SOROS
694
EOSOIUSZKO
prophet is no longer merely trj-ing to convert his
hearers by examples, promises, and warnings; he ad-
tlresses them as their prince in general, praising them
or blaming them for their conduct, and giving them
laws and precepts as occasion required" ("The Qu-
r'nn" in "Sacred Books of the East", I, Oxford, 1880,
pp. LXI, LXII, and LXIII).
SooRCEs. — The sources of the Koran may be re- duced to six: — (1) The Old Testament (canonical and apocryphal) and the hybrid Judaism of the late rab- binical schools. During Mohammed's time the Jews were numerous in many parts of Arabia, especially around Medina. Familiarity with them is undoubt- edly responsible for many Old -Testament stories alluded to in the Koran. Later Judaism and Rabbin- ism are equally well represented (Geiger, "Was hat Mohammed aus dem judenthum aufgenommen?", Wiesbaden, 1833; tr. "Judaism and Islam", Madras, 1898). (2) The New Testament (canonical and apocryphal) and various heretical doctrines. On his journeys between Syria, Hijaz, and Yemen, Moham- med had every opportunity to come in close touch with Yemenite, Abyssinian, Ghassanide, and Sj'rian Christians, especially heretics. Hence, while the in- fluence of orthodox Christianity upon the Koran has been slight, apocryphal and heretical Christian leg- ends, on the other hand, are one of the original sources of Koranic faith. (See Muir, op. cit. infra, 66-239; Tisdall, "The Original Sources of the Quran", London, 1905, 55-211.) (3) Sabaism, a combination of Judaism, Manicheism, and old disfigured Baby- lonian heathenism. (4) Zoroastrianism. — On account of Persia's political influence in the north-eastern part of Arabia, it is natural to find Zoroastrian elements in the Koran. (5) Hanifism, the adherents of which, called Hanifs, must have been considerable in number and influence, as it is known from contemporary Ara- bian sources that twelve of Mohammed's followers were members of this sect. (6) Native ancient and con- temporary Arabian heathen beliefs and practices. — Wellhausen has collected in his " Reste des arabischen Heidentums" (Berlin, 1897) all that is known of pre- Islamic Arabian heathen belief, traditions, customs, and superstitions, many of which are either alluded to or accepted and incorporated in the Koran. From the works of Ash-Shahristani, who wrote a history of the various sects and creeds, and Abul-Fida, the well- known historian and geographer of the twelfth cen- tury, it is clear that the religious beliefs and practices of the Arabs of Mohammed's day form one of the many sources of Islam. From this heathen source Islam derived the practices of polygamy antl slavery, which Mohammed sanctioned by adopting them.
Authorship, Compilation. — It is generally ad- mitted that the Koran is substantially tlie work of Mohammed. According to the traditionalists, it con- tains the pure revelation of God, its primary Author. Mohammed, the Koran tells us, was inspired by the Holy Ghost, Whom he held to be an angel, and Whom he called, in later chapters, written at Medina, by the name of the Archangel (iabriel.
Opinions vary as to Mohammed's ability to read and write. Some traditionalists maintain that prior to the Divine revelation he could neither read nor write, but that immediately afterwards he could do both; others believe that even before the revelation he could read and write; while others, again, deny that he could ever do so. Thus it is uncertain whether any of the suras were written down by the Propli<'t himself or all delivered by him orally and afterwards written down by others from memory.
The Koran is written in Arabic, in rhymed prose, the style differing considerably in the various suras, according to the various periods of the Prophet's life. The language is universally acknowledged to be the most perfect form of Arab spe(>ch, and soon became the standard by which other Arabic literary compo-
sitions had to be judged, grammarians, lexicogra-
phers, and rhetoricians presuming that the Koran,
being the word of God, could not be wrong or im-
perfect.
Mohammed's hearers began by trusting their mem- ories to retain the words of the revelation they had received from him. Later, those who could write traced them in ancient characters on palm leaves, tanned hides, or dry bones. After the Prophet's death all these fragments were collected. Zaid ibn Thabit, Mohammed's disciple, was charged by Abu- Bekr, the first caliph, to collect all that could be dis- covered of the sacred text in one volume. The chap- ters were then arranged according to their length and without regard to historical sequence. The revision made twenty years later affected details of language and grammar rather than the arrangement of the text.
The best and most accessible edition of the Koran is that of Flugel, " Al-Qoran: Corani textus Arabicus" (Leipzig, 1834 and since). Maracci's famous Latin translation of the Koran, with a refutation and com- mentary, is still unique and useful: " Alcorani textus universus" (Padua, 1698). The standard English versions are those of Sale (London, 1734), with a still useful introductory essay; Rodwel (London, 1861), arranged in chronological order; and Palmer in " Sacred Books of the East" (Oxford, 1880).
Arabic commentaries by Tabari, Zamakhshari. and Baid- HAWi. The classical work on the Koran is Noldeke. Geschichte des Qorans (Gottingen, 1860); revised ed. Schwally (2 vols., Leipzig, 1909 — ). See also Sprf.nger, Das Leben und die Lehre des Mohammed (3 vols.. Berlin, 1S65); Mum, The Coran, its Composition and Teaching (London, 1903); Sell, Historical Development of the Quran (Madras, 1898); Wheary. A Com- prehensive Commentary on the Qoran (4 vols.. London, 1882); Hughes, Dictionary of Islam (London, 1885), s. v. Qoran; Tisdall, The Original Sources of the Qur'an (London, 1905); Hirschfeld. New Researches into the Composition and Exegesis of the Qoran (London, 1902); Pizzi, V Islamismos (Milan. 1903). Lives of Mohammed bv MulR (London, 1858; 1897); Sprenger (Allahabad, 1851): Weil (Stuttgart, 1864); Krehl (Leipzig, 1884); Grimme (Munster, 1892-95); Buhl (Copen- hagen, 1903); Margoliouth (London, 1905). Histories of Arabic literature by Brockelmann, Huart. Pizzi. and Nichol- son. See bibliography to Mohammed and Mohammedanism. Gabriel Oussani.
Korbs. See Crisium, Diocese OK.
Eosciuszko, Tadeusz, Polish patriot and soldier, b. near Novogrudok, Lithuania, Poland, 12 February, 1752; d. at Solothurn, Switzerland, 15 October, 1817. He was educated at the military schools of Warsaw and 'Versailles.and attained the rank of captain in the Polish army. When the Amer- ican Revolution broke out he em- barked for the scene of conflict and, joining Washington's army, received a commission as of- ficer of engineers, IS October, 1776. Heservedwithdis- tinction through the war, was made a brigadier gen- eral, and was voted the thanks of Congress. He then returned to Poland and lived for several years in retirement. In 1789, when the Polish army was reorganized, he was appointed a major-general and fought gallantly under Prince Poniatowski against
