It may well be believed that these sibylline leaves of Mohammedanism
make up a heterogeneous jumble of varied elements. Some of the chapters
are long, others are short; now the prophet seems to be caught up by a
whirlwind, and is brought face to face with ineffable mysteries, of
which he speaks in the language of rhapsody. At other times he is dry
and prosaic, indulging in wearisome iterations, and childish
trivialities. Now he assumes the plain, clear voice of the law-giver, or
raises his accents into the angry threatenings of the relentless and
bloodthirsty fanatic. Yet throughout the whole volume there is a strain
of religious resignation, of trust in God, of hopefulness under
adversity, of kindliness towards men, which reveal a nobility of ideal,
a simplicity and purity in the conception of the Divine Being, and the
relations of human life, which make the work not without inspiration,
even to the thoughtful man of the nineteenth century. The Koran must
always be considered one of the most potent of religious books, one of
the greatest documents which reveal the struggle of the human heart
after a knowledge of God, and of faithful accomplishment of the Divine
will. Perhaps the essence of the work as furnishing a philosophy of
life, is contained in the axioms of Abu Bekr, one of the most exalted in
character of Mohammed's successors. "Good actions," he says, "are a
guard against the blows of adversity.
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