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- Herausgeber: G. Weil
- Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
- Sprache: Englisch
This book is a collection of Islamic stories of the prophets, a genre which has been perrenially popular in the world of Islam. Most of the characters present in the stories are the same prophets which are familiar from the Bible and other Jewish.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016
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The Bible, The Koran, and the Talmud or, biblical legends of the mussulmans
G. Weil
First digital edition 2016 by Anna Ruggieri
Translator's Preface
G. WEIL has stated, in his Introduction to these Legends, that he chiefly extracted them from original Arabic records, which are still received by Mohammedans as the inspired biographies of the ancient patriarchs and prophets.
It must still farther be added that the leading ideas of these Mohammedan legends, i. e., their prominent historical narratives, and the doctrines and precepts which they either state expressly or imply, are contained in the Koran. In some instances it gives their minutest particulars. Indeed, it would seem as if these legends formed part, at least, of what the founder of the Mohammedan faith terms "the mother of the book," indicating that they preceded his Koran in order of time, and embodied the germ of that faith which he subsequently developed.
This idea is suggested by the learned German compiler, and is corroborated by the fact that the legends were unknown to the Arabs before Mohammed began to preach, while in the Koran he refers to them as already familiar to his hearers.
But, be this as it may, it is certain that the fact of their leading ideas being found in the Koran invests them with divine authority to the faithful Moslem, for it is a primary article of his creed that every thing contained in the Koran is of Allah. On first reading these legends, it therefore occurred to the writer that they might be a valuable acquisition, as an epitome of Mohammedan theology and morals. And their peculiar character, their constant allusion to scriptural facts, with which most Bible readers strongly identify themselves, their novel, and gorgeous, and often sublime inventions, investing them at once with the fidelity of historical detail, and the freshness and fascination of Oriental fiction, seem to fit them especially for popular instruction. If it be asked what benefit may be derived from promulgating the tenets of a professedly erroneous system, it is replied that a distinction ought to be observed between the false systems that have ceased to be believed, and those which are still maintained as divine truths by any portion of mankind.
It may be questioned whether the former ought at all to be taught, although there are reasons why even the exploded mythology of the ancients should be known; but respecting the second class, to which the religion of Mohammed belongs, there should be but one opinion.
Our Redeemer has committed to us, in part, the propagation of his holy faith, by which alone he declares that mankind shall attain to that holiness, peace, and glory for which they have been created. The exhibition, therefore, in the stewards of the Gospel, of a false religion, in which, as in the case before us, one hundred and twenty millions of our immortal race are at this moment staking their all, can not but be important, at once to awaken within us feelings of deep and active charity for these benighted multitudes, and to furnish us with the requisite intelligence for effectually combating their grievous errors with the weapons of truth.
Should the public feel any interest in this work, the translator proposes, in a future volume, to discuss the legendary principle at some length, and to show the analogy of its practical working in the Jewish, the Mohammedan, and Roman Catholic systems of religion.
Introduction
MOHAMMED has been frequently reproached with having altered and added most arbitrarily to the religious history of the Jews and Christians, two important considerations not being sufficiently borne in mind. In the first place, it is probable that Mohammed learned only late in life to write, or even to read the Arabic, and he was unquestionably ignorant of every other apoken or written language, as is sufficiently apparent from historical testimony: hence he was unable to draw from the Old and New Testaments for himself, and was entirely restricted to oral instruction from Jews and Christians.
Sccondly, Mohammed himself declared both the Old and New Testaments, as possessed by the Jews and Christians of his time, to have been falsified; and, consequently, his own divine mission could be expected to agree with those writings only in part. But the turning-point on which the greater portion of the Koran hinges—the doctrine of the unity of God, a doctrine which he embraced with the utmost consistency, and armed with which he appeared as a prophet before the pagan Arabs, who were addicted to the most diversified Polytheism—appeared to him much obscured in the Gospels, and he was therefore forced to protest against their genuineness.
But with regard to the writings of the Jews of the Old Testament, which he had received from the mouth of his Jewish contemporaries, he was induced to believe, or, at least, pretended to believe, that they too had undergone many changes, inasmuch as Ismael, from whom he was sprung, was evidently treated therein as a step-child, or as the son of a discarded slave; whereas Abraham's paternal love and solicitude, as well as the special favor of the Lord, were the exclusive portion of Isaac and his descendants. The predictions respecting the Messiah, too, as declared in the writings of the Prophets, appeared to him incompatible with the faith in himself as the seal of the Prophets. Moreover, Mohammed was probably indebted for his religious education to a man who, abandoning the religion of Arabia, his native country, had sought refuge first in Judaism, and then in Christianity, though even in the latter he does not seem to have found perfect satisfaction. This man, a cousin of his wife Kadidja, urged forward by an irresistible desire after the knowledge of truth, but, as his repeated apostasies would serve to show, being of a skeptical nature, may have discovered the errors that had crept into all the religious system of his time; and having extracted from them that which was purely Divine, and freed it from the inventions of men, may have propounded it to his disciple, who, deeply affected by its repeated inculcation, at length felt within himself a call to become the restorer of the old and pure religion. A Judaism without the many ritual and ceremonial laws, which, according to Mohammed's declaration, even Christ had been called to abolish, or a Christianity without the Trinity, crucifixion, and salvation connected therewith—this was the creed which, in the early period of his mission, Mohammed preached with unfeigned enthusiasm.
It would be out of place here to exhibit in detail the rapidly-changing character both of Mohammed and his doctrines; but what has been said appeared indispensable by way of introduction to the legends in this work. With the exception of a few later additions, these legends are derived from Mohammed himself. Their essential features are found even in the Koran, and what is merely alluded to there is carried out and completed by oral traditions. Hence these legends occupy a twofold place in Arabic literature. The whole circle of the traditions, from Adam to Christ, containing, as they do in the view of Mussulmans, real and undisputed matters of fact, which are connected with the fate of all nations, for this the foundation of the universal history of mankind; while, on the other hand, they are especially made use of as the biography of the Prophets who lived before Mohammed. It is therefore highly important to ascertain the ground from which the source of these legends has sprung, and to show the transformation which they underwent in order to serve as the fulcrum for the propagation of the faith in Mohammed.
Respecting the origin of these legends, it will appear, from what has been said, that, with the exception of that of Christ, it is to be found in Jewish traditions, where, as will appear by the numerous citations from the Midrash, they are yet to be seen. Many traditions respecting the Prophets of the Old Testament are found in the Talmud, which was then already closed, so that there can be no doubt that Mohammed heard them from Jews, to whom they were known, either by Scripture or tradition. For that these legends were the common property both of Jews and Arabs can not be presumed, inasmuch as Mohammed communicated them to the Arabs as something new, and specially revealed to himself; and inasmuch as the latter actually accused him of having received instruction from foreigners. Besides Warraka, who died soon after Mohammed's first appearance as a prophet, we know of two other individuals, who were well versed in the Jewish writings, and with whom he lived on intimate terms, viz., Abd Allah Ibn Salam, a learned Jew, and Salman the Persian, who had long lived among Jews and Christians, and who, before he became a Mussulman, was successively a Magian, Jew, and Christian. The monk Bahira, too, whom, however, according to Arabic sources, he only met once, on his journey to Bozra, was a baptized Jew. All these legends must have made a deep impression on a religious disposition like that of Mohammed, and have roused within him the conviction that at various times, when the depravity of the human race required it, GOD selected some pious individuals to restore them once more to the path of truth and goodness. And thus it might come to pass that, having no other object than to instruct his contemporaries in the nature of the Deity, and to promote their moral and spiritual improvement, he might desire to close the line of the Prophets with himself.
But these legends the more especially furthered his object, inasmuch as in all of them the Prophets are more or less misunderstood and persecuted by the infidels, but, with the aid of God, are made to triumph in the end. They were therefore intended by him to serve as a warning to his opponents, and to edify and comfort his adherents. But the legend of Abraham he must have seized and appropriated with peculiar avidity, on account of its special use as a weapon both against Jews and Christians, while, at the same time, it imparted a certain luster to all the nations of Arabia descending through Ismael from Abraham.
It is difficult to find out with precision how much of this last legend was known in Arabia before Mohammed; but it is probable, that as soon as the Arabs became acquainted with the Scriptures and traditions of the Jews, they employed them in tracing down to Mohammed the origin both of their race and of their temple. But that they possessed no historical information respecting it will appear from the fact that, notwithstanding their genealogical skill, they confess themselves unable to trace Mohammed's ancestry beyond the twentieth generation. It is, however, quite evident, not only that the legends of Abraham and Ismael, which related much that was favorable to the latter, concerning which the Bible was silent, but that all the others in like manner were more or less changed and amplified by Mohammed, and adapted to his own purposes. We are, however, inclined to ascribe these modifications to the men by whom he was surrounded rather than to himself; for we consider him, at least during the period of his mission, as the mere tool of certain Arabian reformers rather than an independent prophet, or, at all events, more as a dupe than a deceiver. Yet to him unquestionably belongs the highly poetical garb in which we find these legends, and which was calculated to attract and captivate the imaginative minds of the Arabs much more than the dull Persian fables narrated by his opponents.
In the legend of Christ, it is not difficult to discover the views of a baptized Jew. He acknowledges in Christ the living Word, and the Spirit of GOD, in contradistinction to the dead letter and the empty ceremonial into which Judaism had then fallen. In the miraculous birth of Christ there is nothing incredible to him, for was not Adam, too, created by the word of the Lord? He admits all the miracles of the Gospel, for had not the earlier prophets also worked miracles? Even in the Ascension he finds nothing strange, for Enoch and Elias were also translated to heaven. But that a true prophet should place himself and his mother on a level with the Most High God is repugnant to his views, and he therefore rejects this doctrine as the blasphemous invention of the priests. He refuses also, in like manner, to believe the Crucifixion, because it appears to him to reflect upon the justice of GOD, and to conflict with the history of former prophets, whom He had delivered out of every danger.[1] "No man shall suffer for the sins of his neighbor," says the Koran: hence, though Christ might have followed out his designs without the fear of death, it seemed to him impossible that the Lord should have permitted Christ, the innocent, to die in so shameful a manner for the sins of other men. But he regards as a Savior every prophet who by divine revelation, and an exemplary and pious life, restores man to the way of salvation which Adam had abandoned at his fall; and such a savior he believed himself to be.
Now, as the, legend of Abraham was valuable to Mohammed on account of the pure and simple lesson which it inculcated, as well as for its connection with the sacred things of Mecca, so he valued the legend of Christ especially for its promise of the Paraclete, which he believed, or at least proclaimed himself to be, and to which appellation the meaning of his own name at least furnished him with a better claim than some others who had arrogated it to themselves before him. Here, again, we perceive that Mohammed was probably misinformed both by Jews and Christians, though perhaps from no sordid motive. Some one, for instance, as Maccavia has already observed, may have told him that Christ had spoken of a peryclete—a word which is synonymous with Ahmed (the much-praised one). At all events, in all the legends of the Mussulmans, Mohammed is declared even by the oldest prophets to be the greatest of all that were to come (although there are fewer traces of this found in the Koran); and wherever, in the Jewish legends, Moses, Israel, and the Thora are prominently brought forward, there the Mussulmans place Mohammed, the Arabs, and the Koran. The name to which they most frequently appeal as their voucher is Kaab Alahbar, a Jew, who embraced Islamism during the caliphate of Omar. As translations of the Koran abound in the German language, it can not be difficult for the reader to separate those portions of these legends composed by Mohammed from those which were afterward interpolated, but which were ascribed to him, and descended to posterity as sacred traditions.
The oral traditions respecting the ancient prophets, which are put into Mohammed's mouth, are so numerous, and some of them so contradictory, that no historian or biographer has been able to admit them all. It was therefore necessary to select; and in order to make them in some degree complete, we were obliged to draw from various sources, as it was only in this way that the unity and roundness could be obtained in which they are here presented to the reader.
Besides the Koran and the commentaries upon it, the following MSS. have been made use of for this little work:
1. The book Chamis, by Husein Ibn Mohammed, Ibn Ahasur Addiarbekri (No. 279 of the Arabian MSS. in the library of the Duke of Gotha), which, as the introduction to the biography of Mohammed, contains many legends respecting the ancient prophets, especially Adam, Abraham, and Solomon.
2. The book Dsachirat Alulum wanatidjal Alfuhum (storehouse of wisdom and fruits of knowledge), by Ahmed Ibn Zein Alabidin Al-bekri (No. 285 of the above-mentioned MSS.) in which also the ancient legends from Adam to Christ are prefixed to the History of Islam and more especially the lives of Moses and Aaron minutely narrated.
3. A collection of legends by anonymous authors. (No. 909 of the same collection.)
4. The Legends of the Prophets (Kissat Alan-bija), by Muhammed Ibn Ahmed Alkissai. (No. 764 of the Arabic MSS. of the Royal Library at Paris.)
Adam. (A Mohammedan Legend)
THE most authentic records of antiquity which have come down to us state that Adam was created on Friday afternoon, at the hour of Assr.
The four most exalted angels, Gabriel, Michael, Israfil, and Israil, were commanded to bring from the four corners of the earth the dust out of which Allah formed the body of Adam, all save the head and heart. For these He employed exclusively the sacred earth of Mecca and Medina, from the very spots on which, in later times, the holy Kaaba and the sepulchre of Mohammed were erected.
Even before it was animated, Adam's beautiful form excited the admiration of the angels who were passing by the gates of Paradise, where Allah had laid it down. But Iblis coveted man's noble form, and the spiritual and lovely expression of his countenance, and said, therefore, to his fellows, "How can this hollow piece of earth be well pleasing in your sight? Nothing but weakness and frailty may be expected of this creature." When all the inhabitants of heaven, save Iblis, had gazed on Adam in long and silent wonder, they burst out in praises to Allah, the creator of the first man, who was so tall, that when he stood erect upon the earth his head reached to the seventh heaven.
Allah then directed the angels to bathe the Soul of Adam, which he had created a thousand years before his body, in the sea of glory which proceedeth from himself, and commanded her to animate his yet lifeless form. The Soul hesitated, for she was unwilling to exchange the boundless heavens for this narrow home; but Allah said, "Thou must animate Adam even against thy will; and as the punishment of thy disobedience, thou shalt one day be separated from him also against thy will." Allah then breathed upon her with such violence that she rushed through the nostrils of Adam into his head. On reaching his eyes, they were opened, and he saw the throne of Allah, with the inscription, "There is out one GOD, and Mohammed is his Messenger." The Soul then penetrated to his ears, and he heard the angels praising Allah; thereupon his own tongue was loosed, and he cried, "Blessed be thou, my Creator, the only One and Eternal!" and Allah answered, "For this end wast thou created; thou and thy descendants shall worship me; so shall ye ever obtain grace and mercy." The Soul at last pervaded all the limbs of Adam; and when she had reached his feet, she gave him the power to rise; but, on rising, he was obliged to shut his eyes, for a light shone on him from the throne of the Lord which he was unable to endure; and pointing with one hand toward it, while he shaded his eyes with the other, he inquired, "O Allah! what flames are those?" "It is the light of a prophet who shall descend from thee and appear on earth in the latter times. By my glory, only for his sake have I created thee and the whole world. In heaven his name is Ahmed, but he shall be called Mohammed on earth, and he shall restore mankind from vice and falsehood to the path of virtue and truth."
All created things were then assembled before Adam, and Allah taught him the names of all beasts, of birds, and of fish; the manner in which they are sustained and propagated, and explained their peculiarities, and the ends of their existence. Finally, the angels were convoked, and Allah commanded them to bow down to Adam, as the most free and perfect of His creatures, and as the only one that was animated by His breath. Israfil was the first to obey, whence Allah confided to him the book of Fate. The other angels followed his example: Iblis alone was disobedient, saying, with disdain, "Shall I, who am created of fire, worship a being formed of the dust?" He was therefore expelled from heaven, and the entrance into Paradise was forbidden him.
Adam breathed more freely after the removal of Iblis; and by command of Allah, he addressed the myriads of angels who were standing around him, in praise of His omnipotence and the wonders of His universe; and on this occasion he manifested to the angels that he far surpassed them in wisdom, and more especially in the knowledge of languages, for he knew the name of every created thing in seventy different tongues.
After this discourse, Allah presented him, through Gabriel, with a bunch of grapes from Paradise, and when he had eaten them he fell into a deep sleep. The Lord then took a rib from Adam's side, and formed a woman of it, whom he called Hava [Eve], for he said, I have taken her from (hai) the living. She bore a perfect resemblance to Adam; but her features were more delicate than his, and her eyes shone with a sweeter luster, her hair was longer, and divided into seven hundred braids; her form was lighter, and her voice more soft and pure.
While Allah was endowing Eve with every female charm, Adam was dreaming of a second human being resembling himself. Nor was this strange, for had he not seen all the creatures which had been presented to him in pairs? When, therefore, he awoke, and found Eve near him, he desired to embrace her; yet, although her love exceeded his own, she forbade him, and said, "Allah is my lord; it is only with his permission that I may be thine! Besides, it is not meet that a woman should be wedded without a marriage gift." Adam then prayed the angel Gabriel to intercede for him with Allah, that he might obtain Eve for his wife, and to inquire what marriage gift would be demanded. The angel soon returned, and said, "Eve is thine, for Allah has created her only for thee! Love her as thyself, and treat her with indulgence and kindness. The marriage gift which he requires of thee is, that thou shouldst pray twenty times for Mohammed, his beloved, whose body shall one day be formed out of thy flesh and blood, but whose soul has dwelt in Allah's presence many thousand years before the creation of the world."
Ridwhan, the guardian of Eden, came leading Meimun, the winged horse, and a fleet she-camel. The one he presented to Adam, the other to Eve. The angel Gabriel assisted them in mounting, and conducted them to Paradise, where all the angels and animals present saluted them with the words, "Hail! ye parents of Mohammed!"
In the midst of Paradise there stood a green silken tent, supported on golden pillars, and in the midst of it there was a throne, on which Adam seated himself with Eve, whereupon the curtains of the tent closed around them of their own accord.
When Adam and Eve were afterward walking through the garden, Gabriel came and commanded them, in the name of Allah, to go and bathe in one of the four rivers of Paradise. Allah himself then said to them, "I have appointed this garden for your abode; it will shelter you from cold and heat, from hunger and thirst. Take, at your discretion, of every thing that it contains; only one of its fruits shall be denied you. Beware that ye transgress not this one command, and watch against the wily rancor of Iblis! He is your enemy, because he was overthrown on your account; his cunning is infinite, and he aims at your destruction."
The newly-created pair attended to Allah's words, and lived a long time, some say five hundred years, in Paradise without approaching the forbidden tree. But Iblis also had listened to Allah, and resolving to lead man into sin, wandered constantly in the outskirts of heaven, seeking to glide unobserved into Paradise. But its gates were shut, and guarded by the angel Ridwhan. One day the peacock came out of the garden. He was then the finest of the birds of Paradise, for his plumage shone like pearl and emerald, and his voice was so melodious that he was appointed to sing the praise of Allah daily in the main streets of heaven.
Iblis, on seeing him, said to himself, "Doubtless this beautiful bird is very vain: perhaps I may be able to induce him by flattery to bring me secretly into the garden."
When the peacock had gone so far from the gates that he could no longer be overheard by Ridwhan, Iblis said to him,
"Most wonderful and beautiful bird! art thou of the birds of Paradise?"
"I am; but who art thou, who seemest frightened as if some one did pursue thee?"
"I am one of those cherubim who are appointed to sing without ceasing the praises of Allah, but have glided away for an instant to visit the Paradise which he has prepared for the faithful. Wilt thou conceal me under thy beautiful wings?"
"Why should I do an act which must bring the displeasure of Allah upon me?"
"Take me with thee, charming bird, and I will teach thee three mysterious words, which shall preserve thee from sickness, age, and death."
"Must, then, the inhabitants of Paradise die?"
"All, without exception, who know not the three words which I possess."
"Speakest thou the truth?"
"By Allah the Almighty!"
The peacock believed him, for he did not even dream that any creature would swear falsely by its maker; yet, fearing lest Ridwhan might search him too closely on his return, he steadily refused to take Iblis along with him, but promised to send out the serpent, who might more easily discover the means of introducing him unobservedly into the garden.
Now the serpent was at first the queen of all beasts. Her head was like rubies, and her eyes like emerald. Her skin shone like a mirror of various hues. Her hair was soft like that of a noble virgin; and her form resembled the stately camel; her breath was sweet like musk and amber, and all her words were songs of praise. She fed on saffron, and her resting-places were on the blooming borders of the beautiful Cantharus. She was created a thousand years before Adam, and destined to be the playmate of Eve.
"This fair and prudent being," said the peacock to himself, "must be even more desirous than I to remain in eternal youth and vigor, and will undoubtedly dare the displeasure of Ridwhan at the price of the three invaluable words." He was right in his conjecture, for no sooner had he informed the serpent of his adventure than she exclaimed, "Can it be so? Shall I be visited by death? Shall my breath expire, my tongue be paralyzed, and my limbs become impotent? Shall my eyes and ears be closed in night? And this noble form of mine, shall it perish in the dust? Never, never! Even if Ridwhan's wrath should light upon me, I will hasten to the cherub, and will lead him into Paradise, so he but teach me the three mysterious words."
The serpent ran forthwith out of the gate, and Iblis repeated to her what he had said to the peacock, confirming his words by an oath. "How can I bring thee into Paradise unobserved?" inquired the serpent.
"I will contract myself into so small a bulk that I shall find room in a cavity of thy teeth!"
"But how shall I answer Ridwhan if he addresses me?"
"Fear nothing; I will utter holy names that shall render him speechless."
The serpent then opened her mouth: Iblis flew into it, and, seating himself in the hollow part of her front teeth, poisoned them to all eternity. When they had passed Ridwhan, who was not able to utter a sound, the serpent opened her mouth again, expeeting that the cherub would resume his natural shape, but Iblis preferred to remain where he was, and to speak to Adam from the serpent's mouth, and in her name. After some resistance, she consented, from fear of Ridwhan, and from her anxiety to obtain the mysterious words. Arrived at Eve's tent, Iblis heaved a deep sigh: the first which envy had forced from any living breast.
"Why art thou so cast down to-day, my beloved serpent?" inquired Eve, who had heard the sigh.
"I am anxious for the future [...]
