Page:The chronology of ancient nations (IA chronologyofanci00biru).djvu/45

of Isaac, except the sons of Ishmael. If they say, that the brethren of the sons of Israel are the children of Esau, we ask only: Has there then risen among them a man like Moses—in the times after Moses—of the same description and resembling him? Does not also the following passage of the same book, of which this is the translation (Deut. xxxiii. 2), bear testimony for Muḥammad: "The Lord came from Mount Sinai, and rose up unto us from Seir, and he shined forth from Mount Paran, accompanied by ten thousand of saints at his right hand?" The terms of this passage are hints for the establishing of the proof, that the (anthropomorphic) descriptions, which are inherent in them, cannot be referred to the essence of the Creator, nor to his qualities, he being high above such things. His coming from Mount Sinai means his secret conversation with Moses there; his rising up from Seir means the appearance of Messiah, and his shining forth from Paran, where Ishmael] grew up and married, means the coming of Muḥammad from thence as the last of all the founders of religions, accompanied by legions of saints, who were sent down from heaven to help, being marked with certain badges. He who refuses to accept this interpretation, for which all evidence has borne testimony, is required to prove what kinds of mistakes there are in it. "But he whose companion is Satan, woe to him for such a companion!" (Sûra iv. 42.)

Now, if the Christians do not allow us to use the numerical values of Arabic words, we cannot allow them to do the same with the Syriac words which they quote, because the Thora and the books of those prophets were revealed in the Hebrew language. All they have brought forward, and all we are going to propound, is a decisive proof, and a clear argument, showing that the words in the holy books have been altered from their proper meanings, and that the text has undergone modifications contrary to its original condition. Having recourse to this sort of computing, and of using false witnesses, shows and proves to evidence, that their authors purposely deviate from the path of truth and righteousness. If we could open them a door in heaven, and they ascended thereby, they would say: "Our eyes ave only drunken. Nay, we are fascinated people." (Sûra xv. 15.) But such is not the case. The fact is that they are blind to the truth. We pray to God, that he may help and strengthen us, that he may guard us against sin, and lead us by the right path.

As to the doctrine of abrogation (of one holy book by another), and as to their fanciful pretension of having passages of the Thora which order him who claims to be a prophet after Moses to be put to death, we must state, that the groundlessness of these opinions is rendered evident by other passages of the Thora. However, there are more suitable places to speak of these opinions than this, and so we return to our subject, as we have already become lengthy in our exposition, one matter drawing us to another.