Sonnites perform ablution before prayers, they begin at the elbow and wash down to the fingers; whereas the Sheahs begin at the tips of the fingers and wash upward to the elbow. This has given rise to very hot controversies; being considered a question of as much importance as sprinkling and immersion among Christians. The animosity between these two sects is so great, that they consider it more meritorious to destroy each other, than to exterminate infidels. When Sheahs, on their pilgrimage to Mecca, pass through countries inhabited by Sonnites, they generally conform to their customs, and call themselves by their name; otherwise, scenes of violence and bloodshed occur continually. Both sects claim to be the only true interpreters of the Koran. Arabs, Turks, and Tartars are Sonnites. The Persians, and some East Indians, are adherents of Ali. The hostility between Turks and Persians is mainly caused by this sectarian feud. The Sonnites are divided into many sects. The four principal differ concerning some matters of practice, but agree on points of faith; therefore they do not deny to each other the possibility of salvation; which they all agree to do toward numerous minor sects deemed heretical.

There are seventy or eighty sects among the Sheahs. One small sect maintains that God was incarnated in the person of Ali; these do not perform pilgrimages to Mecca, but to Meschid, where Ali was buried; they neglect many of the purifications and fasts observed by orthodox Mohammedans, have no buildings for public worship, and perform their religious ceremonies in a very simple way. One small sect in Syria believe in the transmigration of souls, have consecrated plants and animals, and introduce the sexual emblems of Hindostan into their worship. The head of ecclesiastical and civil affairs in Persia was called the Imam. All the sects of Sheahs believe that Ali, and the twelve Imams who succeeded him, were directly inspired by God; therefore their decisions were to be accepted as permanent rules of life. Some asserted that the essence

of God was incarnated in all of them.

The last of these

Imams was peculiarly celebrated for his sanctity, and was called Mahedi, which signifies The Guide. He retired to a cave near Bagdad, and the time and place of his death were unknown. This gave rise to a belief, still entertained by many, that he is living, and will appear in the last days, to establish the faith of Islam throughout the world. At different periods, a number of prophets have arisen claiming to be this Mohammedan Messiah.

A book called the Gospel of Barnabas is in great repute among them. It is supposed to be one of the Apocryphal Gospels, used by the Eastern churches, translated and modified by some Christian, who became a Moslem. It represents Christ as foretelling that God would send a prophet by the name of Mohammed, to perfect the dispensation he had brought to men. It declares that an unbelieving Jew, while watching Jesus to prevent his escape, was suddenly transformed into such an exact likeness of him, that even the Virgin Mary herself was deceived. This man was crucified, and Christ was taken up into heaven alive. But seeing his mother and his disciples so overwhelmed with grief, he appeared to them, and told them the stratagem God had devised. He foretold that a prophet greater than himself, named Mohammed, would be sent to lead men into the truth. He also promised to appear on earth again in the last days, and destroy a false prophet named Dejal, and a wild boar that would devastate the earth. He would burn the Christian Gospels, which ungodly priests had falsified, and the crosses they worshipped as gods, and help to subject the whole earth to Mohammed. In consequence of this communication, the Virgin Mary lived and died in the faith of Islam. It is the universal belief that when Mahedi appears, Jesus will come to his assistance; that he will perform his devotions in the mosque, will exterminate the Jews who rejected him, and the Christians who wor shipped him as God; that he will marry and have children, and remain on the earth forty years, during which there will be universal peace and plenty. In the royal

stable at Ispahan, two horses were always kept saddled; one for the use of Mahedi, the other for Jesus.

The idea of atonement for sin, by any kind of sacrifice, forms no part of the system of Mohammed; it being one of his favourite maxims that "a man cannot die for his neighbour." But in general, questions which excite controversy elsewhere have caused disputes among his followers. Some deny the personality of God; others affirm that he is in the likeness of a man. Mohammed said: "The heart of a believer is between the fingers of The Merciful.” Some say that a preacher who should stretch forth his finger while he read that text would deserve to have it cut off; because he might thereby convey the idea that God had fingers. The doctrine of predestination is fully believed by orthodox sects. But it shocks the minds of many, who draw from it an inference that God is the author of evil; and this they are so reluctant to admit, that they are not even willing to say He created infidels. Out of this question has arisen much discussion whether the doctrine that infants are foredoomed to eternal punishment can be reconciled with the justice and mercy of God. The comparative importance of faith and works is another dividing topic. Some maintain that if a true believer in Mohammed commits a crime and dies without repentance, he must surely be damned to all eternity; though his punishment will be lighter than that of an infidel who commits the same crime. This is regarded as impious doctrine by the orthodox, who say God forgives everything but infidelity. Some sects maintain that this world will never be destroyed, and that there is no other heaven or hell. It is generally supposed that departed souls are waiting in some intermediate state, not very clearly defined. Some think they are with Adam in the lower heaven, because when the Prophet made his miraculous Night Journey, he said he saw souls destined to heaven on Adam's right hand, and those destined to hell on his left. The prevailing faith is that bodies will rise at the day of resurrection, and souls will be re-united with them. But some, who

think man is merely a corporeal being, say the body only will rise; others believe the resurrection will be purely spiritual. The orthodox belief is that the Koran is the uncreated Word of God, and existed in his essence from all eternity. Some sects reject this doctrine, because it conveys to their minds the idea of two eternal beings. They are denounced as infidels, and in their turn denounce their opponents as idolaters. Men were scourged, imprisoned, and even put to death, for opinions on this point; until at last a law was passed allowing them to judge for themselves on the subject. Old theological ideas being strictly guarded by penal laws, as well as by habits of reverence, progressive minds found themselves in straitened circumstances; and, as usual, they made for themselves two doors of escape from inconvenient limitation. One class resorted to allegorical interpretation of the Koran; styling it half man and half beast, in reference to the spirit and the letter. Some scholars who had become enamoured with Aristotle, made use of metaphysical and logical subtleties to explain the literal sense. This mode, called Al Calam, or Science of Reason, excited strong abhorrence in orthodox minds. They said whoever resorted to this mode of interpretation ought to be impaled; while a public crier proclaimed through the streets: "This is the reward of those who forsake the Koran, and the Sacred Traditions, to follow the Science of Reason." A school of mysticism also arose among the Mohammedans, and took forms similar to the Hindoo and Platonic ideas. The complete union of the soul with God, and intuitive perceptions of divine things, thence derived, is taught by some as the highest wisdom and happiness. They convey this idea in glowing allegories concerning love and intoxication, which, like some Hindoo devotional writings, seem sensual to those who perceive only the external sense; but the initiated find in them an interior meaning. Their very dances have mystical significance; as is the case with the dance consecrated to the memory of Crishna. They carry about with them a small mirror as a religious symbol; which also was

a custom among Egyptians, when they celebrated the Mysteries of Isis. This contemplative and mystical tendency of mind began to manifest itself decidedly among Mohammedans little more than a century after the Hegira, and has continually gained ground unto this day, especially among the superior class of minds in Persia. They became a distinct sect, known under the name of Sufis; which some learned men derive from the Arabic word Safi, meaning Pure; others from the Greek word Sophi, signifying Wise. Their saints believe that they receive immediate communications of truth from heaven into the interior of their minds, when they are completely abstracted from all earthly cares and wishes. They say it is mysteriously transmitted through the medium of Abubeker or Ali. But their doctrines are obviously of Hindoo origin, and bear no resemblance to the teachings of the Koran. Pantheism soon mingled with their system. Mohammed declared that God was not in anything, nor was anything in God; but devout Sufis believe they have become one with God; which Hindoos call absorption in Brahm. One of the Mohammedan poets says: "I am the world's soul." But these views are generally expressed in veiled language, lest they should give rise to a charge of blasphemy. One of their teachers, named Hosein al Hallaj, was put to death for making himself equal with God, by saying: "I am the Truth." Complete subjugation of the senses was of course intimately connected with this idea of mystical union with Deity. Hence the Sufis early formed monastic fraternities, which adopted very ascetic modes of life. It was the natural growth of the same foreign element which had been grafted upon Christianity, and produced monkism. Mohammed disapproved of celibacy, and declared he would have no monks in his religion. But three hundred years after the Hegira, Islam began to swarm with a class of men called Dervises, whose habits are very similar to Hindoo Fakirs, and Mendicant Monks. There are thirty-two religious orders of that kind in the Turkish empire; others in Persia and India. These Mohammedan monks have great