expedition to the Bosporus, the convention of Kutaiah, and the treaty of Unkiar Skelessi (July 8, 1833) followed. Mahmud was under no illusion as to the position in which the latter placed him towards Russia; but his fear of Mehemet Ali and his desire to be revenged upon him outweighed all other considerations. He resented the action of France and England in forcing the settlement of Kutaiah upon him, and remained shut up in his palace, inaccessible to all save his favourites and the representative of Russia. With his single aim in view he busied himself with the creation of a national militia, with the aid of Moltke and other German officers. In 1834 the revolt of Syria against Ibrahim seemed to give him his opportunity. He pleaded the duty of a sultan to go to the aid of his subjects when oppressed by one of his servants; but the powers were obdurate, even Russia, much occupied in affairs nearer home, leaving him in the lurch. He was astute enough to take advantage of the offence given to the powers by Mehemet Ali's system of monopolies, and in 1838 signed with Great Britain, and afterwards with others, a commercial treaty which cut at the root of the pasha's system. A few months later his passionate impatience overcame his policy and his fears. The hand of death was upon him, and he felt that he must strike now or never. In vain the powers, now united in their views, warned him of the probable consequences of any aggressive action on his part. He would rather die, he exclaimed, or become the slave of Russia, than not destroy his rebellious vassal. On his sole initiative, without consulting his ministers or the council of the empire, he sent instructions to Hafiz Pasha, commanding the Ottoman troops concentrated at Bir on the Euphrates, to advance into Syria. The fatal outcome of the campaign that followed he did not live to hear. When the news of Ibrahim's overwhelming victory at Nessib (June 24, 1839) reached Constantinople, Mahmud lay dying and unconscious. Early in the morning of the 1st of July his proud and passionate spirit passed away.

Mahmud II. cannot be reckoned among the great sultans, neither had he any of the calculating statecraft which characterized Abd-ul-Hamid II.; but his qualities of mind and heart, none the less, raised him far above the mass of his predecessors and successors. He was well versed in state affairs and loyal to those who advised and served him, personally brave, humane and kindly when not maddened by passion, active and energetic, and always a man of his word. Unhappily, however, the taint of the immemorial corruption of Byzantium had fallen upon him too, and the avenue to his favour and to political power lay too often through unspeakable paths. In view of the vast difficulty of the task before him at his succession it is less surprising that he failed to carry out his ideas than that he accomplished so much. When he came to the throne the empire was breaking up from within; one by one he freed the provinces from the tyrannical rulers who, like Ali of Jannina, were carving out independent, or quasi-independent, empires within the empire. If he failed in his wider schemes of reform, this was only one more illustration of a truth of which other "enlightened" sovereigns besides himself had experienced the force, namely, that it is impossible to impose any system, however admirable, from above on a people whose deepest convictions and prejudices it offends.

There is a great deal of valuable material for the history of Mahmud and his policy in the unpublished F.O. records (1832-1839), volumes of correspondence marked _Turkey.--From Sir Stratford Canning.--From Mr. Mandeville.--From Lord Ponsonby._ See further works mentioned under TURKEY: _History_; and MEHEMET ALI. (W. A. P.)

MAHMUD NEDIM PASHA (c. 1818-1883), Turkish statesman, was the son of Nejib Pasha, ex-governor-general of Bagdad. After occupying various subordinate posts at the Porte he became successively under-secretary of state for foreign affairs, governor-general of Syria and Smyrna, minister of commerce, and governor-general of Tripoli; minister successively of justice and of marine (1869); grand vizier from 1871 to 1872 and from 1875 to 1876. He was high in favour with Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz and fell much under the influence of General Ignatiev, the forceful Russian ambassador before the war of 1877-78, his subserviency to Russia earning for him the nickname of "Mahmudoff." His administration was most unsuccessful from every point of view, and he was largely responsible for the issue of the decree suspending the interest on the Turkish funds. He was minister of the interior from 1879 to 1883.

MAHMUD[1] OF GHAZNI (971-1030), son of Sabuktagin, Afghan conqueror, was born on the 2nd of October 971. His fame rests chiefly on his successful wars, in particular his numerous invasions of India. His military capacity, inherited from his father, Nasir-ud-din Sabuktagin, was strengthened by youthful experience in the field. Sabuktagin, a Turki slave of Alptagin, governor of Khorasan under Abdalmalik I. b. Nuh of the Samanid dynasty of Bokhara, early brought himself to notice (see SAMANIDS). He was raised to high office in the state by Alptagin's successor, Abu Ishak, and in A.H. 366 (A.D. 977), by the choice of the nobles of Ghazni, he became their ruler. He soon began to make conquests in the neighbouring countries, and in these wars he was accompanied by his young son Mahmud. Before he had reached the age of fourteen he encountered in two expeditions under his father the Indian forces of Jaipal, raja of Lahore, whom Sabuktagin defeated on the Punjab frontier.

In 994 Mahmud was made governor of Khorasan, with the title of Saif addaula (ud-daula) ("Sword of the State") by the Samanid Nuh II. Two years later, his father Sabuktagin died in the neighbourhood of Balkh, having declared his second son, Ismail, who was then with him, to be his successor. As soon as Ismail had assumed the sovereignty at Balkh, Mahmud, who was at Nishapur, addressed him in friendly terms, proposing a division of the territories held by their father at his death. Ismail rejected the proposal, and was immediately attacked by Mahmud and defeated. Retreating to Ghazni, he there yielded, and was imprisoned, and Mahmud obtained undisputed power as sovereign of Khorasan and Ghazni (997).

The Ghaznevid dynasty is sometimes reckoned by native historians to commence with Sabuktagin's conquest of Bost and Kosdar (978). But Sabuktagin, throughout his reign at Ghazni, continued to acknowledge the Samanid suzerainty, as did Mahmud also, until the time, soon after succeeding to his father's dominions, when he received from Qadir, caliph of Bagdad (see CALIPHATE, C. § 25), a _khilat_ (robe of honour), with a letter recognizing his sovereignty, and conferring on him the titles _Yamiin-addaula_ ("Right hand of the State"), and _Amin-ul-Millat_ ("Guardian of the Faith"). From this time it is the name of the caliph that is inscribed on Mahmud's coins, together with his own new titles. Previously the name of the Samanid sovereign, Mansur II. b. Nuh is given along with his own former title, Saif addaula Mahmud. The earliest of those of the new form gives his name Mahmud bin Sabuktagin. Thereafter his father's name does not appear on his coins, but it is inscribed again on his tomb.

The new honours received from the caliph gave fresh impulse to Mahmud's zeal on behalf of Islam, and he resolved on an annual expedition against the idolaters of India. He could not quite carry out this intention, but a great part of his reign was occupied with his Indian campaigns. In 1000 he started on the first of these expeditions, but it does not appear that he went farther than the hill country near Peshawar. The hostile attitude of Khalaf ibn Ahmad, governor of Seistan, called Mahmud to that province for a short time. He was appeased by Khalaf's speedy submission, together with the gift of a large sum of money, and further, it is said, by his subdued opponent addressing him as _sultan_, a title new at that time, and by which Mahmud continued to be called, though he did not formally adopt it, or stamp it on his coins. Four years later Khalaf, incurring Mahmud's displeasure again, was imprisoned, and his property confiscated.

Mahmud's army first crossed the Indus in 1001, opposed by Jaipal, raja of Lahore. Jaipal was defeated, and Mahmud, after his return from this expedition, is said to have taken the distinctive appellation of _Ghazi_ ("Valiant for the Faith"), but he is rarely so-called. On the next occasion (1005) Mahmud advanced, as far as Bhera on the Jhelum, when his adversary Anang-pal, son and successor of Jaipal, fled to Kashmir. The following year saw Mahmud at Multan. When he was in the Punjab at this time, he heard of the invasion of Khorasan by the Ilek Khan Nasr I. ruler of Transoxiana whose daughter Mahmud had married. After a rapid march back from India, Mahmud repelled the invaders. The Ilek Khan, having retreated across the Oxus, returned with reinforcements, and took up a position a few miles from Balkh, where he was signally defeated by Mahmud.

Mahmud again entered the Punjab in 1008, this time for the express purpose of chastising Sewah Pal, who, having become a Mussulman, and been left by Mahmud in charge of Multan, had relapsed to Hinduism. The Indian campaign of 1009 was notable. Near the Indus Mahmud was opposed again by Anang-pal, supported by powerful rajas from other parts of India. After a severe fight, Anang-pal's elephants were so terror-struck by the fire-missiles flung amongst them by the invaders that they turned and fled, the whole army retreating in confusion and leaving Mahmud master of the field. Mahmud, after this victory, pushed on through the Punjab to Nagar-kot (Kangra), and carried off much spoil from the Hindu temples to enrich his treasury at Ghazni. In 1011 Mahmud, after a short campaign against the Afghans under Mahommed ibn Sur in the hill country of Ghur, marched again into the Punjab. The next time (1014) he advanced to Thanesar, another noted stronghold of Hinduism, between the Sutlej and the Jumna. Having now found his way across all the Punjab rivers, he was induced on two subsequent occasions to go still farther. But first he designed an invasion of Kashmir (1015), which was not carried out, as his progress was checked at Loh-kot, a strong hill fort in the north-west of the Punjab. Then before undertaking his longer inroad into Hindustan he had to march north into Khwarizm (Khiva) against his brother-in-law Mamun, who had refused to acknowledge Mahmud's supremacy. The result was as usual, and Mahmud, having committed Khwarizm to a new ruler, one of Mamun's chief officers, returned to his capital. Then in 1018, with a very large force, he proceeded to India again, extending his inroad this time to the great Hindu cities of Mathra on the Jumna and Kanauj on the Ganges. He reduced the one, received the submission of the other, and carried back great stores of plunder. Three years later he went into India again, marching over nearly the same ground, to the support, this time, of the raja of Kanauj, who, having made friendship with the Mahommedan invader on his last visit, had been attacked by the raja of Kalinjar. But Mahmud found he had not yet sufficiently subdued the idolaters nearer his own border, between Kabul and the Indus, and the campaign of 1022 was directed against them, and reached no farther than Peshawar. Another march into India the following year was made direct to Gwalior.

The next expedition (1025) is the most famous of all. The point to which it was directed was the temple of Somnath on the coast of the Gujarat peninsula. After an arduous journey by Multan, and through part of Rajputana, he reached Somnath, and met with a very vigorous but fruitless resistance on the part of the Hindus of Gujarat. Moslem feet soon trod the courts of the great temple. The chief object of worship it contained was broken up, and the fragments kept to be carried off to Ghazni. The story is often told of the hollow figure, cleft by Mahmud's battle-axe, pouring out great store of costly jewels and gold. But the idol in this Sivite temple was only a tall block or pillar of hewn stone, of a familiar kind. The popular legend is a very natural one. Mahmud, it was well known, made Hindu temples yield up their most precious things. He was a determined idol-breaker. And the stone block in this temple was enriched with a crown of jewels, the gifts of wealthy worshippers. These data readily give the Somnath exploit its more dramatic form. For the more recent story of the Somnath gates see SOMNATH.

After the successes at Somnath, Mahmud remained some months in India before returning to Ghazni. Then in 1026 he crossed the Indus once more into the Punjab. His brilliant military career closed with an expedition to Persia, in the third year after this, his last, visit to India. The Indian campaigns of Mahmud and his father were almost, but not altogether, unvarying successes. The Moslem historians touch lightly on reverses. And, although the annals of Rajputana tell how Sabuktagin was defeated by one raja of Ajmere and Mahmud by his successor, the course of events which followed shows how little these and other reverses affected the invader's progress. Mahmud's failure at Ajmere, when the brave raja Bisal-deo obliged him to raise the siege but was himself slain, was when the Moslem army was on its way to Somnath. Yet Mahmud's Indian conquests, striking and important in themselves, were, after all, in great measure barren, except to the Ghazni treasury. Mahmud retained no possessions in India under his own direct rule. But after the repeated defeats, by his father and himself, of two successive rajas of Lahore, the conqueror assumed the right of nominating the governors of the Punjab as a dependency of Ghazni, a right which continued to be exercised by seven of his successors. And for a time, in the reign of Masa'ud II. (1098-1114), Lahore was the place of residence of the Ghaznevid sovereign.

Mahmud died at Ghazni in 1030, the year following his expedition to Persia. He is conspicuous for his military ardour, his ambition, strong will, perseverance, watchfulness and energy, combined with great courage and unbounded self-reliance. But his tastes were not exclusively military. His love of literature brought men of learning to Ghazni, and his acquaintance with Moslem theology was recognized by the learned doctors.

The principal histories of Mahmud's reign are--_Kitab-i-Yamini_ (Utbi); _Tarikh-us-Subuktigin_ (Baihaki); _Tabakat i Nasiri_ (Minhaj el-Siraj); _Rauzat-us-Safa_ (Mir Khond); _Habib-us-Sivar_ (Khondamir). See Elliot, _History of India_; Elphinstone, _History of India_; and Roos-Keppel's translation of the _Tarikh-i-Sultan Mahmud-i-Ghaznavi_ (1901).

FOOTNOTE:

[1] The name is strictly Mahmud.

MAHOBA, an ancient town in India, in Hamirpur district of the United Provinces. Pop. (1901), 10,074. As the capital of the Chandel dynasty, who ruled over Bundelkhand from the 9th to the 13th century, the neighbourhood is covered with architectural antiquities, prominent among which are artificial lakes, formed by banking up valleys with masonry dams. The largest of these is more than 4 m. in circuit.

MAHOGANY, a dark-coloured wood largely used for household furniture, the product of a large tree indigenous to Central America and the West Indies. It was originally received from Jamaica; 521,300 ft. were exported from that island in 1753. It is known botanically as _Swietenia Mahogani_, and is a member of the order _Meliaceae_. It bears compound leaves, resembling those of the ash, and clusters of small flowers, with five sepals and petals and ten stamens which are united into a tube. The fruit is a pear-shaped woody capsule, and contains many winged seeds. The dark-coloured bark has been considered a febrifuge, and the seeds were used by the ancient Aztecs with oil for a cosmetic, but the most valuable product is the timber, first noticed by the carpenter on board Sir Walter Raleigh's ship in 1595 for its great beauty, hardness and durability. Dr Gibbons brought it into notice as well adapted for furniture in the early part of the 18th century, and its use as a cabinet wood was first practically established by a cabinet-maker named Wollaston, who was employed by Gibbons to work up some mahogany brought to England by his brother. It was introduced into India in 1795, and is now cultivated in Bengal and as far north as Saharunpur.

The timber of species of _Cedrela_ and _Melia_, other members of the order _Meliaceae_, are used as Mahogany, and the product of the West African _Khaya senegalensis_ is known as African mahogany. There is some confusion between the product of these various trees. Herbert Stone (_The Timbers of Commerce_, 1904) says: "The various species of mahogany and cedar are so confusing that it is difficult to make precise statements as to their structure or origin. I know of no convincing proof that any of the American kinds met with on the English market are the wood of _Swietenia Mahogani_, nor that those shipped from Africa are the wood of _Khaya senegalensis_. These two genera are very nearly allied to _Cedrela_ and _Melia_, and it is difficult to separate any of the four from the rest by the characters of the wood. After giving the most careful attention to every detail, I lean to the view that most if not all of the mahoganies commonly met with are Cedrelas."

_Kiggelaria Dregeana_ (natural order _Bixineae_), a native of South Africa, is known as Natal mahogany.

MAHOMET (strictly MUHAMMAD, commonly also MOHAMMED), founder of the religious system called in Europe after him Mahommedanism, and by himself Islam or Hanifism. He died, according to the ordinary synchronism, on the 7th of June 632 (12 Rabia, A.H. 11), and his birthday was exactly sixty-three or sixty-five years earlier, the latter number being evidently an interpretation in lunar years of a number thought to refer to solar years. The lunar system was introduced into Arabia by Mahomet himself quite at the close of his career; that which existed before was certainly solar, as it involved a process of intercalation--which, however, seems to have been arbitrarily manipulated by priests, whence certain synchronisms cannot be got for the events in the Prophet's career. The number 63 for the years of his life may rest on tradition, though it is unlikely that such matters were accurately noted; it can also be accounted for by a priori combination. A Meccan, it is said, became a full citizen at the age of 40; this then would be the age at which the mission might be started. The Medina period (of which count was kept) lasted ten to eleven years; for the Meccan period ten years would seem a likely length. Finally it was known that for some years--about three--the mission had been conducted secretly. The only event in contemporary history to which the Koran alludes in its earlier parts is the Persian conquest of Palestine in 616. Clearly Mahomet had begun to prophesy at that date.

His Country.

Before the rise of Islam, Mahomet's native place, Mecca, appears to figure nowhere in historical records, unless there be a reference to it in the "valley of Baca" (Psalm lxxxiv. 6). Its sacred, and therefore archaic, name is _Bakkah_; hence the identification of the name with that of the sanctuary Makoraba, known to the Greek geographers, is not philologically tenable; although so eminent a linguist as Dozy evolved a theory of the origin of the city from this name, which appears to be South Arabian for "sanctuary," and has no connexion with Hebrew (as Dozy supposed). In the 3rd century of Islam the mythology of Mecca was collected and published in book form, but we learn little more from it than names of tribes and places; it is clear that there was no record of the mode in which the community inhabiting the place had got there, and that little was remembered with accuracy of the events which preceded the rise of its prophet. The city had a sanctuary, called the _Cube_ (_ka'ba_), of which the nucleus was the "Black Stone," probably to be identified with Allah, the god of the community; both still exist, or rather their legitimate substitutes, as the Ka`ba has been repeatedly reconstructed, and the original Black Stone was stolen by the Carmathians in the 4th century of Islam; they afterwards returned one, but it may or may not have been the same as that which they removed. At some time in the 6th century--said to have been the birth-year of the Prophet, but really much earlier--an Abyssinian invader raided Mecca with the view of abolishing this sanctuary; but for some reason had to desist. This expedition, known as the "Raid of the Elephant," one of these animals being employed in it, seems to be of great importance for explaining the rise of Islam; for a sanctuary which can repel an invader acquires tremendous reputation. Some verses in the Koran which are perhaps not genuine, record the miracle whereby Allah repelled the "People of the Elephant." The sanctuary was apparently in the possession of the tribe Koreish (Quraish), the origin of whose name is unknown, said to have come originally from Cutha in Mesopotamia. They were known (we are told) as the people of Allah, and, by wearing a badge, were sacrosanct throughout Arabia. If this be true, it was probably a privilege earned by the miraculous defence of the Ka`ba, and is sufficient to account for the rise of Meccan commerce of which we hear much in the biography of the Prophet, and to which some verses of the earliest part of the Koran allude; for merchants who were safe from attacks by bandits would have an enormous advantage. The records seem, however, to be inconsistent with this assertion; and the growth of the Meccan commerce is sufficiently accounted for by the fact that after the Abyssinian invasion pilgrimage to the Ka`ba became the practice of numerous Arab tribes, and for four months in the year (selected by Meccan priests) raiding was forbidden, in order to enable the pilgrimage to be safely made. In addition to this it would seem that all Mecca counted as sanctuary--i.e. no blood might under any circumstances be shed there. The community lived by purveying to pilgrims and the carrying trade; and both these operations led to the immigration of strangers.

Mahomet's Family.

There seems to be no doubt that Mahomet was himself a member of the tribe Koreish, and indeed too many of his relatives figure in history to permit of his parentage being questioned. His cousin 'Ali, fourth caliph, was the son of Abu Talib, whose name attests the historical character of the kindred name `Abd al-Mottalib, Mahomet's grandfather: for the fact that this name is in part enigmatical is certainly no argument against its genuineness. In the 3rd century of Islam a document was shown in which a man of San'a in Yemen acknowledged that he had borrowed from `Abd al-Mottalib 1000 silver dirhems of the Hudaida standard, and Allah with the two "angels" (probably a euphemism for the goddesses Al-lat and al-`Uzza) served as witness; it is difficult to see why such a document should have been forged. The name Hashim (for `Abd al-Mottalib's father) may or may not be historical; here, as in the ascending line throughout, we have subjects without predicates. The name of `Abd al-Mottalib's son, who was Mahomet's father, is given as `Abdallah; the correctness of this has been questioned, because "Servant of Allah" would seem to be too appropriate, and the name was often given by the Prophet to converts as a substitute for some pagan appellation. This, however, is hypercritical, as the name of the father could not easily be altered, when relatives abounded, and it would seem that at one time the Prophet made no theological use of the name Allah, for which he intended to substitute Rahman. The name of his mother is given as Aminah, and with this one of his own titles, Amin, agrees; although the Arabs do not appear to bring the two into connexion. Her father's name is given as Wahb, and she is brought into relation with a Medinese tribe called the Banu `Adi b. al-Najjar, to whom she is said to have brought her son in his early infancy. The circumstances may have been suggested by his later connexion with that place; yet in what seems a historical narrative her grave is mentioned as known to be at Abwa, midway between the two cities, whence this early bond between the Prophet and his future home may have really existed.

His own name is given in the Koran in the forms Ahmad and the familiar Muhammad; in contemporary poetry we also find the form Mahmud. Similar variation between derivatives from the same root is found in proper names which occur in early poetry; the meaning of all would be "the praised," if the root be given its Arabic signification--"the desired" if interpreted from the Hebrew.

The form Muhammad (ordinarily transliterated Mohammed; Mahomet, Mehmet, &c., represent the Turkish pronunciation) is found in a pre-Islamic inscription, and appears to have been fairly common in Arabia. In Hag. ii. 7 a derivative of the Hebrew equivalent root occurs in the prophecy "and the desired of all nations shall come," and this passage has suggested the idea that the name may have been taken by the Prophet as the equivalent of "Messiah," while the Moslems themselves find its equivalent in the _Paraclete_ of the Fourth Gospel, though this identification requires more ingenuity. His _kunyah_ (i.e. the Arab title of respect, in which a man is called after his son) is Abu'l-Qasim; other names by which he is called are titles of honour, e.g. Mustafa "chosen." (See further the genealogical table, _ad fin._)

Early Life.

In the Koran, Allah says that He found the Prophet an orphan, poor and astray; it is possible that all these expressions should be understood figuratively, like the "poor, naked, blind" of Christian hymns; the Arabs, however, take them literally, and Mahomet is said to have been a posthumous child, whose mother died a few months or years after his birth, and who was brought up first by his grandfather, and then by his uncle Abu Talib, one of the poorer members of the family; in the controversy between the Alid and Abbasid pretenders of the 2nd century of Islam the Abbasid Mansur claims that his ancestor fed the ancestor of `Ali, i.e. Abu Talib, otherwise he would have had to beg. There was evidently an apparent inconsistency between Mahomet's being a poor orphan and the favourite grandchild of the eminent and wealthy `Abd al-Mottalib; and it was solved in this way. There was a tradition that in his early years he was sent into the desert to acquire the habits and the language of the Bedouins; and this seems to have been attested by the Prophet himself. In a tribal fight he is said to have acted as armour-bearer to one of his uncles, Zubair. There seems no doubt that he often accompanied Meccan caravans to the countries with which the Meccans had trade relations; such especially were Syria and south Arabia, and perhaps Egypt and Mesopotamia. It is conceivable that he may have visited Abyssinia by sea. For though accurate knowledge is nowhere to be found in the Koran, it exhibits a large amount of miscellaneous information, such as a trader might well pick up. His career as a caravan-conductor appears to have terminated with his marriage to Khadija, daughter of Khuwailid, represented by the tradition as a wealthy widow, fifteen years his senior and forty years of age at the time of the union. As she became the mother of a numerous family, a special rule was discovered by Moslem physiologists extending the child-bearing period of Korashite women beyond that of others. Since it is claimed for Mahomet that he first gave Arab women the right to inherit property, the difficulty noticed is not the only one connected with this marriage; and Robertson Smith has called attention to some others, unconnected with his theory of "marriage and kinship in early Arabia." After his marriage Mahomet appears to have been partner in a shop in Mecca; where he apparently sold agricultural produce. His style is strongly marked by phrases and metaphors drawn from trade, though as a statesman he never displayed any financial ability.

Education.

Writing in the monumental script of South Arabia had been known for centuries in the peninsula; and shortly before the rise of Islam a cursive script--the parent of the ordinary Arabic character--had been started in the Christian state of Hira, with which the beginnings of modern Arabic literature are connected. A modification of this had been introduced into Mecca, and was probably used for contracts and similar documents. The word _ummi_, literally "popular" or "plebeian" (according to one etymology), applied to Mahomet in the Koran, is said to mean "one who can neither read nor write," and the most generally accepted view is that he could do neither, a supposition which enters into the doctrine of the miraculous nature of the Koran. According to another interpretation the word means "Meccan," i.e. native of "the Mother of the Villages" (_Umm al-Qura_); and the most probable theory is that he could do both, but unskilfully. Indeed on one historic occasion he erased certain words in a document; and where in the Koran he rebuts the charge of "taking notes," he does not employ the obvious retort that he could not write, but gives a far less convincing answer. For poetry, which seems to have been cultivated in Arabia long before his time, he possessed no ear; but we have little reason for supposing that either writing or versification had yet entered into Arabian education. The former would be acquired by those who needed it, the latter was regarded as a natural gift. There is reason for thinking the language of the Koran incorrect and ungrammatical in parts, but as it afterwards became the ultimate standard of classical Arabic, this point is not easy to prove. On the whole then his early life seems to have been such as was normal in the case of a man belonging to one of the more important families in a community which had not long been started on a career of prosperity.

Social System.

Of the organization of that community we unfortunately know very little, though we hear of a council-chamber, and, as has been seen, of an age-qualification for admission to it. It is, however, certain that the theory of decision by majority was absolutely unknown to Mahomet's second successor, whence we learn little from this tradition (even if it be authentic) of the mode whereby the tribes who together formed the Meccan population managed their common concerns, whether commercial or political. The form of government seems to have been a rudimentary oligarchy, directed by some masterful individual; before the Flight we read of various prominent personages, after the Flight and the battle of Badr (A.H. 2) one chieftain, Abu Sofian (see CALIPHATE, _ad init._), appears to take the lead whether in war or in policy. It would seem, however, that the right of independent action belonged to the individual tribes, even to the extent of refusing to take part in a campaign. For the settlement of ordinary disputes recourse was had (it appears) rather to soothsayers, near or distant, than to any regularly constituted authority or tribunal. On the other hand we are furnished with a list of officials who were concerned with different parts of the festal performances and the ordinary worship. Of these we may mention the Custodian of the Ka`ba, and the official whose duty was _siqayah_ ("watering"), said to mean furnishing the pilgrims with water, but more ingeniously interpreted in recent times as "rain-bringing," a function which even in the 2nd century of Islam the governor in some places was supposed to exercise.

Beginnings of the Mission.

Of Arabian paganism we possess no trustworthy or complete account; since we hear of no theological literature belonging to it, probably no such account could have been given. There were doubtless a variety of practices, many of which have been continued to this day in the ceremonies of the pilgrimage, and offerings of different sorts to various deities, interpreted variously by the worshippers in accordance with their spiritual, intellectual and moral levels; e.g. as actual stones, or as men (or more often women) residing in the stones or otherwise connected with them, or bearing a similar relation to trees, or stars, &c. In general every tribe had its patron of the kind, and where there were aggregations of tribes, connexions were established between these deities, and affiliation-theories excogitated; hence the theory attributed in the Koran to the Meccans that the goddesses al-`Uzza, &c. were the daughters of Allah, may well represent the outcome of such speculation. These, however, were known to few, whereas the practices were familiar to all. Some of these were harmless, others barbarous; many offensive, but not very reprehensible, superstitions.

External Influences.

Before Mahomet's time Arabian paganism had already been attacked both from the outside and from the inside. On the one hand the northern tribes had gradually been christianized, owing to the influence of the Byzantine empire; on the other hand south Arabia had fallen successively under Jewish, Abyssinian and Persian influence; and the last, though little is known of Persian rule, is unlikely to have favoured pagan cults. Christianity had also some important representation in Najran far south of Mecca, while Jewish settlements were prospering north of Mecca in the Prophet's future home Yathrib and its neighbourhood. Power, civilization and learning were thus associated with monotheism (Judaism), dualism (Mazdaism) and tritheism (as the Arabs interpreted Christianity); paganism was the religion of ignorance (_jahiliyyah_, interpreted by Goldziher as "barbarism," but the difference is not very considerable). Mecca itself and the neighbouring and allied Taif are said to have produced some monotheists or Christians, who identified the _Allah_ of Mecca with the _Allaha_ or God of the Syrian Christians, called by the Abyssinian Christians "Lord of the Regions," and by the Jews "the Merciful" (_Rahmana_); one such is said to have been a cousin of Khadija, Mahomet's wife; his name is given as Waraqah, son of Naufal, and he is credited with copying or translating a Gospel. We even hear of flagellant monks and persons vowed to total abstinence among the precursors of Islam.

With these persons Mahomet had little in common, since they do not appear to have claimed to enforce their views upon others, or to have interfered with politics. He appears mainly to have been struck by the personality of the founders of the systems dominant in the civilized world, and to have aspired from the first to occupy the place of legislator or mouthpiece of the Deity; and that he was this was and is the main proposition of the Mahommedan creed. The "Prophet" or "Apostle" (at different times he employed both the Jewish and the Christian phrase) was the divinely appointed dictator of his community; if he were not obeyed, divine vengeance would overtake the disobedient. At this proposition Mahomet arrived by induction from the records of the Biblical prophets, as well as others who seem to have figured in Arabian mythology, e.g. the destruction of the tribe Thamud (mentioned by Pliny, and therefore historical) for their disobedience to their prophet Salih, and of `Ad (probably mythical) for their similar treatment of Hud. The character of the message did not affect the necessity for obedience; at times it was condemnation of some moral offence, at others a trivial order. Divine vengeance overtook those who disobeyed either.

The Prophet's Call.

This is the theory of the prophetic office which pervades the Koran, wherein the doctrine is formulated that every nation had its divine guide and that Mecca before Mahomet's time had none. This place, then, Mahomet felt a divine call to fill. But we are never likely to ascertain what first put the idea into his mind. The fables which his biographers tell on this subject are not worth repeating; his own system, in which he is brought into direct communication with the Deity, though at a later period the angel Gabriel appears to have acted as intermediary, naturally leaves no room for such speculations; and since his dispensation was thought to be absolutely new, and to make a _tabula rasa_ of the pagan past, his first followers, having broken with that past, left no intelligible account of the state of affairs which preceded their master's call. Some generations therefore elapsed before that past was studied with any sort of sympathy, and details could not then be recovered, any more than they can now be supplied by conjecture.

So far as Mahomet may be said from the first to have formulated a definite notion of his work, we should probably be right in thinking it to be the restoration of the religion of Abraham, or (as the Koran calls him) Ibrahim. Though we have no reason for supposing the name of Abraham or Ishmael to have been known in Mecca generally before Mahomet's time, the Biblical ethnology was not apparently questioned by those who were told of it, and there are stories, not necessarily apocryphal, of precursors of Mahomet going abroad in search of the "religion of Abraham." One feature of that system, associated in the Bible with the name of Ishmael as well, was circumcision, which was actually observed by the Meccan tribes, though it would appear with technical differences from the Jewish method; the association of monotheism with it would seem reasonable enough, in view of Jewish traditions, such as Mahomet may have heard on his travels; why the doctrine of the future life should be coupled with it is less obvious. That the Meccan temple and its rites had been founded by these two patriarchs appears to have been deduced by Mahomet himself, but perhaps at a later stage of his career. That these rites, so far as they were idolatrous, were in flagrant defiance of the religion of Abraham must have struck any one who accepted the accounts of it which were current among Jews and Christians. The precursors, however, appear to have felt no call to reform their fellow-citizens; whereas it is evident that Mahomet regarded himself as charged with a message, which he was bound to deliver, and which his God would in some way render effective.

As it was obvious that the claim to be God's mouthpiece was to claim autocracy, Mahomet employed the utmost caution in his mode of asserting this claim; on the question of his sincerity there have been different opinions held, and it is not necessary to take any view on this matter. For three years his followers were a secret society; and this period appears to have been preceded by one of private preparation, the first revelation being received when the Prophet was in religious retirement--a ceremony called _tahannuth_, of which the meaning is uncertain, but which can have no connexion with the Hebrew _tehinnoth_ ("supplications")--on Mount Hira, near Mecca.

The Koran.

If the traditional dates assigned to the _suras_ (chapters) of the Koran (q.v.) are correct, the earliest revelations took the form of pages or rolls which the Prophet was to read by the "grace of God," as Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon community, said of the power given him to read the "Egyptian" characters on the gold plates which he had found. The command to read is accompanied by the statement that "his most generous Lord had taught man by the pen (_calamus_) that which he did not know." Waraqah, to whom the event is said to have been communicated by Khadija, called these communications "the Greater Law (_nomos_)." The Prophet was directed to communicate his mission at the first only to his nearest relatives. The utterances were from the first in a sort of rhyme, such as is said to have been employed for solemn matter in general, e.g. oracles or prayers. At an early period the production of a written communication was abandoned for oral communications, delivered by the Prophet in trance; their delivery was preceded by copious perspiration, for which the Prophet prepared (in accordance with instructions found in the Koran) by wrapping himself in a blanket. Trusty followers were instructed to take these utterances down, but the phenomena which accompanied their delivery at least in one case suggested imposture to the scribe, who apostatized in consequence. It is extraordinary that there is no reason to suppose that any official record was ever kept of these revelations; the Prophet treated them somewhat as the Sibyl did her leaves. This carelessness is equally astounding whether the Prophet was sincere or insincere.

If the matter afterwards collected in the Koran be genuine, the early revelations must have been miscellaneous in content, magical, historical and homiletic. To some strange oaths are prefixed. Apparently the purpose to be compassed was to convince the audience of their miraculous origin. The formulation of doctrines belongs to a later period and that of jurisprudence to the latest of all. In that last period also, when Mahomet was despot of Medina, the Koran served as an official chronicle, well compared by Sprenger to the leading articles on current events in a ministerial organ. Where the continuous paragraph is substituted for the ejaculation, the divine author apologizes for the style.

Certain doctrines and practices (e.g. washing of the person and the garments) must have been enjoined from the first, but our authorities scarcely give us any clear notion what they were. The doctrines to which the Prophet himself throughout assigned most value seem to have been the unity of God and the future life, or resurrection of the body. The former necessitated the abandonment of the idolatrous worship which formed part of the daily life of Mecca, and in which Mahomet and Khadija had been accustomed to take their part. Yet it seems to have been due to the initiative of the proselytes themselves rather than to the Prophet's orders that the Meccan worship was actually flouted by them; for the anecdote which represents the Prophet and his young cousin attempting to pull down the images in or about the Ka'ba appears to be apocryphal. The first Moslem ceremony would appear to have been the religious meeting for the purpose of hearing the delivery of revelations, of which after the Prophet's death the sermon (_khutbah_) took the place. After various provisional meeting-places, the house of one al-Arqam on Mt. Safa was adopted for this purpose; and here proselytes were initiated.

Growth of the Early Community.

The names which the new community received from its founder are both philological puzzles; for the natural sense of Moslem (_Muslim_) appear to be "traitors," and to this a contemporary war-song of Mahomet's enemies alludes; while _Hanif_ (especially applied in the Koran to Abraham) seems to be the Hebrew word for "hypocrite." The former is explained in the Koran to mean "one who hands over his face or person to God," and is said to have been invented by Abraham; of the latter no explanation is given, but it seems to signify from the context "devotee." Since the divine name _Rahman_ was at one time favoured by Mahomet, and this was connected with one Maslama of the tribe Hanifa, who figures in politics at the end of Mahomet's career but must have been a religious leader far earlier, it has been suggested that the names originally belonged to Maslama's community. The honour of having been Mahomet's first convert is claimed for three persons: his wife Khadija, his cousin Ali, who must have been a lad at the commencement of the mission, and Abu Bekr, son of Abu Quhafah, afterwards Mahomet's first successor. This last person became Mahomet's _alter ego_, and is usually known as the _Siddiq_ (Heb. word signifying "the saint," but to the Arabs meaning "faithful friend)". His loyalty from first to last was absolutely unswerving; he was selected to accompany Mahomet on the most critical occasion of his life, the Flight from Mecca; Mahomet is said to have declared that had he ever made a confidant of any one, that person would have been Abu Bekr; implying that there were things which were not confided even to him. The success of the Prophet's enterprise seems to have been very largely due to the part played by this adherent, who possessed a variety of attainments which he put at Mahomet's service; who when an intermediary was required was always ready to represent him, and who placed the commendation of the Prophet above every other consideration, private or public. The two appear to have regularly laid siege to those persons in Mecca whose adherence was desirable; and the ability which many of the earlier converts afterwards displayed, whether as statesmen or generals, is a remarkable testimony to their power of gauging men. It seems clear that the growth of wealth in Mecca had led to the accentuation of the difference between persons of different station, and that many were discontented with the oligarchy which governed the city. Converts could, therefore, be won without serious difficulty among the aliens and in general those who suffered under various disqualifications. Some members of the Jewish community seem also to have joined; and some relics of the Abyssinian expedition (i.e. descendants of the invaders). Among the most important converts of the Meccan period were Mahomet's uncle Hamza, afterwards for his valour called "the Lion of God"; 'Abd al-Rahman (Abdar-rahman) son of 'Auf; Othman, son of 'Affan, who married two of the Prophet's daughters successively, and was Mahomet's third successor; and, more important than any save Abu Bekr, Omar, son of al-Khattab, a man of extraordinary force of character, to whom siege seems to have been laid with extraordinary skill. At some time he received the honourable title _Faruq_ ("Deliverer"); he is represented as regularly favouring force, where Abu Bekr favoured gentle methods; unlike Abu Bekr, his loyalty was not always above suspicion. His adherence is ascribed to the period of publicity.

The secrecy which marked its early years was of the greatest value for the eventual success of the mission; for when Mahomet came forward publicly he was already the head of a band of united followers. His own family appear to have been either firm adherents, or violent enemies, or lukewarm and temporizing--this is the best which can be said for 'Abbas, eponymus of the Abbasid dynasty; or finally espousers of his cause, on family grounds, but not as believers.

First Period of Publicity.

Rejecting accounts of Mahomet's first appearance as a public preacher, which are evidently comments on a text of the Koran, we have reason for supposing that his hand was forced by ardent followers, who many times in his career compelled him to advance. The astute rulers of the community perceived that the claim made by Mahomet was to be dictator or autocrat; and while this was naturally ridiculed by them, some appear to have been devoted adherents of the gods or goddesses whom he attacked. The absence of dated documents for the period between this open proclamation (which in any case commenced before 616) and the Flight to Medina in 622 renders the course of events somewhat conjectural, though certain details appear to be well established. Apparently there was a war of words, followed by a resort to diplomacy and then to force; and then a period in which Mahomet's attention was directed to foreign conversions, resulting in his being offered and accepting the dictatorship of Yathrib.

Of the war of words we have an imperfect record in the Meccan suras of the Koran, which occasionally state the objections urged by the opponents. In the course of the debate the theological position of both parties seems to have shifted, and the knowledge of both was probably increased in various ways. The miracle of the Koran, which at first consisted in its mode of production, was transformed into a marvel connected with its contents; first by Mahomet's claiming to tell historical narratives which had previously been unknown to him; afterwards by the assertion that the united efforts of mankind and Jinn would be unable to match the smallest passage of the Koran in sublimity. Probably the first of these claims could not be long maintained, though A. J. Davis, "the Seer of Poughkeepsie," in our own time brought a similar one in regard to his _Principles of Nature_. Indeed both parties evidently resorted to external aid. To those who undertook to name the man who dictated stories of the ancients to Mahomet day and night, he replied that the individual whom they had in mind was a foreigner, whereas the Koran was in pure Arabic. This was obviously a quibble, for it was scarcely asserted that he delivered the matter dictated to him without alteration. The purity of the Arabic also appears to have been very questionable; for several expressions appear to be Ethiopic rather than Arabic, and the person whom the Meccans had in mind is likely to have been an Abyssinian Christian, since the Christian technicalities of the Koran are mainly derived from the Ethiopic Gospels and Acts. On one occasion when some questions suggested by learned foreigners had been propounded to the Prophet he required a fortnight's delay before the revelation which solved them came; the matter contained in his reply was certainly such as required research. His sources of information seem at all times to have been legendary rather than canonical; and the community which seemed to his opponents to agree best with his views was that of the Sabians or Mandaeans (qq.v.).

It has been suggested that Mahomet first threatened the Meccans with temporal punishment, and only when this threat failed to take effect resorted to the terrors of the Day of Judgment and the tortures of Hell; it seems however a mistake to distinguish between the two. These threats provided the Prophet with his most powerful sermons. The boasts of incomparable eloquence which the Koran contains are evidence that his oratorical power was effective with his audiences, since the more successful among the Arabic poets talk of their compositions somewhat in the same way. These discourses certainly led to occasional conversions, perhaps more frequently among women than men.

The Exiles in Axum.

The diplomatic war seems to have been due to the Prophet's increasing success, which led to serious persecution of Mahomet's less influential followers, though, as has been seen, no blood could be shed in Mecca. Abu Talib, moreover, prevented him from being exiled, though he probably had to endure many personal insults. Something however had to be done for the persecuted Moslems, and (perhaps at the suggestion of his Abyssinian helper) Mahomet endeavoured to find a refuge for them in the realm of Axum. Abyssinia was doubtless connected in every Meccan mind with the "Expedition of the Elephant"; and such an alliance secured by Mahomet was a menace to the existence of the Meccan community. A deputation was therefore sent by the Meccan leaders to demand extradition of the exiles; and as chief of this expedition the future conqueror of Egypt, 'Amr b. al-'As (see 'AMR IBN EL-ASS), first figures in history. To frustrate his efforts Mahomet sent his cousin Ja'far armed with an exposition of the Prophet's beliefs and doctrines afterwards embodied in the Koran as the Sura of Mary (No. XIX.; though with the addition of some anti-Christian matter). The original document contained an account of the Nativity of Christ with various miracles not known to either the canonical or even the apocryphal gospels which have been preserved, but which would be found edifying rather than unorthodox by a church one of whose most popular books is _The Miracles of the Virgin Mary_. To this there were added certain notices of Old Testament prophets. The Abyssinian king and his ecclesiastical advisers took the side of Mahomet and his followers, whom they appear to have regarded as persecuted Christians; and an attempt made probably by the astute 'Amr to embroil them with the Abyssinians on the difficult question of the Natures of Christ failed completely. There seems reason for thinking that the Abyssinian king contemplated bringing back the exiles by force, but was diverted from this purpose by frontier wars; meanwhile they were safely harboured, though they seem to have suffered from extreme poverty. The want of an Abyssinian chronicle for this period is a serious disadvantage for the study of Islamic origins. The sequel shows that regular correspondence went on between the exiles and those who remained in Mecca, whence the former were retained within the fold of Islam, with occasional though rare apostasies to Christianity.

Mahomet's diplomatic victory roused the Meccan leaders to fury, and they decided on the most vigorous measures to which they could rise; Abu Talib, Mahomet's protector, and the clan which acknowledged him as _sheikh_, including the Prophet and his family, were blockaded in the quarter which they occupied; as in other sanctuaries, though blood might not be shed, a culprit might be starved to death. That this did not occur, though the siege appears to have lasted some months at least, was due to the weak good nature of the Meccans, but doubtless also to the fact that there were enlisted on Mahomet's side many men of great physical strength and courage (as their subsequent careers proved), who could with impunity defy the Meccan embargo. After a time however the besieged found the situation intolerable, and any assistance which they might have expected from the king of Axum failed to come. The course adopted by Mahomet was retractation of those of his utterances which had most offended the Meccans, involving something like a return to paganism. A revelation came acknowledging the effectiveness of the Meccan goddesses as well as Allah, and the Meccans raised the siege. News of the reconciliation reached the Abyssinian exiles and they proceeded to return.

By the time they reached the Arabian coast the dispute had recommenced. The revelation was discovered to be a fabrication of the Devil, who, it appears, regularly interpolates in prophetic revelations; such at least is the apology preserved in the Koran, whence the fabricated verses have been expunged. Since our knowledge of this episode (regarded as the most disgraceful in the Prophet's career) is fragmentary, we can only guess that the Prophet's hand had once more been forced by the more earnest of his followers, for whom any compromise with paganism was impossible. The exiles went back to Abyssinia; and about this time both Abu Talib and Khadija died, leaving the Prophet unprotected.

He fled to the neighbouring oasis of Taif, where wealthy Meccans had possessions, and where the goddess al-`Uzza was worshipped with special zeal--where she is said still to exist in the form of a block of stone. He had but little success there in proselytizing, and indeed had to cease preaching; but he opened negotiations with various Meccan magnates for a promise of protection in case of his return. This was at last obtained with difficulty from one Mot`im b. `Adi. It would appear that his efforts were now confined to preaching to the strangers who assembled at or near Mecca for the ceremonies connected with the feasts. He received in consequence some invitations to come and expound his views away from Mecca, but had to wait some time before one came of a sort which he could wisely accept.

The Flight to Yathrib.

The situation which led to Mahomet's Flight (_hijra_, anglicized incorrectly _hejira_, q.v.) was singularly favourable to Mahomet's enterprise, and utilized by him with extraordinary caution and skill. At the palm plantation called Yathrib, afterwards known as _al-Medina_, Medina, "the City" (i.e. of the Prophet), there were various tribes, the two most important, called Aus and Khazraj, being pagan, and engaged in an internecine feud, while under their protection there were certain Jewish tribes, whose names have come down to us as Qainuqa, Nadir and Quraiza--implying that the Israelites, as might be expected, imitated the totem nomenclature of their neighbours. The memory of these Israelites is exclusively preserved by the Moslem records; the main stream of Jewish history flowed elsewhere. In the series of combats between the Aus and Khazraj the former had generally been worsted; the Jews, as usual, had avoided taking any active part in the fray. Finally, owing to an act of gross perfidy, they were compelled to fight in aid of the Aus; and in the so-called battle of Bu`ath the Aus aided by the Jews had won a victory, doubtless attributed to the God of the Jews. As has been seen, the divine name employed by Mahomet (_Rahman_) was one familiar to the Jews; and the Yathribites who visited Mecca at feast-time were naturally attracted by a professed representative of al-Rahman. The first Yathribite converts appear to have been Khazrajites, and one As`ad, son of Zurarah, is the most prominent figure. Their idea may have been in the first place to secure the aid of the Israelitish Deity in their next battle with the Aus, and indeed the primary object of their visit to Mecca is said to have been to request assistance for their war. For this the plan was substituted of inviting the Prophet to come to Mecca as dictator, to heal the feud and restore order, a procedure to which Greek antiquity offers parallels. The new converts were told to carry on secret propaganda in Yathrib with this end in view. At the next feast some of the rival faction embraced Islam. A trusty follower of Mahomet, Mus'ab b.'Umair, who resembled Mahomet in personal appearance, was sent to Yathrib to assist in the work. The correspondence between this person and the Prophet would, if we possessed it, be of the greatest value for the study of Islamic antiquity. We first hear at this time of _the conditions of Islam_, i.e. a series of undertakings into which the convert entered: namely, to abstain from adultery, theft, infanticide and lying, and to obey Mahomet _in licitis et honestis_. The wholesale conversion of Yathrib was determined by that of two chieftains, Usaid b. Huraith and Sa'd b. Mu'adh, both Ausites. The example of these was quickly followed, and iconoclasm became rife in the place. At the next Meccan feast a deputation of seventy Yathribites brought Mahomet a formal invitation, which he accepted, after imposing certain conditions. The interviews between Mahomet and the Yathribites are known as the _'Aqabah_ (probably with reference to a text of the Koran). The attitude of the Jews towards the project appears to have been favourable.

The Refugees.

Among the conditions imposed by Mahomet on his new adherents appears to have been the protection and harbouring of the older proselytes, whom Mahomet most wisely determined to send before him to Yathrib, where, in the event of the Yathribite loyalty wavering, they could be counted on with certainty. The welcome given these refugees (_muhajirun_), as they were from this time known in contra-distinction to the helpers (_ansar_) or allies from Yathrib, is said to have been of the warmest; a Helper with two wives would hand one over to a wifeless Refugee. A yet more important condition which preceded the Flight was readiness to fight men of all colours in defence of the faith.

Although the transactions with the people of Yathrib had been carried on with profound secrecy, the nature of Mahomet's contract with his new adherents was somewhat divulged to the Meccan magnates, and the danger of allowing an implacable enemy to establish himself on the high-road of their north-bound caravans flashed upon them. The rule which forbade bloodshed in the sacred city had at last to be suspended; but elaborate precautions were to be taken whereby every tribe (except Mahomet's own clan) should have their share in the guilt, which would thus be spread over the whole community fairly. When the committee appointed to perpetrate the crime reached Mahomet's house, they found that it was too late; Mahomet had already departed, leaving Ali in his bed.

The actual Flight from Mecca to Yathrib has naturally been a favourite subject for romance, and indeed appears to have been executed with the greatest cunning. Accompanied by Abu Bekr only, Mahomet took refuge in a cave of Mt Thaur, in the opposite direction to that which he intended to take finally, and there remained for three days; provision had been made of every requisite, food, powerful camels, a trusty and competent guide. The date at which he reached Kuba, on the outskirts of Yathrib, where there was already some sort of Moslem oratory, is given as 8 Rabia I., of the year A.H. 1; the fact that he arrived there on the Jewish Day of Atonement gives us the date September 20, 622. The Meccans, who had employed professional trackers to hunt down the fugitives, proceeded to confiscate the houses and goods of Mahomet and of his followers who had fled.

Mahomet as Despot of Yathrib.

The safe arrival of Mahomet at his destination marks the turning-point in his career, which now became one of almost unbroken success; his intellectual superiority over both friends and enemies enabling him to profit by defeat little less than by victory. His policy appears to have been to bind his followers to himself and them to each other by every possible tie; he instituted brotherhoods between the Refugees and Helpers, which were to count as relationships for legal purposes, and having himself no sons, he contracted numerous marriages partly with the same end in view; e.g. with the infant daughter of Abu Bekr, Ayesha ('A'ishah), whose ability he appears to have discerned; and the unamiable Hafsa, daughter of Omar. Of his own daughters three were given to faithful allies, the one by whom his line is supposed to have been continued to our time, Fatima, was reserved for his cousin Ali. Owing to his efforts the alliance between the Refugees and Helpers resisted numerous attempts on the part of enemies to break it up, and only towards the end of the Prophet's life, when he appeared to favour Meccans unduly, do we hear of any bitterness between the two communities.

The Medina Community.

The population of Yathrib, or, as it may now be called, Medina, soon divided into three groups: Mahomet's united followers; the Jews; and a party known as the "Hypocrites," i.e. professing Moslems, who were lukewarm, or disaffected, among whom the most prominent is `Abdallah b. Ubayy, a Khazrajite chieftain, who is said to have himself aspired to be despot of Yathrib, and who till nearly the end of Mahomet's career figures somewhat as a leader of the opposition; of his importance there is no question, but the reason for it and the mode whereby he made it felt are often obscure. It would seem that the pagans remaining in Yathrib speedily adopted Islam after the Prophet's arrival, whence we hear little of serious opposition on their part. Coming in the capacity of prophet of the Israelitish God, Mahomet at first seems to have courted alliance with the Jews, and to have been ready to adopt their system with very slight modifications--similar to those which, according to his opinion, Jesus had come to introduce. The Jews met these advances by submitting him to examination in the intricacies of the _Torah_, and, finding him very poorly equipped, proceeded to denounce him as an imposter; one of his examiners is said to have even translated the _Torah_ into Arabic with a view of convicting him of ignorance and imposture. They are' further charged with exercising their magical arts on the Prophet and his followers, and to have succeeded thereby in producing barrenness among the Moslem women. Their conduct must not of course be judged by the statement of their enemies; it is however clear that Mahomet soon found that there was no possibility of compromising with them on religious questions, or of obtaining their loyal support; meanwhile he discovered that they were incapable of united and persistent action, and useless as warriors except against each other. He therefore resolved on their extermination. His ruthlessness in their case compared with his patience and forbearance in the case of the "Hypocrites" was consistent with his principle (always faithfully observed) that no inquiry was permissible into the motives of conversion, and with his division of mankind into the two antagonistic factions Believers and Unbelievers. The latter principle, as will be seen, was somewhat modified before the end of his life.

Development of Islam.

Mahomet's failure to effect a compromise with the Jews caused a reaction in his mind towards paganism, and after about a year's residence at Medina the direction of prayer, which had till then been towards Jerusalem, was turned southward to the pagan temple at Mecca. With this change we may perhaps couple the adoption of the name _Allah_ for the Deity; in the Moslem formula "in the Name of Allah the Rahman the Merciful," the translation attached to the word _Rahman_, and the prefixing to it of the name _Allah_ furnish clear evidence of theological transition, though the stages are not recorded; we know, however, that the Meccans approved of the name _Allah_, but objected to the name _Rahman_. Prayer (_salat_), said to have been prescribed on the occasion of the Prophet's ascent into heaven after a miraculous journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, began to assume a stereotyped form in the place of assembly built by Mahomet immediately after his arrival; the attitudes of prayer in use among many communities (e.g. the Jewish standing, the prostration of some Christian sects) were combined. In general it was Mahomet's principle, while taking over a practice from some other sect, to modify it so as to render the Moslem method absolutely distinct; thus when a summons to prayer became requisite, a new mode (by the voice of a crier called _muaddhin_ or _muezzin_) was preferred to the Christian hammer; a new sacred day was adopted, in lieu of the Jewish Saturday and the Christian Sunday, in the weekday on which he had safely reached Kuba, Friday; but the sanctity was reduced to the actual time occupied by public worship. On the subject of food he was satisfied with the regulations of the Council of Jerusalem, recorded in Acts xv.; which were observed by few if any Christian sects. The prohibition of wine, which was enacted in A.H. 3, is said to have been occasioned by the riotous conduct of one of his followers when under the influence of liquor; Palgrave saw in it (perhaps with justice) a deliberate attempt to prevent harmony between Moslems and Christians, in whose most sacred rite wine is used. The Fast of Ramadan, in which food both liquid and solid is forbidden from sunrise to sunset, is said to be a pagan or semi-pagan institution; its importance for military training and discipline is not likely to have been overlooked by the Prophet. When the direction of prayer was altered, it is probable that Mahomet already intended to introduce into his system the whole of the pagan pilgrimage with its antique ceremonial (with, of course, a new interpretation); before this he is supposed to have aimed at the abolition of the Ka`ba and all that appertained to it.

The difference between religious and civil law has never been recognized by Islamic jurists, whose manuals deal equally with the law of contract and the amount of the body to be washed before prayer; the Prophet's ordinances on both subjects were suggested by the occasion in each case, and it would seem that the opinions of trusted advisers were regularly heard before a revelation was issued. Even when this had been done the ordinance might be cancelled by an abrogating revelation; it being "easy for Allah" to substitute for a text already revealed another that was better or at least as good.

As Islam began to spread outside the limits of Medina both conversion to Islam and persistence therein were reduced to simple tests; the pronunciation of the double formula of belief in Allah and Mahomet was sufficient to indicate conversion, whilst payment of an income-tax, called by the Jewish names for alms (_zakat_ and _sadaqah_), was evidence of loyalty. This income-tax, of which the definite assessment perhaps belongs to a later period, was for the support of necessitous converts--an element in the community whose presence accounts for the mode in which the development of the Islamic state proceeded.

First Campaigns of Mahomet.

The industries in which the Meccan Refugees had been engaged were not of a sort which they could exercise at Medina, where the palm took the place of the camel as the basis of society. Moreover the Prophet seems to have given some disastrous advice on the subject of palmiculture, and thereby to have accentuated the poverty of the place. He had, therefore, to find some fresh source of revenue in order to deal with this difficulty, and one of the Helpers is said to have suggested the plan which he adopted, viz. of attacking the Meccan caravans. With this view he organized a series of expeditions, taking the lead himself sometimes, while at others he gave it to one of his veteran followers; and at first only Refugees took part in them. The leaders of the caravans, however, were expert in evading attacks of this sort, which were doubtless regularly attempted by the desert tribes; and in the first year of his despotism Mahomet did not score a single success of the kind intended. The attempts were not wholly fruitless; for while on the one hand he accustomed his followers to campaigning, on the other he made a series of agreements with the chieftains of the tribes through whose territory the caravans ordinarily passed. Finding continued failure intolerable, he resolved to take advantage of his power to bind and to loose by sending an expedition of seven men under his cousin `Abdallah b. Jahsh to attack a caravan at the beginning of the sacred month Rajab, when, as raiding during such a season was unknown, success was practically certain. The commander on this, the Nakhlah raid, was given sealed orders, to be opened after two days' march; the men were then to be given the option of retiring, if they disapproved. Of this no one seems definitely to have availed himself, and the raid ended successfully, for considerable booty was captured, while of the four persons who escorted the caravan two were made prisoners, one escaped, and one, `Amr b. al-Hadrami, was killed; he was the first person slain fighting against an Islamic force. The violation of the sacred month seems to have caused considerable scandal in Arabia, but led to no serious consequence; on the other hand the shedding of blood created a feud between the people of Mecca and the Refugees, with whom the Meccans long declined to identify the people of Medina. The fact that the man who had been killed was a client, not a citizen, made no difference. The circumstance that booty had been actually acquired appears to have helped the Prophet's cause very considerably.

Attack on Meccan Caravan.

Both these consequences, the Meccan desire to avenge the blood that had been shed and the anxiety of the Medinese to take part in a successful raid, manifested themselves a few months later, when an expedition was organized by Mahomet to attack a caravan returning from Syria, which had escaped him the previous year. Many desired to take part in the raid, and finally some 300 persons were selected, including a large number of "Helpers." The leader of the caravan learned somehow that an attack was being organized by Mahomet on a large scale, and sent to Mecca for aid, while hurrying home by forced marches. This is the first historical appearance of Abu Sofian (the leader of the caravan), who now for some years played the part of president in the Meccan opposition to Mahomet, and whose son was destined to found the second Mahommedan dynasty (see CALIPHATE, B). The day before the battle to be fought at Badr, near the point where the northern road leaves the coast to turn eastwards to Mecca, the Moslem army learned that the Meccan succour (some 1000 strong) was near, but that the caravan had escaped. The Meccans, it is asserted, would have returned home now that their object was secured, but the patrons of the man who had been killed in the former raid were compelled to strike for vengeance.

The battle (Ramadan 19, A.H. 2, usually made to synchronize with March 17, 624) ended in a complete victory for Mahomet, whose followers killed seventy of the enemy and took seventy prisoners--if we may trust what seem to be round numbers; it was attributed by him to divine co-operation, taking the form of an illusion wrought on the enemy, and the despatch of a regiment of angels to the assistance of the Believers, while on the other hand the treachery of the Devil did mischief to the Meccans. The popular tradition attributed it to the prowess of some of Mahomet's followers, especially his uncle Hamza and his cousin Ali. In the narratives which have come down and which seem to be authentic the result is amply accounted for by the excellence of the Moslem discipline and the complete absence of any on the Meccan side. Mahomet himself is said to have fainted at the first sight of blood, and to have remained during the battle in a hut built for him to which swift camels were tied, to be used in case of a defeat; yet these accounts make him responsible for the tactics, whilst assigning the credit for the strategy to one Hobab b. al-Mondhir. Several of Mahomet's old enemies and friends of Meccan days perished on this occasion; notably one Abu Jahl, his uncle, but represented as an implacable enemy; another hostile uncle, Abu Lahab, who is cursed in the Koran, was not present but died shortly after the battle.

The day is called in the Koran by a Syriac expression the "Day of Deliverance," and both for internal and external politics it was of incalculable advantage to Islam. The booty and the ransoms of the prisoners provided the means for dealing with distress; the story of supernatural aid soothed the feelings of the defeated Meccans and had a tendency to disarm resistance elsewhere; whilst Mahomet in the popularity acquired by his victory was able to strike forcibly at his enemies in Medina. One of the sequels to the victory was a series of assassinations whereby critics of his actions were removed.

The Taking of Mecca.

The defeat at Badr naturally led to efforts on the part of the Meccans to avenge their dead and besides to secure the commerce, by which they lived, from an enemy who was gradually getting all the seaboard that lay between Jeddah and Yanbo within his sphere of influence; and the year after Badr (A.H. 3) Abu Sofian was able to lead a force said to be three times as great as that which had been defeated, and so numbering some 3000 men, against Medina itself; part of it was under Khalid b. al-Walid, one of the greatest of Arab captains, afterwards conqueror of Syria. It is said that Mahomet's plan was to remain in Medina itself, and leave it to the Meccan commander to discover some way of taking the place; but that his hand was forced by his more ardent followers. Others, however, assign this advice to Abdallah b. Ubayy, and make the Prophet anxious to fight from the first. A battle was in consequence fought under Mt Uhud (or Ohod), north-west of Medina, wherein Khalid succeeded in inflicting a severe defeat on Mahomet's forces; his uncle Hamza, hero of Badr, was killed on this occasion. Fortunately for the Moslems, the Meccans considered that they had finished their task when they discovered that they had killed a number of the former equal to those who had fallen at Badr on their own side; instead therefore of pursuing their victory they went home. The immediate effect on Arabia appears to have been to dissipate the illusion that the Prophet could count on supernatural assistance in his wars; and we hear of some blows being dealt him from outside. Meanwhile his relations towards the Medinese Jews had grown more and more hostile, and these are credited with doing their best to rouse the Meccans to a sense of the danger which threatened them in the continuance of the Prophet's power, and in general to stir up hostility against him in Arabia. Whether this part was played by them or not, in the fifth year of the Prophet's stay at Medina a fresh invasion of the territory took place by a vast confederate force of Meccans with their allies, the tribes Fazarah, Asad, Murrah, &c., to the number, it is said, of 10,000. This time the intention of the leaders was undoubtedly to stamp out Islam. For the first time in Arab warfare Mahomet resorted to the expedient of defending his city by a trench, called by a Persian name, and suggested by a Persian convert. But he also employed agents to sow dissension among the confederates, and succeeded with this no less than with the other expedient. After a brief stay, and scarcely striking a blow, the confederacy dispersed, leaving the Jews who still remained in Medina to the summary vengeance of the Prophet. The want of records written from the Meccan standpoint renders the abortiveness of this last attempt at storming the Prophet's stronghold scarcely intelligible.

From this time, however, the road towards the eventual taking of Mecca became easy, and we are told that such was the importance attached to that city throughout Arabia that its acquisition meant for the Prophet the acquisition of the whole peninsula. The next year (A.H. 6) he deemed it advisable to make a truce with the Meccans (the Truce of Hodaibiyah), whereby he secured for his followers the right of performing the pilgrimage in the following year; on this occasion he even consented to forgo his title "Prophet of Allah," when the Meccans refused to sign a deed in which it was employed, greatly to the scandal of his more earnest followers, including Omar; they were however too deeply committed to Islam to be able to defy the Prophet. When the pilgrimage was performed (A.H. 7), Mahomet not only won important converts in the persons of Khalid and the no less able `Amr b. al-`As, but in general impressed the population with the idea that his was the winning side. An excuse was easily found for invading Mecca itself in the following year, when Abu Sofian took the opportunity of embracing Islam before it was too late. Very little resistance was now made by the Meccans, whose chiefs were already in Mahomet's camp, and Mahomet used his victory with great moderation; his proscription list was finally reduced to two. The theory that all offences were cancelled by conversion was loyally observed. Moreover the Prophet incurred the displeasure of his Medinese friends by the anxiety which he displayed to soothe the feelings of his former enemies and antagonists. The Medinese, however, prevailed upon him to maintain their city as his political capital, while making Mecca the religious centre of his system; and this arrangement accounts perhaps more than anything else for the persistence of the system amid so many dynastic changes.

In the main he appears to have introduced little alteration into the government of Mecca, and it is said that he even declined to retaliate on those who had confiscated the possessions of the Refugees. Even the Ka`ba was left in the keeping of its former custodian, though of course its interior as well as its precincts were cleansed of all that could offend monotheists. In the following year the pilgrimage was for the first time conducted by a Moslem official, Abu Bekr. A proclamation was made on that occasion, forbidding idolaters in future to take part in the pilgrimage, and giving all Arabs who were not as yet converted four months' grace before force was to be brought to bear upon them. In the following year Mahomet conducted the Pilgrimage himself. This solemn occasion (the "Farewell Pilgrimage") was also employed for the delivery of an important proclamation, wherein the Prophet declared that God had completed their religion. The principle whereon he specially insisted was the brotherhood of Islam; but there is some difficulty in enucleating the original sermon from later additions.

Conquest of Arabia.

It would seem that Mahomet's enterprise originally comprised the conversion of Mecca only, and that he thought of himself as sent to his fellow-citizens only, as had been the case with earlier prophets, whose message was for their "brethren." His views took a somewhat different direction after his brief exile to Taif, and the conquest of Arabia was in a way forced upon him in the course of his struggle with the Meccans. It is not indeed perfectly clear by what process he arrived at the resolution to exclude paganism from Arabia; at first he appears to have tolerated it at Medina, and in some of his earlier contracts with neighbouring tribes he is represented as allowing it, though some of our texts make him reserve to himself the right of enforcing Islam if he chose; only the Meccans were at first, according to the most authentic documents, excluded from all truce or treaty. At the battle of Badr he appears to have formulated the rule that no one might fight on his side who had not embraced Islam; and when once he had won fame as a successful campaigner, those who wished to share his adventures had to pass the Islamic test. After the battle of Uhud (Ohod) we hear of a tribe demanding missionaries to instruct them in Islamic principles; and though in the case recorded the demand was treacherous, the idea of sending missionaries appears not to have been unfamiliar even then, albeit the number sent (70), if rightly recorded, implies that the Prophet suspected the good faith of the applicants. After the taking of Mecca, whereby the chief sanctuary at any rate of north Arabia had been cleared of all idolatrous associations, and consecrated to monotheism, paganism in general was conscious of being attacked; and the city had scarcely been brought under the new régime before the Prophet had to face a confederation of tribes called Hawazin and Thaqif. The battle which ensued, known as the Day of Honain, was near ending disastrously for Islam; some of Mahomet's sturdiest followers fled; but the terrible danger of a defeat in the neighbourhood of recently conquered Mecca roused the Prophet and Ali to heroism, and they saved the day. Emissaries were now sent far and wide demanding the destruction of idols, and only Taif appears to have made any considerable resistance; against this place for the first time the Prophet made use of siege artillery, such as was employed by the Byzantines; though compelled by the bravery of the inhabitants to raise the siege, he was afterwards able to take the city by capitulation. It has been observed that here only do we read of much attachment to the old deities; in most places they were discarded with few regrets when once their impotence had been found out. After the taking of Mecca and the victory of Honain there appears to have been a general desire, extending even to the extreme south of Arabia, to make the best terms with the conqueror so soon as possible; iconoclasm became general. Flatterers of various kinds, including poets, came to seek the favour of the sovereign; and a mock war of words appears to have been substituted by some tribes for more serious fighting, to terminate in surrender. For warfare of his sort Mahomet had a powerful helper in the poet Hassan b. Thabit, for whose effusions a pulpit was erected in the Medina mosque, and whose verses were said to be inspired by the Holy Spirit; though, as has been seen, Mahomet was not himself able to judge of their artistic merit. It was not, however, found easy to enforce the payment of the alms on these new converts; and this taxation caused an almost general revolt so soon as Mahomet's death had been ascertained.

Plan of World-conquest.

Although the central portions of the peninsula in Mahomet's time were practically independent, large portions of the north-west and south-east were provinces of the Byzantine and Persian empires respectively, whence any scheme for the conquest of Arabia would necessarily involve the conqueror in war with these great powers. The conquest of Persia is said to have been contemplated by the Prophet as early as A.H. 5, when the famous Trench was being dug; but it was not till the year A.H. 7, on the eve of the taking of Mecca, that the Prophet conceived the idea of sending missives to all known sovereigns and potentates, promising them safety if, but only if, they embraced Islam. The text of these letters, which only varied in the name of the person addressed, is preserved (doubtless faithfully) by the Moslem Oral Tradition; in the middle of the last century a French explorer professed to discover in Egypt the original of one of them--addressed to the mysterious personage called the Muqauqis (Mukaukis) of Egypt--and this, it appears, is still preserved amid other supposed relics of the Prophet in Constantinople, though there is little reason for believing it to be genuine. The anecdotes dealing with the reception of these letters by their addressees are all fabulous in character. Two appear to have sent favourable replies: the king of Axum, who now could send the exiles whom he had so long harboured to their successful master; and the Egyptian governor, who sent Mahomet a valuable present, including two Coptic women for his harem. The emperor Heraclius is claimed as a secret convert to Islam, on whom pressure had to be put by his advisers to conceal his convictions. The Persian king is said to have sent orders to have Mahomet arrested; his messengers arrived in Medina, but were unable to carry out the commands of their master, who died while they were there. Two of the letters are said to have had important results. One was addressed to the Himyarite chiefs (called by the south Arabian appellation _qail_) in Yemen, and effected their conversion; another to the governor of Bostra in Roman Arabia, who put the bearer of this insolent message to death; a force was despatched by Mahomet immediately afterwards (beginning of A.H. 8) to avenge this outrage; and though the Moslems were defeated in their first encounter with the Byzantine forces at Mutah, they appear to have given a good account of themselves; it was here that Ja`far, cousin of the Prophet, met his death. In A.H. 9 a successful expedition was led by the Prophet himself northward, in which, though no Byzantine force was encountered, a considerable region was withdrawn from the Byzantine sphere of influence, and made either Islamic or tributary to Islam. At the time of his death (of fever, after a short illness) he was organizing an expedition for the conquest of Syria.

Jewish and Christian Communities.

The Prophet claimed throughout that his revelation confirmed the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, and this claim is on the whole reasonable, though his acquaintance with both was in the highest degree vague and inaccurate. Still he reproduced the Old Testament as faithfully as he could, and though he patriotically endeavours to shed some lustre on his supposed ancestor Ishmael, he does not appear to have questioned the Biblical theory according to which the founder of the north Arabian nations was the son of a slave girl. On neither the truth of the Biblical history and miracles nor the validity of the Mosaic legislation does he appear to have cast any doubt. He even allows that Israel was the chosen people. The Gospel was known to him chiefly through apocryphal and heretical sources, which cannot certainly be identified; but he accepted the doctrine of the Virgin-birth, the miracles of healing the sick and raising the dead, and the ascension; the crucifixion and resurrection were clearly denied by the sect from whom he had received his information, and rejected by him, though certainly not because of any miracle which the latter involved. His quarrel with the Jews at Medina appears to have been by no means of his own seeking, but to have arisen unavoidably, owing to his particular view of his office being such as they could not accept; and his attempt to discredit, not the Mosaic Law, but the form in which they presented it, was an expedient to which he resorted in self-defence. An attempt was made shortly after his arrival at Medina to settle the relations between the two communities by a treaty, according to which, while their equality was guaranteed there should be little interference between the two; this, however, was found unworkable, and each victory of Mahomet over the Meccans was followed by violent measures against the Medinese Israelites. When experience had shown him their military incompetence he appears to have been unable to resist the temptation to appropriate their goods for the benefit of his followers; and his attack on the flourishing Jewish settlement of Khaibar, after the affair of Hodaibiyah, appears to have been practically unprovoked, and designed to satisfy his discontented adherents by an accession of plunder. Yet the consciousness that this process was economically wasteful suggested to him an idea which Islamic states are only now abandoning, viz. that of a tolerated caste, who should till the soil and provide sustenance for the Believers who were to be the fighting caste. Whereas then his former plan in dealing with Israelites had been to banish or massacre, he now left the former owners of Khaibar (who had survived the capture of the place) in possession of the soil, of whose produce they were to pay a fixed proportion to the Islamic state. The same principle was adopted in the case of later conquests of Jewish settlements.

Disputes with Christians occur somewhat later in the Prophet's career than those with Jews, for neither at Mecca nor Medina were the former to be found in any numbers; individuals are likely to have been found in both cities, and we hear of one Medinese "Abu'Amir the Monk," who after Mahomet's arrival at Medina branded him as an impostor, and, going himself into exile, made many an abortive attempt to discredit and injure Mahomet's cause. The notices of him are meagre and obscure. Mahomet's manifesto to the world, about the time of the taking of Khaibar, appears to represent his definite breach with Christianity; and when in the "year of the embassies" the Christians of Najran sent a deputation to him, they found that the breach between the two systems was not to be healed. Of the three alternatives open to them--conversion, internecine war, and tribute, they chose the last. The Christian tribes of north Arabia showed greater inclination towards the first. The Prophet's policy was to give Christians lighter terms than Jews, and though the Koran reflects the gradual adoption by the Prophet of an attitude of extreme hostility to both systems, its tone is on the whole far more friendly to the former than to the latter. Some other communities are mentioned in the Koran, but merely in casual allusions: thus we know that Mahomet's sympathy was with the Byzantines in their struggle with Persia, but in his most tolerant utterance the Magians or Mazdians as well as the Sabians (with whom his followers were identified by the Meccans) are mentioned with respect.

Mahomet's Administration.

The financial requirements of Mahomet's state were of the simplest kind, for there is no trace of any form of governmental department having been instituted by him, even when he was master of the peninsula; nor can we name any permanent officials in his employ except his _muaddhin_ Bilal, and perhaps his court-poet Hassan. A staff of scribes was finally required both to take down his revelations and to conduct correspondence; but although he encouraged the acquisition of penmanship (indeed some of the prisoners at Badr are said to have been allowed to ransom themselves by teaching it to the Medinese), we know of no regular secretaries in his employ. As despot of Medina he combined the functions of legislator, administrator, general and judge; his duties in the last three capacities were occasionally delegated to others, as when he appointed a governor of Medina during his absence, or leaders for expeditions, with provision for successors in case of their falling, but we hear of no permanent or regular delegation of them. Till near the end of his career at Medina he maintained the principle that migration to that city was a condition of conversion; but when, owing to the extension of his power, this was no longer practicable, his plan was in the main to leave the newly converted communities to manage their internal affairs as before, only sending occasional envoys to discharge special duties, especially instruction in the Koran and the principles of Islam, and to collect the Alms; quite towards the end of his life he appears to have sent persons to the provinces to act as judges, with instructions to judge according to the Koran, and where that failed, _the practice_ (_sunna_), i.e. the practice of the community, for which a later generation substituted the practice of the Prophet. There were, therefore, no regular payments to permanent officials; and the taxation called _Alms_, which developed into an income-tax, but was at first a demand for voluntary contributions, was wholly for the support of the poor Moslems; it might not be used for the maintenance of the state, i.e. Mahomet and his family. For them, and for public business, e.g. the purchase of war material and gratuities to visitors, provision was made out of the booty, of which Mahomet claimed one-fifth (the chieftain's share had previously, we are told, been one-fourth), while the remainder--or at least the bulk of it--was distributed among the fighting men; the Prophet appears to have prided himself on the justice of his distribution on these occasions, and doubtless won popularity thereby, though we hear occasionally of grumbling; for difficulties occurred when a defeated tribe embraced Islam, and so could claim equality with their conquerors, or when portions of the spoil were irregularly employed by Mahomet to allay resentment: the persons whose allegiance was thus purchased were euphemistically termed "those whose hearts were united." What afterwards proved the main source of revenue in Islamic states dates from the taking of Khaibar; for the rent paid to the state by tolerated communities for the right to work their land developed long after Mahomet's time into a poll-tax for Unbelievers (see CALIPHATE, e.g. B. § 8 and MAHOMMEDAN INSTITUTIONS), and a land-tax for all owners of land. Immediately after the taking of Khaibar certain communities, of which the most notable was Fadak, sent tribute before they had been attacked and reduced; their land was regarded by Mahomet as his private domain, but after his death it was withdrawn from his heirs by his successor Abu Bekr, in virtue of a maxim that Prophets left no inheritance, which in the opinion of Fatima was contrary to Koranic doctrine, and invented by Ayesha's father expressly for the purpose of excluding her and her husband from their rights; and this is likely to have been the case.

As a military organizer Mahomet, as has been seen, was anxious to adopt the most advanced of contemporary methods, and more than once is said to have scandalized the Arabs by foreign innovations, as at a later time the Moslem chiefs who first used gunpowder scandalized their co-religionists. The unit in his armies seems to have been, as of old, the tribe, under its natural leader; that he introduced no more scientific division, and nothing like a hierarchy of officers was perhaps due to the difficulty of reconciling such a system with the equality of all Moslems.

As has been seen, the Koran only assumed the character of a civil code as the need for one arose; and for some time after Mahomet's arrival at Medina old-fashioned methods of settling disputes continued in use, and doubtless in accordance with precedent where such was known. For difficult cases, even in Arab opinion, divine inspiration was required; and since Mahomet naturally claimed to be in sole enjoyment of this, his utterances soon became the unique source of law, though he did not at first think of organizing a code. Such a plan is said to have occurred to him, and he even wished to dictate a code upon his deathbed; but his friends supposed or professed to suppose him to be delirious. A table regulating the "Alms" was left by him, it is said, in the possession of Abu Bekr; but other traditions assign another origin to this document.

Just as there were no regular officials for the arrangement of business, so there were none for its execution; when punishment was to be administered, any follower of Mahomet might be called upon to administer it. In the case of the massacre of the Banu Quraizah care was taken to see that some of the heads were struck off by their former allies, in order that the latter might be unable at any time to bring a demand for vengeance. The Prophet hoped by the mere terror of his name to make complete security reign throughout Arabia, and there is no evidence that any system of policing either it or even Medina occurred to him.

Domestic Life.

Until the death of Khadija the Prophet's private life seems to have been normal and happy, for though the loss of his sons in infancy is said to have earned him a contemptuous epithet, he was fortunate in his adoption of Zaid b. Harithah, apparently a prisoner ransomed by Khadija or one of her relatives, who appears as dutiful almost to excess and competent in affairs. The marriages of his daughters seem all to have been happy, with, curiously, the exception of that between Fatima and Ali. His domestic troubles, to which an unreasonable amount of space seems to be devoted, even in the Koran, began after the Migration, when, probably in the main for political reasons, he instituted a royal harem. One of these political motives was the principle which long survived, that the conquest of a state was consummated by possession of the former monarch's wife, or daughter; another, as has been seen, the desire to obtain the securest possible hold on his ministers. In his marriage with the daughter of his arch-enemy Abu Sofian, before the latter's conversion, we can see a combination of the two. Few, therefore, of these marriages occasioned scandal; yet public morality seemed to be violated when the Prophet took to himself the wife of his adopted son Zaid, whose name has in consequence the honour of mention in the Koran in the revelation which was delivered in defence of this act. Its purpose was, according to this, to establish the difference between adoptive and real filiation. Serious trouble was occasioned by a charge of adultery brought against the youthful favourite Ayesha, and this had to be refuted by a special revelation; the charge, which was backed up apparently by Ali, seems to have been connected with some deeper scheme for causing dissension between the Prophet and his friends. Yet another revelation is concerned with a mutiny in the harem organized by Omar's daughter Hafsa, owing to undue favour shown to a Coptic concubine (Mary, mother of a son called Ibrahim, who died in infancy; his death was marked by an eclipse, January 27, 632); and various details of factions within the harem are told us by Mahomet's biographers.

Of the members of this harem the only prominent one is Ayesha, married to the Prophet shortly after the Flight, when she had scarcely passed the period of infancy, but who appears to have been gifted with astuteness and ambition that were quite beyond her years, and who maintained her ascendancy over the Prophet in spite of the fact that many carping criticisms of his revelations are attributed to her. Some of this may have been due to the obligations (including pecuniary obligations) under which her father had laid Mahomet; but her reputation seems to have been greatly enhanced by the sending down of a revelation to exonerate her (A.H. 6), for which she thanked God and not the Prophet. Each accession to the harem rendered the building of a house or room necessary for the newcomer's accommodation; a fact in which Robertson Smith perhaps rightly saw a relic of the older system whereby the tent was the property of women. The trouble noticed above seems to have arisen from the want of a similar arrangement in the case of slave girls, with whom Mahomet's system permits cohabitation. When Mahomet, whether in consequence of the fatigue incurred by the "Farewell Pilgrimage," or, as others thought, by the working of some poison put into his food some years before by a Jewess of Khaibar, was attacked by the illness which proved fatal, it was to the house of Ayesha that he was transferred (from that of another wife) to be nursed; and he apparently died in the arms of the favourite, on whose statements we have to rely for what we know of his last hours.

General Characteristics.

The traditional description of Mahomet is "of middle height, greyish, with hair that was neither straight nor curly; with a large head, large eyes, heavy eyelashes, reddish tint in the eyes, thick-bearded, broad-shouldered, with thick hands and feet"; he was in the habit of giving violent expression to the emotions of anger and mirth. The supposition that he at any time suffered from physical weakness seems absolutely refuted by his career as a leader of difficult, dangerous and wearisome expeditions, from his migration to Medina until his death; indeed, during his last years he exhibited a capacity for both physical and intellectual activity which implies a high degree of both health and strength; and without these the previous struggle at Mecca could scarcely have been carried on. The supposition that he was liable to fits (epileptic or cataleptic) was intended to account for certain of the phenomena supposed to accompany the delivery of revelations; some of these however rest on very questionable authority: and the greater number of the revelations give evidence of careful preparation rather than spontaneity.

The literary matter ascribed to the Prophet consists of (1) the Koran (q.v.); (2) certain contracts, letters and rescripts preserved by his biographers; (3) a number of sayings on a vast variety of topics, collected by traditionalists. The references in the Koran to a form of literature called "Wisdom" (_hikmah_) suggest that even in the Prophet's time some attempts had been made to collect or at least preserve some of the last; the general uncertainty of oral tradition and the length of time which elapsed before any critical treatment of it was attempted, and the variety of causes, creditable and discreditable, which led to the wilful fabrication of prophetic utterances, render the use to which No. 3 can be put very limited. Thus the lengthy description of the journey to heaven which Sprenger was inclined to accept as genuine is regarded by most critics as a later fabrication. It is very much to be regretted that the number of _pièces justificatives_ (No. 2) quoted by the biographers is so small, and that for these oral tradition was preferred to a search for the actual documents, some of which may well have been in existence when the earliest biographies were written. Their style appears to have been plain and straightforward, though the allusions which they contain are not always intelligible.

In his personal relations with men Mahomet appears to have been able to charm and impress in an extraordinary degree, whence we find him able to control persons like Omar and Khalid, who appear to have been self-willed and masterful, and a single interview seems to have been sufficient to turn many an enemy into a devoted adherent. Cases (perhaps legendary) are quoted of his being able by a look or a word to disarm intending assassins.

Although the titles which he took were religious in character, and his office might not be described as sovereignty, his interests appear to have lain far more in the building up and maintenance of empire than in ecclesiastical matters. Thus only can we account for the violent and sudden changes which he introduced into his system, for his temporary lapse into paganism, and for his ultimate adoption of the cult of the Black Stone, which, it is said, gave offence to some of his sincere adherents (e.g. Omar), and seems hard to reconcile with his tirades against fetish-worship. The same is indicated by his remarkable doctrine that the utterance of the creed constituted a Moslem and not its cordial acceptance, and his practice of at times buying adhesion. Even an historian so favourable to the Prophet as Prince Caetani recognizes that ultimately what he regarded as most important was that his subjects should pay their taxes. And in general his system was not favourable to fanaticism (_al-ghulu fi`l-din_); he repeatedly gave permission for concealment of faith when the profession of it was dangerous; he took care to avoid institutions which, like the Jewish Sabbath, interfered seriously with military expeditions and the conduct of business, and permitted considerable irregularity in the matters of prayer and fasting when circumstances rendered it desirable. In his theory that Koranic texts could be abrogated he made wise provision against the danger of hasty legislation, though some of its usefulness was frustrated by his failure to provide for such abrogation after his death.

Mahomet's Reforms.

As has been seen, Mahomet claimed to introduce a wholly new dispensation, and a maxim of his law is that Islam cancels all that preceded it, except, indeed, pecuniary debts; it is not certain that even this exception always held good. Hence his system swept away a number of practices (chiefly connected with the camel) that were associated with pagan superstitions. The most celebrated of these is the arrow-game, a form of gambling for shares in slaughtered camels, to which poetic allusions are very frequent. More important than this was his attitude towards the blood-feud, or system of tribal responsibility for homicide (whether intentional or accidental), whereby one death regularly led to protracted wars, it being considered dishonourable to take blood-money (usually in the form of camels) or to be satisfied with one death in exchange. This system he endeavoured to break down, chiefly by sinking all earlier tribal distinctions in the new brotherhood of Islam; but also by limiting the vengeance to be demanded to such as was no more than the equivalent of the offence committed, and by urging the acceptance of money-compensation instead, or complete forgiveness of the offence. The remembrance of pre-Islamic quarrels was visited by him with condign punishment on those who had embraced Islam; and though it was long before the tribal system quite broke down, even in the great cities which rose in the new provinces, and the old state of things seems to have quickly been resumed in the desert, his legislation on this subject rendered orderly government among Arabs possible.

Next in importance to this is the abolition of infanticide, which is condemned even in early Suras of the Koran. The scanty notices which we have of the practice are not altogether consistent; at times we are told that it was confined to certain tribes, and consisted in the burying alive of infant daughters; at other times it is extended to a wider area, and said to have been carried out on males as well as females. After the taking of Mecca this prohibition was included among the conditions of Islam.

In the laws relating to women it seems likely that he regulated current practice rather than introduced much that was actually new, though, as has been seen, he is credited with giving them the right to inherit property; the most precise legislation in the Koran deals with this subject, of which the main principle is that the share of the male equals that of two females. Our ignorance of the precise nature of the marriage customs prevalent in Arabia at the rise of Islam renders it difficult to estimate the extent to which his laws on this subject were an improvement on what had been before. The pre-Islamic family, unless our records are wholly misleading, did not differ materially from the Islamic; in both polygamy and concubinage were recognized and normal; and it is uncertain that the text which is supposed to limit the number of wives to four was intended to have that meaning. The "condition of Islam" whereby adultery was forbidden is said to have been ridiculed at the time, on the ground that this practice had never been approved. Yet it would seem that certain forms of promiscuity had been tolerated, though the subject is obscure. Against these services we must set the abrogation of some valuable practices. His unfortunate essay in astronomy, whereby a calendar of twelve lunar months, bearing no relation to the seasons, was introduced, was in any case a retrograde step; but it appears to have been connected with the abrogation of the sanctity of the four months during which raiding had been forbidden in Arabia, which, as has been seen, he was the first to violate. He also, as has been noticed, permitted himself a slight amount of bloodshed in Mecca itself, and that city perhaps never quite recovered its sacrosanct character. Of more serious consequences for the development of the community was his encouragement of the shedding of kindred blood in the cause of Islam; the consequences of the abrogation of this taboo seem to have been felt for a great length of time. His assassinations of enemies were afterwards quoted as precedents in books of Tradition. No less unfortunate was the recognition of the principle whereby atonement could be made for oaths. On the question how far the seclusion of women was enjoined or countenanced by him different views have been held.

Sources.

Besides the contemporary documents enumerated above (Koranic texts, rescripts and authentic traditions) many of the events were celebrated by poets, whose verses were ostensibly incorporated in the standard biography of Ibn Ishaq; in the abridgment of that biography which we possess many of these are obelized as spurious, and, indeed, what we know of the procedure of those who professed to collect early poetry gives us little confidence in the genuineness of such odes. A few, however, seem to stand criticism, and the _diwan_ (or collection of poems) attributed to Hassan b. Thabit is ordinarily regarded as his. Though they rarely give detailed descriptions of events, their attestation is at times of value, e.g. for the story that the bodies of the slain at Badr were cast by the Prophet into a pit. Besides this, the narratives of eyewitnesses of important events, or of those who had actually taken part in them, were eagerly sought by the second generation, and some of these were committed to writing well before the end of the 1st century. The practice instituted by the second Caliph, of assigning pensions proportioned to the length of time in which the recipient had been a member of the Islamic community, led to the compilation of certain rolls, and to the accurate preservation of the main sequence of events from the commencement of the mission, and for the detailed sequence after the Flight, which presently became an era (beginning with the first month of the year in which the Flight took place). The procedure whereby the original dates of the events (so far as they were remembered) were translated into the Moslem calendar--for something of this sort must have been done--is unknown, and is unlikely to have been scientific.

Mahomet's conduct being made the standard of right and wrong, there was little temptation to "whitewash" him, although the original biography by Ibn Ishaq appears to have contained details which the author of the abridgment omitted as scandalous. The preservation of so much that was historical left little room for the introduction of miraculous narrations; these therefore either belong to the obscure period of his life or can be easily eliminated; thus the narratives of the Meccan council at which the assassination of Mahomet was decided, of the battles of Badr, Uhud and Honain, and the death of Sad`b. Mu `adh, would lose nothing by the omission of the angels and the devil, though a certain part is assigned the one or the other on all these occasions. We should have expected biographies which were published when the `Abbasids were reigning to have falsified history for the purpose of glorifying `Abbas, their progenitor; the very small extent to which this expectation is justified is a remarkable testimony to their general trustworthiness.

RELATIVES OF THE PROHET[1]

1. _Family of `Abd al-Mottalib_, Mahomet's maternal grandfather:--*`Abbas (d. A.H. 32 or 34), *Hamza (d. A.H. 3), `Abdallah, father of the Prophet, *Abu Talib (said to be named `Abd Manaf), ? *Zubair, Harith, Hajal, Moqawwam, Dirar, *Abu Lahab (said to be named `Abd al-`Uzza, d. A.H. 2), *_Safiyyah_ (d. A.H. 20), _Umm Hakim_, _al-Baida_, _`Atikah_, _Umaimah_, _Arwa_, _Barrah_.

2. _Family of Abu Talib_:--*`Aqil (d. after A.H. 40), *Ja`far (d. A.H. 8), Talib, Tulaiq, `Ali, the caliph, _Umm Hani'_, _Jumanah_, _Raitah_.

3. _Family of Mahomet. Wives_:--*_Khadija_ (Children:--Qasim; ? `Abd Manaf (Tahir, Tayyib); *_Zainab_ m. Abu'l-`As b. Rabi', d. A.H. 7; *_Ruqayyah_, m. `Othman b. `Affan, d. A.H. 2; *_Umm Kulthum_ m. `Othman b. `Affan, d. A.H. 9; *_Fatimah_, m. `Ali, d. A.H. 11): *_Saudah bint Zam`ah_,? d. A.H. 54, *_`A'ishah (Ayesha) bint Abi Bekr_ (d. A.H. 56), *_Hafsa bint `Omar_ (d. A.H. 45 or 47), *_Zainab bint Khuzaimah_, d. before A.H. 11, *_Zainab bint Jahsh_, d. A.H. 20, *_Umm Salimah_, d. A.H. 59, *_Maimunah_, d. A.H. 38, *_Juwairiyah_, d. A.H. 56, *_Umm Habibah Ramlah bint Abi Sofian_, d. A.H. 44.

_Concubines_:--*_Safiyyah bint Huyyay_, d. A.H. 36, *_Raihanah bint Zaid_, *_Mariyah the Copt_, d. A.H. 15 or 16, mother of Ibrahim. (Other names given by Ibn Sa`d, vol. viii.)

_Chronological Table of Chief Events in the Life of Mahomet._[2]

? 570 Birth. ? 595 Marriage with Khadija. ? 610 Commencement of call. ? 613 Public appearance. 616 Persian conquest of the nearer East. ? 617 Flight of his followers to Abyssinia. ? 618-619 Siege in Mecca. Retractation and subsequent repudiation. Death of Abu Talib and Khadija. ? 620 Flight to Taif. 622 July 16. Beginning of the Moslem era. Sept. 20. Arrival at Kuba after the Flight. 632 Jan. 27. Death of his son Ibrahim. 632 June 7. Death of Mahomet.

The following dates are given by the Arabic historians according to their own calendar. For the reasons which have been seen it is impossible to obtain certain synchronisms.

A.H.

2. Rajab 1. Raid of `Abdallah b. Jahsh to Nakhlah. Ramadan 19. Battle of Badr. Shawwal 15. Attack on the Banu Qainuqa.

3. Rabia I. 14. Assassination of Ka`b b. al-Ashraf. Shawwal 7. Battle of Uhud.

4. Saphar. Massacre of Mahomet's 70 missionaries at Bi'r Ma`unah. Rabia I. Attack on the Banu Nadir. Dhu'l-Qa`da. Abortive raid called "the lesser Badr."

5. Shaaban 2. Attack on the Banu'l-Mustaliq (according to Waqidi). Dhu'l-Qa`da. Battle of the Trench. Massacre of the Banu Quraizah.

6. Jomada i. Capture of a caravan by Zaid b. Harithah. Futile attempt to assassinate Abu Sofian. Dhu'l-Qa`da. Affair of Hodaibiyah.

7. Jomada i. Taking of Khaibar. Mission extended to the world. Dhu'l-Qa`da. Pilgrimage to Mecca (called _'umrat al-qadiyyah_)

8. Jomada i. Expedition to Mutah. Ramadan 20. Taking of Mecca. Shawwal. Battle of Honain. Attack on Ta`if.

9. Muharram. Tax-gatherers sent over Arabia. Rajab. Expedition to Tabuk. Rival Mosque built at Kuba, destroyed on Mahomet's return to Medina. Dhu'l-Hijja. Pilgrimage conducted by Abu Bekr. Abolition of idolatry in Arabia.

10. Ramadan. Expedition of `Ali to Yemen. Dhu'l-Qa`da. "Farewell Pilgrimage."

11. Saphar. Expedition ordered against the Byzantines.

_Companions of the Prophet._

The _sahabah_, as they are called, are the subject of a vast literature, and the biographical dictionaries devoted to them, of which the best known are the _Usd ul-ghaba_ of the historian Ibn Athir and the _Isabah_ of Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani, enumerate many thousands. The following two lists are of special groups.

(a) _Naqibs_, i.e. leaders selected by Mahomet from the Medinese tribes: i. _Khazrajites_:--As`ad b. Zurarah, Sa`d b. al-Rabi`, `Abdallah b. Rawahah, al-Bara' b. Ma`rur, `Abdallah b. `Amr b. Haram, `Ubadah b. al-Samit, Sa`d b. `Ubadah, al-Mondhir b. 'Amr; ii. _Ausites_: Usaid b. Hudair, Sa`d b. Khaithamah, Rifa`ah b. `Abd al-Mondhir.

(b) _Commanders of Expeditions_: names occurring in (a) are not repeated: `Abdallah b. Jahsh, `Abd ar-Rahman b. `Auf, Abu Bekr, Abu Qatadah, Abu `Ubaidah b. al-Jarrah, `Ali, `Alqamah b. Mujazziz, `Amr b. al-`As (ibn el-Ass), Bashir b. Sa`d, Dahhak b. Sofian, Ghalib b. `Abdallah, Ibn Abi'l-Auja, Ka`b b. `Umair, Khalid b. al-Walid, Kurz b. Jabir, Marthad b. Abi Marthad, Muhammad b. Maslamah, Qutbah b. `Amir, Sa`d b. Abi Waqqas, Sa`d d. Zaid, Salama b. `Abd al-Asad, Shuja` b. Wahb, `Ubaidah b. al-Harith, `Ukkashah b. Mihsan, `Umar b. al-Khattab, Usamah b. Zaid, `Uyainah b. Hisn, Zaid b. Harithah.

AUTHORITIES.--The biography of Ibn Ishaq was before the world long before the two chief causes for the falsification of tradition had begun to have serious effects; these were the need for legal precedents, and the concept of saintliness, combining those of asceticism and thaumaturgy. These gave rise to the classical works on the _Evidences of Mohammed's Mission_ by Abu Nu`aim (d. A.D. 1012-1013) and Baihaqi (d. A.D. 1066).

_Lives of the Prophet_ ([+] indicates that the work is lost); [+]`Urwah b. Zubair (d. 712-713); [+]Musa b. `Ukbah (d. 758-759); [+]Mohammed b. Ishaq (d. 768); Mohammed b. Hisham (d. 828-829), ed. Wüstenfeld (Göttingen, 1860); reprinted in Egypt by Zubair Pasha, a series of excerpts from the last; Mohammed b. Omar al-Waqidi (d. 823), portion published by Kremer (Calcutta, 1855), abridged trans. of a fuller copy by Wellhausen, _Muhammad in Medina_ (Berlin, 1882); Mohammed b. Sa`d (d. 844-845), an encyclopaedic work on the history of Mahomet and his followers, called _Tabaqat_, ed. Sachau and others (Berlin, foll.); Mohammed b. Jarir al-Tabari (see TABARI). Many more writers on this subject are enumerated in the _Fihrist_, cf. Sprenger's _Leben Muhammads_, iii. 54-76.

Among the most popular compilers of later times are: Ibn al-Athir (q.v.) al Jazari, the historian (d. 1233); Ahmad b. Ali al Kastalani (d. A.D. 1517), whose _al-Mawahib al-Laduniyyah_ was published with commentary (Cairo, 1278); Hosain b. Mohammed al Diyarbakri (d. 1574) whose work _Ta'rikh al-Khamis_ was published in Cairo, A.H. 1382; `Ali b. Burhan al-din al-Halabi (d. A.D. 1634), whose biography called _Insan al-`uyun_ was published in Cairo, A.H. 1292. To these must be added all the collections of Tradition.

_Modern Authorities._--The critical study of the Life of Mahomet begins in Europe with the publication by Th. Gagnier in 1723 of the Life by Abulfeda (q.v.). Presently there appeared an apologetic biography by Henri Cmte. de Boulainvilliers (2nd ed., Amsterdam, 1731), to which Gagnier replied in 1732 (_La Vie de Mahomet, traduite_, &c. ibid.). The next considerable advance in the treatment of the subject is marked by the biography of G. Weil (_Muhammed der Prophet_, Stuttgart, 1843), which is wholly without religious bias; the popular life by Washington Irving (London, 1849) is based on this. That by J. L. Merrick (the _Life and Religion of Mohammed_, Boston, U.S.A., 1850) rests on Shi`ite sources. The search for MSS. in India conducted by A. Sprenger led to the discovery of fresh material, which was utilized by Sprenger himself in his unfinished _Life of Mohammad_ (Pt. 1, Allahabad, 1851), and his more elaborate _Das Leben und die Lehre des Mohammad_ (Berlin, 1861-1865), and by Sir William Muir in his _Life of Mahomet_, (London, 1858-1861) 4 vols.: afterwards abridged in one volume and reprinted. These are still the standard treatises on the subject; the pro-Christian bias of Muir is very marked, while Sprenger has hazarded numerous conjectures on subjects with which he had little familiarity. The biography by S. W. Koelle, _Mohammed and Mohammedanism_ (London, 1889), is pro-Christian, the popular work of Syed Ameer Ali _The Spirit of Islam_, (London, 1896) an apology for Mahommedanism. Later treatises, resting on original authorities, are those by H. Grimme _Mohamed_, (Münster, 1892, and Munich, 1904), F. Buhl, _Mohameds Liv_ (Copenhagen, 1903--Danish: since translated into German), D. S. Margoliouth _Mohammed and the Rise of Islam_ (N.Y., 1905, &c.), and Prince Caetani _Annali del Islam_, i. ii. (Milan, 1905-1907). For the direction of public opinion in Mahomet's favour the Lecture on _The Hero as Prophet_ in Carlyle's _Heroes and Hero-worship_ (London, 1846) was singularly effective; his views were enforced by R. Bosworth Smith _Mohammed and Mohammedanism_, (London, 1873, &c.). A somewhat similar line was taken in France by J. Barthélémy Saint-Hilaire, _Mahomet et le Coran_, (Paris, 1865), while the _Vie de Mahomet d'après la Tradition_ of E. Lamairesse and G. Dujarric (Paris, 1897) is written entirely from the Moslem standpoint.

See further CALIPHATE, _ad init._; MAHOMMEDAN INSTITUTIONS; MAHOMMEDAN LAW; MAHOMMEDAN RELIGION. (D. S. M.*)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] * is prefixed to names which figure on occasions which seem to be historical. Female names are in italics.

[2] Dates are given A.D.

MAHOMMED AHMED IBN SEYYID ABDULLAH (1848-1885), Sudanese tyrant, known as "the Mahdi," was born in Dongola. His family, known as excellent boat-builders, claimed to be _Ashraf_ (or _Sherifs_), i.e. descendants of Mahomet. His father was a _fiki_ or religious teacher, and Mahommed Ahmed devoted himself early to religious studies. When about twenty years old he went to live on Abba Island on the White Nile about 150 m. above Khartum. He first acquired fame by a quarrel with the head of the brotherhood which he had joined, Mahommed asserting that his master condoned transgression of the divine law. After this incident many dervishes (religious mendicants) gathered round the young sheikh, whose reputation for sanctity speedily grew. He travelled secretly through Kordofan, where (with ample justification) he denounced to the villagers the extortion of the tax-gatherer and told of the coming of the mahdi who should deliver them from the oppressor. He also wrote a pamphlet summoning true believers to purify their religion from the defilements of the "Turks" i.e. the Egyptian officials and all non-native inhabitants of the Sudan. The influence he gained at length aroused the anxiety of the authorities, and in May 1881 a certain Abu Saud, a notorious scoundrel, was sent to Abba Island to bring the sheikh to Khartum. Abu Saud's mission failed, and Mahommed Ahmed no longer hesitated to call himself al-Mahdi al Montasir, "The Expected Guide." In August he defeated another force sent to Abba Island to arrest him, but thereafter deemed it prudent to retire to Jebel Gedir, in the Nuba country south of Kordofan, where he was soon at the head of a powerful force; and 6000 Egyptian troops under Yusef Pasha, advancing from Fashoda, were nearly annihilated in June 1882. By the end of 1882 the whole of the Sudan south of Khartum was in rebellion, with the exception of the Bahr-el-Ghazal and the Equatorial Provinces. In January 1883 El Obeid, the capital of Kordofan, was captured. In the November following Hicks Pasha's force of 10,000 men was destroyed at Kashgil, and in the same year the mahdi's lieutenant, Osman Digna, raised the tribes in the eastern Sudan, and besieged Sinkat and Tokar, near Suakin, routing General Valentine Baker's force of 2500 men at El Teb in February 1884. The operations undertaken by Great Britain in face of this state of affairs are narrated under EGYPT: _Military Operations_. It need only be added that General Gordon (q.v.) was besieged at Khartum by the mahdi and was killed there when the town was captured by the mahdists on the 25th-26th of January 1885. The mahdi himself died at Omdurman a few months later (June 22, 1885), and was succeeded in power by his khalifa Abdullah.

When he announced his divine mission Mahommed Ahmed adopted the Shi`ite traditions concerning the mahdi, and thus put himself in opposition to the sultan of Turkey as the only true commander of the faithful. To emphasize his position the mahdi struck coins in his own name and set himself to suppress all customs introduced by the "Turks." His social and religious reforms are contained in various proclamations, one of which is drawn up in the form of ten commandments. They concern, chiefly, such matters as ritual, prayers, soberness in food and raiment, the cost of marriage and the behaviour of women. How far the mahdi was the controller of the movement which he started cannot be known, but from the outset of his public career his right-hand man was a Baggara tribesman named Abdullah (the khalifa), who became his successor, and after his flight to Jebel Gedir the mahdi was largely dependent for his support on Baggara sheikhs, who gratified one of his leading tastes by giving him numbers of their young women. In the few months between the fall of Khartum and his death the mahdi, relieved from the incessant strain of toil, copied in his private life all the vices of Oriental despots while maintaining in public the austerity he demanded of his followers. His death is variously attributed to disease and to poisoning by a woman of his harem. On the occupation of Omdurman by the British (Sept. 1898) the mahdi's tomb was destroyed, his body burnt and the ashes thrown into the Nile (see SUDAN: _Anglo-Egyptian_).

See _Mahdiism and the Egyptian Sudan_ by F. R. Wingate (1891); _Ten Years' Captivity in the Mahdi's Camp_ (1882-1892) from the MS. of Father Joseph Ohrwalder by F. R. Wingate (1892) and _Fire and Sword in the Sudan_ (1879-1895) by Slatin Pasha (trans. F. R. Wingate, 1896). Both Ohrwalder and Slatin were personally acquainted with the mahdi, and their narratives contain much first-hand information. Wingate prints many translations of the proclamations and correspondence of the mahdi.

MAHOMMEDAN INSTITUTIONS.

The Caliphate.

Of all the institutions of Islam the caliphate is the oldest, the most fundamental, and in essence the most enduring. For its history see CALIPHATE; the present subject is its origin and nature. Mahomet enjoyed absolute rule over his people as a divinely inspired and guided prophet. He led the public prayers; he acted as judge; he ruled. If he consulted with others or paid attention to public feeling or local usage, it was as a matter of policy; the ultimate decision lay with himself. He was the state. On his death a leader was put in his place of similar authority, though without the divine prophetic guidance. He was called the "successor" (_khalifa_, caliph) of the Prophet, later also the _amir-al-mu'minin_, commander of the faithful, and was elected by the Moslems, just as the Arab tribes had always elected their chiefs. He was thus an absolute ruler, but was democratically elected; and such is the essence of the caliphate among Sunnite Moslems to this day. For them it has been a matter of agreement (see MAHOMMEDAN LAW) from the earliest times that the Moslem community must appoint such a leader (see IMAM). The Shi`ites, on the other hand, hold that the appointment lies with God, and that God always has appointed, though his appointment may not always have been known and accepted. Their position may be called a legitimist one. Some few heretical sects have held that the necessity of a leader was based on reason, not on the agreement of the community. But, for all, the rule of the leader thus appointed is absolute, and all authority is delegated from him and, in theory, can be resumed by him at any time. Just as God can require unreasoning obedience from his creatures (his "slaves" in Arabic), so can the caliph, his representative on earth.

But Abu Bekr, the first caliph, nominated his successor, Omar, and that nomination was accepted and confirmed by the people. So a second precedent was fixed, which was again carried a step farther, when Moawiya I., the first Omayyad caliph, nominated his son, Yazid I., as his successor, and caused an oath of allegiance to be taken to him. The hereditary principle was thus introduced, though some relics of the form of election persisted and still persist. The true election possible in the early days of the small community at Medina became first a formal acceptance by the populace of the capital; then an assertion, by the palace guard, of their power; and now, in the investiture of the sultans of the Ottoman Turks, who claim the caliphate, a formal ceremony by the `ulema (q.v.) of Constantinople. The Ottoman claim is based on an asserted nomination by the last Abbasid, who died in exile in Egypt in 1538, of the Ottoman sultan, Suleiman the Great, as his successor. Such a nomination in itself was a perfectly legal act, but in this case had a fatal flaw. It is an absolute condition, laid down in tradition, that the caliph must be of the tribe of Koreish (Quraish), that of the Prophet.

The duties of this democratically elected autocrat are, in theory, generally stated as follows. He shall enforce legal decisions and maintain the divinely revealed restrictive ordinances; guard the frontiers and equip armies; receive the alms; put down robberies, thieving, highwaymen; maintain the Friday services and the festivals; decide disputes and receive evidence bearing on legal claims; marry minors, male and female, who have no guardians; divide booty. He must be a free, male, adult Moslem; must have administrative ability; must be an effective governor and do justice to the wronged. So long as he fulfils these conditions he is to be absolutely obeyed; private immorality or even tyranny are not grounds for deposing him. This is a position reached by Islam practically. But a caliph who openly denied the faith would be as impossible as an unbelieving pope. The caliph, therefore, is the highest executive officer of a system assumed to be definite and fixed. He, in a word, administers Islam; and the content of Islam is determined by the agreement of the Moslem people, expressed immediately through the `ulema, and ultimately, if indirectly and half-consciously, by the people. To depose him a _fatwa_ (see MUFTI) would be required--in Turkey from the Sheikh-ul-Islam--that he had violated some essential of the Moslem faith, and no longer fulfilled the conditions of a caliph.

The Diwans.

But it was impossible for the caliph personally to administer the affairs of the empire, and by degrees the supreme office was gradually put into commission, until the caliph himself became a mere figure-head, and vanished into the sacred seclusion of his palace. The history of the creation of government bureaus (_diwans_; see DIVAN) must therefore now be sketched. The first need which appeared was that of a means of regulating and administering the system of taxation and the revenues of the state. Immense sums flowed into Medina from the Arab conquests; the surplus, after the requirements of the state were met, was distributed among the believers. All Moslems had a right to a certain share of this, which was regarded as booty. Omar, the second caliph, regulated this distribution and also the system of taxation, and the result was the first divan and the constitution of Omar, looked back to now by all Sunnite Moslems as an ideal. The sources of revenue were (i) the poor-rate (_zakat_), a tithe paid by every Moslem; (ii) the fifth of all booty; (iii) the poll-tax (_jizya_) on non-Moslems; and (iv) the land-tax (_kharaj_) also on non-Moslems. Thus the constitution determined the position of all non-Moslems in a Moslem state. The ideal was that the Moslems should be kept apart as a superior, fighting caste, and that the non-Moslems should support them (cf. CALIPHATE, B. § 8, on the reign of Omar II.). The Moslems, therefore, were forbidden to acquire land in conquered countries. The non-Moslems must retain their lands, cultivate them and pay the land-tax (the Arabic word is also used of revenue from the work of a slave) and the poll-tax (the Arabic word means also "ransom"), and give contributions in kind to support the local Moslem garrisons which were massed in great camp-cities at strategic points. If a non-Moslem embraced Islam he entered the ruling caste; his land was distributed among his non-Moslem fellows, and he no longer paid the land-tax but rather received support from the public funds. The amount of these pensions varied with the standing of the pensioner from 10,000 dirhems (a dirhem equalled about a franc) to the widows and relations of the Prophet down to 300. This bureau had, therefore, not only to keep the books of the state, but also to maintain a list of all Moslems, classified genealogically and socially. Its registers were kept by Greeks, Copts and Persians; the Arabs, it may be said in general, adopted the method of administration which they found in the captured countries and drew upon the trained services of their inhabitants.

Such a system led naturally to wholesale conversions to Islam; and the consequent decline in revenue, combined with large donations of lands by Othman, the third caliph, to his own family, gradually broke it down. The first patriarchal period of conquest, unearned wealth and the simple life--called by Moslems the period of the "four rightly guided caliphs," and very happily by Sachau, _ein mönchisches Imperium_--passed rapidly into the genuinely Arab empire of the Omayyads, with whom came an immediate development of organization in the state. The constructive genius in this was Moawiya, the first Omayyad caliph. Under him the old simplicity vanished. A splendid and ceremonious court was maintained at Damascus. A chamberlain kept the door; a bodyguard surrounded the caliph, and even in the mosque the caliph, warned by the murder of Othman and of Ali, prayed in a railed-off enclosure. The beginning of the seclusion of the caliph had come, and he no longer walked familiarly among his fellow Moslems. This seclusion increased still further when the administration of the state passed by delegation into other hands, and the caliph himself became a sacrosanct figure-head, as in the case of the later Abbasids; when theories of semi-divine nature and of theocratic rule appeared, as in the case of the Fatimites; and finally when all the elaborate court ritual of Byzantium was inherited by the Ottoman sultans.

But Moawiya I. was still a very direct and personal ruler. He developed a post-system for the carrying of government despatches by relays, and thus received secret information from and kept control of the most distant provinces. He established a sealing-bureau by which state papers were secured against change. He dealt arbitrarily with the revenues of the state and the pensions of the Moslems. Governors of provinces were given a much freer hand, and were required to turn over to the central treasury their surplus revenue only. As they were either conquerors or direct successors of conquerors they had an essentially military government, and were really semi-independent rulers, unhampered except by direct action of the caliph, acting on information sent by the postmaster, who was his local spy. Being thus the heads of armies of occupation, they were not necessarily charged with the control of religious ritual and of justice. These, like every other function, inhered in the office of the caliph and he generally appointed in each province independent cadis over the courts and imams to be in charge of religious services. Yet the governor was sometimes permitted to hold these two other offices (see CADI; IMAM).

The Vizierate.

Further administrative developments came with the Abbasids. They created a new city, Bagdad, between the Tigris and the Euphrates, where the three races, Syrian, Arab and Persian, met and sought with Bagdad as a capital to consolidate the empire. The Arab empire, it is true, had passed away with the Omayyads; yet there might be a chance to create a world-empire of all the Moslem peoples. But not even the genius and administrative skill of the early Abbasids could hold together that unwieldy mass. The semi-independent provinces soon became fully independent, or at most acknowledged the caliph as a spiritual head and paid a nominal tribute. His name might stand on the coinage and prayers be offered for him in the Friday service, the two signs of sovereignty to this day in Islam. With this crumbling of the empire went a more elaborate organization; bureaus took the place of principles and of the energy of individual rulers. As the system of Moslem law was built on that of the Roman codes, so was the machinery of administration on that of Persia. And with the Abbasids the chance of the Persians had come. Abu 'l-Abbas, the first Abbasid caliph, was the first to appoint a vizier (_wazir_, "helper," so Aaron is wazir to Moses in the Koran), a confidential minister to advise him and come between him and the people. Advisers the caliphs had had before; but not a definite adviser with this name. He must, we are told, have a strain of the ruler in him and a strain of the people to be able to work with both. He must know how to be acceptable; fidelity and truthfulness are his capital; sagacity, firmness, generosity, clemency, dignity, effectiveness of speech are essential. It is plain that the vizier became as important as the caliph. But Abu 'l-Abbas was fortunate in early securing as his vizier the grandfather of the house of the Barmecides (q.v.). On this Persian family the fortunes of the Abbasids hung, and it secured for them and for Islam a short golden age, like that of the Antonines, until the jealous madness of Harun al-Rashid cast them down. Thereafter the vizierate had many vicissitudes. Technically a vizier could be either limited or unlimited. The limited vizier had no initiative; he carried out the commands of the caliph. The unlimited vizier, often afterwards called the grand vizier, exercised full authority and was the _alter ego_ of the caliph, to whom he was required only to report. Naturally the formal distinction is a later theorizing of history; for a weak ruler his vizier became absolute, for a strong ruler his vizier remained subordinate. Here, as with regard to all Moslem institutions, a marked distinction must be made between the historic facts and the speculative edifices raised by constitutional theorizers. Compare especially MAHOMMEDAN LAW. Until the time of Radi (934-940) the vizierate thus fluctuated in importance. In that caliphate the vizier lost all authority, and in his place came the _amir al-omara_--equivalent to the _major domus_ of the Franks--the head of the Turkish bodyguard, in terror of whom the caliph now stood. When in 945 the Buyids captured Bagdad and the caliph became a purely spiritual sovereign, they took the title "vizier" for their own chief minister, and the caliphs retained only a secretary (see CALIPHATE, C. § 22). Under the Seljuks, however, they regained their viziers and some real authority. Elsewhere, also the vizierate had its vicissitudes. Under the Mamelukes the vizier fell to be merely the court purveyor. Under the Omayyads of Spain the title was given to several responsible officers of the state, but their chief was called _hajib_, chamberlain. Under the Almohades the chamberlain was called vizier. In the modern Turkish empire the grand vizier (called generally _sadr A`zam_) is the sultan's representative in secular matters, and nominally stands between the sovereign and all the other officials. He is the president of the council of ministers, but Abd-ul Hamid II. deprived the office of almost all its importance.

Other Ministers.

Under the early Abbasids the four most important ministers were the chief cadi, the chief of police or head of the life guards, the minister of finance and the postmaster, who was the head of the system of information and espionage which covered the empire. But at different times the different bureaus varied greatly. Under Motawakkil we find the bureau of taxes and finance; bureau of the crown estates; bureau of state book-keeping; bureau of war, i.e. of hired troops; bureau which kept reckoning and control of the pensions of the clients and slaves of the ruling family; bureau of the post system; bureau of expenditures. But in spite of this elaborate system, no Moslem government has, except sporadically, been highly centralized. Provided the taxes are paid, a large measure of local autonomy has always been enjoyed by the country districts. Under the Abbasids almost the only exception was the necessarily centralized control of the irrigation system of the Tigris and Euphrates. And similarly elsewhere.

In the case of all these offices, we have delegation by the caliph, under necessity, of his too heavy burdens. But one duty of an Oriental ruler he could not so easily lay aside. It had always to be possible for the oppressed to come into his presence and claim justice; he must sit in the gate and judge. Therefore, when the caliph found it necessary to delegate the ordinary administration of justice, he found it also necessary to set up a special court of oppressions, which developed, to a certain extent, into a court of appeals. The first to establish such a separate court was Abdalmalik the Omayyad (685-705), and his example was followed by the more vigorous of the caliphs up to the time of Mohtadi the Abbasid (869-870). If any other than the caliph presided over this court it had to be a man whose dignity, independence and authority commanded respect. He was not bound by strict rules of evidence, method and literal application of law as was the cadi. Rather, he applied a system of equity suited to the absolute source of authority which he represented.

As the chief of police, mentioned above, was rather the head of the caliph's bodyguard, there was also a police system after our ideas, but more thoroughgoing. The _muhtasib_ had charge in the broadest sense of public order and morals in the streets, and had oversight as to weights, measures and adulterations; but had no right to interfere privately or enter houses save in the clearest and most necessary cases. He had a summary jurisdiction in all minor cases where no trial was necessary; but where witnesses and oaths entered the case must go to the cadi. Slaves and beasts of burden were under his guardianship; he prevented public scandals, such as the sale of wine; he regulated the public conduct of Jews and Christians. In the interest of public morals he had to find suitable husbands for widows and see that they did not marry before the legal time; questions of paternity also he had to investigate. The outdoor costume of the people he could regulate. It should, of course, be remembered that the canon law of Islam covers minutely all sides of life (see MAHOMMEDAN LAW).

It is impossible in Islam to separate logically from the mass of institutions those which we should call religious, as Islam on all sides is for the Moslem equally religious. But perhaps the following may practically be separated under that rubric. Islam, runs a tradition, is built on five things: testimony that there is no god save Allah, and that Mahomet is the apostle of Allah; prayer; the poor-rate; pilgrimage; fasting. For these see MAHOMMEDAN RELIGION.

The law and usage of religious foundations in perpetuity (_waqf_, mortmain) became as important in Islam as monastic endowments in medieval Europe, and such foundations tended similarly to absorb the greater part of the national wealth. It was the only safe way of providing for posterity. A pious foundation could be erected in such a way that either so much from its funds would be paid yearly in perpetuity to the descendants of the erector, or those descendants would be employed as officials of the foundation.

The Imam.

When it became impossible for the caliph to lead the people personally in prayer in the mosque, he delegated that part of his duties to another, hence called imam (q.v.). Naturally, then, the appointment of the imam would lie with the supreme ruler. This holds of the daily prayers in the principal mosque (_al-masjid al-jami'_) supported by the ruler where the Friday service is held, but in the separate smaller mosques built by each community the community chooses its own imam. With regard to the Friday service, the schools of law disagree as to the necessity of the presence of an imam appointed by the chief ruler. But the imam should certainly make mention of the ruler in his sermon and pray for him. At the occasional prayers, such as those for rain, &c., the presence of an imam appointed by the ruler is not necessary. The imam appoints the _muaddhin_, the announcer of the hour of prayer from the minaret, and both have a claim on the state treasury.

Another office exercised when possible by the caliph, but very frequently delegated to some high dignitary, such as the heir to the caliphate or a prince, was the leadership of the pilgrimage caravan to Mecca and back. Sometimes this official, called _amir-al-hajj_, was appointed imam as well. He then led all the pilgrimage ceremonies at Mecca. When outside of towns where there was a cadi he exercised also over the caravan the rights of a judge.

The Cadi.

Mahommedan law (q.v.) is treated separately. Here, again, as judging is a duty of the caliph, a cadi is the delegate, or, when appointed by a vizier or governor, a delegate of his delegate. He examines into disputes brought before him and enforces his judgments, he names administrators of the estates of minors, the insane, &c.; he supervises the _waqf_ property of mosques and schools in his district and inspects highways and public buildings; he watches over the execution of wills; he inflicts the due legal penalties for apostasy, neglect of religious duties, refusal to pay taxes, theft, adultery, outrages, murder; he can inflict the penalties of imprisonment, fine, corporal punishment, death; if there is no imam, he can perform his duty, as in fact can anyone who has the requisite knowledge. But it should be noticed that all this holds only of the un-europeanized Moslem state.

The Army.

For the existence of an army in Islam, there are two grounds, the holy war (_jihad_, q.v.) against unbelievers without the state and the suppression of rebellion within. Under the ordinance of Omar the entire community was preserved and used as a weapon for the subduing of the world to Islam, and every able-bodied male Moslem was theoretically a fighting man, part of the national militia. This army was divided into corps situated in the conquered lands, as armies of occupation, where they eventually came to form military colonies in great camp-cities. The occupied countries had to support them, and they were bound to render military service at any time. But as the ideal of Omar broke down before facts the use of mercenary and slave troops finally increased; although there has always continued in Moslem armies acting against unbelievers a proportion of volunteers not paid a fixed wage but subsidized by the state from the poor-rate and alms funds. The generals were appointed by the caliph, and had either unlimited authority to act as his representatives, concluding peace, acting as cadi and imam, distributing booty; or were restricted within limits, e.g. to simple leading of the troops and carrying on military operations. They, in turn, appointed their subordinates; this principle of giving a head full powers and full responsibility was very generally applied in Islam. It was controlled of course by the espionage of the postal system. As war by a Moslem power is essentially sacred war, the regulations of _jihad_ must be considered here. Unbelievers must first be invited to embrace Islam and, if they follow a sacred book and are not idol-worshippers, are given a choice between (a) becoming Moslems; or (b) submitting to the Moslems and entering on a treaty with them of protection and tribute; or (c) fighting. If they accept Islam, their lives, families and property are secure, and they form henceforth part of the Moslem community. The ability of Islam to create a common feeling between highly different races is one of its most striking features. If they submit and enter on treaty relations, they pay a poll-tax, for which their personal safety is assured, and assume a definitely inferior status, having no technical citizenship in the state, only the condition of protected clients (_dhimmis_). If they elect to fight, the door of repentance is open, even when the armies are face to face. But after defeat their lives are forfeit, their families are liable to slavery, and all their goods to seizure. It is open to the sovereign either to put them to death; or to enslave them; or to give them their liberty; or to exchange them for ransom or against Moslem prisoners. The sovereign will choose that which is best for Islam. As for their families and wealth, the sovereign can release them only with consent of the army that has captured them. Apostates must be put to death. Four-fifths of the booty after a battle goes to the conquering army.

The technical art of war seems to have been little studied among Moslems; they have treatises on archery but very little upon tactics. Their writers recognize, however, the essential difference between the European and Persian methods of charging in solid lines and holding the ground stubbornly, and the Arab and Berber method of flying attacks and retreats by clouds of cavalry. Therefore, one explained, the custom grew of using a mass of European mercenaries as a fixed nucleus and rallying-point. The early Moslem armies, too, had used the solid, unyielding charge, which may have been the secret of their success. For one of the greatest puzzles of history is the cause which changed the erratic, untrustworthy swarms of Arab horsemen with their childish strategy into the ever-victorious legions of the first caliphs. They certainly learned rapidly. Byzantium and Persia taught them the use of military engines and the entrenched camp. Before that they had been, at the best, single knights with mail-shirt, helmet, sword and lance. Bowmen, too, they used, but the principal use of the bow seems to have come with the Turks.

Education.

The glory of Moslem education was its university system, which fed the higher learning and did not serve everyday needs. Its primary system was very poor, almost non-existent; and technical education has never been recognized in Islam. Primary teachers were despised as ignorant and foolish. Apparently, if we may trust the many stories of how ignorant men set up for themselves, there was no control of them by the state. Their pupils were young only; they taught the rudiments of reading, Koran, catechism, prayer, writing and arithmetic, but very little of the latter. Technical education was given by the gilds through their apprentice system, teaching mechanical arts and crafts. This was genuine instruction, but was not so regarded; it was looked upon rather as are the mysteries and secrets of operative masonry. It produced artisans of independent character, but not artists. Thus there was no distinction between architect and builder; there was no sculpture; and painting, so far as it went, was like carving, a craft. All Moslem university education, like all Moslem science, revolved round theology. There were, apparently, only two outstanding exceptions to this rule, the academy of Mamun (813-833) at Bagdad, and the hall of wisdom of the Fatimites at Cairo (1004-1171); both of these are explained by their environment. From the earliest times, independent scholars instructed classes in mosques--the common places of meeting for the community--and gave their pupils personal certificates. Their subjects were the reading and interpretation of the Koran; the body of traditions from the Prophet; the thence deduced system of theology; the canon law. But the interpretation of the Koran involved grammatical and lexicographical studies of early Arabic, and hence of the early Arabic literature. Theology came to involve metaphysical and logical studies. Canon law required arithmetic and mensuration, practical astronomy, &c. But these last were strictly ancillary; the object of the instruction was primarily to give knowledge of value for the life of the next world, and, secondarily, to turn out theologians and lawyers. Medicine was in Jewish and Christian hands; engineering, architecture, &c., with their mathematical bases, were crafts. Then this instruction was gradually subsidized and organized by the state, or endowed by individuals. How early this took place is uncertain. But the individual teacher, with his certificate, remained the object of the student; there was nothing corresponding to our general degrees. Thirdly, educational institutions came to be equipped with scholarships of money or in kind for the students. The first instance of this is generally ascribed to Nishapur (Naisabur) in 1066; but it soon became general in the system and afforded a means of control and centralization. A final, and most important, characteristic was the wide journeying of the students "in search of knowledge." Aided by Arabic as the universal language of learning, students journeyed from teacher to teacher, and from Samarkand to the Atlantic, gathering on their way hundreds of personal certificates. Scholars were thus kept in touch all over the Moslem world, and intellectual unity was maintained.

The Sayyids.

To the democratic equality of Islam, in which the slave of to-day may be the prime minister of to-morrow, there is one outstanding exception. The descendants of the Prophet and of his relatives (the family of Hashim) formed and form a special class, held in social reverence, and guarded from contamination and injury. These are the _sayyids_ (lords), and genealogical registers of them are carefully preserved. They are of all degrees of wealth and poverty, but are guarded legally from _mésalliances_ with persons of ignoble origin or equivocal occupation. Their influence is very great, and in some parts of the Moslem world they have the standing and reverence of saints.

See Von Kremer, _Culturgeschichte des Orients_, based largely on Mawardi's _Ahkam_, trans. in part by Ostrorog; McG. de Slane's trans. of Ibn Khaldun, _Prolégomènes_; Lane, _Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians_; R. F. Burton, _Pilgrimage to Mekka_; Snouck Hurgronje, _Mekka_; Hughes, _Dictionary of Islam_; Juynboll, _De Mohammedaansche Wet_; Macdonald, _Development of Muslim Theology_, &c. For women in Islam, see HAREM. (D. B. Ma.)

MAHOMMEDAN LAW. The legal situation in the Moslem world is of the highest complexity, and can be made intelligible only by tracing its historical development. First came the system (_fiqh_, _sharia_) which takes the place in Islam of canon law in Roman Christendom. It begins with Mahomet sitting as judge over the primitive Moslem community at Medina. He was the Prophet of God, and judged, as he ruled, absolutely; any decision of his was valid. But he found it, in general, advisable and fitting to follow the local law or usage of Medina when the new faith did not require a change. It thus came about that his decisions followed, at one time, the usage of the Arab tribes of Medina; at another, the law respected by the Jewish tribes there--a rabbinic development of the law of Moses, deeply affected by Roman law; at another, the more developed commercial law of Mecca, known to his followers who had fled thence with him; or, finally, his own personal judgment, stated it might be as his own sense of right or as the decision of Allah and even incorporated in the Koran. In his use of these he was an eclectic opportunist, and evidently, except as regards such frequently recurring subjects as inheritance, marriage, &c., had no thought of building up a system or code. At his death he left behind only a few specific prescriptions in the Koran and a mass of recorded decisions of cases that had come before him. He had used himself, in our terms, common law, equity, legislation; to guide his followers he left his legislative enactments and the record of his use of common law. Since his death there has been no new legislation in orthodox Islam.

With the death of Mahomet began the development and codification of Moslem law. It was at first entirely practical. Cases had to be decided, and to decide them there was, first, the Koran; secondly, if nothing _ad rem_ was found in the Koran, there were the decisions of the Prophet; thirdly, if these failed, there was the common law of Medina; and, fourthly, if it, in turn, failed, the common sense of the judge, or equity. A knowledge of the decisions of Mahomet came thus to be of great importance, and records of such decisions were eagerly sought and preserved. But this was simply a part of a much wider movement and tendency. As among primitive peoples in general, custom and usage have always been potent among the Arabs. The ways of the fathers, the old paths, they love to tread. Very early there arose a special reverence for the path and usage (_sunna_) of Mahomet. Whatever he did or said, or left unsaid or undone, and how he did it, has become of the first importance to the pious Moslem, who would act in every way as did the Prophet. There is evidence that for this purpose the immediate companions of Mahomet took notes, either in memory or in writing, of his table talk and wise sayings, just as they took down or learned by heart for their private use the separate fragments of the Koran. His sayings and doings, manners and customs, his answers to questions on religious life and faith, above all his decisions in legal disputes, came to be recorded on odd sheets in private notebooks. This was the beginning of the enormous literature of traditions (_hadith_) in Islam. The collecting and preserving of these, which was at first private, for personal guidance and edification, finally became one of the most powerful weapons of political and theological propaganda, and coloured the whole method and fabric of Moslem thought. All knowledge tended to be expressed in that form, and each element of it to be traced back to, and given in the words of, some master or other through a chain of transmitters. Above all there grew up an enormous mass of evidently forged sayings put into the mouth of Mahomet. At every important political or theological crisis each party would invent and put into circulation a tradition from him, supporting its view. By a study of these flatly opposed "sayings" it is possible to reconstruct the different controversies of Islam in the past, and to discover what each party regarded as the essence of its position.

The first collecting of traditions was for private purposes, and the first publication dealing with them was legal. This was the Muwatta' of Malik ibn Anas (d. 795), a _corpus juris_ based partly on traditions, and a protest in its methods against the too speculative character of the books of canon law which preceded it. Thereafter came collections of two different types. The earlier kind was arranged according to the companions of Mahomet, on whose authority the traditions were transmitted; after each companion came the traditions going back to him. The best known example of this kind is the _Musnad_ of Ahmad ibn Hanbal. The other kind, called _Musannaf_ (classified), contains traditions arranged in chapters according to their subject matter. That of Bukhari is the most famous, and is arranged to give a traditional basis for a complete system of canon law; its rubrics are those of such a system. Another is that of Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, who paid less attention to legal aspects and more to minute accuracy. There are many others of more or less acceptance and canonicity. Bukhari's book enjoys a reverence only second to that of the Koran. But in all these publications the primary object was to purify the mass of traditions of forged accretions and to give to the believer a sound basis for his knowledge of the usages of the Prophet, whether for his personal or for public use. These two kinds were a natural development. In the Moslem community there were from the first students of tradition proper whose interest lay in collecting, testing and transmitting, not in combining, systematizing and elucidating; whose preference was to take a single statement from the Prophet and apply it to a case, without reasonings or questionings. And there were students of canon law who were interested rather in the system and results, and who, while they used traditions, used them only to an end and insisted on the free application of speculative principles. The conflict of the future was to be between these traditionalists, on the one hand, and rationalists, on the other; and the result was to be a compromise.

With the wide sweep of Moslem conquest another element came into the development. This was Roman law, which the Moslem jurist found at work in the conquered Roman provinces and in the law courts of which they went to school. It is to be remembered that the Arab armies were not devastating hordes; they recognized the need of law and order wherever they went, and it was the policy of their leaders to take over the administrative systems of the countries which they seized. Even the Arabic legal nomenclature shows evident signs of literal translation from Latin, and many Moslem principles can be traced to the Roman codes. One important development was plainly influenced by the liberty involved in the _Responsa prudentium_ of Roman lawyers, and by the broad conception of the law of nature in the Edict of the Praetor. In its earliest stages Moslem law recognized in the judge a liberty of opinion (_ra'y_) which went beyond even that of the _Responsa_ and became plain equity, in the English sense, and one school (the Hanifite) established as a basis the right of preference (_istihsan_) even when the analogy of the code dictated otherwise; while another (the Malikite) used the term _istislah_, "a seeking of (general) benefit" to the community, in a similar situation. But these developments were bitterly contested, and the liberty of opinion was in the end narrowed down to a principle of analogy (_qiyas_), the nearest approach to which in Western law is legal fiction.

It is necessary now to return to the first successors of Mahomet. "For thirty years after my death," he is said to have declared, "my people will tread in my path (_sunna_); thereafter will come kings and princes." This tradition crystallizes the later feeling of Islam. The first thirty years were a golden age; the centre of the state was the Prophet's own city of Medina; the conditions of the state continued in close conformity to those of his own time. The study of tradition, i.e. of his usage, went hand in hand with the study of law. They were vital functions of the state, and it encouraged both.

Then came the great _débâcle_. The _ancien régime_, a semi-monkish, theocratic empire, went down, and the Omayyad dynasty, kings and princes of the old Arab type, took its place (see CALIPHATE, B). The public life of the state was no longer deeply religious; the pious said that it was godless. Under these conditions law was indeed still needed; but it had to be opportunist. Its development went on, but became speculative. The study of tradition was now private, and its students were more and more the personally pious. There were, thus, two results. On the one hand, the framers of systems of canon law--as it now was--no longer lived in contact with reality; hypothetical and ideal structures were reared which could never stand the touch of the practical law-court. And on another, traditions and law, even this hypothetical law, came to take separate roads. The interest of the students of tradition became the gathering of traditions for their own sake, going no farther than a striving to regulate each detail of life by some specific, concrete, prophetic dictum. They had no use for systems that went beyond the mere registering of these dicta. The feeling also became widespread that any system of government which did not simply reproduce the patriarchal form of Medina was of the world and the devil--a thing with which no religious man could have aught to do. At every turn he would have to peril his soul.

Here we must place the transition of this law with which we have hitherto dealt from being the law of the land to being in essence a variety of canon law. It was always broader than any western secular law. It regulated all the aspects of life--duty to God, to one's neighbour, to one's self. It was really a system of duties, ethical, legal, religious. It did not limit itself to defining the forbidden (_haram_); but designated actions also as required (_fard_, _wajib_), recommended (_mandub_, _mustahabb_), indifferent (_ja`iz_, _mubah_), disliked (_makruh_). It played the part of, or rendered necessary, a religious director quite as much as a lawyer. And for a time at Medina it was really the law of the land. But from the Omayyad period on it has held the position of the canon law of the Roman Church in countries that will not recognize it and yet dare not utterly reject it. It governs, in one or other of its four schools, the private lives of all pious Moslems; it regulates some semi-public relationships--e.g. marriage, divorce, inheritance; it compels respect, if not acceptance, from the state; and by its ideal standard the world, filled with righteousness by the Mahdi, will be ruled in the Moslem millennium.

The rise of the Abbasids brought a change, but not a great one. They had promised a return to the old religious attitudes, and the promise was formally kept. But in substance they were as much as the Omayyads, and though the state was outwardly on a pious footing, and the religious sentiment of the people was respected, the old, absolute canon law was not restored. It was made possible for more theologians and lawyers to work with the state, but an irreconcilable party still remained, and the situation was fixed as it is to this day. It is true that the struggle to adapt such a single and detailed system to all the varying conditions, climates and times of the great empire was impossible; but the failure marked the great rent in the supposed unity of Islam between the church and the world, religion and law.

Yet the Abbasids did, in their way, encourage legal studies, and under them processes and results, long pursued in private, became public. Almost within the first century of their dynasty the four legal schools, or rites, were formed and the principles established which survive to this day.

The first school to take definite form was the Hanifite, founded by Abu Hanifa (d. 767), who left behind him a definite system and many enthusiastic pupils. He was a man of means, in touch with commercial, but not with practical legal life, a speculative or philosophical jurist. Being of non-Arab origin, the usage of Medina had small interest for him. He therefore used few traditions, and preferred to go back to the Koran, and extract from it by reasoning the rulings which fitted his ideas. This he called the use of analogy (_qiyas_); but, in his hands, it became practically legal fiction, the application of a law in some sense undreamed by its first imposer. But he had another, and still freer instrument. The effect of differences in local conditions had been early observed and admitted in general terms. Abu Hanifa reduced it to a subjective formula. Under such conditions he claimed the right of preference (_istihsan_) of a ruling suited to the local needs, even when the strict analogy indicated otherwise. This met and meets with vehement protest when formally stated, but the usage of Islam has practically accepted it. His system, finally, was not developed through the exigencies of actual cases, but was worked out as a system of casuistry, though in a good sense. He tried, that is, to construct a system of rules to answer any conceivable question. After his death his pupils elaborated it still further, and accepted public office. The `Abbasids adopted his school, and threw their influence on its side; its philosophic breadth and casuistic possibilities evidently commended it to them. Later, the Ottoman Turks also adopted it, and it may be said to hold now a leadership among the four legal rites. Its influence has undoubtedly tended to broaden and humanize Moslem law.

Twenty-eight years after Abu Hanifa, Malik ibn Anas, the founder of the Malikite school, died at Medina. In many points his situation was precisely opposite to that of Abu Hanifa, and yet his results were very similar. He was a working jurist, in practical touch with actual life; he was in the centre of the tradition of the usage of the Prophet, in the line, one might say, of the apostolic succession. He, therefore, used traditions much more generally than did Abu Hanifa, and when he, under pressure, took refuge in opinion, he certainly felt that he, under his conditions, had a better right to do so than any outsider. But two of his principles marked a distinct advance and showed that he was no mere traditionalist. For one, he laid down the conception of public advantage (_istislah_); when a rule founded on even a valid analogy would work a general injury it was to be set aside; justice must not be overcome by logic. And, for the other, he laid stress on the conception of the agreement (_ijma`_), an idea which was to have indefinite importance in the future. When the surviving companions of the Prophet, after his death, agreed upon any point as belonging to their store of tradition and experience, their agreement was accepted as final. In the first instance they agreed that such had been the statement of the Prophet. That easily passed over into an agreement that such was the true Moslem view, and finally into an acceptance of the principle that the Moslem Church, when unanimous, could formulate truth--practically as in the canon of Vincent of Lérins, _Quod semper, quod ubique, quod ab omnibus_. But such a broadly catholic position was still in the future, and for Malik, juristic agreement meant the agreement of Medina, though there are signs that he permitted the same latitude to other places also. It was a way of allowing for local conditions rather than of reaching the voice of the Church. His law book, the _Muwatta'_, the earliest in our possession written by the founder of a school, has already been mentioned. It is a collection of about seventeen hundred traditions of juristic importance, arranged according to subject, with appended remarks on the usage of Medina and on his own view of each matter.

So far opinion and local usage had fully held their own, and the philosophical jurist had been free to work out his system. The difference between the _istihsan_ of Abu Hanifa and the _istislah_ of Malik was not great; students attended the lectures of both and combined their systems. But a reaction now began, and the traditionalist party finally made itself felt. We have the inevitable rivalry between the historical-empirical and the speculative-philosophical schools of jurisprudence, rendered all the more bitter in that the historical lawyers believed, in this case, that they were defending a divine institution. There resulted, first, one of the most important schools, the Shafi`ite; secondly, an extremely literal school for which ash-Shafi`i did not go far enough, and which has now vanished; and thirdly, the Hanbalite school, still surviving in small numbers, more moderately traditional than the last.

The school founded by ash-Shafi`i (d. 820), a pupil of Malik, came first in order of time. The others were really revolts against the mildness of his compromise. His characteristics were a broad-minded, steady grasp of means and ends, a perception of what could and what could not be done, a willingness to admit all the tried principles in due balance, and, at one point especially, the insight of genius as to the possibilities of these principles. He laid great stress on tradition; a clear, authentic tradition he regarded as no less valid than the Koran itself. If the tradition was chronologically later than a Koranic passage and corrected that passage, he followed the tradition. But in this he was only regulating a fixed tendency. The Koran may be regarded theoretically as the first of all the sources of law and theology; practically its clear statements have been over-ridden in many cases. Most important of all, the principle of agreement (_ijma`_) came finally with him to its full rights. The agreement of the Moslem peoples was to be the voice of God. "My people," said a tradition from Mahomet, "will never agree in an error." And so, over traditions and over the Koran itself, the agreement tacitly or explicitly ruled and rules. It stamps as authoritative that which the other principles lay down. At the head of each section of a Shafi`ite law book we read, "The basis of this, before the agreement, is such and such." But with the aid of a principle of this breadth it was easy to reject the opinion which was so objectionable to the traditionalist party. In its place he took analogy (_qiyas_), which, discreetly used, could serve almost the same purpose. The Koranic passage or the tradition with which an analogy was suggested should, he taught, be examined to see if there was a reason clearly stated for the command. If so, that reason would give a basis for the analogy. Analogy based on the mechanical or external could not hold.

The four bases thus laid down by ash-Shafi`i--Koran; prophetic usage as expressed in traditions; analogy; agreement--have come to be accepted by all existing schools. This applies to all spheres of life, ethical, social, theological, legal, and it should never be forgotten that the Koran is only one of the sources for Moslem faith and conduct.

Few words are needed for the other, reactionary schools. One, now long extinct, was founded by a certain Da`ud uz-Zahiri, "David the Literalist," born three or four years before the death of ash-Shafi`i, and so called because he insisted upon an absolutely literal interpretation of his texts--Koran or tradition--without account of context or metaphor. In consequence he had to reject analogy, and limited agreement to that of the companions of Mahomet; the Church of Islam was to have no constructive authority. In one point he showed great sanity of judgment, namely in his rejection of the principle _jurare in verba magistri_, otherwise regnant in Islam. His school had long and interesting consequences, mostly theological, but is now extinct, and never took rank with the others. The Moslem world found his positions too impossible, and now no one swears to his words. The other, the Hanbalite school, was founded by the scholars of Ahmad ibn Hanbal after his death in 885. He himself would never have revolted against his master, ash-Shafi`i, but it was soon felt that his system, so far as he had any, was in essential opposition. He had been no lawyer, but a theologian and a collector and student of traditions. All his life had been a protest against speculation in divine things. Where the Koran and traditions were silent, he, too, had been silent. For this agnostic principle he had witnessed and suffered, and his standing with the people was that of a saint. Naturally, then, the last still existent school of traditionalist protest was launched in his name. It minimizes agreement and analogy, is literal in its interpretations, and is now by far the smallest of the four surviving schools. Its external history is that of a testifying and violent minority.

Other men, such as Tabari, the historian and commentator, have had dreams that they, too, might join the Four Imams (see IMAM) as founders of legal rites, but none has succeeded. The Four remain the ultimate exponents of this canon law, and under the banner of one or other of them every Moslem must range himself. As there is a principle of unity in Islam, expressed in the alleged prophetic saying, "My people will never agree in an error," so there is a principle of variety, also expressed in an alleged prophetic saying, "The disagreement of my people is a mercy from God." The four rites may differ upon many points, yet the adherents of one never dream of regarding the adherents of the others as outside the Church of Islam; they are not "dissenters" in the English sense. God is merciful to his creatures, and gives them so much liberty of choice. Yet in practice this liberty is not great. The principle of swearing to the words of the master is a dead hand laid upon Islam. A man's legal rite is generally settled by the place and other conditions of his birth, and after he has once accepted a rite, he must, if good and pious, follow it in all its details. Only the avowed sceptic or the recognized eccentric can be an eclectic.

The geographical distribution of the rites is roughly as follows: Moslems in Central Asia and northern India and the Turks everywhere are Hanifites; in Lower Egypt, Syria, southern India and the Malay Archipelago they are Shafi`ites; in Upper Egypt and in north Africa, west of Egypt, they are Malikites; only the Wahhabis (q.v.) in central Arabia are Hanbalites. But the will of the sovereign has also had a powerful influence and has frequently dictated the legal, as well as the theological, affiliations of his subjects. The Turks, for example, have thrown their weight almost everywhere on the Hanifite side. Their policy is to appoint only Hanifite judges (see CADI), although for private and personal questions they appoint and pay Muftis (q.v.) of the other rites. In other cases, with a population of mixed legal adherence, the government has been known to appoint judges of different rites.

The Shi`ite canon law is dealt with separately, but some mention of two outstanding sects is here in place. The Ibadites (see MAHOMMEDAN RELIGION: _Sects_) have a system of canon law which in essentials is of older codification than that of any of the orthodox schools, going back to Abdallah ibn Ibad himself, of the first century of the Hijra (Hejira). Its basis is above all the Koran, then a sparing use of traditions, natural to their early origin, and finally the agreement of their own learned men, again natural to an extreme dissenting sect, and it still rules the Ibadite communities at Oman, Zanzibar and the Mzab in southern Algeria. At all these places they, the last descendants of the Kharijites, hold severely apart, while the other Moslems shrink from them as heretics of the worst. Not nearly so far from ordinary Islam, but still of an extreme self-conscious Puritanism are the Wahhabis. They are really Hanbalites, but apply the rules of that school with uncompromising, reforming energy. The doctrine of the agreement of the Church of Islam they reject; only that of the immediate companions of Mahomet is valid. The people of Mahomet can err and has erred; each man must, on his own responsibility, draw his doctrine from the Koran and the traditions. Here they follow the Zahirites.

All these schools of law administer a scheme of duties, which, as has already been remarked, comes nearest to the canon law of the Roman Church, and which for centuries has had only a partial connexion with the real legal systems of the Moslem peoples. Among the Wahhabis and Ibadites alone is it the whole of law. Elsewhere, since the Omayyad period, its courts have been in great part pushed aside by others, and its scheme has come to be regarded as an expression of impossible theory, to be realized at best with the coming of the millennium. The causes and methods of this change call now for detailed notice.

As Islam spread beyond the desert and the conditions in which the life of Mahomet and his companions had been cast, it came to regions, climates, customs, where the Arabian usages no longer held. Not only were the prescripts of Medina ill adapted to the new conditions; the new people had legal usages of their own to which they clung and which nothing could make them abandon. It was rather the Moslem leaders who were compelled to abandon their ideas and for the sake of the spread of Islam to accept and incorporate much that was diametrically opposed to the original legislation either of the Koran or of Mahomet's recorded decisions. As in religion the faiths of the conquered peoples were thinly veneered with Moslem phrases, so in law there grew up a customary code (_`adat_) for each country, differing from every other, which often completely obscured and annulled the prescriptions of the canon law. The one was an ideal system, studied and praised by the pious learned; the other was the actual working of law in the courts.

But besides the obstinate adherence of various peoples to their old paths, the will of individual rulers was a determining factor. When these ceased to be saints and students of divine things, and came to be worldly statesmen and opportunists, followers of their own objects and pleasures, no system could hold which set a limit to their authority. The Oriental ruler must rule and judge on his own initiative, and the schools of canon law tended to reduce everything to an academic fixedness. There thus arose a new and specific statute law, emanating from the sovereign. At first he judged in the gate as seemed good in his eyes and as was his right and duty (cf. "court of oppressions"; see MAHOMMEDAN INSTITUTIONS); later, his will was codified as in the Turkish statute law (_qawanin_) derived from various European codes. Thus there has grown up in almost every Moslem country at least two systems of courts, the one administering this canon law, and taking cognisance of private and family affairs, such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, its officials also giving rulings on purely personal religious questions, such as details of the ritual law, the law of oaths and vows, &c.; the other, the true law courts of the land, administering codes based on local custom and the decrees of the local rulers.

A rift almost as important entered the legal life of the Moslem lands on another side. Non-Moslem communities, settled in Moslem territory, have been uniformly permitted to administer and judge themselves according to their own customs and laws. Save when they come into direct contact and conflict with Moslems, they are left to themselves with a contemptuous tolerance. The origin of this attitude in Islam appears to be threefold: (i) The Islam of theory cannot conceive of a mixed state; it takes account, only, of a state containing none but Moslems, and its ideal is that the whole world will, in the end, form such a state. In practice, then, Moslems try to shut their eyes to the existence of non-Moslems in their midst and make no provision for them until compelled. That a non-Moslem should have the same civil position as a Moslem is unthinkable. (ii) This, of course, produces an attitude of extreme contempt. The only citizens are Moslems and all others are to be looked down upon and left to themselves. What they do or think among themselves does not matter; they are outside the ring-fence of Islam. (iii) A different, but equally important, cause is the Moslem indolence. When the Arabs conquered, they knew that they must administer the conquered lands, and they, very wisely, sought help from the machinery which they found in operation. But besides the ordinary organization of the state, they found also various ecclesiastical organizations, Christian and Jewish, and to these they gave over the administration of the non-Moslem sections of the community, making their rabbis and bishops their responsible heads and the links of contact with the Moslem rulers. They, unquestionably, found the same method in use by the Byzantine government; but in Moslem hands it went so far as to make a number of little states (_millet_, _milal_) within the state and effectually to preclude the possibility of ever welding all the inhabitants of the land into one corporate life.

But this indolence, when applied to resident aliens, had consequences still more serious, because external as well as internal. Following the same method of leaving the unbeliever to settle his affairs for himself, the European merchant, living and trading in the East, was put first by usage and finally by treaty under the jurisdiction and control of his own consul. Thus there grew up the extra-territorial law of the capitulations and conventions, by which the sanctity of the person and household of an ambassador is extended to every European. And this in turn, has reacted on the status of the non-Moslem subject races, and has come to be the indirect but chief support on which they lean. Through it, an element has developed which makes it practically impossible for a Moslem state to introduce legal changes even remotely affecting its non-Moslem population, alien or subject, without the consent of the European embassies. Any change may be upset by their refusal to accept it as incompatible with the capitulations and conventions. The embassies have thus, as interpreters of a part, at least, of the constitution, come to hold a position remarkably, if absurdly, like that of the Supreme Court of the United States (see Young, _Corps de droit Ottoman, passim_).

There may be said, then, in short, to be three elements in the legal life of a Moslem state: the sacred and fixed canon law of Islam; the civil law, based on the usages of the different peoples, Moslem and non-Moslem, and on statutes going back to the will of rulers; the international law of the capitulations, with a contractual sanction of its own. The hope for the future in Islam, there can be little doubt, lies in the principle of the agreement of the Moslem people, with its conception of catholic unity, and its ability, through that unity, to make and abrogate laws. As the Moslem peoples advance, their law can, thus, advance with them, and the grasp of the dead hand of the canon law be gradually and legally released.

See I. Goldziher, _Muhammedanische Studien_, I. and II. (Halle a.S., 1889-1890); _Zahiriten_ (Leipzig, 1884); E. Sachau, _Zur ältesten Geschichte des muhammedanischen Rechts_ (Vienna Akad., 1870) and _Muhammedanisches Recht_ (Stuttgart and Berlin, 1897); Snouck Hurgronje, review of preceding in _Z.D.M.G._ liii. 125 seq. and "Le droit musulman" (_Rev. de l'hist. des religions_, xxxvii. 1 seq. and 174 seq.); Juynboll, _Handleiding tot de Kennis von de mohammedaansche Wet_ (Leiden, 1903); Von Kremer, _Culturgeschichte des Orients unter den Chalifen_, i. 470 seq. (Vienna, 1875-1877); Hughes, _Dictionary of Islam_, pp. 285 seq. (London, 1896); D. B. Macdonald, _Development of Muslim Theology_, &c., pp. 65 seq. (New York, 1903); Bukhari, _Les Traditions islamiques traduites ... par O. Houdas et W. Marcel_ (Paris, 1906); N. B. E. Bailie, _Digest of Moohummadan Law_ (2 vols., London, 1875-1887). A good bibliography appeared in the _Bulletin of the New York Public Library_ for January 1907. (D. B. Ma.)

MAHOMMEDAN RELIGION. The Mahommedan religion is generally known as _Islam_--the name given to it by Mahomet himself--and meaning the resigning or submitting oneself to God. The participle of the same Arabic verb, _Muslim_ (in English usually spelt Moslem), is used for one who professes this religion. The expression "Mahommedan religion" has arisen in the West probably from analogy with "Christian religion," but is not recognized as a proper one by Moslem writers. Islam claims to be a divinely revealed religion given to the world by Mahomet, who was the last of a succession of inspired prophets. Its _doctrine_ and _practices_ are to be found in (i) the Book of God--the Koran--which was sent down from the highest heaven to Gabriel in the lowest, who in turn revealed it in sections to Mahomet; (2) the collections of tradition (_hadith_) containing the sayings and manner of life (_sunna_) of the Prophet; (3) the use of analogy (_qiyas_) as applied to (i) and (2); and (4) the universal consent (_ijma'_) of the believers. The _worship_ of Islam consists in (1) the recital of the creed; (2) the recital of the ordained prayers; (3) the fast during the month of Ramadhan; (4) alms-giving; (5) the _hajj_, the pilgrimage to Mecca. The _theology_ of Islam finds its first public expression among the orthodox in the teaching of al-Ash`ari (d. after 932), but had its real beginning among the sects that arose soon after the death of Mahomet.

Islam is the latest of the so-called world-religions, and as several of the others were practised in Arabia at the time of Mahomet, and the Prophet undoubtedly borrowed some of his doctrines and some of his practices from these, it is necessary to enumerate them and to indicate the extent to which they prevailed in the Arabian world.

_Relations with Other Religions._--The religions practised in Arabia at the time of Mahomet were heathenism, Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism.

i. _Heathenism_ was the religion of the majority of the Arabs. In the cities of south Arabia it was a survival from the forms represented in the Sabaean, Minaean and Himyaritic inscriptions of south Arabia (see ARABIA: _Antiquities_). The more popular form current among the nomads is known very imperfectly from the remains of pre-Islamic poetry and such works as the _Kitab ul-Asnam_ contained in Yaqut's geography, from Shahrastani's work on the sects, and from the few references in classical writers. From these we have mostly names of local deities (cf. J. Wellhausen, _Reste arabischen Heidentums_, 2nd ed., Berlin, 1897) and ancient religious customs, which remained in part after the introduction of Islam (cf. W. Robertson Smith, _The Religion of the Semites_, Edinburgh, 1889, and _Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia_, Cambridge, 1885). From these sources we learn that Arabian religion was a nature-worship associated with fetishism. Sun, moon and stars were worshipped, some tribes being devoted to the worship of special constellations. Certain stones, wells and trees were regarded as sacred and as containing a deity. Many (perhaps most) tribes had their own idols. Hobal was the chief god of the Ka`ba in Mecca with its sacred stone, but round him were grouped a number of other tribal idols. It was against this association (_shirk_) of gods that Mahomet inveighed in his attempt to unify the religion and polity of the Arabs. But there were features in this heathenism favourable to unity, and these Mahomet either simply took over into Islam or adapted for his purpose. The popularity of the Ka`ba in Mecca as a place of resort for worshippers from all parts of Arabia led Mahomet not only to institute the _hajj_ as a duty, but also to take over the customs connected with the heathen worship of these visits, and later to make Mecca the _qibla_, i.e. the place to which his followers turned when they prayed. The name of Allah, who seems to have been the god of the Koreish (cf. D. S. Margoliouth, _Mohammed_, p. 19, London, 1905), was accepted by Mahomet as the name of the one God, though he abandoned the corresponding female deity Al-lat.

2. _Judaism_ had long been known in Arabia at the time of the Prophet. Whether Hebrews settled in Arabia as early as the time of David (cf. R. Dozy, _Die Israeliten zu Mecca_, Leipzig, 1864), or not, is of little importance here as Judaism cannot be said to have existed until the end of the 5th century B.C. The Seleucid persecutions and the political troubles that ended with the fall of Jerusalem (A.D. 70) probably sent many Jews to Arabia. In the 5th and 6th centuries the history of south Arabia and of Nejran is largely that of the strife between Jews and Christians. In the north-west the Jews possessed Tema, Khaibar, Yathrib (Medina), Fadak, and other smaller settlements. In these they lived as self-contained communities, not seeking to proselytize but working at their trades, especially concerned with money and jewelry. Mahomet seems to have expected their help in his proclamation of monotheism, and his first _qibla_ was Jerusalem. It was only when they refused to accept him as prophet that he turned in anger against them. They had, however, supplied him with much material from the Old Testament, and the stories of creation, the patriarchs and early kings and prophets occur continually in the Koran, told evidently as they were recited by the common people and with many mistakes caused by his own misunderstanding.

3. _Christianity_, though later than Judaism, had a sure footing in Arabia. It had suffered persecution in Nejran and had been supported in the south by the Abyssinian invasions. The kingdom of Hira was largely Christian; the same is true of the north Arabian tribes of Bakr and Taghlib, and east of the Jordan and on the Syrian boundary as well as in Yemama Christianity had made progress. Pre-Islamic literature contains many allusions to the teaching and practices of Christianity. Of the time of its introduction little is known; little also of the form in which it was taught, save that it came from the Eastern Church and probably to a large extent through Monophysite and Nestorian sects. Tradition says that Mahomet heard Christian preaching at the fair of Ukaz, and he probably heard more when he conducted the caravans of Khadija. Gospel stories derived apparently from uncanonical works, such as the Gospel of the Nativity, occur in the Koran. The asceticism of the monks attracted his admiration. A mistaken notion of the Trinity was sharply attacked by him. It is curious that his followers in the earliest times were called by the heathen Arabs, Sabians (q.v.), this being the name of a semi-Christian sect. In the time of the Omayyads Christianity led to some of the earliest theological sects of Islam (see below).

4. _Zoroastrianism_ was known to the Arab tribes in the north-east, but does not seem to have exercised any influence in Mecca or Medina except indirectly through Judaism in its angelology. As soon, however, as the armies of Islam conquered Mesopotamia it began to penetrate the thought and practices of Islam (see below).

_Sources of Authority._--Islam, as we have said, is founded on: (1) the Koran; (2) the tradition or rather the _sunna_ (manner of life of Mahomet) contained in the tradition (_Hadith_); (3) _ijma`_; the universal agreement; (4) _qiyas_ (analogy).

1. The _Koran_[1] (properly _Qur'an_ from _qara'a_ to collect, or to read, recite) is the copy of an uncreated original preserved by God (see below), sent down from the seventh heaven to Gabriel in the first heaven, and revealed to Mahomet in sections as occasion required. These revelations were recited by the Prophet and in many cases written down at once, though from ii. 100 it would seem that this was not always the case. God is the speaker throughout the revelations. It seems probable that the whole Koran was written in Mahomet's lifetime, but not brought together as a whole or arranged in order.

As it exists now the Koran consists of 114 chapters called _suras_ (from _sura_, a row of bricks in a wall, a degree or step). The first is the _Fatiha_ (opening), which occupies the place of the Lord's Prayer in Christianity. The others are arranged generally in order of length, the longest coming first, the shortest (often the earliest in date) coming at the end. Certain groups, however, indicated by initial unvowelled letters, seem to have been kept together from the time of the Prophet. At the head of each _sura_ is a title, the place of its origin (Mecca or Medina) and the number of its verses (_ayat_) together with the formula, "In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate" (except in _sura 9_). For liturgical purposes the whole book is divided into 60 sections (_ahzab_) or into 30 divisions (_ajza_), each subdivided into a number of prostrations (_ruk`a_ or _sajda_). The origin of the collected and written Koran is due to Omar, who in the caliphate of Abu Bekr pointed out that many possessors of _suras_ were being slain in the battles of Islam and their property lost, that there was a danger in this way that much of the revelation might disappear, and that men were uncertain what was to be accepted as genuine revelation. Accordingly Zaid ibn Thabit who had been secretary to Mahomet, was commissioned to collect all he could find of the revelation. His work seems to have been simply that of a collector. He seems to have done his work thoroughly and made a copy of the whole for Abu Bekr. The collection was thus chiefly a private matter, and this copy passed after Abu Bekr's death into the hands of Omar, and after his death to Hafsa, daughter of Omar, a widow of Mahomet. In the caliphate of Othman it was discovered that there were serious differences between the readings of the Koran possessed by the Syrian troops and those of the Eastern soldiers, and Othman was urged to have a copy prepared which should be authoritative for the Moslem world. He appointed Zaid ibn Thabit and three members of the tribe of Koreish (Quraish) to do the work. Each of these made a copy of Abu Bekr's collection, carefully preserving Koreishite forms of words. How far the text was amended by the help of other copies is doubtful; in any case the mode of procedure was undoubtedly very conservative. The four similar manuscripts were sent, one each to Medina, Cufa (Kufa), Basra and Damascus, and an order was issued that all differing copies should be destroyed. In spite of the personal unpopularity of Othman this recension was adopted by the Moslem world and remains the only standard text. A few variant readings and differences of order of the _suras_ in the collections of Ubay ibn Ka`b and of Ibn Mas`ud were, however, known to later commentators. The only variants after the time of Othman were owing to different possible ways of pronouncing the consonantal text. These are usually of little importance for the meaning. As the text is now always vowelled, variations are found in the vowels of different copies, and the opinions of seven leading "readers" are regarded as worthy of respect by commentators (see Th. Nöldeke, _Geschichte des Qorans_, pp. 279 seq., Göttingen, 1860). Various characteristics enable one to establish with more or less certainty the relative chronological order of the _suras_ in the Koran, at any rate so far as to place them in the first or second Meccan period or that of Medina. The form of the sentences is a guide, for the earliest parts are usually written in the _saj`_ form (see ARABIA: _Literature_). The expressions used also help; thus the "O ye people" of the Meccan period is replaced in the Medina _suras_ by "O ye who believe." The oaths in the first Meccan period are longer, in the second shorter, and are absent in the Medinan. In the earliest period the style is more elevated and passionate. Occasionally the time of origin is determined by reference to historical events. In accordance with such principles of criticism two leading scholars, Nöldeke (_loc. cit._) and H. Grimme (in his _Mohammed Zweiter Teil_. _Einleitung in den Koran. System der koranischen Theologie_, Münster, 1895), have arranged the _suras_ as follows:--

_Order of Suras in Koran._

NÖLDEKE.

_Mecca._

1st to 5th yr. (a). 96. 74. 111. 106. 108. 104. 107. 102. 105. 92. 90. 94. 93. 97. 86. 91. 80. 68. 87. 95. 103. 85. 73. 101. 99. 82. 81. 53. 84. 100. 79. 77. 78. 88. 89. 75. 83. 69. 51. 52. 56. 70. 55. 112. 109. 113. 114. 1.

5th and 6th yr. (b). 54. 37. 71. 76. 44. 50. 20. 26. 15. 19. 38. 36. 43. 72. 67. 23. 21. 25. 17. 27. 18.

7th yr. to Flight (c). 32. 41. 45. 16. 30. 11. 14. 12. 40. 28. 39. 29. 31. 42. 10. 34. 35. 7. 46. 6. 13.

_Medina._

2. 98. 64. 62. 8. 47. 3. 61. 57. 4. 65. 59. 33. 63. 24. 58. 22. 48. 66. 60. 110. 49. 9. 5.

GRIMME.

_Mecca_, (1). [2] In old saj` form: 111. 107. 106. 105. 104. [103=]. 102. 101. 100. 99. 108. 96. 95. 94. 93. 92. 91. 90. 89. 88. [87=]. 86. [85=]. [84=]. 83. 82. [81.=] 80. 79. [78=]. 77. [76=]. 75. [74=]. [73=]. 70. 69. 68. 114. 113. 36. 55. 54. [53=]. 52. 51. 50. 15. [22=]. [14=].

(2). In loosened _saj`_ form: 46. 72. 45. 44. 41. 97. 40. 39. 38. 37. 36. 35. 34. 32. 31. 67. 30. [29=]. 28. 27. 26. 71. 25. 20. 23. 43. 21. 19. 1. 42. 18. 17.

_Medina._ [16=]. 13. 12. 11. 10. [7=]. 6. 98. (112. 109).

From the Flight to Badr. [2=]. 62. 5_(15.88.108-120). 47 and some interpolations in Meccan _suras_.

From Badr to Ohod 8. 24. 59.

From Ohod to capture of Mecca. 3. 29_(1-12). 4. 57. 64. 61. 60. 58. 65. 33. 63. 49. 110. 48. 5_(1-14). 66. 9_(1-24).

After capture of Mecca. 9_(25-124).

Theology.

On the supposition that the arrangements given above are at any rate approximately correct, it is possible to trace a certain development in the teaching of the Koran on some of the chief dogmas. It must, however, be borne in mind that orthodox Islam recognizes the Koran as the work not of Mahomet but of God. Yet Moslem theologians recognize that some revelations are inconsistent with others, and so have developed the doctrine of _nasikh_ and _mansukh_ ("abrogating" and "abrogated"), whereby it is taught that in certain definite cases a later revelation supersedes an earlier. A critical study of the Koran shows in the earlier revelations the marks of a reflective mind trained under the influence of Arabian education and stirred by an acquaintance (somewhat imperfect) with Judaism and Christianity. The later revelations seem to be influenced by the now dominant position of the Prophet and a desire after the capture of Mecca to incorporate such heathen religious ceremonies as are national. God is one and universal from the beginning. His unity is emphasized as against the mistaken conception of the Christian Trinity. At first his might is taught by the name _Rabb_ (Lord) which is generally used with an attribute as "the highest Lord," "Lord of the worlds," "Lord of men," "Lord of heaven and earth," "Lord of the East and West," or "our Lord." Then he is identified with the god Allah (see above) and the first part of the later Moslem creed is announced--_la ilaha illa-llaha_, "there is no god but Allah." But every act of creation is a proof not only of God's power but also of his beneficence (xiv. 37), and so he becomes known as _ar-Rahman_, "the Compassionate." The attributes of God may all be arranged in the three classes of his power, unity and goodness. They are expressed by the ninety-nine "beautiful names" applied to him in the Koran (see E. H. Palmer, _The Quran_ in "Sacred Books of the East," vol. vi., Introd. pp. 67-68, Oxford, 1880). In the Medina period of Mahomet's life the nature of God is not so clear, and the description of it varies according to the moods of the Prophet.

Spirits.

Beside God are two other uncreated beings: (1) the original of the Koran, the "mother of the Book" (xliii. 3) on a "preserved tablet" (_lauh mahfuz_) (lxxxv. 22), in accordance with which God acts, and (2) the throne (_kursi_) (ii. 256). When the heavens are created, God sits on his throne in the seventh heaven; around him are angels, pure, sexless beings, some of whom bear the throne, while some are engaged in praising him continually. They are also his messengers and are sent to fight with the believers against the heathen. Some are the guardian angels of men, others are the watchmen of hell. Mediate beings between God and man are the "word" (_amr_) and from it the "spirit" (_ruh_) or "holy spirit" (_ruh ul-qudus_). Another manifestation of God to the believers only is the "glory" (_sakina_).

Cosmology.

Ethics.

God created the world in six days according to the plan of the Book. Each new life was created by God's breathing into it a soul. The duality of soul and body is maintained. In each man is a good and a bad impulse. The bad impulse which was latent in Adam was roused to action by Satan (_Iblis_). Adam by his fall lost the grace of God, which was restored to him solely by the gracious choice of God. Between men and angels in their nature are the genii (_jinn_) male and female, inhabitants of desert places, created from smokeless fire. They had been accustomed to spy round heaven, but in Mahomet's time could learn no more of its secrets. Some of them were converted by the Prophet's teaching. Lowest of creation in his estate is Satan (_Shaitan_), who was an angel but was expelled from heaven because he refused to worship Adam at his Lord's command. God has revealed himself to man by (1) writing (_kitab_), and (2) prophets. As he had given to the Jews the Law (_Taurat_) and to the Christians the Gospel (_Injil_) so he revealed to Mahomet the Koran (Qur`an, known also by other names, e.g. _al-Furqan_, _at-Tafsil_, &c.), each single revelation being called an aya. With his revelation God has also sent an apostle or prophet to each people. Several of these are mentioned in the Koran, Moses the prophet of the Jews, Jesus (_Isa_) that of the Christians. Mahomet is not only the apostle of the Moslems but the "seal of the prophets," i.e. the final member of the class. His mission at first was to warn men of imminent judgment. Later he became more of a teacher. At first he seems to have relied for the salvation of men on his natural faculties, but later announced the doctrine of God's election. The ethics of the Koran are based on belief (_iman_) and good works, the latter alone occurring in the early Meccan _suras_. Fear of the judgment of God was a motive of action; this is followed by repentance and turning to God. A complete surrender to God's will (_islam_) is the necessary condition of religious life and is expressed in the phrase so common in everyday speech among the Moslems--_inshallah_, "if God will." God has full power to overlook evil deeds if he will. Unbelievers can acquire no merit, however moral their actions. A short account of the chief ethical requirements of the Koran is given in xvii. 23-40:--

"Put not God with other gods, or thou wilt sit despised and forsaken. Thy Lord has decreed that ye shall not serve other than Him; and kindness to one's parents, whether one or both of them reach old age with thee, and say not to them, 'Fie,' and do not grumble at them, but speak to them a generous speech. And lower to them the wing of humility out of compassion, and say, 'O Lord! have compassion on them as they brought me up when I was little!' Your Lord knows best what is in your souls if ye be righteous, and, verily, He is forgiving unto those who come back penitent.

"And give thy kinsman his due and the poor and the son of the road; and waste not wastefully, for the wasteful were ever the devil's brothers, and the devil is ever ungrateful to his Lord.

"But if thou dost turn away from them to seek after mercy from thy Lord, which thou hopest for, then speak to them an easy speech.

"Make not thy hand fettered to thy neck, nor yet spread it out quite open, lest thou shouldest have to sit down blamed and straightened in means. Verily, thy Lord spreads out provision to whomsoever He will or He doles it out. Verily, He is ever well aware of and sees His servants.

"And slay not your children for fear of poverty; we will provide for them; beware! for to slay them is ever a great sin.

"And draw not near to fornication; verily, it is ever an abomination, and evil is the way thereof.

"And slay not the soul that God has forbidden you, except for just cause; for he who is slain unjustly we have given his next of kin authority; yet let him not exceed in slaying; verily, he is ever helped.

"And draw not near to the wealth of the orphan, save to improve it, until he reaches the age of puberty, and fulfil your compacts; verily, a compact is ever enquired of.

"And give full measure when ye measure out, and weigh with a right balance; that is better and a fairer determination.

"And do not pursue that of which thou hast no knowledge; verily, the hearing, the sight and the heart, all of these shall be enquired of.

"And walk not on the earth proudly; verily, thou canst not cleave the earth, and thou shalt not reach the mountains in height.

"All this is ever evil in the sight of your Lord and abhorred."

(E. H. Palmer's translation.)

Eschatology.

The eschatology of the Koran is especially prominent in its earlier parts. The resurrection, last judgment, paradise and hell are all described. At death the body again becomes earth, while the soul sinks into a state of sleep or unconsciousness. At a time decreed, known as "the hour" (_as-Sa`a_), "the day of resurrection" (_yaum ul-qiyyama_), "day of judgment" (_yaum-ud-din_), &c., an angel will call or will sound a trumpet, the earth will be broken up, and the soul will rejoin the body. God will appear on his throne with angels. The great book will be opened, and a list of his deeds will be given to every man, to the good in his right hand, to the evil in his left (_sura 69_). A balance will be used to weigh the deeds. The _jinn_ will testify against the idolaters. The righteous will then obtain eternal peace and joy in the garden (_al-janna_) and the wicked will be cast into the fiery ditch (_Jahannam_), where pains of body and of soul are united.

2. The _Tradition._--The revelation of God is twofold--in a writing and by a prophet. The former was contained in the Koran, the latter was known from the actions of Mahomet in the different circumstances of life. The manner of life of the Prophet (_sunna_) was contained in the tradition (_al-hadith_). The information required was at first naturally obtained by word of mouth from the companions and helpers of Mahomet. These in turn bequeathed their information to their younger companions, who quoted traditions and gave decisions in their names.

For long these traditions circulated orally, the authority of each depending on the person who first gave it and the reliability of the chain (_isnad_) of men who had passed it on from him. At first this tradition was regarded as explanatory of, or at the most supplementary to, the teaching of the Koran. Early Moslem teachers pointed to the Jews as having two law-books--the _Taurat_ and the _Mishna_--while Islam had only one--the Koran. But opinion changed, the value of tradition as an independent revelation came to be more highly esteemed until at last it was seriously discussed whether a tradition might not abrogate a passage of the Koran with which it was at variance. The writing of traditions was at first strongly discouraged, and for more than a century the stories of the Prophet's conduct passed from mouth to mouth. Had all the narrators been pious men, this might have been tolerable, but this was not the case. The Omayyad dynasty was not a pious one. Men who were not religious but wished to appear so invented traditions to justify their manner of life. The sectarians did not hesitate to adopt the same means of spreading their own teaching. Many Moslem writers testify to the fact that forged traditions were circulated, and that religious opinion was confused thereby. The need for some sort of authoritative collection seems to have been felt by the one pious Omayyad caliph, Omar II. (717-720), who is said to have ordered Ibn Shihab uz-Zuhri to make such a collection. Of this work, if it was carried out, we know nothing further. It was, however, by a man born during this reign that the first systematic collection of traditions was made--the _Muwatta`_ of Malik ibn Anas (q.v.). Yet this work is not a book of tradition in the religious sense, it is really a corpus juris and not a complete one. The object of Malik was simply to record every tradition that had been used to give effect to a legal decision. The work of sifting the vast mass of traditions and arranging them according to their relation to the different parts of religious life and practice was first undertaken in the 3rd century of Islam (A.D. 815-912). In this century all the six collections afterwards regarded as canonical by the Sunnites (orthodox) were made. By this time an immense number of traditions was in circulation. Bukhari in the course of sixteen years' journeying through Moslem lands collected 600,000, and of these included 7275 (or, allowing for repetitions, 4000) in his work. The six collections of tradition received by the Sunnites as authoritative are: (i) The _Kitab ul-jami` us-Sahih_ of Bukhari (q.v.) (810-870). This is the most respected throughout the Moslem world and most carefully compiled (ed. L. Krehl and T. W. Juynboll, Leiden, 1862--and frequently in the East; also with many commentaries. French translation by O. Houdas and W. Marcais, Paris, 1903 sqq.). (ii) The _Sahih_ of Muslim (817-875) with an introduction on the science of tradition (ed. Calcutta, 1849, &c.). (iii) The _Kitab us-Sunan_ of Abu Da`ud (817-888) (ed. Cairo, 1863, Lucknow, 1888, Delhi, 1890). (iv) The _Jami` us-Sahih_ of Tirmidhi (q.v.). (v) _The Kitab us-Sunan_ of Nasa` i (830-915) (ed. Cairo, 1894). (vi) The _Kitab us-Sunan_ of Ibn Maja (824-866) (ed. Delhi, 1865 and 1889). The last four are not held in the same repute as the first two.

3. _Ijma`_ is the universal consent which is held to justify practices or beliefs, although they are not warranted by the Koran or tradition, and may be inconsistent with the apparent teaching of one or both of these. These beliefs and practices, which had often come from the pre-Islamic customs of those who had become believers, seem to have escaped notice until the Abbasid period. They were too deeply rooted in the lives of men to be abolished. It became necessary either to find a tradition to abrogate the earlier forbidding one, or to acknowledge that _ijma`_ is higher than the tradition. The former expedient was resorted to by some later theologians (e.g. Nawawi) by a fiction that such a tradition existed though it was not found now in writing. But in earlier times some (as Ibn Qutaiba) had adopted the latter alternative, saying that the truth can be derived much earlier from the _ijma`_ than from the tradition, because it is not open to the same chances of corruption in its transmission as the latter. Tradition itself was found to confirm this view, for the Prophet is related to have said, "My people does not agree to an error."

But _ijma`_ itself has been used in different senses: (i) The _ijma`_ of Medina was used to indicate the authority coming from the practices of the people of Medina (see below). (ii) The _ijma`_ of the whole community of Moslems is that most commonly recognized. It was used to support fealty to the Abbasid dynasty. By it the six books of tradition mentioned above are recognized as authoritative, and it is the justification of the conception of Mahomet as superhuman. (iii) Some of the more thoughtful theologians recognize only the _ijma`_ of the doctors or the teachers of Islam (the _mujtahidun_), these being restricted by the orthodox to the first few generations after Mahomet, while the Shi`ites allow the existence of such up to the present time.

4. The fourth basis of Islam is _qiyas_, i.e. analogy. It is that process by which a belief or practice is justified on the ground of something similar but not identical in the Koran, the tradition or _ijma`_. Originally it seems to have been instituted as a check upon the use of private opinion (_ra'y_) in the teaching of doctrine. The extent to which it may be used is a subject of much discussion among theologians. Some would apply it only to a "material similarity," others to similarity of motive or cause as well.

_Worship and Ritual._--The acts of worship required by Islam are five in number: (i) the recital of the creed; (ii.) observance of the five daily prayers; (iii) the fast in the month of Ramadhan; (iv) giving of the legal alms; (v) the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Creed.