Page:The young Moslem looks at life (1937).djvu/63

This page needs to be proofread.

PERFECT RELIGION 49

of Mohammed's preaching, and that a company of them was converted to Islam. One modernist Moslem, Sheikh Mohammed Abduh, of revered memory, was inclined to the view that the germs which cause disease are really jinn!

Satan, called Iblis or the Shaitan, is the prince of all the shaitans or devils. He lost his standing as one of the righteous angels when he refused to obey God's command to bow down and worship Adam. So God cast him and his hosts out of paradise, and ever since Iblis and his shaitans have been the enemies of God and man. One must be continually on guard against them. The Traditions and the Koran are filled with instructions to the faithful on how to protect and preserve themselves from their evil power. In the morning, for instance, one should carefully cleanse the nose three times by snuffing water, because a devil takes up his abode in the nose during the night. Charms are worn by countless numbers of Moslems to ward off evil, and to bring prosperity and success.

3. '7 believe in his books" We have already seen how the Koran originated, and how Mohammed believed that he had been chosen by Allah to receive the final expression of God's guidance for mankind. The Koran cancels all former revelations and supersedes them. It is revelation perfected. It is the climax of God's messages to man.

According to the Moslem belief, God sent down to earth a hundred and four sacred books. Of these Adam was given ten books; Seth, fifty; Enoch received